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 28, 2016 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Randall Champlin 1. Attendance sheet: Dave Hawks, Frank Egland, Laura Herzing, Nola Baker, Norma Mayo, Randall Champlin, Rudy Barda, Talia Champlin, Tina Yost, John Compton, Christian Plasencia, Connor Plasencia, Colleen Jewell, Denny Rogers, Linda Phelps, City Rep: Jason Francisco, Battle Creek Police Department Rep: Officer Stuart Bell, City Commissioners Mike Sherzer, Dave Walters 2. Additions or deletions to this agenda: None 3. Approval of the previous month’s meeting’s minutes. Nola Baker moved to approve and Dave Hawks supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Correspondence sent/received – Todd Gerber has offered to update us on snow removal plans. We would like to take him up on that offer. Battle Creek Area Transit Authority (BCATS) provided a newsletter which Randall provided on the tables for anyone who wanted one. 5. City staff reports: City staff reports and Commissioner Comments:  City Commissioners’ reports: Mayor Dave Walters, Ward 5 commissioner, invited us to a meeting on October 18, City Hall Commission Chambers, 5:30 – 6:45. This will be a workshop on Urban Farming – Public comments welcome 3 minutes each, followed by a staff presentation. Then commissioners will discuss what might go into a proposed ordinance, or whether a proposal should even be entertained. Many people are for the agricultural aspect, but not necessarily the animals. Some citizens feel there should be a public vote to let the voters decide. Question about what types of animals might be considered. Answer: Everything is at the discussion stage at this time. Question raised about realigning NPCs to mirror the Wards. Question about what’s broken? Answer: The proposal was made to use staff more effectively and the possibility that the NPCs could then act as an incubator for commissioner candidate. Commissioner Mike Sherzer acknowledged it had been 4 months since his last report. During that time, the commission passed the budget, a new panhandling ordinance, and an animal control policy. Question regarding door-to-door soliciting. Answer: You can always restrict access to your own property. Panhandling ordinance deals only with public property. Question regarding costs involved in running NPC’s. NPC’s require city staff time, printing costs. Opinion that merging the NPC’s could compromise local influence – each NPC has unique issues and concerns, and merging the  NPC’s could make meetings longer. Question – Why aren’t questions answered that are brought up during public comment period at City Commission meetings? Answer – The public comment section is not meant to be a dialogue.  County Commissioners’ reports: No county representative in attendance  Police Department Report: Officer Stuart Bell pointed out stats regarding larceny on motor vehicles. He reminded us to lock everything up – cars, doors to your home, doors between house and garage, including in the daytime. This is a strong prevention measure. Violent crimes – assaults – tend to be south of Beckley in the apartments. Question regarding whether police randomly patrol the neighborhood. Answer – Yes, once calls are taken care of and paper work is done, officers like to patrol in order to catch or prevent potential crime. Reminder to use Silent Observer, and to call in whenever you see something of concern. New officers are being hired, and each current officer’s load will be lightened. Compliments were given for the department’s effectiveness. Officer Bell related his pride in the department’s willingness to work closely together to solve crimes and catch law breakers. Comment that although some citizens worry about crime on Halloween, that night does not tend to be a high-crime evening. Comment regarding dispatch prioritizing by rating 1-8, and some calls do not get a response, and strong feelings expressed that we need more police officers to cover the less dangerous calls. Officer Bell pointed out that sometimes the police educate rather than ticket.  City Representative Report: Jason Francisco reported that Jeanette retired after 29 years with the city. The department is currently working on property surveys. The city staff cannot possibly assess every property every year, so they have assigned specific areas to be surveyed each year. He offered new pages for our City Books – an explanation of the duties in the Department of Public Works and a Q&A from the Inspections division of Community Services, including details on permits and follow-up inspections. Question regarding obstructed views, specifically at Devon and West Court – needs some trimming and some clarity on who has right of way. Jason will check into this. 6. Committee reports:  Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations –. Dave Hawks nominated Martin and Kathy Egelston, 549 E. Hamilton Lane, 753-1120, and Gloria and Mike Pasche, 546 E. Hamilton Lane, 269-317-4742. Dave asked all members to make suggestions for neighbors or businesses  Neighborhoods and Land Use – John Godfrey – No report this month.  NPC 11 Programs – Laura Herzing – All set for October and December. Laura asked for ideas for 2017. 7. Old business: None 8. New business: None 9. September Program: Jenny Rogers of the Calhoun County Cancer Control Coalition (5Cs). http://www.calhouncancer.org/index.php Jenny had her own colon removed when she was 18 and is now working with Dr, Karanchandani who started 5Cs. In 2010, she became the part-time coordinator for the agency. The agency focuses on preventing colon, lung, breast cancer. She encouraged us to get screened, and if you have a problem, don’t wait, but act immediately to address it. The organization works with several other agencies to tap resources and needs. They sponsor events to educate and increase awareness, including a project to provide free colonoscopies before Affordable Care was instituted. Their project, Get Your Colon Rollin’, is their largest fundraiser for the organization. Colon cancer is the one cancer that can actually be beat. Question about how pervasive cancer is. Answer – There are so many factors, but awareness may have raised our recognition of the problem. Question - When can you stop having colonoscopies? Answer – Suggestion that if your quality of life is good, having a polyp removed and continuing to enjoy your life could be valuable at any age. With regard to lung cancer awareness, the organization talks to kids about avoiding smoking and vapor usage. Question regarding variety and intensity of cancer treatments. Answer – there are so many factors and each individual’s tolerance is so different, that treatments have to be individualized. The final comment was a reminder to immediately address anything that is not normal. 10. Public comments: John Compton of Summer Street is worried about a property at 200 Bidwell – a disorderly house that is bringing down the value of the neighborhood and scaring the residents. He feels strongly about landlords taking responsibility/accountability for tenants. He pleaded for action from both the police department and code compliance. Commissioner Sherzer assured him that the property is visited often. 11. Member Comments: Tina Yost reminded us she is running for Circuit Court Judge – a Family Court where she has served as a judicial hearing officer for over 11 years. Compliment was given for her behavior at a recent Tea Party meeting, where she clearly acted on her commitment to run a clean campaign based only on the issues. The video of the meeting can be seen on Tina’s Facebook page. 12. Next Month’s Meeting: 7:00PM Wednesday, October 26, 2016, at Riverside Elementary School Library. Program: Christine Kosmowski regarding the County’s Drain Project affecting our area. 13. Adjournment: There being no further business, Randall Champlin adjourned the meeting at 8:26pm.