INC NEWS - excellent editorial in today's Herald-Sun (neighborhood revitalization fund)

[John Schelp]

Editorial: Consider neighborhoods
Herald-Sun, 25 May 2006   

We were encouraged this week to hear City Council
members Diane Cattoti and Howard Clement call for the
city to develop a fund to help spur economic
development in struggling neighborhoods near downtown.
A similar fund for the downtown area has been
instrumental in fueling the success we see there
today. 

It is important as we go forward for city leaders to
pay more attention to neighborhood development.
Pouring millions into downtown revitalization while
ignoring surrounding neighborhoods wouldn't be a smart
move. If left unchecked, crime and blight from nearby
neighborhoods will eventually spill over to downtown
to spoil the significant public and private
investments made there. 

"I think we've come to a point in our history as a
city where we need to pay more attention to our
neighborhood revitalization programs," Clement said
Monday as the council began to review City Manager
Patrick Baker's budget request for 2006-07. 

Under a proposal being floated, the city would raise
about $1.6 million for a "neighborhood revitalization
fund" by increasing the city's property tax rate by a
penny. The money would be spent in five inner-city
neighborhoods, including the Fayetteville Street
corridor, Old Five Points, the area around the
intersection of Angier Avenue and Drive Street, the
area around the intersection of East Main Street and
Alston Avenue and an area along West Chapel Hill
Street. 

Baker has said he thinks such a fund is a good idea
but has stopped short of asking for the money in the
2006-07 budget. We would encourage the other members
of the council to join Cattoti and Clement in asking
Baker to take a closer look at the proposal. 

We understand that money is likely to be tight this
year. Baker's budget proposal already calls for a
substantial 3.75-cent tax increase. And Bill Kalkhof,
president of Downtown Durham Inc., the agency that led
the charge for the Downtown Revitalization Fund, has
asked the council to increase the funding to it from
one cent to 11/2 or even 2 cents. 

For sure, the council won't be able to honor all of
the requests coming before it this budget cycle. But
Councilwoman Cora Cole-McFadden is right when she says
that citizens in blighted neighborhoods near downtown
are tired of the council "dragging our feet on these
issues." 

The time to invest in Durham's neighborhoods is now.