Community Benefits Agreements: Serving Communities

The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Good Neighbor Ambassador Program Offers Employment Opportunities

CEA is committed to educating the community on construction projects and initiatives. One important initiative is Community Benefits Agreements. 

A Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) is a legally enforceable contract. It is signed by community groups and developers of new construction. A CBA outlines statements of benefits to the community provided as part of the development project. The agreements can outline a percentage of minority workers, employment opportunities, new businesses, organizations and community aesthetics.  

If you notice that some Cleveland neighborhood streets look a little cleaner, the lawns are green and manicured and the residents are more involved and informed, you may have a Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) Good Neighbor Ambassador to thank.

As a result of their commitment to neighborhoods through the City of Cleveland’s Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs), the NEORSD two years ago, created the Good Neighbor Ambassador Program. “We’ve been involved in learning and participating in the CBA process for a while,” said Constance T. Haqq, the NEORSD’s Director of Administration and External Affairs.

It began with the March 1, 2013 Resolution in Support of CBAs and Inclusion Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) where the NEORSD sought, “…authority to enter into partnerships with MOU Parties, other public and private utilities, unions, and interested parties to develop action plans for the District’s own Community Benefits Programs focused on construction and internal operations and maintenance workforce training, new business development, and the development of physical amenities in neighborhoods where District construction occurs throughout the service area.”

The NEORSD then partnered with Dominion East Ohio. “We came up with our own MOU,” said Haqq. “We became an active participant in the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s Construction Diversity & Inclusion initiatives where we created opportunities to broaden the scope of the work that we do,” she said.  The opportunities include:

• Sponsoring ACE (Architecture, Construction and Engineering) and Natural Gas Mentoring Programs
• Hosting an annual Matchmaker Event
• Engaging in Workforce Initiatives
• Improving Educational Outcomes for Targeted Youth

The NEORSD is involved in a predominantly underground project called Project Clean Lake, which is a federally-mandated $3 billion investment to control combined sewer overflows (CSO). By 2035, the NEORSD’s information states that Project Clean Lake will reduce the volume of sewage overflows to Lake Erie from 4.5 billion to 450 million gallons during a typical year. The project predominately takes place in the City of Cleveland and involves building large underground tunnels.

In 2014, the Good Neighbor Ambassador Program was created to serve as a complement to Project Clean Lake by using ambassadors to provide community outreach to better serve communities before, during and after large construction projects. This ensures sustainability, resident involvement and mutual benefits.

Ambassadors work in their communities. They perform a variety of tasks which can include: Site clean-up and maintenance; trash pick-up; distribution of fliers and informational materials; snow removal; weeding and mowing and general project assistance around the neighborhood.

“It’s an amazing program,” said Stanley Miller, the NEORSD’s consultant to the Good Neighbor Ambassador Program. “It’s one worth duplicating. It’s great pay, good working conditions and the Ambassadors do not have to have histories of long-term employment.”

Though they get exemplary training working at the NEORSD as Ambassadors, that doesn’t always lead to permanent full-time employment within the organization. Thus far, a majority of the Ambassadors have been able to get jobs at the NEORSD with others finding outside employment; but this will likely reverse as the Program continues and vacancies at the NEORSD become fewer.  “Our Ambassador training prepares them for more general jobs. We take them from where they are and put wind beneath their wings so that they can be productive,” mentions Miller. “I don’t know of an organization other than the NEORSD that will train, mentor, provide a salary, benefits, clothes… everything for them to be successful employees, and then possibly send them to work for another company.”

Miller also mentioned that the GNA Team keeps in touch with the former Ambassadors for a year, offering a safety net to ensure they are not having problems or challenges after moving from the sewer district program into their permanent positions. The team members include an HR representative. “The team’s goal is to ensure the Ambassadors are successful,” offers Miller.

In addition to the Good Neighbor Ambassador Program, CBA activity is expanding its community opportunities. They are partnering with LAND Studio, an organization with a “mission to create places and connect people through public art, sustainable building and design, collaborative planning, and dynamic programming” and a “vision to make Cleveland a city filled with vibrant, textured places that unite, inspire, and enrich its people.”

“We received $30 thousand dollars from the St. Luke’s Foundation to include an art installation in the Buckeye-Woodland neighborhood,” said Haqq.  “It’s in the design phase of the project now, but when we are finished we will leave behind an art installation that will educate our community. We will leave for the community art that will stand forever. I’m excited that we can leave something that will beautify the community and also educate them,” she said.

CEA will run a series of articles on Cleveland's CBAs, its contributors and impact. This is the second in the series.