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, February 22, 2017 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Randall Champlin 2. Attendance sheet: Coleen Jewell, Dave Hawks, Frank Egland, John Godfrey, Ken Long, Laura Herzing, Leah Ortiz, Nola Baker, Randall Champlin, Sally Goss, Talia Champlin, City Rep: Jason Francisco, Battle Creek Police Department Rep: Officer Bryce Kerschen, City Commissioners Mike Sherzer, Susan Baldwin, Fran O’Neil, John Scalabrino, Linda Phelps, Don Bradstreet, Dan Pierce, Cyd Pierce, Christian Plasencia, Angela Hartung of Calhoun County Land Bank 3. Additions or deletions to this agenda: None 4. Approval of the January 25, 2017 meeting minutes distributed by email: John Godfrey moved to approve and Nola Baker supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Correspondence sent/received and upcoming events Quarterly NPC Leadership meeting schedule changed to 3rd Mondays 5:30pm-7pm. May 15, Aug. 21, Nov. 20 6. City staff reports: City staff reports and Commissioner Comments:  City Commissioners’ reports: Vice Mayor Susan Baldwin reported that the Fire Chief Dave Schmaltz told the commission that the fire department calls are up, but response time is down. The Fire Department is still installing smoke detectors by request. The Commission is starting on the priority- based budgeting process. At a recent Commission workshop, information was shared about the progress being made by NPC’s. A storyboarding activity (not to be confused with waterboarding) on what commissioners heard from NPC’s was performed. Commissioner Sherzer relayed that the aspiration is that NPC’s would help create leadership within the city, and would encourage communication and engagement from the residents. Question regarding the farm animal ordinance. This is still in the research phase, although the agriculture ordinance – growing things – has been passed. Comment regarding the problems residents have simply taking care of their cats and dogs, indicating that city folks are ill-equipped to care for farm animals.  County Commissioners’ reports: Commissioner not in attendance, and please let Commissioner Jake Smith know if you would like his newsletter to be e-mailed to you.  Police Department Report: Monthly report shows a slight uptick in traffic accidents (typical of winter weather) and car thefts, which usually happens when the car is unlocked. Recent high-speed pursuit down Riverside terminated near Indiana. Normally, the police would abort a high-speed  pursuit in a neighborhood unless there is a clear danger to the public if suspect is not apprehended. A letter of commendation was sent to the Enquirer and then on to the department regarding the professional manner in which the chase was executed. Questions regarding who makes the decision to pursue, as the speeds were very high. Supervisors make this decision. This particular person had two kidnapping felony warrants outstanding, and the police didn’t know if he was armed. Question regarding cooperation of the public in pulling over for a pursuit. Comment regarding the fact that the high speed of the police vehicle doesn’t give others on the road much opportunity to hear the sound. Comment that the increased speed limit on Columbia doesn’t give drivers pulling out of driveways enough time to get up to speed with oncoming traffic. The speed limits are set by an algorithm that takes several factors into account, and we can request this be adjusted if we don’t think the speed limit is appropriate. Question regarding number of officers assigned to our area. About 4-5 officers are dedicated to our general vicinity. Compliment given regarding how quickly and thoroughly the police checked out an alarm that went off in a home recently.  City Representative Report: Jason Francisco is covering for Yolanda while she is taking a night class. The department is doing a comprehensive review of the Arbors, and will probably review about 175 units this year. Just a reminder that leaf pick up doesn’t start until April. Weather is so nice that some people are starting to bag their leaves, but should not put them on the curb. $2.8 million in grant money is available to tear down approximately 130 - 140 vacant and abandoned houses this year. The City may be able to purchase a few problem properties, as well. Comment thanking Jason’s staff for help with a problem property in the Coburn area. 7. Committee reports:  Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations – Dave Hawks – no nominations this month  Neighborhoods and Land Use – John Godfrey – No report as the Planning Commission meeting was canceled this month for lack of agenda items.  NPC 11 Programs – Laura Herzing – Calhoun County Dispatch in March and Christine Zuzga of the Planning Department in April. 8. Old business: None 9. New business: • NPC 11 has a draft Public Comment Procedures – Randall suggested we review for adoption at our next meeting: CITY OF BATTLE CREEK NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING COUNCIL (NPC) 11 MEETING PUBLIC COMMENT PROCEDURES & RULES - DRAFT Welcome to this NPC 11 meeting. We appreciate your taking the time to attend. Everyone will be given an opportunity to speak. Question may be ask when the Chairperson or  program speaker invites them. Speakers will be provided an opportunity to address the NPC with general comments during the public comment portion of the agenda Please understand that the meeting participants may, or may not, answer questions from the public that are raised during public comments portion of the meeting. In order for us to have an effective meeting, we ask that you abide by the following rules: 1. Please wait for the Chairperson to acknowledge you before you speak. 