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Receive Update on the Building Integrated Communities Action Plan.
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Staff: |
Department: |
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Loryn B. Clark, Executive Director |
Housing and Community |
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Sarah Osmer Viñas, Assistant Director |
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Megan Peters, Community Connections Coordinator |
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Overview: The purpose of this item is to share the Building Integrated Communities (BIC) Action Plan with the Council. This is the second deliverable of three phases of the BIC initiative. BIC is a two-year collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill dedicated to strengthening the Town’s engagement of immigrant and refugee residents.
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Recommendation: |
That the Council receive this update on the BIC initiative and associated Action Plan.
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Overview of the Building Integrated Communities <https://www.townofchapelhill.org/town-hall/departments-services/housing-and-community/community-programs/chapel-hill-bic-project-proyecto-chapel-hill-bic-3532> (BIC) Project |
BIC is a multi-year planning process that helps North Carolina local governments successfully engage with immigrant and refugee residents to improve relationships, enhance communication, and promote civic participation and leadership in local government. As a result of working with BIC, local governments and diverse community stakeholders gain tools and build capacity to generate locally relevant strategies for promoting economic development and strengthening educational advancement. The BIC project aligns with the Town's goals of making Chapel Hill a Place for Everyone.
Project Process & Progress to Date
Since the summer of 2017, an interdepartmental staff team led by our Housing and Community staff has worked with the UNC BIC Team on the three-phase project.
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1. Community Assessment (COMPLETED: September 2017 - August 2018) |
§ Establish steering committee
ü The project team recruited 24 individuals representing 17 organizations and institutions.
§ Build relationships and share knowledge
ü The steering committee met regularly from July 2017 through January 2019, building relationships with one another and providing direction for the project.
§ Conduct research
ü The project team hosted three multi-lingual community conversations in Arabic, Burmese, Mandarin Chinese, English, Karen, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish languages. A total of 160 immigrant and refugee residents attended.
ü The UNC team analyzed data from the U.S. Census, American Community Survey, oral histories, interviews, and surveys.
§ Develop Community Assessment Report (see attached)
ü Using the research gathered, the project team developed the attached community assessment report. The Executive Summary of the report is translated in Burmese, Karen, Mandarin, and Spanish languages. The full report is accessible in English and Spanish.
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2. Action Planning (COMPLETED: August 2018 - January 2019) |
§ Choose issues to focus on
ü The key issues identified through the Community Assessment are: public transportation, housing, public safety and law enforcement, leadership, and government communication.
§ Hold public strategy sessions
ü The project team hosted two multi-lingual community conversations in Fall 2018 to hear resident opinions that shaped action planning strategies.
§ Develop town strategies (“action plans”) to improve issues
ü The BIC Steering Committee held several working group meetings to develop town strategies during the Fall of 2018.
ü The steering committee formed subcommittees to build out the action plans for each of the five issues.
ü The BIC core project team shared drafted strategies with staff from Transit, Public Housing, Police, and Communications and Public Affairs and key community stakeholder groups to share the draft action plan and solicit input.
§ Create action plan
ü Town staff developed a comprehensive action plan of all strategies. This document will guide the BIC implementation efforts.
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3. Implementation (UNDERWAY: February 2019 - onward) |
§ Form Implementation Team comprised of Town staff and community partners to implement the Action Plan
§ Report progress and report progress to the Council and community
Fiscal Impact/Resources: No fiscal impact has been identified at this time. The potential costs associated with implementation of the strategies identified through the BIC project will be determined during the final phase of the project and brought to the Council at that time.
Council Goals:
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Create a Place for Everyone |
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Develop Good Places, New Spaces |
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Support Community Prosperity |
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Nurture Our Community |
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Facilitate Getting Around |
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Grow Town and Gown Collaboration |
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Attachments: |
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• Building Integrated Communities Action Plan |
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• Building Integrated Communities Community Assessment Report |
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The Agenda will reflect the text below and/or the motion text will be used during the meeting. |
presenter
By accepting the update, the Council receives the second deliverable of three phases of the Building Integrated Communities Action Plan.