City Council Listens and Responds

This sentence captures the overall positive and supportive reply by Mayor Halloran to the Rebuild And Grow August 20th proposal to the Cedar Rapids City Council: "We share your confidence that the citizens of Cedar Rapids are capable of anything we undertake together, and we look forward to working together to help our neighbors." The full letter further explains some of the programs and resources available to our grassroots initiatives. This election season we are continually reminded that change often happens from the bottom up rather than from the top down. We are pleased to report that our "bottom up" grassroots proposal for rebuilding our neighborhoods has been heard by, and is getting action and support from, the top. In her August 27th letter (attached), Mayor Halloran formally replied to the Rebuild And Grow presentation and action plan presented to the City Council on August 20th. A PDF copy of the Mayor's supportive letter is attached. Here is what the Mayor says:

Dear Michael and Lynette: A hearty thank you to both of you for the time and effort put into your presentations to the City Council on August 20, 2008. Your proposal presents concepts that both identify the problems currently facing our flood-affected residential neighborhoods and proposes solutions to help our citizens and neighbors. Since your presentation, a number of other community leaders have come together to discuss your ideas, and we understand that you have been involved in some of those discussions. The outcomes we all want are complex and will require the commitment, resources, and actions of a number of different organizations. The Weed & Seed Steering Committee on Thursday afternoon, with you as a new member to the group, has committed the talents of the Americorps/Vista Volunteers to provide organizational support to the effort you describe. This is a good start to a big endeavor. Also on Thursday, the community’s Recovery and Reinvestment Coordinating Team discussed your proposal and asked those members with the appropriate resources to further consider how this project could be accomplished. A small group met last Friday morning and reports their confidence in the concepts you present and pledge support to work with you to reach the outcomes we share. The City of Cedar Rapids, specifically, is pleased to join you and others who commit to implementing these ideas. City staff members are available to assist in pulling together other needed resources. We know this effort will require the participation not only of community resources, but most importantly, the enthusiastic and tireless efforts of our citizens. We share your confidence that the citizens of Cedar Rapids are capable of anything we undertake together, and we look forward to working together to help our neighbors. Sincerely Mayor Kay Halloran on behalf of the Cedar Rapids City Council

So the proverbial ball in our – and that means in all of our – courts. Cedar Rapids will rebuild itself neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block, house by house, life by life. And the only way that this much challenging work can be done is to do it together. We need and want your help and active participation. Please start by creating a free account on this web site so we can keep you informed about our grassroots projects and services. Block by block, life by life... working together to rebuild Cedar Rapids.