Cop House?
What is a COP house? The idea is simple, surprisingly simple in fact. We would buy a house or a property known for trouble, in an area of our city that has a real need for services, specifically youth services. We would then set up a community outpost in a single-family residence similar to those in the neighborhood. COP house stands for a Community Out Post.
This idea originated in the 1990’s in Racine, Wisconsin. Racine now has several COP houses. Residents in areas with COP houses say crime in their neighborhoods has been reduced and quality of life has improved. Currently, only one community in Minnesota has a COP house, St. Cloud. The St. Cloud COP house project has been so successful they are planning on opening another COP house! More on the St. Cloud Cop House later in this report.
A Faribault COP house would be used for outreach and building good will and bettering friendships. A place to host community engagement and community enrichment activities. A place to act as a base for community engagement and youth services and a HUB for community related events.
Rotary Exploratory Committee
Faribault’s rotary club has served our community for over 100 years! Over the course of time Rotarians have garnished a reputation for moving community projects forward. Rotarians have no doubt made a difference in this community. Many people in Faribault look to the Rotary club to “get things done.” “Service above self,” is one of the main principals for each Rotarian. This project is perfect for Rotary. Faribault is counting on us to get this done! To keep people on track our committee was split out into subgroups. The following items were assigned to one or two committee members each:
Financing
Outside Partners
Construction
Youth Services
Volunteers
Realty
This report will look at each of these areas, providing an overview of each. We will also discuss the clubs visit to St. Clouds COP house in March.
Financing
If the club were to purchase a lot with either cash or bank financing in place, we would need the following:
· Blueprints, Plans
· Specs
· Sworn construction statement from the contractor
· Appraisal based on Blueprints, Specs, and Plans
Construction begins, if financed the bank, title company, and contractor would work together on draws, inspections, etc. If the club were able to purchase the lot/residence as a cash transaction the following would occur: money will be held in escrow at a title company and the draws will originate from there. Once the home is finished and the certificate of occupancy is granted its time to move in! A very important wrinkle is that once the lot is purchased no work, clearing of trees, etc. can commence on the lot until the above pieces are in place. This is due to the insuring title company wanting to make sure there are no construction liens on the property.
Outside Partners
An important part of any community project is developing a partnership with other community organizations. The committee members agreed this should be a Rotary project with Rotarians playing the main role, however we thought it to be important to establish a list of potential community partners. The following are the Outside organizations that may want to line up with the Cop House Project:
Chamber
United Way
CAC
Three Rivers Community Action
HCI
AmeriCorps
School District
South Central Community College
Midwest Community Development (ran by Somalis)
Elks
Moose
Knights of Columbus
Cross-Culture Ambassadors Of Faribault
Construction
New construction varies by contractor but is between $200-$250 per square foot. For a 3000 square foot home that would be between $600,000 to $750,000 for a new construction home. These figures are just estimates for a new construction property.
Youth Services
As noted below in the section reference the St. Cloud COP house project, the majority of the activities offered at the COP house revolve around youth directly. The goal of a COP house project would be community involvement and support. This project fits in with Rotary youth service’s mission to enrich the lives of youth and youth activities in our area!
Volunteers
Similar to the Outside Partners section of this report many local volunteers could help facilitate and volunteer at a COP house including the following organizations:
Big Brothers and Big Sisters
United Way
High School Clubs and activities
Internships w/ Police/Social Services
Christian Volunteer Groups
IRIS
Rotary Club
Lions Club
Moose Club
Elks Club
Eagles Club
WAANO
Diversity Committee
Community Action Food Shelf
Realty
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