Meeting Attendees:

Amy Fitzgerald, Oak Ridge

Frank Robinson, Oak Ridge

Josh Collins, Oak Ridge

A. B. Perkins, Oak Ridge Operations

Marcee Myers Addington, Oak Ridge Operations

Melinda Downings, DOE

John Rosenthall, Urban Technologies

Dr. Lonnie Sharpe, Tennessee State University

J. B. Hill, Jr., SCJEC

Arthur Nelson, Jr., NAACP

Fannie Ball,

James P. Lewis,

Minnie Thompson,

Greetings, Introductions and Opening Comments

Amy Fitzgerald opened the meeting and asked for around the room introductions. Following the introductions, Ms Fitzgerald discussed background and purpose. The City prepared a competitive proposal to EPA to establish a center to implement programs to improve community access to environmental education. While the proposal was well received it was not funded in the competitive process. However, the City and EPA discussed the possibility of funding the project through a non-competitive means. At the same time, DOE expressed an interest in working with the Scarboro community to build capacity for environmental decision-making. Thus, the City, DOE and EPA began discussions to determine how a Federal agency collaboration could be established to work in Oak Ridge in the best interest of the community. The purpose of this meeting is to examine the possibility of a Federal collaborative effort in Oak Ridge and determine the community interest and needs for a community technology center.

The Joint Center Study

In October 200, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies issued a report of their survey of the Scarboro community. The survey was designed to seek and identify common issues and areas of disagreement, to provide a detailed description of the community’s characteristics, and to develop recommendations for moving forward. The survey included open-ended questions on resident’s concerns.

Crimes, drugs and security concerns were on top of the residents concerns. Approximately 39% of those surveyed mentioned these issues as their top concern. Approximately 23% of those surveyed mentioned children or youth as their primary concern. Recreation opportunities were the top concern for approximately 11% of Scarboro’s residents. And, approximately 9% of those who participated in the survey mentioned environmental concerns about contamination that may have occurred over the years as their primary community concern.

The report made the following recommendations.

1. Scarboro residents should consider engaging with the broader community to address the concerns identified in the survey.

2. Children and youth may benefit from programs inside and outside Scarboro; some Scarboro-based activities may need to attract children from outside the community to be sustainable.

3. Scarboro residents need to work with the city to obtain services that meet their needs.

4. Scarboro can benefit from the active participation of its residents in city and county planning activities.

DOE Program

Melinda Downing explained that the Department of Energy (DOE) is committed to promoting environmental justice and involving its stakeholders more directly in the planning and decision-making process for environmental cleanup. DOE’s Environmental Management Program (EM) is in full support of this commitment. EM works with community groups to gain access to computers, the Internet, training and technical assistance in an effort to help communities become active and meaningful contributors to environmental decision-making. DOE has partnered with EPA, Howard University and others to create community technology centers in the District of Columbia and Augusta, Georgia. That collaboration has also distributed more than 100 computers to various jurisdictions around the country for community technology centers and other purposes. DOE looks forward to working with Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Operations, EPA and the community to establish a technology center in this community.

Massie Chairs Of Excellence

Dr. Lonnnie Sharpe explained that the Massie Chairs of Excellence program consists of professors at nine Historically Black Colleges and Universities and one Hispanic Speaking Institution. The program includes numerous individuals involved in remediation, alternative fuels, pollution prevention and various environmental areas. The Chairs have worked with many towns in conjunction with the National Conference of Black Mayors and look forward to working with the Oak Ridge community.

Basic Issues and Concerns

Can you explain how the Augusta Center was established and operates on a daily basis?

We cannot respond to the daily operations of the Augusta center. However, we can discuss how the center came into being. In 1998, EPA, DOE and Howard University Urban Environment Institute donated computers to the Hyde Park/Aragon Park Improvement Committee to develop a community technology center. In April 1998, EPA, DOE and Howard University Urban Environment Institute conducted a training session at the center that included instructions in basic computer skills, Internet e-mail, web research, funding opportunities, Geographic Information System (GIS) and risk assessment. The components of the training were identified in a community needs assessment.

Community residents had complained for years to local, state and federal officials about a junkyard in their neighborhood. One of the matters examined in the April 1998 training session was EPA’s Brownfields Pilot Program. The junkyard at the entrance to the Hyde Park/Aragon Park community is a brownfield. In the EPA’s Brownfield Pilot Program, local communities can apply for and receive a grant in the amount of $250,000 to conduct a brownfields assessment and plan a cleanup and reuse strategy. The Howard University Urban Environment Institute conducted a grants writing workshop at the center and helped the community prepare the Brownfields Pilot application. The community placed the initial draft of the application on their web site for public comments. They received comments and technical assistance through e-mail. The competitive application was successful and the community is now working to assess, clean and redevelop the junkyard.

What can you do for us?

Help develop a community technology center. We can help obtain computers, Internet access training and technical assistance. The type training will be in response to a community-identified need. We can build websites and provide various technical assistance. We have access to the entire campuses on the ten Massie Chair institutions and numerous other experts in various disciplines around the country. We can help develop youth participation programs. We can help with economic development activities. We can conduct proposal-writing workshops and help write proposals to help the center become financially self-sufficient.

Can you fund the center’s staff?

No. However, there are other Federal agencies, foundations and private entities that may provide staff funding and staff development assistance. We can help locate those sources and help write the proposals. In fact, the Department of Education has an active request for proposals to establish community technology centers. Funds from this source should be available for staff purposes. The request for proposals is located at http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2001-2/053001a.html. We would be pleased to work with the City, NAACP, SCJEC or a collaborative partnership to prepare a proposal for submission to the Department of Education. The proposal is due in mid-July.

What can you do in response to the survey results regarding crimes, drugs and security, programs for children and recreation opportunities?

Those areas are frankly outside DOE jurisdiction. However, once the center is established, all of those program uses are permissible for community development. We can help find funds to support those programs. In addition, the Inter-Agency Workgroup for Environmental Justice includes representatives from various agencies with the program functions that you raise questions about. One possibility to consider is to hold a session here with the agencies with jurisdiction over those areas to discuss their programs and funding opportunities. We can conduct a proposal writing and grants management workshop in the center to help community residents seek the funds to conduct programs that address issues in the survey.

What are some of the next steps for the dose reconstruction project?

The state is attempting to put together a plan to get all relevant agencies involved.

What are the next steps for this effort?

Assuming that the community wants the center, we can start the computer distribution by the end of July. We can schedule the training classes in September and October. We can start the technical assistance as soon as the computers are in place.

General comments from community representatives:

I believe any help would be appreciated.

The city can’t carry the load by itself.

Need part of the building for getting opportunities for seniors.

An information center is good to have. It needs to have a copy machine and printer.

Next Step.

It is agreed that the meeting participants will proceed with plans to develop the Scarboro Community Technology Center. In the meantime, the parties will continue discussions between and among each other and others. The group will reconvene around the first of August.