Neighborhood Planning Council 11 - Lakeview east

Meeting Minutes Minges Brook/Riverside Neighborhood Planning Council (NPC) #11 Riverside Elementary School Library 650 Riverside Drive Battle Creek, MI 49015 Wednesday – September 24, 2014 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Randall Champlin 2. Attendance sheet: Ann Wyson, Beverly Vallillee, Bobbie Wilson, Dave Hawks, Frank Egland, George Vallillee, Jan Barry, Jim Haadsma, John Godfrey, Joe Goss, Sally Goss, Laura Herzing, Marge Barda, Nola Baker, Norma Mayo, Randall Champlin, Talia Champlin, Rick Baron, Tim Martinovich, City Rep: Susan Bedsole or Jeanette Cook, Battle Creek Police Department Rep: County Commisssioner Jim Haadsma, Helen Guzzo - Community Development Specialist, City of Battle Creek Community Development Department and Chris Lussier, Community Development Manager, Rick Meade, Lynn Amari, Ellis Cutter, Sharon Cutter, Elizabeth Insley, Sara Johnson 3. Additions or deletions to this agenda: None 4. Approval of the previous month’s meeting’s minutes. Rick Baron moved to approve and Dave Hawks supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Correspondence sent/received • May – Joint NPC Meeting Issues: 1) NPC name changes. Some NPC's are named for schools that no longer exist, Should "Planning" be in the name? 2) Should NPCs be aligned with the five wards and names change accordingly? NPCs would be bigger but would have similar populations. • July - Kindness day request from Patrick Hirzel-President, Battle Creek Kindness, Inc – 3 envelopes were hidden (and found) in the NPC area • Aug 21 Marcie Gilette Neighborhood Services Manager – NPC Chair Focus Group Sparking transformative change in Battle Creek – Norma and Randall attended on the NPC’s behalf and a report-out will be presented at Burnham Brook on September 29, 2014. • Sep 2 - Dawn Shorter – Customer Service Representative, City of Battle Creek - request to update our membership list • Sept 8 - Request to present on “Lock Your Meds” by Danyelle Maitland Program Coordinator DrugFreeBC.Org 6. City staff reports: • City Representative Report – Jeanette Cook, Code Compliance. The department is presently conducting drive-by property surveys. A new City Manager, Rebecca Fleurry, has been hired and will begin October 1st. Noxious weed inspector is still on board, so please let her know of violations. Questions were answered on a vacant property on Riverside, fallen trees on abandoned properties. Jeanette was knowledgeable about each property mentioned, giving the impression that her department is carefully monitoring our NPC area. County Commissioners’ reports: County Commissioner Jim Haadsma reported that the Road Department is working hard to get their work done by November 1, even though our road commissioner left. The Health Department budget was passed in time to confirm a balanced county budget. Jim is running for re-election and would like to put up signs in supportive residents’ yards. City Commissioner Reports: No city commissioner in attendance. Commissioner Mike Sherzer sent a note. While he voted for Susan Bedsole, he was confident in Rebecca Fleury’s ability to serve the city competently. He recommended NPC members attend the meeting on Monday, September 29 with John Bryant of the Kellogg Company and LaJune Montgomery Tabron from 3:30 – 5pm Burnham Brook regarding the community’s economic vitality. He and Vice Mayor Owen are working together on several issues in our NPC area. City Police Report: Sargent Mike Woods is now the 2nd shift supervisor for our area. He went over the most recent crime report and explained the different categories. He suggested that the best way to prevent someone taking something from you is to make your property less appealing to a burglar – dogs, lighting, security systems, street lights. Take valuable items out of your car, bringing them into the house with you or putting them in your trunk. A question was posed about Lynwood break-ins not showing up on the report – and it was determined the incidences in question happened more than a month ago and therefore did not show on the most recent report. He encourage residents to call 966-3356 with questions. To find our crime report online, go to the city website (http://www.ci.battle-creek.mi.us/crimesearch/crimesearchframext.htm ) and search for Minges Brook District K. Violent crimes are down over the last few years. Officer Huggett will be the officer assigned to attend our meetings, but he was on a call. Sargent Woods answered questions about drunk drivers, aggressive drivers, and a pilot program on drug and cash interdictions on I94. 7. Committee reports: • Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations – Dave Hawks - Robin Terpening and Wendy Smith of 17 Minges Rd W. Battle Creek, 49017, nominated by Jerry Porter • Neighborhoods and Land Use – John Godfrey could not attend our meeting, but there was no new business to report • NPC 11 Programs – Nola Baker – not able to attend this meeting, but working on programs 8. Old business: Welcome to New Vice-Chair Nola Baker 9. New business: 9..1. Updates to Membership List – Nominations: Joe Goss, Sally Goss, Talia Champlin, Mike Sherzer, remove Wendy Rominger and Mary Martin. Motion was made by Ann Wyson, supported by Dave Hawks. Motion carried. 9..2. Name and Boundary Changes – City would like input on associating the NPCs with the wards. Chris Lussier explained that the city is not promoting this, but only asking for input. Benefits would include fewer NPC’s, more equal populations, updated names that would not reference elementary schools that have been  closed. We asked for information on what the current boundaries are and what the new boundaries would be. We think it makes sense to be aligned with the wards, but would like questions answered before we act on a recommendation. (See maps below of NPC 11 vs Ward 4 identified after the meeting) 9..3. September Program – Community Development - Helen Guzzo - Community Development Specialist, Community Development Department and Chris Lussier, Community Development Manager The presenters passed out surveys that have been sent to residents in water bills, requesting resident perspectives as they develop their required 5-year consolidated plan. The City of Battle Creek’s Community Development Department administers federal grants, and organizes planning around how federal funds are used in Battle Creek. Most recently, the department oversaw $10.2 million to demolish blighted homes and revitalize abandoned homes. They secured extra dollars for based on their successful execution of revitalization programs. The current input will be used to develop a consolidated plan which must include assessment of community needs, as well as a market analysis. The Senior Deferred Loan Program has been replaced by the Minor Home Repair program which gives grants of up to $5000 to remedy health, safety or accessibility issues or up to $12,000 for roof replacement. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program has provided 40 new or revitalized homes and has demolished 359 blighted residences. Of the 154 HOME & CDBG Funded Rehabilitation Projects, from 2010 through 2013, two were in NPC 11. During the survey and input session, our NPC identified the following concerns:  Trash along Columbia Ave  Family Fair’s parking lot  Weeds along main thoroughfares  Lack of shoulder or sidewalks in South Minges, Knapp Drive, Watkins  Lack of sidewalks in general  Not shoveling sidewalks we do have  Communication and planning on construction projects  Weeds along Beckley near cemetery  Cost of local taxes compared to surrounding municipalities We listed the following NPC assets:  Riverside Park  Downtown  Neighbors are willing to help each other, during power outages for example.  Would be nice to connect those willing to help with those who need help   Marshall has a directory that gives contact info by name AND by address  Woodland Park  Resurfacing roads  Size of Battle Creek – no commute, easy to meet new people AND feel connected to people  Linear Park When asked what we could do to address these concerns, the following strategies were discussed:  Someone would have to pay for the sidewalks, so we would have to be ready for some kind of assessment or tax increase  Understand why our taxes are high, and what we get for our money, and understand that our choices have trade-offs. 10. Public comments: None 11. Members’ comments: None 12. Next meeting: 7:00PM Wednesday October 22nd, 2014 at Riverside Elementary School Library. Program: To be determined  NPC 11 Boundaries: Ward 4 consisting of precincts 13, 2, 9, 6, and 8