The Liberia Avenue Neighborhood in Palm Bay Florida was plaqued with many problems. The neigborhood had all but given up on the local government and its efforts to clean things up. This project was the turning point in this community and has sustained for well over a decade showing that strong sustainiable initiatives can make a long term difference.

1. Make Your
Public Works Project
a Catalyst for
Community Change!
Sunday, September 9, 2007
8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Room 207AB
Jim Proce, Public Works Director
City of Palm Bay, Florida

2. Introduction/Bio Info
Jim Proce
Public Works Director – 5 years
Palm Bay – 26 years
Background – surveying, drafter-designer, construction
inspector, field supervisor, street superintendent,
transportation manager, public works director
Education
– Rollins College - BS
– University of Central Florida – MBA
– Harvard – State & Local Government Executive Training
APWA involvement at branch, state, & national levels

3. Liberia Avenue Neighborhood - A
Revitalization Project
Background, history, and overview
Problems encountered
Community outreach and involvement
Conflict resolution techniques
Funding alternatives and sources; use of
grants; transportation impact fees;
redevelopment agency; other sources

4. Liberia Avenue Neighborhood - A
Revitalization Project
Crime Prevention Through Environmental
Design (CPTED) principles
– working with Police; Code Enforcement
Collaboration and partnering opportunities
– Community
– Churches
– Civic organizations
– City departments
– Media relations
Successes and celebrations

5. Today’s Objectives
We will….
Discuss how to solve diverse (non-engineering
related) neighborhood problems where
conflicting priorities exist
Demonstrate collaborative techniques by
working with stakeholders that are not
engineers
Show how to implement community outreach
techniques, engage citizen involvement, and
employ conflict resolution techniques
Tell you a great story and show you a bunch of
cool pictures!

6. But before we do that …
We need to know the story behind the
project
See the Liberia Avenue Neighborhood
before/during/after (lots of pictures)
Who are the players?
3 hurricanes (Frances, Jeanne, Wilma)
and a tornado . . .
Challenges, commitment, trust, & hard
work

7. Background/History
The Liberia Avenue Neighborhood is a
racially diverse neighborhood located in
northeast Palm Bay
Overridden by drug trafficking, prostitution,
infrastructure failure; drainage problems
(flooding); run down housing; code
enforcement violations; litter and debris
Prior attempts to correct problems were
unsuccessful; yielded poor results →

8. Background/History
No trust in local government; racial
undertones
Community leaders (from the area) were
focused upon blame; put up barriers to
progress
Not only was there a war on crime going
on, but there was a struggle for control
and influence between the churches and
the neighborhood charter school

9. Aerial View
Mt Moriah
Diamond
School
Park
Store
Ball field
Highway

10. We thought it was a drainage
project . . . huh???
The task of cleaning up the area originally
began a drainage project assigned to the Public
Works Department
Staff proposed a drainage plan to address the
flooding issues
Initial community meeting resulted in project
opposition???? Go figure????
Development of a smaller “Pilot” project was
proposed to build trust
This is where the real fun begins!

19. We thought it was a drainage
project . . . huh???
Officer Bob Combs Jr. suggested we close
the street off to make his life easier
Cut off the traffic to slow the bad guys
down; make some dead ends and they
can’t get away so easy
So we thought . . . Hmmmmm . . .
Let’s give it a try
We got a reaction!

20. Proposed Drainage Improvements

22. Problems Encountered
After the initial meeting, community meetings
were planned to be monthly and scheduled
The idea of forming a representative committee
of 12-15 citizens to oversee the project
At the first meeting 35 citizens showed up and
tempers flared and Police intervention was
required
At the next meeting 70 citizens showed up and
guess what happened??

23. Problems Encountered
For the next meeting we decided to schedule it
in the street (in the early evening)
In the meantime several individual meetings
were set up with the neighborhood leaders (to
avoid further ambushes)
We needed to identify what their issues were
since they were still so fragmented and we still
didn’t really know what they wanted
So far everything presented was rejected

24. Progress…
We had to show some results
We built the “pilot” project
Zero depth water feature
Some sidewalk, BBQ grills, and benches
So when we had the meeting in the
neighborhood…..we could show a sign of
good faith
Building trust was the goal

27. Zero Depth Water Park

28. Zero Depth Water Park

29. Zero Depth Water Park

30. Problems Continued
Even after a successful “pilot” project we still had
opposition
Enter Dr. Harvey Riley, Pastor, community
leader, long time resident, principle property
owner
Regardless of the level of investment and hard
work there appeared that there would still be no
support of the project
They still didn’t know what they wanted but they
knew they didn’t want what we wanted

32. Commitment, trust, hard work
Building trust by walking the walk
Hold up to commitments
Get the buy in from the neighborhood
But nothing came easy
There were still barriers to communication

33. Commitment, trust, hard work
Find someone you can communicate with in the
other camp
I engaged one of the long time former residents
to help, James Culver
James is an engineer, likes basketball, goes to
the Dr. Riley’s Church, cares about Palm Bay
James and a few friends went door to door
doing a survey of the neighborhood
This actually gave us information we could use

