Colony Park Sustainable Community Initiative (CPSCI) Support Letter from the African American Resource Advisory Commission (AARC) — original pdf

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Dear Mayor Adler and Austin City Council Members, As a native Austinite, and a concerned resident who serves as a Commissioner for the African American Resource Advisory Commission (AARAC), I write this letter in support of agenda item #56 on your March 24, 2022, City Council agenda. This resolution provides direction to the City Manager and named City of Austin Departments to prioritize the Colony Park Sustainable Community Initiative (CPSCI) Project. This resolution provides the City of Austin another opportunity to intentionally live out its claim of being livable, mobile and interconnected, prosperous, creative, educated, and a city who values and respects all people. I am certain you are aware of the challenges and neglect the Colony Park area has endured during the last 50 years. The fact that this area today continues to be a food desert that lacks full- service healthcare and financial centers, grocery stores, restaurants, and libraries, while experiencing some of the highest rates of mortality and morbidity in Travis County, is a sad reality for the City of Austin. Here is the moment to stand and discontinue the failed practices and promises that have hurt so many generations of African American Austinites. Here is the moment to announce boldly that all areas of our city matter and deserve the same opportunities for intentional investment, infrastructure, housing, and resources that improve quality of life outcomes. Here is your moment to break the cycle of projects that never finish, funding that is never found and dreams that are never realized. I challenge you today to be courageous and caring enough to approve this resolution and commit to developing and fulfilling a clear financing plan for the CPSCI. Do not participate in the painful tradition of wasting employee hours, community members time and sacrifices, and perpetuating the causes of generational distrust in our community. Make this plan and the Colony Park community a true priority for the City of Austin. Thank you for your time and sincere consideration. Signed, Rev. Dr. Daryl Horton Chair, African American Resource Advisory Commission