Sunny Side /South Park Super Neighborhood

Email Communications with Robert Litke, Director of Planning

Communications - 5/24/02

Mr. Litke,

I am writing with several subjects in mind all related to super neighborhood.

NUSA - the forty volunteers from Sunny Side and South Park thank you and we all had a good time with our visitors and they had a good time with us. Our committee has already set a planning date to go to Tennessee. You and your staff are invited to our volunteers thank you closing fish fry on June 8, 2002 Saturday, at Greater St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church at 12:00 noon, please let us know how many will be attending so we can have enough food.
Questions before the Election - I am sending you a correspondence that I sent the Mayor as a reference to the way your staff handle the situation's related to Sunny Side/South Park Super Neighborhood affairs. Also I gave a copy of all the paper work on Ms. Swindle's involvement with the super neighborhood in her own words to S. Tennermon.
Questions after the Election - I hope the election report from Mrs. Willie Belle Boone will answer any additional questions for you and anyone else. Mrs. Boone made it clear to all and at least twenty-five stakeholders agreed with her that she conducted an open election and it was fair to all participants, even though I did not agree with her asking me to leave the room while my opponents were allowed to stay. I complied with her request and never returned to the election area.
Beyond the Election - we will have an executive board meeting to discuss our calendar to serve the communities needs. I am going to appoint a grievance committee to address questions and make recommendations to the executive board and ultimately the general stakeholders council.
Please ask your personnel not to interfere with policy issues without informing me and whatever they have to say please put it in writing.
If someone has questions or complaints concerning SSSPSN please refer them to us without prejudice.
As I mentioned to Mr. Tennermon in this case it appears to me that the city has used selective intervention with the intent of being a mediator, however, unintended results happened, maybe. At this point we don't need selective intervention. I do have a plan to unify the members that lost the election however, there is a larger body of stakeholders that are very pleased with our progress and approach.

Mr. Litke, I hope that the past two-years my willingness to work with you and your staff has been exciting and fruitful. I remain dedicated to the success of the neighborhood oriented concept. If you review every program or event that we have produced it has benefited the larger community every time.

I look forward to continue working with you and your department for the next two-years with great success and service to the community. I would to meet with you to clarify any matters that I may have overlooked or been misinformed on before I meet with the Mayor.


Respectfully,

Charles X White

Robert Litke - 7/15/02

Mr. Litke,

Thank you for what you have done and tried to do of good related to the SSSPSN.

You are invited to attend and address our first SNAP meeting on August 22, 2002 at the Sunny Side Multi Purpose Center 7:00PM. Stanley is also invited. I want you to be there to discuss Neighborhood Protection changes and in light of current developments I hope that you will arrange your schedule so that you can attend as the department head.

Mr. Litke, we have scheduled a meeting with the stakeholders for tonight at 7:00PM. The topic is Civic Leadership Empowerment and Clearing the Air Moving Forward. This meeting will also be at the Multi Purpose Center at 7:00PM. This is only a fyi.

Mr. Litke, I am requesting a meeting with you, Wanda Adams, Stanley Ikpo, S. Tinnermon, Mr. Cantu, Matt Thibodaux and Allen Parker to meet with me and two other members of the executive board. I would like for this meeting to take place in early August or by August 8, 2002 anywhere you want to meet.
The purpose of this meeting is to understand the duties and discuss our projects for the next two years in hopes that this will stop any confusion between SSSPSN and the city planning department. If this meeting is done right will may not need but two additional meetings like this for the next two years.
In my view rocks have been thrown and hands are being hidden - some are trying to stay below the radar screen.
My aim is to replace falsehood with truth and mistrust with trust to increase the rate of progress in our area. Stereotypes, labels, myths and half truths all can lead to misunderstandings and disrupt progress.

One of the statements in Mayor Brown's presentation about the Neighborhood Orientated Government concept (para-phrasing) you can not discriminate or refuse anyone the right to participate in the super neighborhood. If a person is upset with you today and want to come and participate again next week they can. There is nothing in the creation of the concept that would allow you to let a personal dislike stop someone from participating.

Thank you.

Robert Litke - Policy - 8/14/02

To: Robert Litke
From: Charles X White
Subject: Policy
cc. Mayor Lee P. Brown
Executive Board



Mr. Litke, I am clearly speaking to policy issues that have impacted our community and its stakeholders negatively without due process or a fair evaluation of the facts. Your continued denial of my requests to discuss policy issues for prevention and continuity is unfortunate. Although the super neighborhoods by-laws and issues are not under city legislation there is an accountability relationship.

I do not want to create an email express between us
I do not want to put up false barriers with you or anyone else
I am pointing out a simple solution for a simple policy issue
I have no objection to a division as such - but I among strongly dedicated to ethics, policy and procedures

I do respect your experience as an administrator however, I can assuredly say the way this was handled including your involvement is not reflected in the way you supervise the planning department on a day to day basis.

I cannot believe that you have no idea as to what I am talking about for the following reasons:
I have sent you and Mr. Tinnermen several request related to discussing matters related to policy. Policy where there is no policy is good.
We have an established procedure to address issues not in our old by-laws that your department acknowledged as procedural and reasonable.
There are additional reasons that I care not to include at this time
I have no knowledge of the accuracy of the information given to the Mayor, however he can only make a decision based on the information he is given. If he received incomplete information, then his decision is not complete. The election has not been contested officially. If that was used as part of the basic information given to the Mayor, you should be able to see my point.

Changes in our group is a group activity not the city as you stated in your previous response. Your department selectively decided to exercise a course of action that has not included me as the president nor the executive board or the thirty-four voting members of the 71-72-76.

I am requesting and recommending that no action be taken in this matter until and unless any or all allegations are formally submitted and investigated to find out to what degree they are true. Once that is done then create a larger policy for the prevention of future misunderstandings or prevent unintended consequences from occurring as much as possible.

Again I am requesting a meeting with you over lunch as soon as possible to discuss this issue.