Neighborhood Planning Council 1 - Post-Franklin

POST/FRANKLIN NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL Doris Hale Facility 100 Green Street Thursday, February 6, 2025 @ 7:00 PM James Moreno called the meeting to order at 7:06 pm at the Doris Hale Facility. Attendance: Members Present: Mary Fields, Cindy Fritz, Pamela Geleff, James Moreno, Yvonne Powell, Kjersten Sullivan, Pat Shellenberger, Faye Washington Members Excused: Andre Hoaglin-Jackson, Ryan Hoaglin-Jackson, LaMarr Mingle, City Staff/Commissioners: Darcy Schmitt, Planning and Zoning, Helen Guzzo, Community Development, Mitchell Mears, BCPD COPS Officer, Patrick O’Donnell, Ward Three Commissioner Guests and Visitors: None Additions or Deletions to the Agenda: None Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes: Motion to approve the January 2, 2025, minutes was made by Cindy Fritz, seconded by Pat Shellenberger. Motion carried. Correspondence and Announcements: Mary distributed a flyer with dates for the upcoming AAUW Used Book Sales. They are in need of Science Fiction books. Committee and Staff Reports Police Report: Mitchell Mears distributed the crime statistics report for the previous month. He continues to work on traffic and parking enforcement. His supervisor prefers a more “hands off” approach on towing. Officer Mears participated in the recent Point In Time homeless count with Neighborhoods Inc. The Burnham property has been cleared of people, there is still a lot of trash. Working with Code to get it cleared. He is also working with First UMC downtown to move out folk staying there. Gave an update on the incident on Inn Road where a kindergartener answered the door with a gun, situation was handled as well as could be. Children are out of the home and in custody of others, the house itself was condemned. Code: Darcy brought the code report and circulated the code request sheet. There was a question about trade permit expirations. Beautiful Battle Creek: It’s still too cold and slippery to be out looking at properties. There was a conversation about the private park on Post and Main and the couple who maintain that parcel. We’ve nominated it for a Beautiful Battle Creek award, but is there more that could be done to recognize them? They don’t just maintain the park, they maintain the street and sidewalk of that whole section. We asked Commissioner O’Donnell to discuss some sort of good citizen award to honor them and others like them who go above and beyond to improve our community. Membership: Could commissioners encourage NPC participation? Commissioner O’Donnell will announce it. Commissioner Comments: Ward Three Commissioner Patrick O’Donnell gave an update on the fire station upgrades. The architect has made changes to the other stations to allow for funding for a new Station Three in a new location but still on this side of the railroad tracks. The search has begun for a new city manager. The job description is out and posted. And the budgetary process is at work. Old Business: Land bank conversations resumed tonight. Next meeting will be at 6pm before the next NPC meeting. Darcy and Helen came to lead a discussion about the master plan. Upholdings is still below the funding line. They are reapplying in April, meeting with the Housing Commission to see about partnership to improve possibilities for funding. The consolidated plan survey only got 325 responses. They are working on priorities with NPCs. The Minor Home Repair program is on hold, waiting on funding. The city has taken back over 614 NE Capital to finish the housing project that was not completed by applicant. Community Development is running an ad to advertise all the NPCs in the Shopper. They are brainstorming other ways to improve the attendance/membership of NPCs. Darcy shared that the Master Plan is trying to build upon the BC action plan. They are looking at obstacles hampering growth and are interviewing consultants to help with this work. The consolidated plan steering committee will continue to work to try to remove barriers to bring in more construction. New Business: Looking to have Senior Millage present in March Neighborhoods Inc. in April Land bank conversations continue. Member Comments: Yvonne shared that Pastor Hess has a radio station out of Pentecostal Family Worship Center, could be used by the city to share information. Thank you for coming to the meeting, be careful in the parking lot. Public Comment: No public comments Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 8:05pm. Next Scheduled Meeting: Thursday, March 6, at 7 pm, Doris Hale Facility. Land Bank meeting before, at 6pm. Respectfully submitted, Kjersten Sullivan