On March 30, over 120 community members gathered with the Hill Community Development Corporation and the Hill District Consensus Group to celebrate a long-held community desire for the organizations to formally collaborate on fulfilling the community's master plan.
The event was held at the Jeron X Grayson Community Center where members of both organizations with their boards presented the formal agreement that has been signed by both staff and board of each organization.
Acknowledgments were given to elected officials including Representative Jake Wheatley, City Councilman Daniel Lavelle and philanthropic leader Michele Cooper, who heads the McAuley Ministries foundation which supports the Hill District, Uptown and West Oakland.
Presenters included Marimba Milliones of the Hill CDC and Carl Redwood of the Hill District Consensus Group. Board Chair for the Hill CDC, Alexis Clipper, welcomed the standing room only celebration. Emma Lucas-Darby, Board member of the HDCG, and Chloe Velasquez of the Hill CDC also made comments about the difficulty of the process, but the dedication of each organization to solidify a positive and productive working relationship. Both served on the steering committee which worked together for nearly two years.
The event was closed with both groups emphasizing the need for funding to implement the community's plan -- and to assure that redevelop happens in the Middle and Upper Hill District, as it is occurring in the Lower Hill District.
Source: Courier Newsroom
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