The Coalition for a Safe Danville will meet at 4 p.m. Thursday in the cafeteria of Westwood Middle School, which is located at 500 Apollo Drive. The meeting will feature a presentation on blighted housing in Danville and the preliminary 2012 crime report.
The presentation on blight will detail the current state of housing in Danville. City Manager Joe King has presented statistics to City Council that show 40 percent of the houses in the city are in fair or poor condition. The 2010 U.S. census found 2,000 houses in the city were vacant and abandoned, but that number is considerably less than what city officials believe to be the actual number.
Crime statistics show vacant and abandoned houses are a magnet for burglaries and drug-related activities.
King is proposing a war on blight that will include a more aggressive enforcement of existing codes, creation of additional rental inspection districts, addition of new code enforcement tools, an increase in the number of demolitions, and promotion of property investment through activities such as a community clean-up/fix-up/paint-up program.
City Council formed the Coalition for a Safe Danville to unite community stakeholders, share information, develop strategies, engage and inform the public, and undertake coordinated activities that will combat crime and earn public confidence that Danville is a safe community in which to live, visit, and conduct business.
Coalition membership is open to any organization or individual interested in combating and preventing crime in Danville.