R2023-120 Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate Terms and Execute an Agreement Between the City of Decatur and Good Samaritan Inn for an Urban Ag Project

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2. Structure Removal--Assess with Department of Public Works regarding remaining buildings. a. Will they be conducive for use in the urban farm program? b. Removal of detrimental buildings. 3. Tree Removal—Assess with Department of Public Works. Because the trees have been growing in contaminated soil,the trees with roots should be removed and not chipped or mulched into the soil. If the city engineers have a quality-engineering background, they may be of assistance in repurposing the building and tree materials removed. 4. Drainage/water access—Assess with Department of Public Works. 5. Street removal—Assess with Department of Public Works and Dept. of Public Safety. E. Neighborhood Consensus Building 1. The Community Organization of Neighborhood Organizations (CONO) March 21, 2023, and specifically Joyce Keller, the Old King Orchard neighborhood representative was agreeable to the transformation of the land from residential to urban farming with one concern expressed that the soil be remediated so that lead or other contaminants don't become airborne and create a hazard for neighboring homes. 2. Announcing the program publicly—Both Decatur and Good Samaritan are enthusiastic about this new partnership and are relatively anxious to make a public announcement of the plans to repurpose the acquired parcels into agricultural space. Prior to announcing the program publicly, consideration should be given to potential future projects. - The advantage of announcing the project publicly is that additional support may be garnered from various community interests, such as Richland's master-gardener program,the county extension, and local restaurants who may like to contribute to the development or acquire interests in receiving future produce. - The disadvantage of announcing the project publicly is that other parcels that the city would like to acquire in the future may artificially inflate in price before the land use transformation can take place. F. Measuring Short Term Success Assess with Good Samaritan reasonable goals for attainment. Include a time-line for production phases, accomplishment benchmarks, and whether metrics focus will be on progress, production, and/or employability of apprentices. Long-Term coal considerations: A. Scalability: Development of other green space/neighborhood beautification programs As the program grows, two factors contributed to the success of Chicago's urban farming program. 1. Consider appointing a dedicated city liaison role to coordinate oversight accountability and management of the land repurposing program. This individual would serve as a liaison between city departments/stake holders and urban growers,develop policies and programs for growers to access land and resources. Identify opportunity sites for garden or farm construction by working with community-based organizations, implement outreach events to promote agriculture or other land repurposing in the