from buckslocalnews.com
By Petra Chesner Schlatter; BucksLocalNews.com
The old industrial section in southern Morrisville Borough near the Falls Township line could be the focus of a community improvement project, which would be funded by the Wachovia Regional Foundation.
The project is called the “First Ward Growing Together” program. The Bucks County Housing Group, which administers the low-income Robert Morris apartment complex in another part of the borough, has applied for a five-year grant for a maximum of $750,000.
According to a study of the First Ward, poverty levels are increasing. The population was 2008, according to the 2000 Census. There has been a slight increase since then. Mid-year Census population estimates by the Bucks County Planning Commission are 2052 residents in 2007 and 2102 residents in 2012.
The median age is on the rise to 41.3 by 2012. The population is slightly aging.
“Racially and ethnically, the First Ward Neighborhood is less diverse than the borough as a whole,” the study reads. “The 2000 Census reported that 90.2 percent of the neighborhood residents were white, compared with 76 percent for the borough. The borough population is 4.8 percent Hispanic while in the First Ward it is only 3.6 percent.
According to Jane Burger, longtime Morrisville Borough Council member, the First Ward is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the borough. Industry in the area was a large part of the community. A closed rubber mill there was a central part of life in the area.
Burger said the First Ward is a “very strong and closely-knit neighborhood.” But, people are struggling at poverty level.
She said with the advent of the proposed grant, there is an opportunity for people to hook up with programs, which can help them.
Nancy Szamborski, executive director of the housing group, gave a presentation about the proposed project at the Morrisville Borough Council meeting on July 20.
Szamborski noted there is considerable competition for the five-year grant. Five organizations are under consideration for the funds. “We won’t learn until October whether we’re going to get additional funds,” she said.
The foundation had given the housing group $100,000 for an “implementation grant.” That grant finished at the end of June, according to Szamborski.
Part of the initial planning study included a survey of residents in the First Ward. There are three sections of the First Ward – The Manor, The Riverfront and Bridge Street. Those neighborhoods are deeply rooted. Szamborski said the survey was conducted to determine what the residents in the First Ward need.
Szamborski said 50-percent of the implementation grant focused on the housing group’s organizational ability to administer the grant.
The implementation grant would not fund and “bricks and mortar” projects.
“Resident participation is absolutely key to the success of the grant,” she said. “It is important to establish a First Ward Neighborhood Association as soon as possible.”
Szamborski said the First Ward Strategic Plan spells out the needs, which were identified by residents:
* provide First Ward with a greater sense of identity;
* keep the neighborhood clean and safe;
* increase awareness of and access to social, transportation and other governmental service; and
* promote the First Ward as a good place to live and do business
Among the short-term goals are:
* establish a First Ward Community Center;
* employ a full-time community builder and a part-time community service coordinator;
* create a First Ward Web site and newsletter as well as establish a site for the Bucks County Health and Human Service programs;
* create a Neighborhood Crime Watch Association;
* partner with Ivins House to extend the established programs to the First Ward; and
* partner with the central business community to establish a Wachovia business development center.
If the housing group is awarded the grant, it would begin in January 2010 and end in December 2014. The First Ward Neighborhood Association Inaugural meeting would take place in January 2010.
Szamborski said, “The implementation of the grant as a whole will depend on the strength and motivation of the First Ward Neighborhood Association to carry out the broad plans…
“If this first stage of development is fundamentally sound,” she continued, “it will ultimately have a lasting impact on the borough as a whole because it will make a vulnerable part of the city strong.”
Szamborski said, “This strengthening can only have a positive effect on the borough and may allow significant partnerships and strategies to grow in the future.”
