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Res 055-82 3/16/1982 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING IMPLEMENTATION OF A CITY4IDE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PROGRAM TO BE KNOWN AS "INVOLVEMENT/80'S" WHEREAS, citizen participation in local governmental affairs is beneficial to the progress and betterment of a community; and, WHEREAS, the Involvement/80's program provides a vehicle by which to encourage and provide for voluntary citizen participation on a city-wide basis. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS, THAT: The attached Involvement/80's Citizen Participation Program is approved and authorization is hereby granted to implement said program. PASSED AND APPROVED this the 16th day of March, 1982. M A Y O R ATTEST: City Clerk e= f 7 I City ®f WICHITA CALLS. INVOLVEMENT / 80 . ........... 46 "x-x" ... ........... r Yy S� $ . JJ] I (6� (S A CITIZEN P.-A-ARTICtPATION PROGRAM Page 2 of 13 Pages �> Agenda Item No. 10.e. INVOLVEMENT 180's A CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PROGRAM Introduction In our democratic society, the strength and vitality of our governmental structure, whether it be at the federal,state or local level, is built upon a solid foundation of citizen involvement. People and participation -- together they provide the key to improved communications and understanding, greater progress, a healthier community perspective and better government. To be able to realize the man benefits which active participation can offer th y p p e citi- zens and the City of Wichita Falls , a program entitled "Involvement/80's" has been developed. Symbolic of the exciting decade which is already underway, Involvement/80's promises opportunities, opportunities for citizens to work together to bring about brighter tomorrows for their community. In the paragraphs which follow, the basis for and a description of Involvement/80's are provided. As the reader will discern, Involvement/80's is a large, open door through which much can be accomplished for our community. With the spirit and enthusiasm which already exist in Wichita Falls, we are confident that many citizens will pass through that door and become actively involved in creating a better Wichita Falls. Current Conditions Several avenues for citizen participation in local governmental affairs currently exist. They take a variety of forms, including: 1. Neighborhood Action Groups. Ostensibly organized in conjunction with one or more federally-funded pro- grams, there are presently six Neighborhood Action Groups in existence. These groups have been active for several years in a broad spectrum of programs and activities ranging from neighborhood improvements and housing77 rehabilitation to day care services, senior citizens programs and crime pre- l vention efforts. As the attached map (Figure 1) illustrates, the geographic L areas represented by the Neighborhood Action Groups have been generally categorized as target or low and moderate income neighborhood areas. 2. Neighborhood Crime Watch Programs. Some 62 Neighborhood Crime l'Jatch areas (see attached map; Figure 2) have been --- established throughout the City. As its title implies, the principal emphasis L of the program concerns neighborhood crime prevention and assistance activi- ties. An integral dimension of the program is its reliance upon neighbor helping neighbor. 3. City Boards and Commissions. At this time, the City of Wichita Falls, has 22 citizen boards and commissions. By and large, these bodies have been created to provide advice and recommen- dations to the Mayor and City Council in specific subject areas; i.e. , parks, the Page 3 of 13 Pages Agenda Item No. 10.e. r��T 2 _ y arts, human relations, historic preservation, planning, traffic, community clean-up, etc. Overall some 179 citizens now participate on the City's i various boards and commissions. - 4. Public Hearings. Dependent upon the circumstances, public hearings are held for a number of reasons, all of them with the objective of seeking citizen input and comment relative to particular public business matters. Hearings are typically held in connection with the City's budget and annual work program, as part of the process of issuing various licenses and permits, and in association with the several federal grant programs operated by the City. City Council meetings conducted on the first and third Tuesdays of each month also provide forums for public input. They are in essence public hearings called for the purpose of performing the City's business. The above represent the major "formal" avenues of communication and input avail- able to the public. There are, of course, many more informal and less structured means by which to present ideas, suggestions or comments. Telephone calls, letters and simple conversations are the most common informal methods utilized. Needs/Objectives Though the picture drawn above appears to afford the public ample opportunities to be a part of and to influence local governmental affairs, there is room for improve- ment. While the citizen participation mechanisms now in use have in many ways been fsuccessful, gaps do exist. Involvement/80's, as outlined in subsequent paragraphs, has been designed to fill those gaps and to build on the strong