Near East Area Commission

Invitation to the Columbus Compact

Invitation to the Columbus Compact

December 5, 2006


Jonathan Beard
CEO/President
Columbus Compact
1000 E. Main Street
Columbus, Ohio 43205


Dear Jon,

In a recent conversation I had with Gregory Winbush, Special Assistant to Mayor Coleman, he suggested that we have a public meeting to afford you the opportunity to make a full detailed presentation about the Sav-A-Lot project. I concur. I’m starting to get numerous questions about the look of the store, the scheduled opening, and the goods and services that will be provided.

As a developer, you were invited to present at the recent State of the Near East Side gathering held on November 2, 2006 at the Central Community House. Your project could have been included in the power point presentation developed by the Neighborhood Design Center and presented by Joel Teaford the Executive Director and/or you could have displayed your project on one of the tables provided. You chose neither. That was unfortunate because we had a standing room only crowd which included politicians from the City, State, and Federal level. That would have been an excellent venue to garner support for what the Compact is doing.

I asked Commissioner Annette Whiteside to contact you to arrange a public meeting in which the architect can answer questions about the physical look and layout of the building, the tenant can discuss what he will be offering, and you can shed some insight on the Compact’s plans as they relate to the Main Street Design Charrette held in July of this year. This is a standard operating procedure that we use with developers.

Specifically, we will need at least three full colored renderings. Initially they will be displayed at the public meeting, then one each at the following locations: Zion Baptist Church, located at the corner of Wilson and Fulton, Central Community House, 1150 E. Main Street, and the City of Columbus Near East Neighborhood Pride Center, 1393 E. Broad Street. (More may be requested). In this way those who were unable to attend or who want to show their friends and neighbors can do so by directing them to one of these three locations.

I cannot overstress the importance of establishing a level of trust in the community. We need some assurances that this project is in keeping with the Mayor’s commitment to improve the quality of life. This is especially true in this situation because the tax payer is the sole underwriter.

You will be hearing from us shortly.


Sincerely yours,



Kathleen Bailey
Chair


Cc: The Honorable Pat Tiberi
The Honorable Deborah Pryce
The Honorable Sherrod Brown
The Honorable Michael B. Coleman
The Honorable Matt Habash
The Honorable Charleta Tavares
The Honorable Mary Jo Hudson
The Honorable Maryellen O’Shaughnessy
The Honorable Kevin Boyce
The Honorable Patsy Thomas
The Honorable Michael C. Mentel
The Honorable Rick C. Pfeiffer
Gregory Winbush, Special Assistant to the Mayor
Boyce Safford, Deputy Chief of Staff, Mayor’s Office
Mark Barbash, Director of Development
Sherry Bodine, Policy Advisor
Bill Webster, Economic Development
Janet San Fillipo, Chair Columbus Compact
Near East Area Commission
South of Main Blockwatch
Olde Towne East
Pam McCarthy, Central Community House
Joel Teaford, Neighborhood Design Center
Michelle Williams, Near East Pride Center
Mike Lofino, Lofino Foods
Laura Vacha, HUD
Thomas Leech, HUD