  Turning catastrophe into community investment
"After an August 4, 2009, flood devastated the California neighborhood, MSD later purchased 114 of the eligible 128 properties through a FEMA grant to help residents move out of the flood-prone area along Maple Street. MSD conserved about 20 acres of land for what is now Alberta O. Jones Park at 744 S. 23rd St.
The grand opening of Phase I of AOJ Park was celebrated in 2023, in part due to MSD’s Community Benefits Program, which included over $105,000 in commitments to the Parks Alliance of Louisville. Our contractors are encouraged to invest in the community through workforce development, education, and economic development. Investments through the program have been long-lasting, Equity & Community Partnerships Chief Sharise Horne said.
Our Community Benefits Program leverages economic, environmental, and social impacts through our large-scale construction, construction-related, professional services, and engineering projects by ensuring ratepayers benefit from our capital investment.
Commitments from five firms as part of 14 MSD construction projects went to financial, in-kind, and volunteer commitments to the Parks Alliance of Louisville to help transform the land into a park and community space.
This project adds to the $4 million worth of MSD Community Benefits commitments that are being realized with schools and nonprofits all around us in the community.
Who was Alberta O. Jones?
Jones, born in Louisville in 1930, was one of the first Black women to pass the Kentucky Bar exam. She opened a law practice on West Broadway, just a few blocks from the park site. She attended Louisville Municipal College for Negroes, now Simmons College of Kentucky, and graduated from Howard University School of Law.
In 1965, she became the first woman to be appointed city attorney in Jefferson County and worked as a prosecutor in Domestic Relations Court. She was a civil rights activist who participated in the March on Washington, was a member of the NAACP, and worked with the Louisville Urban League.
She formed the Independent Voters Association in Louisville and taught Black residents how to use voting machines, resulting in 6,000 new voters. Jones died in 1965."
“MSD Community Benefits Program Pours Resources into Schools” is a story from JCPS that can also be used in your newsletters. https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/departments/communications/monday-memo/msd-community-benefits-program-pours-resources-schools?fbclid=IwAR03m1k7mSEgPB6HNFmfb8n9aSnbA6dkTe2AwQT_Y1bmkCx_uIAuTjjIzLo
 Chair Hawkins and Vice Chair Seum led their first Public Safety Committee Meeting of 2024 on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.
You can tune into watch the recording of this committee meeting on the Louisville Metro Council's Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/LouisvilleMetroCouncil/videos/1108806263600727/
Agenda's of the meetings are always published in advance to:
https://louisvilleky.primegov.com/public/portal?fromiframe=true
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