Neighborhood Planning Council 1 - Post-Franklin

POST/FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL Thursday Feb 2, 2017 Chair Diana Quigg called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. at CA Board Room. Attendance: Members Present: Cindy Fritz, James Moreno, Diana Quigg, Yvonne Powell, William (Jon) Hazel, John Cash, La Mar Mingle and Linda Carmona via phone. Members Excused: Katie Hubbard and Pat Shellenberger Guest and Visitors: Ofc. Burke BCPD, Tommy Engels – Code Ofc. BC, Krista Trout-Edwards – Calhoun Co. Land Bank, Exec. Dir. Additions and Deletions to the Agenda: None Approval of Minutes: Motion for approval of January Minutes was made by James and seconded by Yvonne, with correction of date to January and not December. Approved. Correspondence and Announcements: Zoning Board of Appeals – Feb 14 meeting cancelled and moved to Mar 14. James spoke to the council that if you talk with an individual about an appeal do not instruct them to call him as he will then have to recuse himself at the appeals hearing. It would be a conflict of interest. NPC Leadership Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb 7 from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the DPW site on Kendall St. Received letter back from the City Manager concerning our question about a member’s membership. Heart Awareness Seminar will be Feb 23 at the Kool Community Center from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. The Art Center will be holding an Art Contest from Jan-Mar. For more information call 962-9511. The American Legion will be hosting a Motown Fun Fest on Feb 13 from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Call 964-7320 for more information. Diana reported that there is a $500 Mini-Grant for Clean-up or Recycling in the county. We could do a tire recycling day – need to look into this Mini-Grant. Committee and Staff Reports: Police: Officer Burke distributed police. The Speed Study was included in the report. Members would like to have a study done on Main St. going north to compare the two. He reported that there have been numerous foot patrols and traffic stops through-out the Post-Franklin Neighborhood. He also reported that next month will be his last month in the NPC as his rotation is ending. He also talked upon the increase of accidents of car/train since the Quiet Zone has been implemented. The following issues were reported: 17/21 E. Kingman shared driveway – Residents parking over the sidewalk. 255 Main St. – Front yard parking 208 Cliff St. – Front yard parking Code: Tommy distributed the monthly report. He gave an update on the following properties: 40 E. Kingman - Boarded up windows – GOING to COURT 75 E. Kingman - Mattress at curb. – VACANT/NO TRASH 85 E. Kingman – JUNK – WRITTEN UP Beautiful Battle Creek Award: Jon nominated 34 Post Ave for a Beautiful Battle Creek Award. A motion was made by Jon and seconded by James. Motion Carried. If you see a property that you feel deserves a BBC Award you may nominate that property, all that is required is the address. The council will then vote and the address is submitted to City Neighborhood Planning Office, who then proceed with the issuing of the Award. Note – once we submit the addresses the City takes control of the process and we have no say when an address will be awarded. If any member should have a question regarding an address that was submitted they need only ask and the inquiry will be made to the City and the outcome will be documented in the minutes. Membership: None. Commissioner Comments: None. Kate Flores sent email to James stating she was unable to attend meeting due to a family commitment. Battle Creek Public Schools: None Old Business: James and Jon are identifying the names of the property owners from the BBC Award list. We will then send them an invite to attend a NPC Meeting in April or May. New Business: Krista from the Calhoun County Land Bank. They have gotten a grant to complete numerous demolitions within Calhoun County. Some of the properties she identified from the Post/Franklin area are: 321 Burnham, 797 E. Michigan, 46/47 Oak, 17 Warren, 31 and 177 Caine, 28 James, 59 and 89 Marjorie, 38 and 48 Lauren Court, 48 New England and they are trying to get ownership for 368 Michigan. There was a discussion on vacant and abandon properties, along with vacant side lot. She also talked about the Neighborhood Mow & Maintenance Program. This program allows organizations to earn money. Apply by Mar 16, for more information contact calhounlandbank.org or call 269-781-0777. It was discussed that the Land Bank could be one of our presenters when we invite our BBC Awardees to the Planning Council. Members Comments: La Mar spoke that Station #3 Preservation Committee is still there and that everything is calm at this point. He also reported that there is a 4 man crew at the station. Engine 3 will be replaced at the Station with a new truck and it will be called Rescue 3. James asked if everyone knew about the Feral Cat (Community Cat) Survey from the City. Check the city website for more information on the survey. The city will be having other conversations about Feral Cats in the future. Cindy reported that Jake Smith (new County Commissioner for our area) contacted the NPC officers introducing him and if we have questions we can contact him. His email address is jwsmith@calhouncountymi.gov. Or you can find his info via the county website. Public Comments: None. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: Mar 2, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the CA Board Room. Respectfully Submitted by Cynthia Fritz, Recording Secretary