THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411220175
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Mike Knepler
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Mayor Paul Fraim is saying words that civic league leaders want to hear: City Hall needs to give more attention to neighborhood issues.
Fraim also endorsed a civic league proposal that City Hall co-sponsor ``nuts and bolts'' forums to teach citizens ``which buttons they need to push'' to get better city services.
The mayor delivered his messages to the Norfolk Federation of Civic Leagues two weeks ago. These are some of his key comments:
``I think the (City) Council understands that there needs to be a balance, a balance in our budget and a balance in the attitudes in City Hall insofar as economic development and the development of our neighborhoods . . . and we are trying to bring that balance more into focus than maybe we have in the past.
``We are spending more time at City Hall talking about our neighborhoods, .
``We are trying to reach out to the communities . . . to try to get feedback from you . . . on whether we are moving in the right direction.
``We are trying to impact our budget in ways that the communities will benefit . . . to make sure our neighborhoods, make sure our schools, make sure that our streets, make sure that our public safety efforts receive the full attention that they need to.
``It's easy to spend all your time talking about economic development issues. If you're not careful, it can take all of your time. So we try to budget our time appropriately so we could also talk about all the things that are important to you in the here and now and not just in the future as (with) economic development issues.''
The Norfolk Federation of Civic Leagues has 42 member organizations. About 40 people attended the speech, representing 17 neighborhood groups.
Answering questions after his remarks, Fraim commented on more issues:
Norfolk should develop ``the most technologically advanced school system in Virginia.''
City Hall improved enforcement of property codes by adding inspectors, ``but the preliminary results seem to be that there's still not enough.''
The city sometimes has to hire out-of-town consultants to help advance certain projects, such as the Harbor Park baseball stadium. ``But I hear you,'' he said. ``A lot of the jobs that we shop out we could keep here. We've started some more discussions at City Hall about that.''
Residents should not have to call councilmen to rectify city-service problems. They should get satisfaction from front-line employees, but they also should not hesitate to call councilmen for unresolved complaints.
To help citizens get better service from City Hall, Fraim embraced an idea for training sessions for civic league leaders.
``Every leader, every community organization should know who are the people providing the goods and services they are paying for (as taxpayers),'' said James Janata, president of the East Ocean View Civic League, who proposed the training forums.
Janata said the forums also could improve communication between civic leagues and City Hall ``and involve us more in decision making'' on neighborhood issues. MEMO: If you have a comment or suggestion for Mike Knepler, you can call him
at 446-2275 or write to him at P.O. Box 449, Norfolk, Va. 23501.
by CNB