GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — Green Bay’s Shipyard development on West Mason Street will be the main topic of discussion at a Wednesday community meeting at Tank Elementary School.
District 9 Alderman Brian Johnson says they’re trying to figure out how exactly to use earmarked revitalization funds first set aside last year, totaling around $11 million.
“We want to allow residents of that neighborhood to give us feedback and tell us how they think we can best spend that money,” Johnson told WTAQ.
$1 million of that funding will go towards infrastructure improvements and improvements to the residential area, but Johnson says input from residents is necessary.
“We’ve introduced so far a curb appeal grant program that allows individuals and landlords in that area to fix up the exteriors of their properties,” said Johnson. “But that’s only $50,000 of the million we’ve allocated.”
$10 million has been set aside for the Riverfront development site.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program is helping put on the meeting, and providing the city with free technical consulting.
“It’s a technical services grant,” Johnson said Tuesday. “We’re going to be able to bring in some experts from across the country to determine the best way to use our neighborhood revitalization funding.”
Some of those ideas might include purchasing property at lower cost and then donating it to an organization, such as habitat for humanity, that will build a house worth significantly more than the initial purchase price.
“That million dollars, if we do it right, could really turn into more like three, four, or five million,” Johnson speculated. “But we really need the individuals in that area to tell us where the areas of priority are.”
The meeting begins at 6:30 Wednesday night in the Tank Elementary School Gymnasium.
