July 25, 2011

Worcester Common Ground Board Part 5

1 )  If you can only add directors at the annual meeting, we are fine with that. When is the next annual meeting.

2)    51% of the board must be residents of the the census tracts withing the CDC's area.  O'kay, there are currently 2 people,as far as I know that live in the census tracts below.  Since we were never given a list of the current board of directors, I can not say for certain but I believe there are 6 current board members.   That comes to 33%.  If you were to add someone like a Paul Collyer, it would actually get the board closer to the 51% that they need.  

Since Common Ground is reviewing their by-laws, maybe they should check the provision addressing how long someone can serve on the board?    Typically most boards put a limitation on how long you can serve.

3)  Huh???

4)  Let me get this straight.   The Chandler Business Association, with an annual budget of 0, is suppose to hold community meetings to see what the neighborhood wants.   Common Ground, however, only wants board members to support their projects without any input from the business community.

I can safely say a representative from our group would support an abandoned/foreclosed  three family that was rehabbed and sold, assuming of course money was on hand to fund said project.   On the other hand, a member from our group would not support the purchase of a burnt out buiding (84 Piedmont Street), that was wanted by an abuttiing business, that has sat idle now for 5+ plus years because no money is available to do the work. Neither would we support a 48 unit apartment building (May Street) with no market rate housing without adequate parking.

In "good conscience", we could not support projects that do not advance the neighborhood.  Evidently, that disqualifies us?

14 comments:

Steve Foley said...

Bill,

Worcester Common Ground, Inc


Go Here and type "Worcester Common Ground" into the search box. Click "Search by Entity Name", and search and you'll see:

Name: WORCESTER COMMON GROUND, INC. ID #: 222976657
Old ID #:000280172
Address:5 PIEDMONT STREET, WORCESTER, MA 01610 USA

Click on the name, and you'll see more information. Go to the bottom and select All Filings & View Filings. You can see all of the annual reports that include names and addresses of the board of directors.

2010 Annual Report

Steve Foley said...

You can get financial info Here

Baevents@aol.com said...

Couldnt okay May Street either.....a.housing.pfroject that has cost the taxpayer an additional 1.2 million due to defective development........this email needs to be shown tk the city manager....arrogance of the highest degree

Jahn said...

As i said last weeek, I was surprised to learn that WCG is given CDBG money to disburse as they see fit.

So if I want soem of that money and I am not in WCG's census tract area, am I then precluded from rec'ing and CDBG $ from Wcg.

I mean if WCG's obligations a are to their immedaite census tract areas ( per their charter and/or mission statemnt?) then arent they going to disburse the money only in those areas thus leaving out others not in WCG's census tract areas.

Isnt there an inherent disbursement conflict here if 51% of the board is only from certain census tracts in the city.

I am tellin ya, wait until all teh money from Washington DC dries up in the next decade or so and I am not referring just to theses so called CDC types, all non profits are going to get squeezed and Worc is way too dependent on non profits, just as Detroit was way too dependent on automobile manufacturing.

Paulie's Point of View said...

you coming to tonights neighborhood meeting on the proposed sale of mlk to smoc @ the pho hein buddhist temple at 6pm.......looks like the urban core may have won one!.....cautiously optimisftic

T-Traveler said...

church leaders are used to fill the neighborhood business slots on the board

Signman said...

We did not win anything Paul,,and you gave kudos to Dennis? SMOC is coming they have a right to buy and have the right to build... Exempt from the bylaws..I believe it will be held up for a while bu eventually ....

Jahn said...

Signman I tend to agree. T&G today said something like SMOC "INTENDS" not to locate there. Well the road to hell is paved with good "intends"

And what of our bumbling bureaucrats who planned this PIP closure for 3 to 4 years now and their plans result in a current triage center that is at 3x capacity. Theses urban planning mechanics s/b terminated.

Willie, imagine if you were a manufactuirng plant manager and you were charged with gettting the company into newer larger quarters and and w/in months of the opening of the new facilty that you planned, it is realized the new plant is 1/3rd the size that shoulda been built. You'd be ++++canned in a NY minute.

And meanwhile back at the ranch, 25 Meade St does such a great job of sniffing out overlaoded 3 decker, lawns in excess of 12 inches, and unregistered cars...yet they drive up and down Chandler St a 100x a week like a horse with blinders on. Another classic example of non profits that are de facto exempt from many laws that code dept is charged with enforcing.

I am just waiting for code to sniff out another VOP Chandler st violation I see. If it happens, I'll be BS, but it will not surprise me.


Word Verification:

SPINS

Jahn said...

And hey WTH is Bluto of late?

Anyone know?

Paulie's Point of View said...

I said I am cautiously optomistic signman......we have to work with folks also.....I threw Dennis a bone....we had a private meeting last week and agreed to work together....I am trying to focus on moving ahead not dwell entirely on the past.....I am under no illusions but we need allies and I believe we have em....time will tell but importantly we are at the table

Sign man said...

Over the past six years we have had private meetings....And open meeting with Dennis...WCG...with promises...sorry..you throw a bone and we get thrown under the bus...it is was it is....some things don't change...has the money or a plan been released yet?

Paulie's Point of View said...

I am meeting with him on Friday to see about moving the release along....we did everything asked of us.....

Jahn said...

My limited experience around this city has taught me to always trust, but verify when dealing with certain city depts. Like getting my street re-surfaced.

Never, ever forget that politcs & CYA comes first with bureaucrats. Then keeping their paychecks coming. Then constituent services

To this day I continue to be baffled why we need an Office of Neighborhood Services (so called). I am not so sure what services thsi office provides to those neighborhoods in Tatnuck, Westwood Hills, or Burncoat? I consider thsi office "MLK-esque"... i.e. redundant at best....worst case not needed at all.

Bill, to my great dismay, I thought of you this morning as WRKO news reported a Baaaawstin court had up held Lunch Bucket Mayor Meninos new law banning sale blunts in Beantown. The rationale....public health/safety......HUH??? Why stop with blunts? How about EZ Widers or Buglers or is it Bugle Boys? ANd what of traditional/generic cigarette rollling papers? Logic/ Consistency?

Signman said...

Good luck Paul...trust me I am with you...Dennis....no way.....we always do what he asks...and he always responds...let me check with Steve....