Neighborhood Planning Council 1 - Post-Franklin

``POST/FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL Thursday March 1, 2018 Chair Diana Quigg called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. at CA Board Room. Attendance: Members Present: James Moreno, Diana Quigg, Linda Carmona, Cindy Fritz, John Cash and Pat Shellenberger (via phone). Members Excused: Jack Childs, Katie Hubbard, Kjersten Priddy – Pastor, Trinity Lutheran, Yvonne Powell and La Mar Mingle Guest and Visitors: Tom Rivera BCPD, Kelly Dillman, BCPD Community Liaison, Tommy Engels, Code, Sherry Sofia, City Commissioner, Barbara Travis – MI Works!, Fallon Knox – MI Works!, Tamara Carlton, Patricia Munn Additions and Deletions to the Agenda: None Approval of Minutes: Motion for approval of February Minutes will be taken up at the April meeting due to lack of quorum. Correspondence and Announcements: Southwest Michigan Community Development Corp., will host meetings on 3/13 and 3/5/18 at their office 47 Washington Ave N from 6-7pm. Meetings will talk about the various grant programs that homeowners can take advantage of this Spring. Rehab and Accessibility modifications are the focus of these grants. Call Kristyn Denison at 968-1113 or email kdenison@swmcdc.org in order to reserve your spot. Southwest Urban League – Fund Raiser –Big Mac N’Cheese Fest. March 14, 12pm-2pm, 7 varieties to pick from. 2 items for $15, 3 items for $20. Call 269-962-5553 for more information. Women’s Health First – 3/24/18, 10:30am – 1pm, Binda Performing Arts Theater, Kellogg Community College. Admission is $25 per person. Sponsored by Battle Creek Junior League. 3rd Annual Women’s Summit and Brunch. Capacity Building in the Community – 3/23/18, 11am-2pm., Kool Family Community Center (Lew Boyd Room), 200 W Michigan Ave Battle Creek, MI. Call Holly Munsch at 269-962-2181 to reserve a seat. Limit 5 seats per organization. American Legion#257 Post Dedication and Community Celebration honoring SSG Michael A. Dickerson, II, 1998 Harper Creek Graduate killed in Afghanistan campaign. 3/22/18, 7pm., Harper Creek High School Auditorium, 12677 Beadle Lake Rd., Battle Creek, MI. For more information call 269-579-6458. Great Escape Stage Company will be hosting auditions for Emily Mann’s “Having Our Say”. Feb 26-27, 2018 in Marshall, 110 E Michigan Ave. Performance will be 4/12- 4/22/18. For more information call 269-781-2700. Audience transportation assistance may be available. Job posting – Network Infrastructure Manager, #JP1372. Closing is 3/9/18 at 4pm. Questions call 269-565-2074 or email hr@kellogg.edu Police: Officer Rivera brought in the Police Report and shared that it was not the full report as it is pulled over a 3 day period due to the overlap associated with this report, but we have 90% of it. He shared that during our snow emergency he went around and notified homeowners who had not removed their vehicles from the street; this kept towing in our neighborhoods to a minimum. He provided a handout regarding the Truck Routes in our neighborhoods and then discussed how signage in the area was wrong or missing. Without proper signage he and the Police Department cannot enforce unauthorized truck traffic in our neighborhoods. A copy of the Michigan Act 300 of 1949 governing Michigan Vehicle Code with respect to local authority in the limitations and prohibitions, or truck route designations. The Council determined that it will be sending a letter to Mr. Rickman, Traffic Engineer to look into and correct this matter within our neighborhoods. A formal vote will be taken at April meeting, as we need a quorum. Previous items reported: 21 East Kingman was reported for random parking on curb lawn; it is being monitored. Kelly shared that the Leadership Training on Feb 26th for new NPC members and established NPC members held at the Dept. of Public Works was well attended. This NPC has been instrumental in keeping the push on individuals working the Byrne Grant to bring things together. There are a few remaining program specifics that need to be finalized internally before we as a group can talk about possible projects. Kelly is working with other departments to ensure we have a wraparound of services so that gaps don’t form and disrupt our efforts. She and Tommy are partnering so that communication flows across their departments. Paint blitz and clean up ideas are examples of how both departments and community can work together outside of Byrne Grant. She is