Joplin city officials to discuss action plan revisions
Apr. 11—Joplin city officials on Monday will night continue to talk about proposals to address city goals for community improvements.
Revisions have been made to the programs that would be used to achieve those goals.
The six goals are to address declining neighborhoods, improve community appearance, including public properties maintained by the city, increase economic opportunities for all, address homelessness, reduce crime and increase safety, and create and grow resilient revenue to improve levels of services offered by the city.
The City Council previously established a need to address declining neighborhoods as its No. 1 goal. According to documents that will be presented during the work session, revised programs to provide incentives for housing revitalization and repairs will be outlined as part of that goal.
A proposal to establish neighborhood improvement zones would involve obtaining the input of residents throughout the process of working on a specific area. The city also would have to strengthen relationships with organizations that could assist with home repairs.
Because the city has a number of large buildings that have sat vacant and deteriorating for years, another strategy for declining neighborhoods would be strengthening city code to require a higher level of property maintenance, and adding requirements or options for building owners to rehab them.
A buyer incentive is proposed to foster new home construction on vacant lots.
Action for a second goal, to improve community appearance, calls for adoption of litter cleanup projects by community groups on city streets, recognition of residence and business of the week for appearance, and a review of zoning codes to incorporate design guidelines for properties for crime prevention.
It also is recommended that building codes be reviewed and amended for appearance requirements of commercial or nonresidential buildings.
As part of the city push for resilient revenue, city staff also will propose that council authorize establishment of a museum and theater taxing district. The meeting documents say that such a district would provide a special funding source that could benefit entertainment and cultural amenities in the community. Those within the district could voluntary participate and any taxes or assessments collected could be pooled as resources to maintain the district.
Homelessness issues also will be discussed.
City Manager Nick Edwards said Thursday after a group of city officials met with representatives of the Watered Gardens Ministries for information on how those ministries provide services to the homeless and in what ways the city could cooperate to address community issues created by homelessness.
Those who attended that meeting were council members Diane Reid Adams, Christina Williams, Doug Lawson and Phil Stinnett as well as Edwards, Assistant City Manager Dan Pekarek, and the city's director of planning and neighborhood services, Troy Bolander.
