Washington Heights Neighborhood Advisory Committee | Calhoun County Land Bank Authority

Overview

The Washington Heights Neighborhood (WHN) Advisory committee represents the NPC2 area and was formed by the Calhoun County Land Bank Board of Directors to support staff in its work funded by the WK Kellogg Foundation. That work focuses on the activation of its land throughout the area. Members of the committee are expected to serve for the duration of the grant, which runs for three years. The grant was approved to support the CCLBA efforts for blight elimination in the Washington Heights Neighborhood. For the purposes of this project the WHN and NPC2 (Neighborhood Planning Council 2-North Central) are the same areas.

Membership

The Committee will consist of thirteen members from the NPC2 area with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. They should include representatives living in different areas of the NPC and which likely have different needs based on their locations. Other partners such as the city of Battle Creek, Habitat for Humanity, Neighborhoods Inc, the Village, and churches will be invited to participate and contribute to the process.

The Selection Committee is composed of:

Lynn Ward Gray, CCLBA Board Liaison
Rochelle Hatcher, District 2 County Commissioner
Jenasia Morris, Ward 2 City Commissioner
Ron Sweet, Vice Chair, Neighborhood Planning Council 2
Dr. Elishae Johnson, Catalyzing Community Giving Chair

Nominations will be accepted from November 12–December 10, 2021.

Nomination Form

Nominations are now closed.

Advisory Committee Responsibilities

Basic Responsibilities

The Washington Heights Neighborhood Advisory Committee has an important role advocating for the CCLBA and residents alike, with a focus on grant activities and a much-needed land re-use strategy for the neighborhood. The grant has a few components, including blight elimination through beautification, demolition, rehabilitation, infill development, as well as training in the skilled trades, landscape design and/or lawn care and small-scale development. Advisory Committee members must be fair, impartial, unbiased, and respectful as they conduct business on behalf of this project and the neighborhood. Members will gather and provide input from the community, review data, and help in determining project and policy direction. Committee activities must align with existing CCLBA program areas and be considerate of other on-going community projects led by partner organizations so that synergies may develop for the good of the entire area.

Examples of Topics Committee will Consider

Provide CCLBA with land development and land use recommendations, including future redevelopment sites, land assembly, and areas for beautification or some other type of reuse.
Contribute to housing discussions and outlining longer-term needs.
Help create a positive communications and outreach strategy.
Uplift voices and participation in neighborhood conversations.
Inform activities for beautification projects on CCLBA owned sites.
Inform programming for work force development training.
Potential to represent the Advisory Committee at other meetings.

Staffing

Meetings

Number of Meetings. The Committee schedule will be set at the first meeting, but meetings are not expected to occur more than once a month.
Agendas & Minutes. Agendas and minutes will be developed by staff and posted on the CCLBA website.
Public Comment. All meetings will be open to the public and include a public comment. Public comment will be allowed during the public comment period on the agenda for attendees to offer comments to related the grant work and will be subject to a time. In addition, written comments may also be submitted for any Committee meeting.
Meeting Materials. CCLBA staff will prepare meeting materials as well as summary reports for its Board of Directors.

Duties and Roles

Strive to attend all meetings and arrive on time.
Accept responsibility to come to meetings prepared for discussion and review information packets ahead of time.
Members will recognize the legitimacy of the concerns and interests of others, whether or not they are in agreement with them.
Members will participate in the spirit of giving the same priority to solve the problems of others as they do to solving their own.
Share discussion time and encourage others to participate fully, this includes attempting to share their own views succinctly and cooperating to ensure that others have time to share views.
Be respectful of each other, participants, the process, and CCLBA staff.
Members will avoid interrupting, giving ultimatums, and side conversations.
Members are encouraged to share individual experiences, perspectives, and interests and recommend ways to achieve these interests within the limitations and opportunities of this work and the CCLBA’s resources.
Members will work together to identify where there is common ground and where there are key differences between perspectives.
Members are encouraged to inform and solicit the opinions of others in their community as well as organizations to which they belong.
Members may decide to create subcommittees to assist with the work if that reflects the overall will of the Committee.
All members will take responsibility for the success of the meeting and for the overall process.
Innovation is encouraged by listening to all ideas and creating strategies and recommendations that build on differing as well as common perspectives and interests.
Recognize that the Committee must operate in an open and public manner.
Avoid conflicts of interest in the decision-making process, which would include a Member’s responsibility to abstain from deliberating and voting on items where there appears to be a conflict of interest.

Download Advisory Committee Guidance