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, May 24, 2017 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Randall Champlin 2. Attendance sheet: Dave Hawks, Frank Egland, John Godfrey, Laura Herzing, Sally Goss, Talia Champlin, Tim Martinovich, Tina Yost, City Rep: Yolanda Johnson, Battle Creek Police Department Rep: Officer Burke, County Commissioner Jake Smith, City Commissioners Mike Sherzer, Helen Larder, Don Larder, R N Johnson, R P Johnson, Elizabeth Insley, Steve Worful, Pat Fosdick, Linda Phelps, Don Bradstreet, Eric Heldt, Eric Campbell 3. Additions or deletions to this agenda: None 4. Approval of the previous month’s meeting’s minutes. John Godfrey moved to approve and Tina Yost supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Correspondence sent/received BC Visons NPC feedback – Feedback from the NPC Leadership workshop were attached to the agenda. Rachel Johnson sent Randall an email regarding working with the city to get the installation of a sidewalk along Golden from Brentwood to Riverside. Rachel was in attendance. Eric Campbell said the State puts on a grant-funded program “Safe Walks to the Schools”. The city provides design, field work, survey work, but schools need to turn the paperwork in. Question regarding whether a fundraiser would be a viable way to fund the sidewalk. Comment that Riverside’s PTA may be a good group to head this up. Comment that City seems to have plenty of money for other things. 6. City staff reports: City staff reports and Commissioner Comments:  City Commissioners’ reports: Commissioner Mike Sherzer reported that the commission is wrapping up the budget process. The commission is holding a public meeting for input this coming Tuesday, and then a vote the following Tuesday. Proposal to do a 0.33 mills tax increase to fund the Police and Fire retirements.  County Commissioners’ reports: Commissioner Jake Smith announced the county is hiring people to work on roads, Sherriff’s Departments, and Justice Center, to name a few. He encouraged attendees to read his newsletter and contact him whenever they had questions.  Police Department Report: Officer Burke attended for Officer Denney, who is sick. The police report was disseminated. A lot of the focus for enforcement is along Beckley and Riverside for both foot patrols and traffic stops. People going door-to-door must get a permit, and police stop them if they do not have a “City Permit to Solicit.” If you feel uncomfortable giving any information requested by a door solicitor, don’t answer the questions. If they do not have a permit, let them know you will be calling 911. Question  regarding whether there is a time frame when solicitors can call. Officer Burke will have Officer Denney bring that answer next month. Question regarding home invasion on Dahlia. It is believed two suspects are in custody with regard to this incident. Comment regarding how helpful Next Door is for these type of alerts. Question regarding Neighborhood Watches. Laura Herzing leads a 100-home watch in her area. Comment regarding the lack of a city-wide Neighborhood Watch system and the availability of website to set these up. Marcie Gillette had been helpful with Laura’s setup. Comment regarding the number of undesirables, especially at Capital and Beckley, around the vacant Lone Star, Don Pablo’s, Social Security Office, and the Knight’s Inn. Officer Burke described the word of the Hotel Interdiction Team (HIT Team). Tim Martinovich described disturbing events near his home. Question regarding a right to defend ourselves. Recommendation is that it is better to take an avenue to retreat rather than be seen as the aggressor. Call 911. Question regarding garage doors being open when residents get up in the morning. A universal opener can open door if the manufacturer setup has not been changed. If you are going to be gone for a period of time, Officer Burke recommended you let the Police Department know so they can help in watching your property.  City Representative Report: Eric Campbell, city of Battle Creek Engineering Department, is responsible for all the road work in our NPC. We have three big projects being done this season. In addition, chip sealing, microsurfacing and crack filling are scheduled throughout our area. Explanations were given for each of the processing types, and which roads get which types of surfacing. It is all basic maintenance for NPC 11 this year. Question regarding sinking around manhole covers. In these instances, the paver probably didn’t get the grade done correctly in the first place. Question about a rough patch near St. Peter’s Lutheran on Riverside. Eric will take a look. Complaints regarding the drainage at the bridges over Minges Creek and at I94 overpass. The State of Michigan is probably culpable for the inappropriate design. Question regarding whether the county ap regarding potholes (where residents can take a picture and send it in) has the ability to communicate with the City. Jake Smith is going to talk to the Road Commissioner to see if communication can be enhanced. Encouragement to clean out the drains nearest your property. Question regarding who is responsible for tree trimming. A blue mark is Consumers and pink is the City. Generally, the city will only take out a tree if it is dead or heaving a sidewalk into a trip hazard. The contractors don’t make the determination what work is to be done. Please call Phil Lars, city arborist, if you see a limb you think is dangerous. Yolanda Johnson passed out a flyer regarding an upcoming BC Vision/United Way presentation – Community Engagement Learning Opportunities - which will feature strategies and tools for creating effective community engagement, June 22 5:30-8:30, with dinner served at 5pm. Location is the Department of Public Works, 150 S. Kendall. The NPC report showed citations