URGENT
- 0 Items
PROBLEMATIC
- 0 Items
EMAIL TEMPLATE
Use our prepared email template to take action on this week’s item.
YELLOW:
Things of concern, more information needed
Buncombe County – Community Development Block Grant – Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG-NR) Funded Home Repair Program (Request for Proposals)
This Request for Proposals was posted on April 11th: “Buncombe County has been awarded $400,000 in CDBG Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG-NR) funding through the North Carolina Department of Commerce Rural Economic Development Division (REDD) to conduct owner-occupied rehabilitation activities. The program seeks to expand Buncombe County’s home repair work and allow partners to identify issues in homes that affect the health, safety, and well-being of residents where such repair costs would approach $30,000 per residence.” Proposals were due on April 27th but the schedule has been extended.
In last week’s GAP Report, we flagged this item with concerns about the process they are undertaking in identifying the company that will administer the program. We are glad that the originally very short window to submit bids has been extended, and we still want to know what strategies are being employed to encourage Black-owned firms to submit bids.
Things to do
We encourage you to reach out to Ron Venturella (the County’s Procurement Manager) and other County officials to 1.) express support for the extension of the proposal deadline and 2.) ask for their specific strategies on encouraging Black-owned firms to submit bids to be contracted to carry out the work of this program.
We have prepared an email template to ask for more information about this issue. You can (a) use our Procurement Manager template link to open up an email you can adapt, (b) copy and paste the content below this chart into an email, or (c) write your own message to Ron.Venturella@buncombecounty.org.
GREEN:
Things that sound like a step in the right direction
City Council Consent Agenda G: Asheville City’s resolution authorizing the conveyance of City-owned property on Hunt Hill Place to a non-profit organization known as KL Training Solutions for community development
City Council will vote on the adoption of a resolution that will allocate City-owned property on Hunt Hill Place to Kenon Lake’s non-profit, KL Training Solutions. KL Training Solutions is the host organization for the program My Daddy Taught Me That (MDTMT) here in Asheville. According to the documentation for this resolution, with the acquisition of this building, MDTMT will be able to continue and expand its programming to address the opportunity gap for low- and moderate-income youth, prevent youth violence through mentoring, provide job training opportunities, and expose youth to life-changing events.
This is a resolution authorizing the conveyance of City-owned property on Hunt Hill Place to a non-profit organization known as KL Training Solutions for the public purpose of community development programs for low- and moderate-income youth. This resolution is a valuable step in the process of supporting and creating change in our communities. The full resolution can be found here.
We are glad to see the County taking steps to ensure that important data requests from the Community Reparations Commission are met. In addition, we think it’s entirely appropriate that the County is allocating new funds to shore up their own research capacities, rather than drawing these funds from those already designated for forthcoming Reparations programs.
Things to do
Please email Asheville City Council expressing your support for the adoption of this resolution and its contribution to the sustainability of a local Black-led non-profit organization.
We have prepared an email template to reach out about this issue. You can (a) use our City Resolution email template to open up an email you can adapt, (b) copy and paste the content below this chart into an email, or (c) write your own message to ashevillenccouncil@ashevillenc.gov
EMAIL TEMPLATE TEXT – Procurement Manager
You can open this email in your own email program by clicking here. To proceed manually, you can copy and paste the text below into an email and then address it to the addresses listed.
Send to: Ron.Venturella@buncombecounty.org
cc: Avril.Pinder@buncombecounty.org, Noreal.Armstrong@buncombecounty.org, brownie.newman@buncombecounty.org, jasmine.beach-ferrara@buncombecounty.org, alfred.whitesides@buncombecounty.org, amanda.edwards@buncombecounty.org, terri.wells@buncombecounty.org, martin.moore@buncombecounty.org, parker.sloan@buncombecounty.org
Subject: Thank you for the extended deadline for proposals on the CDBG-NR contract
Dear Manager Venturella and County officials,
I appreciate that the County has extended the proposal deadline for the Community Development Block Grant – Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG-NR) contract and has stated a commitment to seeking out contracted business from Black-owned firms for this grant. While extending the window to submit bids is a step toward equity, I wanted to ask what strategies you are employing to encourage Black-owned firms to submit proposals? These firms don’t often bid on County work, therefore I recognize that it takes additional time and effort to engage them and that outreach strategies are crucial for this engagement.
Thanks for your leadership,
EMAIL TEMPLATE TEXT – KL Training Solutions
You can open this email in your own email program by clicking here. To proceed manually, you can copy and paste the text below into an email and then address it to the addresses listed.
Send to: AshevilleNCCouncil@ashevillenc.gov
Subject: Support for City-owned land to be conveyed to KL Training Solutions
Dear Council Members,
I am emailing to show my support for the authorization of the conveyance of City-owned property on Hunt Hill Place to a non-profit organization known as KL Training Solutions for community development. It communicates a willingness to support local Black-led organizations that do important community work to sustainably continue to provide programming.
Thank you for your Leadership,