2. Begin by stating your name and address, and please write down your information on the form on the podium. State your comments, opinions, or questions on the issue being discussed and direct them to the Commission Chairperson. 3. To ensure that everyone has time to speak and that we can address other items on today’s agenda, each speaker is ask to limit comments or questions to no more than three (3) minutes at each meeting, except that a speaker’s time may be extended by decision of the Chairperson. Speakers are requested to speak one at a time on any item and to refrain from repeating the comments of previous speakers. 4. Please be respectful of your neighbors and presenters. Again, thank you for taking the time to attend this Neighborhood Planning Council meeting. • Land Bank’s Neighborhood Mow & Maintenance program – Angela Hartung, the Land Bank’s Office & Program Coordinator explained a program of the Land Bank. The Land Bank manages tax-foreclosed properties to bring properties back on the tax rolls. They have torn down, refurbished, and/or repurposed 800 properties now; 134 this year. They look to stabilize neighborhoods whenever possible. The program aims to be self-funded, and augments its budget with grants. Mowing is one of the biggest expenses. Unruly lots have a negative impact on the neighborhood. Land Bank runs a program where groups can opt to mow and maintain a minimum of 20 vacant lots for 10 mows per season. They pay a $3000 stipend. Citizen representation has been very positive. Angela offered information or directed groups to access an application at CalhounLandBank.org. If anyone knows of a civic or church group who would make this commitment, please pass on the information. The group must provide their own equipment and gas. The Land Bank typically pays at the end of the commitment, but can give a 10% payment after first mow to fund gas and other supplies. Angela also gave an overview of a new program that pairs a distressed property with a capable buyer who is given a 9-month period to get a property refurbished. Question regarding how properties are auctioned before they go to the Land Bank. Auction process was described, including the process of “bundling” several distressed properties to allow the city to clean up an area. February Program: – Realtor, and NPC 11 Secretary, Talia Champlin presented information from the Battle Creek Area Association of Realtors and other sources on area property values and what improvements have most impact on home values. Nationally, home values increased 6.7% in 2016, and locally, that increase was 9.8%. In most market segments, prices have returned to pre-recession levels. Inventory is lower than usual, with NPC 11’s supply level at less than 10 weeks when compared with demand over the last 12 months. Challenges in the current market include bank appraisals, as past data doesn’t accurately represent the current market conditions. Suggestions for increasing market value include removing older and overgrown bushes that obscure the front of the house and suggest the interior lack updates; update appliances, counter tops and light fixtures; eliminate brass, wallpaper, and floral draperies; declutter as much as possible. Suggestions for strengthening the Battle Creek market as a whole  include saying good things about our quality of life, as appropriate; eat, play and shop here whenever it makes sense; don’t over-emphasize changes in Kellogg Company employment. They are an important corporate citizen here, but they have adjusted roles many times in the last several years without significantly impacting market values. 10. Public comments: Comment on Battle Creek Unlimited – Concerned they are focusing too much on manufacturing and not focusing on the tech market where the future seems to be. Young people are looking for tech jobs. Think we could attract more young people by focusing on more updated job opportunities. Response that West Michigan is strongly progressive in high-tech manufacturing, and there does seem to be potential in this area. Suggestion that maybe more tech jobs could be supported by attracting WMU over here. Applaud BCU for international efforts. Foreign Trade Zone with Custom Cargo Facility is a strong competitive advantage for our city. City of Battle Creek is responsible for downtown development – Ted Dearing and John Hart. Chamber of Commerce is a national organization with services to its member businesses, rather than having economic development responsibilities. Work on the Heritage Tower appears to be promising, but it is expensive to remodel and rehab. Comment regarding handicapped persons attending our meetings need reasonable-sized chairs. Comment that Justin Amash will be in Battle Creek February 23, 12-1 at Full Blast. Comment regarding how many neighbors are joining Neighbors Next Door. Question - Does anyone know where we can play bocce ball? Comment regarding Pub and Grub from 12-5 on Saturday, February 25. Tickets available at the Chamber on line. 11. Member Comments: None 12. Next Month’s Meeting: 7:00PM Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at Riverside Elementary School Library. Program: Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority (CCCDA) 13. Adjournment: There being no further business, Randall Champlin adjourned the meeting at 8:34pm.