optimistic that all of the pieces will be in place by the April meeting. Kelly played a clip of New 3 story regarding Byrne Grant and the benefits for the Post/Franklin Neighborhoods. All were pleased with the positive nature of the story. Code: Tommy distributed Code report. The following was reported at last meeting: 21 E. Kingman – Garbage can left at curb – drove by cans were not present 115 Academy – vehicle tires are aired up 120 Academy – ticket issued and car removed Items reported tonight – 21 E Kingman – garbage was not picked up by Waste Management; it was out on time. Tommy is working with Waste Management for pickup on Friday – mission accomplished. Thank you Tommy. 125 Post – mattresses at the curb, not bagged. Tommy shared that city has replenished their supply of mattress bags and residents can come to their office and pick up a couple. Beautiful Battle Creek Award: 72 Taft 38 W Kingman, 64 W Kingman, and 86 W Kingman were presented for nomination. This will need to be voted on at April meeting due to lack of quorum. 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 Guest were reminded if they are interested in joining council to let Chair or Vice Chair know and we will get a motion to add them to the membership. There are two potential new members; will confirm in January. Commission Comments: Commissioner Sofia reported the Medical Marijuana ordinance was adopted. There are 5 types of licenses that individuals in Battle Creek will be able to pursue. The ordinance states that licensee cannot be within 1000 feet of each other or a school. This is going to make the # of potential licenses and locations very interesting. There was discussion regarding the Recreational Use of Marijuana being on the ballot and likely passing. There was concern of individual’s using and infringing upon those that don’t want to smell their use. This is reminiscent to the cigarette smoke issue. Budget discussion is coming up. She expressed concern of sustainability of our grant funded programs. She doesn’t want to see another good idea lost because funding ended and there were no plans on how to continue it afterwards. Byrne grant is of particular interest. She mentioned the Blue Ribbon Commission was meeting at the Dept of Public Works on March 7th and reminded individuals it was an Open Meeting and they should attend. She also pointed out that Vice Chair Jim Moreno was a member of that Commission. Battle Creek Public Schools: No representative Old Business: None New Business: Vice Chair held a discussion with members and guests with regards to the Blue Ribbon Commission and its charge. The five topics are based upon the City Charter and our scope is only on matters involving the City Charter. The five topics Commission asked this body to examine were: Election of Mayor and Vice Mayor by citizens, Commission Size, Length of Terms, Staggering of Terms, and Removing Gendered language from Charter. The discussion and feedback from the members and guests was very interesting regarding the five topics. In the end it was felt that voters should elect their Mayor and Vice Mayor. Many felt that the current size of the Commission was sufficient for our community. Having Ward Commissioners is important as they are accountable to their specific Ward and are more accessible. Staggered Terms – 2 or 4 years is acceptable, but there needed to be more discussion on who would have what length of term as it was important to keep the playing field level. Length of Terms was also questioned based upon item #3, but there was support for this. Gendered Charter Language – it is time to come into the 21st Century and remove gender references. Members Comments: Diana thanked all our guests for attending and updating us on issues. Jim thanked Tom and Kelly for their continued work on Byrne Grant and helping to keep visibility in our neighborhood. Public Comments: Barb Travis and Fallon Knox shared that the Employment Hub for our neighborhood is operational and is housed at the CA Transportation Building at 175 Main St. Ms. Knox is the liaison in the Post/Franklin Community and would like individuals to share with others in our neighborhoods that she is ready to sit down and help those seeking employment do so. Here office is open M-F 8:30-5pm. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: April 5th, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in the CA Board Room. Respectfully Submitted by Cynthia Fritz, Recording Secretary