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Uniquely Urban: Geneva's All-America City Application Development

Learn about Geneva, a full-service municipality in upstate New York, that received the 2015 All-America City designation and developed an application showcasing their community engagement and cross-sector cooperation.

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Uniquely Urban: Geneva's All-America City Application Development

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  1. All-America City 2015 Application Development Background Information for Conference Call December 10, 2015

  2. About Geneva • Full-service municipality of 13,000 in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York • Annual budget of $16 million in General Fund operations • 130 full-time equivalent employees • Located midway between Rochester and Syracuse • Received 2015 All-America City designation based upon three programs, illustrative of community engagement and cross-sector cooperation • Developed application in cooperation with multiple agency stakeholders - Uniquely Urban -

  3. 2015 All-America City Application

  4. 2015 Call for Nominations • The City learned through multiple advocacy agencies of the Call for Nominations • The award’s 2015 focus area was “engaging and supporting vulnerable boys and young men…” • Local leadership immediately recognized several programs that directly aligned with the focus area • Staff began meeting in November to discuss opportunities surrounding the application

  5. NCL Technical Support • City staff took advantage of multiple areas of technical support provided by the National Civic League • Staff was able to participate in conference calls with prior award winners, review application materials, and engage directly with NCL staff • The NCL website also provides access to a range of materials showcasing previous award winners and strategies for leveraging the award

  6. Application Development • City leadership ultimately determined that we wanted to seek nomination for the award • We appointed an “application logistics lead” from staff to review application requirements, be mindful of deadlines, and coordinate material development • The lead staffer participated regularly in conference calls and worked with stakeholders to develop the application

  7. Project Selection - Uniquely Urban -

  8. Neighborhood Revitalization • In 2008, the City completed a housing study that determined that neighborhood pride was the first step in addressing market conditions • By 2014, the community had worked to develop 11 neighborhood associations, representing neighbors from the entire City • Neighborhood associations were used to guide budget decisions on infrastructure and programming • In 2014, neighbors contributed over 2,500 hours of volunteer services to assist in program delivery, parks maintenance, and amenity development - Uniquely Urban -

  9. Downtown Revitalization • In 2008, the first floor vacancy rate in downtown Geneva was over 60% • The City’s traditional economic development tools were not working (IDA, BID, etc.) • A “shop local” movement, termed Love Geneva, began working independently of the City • The downtown market started to take off, resulting in increased investment by property owners and new businesses springing up • By 2014, the first floor vacancy rate was below 20%, and upper floors began filling with market rate apartments - Uniquely Urban -

  10. School District Turnaround • In 1999, the Geneva City School District graduation rate was below 60% • In 2009, the State of New York began to intervene with critical reporting and leadership recommendations • That same year, local college leadership began to develop a “collective impact” concept, whereby over 100 community stakeholders began investing time, expertise, and resources toward school improvements • In 2014, the graduation rate approached 85% at Geneva High School - Uniquely Urban -

  11. Application Recommendations

  12. Application Development • The 2016 NCL focus area is ensuring that all children are healthy in work and in school • Seek out projects in your community that closely align with the focus area, and that were “grass roots” in development • Be prepared to showcase collaboration across multiple sectors • Use data to demonstrate impact

  13. Application Development • Identify a staff person with the skills and capacity to manage the application, including: • Thorough review of application materials • Application of technical support offered by NCL • Monitoring deadlines • Coordinating stakeholders • Writing/Synthesizing application materials

  14. All-America City 2015 Application Development Contact Matt: mdh@geneva.ny.us (315) 789-6104

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