Commercial Development Meeting
Meeting Agenda April 28, 2015
Introduction of New Chair
Stacy Smith introduced herself and presented the plan to run this committee starting with
opening a dialog with the community members who feel kept out of the loop and whose concern
they believe are not being addressed
Moving Forward
Address Concerns Voiced – Many issues voiced in the several meetings that we attended
in the past and there is a major disconnect with the vision plan. Meetings to be set on the May
16th 3rd and 30th to discuss issues that divide all and the issues with the Vision Plan. Conversion
with all and the findings will be brought back to the committees. Location will be varied. Issue
to discuss will be about the commercial development issues only. All issues can be raised
but the community should come with issues and solutions. Suggestion is to have document
submitted in writing and discuss the situation openly and honestly. There is a break down in
trust among all members of the Southwest partnership and Stacy intents to make an effort
to restore it.
• Discuss Diversity, Cultural Competence and Exchange
• Displacement – Housing committee should be addressing this situation as a response to the
La Cite development.
• Reach out to faith based community – Stacy will meet and discuss the issues and
bring back to the committee what the people really believe. Need conversion and no more
presentations.
• Resources: Stacy and the committee will work with Lisa Rawlings to think about how to work
through issues and look at things differently. Vision plan should include the disconnected work
force and commercial committee formed a subcommittee to create an assessment of the workforce
development but still people have no jobs. Lisa Rawlings and Joanne Nathans chair a
subcommittee. Next meeting is to discuss the data sets as a topic. Can people be trained to attend
those opening?
• There are many programs in existence but no data from those groups seem to be available so
the success rate cannot be estimated. We know though that many do not get a job after they
attend.
• The sub-committee plan is to review Baltimore MTA and several parks and hope to bring all employers
and potential employee together to fill the gap of employment and fill the industry with
job candidates. Conversation will be over the job training to bring people that are interested in
those jobs. At this time some data is missing. The subcommittee is looking at employers in
the city and should it be looked also at employer in the county. Social work student will go to
the businesses and interview them for potential participants. The goal is to find out what they
need and what they are foreseeing as vacancies and needs. The current available data for the
city is from the labor dept.
Shawn Tarrent suggested that we should work with middle school first and foremost and tell the
teachers that there are jobs and use this possibility as an incentive to focus on a future.
Also mentioned was the need to reach out to the people that are hard to employ where they are
to bring them to the potential opening as some are not fitting the regular pattern. We need more
than a program. For this reason faith institutions have been contacted as they get to the grass
root level. There are several programs like Strive and Jump Start that are non-conventional programs.
This committee should focus on making the connection with the companies. Focus on connection
from the job owner community reaching out to the pool of people who need the jobs.
Work force development should be in community run by communities. Day care is an issue
when it comes to woman work opportunity and should be part of the discussion and solution.
Planning commission meeting with developer to speak about TIFF May 21st at 10 am
New Business (if any)
Mr. Lewis is an electrician and is willing to do the
BDC is heading health recovery fund is 0% up to 45,000 for small business related to the social
unrest and any exterior damages. State of MD of development have micro loan $5K for 5
people or less. Below market rate 15 years $500,000 with 5% capital contribution.
Southwest Partnership Updates
Support Carroll garden Rec Center. Khandra will convene committee chairs to meet and cross
pollinate. Creation of bylaws committee. Kick off meeting for the SWP to find it should be in
June in Carroll park.
Poppleton association was newly formed.
Recommended the creation of 3 new committees funding and finance and governance. State
MEMA has insurance also
Upcoming Meeting
SOWEBO during Memorial day meeting
2830 and 32 Carey between Lombard and Hollins
Adjournment
