Neighborhood Planning Council 1 - Post-Franklin

POST/FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL Thursday, Nov 7, 2013 7:02 p.m. The Chair James Moreno called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at CA Board Room. ATTENDANCE: Members Present: Linda Carmona, John Cash, Eliose Fogg, Cynthia Fritz, Deborah Perkins, Yvonne Powell, Diana Quigg, Pat Shellenberger and James Moreno. Members Excused: Katie Hubbard, Don Stormer, and Gilbert Ortiz. Guests and Visitors: Elizabeth Fulton, Vice Mayor – City Comm., Sherry Sofia – City Comm., Jason Francisco – Code Compliance-City of BC, Trevor Galbraith – BCPD, Casey Holbrook – EDGE Program – Michigan Works!. ADDITIONS AND DELETIONS TO THE AGENDA: None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion to approved Oct minutes was made by Eliose and seconded by Diana. Motion was approved. CORRESPONDENCE AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: • Nov 19th is the Citizen Participation Plan/HUD to be discussed at 7:00 pm in the City Commission Chambers. Documentation can be viewed at City Hall. • Enbridge went door to door to residents informing them of the increase of truck traffic in the Post/Franklin area. This is due to the ongoing clean-up being performed at the Battle Creek Mill Pond Spillway. COMMITTEE AND STAFF REPORTS: Police: Police report was distributed. Officer Galbraith addressed the police issues. He has been following up on the issues reported in Oct on Main and Academy and has been issuing some violations. Code Compliance: Jason distributed the Code. Jason announced that the noxious weed ordinance is done for the season. Waste Management issues were discussed. The following Code and Police issues was reported: Police • 15 Cliff – Parking issues. • Taft street speed bumps have been removed. Residents have seen an increase of speeding. • Newark – reported drivers driving the wrong way on a one-way. Code: • 80/82 Academy – Inspection is scheduled for Nov 18. • 232/234 South Ave. – Junk and Trash – Jason reported that all was okay with this property. • 228 South Ave – Junk and Trash • 52 and 92 High St. – Boarded and Junk • 15/17 Warren – county owned. Planning: None Beautiful Battle Creek Award: The following three properties were nominated for BBC Award. 802 E. Michigan 451 Main St. Motion was made by Eliose and seconded by Debbie. Motion was passed. Membership: The following were renewed for membership and approved unanimously. Their names will be forwarded for membership renewal by the City Commission. Eliose Fogg Pat Shellenberger Katie Hubbard It was brought to the Chairs attention that Gilbert Ortiz has asked to be removed as a member. A motion to remove Gilbert Ortiz was made by Diana and seconded by Pat. Motion passed. James will forward his removal to City Hall. COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: Commissioners present reported that the next Commission Mtg. will be Nov 12 at 7:30 as the organizational part and the commission meeting will be at 8:00 pm. On Oct 22 there was a public hearing on the Transit system. We hope to hear of their decisions sometime in late Dec or it could be after the new year. Battle Creek Public Schools: No representative. OLD BUSINESS: James stated that a Sub-Committee headed by Diana to look at different projects the council could do in the NPC consist of James, Yvonne and Pat. NEW BUSINESS: James turned the floor over to the Nomination Committee to head the election of officers for NPC#1 2014. Cindy chaired the Nomination Committee, Pat and Debbie reviewed and reported the results. Nominated for Chair was Diana Quigg, Vice Chair was James Moreno and Secretary was John Cash. Motion was made by Yvonne to accept slate and second by Eloise; motion passed. A secret ballot was utilized. Pat and Debbie gathered the votes, counted them and reported the results to the Nomination Chair. It was announced that Diana Quiqq, James Moreno and John Cash were elected as officers for the 2014 year. Cindy then gave the floor back to the Chair, Jim Moreno. Our Guest Speaker was Casey Holbrook, EDGE Program Manager. Essential skills Demanded by Great Employers (EDGE) is a workforce development collaborative designed to improve employment readiness and economic security for low-income Battle Creek residents. This goal is accomplished by providing a comprehensive training program which culminates in employment for the participants. It was shared that the graduates of the next class that is being assembled could potentially be employed by Post upon successful completion of this training. For information on this program, or to make referrals, please contact Casey Holbrook by phone: 269-660-1411 or email: holbrooc@calhounisd.org. MEMBER COMMENTS: John requested that the chair contact BCPS about their representative to the planning council. Chair noted that Dr. Hicks made a commitment to have a representative at our meetings and we will ask about it at December meeting as she will be in attendance to discuss BCPS Bulling Policy. James thanked Commissioners Sofia and Fulton for their dedication to the Post Franklin Planning council and stated that they will be missed. We wish them the best and hope they are not strangers to us. We welcome them at our meetings anytime. Linda Carmona asked Jason Francisco to check in the matter of the lack of curb and gutters on Willow and Oak. Prior to the reconstruct she recalled their being such, now there is none and it looks unfinished. Jason submitted the following update from Engineering Dept. on 11/14/13 - Jason, I see that the grass has not grown in full in areas and will have to be re-seeded by the contractor next spring. With respect to the curb missing and the crosswalk, we removed an existing crosswalk heading south at the intersection of Oakhill and Willow which sent pedestrians across the street to nowhere, but replaced the crosswalk going east to the school crossing Willow. Regarding to the curb situation, Oakhill has no curb and gutter on this section, so the transition was made from curb and gutter on Willow to none on Oakhill. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Commissioners Sofia and Fulton complimented each other and said it was a Honor and privilege to work with each other. It was an emotional time and they will miss meeting with the planning council. ADJOURNMENT: Meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: Dec 5th, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at Community Action Board Room Respectfully Submitted by, Cindy Fritz, Recording Secretary