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, May 27, 2015 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Randall Champlin 2. Attendance sheet: Nola Baker, Rudy Barda, Randall Champlin, Talia Champlin, Frank Egland, John Godfrey, Sally Goss, Dave Hawks, Laura Herzing, Tim Martinovich, Norma Mayo, City Rep: Marcie Gillette, Battle Creek Police Department Rep: Off. Ben Clark, Sgt. Mike Wood, County Commissioner Jim Haadsma, Billy Beers of the Battle Creek Chamber of Commerce, Kathleen Mechem 3. Additions or deletions to this agenda: None 4. Approval of the previous month’s meeting’s minutes. John Godfrey moved to approve the minutes as presented and Dave Hawks supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Correspondence sent/received – None presented at this meeting. This information is now available on the City website. 6. City staff reports: City staff reports and Commissioner Comments:  Police Department Report: Officer Clark passed out the City Index Report. Question regarding Police Department site and crime mapping by NPC - Marcie explained that a new reporting system is being integrated so those reports will be available again. Question regarding biggest issues in our area – Gang Suppression Unit is working with Homeland Security to cut down on gang activity at and around the hotels near the highway. Sgt. Wood said the guy who was breaking into cars has been apprehended, and among many other items, the police found 18 purses. He suggested purses be put in the car’s trunk even if someone is leaving the car “just for a moment.” Question regarding a police call where dispatch said someone would respond, but nobody did - Appeared to be a mistake. Compliment to the police regarding recovery of a phone which was very important to the person from whom it was stolen. Gratitude was expressed from the NPC to the police for the dangerous and difficult work the Department does to keep us all safe.  City Commissioners’ reports: No commissioner in attendance.  County Commissioners’ reports: Commissioner Jim Haadsma reported that on May 21, the County passed support for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program and a PACE district, which provides incentives that allow commercial, retail, faith-based and non-profits (all buildings except residential and government structures) to contract for energy efficiencies, water efficiencies and renewable energy upgrades to their buildings. This is meant to be an economic development incentive requiring no tax monies.  (Lean and Green Michigan – www.leanandgreenmi.com - for more information)  City Representative Report: Marcie Gillette gave an update regarding the process for responses to a “Long Grass” violation. Grass must be 9” before a warning can be issued. It may be another 2 weeks before the homeowner is cited, given time to respond, and then the contractor is sent to mow, so it is important to report an overgrown lawn as soon as possible. The city is going to start a paint voucher program, using a local company called ePaint. Owners who demonstrate appropriate need may apply for a voucher at the City, watch a training video, and then go to ePaint to pick up paint. They are also given a discount on painting equipment. ePaint recycles latex paint and distributes it across the Midwest. Situation reported that McCamly has some distressed areas near the new Festival Park that significantly detract from the new park improvements. Marcie explained that the codes governing exterior maintenance can currently only be enforced on residential properties, but Ted Dearing from the City is working with McCamly to address the conditions described. 7. Committee reports:  Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations –. Dave Hawks nominated The Tim Palmer Family at 406 Wah Wah Tay See.  Neighborhoods and Land Use – John Godfrey reported that the Planning Commission meeting was canceled. Work has begun on the revamping of the City’s 20-year Master Plan as required by law. The City has hired a Chicago firm and it has met with an Advisory Committee with broad community representation. There will be many opportunities during the master plan process for citizen input, including access through the City’s website. Land development, commercial development, and citizens’ concerns such as deterioration of Beckley Road shopping will all be addressed. John asked us to consider participating to make sure we have broad citizen perspectives. The new plan is meant to be a visionary guide for the development and expansion of the community over the next twenty years. The City will use input to make decisions on zoning, infrastructure, and priorities for our resources. Question regarding getting Kellogg’s to get their new-hires to live in Battle Creek - Although they cannot require their workers to live in any particular place, they are doing their best to hire locally.  NPC 11 Programs – Nola Baker – No report 8. Old business: Election of NPC Officers. Nominating Committee – Jan Barry, Dave Hawks, and Rudy Barda. Any member may nominate themselves during the meeting. Nola Baker enjoyed her tenure as vice-chair but cannot serve another term. The committee therefore nominated Randall Champlin for Chair and Talia Champlin for Secretary. John Godfrey moved, Frank Egland supported the nominations. Motion carried unanimously. 9. New business: None May Program – Billy Beers, Director of Business Development, Battle Creek Area Chamber of Commerce: The Chamber is organization for connecting businesses with each other and with the larger community, assisting members in being informed and encouraging them to share expertise with each other. The Chamber helps local businesses develop themselves and their employees. They also provide aggressive business advocacy to create a climate for employer growth and a prosperous community for all. They recently celebrated 100 years of service. Their focus areas include Battle Creek and Calhoun County, and sometimes beyond that geographic area, to connect, inform and develop business strength across many business sectors. The Chamber carries out their mission with these activities: Connect – Providing opportunities for businesses to find their niche in the community and to have fun Inform – Website, eNewsletter, multiple events to keep constituents educated on important developments that affect their businesses Develop – Facilitating a climate for employer growth with multiple beneficial and affordable opportunities to learn new skills and practices A point of pride is the Chamber’s Accreditation – There are 7000 Chambers in US and only 900 are accredited. There are only three 5-Star Accredited Chambers in Michigan and our Chamber is one of them, bringing respect and recognition to the Battle Creek area. More information is available at www.battlecreek.org. 10. Public comments: None 11. Member Comments: Tim reminded us that Lakeview School District is holding the 4th Community Input Meeting regarding a potential upcoming millage campaign on June 8, 6pm at Lakeview Middle School. 12. Next Month’s Meeting: 7:00PM Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at Riverside Elementary School Library. Program: To Be Determined 13. Adjournment: There being no further business, Randall Champlin adjourned the meeting at 8:14pm.