Neighborhood Planning Council 1 - Post-Franklin

-POST/FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL- Thursday March 7, 2019 Chair James Moreno called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m. at CA Board Room. Attendance: Members Present: James Moreno, Yvonne Powell, Cindy Fritz, Pat Shellenberger, John Cash, Pastor Kjersten Priddy and Linda Carmona (via phone). Members Excused: LaMarr Mingle Guest and Visitors: Ofc. Clay Hoggard and Kelly Dillman – BCPD (Be Safe), Chris Zuzga, Planning Department, Niki Cummings and Toi James – NPC#1 Ambassadors, Deondra Ramsey – BCPS, Niaka Dunbar, Family & Community Engagement Coordinator, BCPS, Pam Geleff, Fay Washington, Jeff Cotton, Engagement Manager, On the Ground BC., and Kate Flores, Ward 3 Commissioner. Additions and Deletions to the Agenda: None Approval of Minutes: Minutes for January and February - John Cash made motion and second by Yvonne Powelll, correction of Officer Hoggard’s name noted, minutes approved. Correspondence and Announcements: Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a hearing on Tuesday, March 12, at 4pm Commission Chambers. Two items on the agenda. Calhoun County Medical facility is holding fundraisers on May 17, 2019. For more information or to volunteer call Terri at 269-962-5458. 6th Annual Rock-A-Thon and Silent Auction – 9am – 7pm May 17, 2019 at 1150 E Michign Ave, Battle Creek, MI. Memory Bucket Collection – volunteers sought for 2 hour periods to collect money at designated corner. March 12th at 5pm there will be a meeting to discuss the Byrne Grant projects for this NPC - Pocket Park and Rain Garden projects. Individuals interested in attending call 968-3110. Police: Officer Hoggard reported on the stats for NPC#1. He displayed report via computer a copy will be provided to Chair for NPC Records. The report compared 2017 and 2018 stats. The on-going hot spot for this NPC is on Cliff and is centered at Cliff Street Market. This hot spot has been a concern for over 15 years. Officer Rivera devoted significant attention when he was the Byrne Grant Officer and was able to address some of the issues. Officer Hoggard has made attempts to continue this work. Members raised concern that this hot spot was only being contained and not eliminated. It was noted that perhaps there needs to be more collaboration from the owner of Cliff Street Market with the neighborhood and Police. Officer Hoggard’s last day with BCPD is March 15th, he will be leaving the community. A new officer will be identified for our NPC and Byrne Grant. Issues reported to the officer there is a gray Mercury sedan turns off of Main St., onto E Kingman at about 6:50am and speeds down E Kingman. Concern for students walking to school bus pickup. Ms. Dillman presented a recap of the Byrne Grant activity and introduced Toi James as our NPC Ambassador. She asked Pastor Priddy to describe the Byrne Grant she received. Pastor Priddy shared that the grant would be used to foster conversations with neighbors as to how best to use and configure open space within Trinity Lutheran Church for Neighborhood and Community purposes. Code: Chris Zuzga distributed Code report. She asked if there were any concerns that needed to be reported. 423 Main – Front Yard Parking. This is a rental property and the front yard has been destroyed. Police ticket is $5, but Zoning ticket is $50 for first ticket and it escalates with each new ticket. Concern of buildings/sheds popping up on the road just past corner of Riverside and Territorial. Chris Zuzga shared this is city owned and she will have it looked into. Chris shared that there will be a Commission workshop on March 19th at 5:30pm Commission Chamber; the workshop will focus upon the need for City to be able to inspect local Hotels and Motels. Currently, the city does not have an Ordinance that specifically grants them the ability to inspect or address Code violations. Concern has been raised that some establishments are renting out rooms to families for extended periods and this is raising health and safety concerns as these facilities are not equipped/designed for this. Beautiful Battle Creek Award: None 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: Yvonne introduced Fay Washington and she shared she was interested in becoming a member. Yvonne made motion for Fay to become a member, second by Cindy Fritz. Motion approved. Pat Shellenberger made a motion for Pam Geleff to become a member, second by Pastor Priddy. Motion approved. Fay Washington Pam Geleff 48 Hannah St 802 Michigan Ave E Battle Creek, MI 49014 Battle Creek, MI 49014 The two Neighborhood Ambassadors were asked if they were interested in becoming members. 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. Commission Comments: Commissioner Flores provided the following updates. Biweekly Recycling pickup will begin April 1, 2019. Waste Management notified city that there is currently a 25% contamination rate in city’s recycling materials picked up. There are resources available to help identify what is and is not recyclable. The next “Keeping you Informed” will be May 28th at City Hall from 6:30 – 8:00 pm and the topic is “Budget Made Easy”. Questions were asked regarding budget and next year’s budget cycle Battle Creek Public Schools: Ms. Ramsey reported that the Fremont International School would be opening Fall 2019; applications are being taken for K-2 and a grade will be added each year and cap with 5th grade. STEM Innovation School to open Fall 2019. Program will start with 6th Grade; applications are being taken. Kindergarten Round up starts March 14 – June 10th. Summer School program enrollment end June 7th. Summer school will be held at Valley View. BCPS is seeking individuals to be reading buddies for students at Post/Franklin Elementary and Verona Elementary. You are asked to give 30 minutes per visit; you determine frequency of participation. Individuals interested may contact Ms. Ramsey at Administration Building. Old Business: None New Business: All Kinship Species cancelled due to a conflict. They will be rescheduled. Mr. Jeff Cotton of On the Ground BC made a presentation on the work that he has done in other NPCs. He shared how he wanted to speak with and gather stories from our neighborhood. He shared that it is through the story telling process that we as a community learn about one another and this is how we also pass along our history. He is in the process of setting up a meeting for either March 22nd or 29th to engage our neighborhoods in this community listening and building effort. Pastor Priddy volunteered her facility to host this event. Members Comments: John Cash asked that his minutes be mailed to 680 Westbrook Ave, Battle Creek, MI 49014. The Chair thanked all for attending and participating. Officer Hoggard was thanked for his service. Pat Shellenberger asked if we could at our next meeting have individuals introduce themselves so that we get to know on another better. Public Comments: Mr. Cotton commented that the chairs in the boardroom were very comfortable. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: April 4, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the CA Board Room. Respectfully Submitted by Cynthia Fritz, Recording Secretary