34. Revised Plan

35. Commitment, trust, hard work
Next meeting was in the street
We put out signs and flyers with the announcement
We walked around, knocked on doors, even paid some
of the neighborhood kids to gather up their friends and
family
Brought out the BBQ and fed hundreds of neighborhood
people
We made sure I had media coverage (although this
could be dangerous if things don’t go well)
Gave the community the recognition for the hard work
The plan was finally starting to shape up (although my
drainage improvement plan had been finished for
months at this point)

36. Revised Yet Again

37. Next move (or problem)
We now had civil plans
SO HURRY UP! and get permits before
they change their minds again . . .
But we had to develop the amenities . . .
We engaged a consultant to work with the
group on planning the landscaping, the
lighting, street furniture, entryways to the
community, and a entry sign . . .

39. Community Outreach/Involvement
Visual preferencing to make selections
– Street lights
– Pavers
– Plantings
– Street furniture
– Entrance features
– Re-naming of the community “Driskell
Heights”
– Signed the “Covenant for Our Community”

44. Yet more project problems . . . 
Problems . . .
– 2004 hurricanes (Frances/Jeanne)
– 2005 hurricane (Wilma)
– 2005 tornado (February 2005)
– Material shortages (concrete, aggregate, road base
rock, steel)
– Price increases (asphalt, concrete, all construction
materials)
Resulted in project delays due to extensive city-
wide clean up efforts

48. Community Outreach/Involvement
Set up periodic inspections with the community on the
job site
Monthly progress meetings with the community at the
church to discuss any issues, related to anything in the
neighborhood
Continued participation in their annual fair: UNITY DAY –
multi-jurisdictional community outreach
– Crime watch
– Educational outreach
– School supplies
– Fun and games
– BBQ

49. Conflict resolution techniques
Several simple methods were employed
Feed them; so they can’t yell at you
Let them design the job (dealing with conceptual ideas)
Let them pick the amenities (street furniture, lighting, etc.)
Visual preferencing; only show them things you are OK with and can
afford to provide (we had basic standard already established and
approved by the CRA and City Council boards)
Techniques included:
– Using dot stickers
– Surveys
– Iterative voting processes for facilitating decision making narrowing
down choices
– http://consensus.fsu.edu/index.html
And when all else failed I threatened them, really!

50. Funding alternatives and sources;
Money is always the tricky part (NEWSFLASH)
Some of the things I did may get you killed if
they don’t go well
Develop a financial plan . . . huh?
Having brought all the media, politicians, and
upper management staff into the process
brought ownership to everyone in the process
Support and flexibility is key

51. Funding alternatives and sources;
Grants
– Property acquisition (SJRWMD)
– Drainage project (SJRWMD)
– Road improvements (CDBG)
– Additional Police Staffing (CDBG)
Transportation impact fees
– Traffic and pedestrian capacity improvements
Redevelopment agency (Tax Increment Fund)
– Landscaping and lighting

52. Funding alternatives and sources;
General Fund (Public Works budget)
CIP (Community Investment Program AKA
Capital Improvement Project)
Special revenue bond (road
improvements)
Community participation (for grand
opening)
Total project cost – just under $2,000,000

53. CPTED
Crime Prevention Through Environmental
Design
Police coordination and participation in
project development
Designers use environmental features to
reduce opportunities for crime
Staff attended CPTED training

54. CPTED
CPTED is the proper design and effective
use of the built environment which may
lead to a reduction in the fear and
incidence of crime, and an improvement of
the quality of life." - National Crime
Prevention Institute

55. CPTED
The Four Strategies of CPTED
1. Natural Surveillance - A design concept directed primarily at keeping
intruders easily observable. Promoted by features that maximize visibility of
people, parking areas and building entrances: doors and windows that look out
on to streets and parking areas; pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and streets; front
porches; adequate nighttime lighting.
2. Territorial Reinforcement - Physical design can create or extend a sphere
of influence. Users then develop a sense of territorial control while potential
offenders, perceiving this control, are discouraged. Promoted by features that
define property lines and distinguish private spaces from public spaces using
landscape plantings, pavement designs, gateway treatments, and "CPTED"
fences.
3. Natural Access Control - A design concept directed primarily at decreasing
crime opportunity by denying access to crime targets and creating in offenders
a perception of risk. Gained by designing streets, sidewalks, building entrances
and neighborhood gateways to clearly indicate public routes and discouraging
access to private areas with structural elements.
4. Target Hardening - Accomplished by features that prohibit entry or access:
window locks, dead bolts for doors, interior door hinges.

