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 – December 3, 2015 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Randall Champlin 2. Attendance sheet: Rudy Barda, Jan Barry, Randall Champlin, Talia Champlin, Frank Egland, John Godfrey, Sally Goss, Laura Herzing, Ken Long, Tim Martinovich, City Rep: Jason Francisco, Battle Creek Police Department Rep: Officer Wirebaugh, Lt. Chrenenko, City Commissioners Mike Sherzer and Kaytee Faris, Cindy Buckley, Lindy Kurti, Susan Anderson, Don Larder, Helen Larder, Elizabeth Insley, Tom Lipps, Pat Lipps, Jerry Porter 3. Additions or deletions to this agenda: None 4. Approval of the previous month’s meeting’s minutes. John Godfrey moved to approve and Rudy Barda supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Correspondence sent/received - None 6. City staff reports: City staff reports and Commissioner Comments:  City Commissioners’ reports: Commissioner Mike Sherzer brought up the topic of Binder Park Golf Course. Existing debt has been interest-only payments and once the city must pay principle AND interest, the golf course would need significant subsidization - $125,000 per year. Therefore, sale of the land is being considered. If the city sells the golf course, land must be used for recreation (so selling may be tough.) Other options: subsidize until the course could expand uses to banquet hall services. Or sell to private party vendor to manage it as for-profit. We currently have three 9-hole golf courses. Question about why the golf course wasn’t planning ahead for this eventuality. Acknowledged to be a good question. Commissioner Kaytee Farris reported that Dave Walters is now our mayor and Susan Baldwin is our vice-mayor. This is the last week for yard waste removal.  Police Department Report: Officer Wirebaugh accepted our gratitude for catching the “person of interest” who was breaking into the house on Minges, and the department is researching whether he can be charged for additional b&e’s. This may also be the person doing the car break-ins in Country Club Hills. This was a perfect example of great witness help – a neighbor reporting suspicious activity. Lt Chrenenko quipped that the Minges arrest was a good example of “Taking a bite out of crime” because a police dog was sent in. Lt. Chrenenko recommended to vet anyone who you hire to do work on your home. Be sure to lock car doors. Put purchases in your trunk. Make sure your neighbors know your schedule. The police department watched for people recently released from jail who commit these type of crimes. They are staffing by “hot spots”. The person who does crime mapping and analysis identifies “Fusion spots” which help the police anticipate crimes by watching trends. Be careful about leaving packages on  front porch. Watch boxes disposed after Christmas “announcing” what new purchases were made. The officers enjoyed attending our last meeting and getting to know the residents; they felt they had adjusted their communication based on our feedback from the last meeting. Question about what to do when siren is coming and there doesn’t appear to be ways to pull over. Answer - just stay still. Comments on how well the police did in the bank chase – Lt. Chrenenko credited their outstanding training. On Facebook, “LIKE” the Battle Creek Police Department page for good tips and other police news.  City Representative Report: Jason Francisco from Code Compliance promised a short report. This is the last week for yard waste pick up. Please remember how important snow removal is for safety, especially around schools. Concern was voiced about appointments made and then not attended, with no follow up. Jason encouraged people who have called and gotten no response, to please call again and give the department another chance.  County Commissioners’ reports: None 7. Committee reports:  Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations (Dave Hawks) – Carol and Arden Mead, 499 S. Moorland (989-889-4281) and Christy Compton, 100 Country Club Blvd (269-830- 8093).  Neighborhoods and Land Use (John Godfrey) – No report  NPC 11 Programs (Laura Herzing) – Calhoun County Cancer Commission (January) and Lakeview Square Mall manager (February). Possible contact with new owner of the Cheap Flicks building in the spring. 8. Old business: None 9. New business: Nov/Dec Program –  City of Battle Creek Filed Services are supervised by Todd Gerber. Phil Lahr gave us some insight on plans for snow removal this winter. We have over 300 miles center-line roads to be maintained, with continuing reductions of staff - 45 down to 25 people in the last decade. Budget has remained flat, yet in 2000, a $70,000 truck now costs $125,000; we use 5000 tons of salt; maintenance costs are increasing. Residential streets not plowed during overtime hours unless 4+ inches of snow falls. The city has added a 3rd shift December through March so main roads can be done overnight. For instance, Columbia and Dickman can be done much more quickly at night. Two 12-hr shifts seem to work better than three 8-hr shifts. The city is divided into 13 maintenance districts, mapped for most critical attention: with hilly and/or busy intersections getting priority. City does MDOT roads (except Dickman) and transit roads first. Then ¼ mile around  schools, and finally residential roads. Cul-de-sacs and alleys are last. City does replace mailboxes if they knock them down, as long as they were in good condition before they were hit. We have 17,000 residential driveways in town, and city cannot keep all those drives clear. Residents need to remove basketball hoops from roads. City does some sidewalks, mostly around parks and cemeteries. Snow emergencies are identified by the city manager, and all cars must be off the street and will be towed if not moved. After a 4” snow fall, the city can clear the whole city in about 24-36 hours. Request was voiced to include turn-arounds on streets with boulevards.  Executive Director of the Charitable Union, Teresa Allen – Lives in Nashville and appreciated hearing how snow removal happens when you DON’T live in the country. The Charitable Union provides several programs. They provide scrubs, steel-toed boots, and professional attire for interviewing to help remove barriers to entry into the workplace. They help fire victims after losing everything, sometimes with no rental insurance. The provide baby layettes – volunteers across town work together to produce 150 baby layette bags each year – to give to those referred by Grace Health or Bronson Battle Creek. People can “shop” for free, based on eligibility. The organization has a particular need for men’s clothes, especially blue jeans. Back to school outfits help build self-esteem and reduce bullying. Last year during the Winter Coat Drive, they handed out 5500 coats during the winter season, 900 coats on the first day of program, in just 5 hours. To donate to the Charitable Union, visit Monday through Thursday 8-5, Friday 8-1 , and Saturday 9-1. They will take any clothing and household goods that can easily be carried in or carried out. Question about who is eligible to get donations. Answer: Most clients are referred from other programs. Question about funding from United Way. Answer: They do receive some of their funding from United Way. The Gift Shop is a sustainable revenue source – selling hand-made items. In November, the Gift Shop provided $17,000 in revenue. 10. Public comments: None 11. Member Comments: None 12. Next Month’s Meeting: 7:00PM Wednesday, January 27th, at Riverside Elementary School Library. Program: Calhoun County Cancer Commission 13. Adjournment: There being no further business, Randall Champlin adjourned the meeting at 8:35.