Neighborhood Planning Council 2 - North Central

North Central Neighborhood Planning Council #2 Meeting Minutes ~ March 13, 2012 ~ Neighborhoods, Inc. 1. Call to Order & Welcome: Meeting was called to order at 7:08 p.m. by S. Gray, chair. 2. Attendance-Members present: Jeffrey Dinkins, Lynn Ward Gray, Samuel Gray, Kitty Hillian, Steve Lee, Keith McDonald, and Bill Philips-NIBC Members Excused Absence: A.J. Jones-FHC, Sheryl McDonald and Dorothy Young Members Absent: Betty Settles City Staff: Mayor Susan Baldwin, Officer Chad Francisco, Marcie Gillette Guest: Doris M. Collins (guest of J. Dinkins) and David Young. Sprout Urban Farms members Jeremy Andrews, Devon Gibson, Antonio Jarrell and Marcus Trammell. Seven students from Kellogg Community College’s PS202: State and local government class; Glen Saint Johns, Rita Kerwin, Stephanie Freeman, Adam Jenks, Aaron Wedel, Dylon Tilbury, Jarred Winchester. 3. Approval of Previous Minutes: Moved by K. Hillian & supported by K. McDonald to approve the January 10, 2012 and February 14, 2012 minutes as presented. Motion carried. 4. Correspondence (sent/received) & Announcements: • S. Gray shared an annual action plan handout and the NPC Leadership Symposium handout. 5. City Staff/Committee/Commission/BCPS Reports: • Ofcr. Francisco passed out police report and updated us on 1) department will continue to conserve gas by doubling up in patrol cars, 2) BC Central high school’s officer Munoz is retiring. Officer’s Steve Brady and Damien Young are being considered for the role, and 3) we’ve had 13 B & E’s in the area, the average for our area is 10. J. Dinkins gave him a property to address in regards to front yard parking. • M. Gillette passed out code report and updated us on 1) office moves and new hires in the department, and 2) weed enforcement begins in May. • The nominating committee (L. Gray, K. Hillian and D. Young) presented slate of officers for the term April 1 – December 4, 2012. Moved by K. McDonald and supported by J. Dinkins to elect the slate as presented, Sam Gray-chair, Keith McDonald-vice chair, Lynn Ward Gray-secretary, motion carried. Kitty Hillian will continue to chair the Beautiful Battle Creek Award. K. McDonald suggested we leave the assistant secretary & membership chair positions open at this time and revisit once we have added new members to NPC2, there were no objections. • There were no Beautiful Battle Creek Award nominations. • City Commission Updates: Mayor Baldwin reported on 1) upcoming budget workshop on March 19, 6 p.m. at Department of Public Works, 2) Phase III of downtown transformation and upcoming street closures, 3) March 20 work session at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall, room 302A, and 4) efforts to save jobs at Air National Guard Base and what a change in mission could mean to other efforts such as the WMU College of Aviation and Duncan Aviation. Battle Creek Unlimited has created a YouTube video to bring awareness and support. Two member questions were presented to Mayor Baldwin, 1) K. McDonald wanted to know why more people of color are not visibly present on the construction sites of the downtown transformation project, Mayor Baldwin will communicate her answer through Comm. Gray, 2) J. Dinkins asked why we don’t have a more vibrant downtown. Mayor Baldwin stated creating places for people to gather is a part of the downtown transformation. She also outlined some of the challenges that BCU faces in finding businesses who are willing to invest in downtown by bringing some of the spaces up to code. Some spaces like Pablo’s, Shrank’s and Cereal City Office Supply have structural problems. Comm. Gray reported on 1) the Ethics Policy Review Committee plan to reconvene to review ethics policy, if NPC 2 members have any feedback, please pass it on, and 2) she’s working with Susan Bedsole to create an AccessVision program that will educate the public on what the  contract between NIBC and the city addresses, code compliance and inspection and step by step instruction on how to navigate the city’s website. • Membership: Lynn sent around a card for member D. Young who had been ill recently. It was then discovered member S. Lee had also been ill recently. Guests who were also members of NPC2 were encouraged to consider getting involved with NPC2. • CDAC Update: L. Gray & J. Dinkins restated the recommendation of the committee to city commission for funding allocation this year. If recommendations are accepted by the city commission, Community HealthCare Connections, Haven of Rest, SAFE Place and Salvation Army will receive $25,000 each. The recommendations were introduced at the March 6 meeting and a resolution to accept recommendations will take place at the March 20 meeting. • Received regrets from BCPS representative therefore no BCPS report was given. 6. Guest Presentation: A presentation was made by Antonio Jarrell and Devon Gibson of Sprout Urban Farms to turn an empty parcel in Washington Heights located at 245 North Kendall Street and owned by the Calhoun County Land Bank into Bright Star Farm. After the presentation and question and answers, a motion was made by J. Dinkins and seconded by K. McDonald to support Sprout Urban Farms request for a special use permit for Bright Star Farm, the motion carried. Commissioner Lynn Ward Gray recused herself from the vote. The special use permit goes before the Planning Commission at 4 p.m. on March 28. Chair, Samuel Gray and vice-chair Keith McDonald plan to attend. 8. Old Business/New Business: • Plan to dedicate the next meeting to further developing the two goals of our strategic plan. 9. Public Comments/Member Comments: • L. Gray thanked the KCC class and Sprout Urban Farms for being with us. • S. Gray spoke of supporting God’s Kitchen through donations of time and money. He also talked about the article that outlined struggles in some of our poor neighborhoods, particularly the story of a mother in Parkview Manor. Perhaps we could, as an NPC, help in some way. 10. Next Meeting: Monday, April 9, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at Neighborhoods, Inc. Please note: we are meeting the second Monday instead of our regular second Tuesday in April because the city commission will be meeting that evening. 11. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. by Samuel Gray, Chair Respectfully Submitted: Lynn Ward Gray, Secretary