for junk accumulation and front yard parking. Please let your neighbors know these things are against city ordinance. City is being  proactive about problems at 1165 S. Lakeside Drive. Question regarding how violations are enforced. Offenders are given a warning first, then a ticket. Amway is a private company who takes care of parking issues in the City. If someone is living in a home who is not the owner, property must be registered as a rental ($40). If owners don’t register the property voluntarily, there is a $500 fee. This can be appealed through the city attorney. The spirit of the law should be honored in cases where ministers are living in parsonages or family members living in a second home. Question regarding multiple families living in the same home. There is an ordinance regarding number of people living in certain amount of square footage. Comment that many people who live with multiple generations are working hard and questions should be asked before judgments are made. Tina Yost found the answer to the previous solicitation question regarding hours. It has been found unconstitutional to set times. However, the prowling ordinance may apply. 7. Committee reports:  Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations – Dave Hawks nominated two families since we will be on break until September – Connor and Christian Plasencia, 175 Valleyview Road, and Leo and Nancy Palmer, 117 Reyn Circle. Both families have done a beautiful job of redoing their homes and yards. Dave encouraged us to let him know if we have neighbors who have earned this Award.  Neighborhoods and Land Use – John Godfrey reported that the Planning Commission met today. Although no projects were presented for our area, a petition for a Special Use permit was submitted by a local Burmese Church to use the former Michigan Works property as their new location. The church currently has about 200 members. John was enthusiastic about bringing church members downtown, and the location will give them plenty of parking. The Commission began to explore changes to the sign ordinance. Staff will be doing some research and will come back to the group at next meeting. The hope is to reduce the complex ordinance to about 7 pages instead of the current 28. Denicio’s Parlor will be going into Roger the Chef’s building on Columbia in Emmett Township. Question regarding other new businesses coming in. CVS is still trying to go in at Capital and Columbia. Randall thanked John for all the time he is spent today in service to the City.  NPC 11 Programs – Laura Herzing did her due diligence at Central Christian Church. The facility looks like it would be wonderful. Questions regarding access, alarm system, whether we need a vote to change locations, expectations of the church, and how scheduling conflicts would be handled. Laura Herzing made the motion that NPC officers will check logistics with Central Christian Church and suggest a trial September meeting, if all other factors seem favorable. Helen Larder seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 8. Old business: Election of 2017/18 Officers – The following slate was submitted: Randall Champlin as Chair, Tina Yost and Leah Ortiz as Co-Vice Chairs, Talia Champlin as Secretary, Laura Herzing as Programs Chair, Dave Hawks as Beautiful Battle Creek Chair, and John Godfrey as Planning Commission liaison. John Godfrey motioned slate be accepted as presented. Tim Martinovich seconded. Motion carried unanimously. 9. New business: Monthly informational Program: Battle Creek Master Plan Draft was presented by Eric Heldt from the Planning Department of the City of Battle Creek. Current plan was voted into place in 1997. A master plan covers all types of land use decisions. The plan is used to guide growth and development in Battle Creek, including the expansion of housing, commercial and industrial sectors. The plan is meant to guide city departments in making decisions. One emphasis in this plan is the expansion of housing in downtown Battle Creek There are 30 residential units in the Battle Creek Tower, and 90 potential occupants in the Heritage Tower. Additional residents downtown is hoped to stimulate other services and food establishments in the downtown area. The City is currently expanding plots prepared for development in the Industrial Park. In the development of the new Master Plan, the City asked many stakeholders for input, and the new draft plan will be ready for additional input in the next few weeks. Once the plan is finalized, there must be goals and then policies put in place to implement the decisions made in the plan. Eric shared the old plan to give an example of what the new comprehensive plan would cover. When the final plan is completed, the aspiration is to have the whole plan available on line at the City’s website. Question regarding the meaning of “New Residential Infill Sites”. This category allows for solutions to situations such as the last land in a neighborhood to be made into housing lots. Question about the lots being developed in Fort Custer. This project will result in 3 shovel-ready lots appropriate for manufacturing. Question regarding the amount of change from old plan. This has not been quantified, but the department realizes this is an important question. John Godfrey is excited about the readability of the new plan; he believes the new plan will be engaging and user- friendly. A plan that is more engaging and interesting to read will make it a better guide for the whole community. 10. Public comments: None 11. Member Comments: None 12. Next Month’s Meeting: 7:00PM Wednesday September 27th, 2017, at Riverside Elementary School Library OR at Central Christian Church.  Program: Humane Society- Shevy Rocho 13. Adjournment: There being no further business, Randall Champlin adjourned the meeting at 8:37pm.