Neighborhood Planning Council 1 - Post-Franklin

POST/FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL Thursday May 4, 2017 Chair Diana Quigg called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. at CA Board Room. Attendance: Members Present: Cindy Fritz, James Moreno, Diana Quigg, William (Jon) Hazel, John Cash, Linda Carmona and Yvonne Powell (via phone) and Pat Shellenberger. Members Excused: Katie Hubbard,and La Mar Mingle Guest and Visitors: Jim Blocker, Chief BCPD, Craig Long BCPD, Tommy Engels–Code Compliance, Tad McCrumb–BC Civil Eng., Carl Fedders–BC City Eng., Lynn Ward- Gray–City Comm., Kate Flores–City Comm., Tamara Carlton Additions and Deletions to the Agenda: None Approval of Minutes: Motion for approval of April Minutes was made by James and seconded by John; with correction of February to April. Approved. Correspondence and Announcements: Capitol Improvement wish list is to consolidate Fire Stations in the future. Station 3’s heating/cooling systems are being upgraded. Rescue 3 dedication ceremony was a huge success. Community and City both turned out to support this milestone for Station #3. Thank you all for the support and attendance. Historical District Comm. Mtg. is Monday, May 8 Zoning Board of Appeals Mtg. is Tuesday, May 9 Next NCP Leadership Mtg. is May 15 at Public Works at 5:30pm, all from the council may attend. Committee and Staff Reports: Police: Officer Long was present and took questions. He is still seeing issues at Post Park and will be monitoring the area. Remember, if you see activity around a vacant or abandon building, please call 911 and report it. Issues for Officer Long – Juvenile issues on Inn Ave. Code: Tommy distributed the monthly report. He informed us that the Noxious Weed ordinance will start up on May 8th and run through October. A paint program called Everybody’s Paint will be available in two weeks thru the city. This will allow residents 10 gallons of paint for free. You must view a Video and have your house painted within 60 days. There is no income requirement, but you must be a resident in the City of Battle Creek. Houses being rehab in NPC #1 are 52 West Kingman, 40 New England, and 46 Lathrop. Two houses in the Franklin area are being abated before being torn down. There are still a few grants left for roofs. The following was reported: 17 E. Kingman Ave – Dogs being left out for long periods of time with no water. Beautiful Battle Creek Award: CARLTON GROCERY Jim made a motion to nominate Carlton Grocery at 101 Post Ave. It was seconded by Jon. It was approved. 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: Subcommittee is working on exploring avenues to connect with neighbors. Commissioner Comments: Lynn Ward-Gray reported that a Town Hall at Second Missionary Church will be Tuesday, May 23 from 6-8 pm, the theme is “No Place Like Home: Housing in Battle Creek”. There will be light refreshment. The Budget Proposal Mtg. will be May 18 at the Public Works building. There will be a workshop before the May 16 Commission Mtg. at 5:30 pm on Medical Marijuana. An item on the agenda is to hold city elections on even years instead of odd. There are 7 new youths on the Youth Advisory Board. The revised Animal Control ordinance on passed, but the Urban Animal Ordinance did not. There will be a big announcement from BCPC/WKKF on Friday, May 5 at the High School. Public is welcomed to attend. Lynn reported that Comm. Baldwin apologized to her fellow commissioners for her remark made at the May 2nd Commission meeting. Battle Creek Public Schools: None Old Business: Diana is to check with Yvonne to see if the mini-grand is still available for us to do a neighborhood project. We had thought of a tire pick-up, but have decided to do “Clean the Sewer Drains”. There are numerous drains in the neighborhood that are clogged. We believe this is a doable intitive. New Business: Chief Blocker updated Council on the construction of the new police station. He brought a rendition of the new building. He also told us about the construction site and how the streets will be effected near the site. Once the new station is constructed the old station will be razed and the lot will be improved for parking. He informed us that in the past we were leading in B&E’s, now they are seeing crimes of opportunity. Things have improved in his opinion. He took questions from the members and visitors. We brought to his attention the issue of front yard parking, he vowed to correct it. He also reported that the Byrne Grant is moving along and great things are to come from this community effort. Battle Creek City Engineers presented us map of the road resurfacing program for 2017. June 15 is the start date for Water Main replacement in the area from Newark to W. Kingman between Main St. and Taft streets. The engineers took and questions from the council and visitors. They shared that they want to ensure all are aware and prepared for the level of effort involved in this project. Individuals are encouraged to reach out to the on-site Engineer Tad McCrumb if there are issues or concerns during this project. Members Comments: Jim stated at the last city commission meeting he attended it was good to be a cool city, but listen to all citizens. We are a better city then what happened. Cindy also stated that she did not like the reference City Comm. Baldwin made, and glad she apologized to her fellow Commissioners, but she should apologize to the citizens of Battle Creek. Post/Franklin Comm. Gardeners will be planting Wed. May 24 from 1-8, all are welcomed to come and help. Public Comments: Bobby Holley will be holding a March/Rally on Bullying. Junteenth will be the 3rd Jun 16/17 at Claude Evans Park. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: June 1, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the CA Board Room. Respectfully Submitted by Cynthia Fritz, Recording Secretary