Neighborhood Planning Council 11 - Lakeview east

NPC 11 January Meeting Minutes Minges Brook/Riverside Neighborhood Planning Council (NPC) #11 Riverside Elementary Library 650 Riverside Drive Battle Creek, MI 49015 Wednesday – January 25 , 2017 th 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Leah Ortiz 2. Attendance sheet: Coleen Jewell, Dave Hawks, Frank Egland, John Godfrey, Ken Long, Laura Herzing, Leah Ortiz, Rudy, Barda, Sally Goss, Tim Martinovich, Tina Yost-Johnson, City Rep: Jason Francisco, City Commissioner: Mike Sherzer, County Commissioner: Jake Smith, Battle Creek Police Department: Officer Harrison, Don Bradstreet, Elizabeth Insley, Roger Fosdick, Pat Fosdick, Linda Phelps, Fran O’Neil, Tate Trajillo, Dan Boyd, Christian Plasencia, Pat Karr, Larry Anderson, Sue Anderson 3. Additions or deletions to this agenda None 4. Approval of the December 7th meeting minutes distributed via email John Godfrey motioned to approve the minutes and NPC member supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Correspondence sent/received and upcoming events: BCATS handouts 6. City staff reports and Commissioner Comments:  County Commissioners’ remarks: Commissioner Mike Sherzer addressed the rezoning, confirming that the rezoning request was denied. He encouraged residents to remember “that Mr. Eyde is not the decision maker.” John Godfrey added that Mr. Eyde (property owner who requested rezoning) requested the Meeting Minutes from the Planning Commission meeting. Commissioner Sherzer added that the Master Plan will be online to view, however currently a draft is being developed and it will be available to view and give feedback on. He shared that the City always listens to the NPC’s, encouraged the residents to remember it is a majority vote on issues; with four members at-large. He was impressed with the movement from the NPC and encouraged residents to keep the passion, yet be mindful that property owners have rights. Fran O’Neil encouraged Commission to look online at an article from the Lansing State Journal regarding the Eyde Brothers Property Developments and how they impacted the community. Commissioner Sherzer addressed the trees that were cut down around the old Don Pablo's building. It was communicated that they were removed for improved sight line; however, some of the trees were on the city's property. The Cities perspective on this is, if it helps in selling/marketing the building, the City will overlook the few trees that were removed.  County Commissioner’s Report: Commissioner Jake Smith shared that he was proud of the resident’s ability to organically develop the process, in  reference to the coming together for the rezoning issue. Commissioner Smith stated that Derek King was re-elected as the Chair for the County Commission. Commissioner Smith will be starting a newsletter that will include county updates, he passed around a sign-up sheet. He also encouraged residents to contact him, as he is eager to work together.  Police Department Report: Officer Harrison from the Battle Creek City Police Department introduced himself, sharing he has been employed with the department just a few months, however has worked the NPC area for the past month on day shift. He shared that there have been a number of larcenies from vehicles in the Target, Blue Moon Fitness, and Mall parking lots. He reminded residents not to leave valuables in view, always lock your vehicle, and remember that a broken window will often not signal your car alarm. Officer Harrison did state a suspect has been identified, however still take care of personal possessions in vehicles. A question was asked about a break-in on Waywaytayseeway, which he was able to confirm that at 12:06am on Wednesday, a break-in was reported, however he was not able to confirm details other than the person entered through the back of the home.  City Representative Report: Jason Francisco presented the NPC Report, as well as passed out an updated Community Services Department NPC Staff Meeting Schedule to include in members binders. Jason also reported that the cycle for Property Surveying is upon us, so do not be alarmed if you see a car in the neighborhood taking pictures of every single home. A reminder was shared about throwing away mattresses, please be sure they are wrapped in plastic, otherwise they will not be picked up. Jason recommended having Stephanie Estree from the Police Department come to the NPC to present on Human Trafficking, as she did for another NPC and it was great information (Laura collected info). A question was asked regarding the Fountain Street dead end and another about Oak leaves. Jason’s answer to the leaves question: if leaves are raked into piles and not disposed of, they City can require them to be picked up; however the City does not require people to rake their leaves. Pat Fosdick thanked Jason (the City) for filling the hole at the entrance of Ashton Lake. 7. Committee reports:  Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations – Dave Hawks: No suggestions were made. Dave informed the group of the process and encouraged nominations.  Neighborhoods and Land Use – John Godfrey: John reported that the Land Use committee meeting was held today. No new petitions, but the landscape ordinance was passed 7-1, which should help commercial sites in landscaping provisions. He shared that Dan Buscher was nominated as the Chair, then Jim Hopkins, and John Stetler as secretary. John shared that the CVS development will be a ways out, as it is tied up in major corporate litigation. John also encouraged residents to remember it is a property owner’s right to petition to develop their property.   NPC 11 Programs – Laura Herzing: Laura shared that Christina Zuzga will present on the Master Plan, as soon as the draft comes available. Laura encouraged everyone to read “The Slave Across the Street” reference the human trafficking epidemic, which she will also contact Stephanie Estree about coming to NPC. She is working on having a couple of churches speak at NPC about the work that they are doing in the community, as well as a realtor to talk about property values and ways to increase curb appeals, etc. She mentioned that she is looking to have a 9-1-1 Dispatcher come to the meeting to share the process after a 9-1-1 call is made as well. 8. Old business: None 9. New business:  January Program – Pat Karr Executive Director of the Battle Creek Area Transportation Study (BCATS): Pat shared that the BCATS is a Metropolitan Planning Organization that is governed by a policy board of elected and appointed officials, and the Mayor, all the townships and areas are represented. They are a single purpose organization dealing with transportation, dating back to the 1970’s. BCATS assists local municipalities in securing funding for projects. They seek state and federal funds, and manages the requirements tied to the funding. Pat passed out copies of “Guide to Citizen Involvement” which included contact information, as well as information on BCATS. Pat referred to utilizing economies of scale to ensure that the City and the County are working together efficiently to complete projects utilizing the right resources. Riverside and Columbia will be getting a new traffic signal, in which she also mentioned that $3million dollars’ worth of signal work will be done in Battle Creek. She spoke briefly on the black squares that are placed behind the lights on signals, in order to increase the light brightness for increased visibility. A suggestion was given regarding the light at the intersection of M66 and Beckley. Pat shared that there is work being done around getting County wide transportation, as many other counties already have county wide transportation. A grant was received for $150,000, in which the urban area will be reevaluated for transit needs, which will also be included in the Master Plan, however the rural planning money will be looked at too, as she identified that they did need to work together. Larry Anderson inquired about the involvement of BC Vision in this process, Pat confirmed that there is communication with them. 10. Public comments: Christian Plasencia inquired about the process of becoming an official NPC member, as he shared that he wishes to join. Leah Ortiz shared the process and assured him that his information would be shared with the Chair, to make the recommendation. Don Bradstreet thanked Fran O’Neil for her commitment and hard work surrounding the rezoning issue, every clapped and agreed that Fran did a great job. 11. Members’ comments: Sally Goss would like to have a NPC Binder, as she did not receive one when they were dispersed originally. 12. Next meeting: 7:00PM Wednesday Feb 22, 2017, at Riverside Elementary School Library.  Program: To be determined 13. Adjournment - 8:28PM, Motion to adjourn made by John Godfrey, with Tina Yost-Johnson supporting motion.