foundation already in existence. Expressed in terms of objectives, Involvement/80's has been developed to achieve the following: ( Overall Objectives: t- To implement a broad-based, city-wide citizen participation program. To involve, on a voluntary basis, citizens in programs and planning activities designed to enhance the quality of life in Wichita Falls and to improve City ( facilities and community services. Specific Objectives: To help maintain and to continue to foster the broad scope of activities and extensive involvement of existing Neighborhood Action Groups. To expand the horizons and involvement of Neighborhood Crime Watch groups beyond crime prevention and into other areas of community interest and concern. Page 4 of 13 Pages Agenda Item No. 10.e. f . R 3 - To create, contingent upon citizen willingness to do so, neighborhood organi- zations in those areas where none now exist and, once established, to involve those organizations in areas of community interest and concern. Program Description Though there will, of necessity, need to be an organizational and educational phase prior to the full-blown implementation of Involvement/80's, the overall undertaking embraces two interrelated tiers -- a program tier and a planning tier. Program Tier: At the neighborhood level, the program tier is designed to involve neighborhood residents in self-help and people-helping-people programs. For example, neighbor- hood residents would be encouraged to participate in crime prevention, fire preven- tion, clean-up , water conservation, energy conservation, traffic safety and similar programs. The primary thrust of this tier lies in bringing neighborhood residents together to share and exchange information and to work together in organizing and implementing programs to improve neighborhood conditions. Utilizing resource persons from the City staff and other organizations, informational and educational programs could be presented, and neighborhood residents could decide what, if any, individual or collective actions they might wish to take relative to them. Additionally, neighborhood residents would be free to initiate their own programs, programs which could be specifically tailored to meeting their particular neighborhood's needs. Because of the neighborhood and programmatic character of what has been described above, a "Neighborhood Program Area" (NPA) designation has been assigned to each of the 62 areas identified under Involvement/80's. Though there are some variations (in order to bring all homogeneous areas into the program in a logical, consistent fashion) , the NPA boundaries (see attached map; Figure 3) generally incorporate or coincide with either existing neighborhood action group , crime watch area, or subdivision boundaries. Since many of the NPA's do not currently possess any semblance of a neighborhood organization (neither a Neighborhood Action Group nor a Crime Watch Area) , steps will have to be taken to establish such organizations. This will be accomplished through neighborhood visitations, mailings, small group meetings , telephone contacts and with the assistance of the media. L I J Planning Tier: Long-range planning is an important ingredient in the continuing growth and devel- opment of any organization, especially one as complex and multi-faceted as a com- munity-and its local government. Comprehensive planning efforts can lead to solutions to existing problems and to avoidance of future problems. As with most ventures, the key to the successful preparation of workable plans rests with the people who participate in the planning process. page 5 of 13 Pages Agenda Item No. 10.e. - 4 - ' n provided b citizen participation at the program m or Building upon the foundation p y P P p g NPA tier, Involvement/SO's envisions grouping several adjoining Neighborhood Program Areas together into Planning Sectors. Based on the population of each i sector and using nominations furnished by each sector's NPA's, the City Council would appoint a group of citizens to participate in the City's long-range planning f process. i The InvolvementISO's planning group is intended to infuse greater numbers'of people into the planning process, to provide a direct, representative avenue of input into that process from the neighborhood level and to augment the efforts of other City boards and commissions charged with long-range planning responsi- bilities. With regard to the last point, as particular elements of the City's Comprehensive Plan are developed or updated, the Involvement/80's 'planning group would serve as an information provider to the affected board of commission. If, for example, a revised and updated Parks Plan were proposed, then the Parks Board would be able to use the InvolvementISO's planning group as a resource for completing surveys and questionnaires, for gathering ideas or sug- gestions for park system improvements and for other types of assistance and input. Attached is a flow chart which portrays the relationships between the various bodies involved in the planning process. The chart sets forth the flow of information associated with that process. Also attached is a table which enumerates the numbers of appointees to be made to the InvolvementISO's planning group from each of the City's 14 planning sectors. Representation