Neighborhood Planning Council 1 - Post-Franklin

-POST/FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL- Thursday April 4, 2019 Chair James Moreno called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. at CA Board Room. Attendance: Members Present: James Moreno, Yvonne Powell, Cindy Fritz, Pat Shellenberger, Pam Geleff, John Cash, Pastor Priddy, and Linda Carmona (via phone). Members Excused: LaMarr Mingle and Fay Washington Guest and Visitors: Ofc. Stephen Herbstreith BCPD, Kelly Dillman - BCPD (Be Safe), Tommy Engels - BC Code, Eric Feldt – Planning Dept. Lynn Ward Gray, Ward 2 Commissioner, Barb Travis, MiWorks, Tynisha Dungey Willard Library Youth Svcs Manager, Ray W, and Eugene C Chief, Niki Cummings – NPC#1 Ambassador. Additions and Deletions to the Agenda: None Approval of Minutes: Yvonne made motion to approve March minutes and Linda seconded. Minutes Approved. There was an around the table introduction by members and guest. Correspondence and Announcements: Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a hearing on Tuesday, April 16th at 4pm City Commission Chambers. A dimensional variance sought by individual seeking to open a marijuana-provisioning center at 56 E Michigan. A second request is at 103 Grove St., for a processing and provisioning facility. The meeting is open to the public and all may attend. BCats update was distributed. April 6, 9-1 Baily Park – Recycle Rama, you can bring hazardous materials –batteries, florescent lights, household chemicals, expired meds, and styro. You cannot bring industrial packing peanuts or styro. Friends of Calhoun County Dog Park. This group is working towards raising funding for a dog park; it will be housed at Baily Park. Individuals interested in donating to this can send donations to BC Community Foundation in care of this group. Police: Officer Herbstreith reported there were no reports due to this being first of the month. They will be provided next month with our May report. He shared that keeping things lite and doors locked is the best deterrent to illegal activity. Both he and Officer O’Connell will be working our neighborhoods; he is on nights and O’Connell is on days. If you need to reach him use his email – sdherbstreithW@battlecreek.mik.gov. Pat relayed a concern she had regarding activity happening late night on the other side of her fence. She shared her dog has been pacing along the fence and barking and jumping when she goes out late at night. This is unusual and Pat called 911 to report it; she wants our officer in the area to be aware as this is a safety concern/issue for Pat. The area behind her home abuts to the cemetery and drugs and other unsavory activity occurs there at night. The Officer will make a point to keep an eye. Ms. Dillman reminded all that Be Safe BC is held 4th Thursday of the month at BC Police Department, 5:30-8pm and is open to all. NPC #4 is doing a cleanup in their neighborhood park on April 13; volunteers are welcome. Individuals interested in volunteering for any of the Byrne Grant projects can contact her. Chair asked if there were any volunteers from the last Be Safe meeting that had expressed interest in helping with NPC#1 projects? Ms. Dillman relayed that she had not received any, but expected that the Neighborhood Ambassadors would collect this information and relay it back to NPC. Issues reported to the officer were the front yard parking occurring on Main St., and in our neighborhoods. Code: Tommy distributed Code report. He reported he continues to monitor front yard parking. There was a discussion regarding individuals putting out garbage too early in our neighborhoods and it sitting over the weekend. Looking to get a proactive message out to residents. Neighborhood Property Surveys have begun, NPC#4 is currently being surveyed, our NPC is next. Beautiful Battle Creek Award: 110 E Kingman was reported after the meeting. The council – Cindy made a motion to accept and approve this month’s nominations outside of the meeting. Motion supported by John; motion approved. Awards submitted to Chair after the meeting will be passed along. 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: Niki Cummings was asked if she was interested in becoming a member, she noted not at this time. 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: Comm. Gray commented on the following: 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”. City Commission Workshop Goals – April 23rd, 5pm City Hall, behind commission chamber. April 10th, 5:30-7:30pm DPW Code Compliance Workshop. Capital Improvements is on the next Commission Agenda. Blue Ribbon Committee findings will be revisited in July; workshop to be scheduled. Curbside recycling will begin bi- weekly pickup May 6th. YAB is seeking candidates for this year’s board members. Battle Creek Public Schools: No attendance due to Spring break. Old Business: The Chair noted that Rain Garden planning and preparation are is underway. Soil testing is underway for this and the Pocket Park. Next meeting is April 23rd 5pm Willard Library in one of the meeting rooms. Officer Herbstreith noted that he can enlist Explorer participants to sign up to volunteer. New Business: Eric Feldt, City Planning Department provided an update on the City’s Non-Motorized Plan and upcoming events to solicit public input. The plan was last updated in 2006 and needs to be updated. A workshop will be held on Saturday April 27th at DPW from 10am-12pm. The next workshop will be on April 29th at Central Christian Church from 6-8pm. Intent of a weekend morning and an evening session is to provide opportunities for individuals to participate. There were questions and concerns discussed regarding the plan and the maps that Eric brought to meeting. All were encourage to attend one of the workshops. Willard Library – Ms. Dungey shared that she is working as the Youth Services Manager and is working with BCPS to get books out to students to encourage reading during the summer when kids are out of school. Intent is to help stem the loose of knowledge typically experienced by students during the summer break. She plans to participate at the Junetenth and Pride celebrations and pass out books. There are other events she plans to participate in over the course of the year. Niki Cummings was asked to speak to the Neighborhood Engagement Activities Team (NEAT). She shared how she was working with the NPC in our Byrne Grant Rain Garden. She interviewed the Chair and Vice Chair based on a list of prepared questions she had been given. She is working to complete her other interviews before their next scheduled NEAT meeting. MiWorks – Barb noted that this program is funded by WKKF grant and they have a goal of 700 engagements in our neighborhoods; they have 641 that they have supported to- date. This program helps individuals find work and address their barriers to keeping employment. One of the largest barriers is transportation. There are initiatives underway that will help to address this barrier. If there are individuals that need assistance, please refer them to the HUB office at the CA Transportation facility off of Main St. Members Comments: Chair thanked all for attending and for their input and participation. Public Comments: Ms. Dillman expressed support for Willard Library Youth Services program. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: May 2, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the CA Board Room. Respectfully Submitted by Cynthia Fritz, Recording Secretary