Neighborhood Planning Council 1 - Post-Franklin

-POST/FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL- Thursday Mar 5, 2020 Chair James Moreno called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. at CA Board Room. Attendance: Members Present: James Moreno, Pat Shellenberger, Cindy Fritz, Yvonne Powell, John Cash, Pam Geleff. Faye Washington and Linda Carmona (via phone). Members Excused: Pastor Priddy and LaMarr Mingle Guest and Visitors: Officer Hoggard BCPD, Jon Kilbourn BCPD, Bessie Stears BC Environmental Program Coordinator, Tommy Engels BC Code Compliance, Kate Flores Ward 3 Comm, Lynn Ward Gray Ward 2 Comm., Sara Speneli, Ray W., Amanda Rosenberg MI Job Hub Additions and Deletions to the Agenda: None Approval of December Minutes: Yvonne made motion to approve Feb minutes and John seconded. Minutes Approved. Correspondence and Announcements: The Post Clean-Up meeting was postponed to March. This could be an opportunity for NPC and Environmental Services to work together, will work with Bessie and Patty. Fire Chief is putting together a Strategic Plan to present at NPC meetings. Intent is to have the Fire Department engage and update the NPCs similar to Police Department; we will be contacted when the presentation is ready. Chris Lussier will be at our May meeting to present the Community Development 5 year plan. Work continues on the City Master Plan, work is underway to create development interest/plan for the Main St. and East Michigan gateways into downtown. Police: Officer Hoggard – reported an increase of car burglaries…keep your cars locked and any valuables out of sight. There were 76 traffic stops. 94 Euclid has become problematic, and has been added to the list with 125/127 Post. Currently, there is a bench warrant out for the owner. Clay also shared the outcomes of the Byrne Grant, which included the Post/Franklin area. He also started a conversation on how to solicit new members to the council. There was much discussion regarding Membership and Community Policing aspect and how the two work together. He then introduced Officer Kilbourn that would be replacing him as the officer in the Post/Franklin neighborhood. He was welcomed and shared that he would like to use social media to keep in touch with the neighborhood. Council thanked Officer Hoggard for the work he has done. Good luck in your new assignment and you are welcomed back anytime. There will be discussion at June meeting regarding Problem Oriented Policing. Code: Tommy distributed Code reports and asked if there were any questions. He distributed the clipboard and asked that Issues and Addresses be annotated so he could provide feedback prior to our next meeting. He reported that they cannot post front yard park ticket when the vehicle is not there at 255 Main St. 125 Post – Bench Warrant. 127 Post – waiting on court date. The following building will be demolished by the County Land Bank: 80 South Ave., 93 Inn Rd., 396 Cliff St. (burn out), and 78 Margaret will be handled by the City. It was reported that a house on Main St. (427?) has junk in the side yard and an open garage. We are still looking for answers on the junk and suspicious tree removal along the area of E Territorial that abuts to the river. It is at the T intersection where Territorial and Riverside cross each other. There is a street/road that runs through this area, but it largely unusable due to the debris in the road. Beautiful Battle Creek Award: No new nominations. All were reminded that if you see a possible candidate, you need only provide the address, city will do the rest. Homes, business, church, school, or a Non-Profit can be nominated as long as it is within our Council boundaries. The council will then vote and the address is submitted to Community Development who will send forward to City Commission for presentation of the Award. Note – once we submit the addresses the City takes control of the process. 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. Commission Comments: Comm. Flores reported that elections are Mar 10th. There are two proposals on the ballot for the City, 1 is for ungendered language and the 2 one is to vote for the Mayor. They are working on a new ordinance for Hotel/Motels. A draft was put together and they tabled it so that they can get more information. One place is the Housing Commission and what impacts that will have in the city. They are developing low/mod housing in downtown. The census is April 1 – get counted. Transit public hearing on proposed fare increase is scheduled Mar 17. Battle Creek Public School: No representative Willard Library: No representative Old Business: None New Business: Bessie Stears of the city Environmental Program discussed the City’s recycling program. She did report that the number one contamination is wet cardboard – let’s try to keep it dry. She shared that items placed in recycling bin must be clean and dry, you must ensure that only items stamped with recycling symbol and #s 1-5 are placed in the container; otherwise the container is contaminated and contents will be sent to landfill. Do not put scrap metal in bin, this is not accepted through recycling program. Styrene, hazardous materials, electronics, and appliances containing Freon are accepted at the annual Recycle Rama. The Spring Clean-Up is coming up date will be provided. Member Comments: The council thanked Tommy for the excellent work he does in the Post/Franklin area. April meeting guests will be Judge Tommack and Calhoun County Senior Millage Executive Director. Public Comments: Michigan Works Hub –They are in the process of applying to extend program to 5 years. Adjournment: Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Next Scheduled Meeting: April 2, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the CA Board Room. Respectfully Submitted by Cynthia Fritz, Recording Secretary