The Champaign City Council convened Tuesday night for a study session to review the expansion of the CommUnity Matters Program and the City Facilities Master Plan.
CommUnity Matters works to involve children from the Garden Hills neighborhood in community affairs. The group has evolved with the support of other groups, including the Champaign Park District, Unit 4 District and the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club.
Kerri Spear, neighborhood programs manager, said the group originally came about as a way to address truancy, delinquency and infrastructure issues within the Garden Hills neighborhood.
The group has proposed the program’s expansion with the additional support of Parkland College for Kids and the YMCA in the upcoming year.
Spear said they would like to expand the program to the Douglas, Bristol and Beardsley communities, which may benefit from community outreach.
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She said they hope to extend the length of the summer camp, include more fun and educational field trips for the children and continue the youth theatre and arts program.
The program is currently funded by the federal Community Development Block and has requested $125,000 in federal funds as well as $60,000 from the Urban Renewal fund for the next year.
Tyrin Griffin, sophomore at Central High School, in Champaign, said he is part of Operation Hope, an initiative within the program that provides high school students support during the school year.
Griffin said the program has had a big influence on his life and that it is an important program to have around.
Ina Patterson, freshman in AHS, was also a member of Operation Hope as a senior in high school. She said the programs will and have made a difference.
“I am a living example,” she said.
Patterson said the program has helped her stay grounded during her first year in college and has helped her stay focused on school despite the challenges of a new environment.
Marci Dodds, council member-district 4, said she thought the program was great when it was first introduced and thinks it still is.
“I look forward to see it expanding,” she added.
Council members passed the proposal 9-0.
Also on the agenda was the discussion of the City Facilities Master Plan. The plan was created to budget the city’s maintenance needs in a more systematic fashion, said Dodds.
Public works director Dennis Schmidt briefed the plan, which includes a 10 year summary of operation, maintenance and replacement needs in the city.
Council members approved the plan 9-0.
