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, March 23, 2016 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Randall Champlin 2. Attendance sheet: Beverly Vallillee, Dave Hawks, Frank Egland, George Vallillee, John Godfrey, Ken Long, Laura Herzing, Randall Champlin, Rick Baron, Rudy Barda, Talia Champlin, City Rep: Jason Francisco, Darren Campbell, Carl Fedders, Dennis McKinley, Ted Hanson, Battle Creek Police Department Rep: Officer Alex Barton, Speaker John Hilliard of Lending Hands, Neighbors Linn Kracht, Pat Fosdick, Mark Dycus of Lakeview Square Mall, Cindi Buckley, Sherry Carney, Coleen Jewell, Leah Ortiz 3. Additions or deletions to this agenda: None 4. Approval of January 27 meeting’s minutes. John Godfrey moved to approve and Rudy Vallillee supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Correspondence sent/received 2017-2020 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP), NPC Leadership Meeting – Next May 2, 2016 Historic District Commission meeting, Zoning Board of Appeals re; 3003 Gethings. Welcome Michigan Program approval at April 12 City Commission meeting 6. City staff reports: City staff reports and Commissioner Comments:  City Commissioners’ reports: No report this evening  County Commissioners’ reports: No report this evening  Police Department Report: Officer Alex Barton presented the local trends report. With weather changes, there are more petty larcenies with people on foot. Please lock your cars. There are some break-and-enterings, but mostly concentrated around the apartment complexes. Officer Barton will be with us for the next 6 months.  City Representative Report: Jason Francisco gave an update on Code reports and provided information on the new Waste Management program. We will soon have larger recycle bins with lids. Jason brought a box of Neighborhood Planning Council Resource Guides for members – a booklet rich with information for our NPC’s. Jason introduced Dennis McKinley who coordinates Inspections with the Police Department, and Ted Hanson, the new Chief Building Official. Ted provided a list of the “dangerous buildings” in our NPC. Out of the 200 in the city, we have 3. There are 800 vacant and abandoned buildings in the city. We should be happy to know that we don't have near the problems of Benton Harbor. Question regarding how a “dangerous building” is identified. It is a next step after a property is identified as vacant and abandoned for two or more years. 45 Battle Creek  properties have been identified as teardown-worthy, and 8 of those are no- brainers to be removed before July (when we would lose the funds set aside for demolition.) Question about recovering the costs of demolition from owners of the derelict properties. Ted is going to be looking into court orders to recover demolition costs. If you have inspection or code questions, please contact: THanson@battlecreekmi.gov, 269-966-3555. Question about where to take used auto oil. Jason is going to see if he can find out. 7. Committee reports:  Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations –. Dave Hawks – No report  Neighborhoods and Land Use – John Godfrey This month, there were no business items, but Rebecca Fleury brought up two discussion items, including information on Urban Agriculture. A lot of research still needs to be done before the city is in any position to update ordinances. Farm animals seem to be more objectionable than farm- style gardens. The dialogue on the topic will continue.  NPC 11 Programs – Laura Herzing has set up informative speakers for the next few months. If anyone has suggestions, please let Laura know. 8. Old business: Reminder the nominating committee will make officer nominations in April for May elections. 9. New business: March Program – John Hilliard with Lending Hands of Michigan, http://lendinghandsmi.org/ John is the Executive Director of an organization with over 50 volunteers. The organization lends home medical equipment for up to seven months. Serves Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and 4 other counties in southwest Michigan. In our zip codes, Lending Hands served over 170 people with over 300 pieces of equipment, saving them over $70,000 in medical expenses. They supply all the wheelchairs and transport chairs for the honor flights - WWII memorial visits. John asked for input on whether there would be an interest in a small Battle Creek location to serve our area. Attendees generally did not know about the service, and suggested several ways to get the word out. The organization is funded 75% by individual donations, as well as donations from church groups, companies, and service groups. Most equipment has been donated by individuals. Online ordering of equipment is available on the organization’s website. Suggestion that surgeons should recommend the service during the pre-op appointment so families can plan to be ready after the surgery. To make donations, check the Lending Hands website to see if they need the particular piece of equipment you would like to donate. There are no qualifiying criteria to get the service. Darren J. Campbell, City of Battle Creek Engineering Department, gave us a breakdown on street treatments happening in NPC 11 over the summer. Maps presented showed pavement replacement on Elsinore and Dane Court, as well as resurfacing and chip sealing of several area roads. Darren explained the different treatments and the notices to be given to homeowners.  Mark Dycus, General Manager of Lakeview Square Mall – The mall, with 560,000 sft, opened August, 1983. It was built by Forbes Cohen who had a reputation for building beautiful, high-end malls. Because it was built well, it is still in very nice shape. The mall was a huge success when it opened. After 1998, it purchased by General Growth who over-leveraged and later filed Chapter 11. Christman-Whitefield picked it up in 2011. GK Development became the owners in 2013, and are working to redevelop the mall to serve this market. The big news is that NCG has signed a lease and extensive renovation is process in the movie theaters. NCG is known for its big, plush seating. They pride themselves on very clean theaters. The grand opening is currently scheduled for end of April, hopefully coinciding with release of the new Captain America movie or similar blockbuster. Applebee’s remodeled 2 years ago and Buffalo Wildwings opened in 2013, so the mall will be a nice venue for a dinner-and-a-movie evening. Macy’s is NOT closing, even though 51 Macy’s are being closed across the nation. Most Macy’s closings are in communities with multiple stores. Spinoffs and the recession hit Lakeview Square very hard. Strip centers abound on Beckley Road, riding on the success of the mall, but sapping some of clientele’s purchasing power. The mall continues to have 3 profitable anchor stores, 2 sit-down restaurants, great movie theatres. Teen apparel industry is taking huge losses, so Aeropostle left here, and left malls all over the country. Our mall management has been criticized for losing stores because their rents are too high, but stores will only open or stay open based on parameters set by their parent companies to ensure profitability. Battle Creek is losing employers because they can’t fill openings with qualified employees who can pass drug tests. Any changes in employment affect sales at the mall. On the other hand, the mall’s location is so ideal, that future success is certainly viable. We have more vacancy than anyone would like to see but the mall is in no way failing. Question regarding events sponsored for non-profits, which seems to bring people out to the mall and makes residents feel that the mall wants residents there. Community Days are offered throughout the year, and the mall works hard to schedule them when there can be broad participation. Question about Kid Areas, which apparently have gone by the wayside in order to make more rentable space on the mall floor. A free play area is always a good thing, and if the mall could find a sponsor to build it, they may consider instituting one again. Question about profitability of kiosks. These have minimum rent plus percentage of sales, and they are profitable if someone is there staffing the kiosk. Question regarding theft. Each tenant is responsible for theft in their store. Mall security is responsible for the common areas. Question regarding use of Community Room. The Community Room can be rented for $75 with no alcohol allowed. 10. Public comments: None 11. Member Comments: Talia Champlin and Lynn Kracht shared information on the upcoming Lakeview Millage vote, asking for Yes voters and evangelizing. Brochures for promoting the millage were handed out. 12. Next Month’s Meeting: 7:00PM Wednesday, April 27th, Riverside Elementary Library Program: Glenn McCray from the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary - Activities, tours and opportunity for volunteering. 13. Adjournment: There being no further business, Randall Champlin adjourned the meeting at 8:32pm.