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Jul 23, 2010
AURORA -- About 30 people turned out for the third and final meeting geared toward revitalizing the near East Side Thursday night. But many left this last gathering with mixed feelings.The meetings were hosted by the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and the feedback collected from them will be used to determine how Aurora spends the roughly $1.3 million in federal block grant money it gets annually. The area being considered includes downtown and neighborhoods east of it.The previous meetings drew similar crowds, although only a small number of them - 21 percent Thursday night - live within the target area.For Thursday's session, organizers assembled a panel of experts in several fields, including transportation, job creation, development and redevelopment. Each had suggestions for Aurora's future, from preventing foreclosures to connecting with elected officials and community organizations.Trinidad Cervantes, was there as an example of a local success story. Cervantes is the owner of SuperMercado Casa Blanca at Claim and Beach streets, which has benefited from city tax rebates, another suggested way to increase development.Realtor James Matanky suggested removing downtown's one-way streets, since they hamper retail.As it has been at each of these meetings, the theme was community involvement. Attendees were urged to connect with city and township officials and make their voices heard.But Auroran Jason Leonberger feels like he's already tried that, and it hasn't worked. He referenced an action plan drafted by the McCarty Burlington Neighborhood group in 2007 and said none of that group's concerns were addressed by these meetings.Shirley Flaherty said she was disappointed in the meetings and worries that federal money will go east of downtown.But Frank Patterson, of Elburn, said Thursday's meeting was a good thing, adding that "any time you get stakeholders together, it's a positive step."CMAP and the MPC will now collect the feedback from all three meetings, and Aurora officials will submit it to the Department of Housing and Urban Development by the end of August.
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