Shingle Creek Neighborhood Assn.

SCNA NRP Phase I Review pg 4

Webber Community Center

By redirecting $25,000 in funds originally earmarked for the Humboldt Greenway, SCNA was able to provide seed money for the Webber Community Center. Several other Camden neighborhoods and the Park Board also are providing initial funding. A major fund raising effort is planned for the near future.
The need for this facility has been well documented by the Webber-Camden Neighborhood Organization, which originally spearheaded this effort. It is expected that area neighborhood associations will have office space in the new facility and that it will provide a needed gathering space for many community organizations. SCNA’s funding is contingent upon having a space dedicated for the CCP/Safe unit.

Plan Overview

Shingle Creek Neighborhood Association (SCNA) was one of the first neighborhoods included in the NRP process. It received a very modest allocation of $800,000. The majority of these funds (85.81%) have been dedicated to housing, which is well above the average of most neighborhoods. A small amount of funding ($84,000) has been allocated for implementation, including staff and newsletter funding.

Over the nine years that SCNA has been involved in the NRP, it has adjusted its NRP funds to serve additional community needs, including support for environmental initiatives, youth sports, redevelopment of an industrial area, community center, small business development and support for the Humboldt Greenway Project, a major capital investment in the Camden community.

It has joined in collaborative efforts through the Penn Lowry Implementation Council, the Mississippi Corridor Neighborhood Coalition, the Humboldt Industrial Area visioning process, Webber Community Center and North Mississippi Regional Park. It helped to resolve a persistent environmental problem, flour beetles, with the cooperation of state legislators, city officials and active neighborhood residents.

SCNA included many unfunded strategies in its original NRP Action Plan because these were issues of interest to the residents, but for which there were insufficient NRP funds. Through its monthly newsletter, public forums and monthly meetings, it has been able to educate residents and encourage volunteer action on some of these issues, including watershed management, housing inspections, crime and safety, economic development, environment and parks, numerous public events and projects and MCDA loan programs.

SCNA has fulfilled the original mandate in the NRP legislation of dedicating at least 51% of its allocation for housing initiatives while addressing other significant community needs with its remaining funds. During the Phase I planning town meetings, it was evident that residents were optimistic about the future of their community. However, there were concerns covering a range of issues. SCNA addressed these concerns with a comprehensive Action Plan that included all the top priorities of the neighborhood, regardless of funding. In so doing, it was able to seize opportunities as they arose without major changes in the original Phase I Action Plan. Few of the funded strategies were abandoned altogether. Those that were funded were highly successful.

Some of the unfunded strategies were not addressed in any significant way, but that was primarily because of the lack of volunteers to implement them or because they would have required funding for effective action.

SCNA believes its Action Plan has proven to be a comprehensive and resilient document that served the neighborhood well. Its board members over the years responded to changes in community needs while maintaining its commitment to housing. The neighborhood is a better place to live today than it was ten years ago. Leaders have emerged from the neighborhood to take on new challenges, most recently the proposed closing of Shingle Creek School. The monthly meetings and newsletter have kept residents informed and encouraged action when appropriate. Several elected officials have attended meetings over the years both to inform their constituents and to hear what residents think about a variety of topics. Numerous public agency staff at city, county and state levels have addressed the membership on a variety of public policy issues and projects.

SCNA is pleased at what has been accomplished under its Phase I Action Plan. The neighborhood will be able to develop a Phase II plan that builds on the assets of Phase I and continue to move our neighborhood forward.