Neighborhood Planning Council 1 - Post-Franklin

POST/FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL Thursday, Feb 2, 2012 CAA Board Room 175 Main St. 7:00 p.m. The Chair called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the CAA Board Room. ATTENDANCE: Members Present: John Cash, Cynthia Fritz, John Kenefick, Gilbert Ortiz, Yvonne Powell, Deborah Perkins, Diana Quiqq, Pat Shellenberger and James Moreno. Members Excused: Linda Carmona and Eliose Fogg. Guests and Visitors: Commissioners Elizabeth Fulton and Sherri Sofia, Dennis McKinley – B.C. Neighborhood Services, Tony Gancer – BC Police Dept., Debra Norman – BCPS Franklin Elem. Principal, Andie Martin, and John Hennink. ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA: None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: It was noticed that the letter of recommendation for Whitley Funeral Home was not attached and will be sent with Feb. minutes. Diana made a motion to approve Jan. minutes and seconded by Pat, motion was approved. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Building MI Cities Conference to be held in Lansing, Apr 23-25, call 734-677-0503 or online at www.housigconference.org for more information. Kingman Museum will only be open on Saturdays until further notice. COMMITTEE AND STAFF REPORTS: Police: Officer Gancer reported that there are two officers and the Gang Unit patrolling the Post/Franklin area. We will have Crime Stats next month. He reported that with the mild winter we are having they have seen an increase in crime in the area. Please be on the lookout for suspicious activity and call 911. Ofc. Gancer also reported that he has a community project in the works at the apartment house at 685 E. Michigan. The property owner is working with the BC Police and Code Compliance to get the property cleaned up. The MI Youth Academy will be assisting in March to do a clean up. The following was reported: 457 Main St. – Dog tied up on chain for long periods of time 14 James – Strange activity at and around the area 247/249 Main St. – Front yard parking – Dennis to check w/ S. Bedsole for update East Kingman - it was reported that a gentlemen was going thru garbage can from Main St to Caine St. It was reported that a door to door salesman was out and about the neighborhood late in the evening. It’s advised not to answer doors late-if concern call 911. Code Department: Dennis distributed the NPC Code Compliance and Inspections Reports. Again, it was noted to all that addresses are needed when reporting an issue. The County Demo list was passed around so that all could see all houses identified for demolition, the following was for the Post/Franklin area: 17/19 Cliff St., 397/403 Cliff St. and 63 Lathrop. Dennis shared that he was informed by the Water Department that they have room for a Public Service Announcement (PSA) if we would like to draft the message it will be posted in an upcoming Water Bill mailing. James will draft a PSA and submit to Dennis to forward to the Water Billing Dept. Dennis followed up on the following items: 106 Academy – Dangerous Building Process – now has new owners who are waiting on Code Report. 92 Main St. – Open building – Owner to secure property – pursuing as Dangerous Building in 30 days if there is not update. 247/249 Main Street – Front yard parking. – random monitoring will be done. 118 Highway – Dangerous Building – limited funding – keeping watch. 120 Highway – junk accumulation spilling on to 118 Highway – keeping watch. A representative of the owners of Foster Cares located on Mary Street was in attendance. She reported their experience with Code Compliance has been good. She was concerned with the crime in the area and the slow response from the police. The Council engaged in a lengthy discussion with Dennis and the Police Officer. Planning: None. Beautiful Battle Creek Award: None. Membership: Gilbert reported that he has a new address – it will be noted in the email to the City so that he will continue to get his minutes. James will contact Simone to inquire on her membership status. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: Comm. Sofia reported on the next City Comm. Agenda – a vote to add a new member to NPC#1, the Special Use Permit for Whitley Funeral Home. The CDBG workshop concluded and 4 Grants totaling $100,000 was distributed to 4 different grants. Battle Creek Public Schools: Deb reported that the bid was awarded to Sweitzer for the addition to Franklin. Triangle project is continuing - there is concern about the pooling of water on the corner. Girls on the Run will be training on the track in Triangle for the run at Binder Park in May. OLD BUSINESS: Update to the Special Use Permit for Whitley Funeral Home was discussed. NEW BUSINESS: James will get with Susan Bedsole for her return visit to the council to discuss our Dashboard project. He reported that Nancy McFarland will give a presentation at the April meeting on the status of Community Action (CA). The council stated that we would like to address police issues and James will contact Police Chief Hampton and invite him to our March meeting for a visit and discussion. MEMBER COMMENTS: John C. extended condolences from the council to Jim. Public COMMENTS: John Hennink asked the Chair to read the Vision/Mission statement for Neighborhood Services to the council. John then asked for feedback. This resulted in a lengthy discussion from the members and guests. ADJOURNMENT: Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Next Meeting is Mar 1, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted by, Cindy Fritz, Recording Secretary