Box 5, Folder 17, Document 37

Box 5, Folder 17, Document 37

MINUTES
HOUSING RESOURCES COMMITTEE

FEBRUARY 14, 1967

Members of the Housing Resources Committee met for their organizational
meeting on Tuesday, February 14, 1967, at 10:00 a.m. in the Aldermanic
Chambers at City Hall.

The meeting was called to order by Mr. Cecil Alexander, Chairman of the
Committee. Mr. Alexander then presented Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. who spoke
at this time. Mayor Allen first expressed his appreciation to everyone on the
Committee for their willingness to serve and to respond to the City's efforts

to provide better housing for its citizens. He reviewed with the Committee

the great magnitude of this problem and the increasing need for more and more
housing units. He pledged the City's full cooperation in attempting to overcome
this problem and in getting this program underway. He expressed the hope
that by 1968 the City would meet its goal for 9,800 new housing units. He also
told the group of the Model Cities Program presently being developed by the
City. This program would cover a very large portion of the city and would
affect 55,000 citizens living in the area. This would be a different program

to try to save this particular section of the city. He stated that he felt the
progress that had been made since the November Housing Conference is an
indication that we will meet the goal.

Mr. Ferd Kramer of Draper and Kramer of Chicago spoke to the group at this
time. Mr. Kramer is the past President of Action, Inc. and is presently on
the Board of Directors of Urban America, Inc. and is chairman of their
committee concerned with non-profit housing funds. Mr. Kramer told the
Committee of a housing project he helped develop in Chicago some 7 to 8
years ago. This project was developed by a group of private individuals
representing a cross-section of the community and the benefits were two

fold:

1. It improved the environment considerably in the declining neighborhood; and

2. It provided much needed housing for the stafis of the Michael-Reese Hospital
and the Illinois Institude of Technology (these organizations were the first
groups to institude studies of the area to determine the approach to follow
to combat the decline of the area).

This program was tremendously successful in Chicago and Mr. Kramer felt it
would have some applicability in Atlanta. Mr. Kramer also explained that Urban
America, Inc. has a division especially interested in non-profit housing and in
Housing Resources Committee Minutes
February 14, 1967
Page Two

creating development funds. It is not possible for the Urban America staff to
serve the entire nation's non-profit groups and as a result they have been
successful in persuading communities to create local development funds to
‘deal with this problem. He stressed that each community must use every
possible means for securing housing for its low and middle income citizens,

The Chairman then thanked the members of the Committee for accepting this
responsibility and outlined the challenges facing them in providing this low
income housing in Atlanta. He stated he hoped this Committee will serve to
bring the elements together which are necessary for success (new ideas, new
structures, new financing methods, etc.). He reviewed several programs
that are available to help solve this problem. He then outlined the work to be
carried out by each panel and explained that the actual work of the Committee
will be conducted through the panels. He suggested that each panel appoint
two young men to assist them and to carry out the majority of the work. He
pointed out that Col. Malcolm Jones and Mr. William Gates are available to
assist the Committee and that their office is located on the 12th floor of City
Hall. Mr. Dan Sweat of the Mayor's Office is also working closely with this
program, He asked that each panel meet at least once a month and suggested
that the full committee meet monthly also.

The meeting was then adjourned and the Committee members were asked to meet
with the other members of their panels here today for the purpose of selecting
a Chairman and Co-Chairman.

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