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, April 26, 2017 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Randall Champlin 2. Attendance sheet: Dave Hawks, Frank Egland, Laura Herzing, Leah Ortiz, Nola Baker, Marge Barda, Randall Champlin, Rick Baron, Rudy Barda, Talia Champlin, City Rep: Jason Francisco, Battle Creek Police Department Rep: Officer J.S. Chapman, City Commissioner Mike Sherzer, Jan Frantz, Don Bradstreet, Edward Plegue, Elizabeth Insley, Gordon Pippin, Nolon Soltenberger, Linda Phelps, Douglas Chapel, Dave Peterson, Pat LIpps, Amanda Chapel, Fran O’Neil 3. Additions or deletions to this agenda: None 4. Approval of the previous month’s meeting’s minutes. Rick Baron moved to approve and Dave Hawks supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Correspondence sent/received  Monday, May 15, 5:30pm-7pm for the next NPC Leadership meeting at the DPW building. Laura Otte and Amanda Lankerd from the United Way will be making a presentation on community engagement in the BC Vision community process.  Road resurfacing program 2017 - City of Battle Creek - street listing distributed  Planning Commission was canceled for this month. 6. City staff reports: City staff reports and Commissioner Comments:  City Commissioners’ reports: Mike Sherzer announced a joint meeting with the City Commission and the Planning Commission to go over the capital improvement plan. The initial capital improvement plan is a wish list of all the projects staff and residents would like to see in the budget. It is then pared down to what is feasible and affordable. Next week, the commission is voting on the urban farm animal ordinance. On May 16 there will be a workshop on marijuana dispensaries. While they are allowed by state statute, cities can decide whether to allow them or not. Discussions have begun on whether to move city commission votes to even years rather than odd, starting 2020. This could save the city about $20,000 because the county would pick up most of the tab for joint elections. Also being discussed is a possible staggering of terms, but that would be a charter change. Other issues to be examined include a popular vote for mayor, and whether to keep or reorganize wards.  County Commissioners’ reports: No report  Police Department Report: Officer Chapman is usually in Urbandale, but providing our report for the evening. We are heading toward summertime when larcenies start to pick up. He urged us to lock our vehicles. It is a fallacy that thieves will break your window if your car is locked. Most  robberies from cars are crimes of opportunity. Remove items from the car that you don’t want stolen. Question about whether putting things in an enclosed trunk helps minimize theft. Yes – removing items from view always helps. Question about dialing animal control for problems at 125 Peachtree, kids won’t let traffic through, cars parked on lawn. Jason Francisco alerted the police department to look into this address. The best way to get animal control is to call 911 or 781-0912. Comment from the home owners about a house at the beginning of Christy Drive near Capital being broken in twice in the last month. Police response time was impressive, but the experience was unnerving. Audible alarms are good deterrents because they alert the neighbors. Concern about accumulation of Shoppers indicating people are not living in the home. You can have your Shopper delivery temporarily suspended. Mention on the nice job the police did in apprehending the fleeing gunman recently. Neighbors helped with the capture by calling in locations. Several police departments participated in the arrest.  City Representative Report: Jason Francisco let us know that Yolanda will be finishing class and will be back with us next month. The only item that stood out on our monthly report is uptick in front yard parking violations. Property surveys in NPC 11 will be finished in the fall. The Community Foundation gave a grant to fund a project called Just Bag It, allowing the city to purchase 300 mattress bags. Waste Management will only pick up bagged mattresses. Bags are also available at Lowe’s and Home Depot. Jason provided handouts on the city’s roof repair program and a Stories from the Neighborhood Program, asking for photos or video on successes from NPC’s. Question regarding where to dispose of used oil. Dickman Road Waste Management will take it. First week of May, Waste Management will be picking up construction materials and general yard waste from yard clean up. 7. Committee reports:  Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations – Dave Hawks nominated Joe and Valerie (Amy) Sanders, 591 E. Hamilton Lane. Nomination will be submitted to the City Commission.  Neighborhoods and Land Use – John Godfrey – no report  NPC 11 Programs – Laura Herzing – All set for next month with Christine Zuzga. 8. Old business: Nomination Committee 2017/18 report – Recommended Randall Champlin for Chair, Leah Ortiz and Tina Yost for co-Vice chairs, Laura Herzing for Programs, and Talia Champlin for Secretary. Randall reminded members they could step forward any time before the voting next month. 