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 22, 2017 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Tina Yost called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. 2. Attendance sheet: Dave Hawks, Frank Egland, John Godfrey, Ken Long, Laura Herzing, Leah Ortiz, Marge Barda, Nola Baker, Norma Mayo, Nola Baker, Rudy Barda, Talia Champlin, Tina Yost, City Rep: Jason Francisco, County Commissioner Jake Smith, City Commissioners Mike Sherzer, Helen Larner (commented about being dropped as a member,) Mary Sue Christian, John Whitaker, Jonna Siano. 3. Additions or deletions to this agenda: Adding formation of a nominating committee to New Business. 4. Approval of the February 22 meeting’s minutes: Norma Mayo moved to approve and Dave Hawks supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Correspondence sent/received o Work Session Urban Agriculture and Animal Ordinance - BATTLE CREEK CITY COMMISSION 5:30 PM CITY HALL CHAMBERS 10 N. DIVISON STREET BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, TUESDAY, MARCH 21, 2017 http://www.battlecreekmi.gov/documentcenter/view/2972 o Planning Commission meeting 4:00PM March 22nd Room 301 City Hall Hearing: Request for a Special Use Permit for 12 Duplexes for senior citizen rental at 14420 S. Helmer Rd. 6. City staff reports: City staff reports and Commissioner Comments: o City/County Commissioners’ reports: o City Commissioner Mike Scherzer reported on the workshop held for the draft ordinance regarding urban livestock. It will depend on lot size whether a resident can have urban livestock, and how many. There will also be setback rules, even if  the lot is large enough. Bees and goats will be most restricted. No roosters will be allowed. Permits would be issued. Also discussed at the workshop were new animal control rules, particularly regarding feral cats and cat colonies. Questions regarding vaccinations. Anyone starting a feral cat colony would be responsible for the cats’ health. Mike is not in favor of this portion of the ordinance. There will be an additional workshop before the ordinance goes to a vote. Comment regarding the danger of cats having rabies. Question regarding whether there are any current restrictions on the number of cats a resident can have. Residents can only have 3 dogs, but there is currently no limit on cats. Suggestion that this might be added to the draft. Question regarding attendance at the workshop, and whether both pro’s and con’s were represented. 60-70 residents were in attendance at the workshop and both sides seemed to be prominently represented. Question whether each cat in a colony had to be registered. Answer unknown. Budget process starts soon. Yard waste pick up begins again next week. o County Commissioner Jake Smith asked if everyone in attendance was receiving his emailed monthly report. He was willing to answer any questions. Comment that the newsletter was very helpful and complete. o Police Department Report: No representative in attendance o City Representative Report: Jason Francisco said there were very few violations this month in NPC 11. Please make sure your yard waste containers are clearly marked. More stickers are available at the Water Department at City Hall. Question regarding the yard waste drop off hours on River Road. Answer – they are flexible. Comment regarding the Yard Waste pickup being extended to December 1. Temperate November weather is causing residents to continue yard clean up through November. The limb over Riverside at Edgehill mentioned at the last meeting is being assessed. New police districts and NPC boundaries for our binders were passed out. Question regarding a neighbor’s yard sustaining damage by road maintenance. Please advise them to contact the Public Works Department. Question regarding how to get rid of metal roof from an old shed. Answers included taking the metal Franklin Iron and Metal, taking it to curb on garbage day for the “pickers.” Concern about the intersection of Capital and Dickman, and cars going into the river. Is it really a good use of city resources to ‘study’ that area? Anytime there is a fatality, the police department reviews the intersection. 7. Committee reports: o Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations – Dave Hawks – No nomination this month. Dave asked for all members to make nominations. Helen will have a nomination next month.  o Neighborhoods and Land Use – John Godfrey – Planning Commission met the same day as our NPC meeting. Nothing on the agenda pertained to our NPC. Scott Ganton has asked for expansion of his Heritage properties. 