Neighborhood Planning Council 11 - Lakeview east

Meeting Minutes Minges Brook/Riverside Neighborhood Planning Council (NPC) #11 Central Christian Church Community Room 713 Riverside Drive Battle Creek, MI 49015 Wednesday, February 28, 2018 1. 7:00 PM – Welcome and opening – Randall Champlin 2. Attendance sheet: Frank Egland, Jan Frantz, James Hamlin, Leah Ortiz, Linda Phelps, Nola Baker, Randall Champlin, Sally Goss, Talia Champlin, Tate Trujillo, Tim Martinovich, City Rep: Yolanda Johnson, Battle Creek Police Department Rep: Officer Tom Rivera, City Commissioner Chris Simmons, Don Bradstreet, Elizabeth Insley, Rachel Johnson, Dan Boyd, Tullis 3. Additions or deletions to this agenda: None 4. Approval of the previous month’s meeting’s minutes. Linda Phelps moved to approve the minutes as provided, and Frank Egland supported the motion. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Correspondence sent/received – No new correspondence 6. City staff reports: City staff reports and Commissioner Comments: · City Commissioners’ reports: Commissioner Chris Simmons reported that there was nothing on the last agenda that he could discuss, as the main agenda item was confidential. Most phone calls to him have to do with snow removal. Please remember that snow events, (when the snow keeps coming over an extended period,) requires the Department of Public Works to redo the main roads several times before they can get to the side roads. Comment that it is unfortunate that school bus routes are no longer given priority. Comment that the school bus stop at Christy and Beckwith is a scary spot for the kids. A reminder that it is our civic duty to shovel our sidewalks, as children and families walking in the street is dangerous for them. Comment that businesses should be fined if they don’t clear their walks. Comment that the post office needs to be cleared enough so people can get their mail out. Question about what the city is doing about mail theft. Chief Blocker will cover this during his presentation. Question regarding why the snow trucks circle in the cul de sacs. Suggestion that we invite Todd Gerber to come in and talk about the process of snow removal. Comment that Todd Gerber was very responsive about getting the waste in the trash barrel removed from Minges Brook playground. Comments regarding snow sticks could be taken in by neighbors and reused next winter. Report on the Blue Ribbon Commission, which is exploring potential changes to the City Charter, such as number of wards, number of commissioners, how often they are elected, staggering their terms, how the mayor and vice-mayor are elected. Affirmation that we will still have a City Manager form of government. Initial recommendation is expected from the commission by May or June, then the report goes to City Commission. Some things can be done by a vote of City Commission, but some changes must go to the residents for a vote. Comment that citizens can attend these meetings and some issues, like ward representation, could be important in terms of representation. Comment that eliminating wards would leave some areas of the city under-represented. · County Commissioners’ reports: No report. · Police Department Report: Officer Tom Rivera attended the meeting tonight for Officer Kilbourne, but typically serves the Post Addition. Question regarding perceived increase in neighborhood police patrols. Police presence is meant to be a deterrent. Question regarding number of officers we are currently short. Answer is 6. Concern regarding a vicious dog in a neighborhood. If animal comes at you on your property, you have the right to defend yourself. Best thing to do – secure the safety of any child, then call the police. Police need to have a history before they can act. Commendation on the good job the officer did when called. Concern about what has been going on at 637 E Minges. Although lots of city employees have been very helpful with enforcement, problems spanning over three years seem to be continuing. The house should now be vacant, but people are continuing to live there. VA now owns the house. City has had the property secured and is attempting to get the power turned off. Concerns voiced: Is there a warrant for the grandson’s arrest? How do we move forward to resolve this situation? Our criminal justice system can be frustrating as we honor people’s civil liberties. Comment that neighbors would like to know the outcome of complaints. These can be checked on line through the judicial system. Officers work very hard to collect evidence, and then judges can undo all that work with plea bargains and appeals. Chief Blocker and Officer Rivera encouraged us to call when we see a concern, get to know your neighbors, watch the record of judges up for election. Comment about reinstating an Neighborhood Watch. Officer Rivera hasn’t had a request for a radar sign, so NPC members made some suggestions. Request for a radar on Golden between M66 overpass and Riverside, and at 2323 Capital Ave SW. Concern about the dangerous pickup and drop-off situation at Minges Brook Elementary. Question regarding why the officer stays in the car. A visible police car tends to be a stronger deterrent to traffic- jamming activity. · City Representative Report: Yolanda Johnson has many of the same concerns that have been discussed, including siting the property at 637 E Minges. This property is now on the Vacant and Abandoned list, so the property is being monitored. Regarding sidewalk snow removal: it is important on corner lots to clear both the busier street AND the side street. Yolanda always puts a note on the snow removal tickets that says, “Please disregard if your snow has been moved.” Question – If someone complains, will the person know who complained against them? No, they will not. 7. Committee reports: · Beautiful Battle Creek Award Nominations – Dave Hawks – No report · Neighborhoods and Land Use – John Godfrey – No report · NPC 11 Programs – Laura Herzing – No report 8. Old business: Should NPC 11 have June, July, August meetings? Since moving NPC 11 meetings from Riverside Elementary to Central Christian Church at 713 Riverside Drive, the NPC has the opportunity hold meetings year round. In the past, the NPC took a break over June, July and August as the school was closed during the summer months. Motion Jan Frantz, seconded by Tim Martinovich, to add June, July, August meeting at our regularly-scheduled times. Discussion: We should confirm that the site is available. Suggestion that one of the meetings be used as a neighborhood picnic and/or a public service opportunities. Motion passed. Randall announced that he and Talia will be ending their service as officers this year. 9. New business: Monthly informational Program: Battle Creek Police Department Chief Jim Blocker responded to some earlier concerns: and then answer questions. Breaking into a mailbox or taking a package off a front porch is a federal crime. Suggested to check out the surveillance available through Ring.com. Our new way of shopping is to order items and have them left at our front door. To protect those packages, strengthen relationships with your neighbors. The Neighbor Next Door website has helped police by posting neighborhood concerns and suspicious activity. Moving into spring, we expect larcenies to increase. Question about why mail is delivered to mailboxes at the street, rather than to our doors. This seems to be an economic decision on the part of the Post Office. The Police Department is bringing an unmanned aerial drone system into the city. More and more agencies are using drones to help them in their work. Examples where drones could be very helpful include emergency management, bomb unit, missing children, support for the fire department, life-saving equipment delivery. Drones are inexpensive to acquire and to maintain, compared to other types of technology. Trained officers certified with the FAA will have a certificate of waiver to allow them to operate the drones. Police will comply with constitutional protections. Drones must fly 400-800 feet in height and can legally view anything that can be seen with naked eye. The unit we are getting is good in the wind. Question: How is data being stored? Data will be stored securely, with safeguards against hacks and releases only with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The department has a really progressive IT group that is protecting data. Question: How many are they getting? One – $26,000 for the first one, which includes training and licensing. Concern about storage of personal video. Chief was not in favor of the program at first, but there are so many valuable uses that he has become an advocate. For instance, with a drone, the vehicle that recently drove into the river would have been recovered much more quickly. 10. Public comments: None 11. Member Comments: Next month, a Nomination Committee will be formed to identify officers for the upcoming year. 12. Next Month’s Meeting: 7:00PM Wednesday, March 28, 2018, at Central Christian Church, 713 Riverside Drive. Program: Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan 13. Adjournment: There being no further business, Randall Champlin adjourned the meeting at 8:38pm.