from each sector is based on population, with one planning group representative being appointed per every 1,000 people located in the sector. Though, due to the small number of planning group representatives in a few sectors, it may not be feasible, each Neighborhood Program Area will be encouraged to nominate one or more high school-aged youthrepresentatives to serve on the planning group. Either that or they could seek such nominees from the high schools which serve their areas. In any case, the intent here is to encourage youth leadership development,-and, in our opinion, participation in Involvement/80's would provide an excellent opportunity to advance such development. Appointments b the City Council to the InvolvementISO's planning group would be PP Y Y for two-year terms. To assure continuity, initial appointments should be staggered, with half the appointments being made for one-year terms and the other half for two-year terms. After the initial appointments, all terms would be for two-year Iperiods. L Program Support Much of the support needed to undergird Involvement/80's will be provided via City staff time and effort. At the program tier, activities will be coordinated through the City Manager's Office and administrative assistants who will be assigned to work with Neighborhood Program Area residents. Numerous City departments and other - organizations will be involved in presenting and helping to establish programs in the subject areas of crime prevention, fire prevention , community clean-up, traffic safety, etc. Page 6 of 13 Pages Agenda Item No. 10.e. r , - 5 - At the planning tier, principle support responsibility will rest with the City's Planning Department. This department, with technical assistance provided by other City departments and outside experts, has historically prepared the various elements of the City's comprehensive plan in concert with the Planning Board and citizen groups. With the volunteer emphasis embodied in Involvement/80's and because City funds are already budgeted for the program and planning activities outlined herein, unusual budgetary impacts are not anticipated. In other words , no additional funding will be needed to institute Involvement/80's. Implementation Timetable The timetable presented hereinbelow offers a general schedule for Involvement/80's (I/80's) implementation. This is a flexible schedule which can be adjusted as needs r necessitate or conditions dictate. Event Mont h I/801s explanations to Neighborhood Action 1 - Groups and Crime Watch Areas I/80's explanations to City boards and 1 - 2 _ commissions Organizational efforts in NPA's 2 - 4 Program implementation efforts in NPA's 2 - 4 Organizational efforts in NPA's 4 - 6 Program implementation efforts in NPA's 4 - 6 Request and receive NPA I/80's planning 9 - 10 group nominations [ City Council appoints I/80's planning group 11 Continuing NPA and I/80's planning group 12 activities and thereafter Summary Involvement/80's offers a framework for citizen participation in efforts to help themselves, their neighborhoods and their city. It was the strength and wisdom of this type of involvement which has successfully brought our city to its centennial year. With that same strong, wise and visionary involvement, we can continue to build and grow in the generations ahead. Page 7 of 13 Pages Agenda Item No. 10.e. \ . . • � ] @\ : - [ rD _ � § � �� � � 7 / 22 \ \ CD 0 a § 0 z e a 2 ® z o \ o s 2 \ \ e 7 c }j / ƒ 2La . ƒ � / ƒ ƒ ƒ � \ , } � �~ z \ CD/ ~ i§ � ƒ ƒ . . & > � / \_ CP �3 to 0 7/ 0 © ? o0 to / „ m \ -S Om {f � � L . -nZ� o \ n p, ` C k / � n� z m_ / 3 n / = • , �f �_ La _ Ito 70 � CL \ � 2 / 7 >7t [ �.� � . . . _ . w n ;u m 0 c. ƒ2 . ;\ o / ] % } W WM . ± R. ?ate 8 of 12 pages Agenda Item No. 10.e. 4z" . . INVOLVEMENT/80's PLANNING GROUP NUMBER PLANNING SECTOR SECTOR NO. POPULATION REPRESENTATIVES 1 3,789 4 2 5,545 5 3 4,408 4 4 2,107 2 g 5 4,631 5 6 7,066 7 7 5,353 5 8 11,074 11 9 9,556 10 10 13,779 14 11 4,267 4 12 3,371 3 13 15,847 16 14 3,408 3 TOTALS 94,201 93 L Page 9 of 13 Pages Agenda Item No. 10.e. ' 1 ' I FIGURE 1 . INVOLVEMENTl80's NEIGHBORHOOD ACTION GROUPS ..... . t r pp ': li '�. `^'..•.,._.,•-.fir`.. " .. .... 1I:r R ._ .. i f .�' .. s .. ..... .... ...... • '-`LYNWOO©'EAST - '` ��`_.',.. . „.... .: „`,�;-.•,,'_ " ._ " . .- NORTHSIDE t a.. • ;j T v • EAS D 41 :. , IDE • i Page 10 of 13 Pages Agenda Item No. 10.e. . r FIGURE 2. INVOLVEIMENT130's NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIOM GROUPS/NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH AREAS 1 13 Lynwood East Scotland is 12 Northside Eastside 1 __ 177 10 - 37 — i� Eastside 2 �J -� Southside Neighborhood Watch Areas Planning Sectors Page 11 of 13 Pages Agenda Item No. 10.e. FIGURE 3. INVOLVEMENT/80's PLANNING SECTORS/NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM AREAS 22 i i ' S.A.F.B. 21 20 47 46 12 45 , 191 E ' 48 ' 44 - 43 ` '.. -- r14 17 42 - `18\` 16 -�- -- - a 15 13 12 39 1Q `� 3. 55 ��-• -- 54 �`' '27 I 14 �% t. 37 36 i 1 9 53 26 1 2 I ; ' 10 ; i J i , , -i � 38 i � r-,is ' + ; 52 i 38 ' 35 8 61 33 r L1 51 -7--- - ' S 25 7 60 62 'F---�--- 50 I 32 ' 34 � 24 i 59 i 58 -- 'g - 'L 31 _i 6 57 49 ; 30 29 i 23 --- 4 5 56 28 —?-- Neighborhood Program Areas Planning Sectors Page 12 of 13 Pages - Agenda Item No. 10.e.