56. CPTED
Liberia Avenue linear park accomplishes these
objectives by:
– Eliminating north south traffic through the neighborhood
– Reduces the opportunities for criminal traffic to flee police,
making the neighborhood less desirable for criminal activity
– Reduces vehicular traffic through the neighborhood – making it
more conducive for pedestrians and neighbor-to-neighbor
interaction
– More neighborhood interaction will help discourage criminal
activity
Design allows for through traffic for emergency vehicles, but is
visually discouraging – using landscaping, traffic circles, street
furniture, and berms

57. Collaboration/Partnering
Community
– For door to door surveys
– For meeting notices
Churches
– Mt. Moriah Baptist
– (and 8 others)
Civic organizations
– Congregations for Community Action
City departments
– Police
– Fire
– Planning
– Parks
– Public Works/Engineering
– Economic/Neighborhood Development (Bayfront CRA)

58. Collaboration/Partnering
Media relations
– Florida Today Newspaper (Linda)
– Brevard Ebony News (Ben)
– Hometown News (Jennifer)
Political avenues
– Mayor and City Council
– CRA - Redevelopment Agency Commissioners
– County Commissioners (Jackie)
– State Attorney’s Office (Joe)
– State Legislative Representative (Mitch)
Neighboring City of Melbourne
– Police Dept.

59. Successes/Celebrations
Original BBQ meeting
Groundbreaking for water park
Grand opening for water park
Ground breaking for project
Grand opening celebration
National Civic League All America City Finalist – Atlanta
Annual Unity Day Celebration
Special recognition for civic organizations
Follow up visits continue
You are never done!

62. And The Results are in….
Crime has been greatly reduced (26% in first year alone
and getting better
Neighborhood watch units have been set up in the
neighborhood along the Palm Bay/Melbourne border and
are still active
Community meetings continue to monitor all
neighborhood activities
An additional Police officer had been allocated through
CDBG
Most of the code enforcement violations have been
eliminated
We recently acquired the neighborhood store through
code enforcement liens

64. And The Results are in….
Litter has been virtually eliminated
The community is self policing through our
Adopt-a-Road litter program; augmented
by our Clean up Blitz Program (CLUB);
patrolled by our Beautification
Enhancement Strike Team (BEST)!
(Hint: use lots of silly acronyms and tie
them to your program names. Politicians
and the public love it.)

65. And The Results are in….
Parking at the basketball courts has been controlled
since the completion of the construction
Several community-wide events have been held at the
park since the project completion
All of the infrastructure has been rebuilt; roads,
sidewalks, lighting, drainage
There are no more flooding problems and we scheduled
a hurricane to test the stormwater models! (Wilma 2005)
There has been no vandalism
The neighborhood has become a place for people and is
no longer a place for crime

66. And The Results are in….
Statewide recognition:
– Florida Planning & Zoning Association
Award
– Florida Chapter of the American Planning
Association Award
– Florida League of Cities Innovations
Showcase
http://www.flcities.com/membership/innova
tions_community.asp
I have not submitted this to APWA
since I consider this a work in progress
☺

67. So What Did You Learn?
All of this is hard thankless work (although not
always thankless!)
You don’t always know what is best when
solving neighborhood problems
Engineering solutions do not account for the
“people” factor
Collaboration techniques can be time
consuming; but you have to employ them when
working with stakeholders that are not engineers
or public works type folks

68. So What Did You Learn?
Community outreach techniques, engaging citizen
involvement, and employing conflict resolution
techniques are all required in your toolbox to be a
successful public works official. If you don’t you think so,
you are only kidding yourself
Celebrate successes, big ones and small ones alike,
include everyone, and don’t take credit for anything, take
the blame for everything, and when the dust clears, you
might even make a few friends in the process
Yes - I am crazy, most folks would have given up long
ago

69. Questions/Comments?
For more information please feel free to
email or call me:
– Jim Proce – jimproce@gmail.com
– Your Friendly Neighborhood Public Works
Director

70. Lipscomb & Liberia
Before/After Pictures

71. Liberia & Adams

72. Adams Looking East

73. Between Adams & Williams

74. Retention Pond

75. Between
Williams &
Monroe

76. Monroe Looking North

77. Parking
Between Monroe & Randolph

78. Randolph Looking North

79. Between Randolph & Washington

80. Between Henry & Washington

81. Between Northview & Henry

82. Water Park on Northview

83. Northview

92. Thank you for coming!
Enjoy your time at APWA Congress 2007
San Antonio
Please fill out the evaluations and get your CEU’s
before you depart for the next session!
Jim Proce
jimproce@gmail.com

93. Resources and reference materials
that you can use NOW!
http://www.apwa.net/Publications/Reporter/Repo
rterOnline/index.asp?DISPLAY=ISSUE&ISSUE_
DATE=072007&ARTICLE_NUMBER=1527
http://consensus.fsu.edu/mediation/UG2/FCRC_
Users_Guide.pdf
http://consensus.fsu.edu/mediation/UG2/index.ht
ml
http://www.cptedtraining.net/
http://www.cpted-watch.com/
https://www.slideshare.net/JimProceMBAPWLF/l
iberia-avenue-revitalization-project-gets-
recognized-for-project-of-the-year-by-facers