Past Events

West Tennessee Fair Housing Conference

On Thursday, April 11, 2019, Shelby County worked with the Tennessee Human Rights Council to sponsor its Annual Fair Housing Conference at the National Civil Rights Museum.

Second Round of Resilience Plan Public Workshops:

Shelby County’s Office of Resilience and its partners held a second round of public workshops to illustrate the progress they have made on the Mid-South Regional Resilience Plan. The workshops were held on May 22nd, May 23rd and May 24th of 2018. To view of a copy of the presentation, click: Second Public Workshop Presentation.

First Round of Resilience Plan Public Workshops:

Shelby Government’s Office of Resilience and Shelby County’s partners in the National Disaster Resilience Grant hosted three workshops to begin to gather public input on the creation of the Mid-South Regional Resilience Plan.  The public meetings were held on January 30, 2018 through February 1, 2018.

The purposes of the Resilience Plan are to identify unmet recovery needs in the Mid-South Region following three storms in 2011, identify potential future resilience activities which will make the Mid-South Region less susceptible to and more secure from future disasters, and to develop and prepare resilience strategies to storms, flooding, snow and ice, and other climate- and weather-related events which can be addressed as potential funding becomes available.  The geographic extent of the plan includes all of Shelby and DeSoto Counties, as well as parts of Fayette and Marshall Counties.

Interested residents, parties, and stakeholders joined the master planning team at the three workshops and shared their opinions on the best strategies for handling and recovering from future weather-related incidents. To view a copy of the presentation given during the workshops, click: Public Workshop Presentation.

Third Public Meeting: Wolf River Wetland and Restoration Project

Ed Rice Community Center was the host of the public meeting held on Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at 5:30PM.  Residents of the Kennedy Park, Rodney Baber Park and Orchi Road neighborhoods, and surrounding areas, gathered in the Meeting Room to hear a brief presentation by Kimley-Horn and Associates. The consultants presented design concepts that included modifications to Kennedy Park, Rodney Baber Park, and Orchi Road which will interconnect via the Wolf River Greenway.

The presentation was followed by a question and answer session, where neighborhood residents asked specific questions about fields, parking, lighting and facilities. The attendees also had the opportunity to present comments and questions on index cards. The evening was concluded by the attendees reviewing the proposed design plans.

Second Public Meeting: South Cypress Creek Project

Mitchell High School was again the host of the second public meeting held on Tuesday, December 5th at 6 p.m.  Residents of the West Junction Neighborhood and surrounding areas gathered in the cafeteria to hear a brief presentation by Sasaki, Inc. and to participate in an open workshop.  The consultants presented three different approaches based on feedback from the meeting on September 28th.  Each approach focused on abating the flood issues from South Cypress Creek that have plagued the neighborhood.  The “Green Landings” approach featured creek access through board walks and extension of green space.  The “Neighborhood Heart” focuses on redevelopment efforts in the heart of the community, while also providing trails and water access to South Cypress Creek.   The final approach, “Community Spine”, provides for additional green space and park areas on the southern portion of the neighborhood.  The park area is connected to the remainder of the neighborhood through trail connections that meander throughout the neighborhood including the South Cypress Creek floodway.  All three concepts and approaches are provided.

After the presentation, the attendees were given a worksheet to complete during the walk-through workshop.  The worksheets were collected at the end of the workshop and will be used to further refine the resident’s vision for the neighborhood within the constraints of the National Disaster Resilience Grant.

First Public Meeting: West Junction Neighborhood Design Meeting:

On Thursday, September 28th, 2017, Shelby County and the City of Memphis’ Office of Resilience, along with Sasaki, University of Tennessee’s Extension Institute of Agriculture, and Memphis Tilth, facilitated a design workshop for the West Junction Neighborhood.  The workshop was held in the cafeteria at Mitchell High School.

The lead project consultant, Sasaki, gave a presentation to the community that included information about the Resilience Grant, including an extensive history about the grant and how the funds will be allocated for wetland restoration designs, re-purposing vacant lots to accomplish community and economic development, and increase access to fresh, healthy foods.

The presentation was followed by a question and answer session, where neighborhood residents asked specific questions about lot transformation and stream and wetland restoration.  The evening was concluded by breaking the attendees into small groups.  Each group was facilitated to allow the participants to express their desires for their neighborhood,through choosing a specific pre-determined land use type.  The consultants are currently analyzing the information gained at the workshop and will present the results to the residences in another design/workshop format in late November or early December of 2017.

Below are some pictures from the West Junction Neighborhood Design Meeting: