WEED AND SEED WILL BE A TOUGH ROW TO HOW

West Augustine is at a crossroads. There are indicators that the road
being taken will lead to better lives for the residents there. The
main drag is sprucing up. Entrepreneurs are taking chances with new,
innovative businesses along West King Street. It is, apparently,
paying off for both the owners and the infrastructure along that road.

The county has implemented a forward-thinking housing project which
initially gave incentives for small developers to take chances on
providing affordable homes in the area. It's working. New homes are
going up weekly. As a bonus, old, dilapidated buildings are being
razed to make room for the new. There's a West King Street master
plan laid out. Weire looking at expanding recreational services there as well.

And now West Augustine has been designated a federal Weed and Seed
area - one of only 22 in the country and the only effort in Florida
this year. The good news is that up to $250,000 in federal funds
could be provided annually for West Augustine efforts.

The maybe-not-so-good-news is that the money isn't a gift or grant.
It is, from where we sit, more of a carrot dangling in front of the
nose of opportunity -- meant to lead it grudgingly down C.R. 214 and
through its neighborhoods.

To begin with there's much work to be done in anticipation of the
project. The designation means nothing on its own, in terms of
funding. This is a community-oriented effort from beginning to end.
The steps that precede official recognition include seating a
steering committee and convening meetings, poring over implementation
manuals, setting guidelines, drafting a letter of intent and finally
submitting an application.

If the process passes government muster and money is forthcoming,
itis not meant to 'pay' for anything in terms of brick and sticks.
The success or failure of the program will reside solely on the
stakeholders in the process -- spell that RESIDENTS.

And the historic truth is that West Augustine has been a very tough
place to implement anything but fleeting and sporadic efforts at
self- advancement - with the bright exception of the West Augustine
Community Redevelopment Association.

The long-term success of the Weed and Seed program will depend on
years of hard work, chipping away slowly at the causes of
neighborhood degradation; including crime, economic
under-development, poor housing and inadequate utilities. There must
be cooperation between law enforcement and human service agencies,
that's true. But the Weed and Seed program won't fund these efforts
to any meaningful extent.

There will be no flood of money into West Augustine in terms of crime
prevention and social services. The way we see it, Weed and Seed
bankrolls involvement by the community. It brings the elements
together. The enhancements happen as a result of that cooperation.
This may be a project in which St. Johns Vision could take a leading role.

A good first step for us here would be to send organizers to Palatka
next month. Our neighbor to the southwest is a year or so ahead of us
and is hosting a community meeting in August to discuss dispersal of
its first $175,000 installment for 2006. That city is also in the
process of hiring a full-time Weed and Seed coordinator. The Palatka
Daily News reported last week that the city lost $175,000 this year
because it did not have a coordinator in place in 2005. The city was
to have received five yearly payments of $175,000. Now it will receive four.

If anyone thinks this is a federal program that will throw a quarter
of a million dollars a year willy-nilly at community ills, they'd
better think again. Rep. John Mica has helped by posturing West
Augustine for a hand-up -- not a hand-out. We'll have to plan the
work; then work the plan.