14 duplexes would be built on the 15 acres behind Reflections and Heritage. John felt this would be a wonderful addition to the senior living options in Battle Creek. Some spouses want to live independently but have a spouse in assisted living and want to be close by. Also mentioned were the long-term plans being developed for 2018-2023. o NPC 11 Programs – Laura Herzing – A member of the Battle Creek Police Department will discuss human trafficking in April. Christine Zuzga of the City Planning Department is in the process of working on the long-term plan and will be ready to present in May. 8. Old business: None. 9. New business: o Assignment of Nominating Committee – Dave and Rudy were nominated by Tina, seconded by Leah Ortiz, and motion passed unanimously, despite Dave and Rudy’s minor resistance. Public Comment Procedures & Rules for NPC’s – o Discussion – Talia voiced Randall’s recommendation that the rules be invoked only if they are necessary. Motion made to adopt the rules, print them on the back of each agenda, and add a #5 that the rules will be implemented at the discretion of the chair. Motion by Tina Ortiz, seconded by Mary Sue Christian and passed unanimously. o Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority - Marty Uldriks http://www.calhouncounty911.org/aboutcccda.html Marty has been with 911 for 21 years. Everyone in Calhoun County goes to the same Public Safety Answering Point. A caller hears a false ring while the call is routing through dispatch to closest center. Not all cell phones give a GPS, so it is very important that you accurately describe where you are. Pay-by-the-minute phones cannot be located. The authority dispatches all police calls in the area. They also dispatch through 3 ambulance companies. All calls are prioritized based on an international system developed by doctors all over the world. Dispatchers must ask all the questions on the call list, but dispatching has begun as soon as the type of emergency has been identified. Reported falls, for instance, can take 3-4 minutes of questions. People are frustrated when they have to answer so many questions in an extreme-stress situation, but help is already on its way and the questions allow responders to provide appropriate help once they arrive. The  center has 5-6 dispatchers and a supervisor in the room at all times. The center also dispatches for 20 fire departments. They use an ultra-high frequency line to reach Bellevue Fire, eliminating 4-5 minutes from response time. 800mz lines are not used because they are not clear in lower levels, especially in big buildings. Police scanners in Calhoun are now encrypted, so people with home scanners cannot follow dispatches. Dispatch for 8 different police departments. 177,000 dispatches were placed in 2016. Many calls required multiple calls, to the gas company, wrecker, power company, resulting in over 342,000 calls per year. The ideal situation would be if calls came in steadily, but they tend to ebb and flow. During the 60 mph winds last week -1377 calls from 9am – 9pm. Total staff is 24 dispatchers, 5 managers, and 4 administrators. The facility is located in the judge’s chambers of the old county building in Marshall. The equipment is state of the art. Question regarding appropriate use of 911. Any time you need help from police, fire or medical, you should call 911. They are set up to put you on hold if the situation is not life-threatening. Comment regarding safety of our system from tampering by cell phone users. Can now text to 911. Compliment regarding satisfaction with recent 911 experience. (The person who handled this call was awarded Dispatcher of the Year for entire State of Michigan.) All dispatchers go through 2 – 40-hour trainings, plus 6-month intra-department training for each position in the dispatch, then another 6-month supervised before they can work on their own. Function is always to answer the calls since that is the only help the caller will get. It is helpful if you begin your call with whether your situation is an emergency or non-emergency. The center loses a lot of good dispatchers over traumatic calls. The Debbie Frost law allows officers to arrest in domestic violence calls even if they are told there is no further problem. Question regarding carbon monoxide detector calls. After 10 years, they need to be replaced. Callers are now told to call their heating and cooling providers, if nobody is showing any physical symptoms. The center can’t recommend a wrecker, but if they call a wrecker for you, it will be much more expensive than if you called one yourself. Compliment regarding how helpful this information was. 10. Public comments: None 11. Member Comments: Frank Egland asked if anyone else is getting a robo-call regarding problems with their computer. Marty says someone is scammed daily by these calls. 12. Next Month’s Meeting: 7:00PM Wednesday April 26th, 2017, at Riverside Elementary School Library; Program: Human trafficking 13. Adjournment: There being no further business, Tina Yost adjourned the meeting at 8:29 pm