Neighborhood Planning Council 1 - Post-Franklin

POST/FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL Doris Hale Facility 100 Green Street Thursday, September 5, 2024 @ 7:00 PM James Moreno called the meeting to order at 7:07 pm at the Doris Hale Facility. Attendance: Members Present: Mary Fields, Cindy Fritz, Pamela Geleff, Andre Hoaglin-Jackson, James Moreno, Kjersten Sullivan, Yvonne Powell, Pat Shellenberger, Faye Washington Members Excused: Ryan Hoaglin-Jackson, LaMarr Mingle, City Staff/Commissioners: Sherry Sofia, Vice Mayor, Quinton Hay, CCLBA, Tommy Engels, Code - City of Battle Creek, Cpl. Emily Leach, BCPD Guests and Visitors: John Kenefick Additions or Deletions to the Agenda: None Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes: Motion to approve the June 6, 2024, minutes was made by Cindy Fritz, seconded by Pat Shellenberger. Motion carried. Correspondence and Announcements: Next month the Land Reuse Strategy meetings with the Land Bank will be held before our normal meeting at 6pm. The workshop on the fire station plan with the city is set for September 17 at 5pm. There will be time for public comment at the workshop. All are encouraged to attend and to bring a neighbor(s). Mary gave a special thank you to code enforcement for cleaning up 157 Post. Committee and Staff Reports Code: Tommy Engels distributed the code compliance. 56 Lathrop will be rehabbed this year, according to the Land Bank. Tires on the porch are continuing to be addressed by the city, police, and land bank. The house on Euclid is also still being addressed. Police Report: Cpl. Leach reported there have been multiple shootings in the Post neighborhood recently and neighbors aren’t feeling safe. We are second in number of arrests for an NPC (NPC #3 is number one), and our crime rate is the highest for the city. The police are trying to counter this with increased foot patrols, we are also the second highest for number of foot patrols. Plans are in the works for a Faith and Blue event in October. Cpl. Leach will not be at the October meeting, Cpl. O’Bryant will be attending in her place. Another area of focus is the homeless problem in Monument Park downtown, how to address the problem of drinking and drug use in the park. Cpl. Leach is working with Police and city administration to gain support in increased enforcement of ordinances within the park. There was discussion regarding homeless publicly urinating at and along the fence enclosure adjacent to Family Dollar/Dollar Tree on Walnut Court. There was thought of working with someone from Emmitt Township Code, since we are so close to each other. There were questions of how best to circulate news among the neighborhood. Beautiful Battle Creek: 90 Lathrop - motion by Mary Fields, seconded by Pamela Geleff. Motion carried. 68 and 69 High – motion by Mary Fields, seconded by Yvonne Powell. Motion carried. The park on the corner of Post and Main - made by Andre Hoaglin-Jackson, seconded by Pamela Geleff. Motion carried. Tommy will find out the parcel number, since the park doesn’t have an address. Membership: Remember to invite your neighbors, we’re always looking for new members. Commissioner Comments: Sherry Sofia, Vice Mayor shared that a new City Attorney has been hired. William Kim, former city attorney with Flint started August 1st. The City Manager has also announced her retirement, the search to replace her has not begun. A reminder that the workshop on the fire stations will be on September 17th at 5pm in the Commission Chamber. There has been a change in how public comments take place during commission meetings. The process was 3 minutes before each ordinance, the consent agenda, and at the end. Now there will be 4 minutes at the start of the meeting to speak on any item on the agenda, and 3 minutes at the end of the meeting. This change is because commission meetings are business meetings. The hope is this change will allow for more efficient and effective meetings. Old Business: Calhoun County Area Land Bank: Quinton Hay shared the plan to canvass the neighborhood before the next meeting to invite neighbors to the special land reuse strategy planning meetings. Members were invited to sign up for several streets to distribute flyers. Remember that flyers cannot be placed in mailboxes. New Business: Fire Station Workshop James will call everyone who went to the information session at Fire Station 3 in the spring to invite them to the upcoming workshop. Motion to make a permanent change in venue of the NPC meetings from the conference room at Community Action Agency to Doris Hale made by Cindy Fritz, seconded by Pamela Geleff. Motion carried. Member Comments: We were reminded that as we enter election season, candidates are welcome to come to meetings to share their platform. Speakers get three minutes to speak, and then one minute for questions. James thanked everyone for their hard work this year. There are a couple big lifts coming with the work with the land bank and the continued conversation on fire stations. Yvonne asked what happened with the plans regarding permanent supportive housing development on Green Street? The project didn’t get it’s hoped for funding in the first round. There is a second round of funding, hopefully it will be funded in this round; this will occur in the November timeframe. Public Comment: John Kenefick is running for Ward 2 commissioner but says we don’t have to worry about voting for him because he knows he won’t win. He shared information about the city’s tax bond schedule. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned. Next Scheduled Meeting: Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 7 pm, Doris Hale Facility. Land Bank Land Reuse Strategy Meeting at 6pm. Respectfully submitted, Kjersten Sullivan