NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson Healthy Neighborhoods Initiative is in the beginning stages of working with the neighborhood around Lincoln Elementary School at 315 East Bigger.
"For most of those conversations, fifteen minutes to a half an hour gives us time to have a good conversation about some specific things in the neighborhood," said Adam Stewart with Hutch Rec. "I've had them run up to an hour with folks who really have a lot they want to say."
The conversation is pretty broad about what it's like living in the neighborhood, if there are things people would want to see happening that aren't happening.
"In the case of the area around Lincoln school, that's kind of our starting point, because there has been some previous organizing work around the school there," Stewart said. "It was kind of the center point of that. We want to pick up where some of that momentum has been."
Having a designated neighborhood can give residents some advantages.
"The city has a couple of incentive programs that are specifically available to featured neighborhoods," Stewart said. "Those are a downpayment incentive, up to $2500 toward the downpayment to purchase a home in one of the featured neighborhoods for a first-time home buyer. The other one is they have a program with Peoples Bank and Trust, where people can receive an interest free home repair loan. Essentially, the city pays the interest on the loan."
If you live in the neighborhood around Lincoln, or if you know someone who does who would be good to visit with, send their information to [email protected].