Original byline: Kenneth R. Kress. Historical October 1980 report of the September 8 council meeting.
At its first meeting after the summer recess, the Skinker-DeBaliviere Community Council cautiously approved the idea of a Neighborhood Dispute Settlement project and cautiously approved the idea of housing for a vacant lot just west of the Council office, while reserving the right to object to particulars.
The Neighborhood Dispute Settlement Project was first brought to the attention of the Council in May when Skip Coburn, executive director of the Council announced that he had submitted a grant proposal to the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration of the U.S. Department of Justice.
At that time he sought the Council’s approval but the Council deferred the matter until more information could be obtained.
In June the Council formed a committee to consider the project.
This committee met during the summer and presented its report at the September 8 meeting.
The report asked that the Council support the project.
The idea of the Dispute Settlement Project is to train community volunteers to serve as mediators in disputes involving juveniles. Part of the funds from the grant would ensure that the volunteers get rigorous training, the rest would pay for the administration of the project over an 18 month period.
In essence, the Settlement Project would supply guidance in matters not handled by the courts or by the police–and only when both parties agreed to submit to arbitration.
Several members of the Council had questions and suggestions for the committee. Ed Walsh, president of the Council, wanted to know what legal responsibility the Council would have for the operation of the project once the Council turned the grant money over to the project’s administrator. Skip Coburn and Renni Shuter, a representative of Parkview, replied that the Council would have to look into that question with a lawyer. Coburn added that the Council would have 90 days to set up the project after receiving funding.
Funding has not yet been awarded. Frank Burke, a Council member from Rosedale, had mixed feelings about the project.
Although he liked the idea of keeping youngsters away from the courts when ever possible, he also thought the project might generate more hurt feelings than it soothed. “When you say it’s volatile, that is a understatement,” he concluded. Burke and others were concerned that the project might anger members of the community especially if it seemed that some community members were sitting in judgement on others. Jack Wright, a representative of St. Roch Catholic Church, was particularly worried that the project would do more harm than good.
He suggested that the Council gauge the communities support for the program before going ahead with it. Willis Lloyd and Karen Bynum, representatives of Washington Heights and Rosedale, both wanted to survey people who had lived in communities with a settlement project. Lloyd suggested contacting residents of the Kansas City community where a similar project had been implemented.
With the proviso that the committee canvass our community and the Kansas City community where a similar project had been implemented the Council accepted the committees report.
The Council also took up the request of David Bakergem, an architect teaching at Washington University’s School of Architecture. Van Bakergem briefly outlined an idea for acquiring the vacant lot on Kingsbury just west of the Council and constructing 5 or 6 passive solar townhouses.
The townhouses would have brick faces and would be designed to blend in with the neighborhood. Van Bakergem explained that he intended to submit a grant proposal to the Community Development Agency to help defray construction costs. And he wanted the Council to write a letter to CDA saying that using the lot for housing was compatible with the community’s interests. Van Bakergem said that the grant would keep construction costs down.
When asked what the townhouses would sell for, he replied, “Whatever the market will bear.” The price range would be from $55,000 to $70,000, he said. Ed Walsh, president, expressed some dissatisfaction with the vagueness of the proposal.
He said the Council was being asked to approve a letter it had not read and to approve of buildings whose plans it had not seen. After some discussion the Council approved a letter that would say, in effect, that using the lot for housing was agreeable to the community.
The Council stipulated that after the letter was drafted it would be circulated among the Council members for approval. Then, provided there were no objections, the letter would be forwarded to Van Bakergem.
The rest of the meeting involved listening to reports and introductions. Coburn introduced Bart Collida, the new principal of the Academic and Athletic Academy, formerly Hamilton School III, a magnet school for children in grades 6 through 8. Collida explained the purposes and goals of the Athletic Academy. Instead of attending school 6 hours a day, students at the Academy will attend for 71/2.
By stretching the day, the school can spend more time on athletics (2 1/2 hours) without detracting from a solid academic education.
At present there are 80 students enrolled from all over the city, but the projected enrollment is 200. Students start the day at 7:30 with half an hour of exercise followed by breakfast. Along with their regular studies, they will study gymnastics, archery, target shooting, swimming, jogging, and so on. Next to be introduced was Arthur H. Lieber, the director of Crossroads, a private school. Crossroads recently moved from Lindell to 500 DeBaliviere where, Lieber promised, it will continue to be an urban school, educating children to love the city, to look at it critically, and to change it for the better.
In its new quarters Crossroads will be expanding: this year it will accept 120 children in grades 6 through 10; next year enrollment will grow to 150; and Lieber expects the school to attain a maximum enrollment of 200 sometime after that.
In other announcements, Elise Humphreys, the Breitmayer Community Minister of Grace Methodist Church and director of the neighborhood Summer Employment Program, reported that the Summer Employment Program was a unqualified success. Forty-two neighborhood youth were employed throughout the city, and sixty neighborhood children benefitted from the tutorial program conducted at Delmar-Baptist Church. Ann McKerrow, coordinator of the Four Corners Music program had an equally successful story to tell.
She reported that the Music program had raised enough money to hold four performances at Four Corners this Fall.
To ensure a city-wide audience, McKerrow is having thousands of posters printed and distributed around the city.
She is also contacting local television and radio stations, and sending press releases to local papers.
At the meeting she encouraged community organizations to set up concessions at the concerts–to provide the audience with refreshments and to provide the organizations with some extra cash.
For information about concessions call Skip Coburn at the Council office, 862-5122. Also present at the Council meeting was Michael Herrmann, the coordinator of Hamilton Community School.
She addressed the Council to emphasize that the Community School is composed of community members, and that its success is due to the community.
She then offered the facilities of the school to neighborhood organizations–including the Council–saying she wanted to bring the Community School back into the community.
Originally published in The Paper, October 1980.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1980_10.pdf, printed page(s) 3; PDF page(s) 3.