9. New business:  School update: Superintendent of Lakeview Schools Dave Peterson reported that the Board has hired Blake Prewitt as new Superintendent. Because Dave is not leaving until July, there should be a smooth transition. Riverside Elementary has been designated a  reward school – an award where test scores and progress are instrumental. It is the only school in Calhoun County and only one other school in Kalamazoo County got the award. Denise Myers, previous principal of Riverside, was credited with leading Riverside to the award. According to Dave, the whole district was implementing Professional Learning Communities, and Denise followed the recipe exactly. She also provided strong leadership in adopting the Blueprint for Rapid Acceleration two years ago. She is now helping at Minges Brook, insisting on “Hands off, feet off, don’t test me,” along with an insistence with teachers that the kids have to know their teacher loves them. After the bond passing, new construction is coming in on budget and remodel construction is coming in over budget. Remodels have a lot of unknowns. Cost is added by only being able to work in summer, so measures are being taken to get back in budget while holding themselves accountable to the promises made in the campaign literature. Some wish list items have been eliminated in order to stay in budget. Middle School work will not start for two years. Recently, a joint 4-district Board Meeting was held at the Kellogg Foundation, apparently the first time this has ever happened. Lakeview and Battle Creek School Districts are working hard to look at education through the lens of equity. Lakeview, for instance, now has 44% kids of color and 50% kids in poverty, compared to 2000 when the student population was 7% people of color and 15% in poverty. Dave assured us that the schools are NOT lowering the bar so all kids are going to be successful. The education gap for black males is embarrassing, and the district is taking this seriously. Whenever you do something differently, there is always push back. Dave also commented that it is cool to see so many people in attendance at NPC 11 meetings. Question regarding limits on School of Choice. Dave says the Board believes in limited and controlled School of Choice in order to be a good neighbor with Battle Creek. For every kid we gain from BCPS, $7500 is lost for BCPS. The 1000 School-of-Choicers allow our district to offer many classes and programs we could not offer with a smaller student population, such as the number of AP (Advanced Placement) classes at the high school. Comment regarding the excellent job Dave has done as Superintendent.  Monthly informational Program on Human Trafficking was presented by BCPD Detective Stephanie Estree. Detective Estree has been a liason18 years with Police Department. Human trafficking happens in small cities, and it happens in our community, any time someone is held against their will, controlled physically, emotionally or chemically. As an example, last year, 5 individuals were arrested in a cooperative effort by the Fusion Center, an alliance of many different groups working together. Our Fusion Center includes a police detective, along with representatives from CPS, juvenile probation, Homeland Security, and the courts. They share information with each other, allowing pieces of a crime situation to come together more efficiently. Trafficking can include forced fraud or coercion, and is not just sex trafficking, but could also be labor trafficking. The problem is not necessarily limited to lower socio-economic levels. Backpage.com. Question regarding protecting the witness/victim. This can be problematic, and it can also be hard to find temporary shelter for victims as they often have significant challenges themselves. Question regarding the different between prostitution and john vs. forced labor. Freedom of choice is the deciding factor. The Human Trafficking Task Force at Crossroads Church in Marshall is offering assistance with those affected by this problem. 10. Public comments:  Request for service opportunities for a Day of Service was made by Nolon Sollenberger, Member and Deacon at Central Christian Church. Gordon Pippin and  Edward Plegue were also in attendance. As part of the leadership development of the church, a Day of Service would allow the Church body to meet, hold some kind of devotional service, possibly serve breakfast, then perform acts of service in the neighborhood. Congregation leaders are looking for projects that could be performed, preferably for needy individuals, during 1 - 2 hours on a Sunday morning. Requests were made for suggestions of elderly persons who need help in their yards, as an example. Suggestions included cleaning up litter along Knapp Drive, parallel to the highway; painting that needs to be done at Minges Brook Elementary’s picnic pavilion; calling Hands On Battle Creek, a division of United Way, where they have lists of projects vetted for the need. Comment that Chapel Hill United Methodist provides weekend food for children whose only reliable meals come from breakfast and lunch at school. Members discussed changing the venue for our NPC meetings as some people find it a challenge to walk all the way from the parking lot to the library and/or to sit for 90 minutes in the little chairs. Laura Herzing will research another possibility offered by Central Christian Church and report back. 11. Member Comments: Dave Hawks announced a fundraiser for the Women’s Coop at the Battle Creek Country Club, Friday April 28 called The Painted Chair. The Women’s Coop is an organization where the women participate and contribute, and not just take a handout. The Art Center of Battle Creek is sponsoring an event called Monet in May on May 13, 3pm- 6pm. Leah Ortiz announced a sponsored fundraiser for the ARC of Calhoun County on May 11 at Riverside Banquet Center. $40 per person and a Silent Auction benefit ARC’s Educational Advocacy Program for program recipients ages birth - 26. More information is available on ARC’s Facebook page. Lakeview Middle School will also be honored for their work for the ARC. 12. Next Month’s Meeting will be held at 7:00PM on Wednesday May 24th, 2017, at Riverside Elementary School Library, unless announced otherwise. Program: City of Battle Creek Master Plan - Christine M. Zuzga - Planning Manager 13. Adjournment: There being no further business, Randall Champlin adjourned the meeting at 8:29pm.