"I've started, so I'll finish." - Magnus Magnusson. And so Indian River County Health Department commits itself to another PACE EH project. What we start we are dedicated to finishing despite the unknown, uncharted waters of the new community named Fellsmere. Fellsmere was chosen because of input from community members, a county commissioner, and a church leader who truly wanted our involvement in the form of a PACE project. Upon meeting with leaders, city and county officials, and residents, I was able to narrow down an area of about five square blocks collectively referred to as the 'Hall-Cater, James Subdivision.' The neighborhood has existed since the 1920's and is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the county. This month I was able to do extensive networking with leaders, officials, and residents to determine the community's capacity to undertake a PACE EH assessment. The overwhelmingly positive response was a sign that this community is ripe for a PACE EH project. All parties who were approached are excited about the prospect of working together to address community identified issues. I spoke to the City of Fellsmere's Council members at a public meeting to formally announce the PACE EH project and answer and question and concerns they might have regarding the process. I have had several meetings with the City Manager who is very positive and optimistic about beginning PACE EH. Issues are already surfacing such as drug trafficking, crime, park improvements, water, sewer, and housing to include abandoned houses and the need for repairing substandard homes in the area. The first community meeting has been scheduled for April 21st and the community liaison for the city and I have made it a point to knock on some doors to notify residents of the meeting. I would be remiss in not mentioning the support and events in our first PACE community of Wabasso that occurred this month. We had a visit from the Public Health Grand Rounds who had a documentary team filming in the community and also at the health dept. for interviews of those involved in the project. I continue to attend community meetings and am proud to see the success of our involvement which can be seen not only in the physical improvements to the community, but in the resident's newfound positive attitudes toward government officials and their sense of empowerment to solve their community's issues effectively.
Unfortunately, the HOPE grant we applied for was not chosen to be funded. We hoped this grant would help fund a retrofit project incorporating smart growth principles that create a recreational area and connect schools, churches, and a large residential apartment complex. The good news is that I believe we can still execute what we proposed to do in the grant; however, we need to think outside of the box regarding pulling the resources to get the work done. We have committed to finding a way to make it happen and I am currently working through each issue to get things moving along in hopes of exhibiting some low hanging fruit to demonstrate a concrete image of a successful outcome.
The following files are provided in the Adobe Acrobat pdf format. Files over 100 kb in size that may take longer to download and view, have their file size listed. April 27, 2007 -
Health Department
to help with facelift April 19, 2007 -
Fellsmere
subdivision residents share concerns about homes March 22, 2007 -
Blighted area to
become focus in Fellsmere March 7, 2007 -
Documentary will feature improvements in West Wabasso January 5, 2007 -
West Wabasso should
begin getting county water today January 3, 2007 -
Wabasso water
hook-ups ready December 24, 2006 -
Water for West
Wabasso pushed to new year December 2, 2006 -
Can West Wabasso's
Pipes Take the Pressure' November 24, 2006 -
West Wabasso may
get county water in time for Christmas August 27, 2006 -
Volunteers build
home in a day for Wabasso's 'Big Mama' May 6, 2006 -
County: West Wabasso Will Say Goodbye to 'Brown Water' April 13, 2006 -
West Wabasso's long road to county water about to end February 18, 2006 -
West Wabasso finds
success in long quest for county water January 23, 2006 -
Gospel Fest to
raise money for hurricane repairs in Wabasso December, 2005 -
In My Opinion: West Wabasso Assessment Project Update October 10, 2005 -
West Wabasso
residents rejoice over water project October 7, 2005 -
West Wabasso to get county water September 20, 2005 - Indian
River County replaces septic tanks for 10 families in west Wabasso July 8, 2005 - Indian River health officials receive national award June, 2005 -
Spring 2005 PACE
Progress Report for the Wabasso Environmental Assessment (380 kb) June 17, 2005 - World Changers group fixes homes in West Wabasso June 15, 2005 -
Impoverished area
to get waterlines June 12, 2005 -
World Changers
redo Wabasso May 1, 2005 -
Water
System on its way to Wabasso December 25, 2004 -
Woman's work aids west Wabasso
residents October 18, 2004 -
Storms stall Wabasso help September, 2004 -
PACE Progress Report
for the Wabasso Environmental Assessment (620 kb) September 28, 2004 -
Storms run Wabasso family
out of own, borrowed homes August 28, 2004 -
Families get new homes August 11, 2004 - Draft Brochure,
Bringing Basic
Needs to a Forgotten Community (1.4 meg file) July 30, 2004 -
Kindness rules in Wabasso (109 kb) July 28, 2004 -
Teens team up to build
man's house June 2, 2004 -
Indian River seeks aid
for water
May 26, 2004 -
Groups enlist residents
to help revive Wabasso
May 11, 2004 -
Wabasso may have to
wait a year for street lights to come on
May 9, 2004 -
Town hall meeting to
address Wabasso's needs
BR>
This page was last modified on: 06/8/2007 02:50:49
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