Despite uncharacteristically chilly weather, on Wednesday, February 27th, many residents of the Baptist Town neighborhood joined in an outdoor community meeting. Though many of these meetings have occurred over the roughly ten years that this project has been in the works, this was my first, and I am grateful that residents haven’t given up hope that new buildings and community initiatives are eventually going to be realized.

Topics discussed included:

• The location of new homes, and how to apply to purchase a home.
• Two proposed locations for a community center.
• Two proposed locations for an outdoor community gathering space.
• A neighborhood logo to be displayed on printed material and signs.

In addition to productive conversations throughout the evening, residents wrote comments on post-it notes sharing their opinions. This feedback helped clarify the locations to pursue for construction of the community center and the gathering space. Less clear, was the contentious conversation over two initial proposals for a neighborhood logo. More work, and significantly more feedback from Baptist Town residents, will be required before a decision can be reached.

Last, multiple residents submitted their names to be contacted about potentially purchasing one of the new homes to be installed this summer. This is a first step toward qualifying home owners, and making safe, healthy, affordable housing available to families in Baptist Town.