Neighborhood Planning Council 2 - North Central

North Central Neighborhood Planning Council #2 Meeting Minutes -- February 11, 2013 -- Neighborhoods, Inc. 1. Call to Order & Welcome: Meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. by S. Gray, chair. 2. Attendance. Members Present: FHC Rep-Scott Hutchings, Lynn Ward Gray, Samuel Gray, Kitty Hillian, NIBC Rep-Bill Phillips; Members Excused Absence: Betty Settles; Members Absent: Jeffrey Dinkins, Steve Lee, Keith McDonald, Sheryl McDonald, Fredrico Porter, Tammie Porter and Dorothy Young; City Staff: Marcie Gillette, Officer Ryan Thayer; Guests: Karen Lynn Todd-BC Enquirer. 3. Approval of Previous Minutes: A quorum was not present. 4. Correspondence (sent/received) & Announcements: S. Gray passed out a January 2013 BCAT report, extra crime diaries and refrigerator magnets. He also shared a report of the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Commission’s list of meeting dates for 2013. Gray also said he’s going to make calls to members who haven’t attended meetings yet this year. L. Gray announced room rental opportunities at Burnham Brook Center; provided a copy of the JONAH resource book to each person present: announced the Blacks in Government luncheon is on Feb. 21; college scholarship applications are available through the Battle Creek Community Foundation website through March 28 and FAFSA workshops are currently going on around the community. 5. Committee & City Staff Reports: Police Department-Officer Thayer: Report was distributed. B & E’s were down tremendously during the month of January. From 25 in December to 1 in January. Dispatch took 52 calls in January but 90-plus the month before. Officer Thayer said it may be weather-related. Neighborhood Services-Marcie Gillette: Report was distributed. Residents encouraged to keep an eye on properties that aren’t occupied not only for disturbance but also for any deterioration to vacant properties. Beautiful Battle Creek Award: 202 N. Washington Ave. was submitted in January. We had submitted a list in November 2012 that should take us through March 2014. When new nominations are generated during monthly meetings, they will go to the top of the list, otherwise, the list supplied will be followed in order. Membership: Karen Lynn Todd has resigned as Secretary due to an opportunity to cover all of the NPCs for the Battle Creek Enquirer. She will maintain NPC 2 membership, however will take a leave while her assignment to cover NPCs is in place. A calendar of 2013 meeting dates for NPC 2 was sent out, L. Gray encouraged everyone to place the dates on their calendars now. City/County Commissioners: L. Gray reported that the city commission recently held its Capital Improvement Program combined workshop with the Planning Commission. Some good discussion about this annual process was brought up and some of this information will be implemented at future CIP workshops. The city had a redistricting workshop in January, info from that meeting was passed out to members. A second workshop on redistricting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 19, and voted on during March meetings. Some commissioners have expressed an interest in looking at crime in the city of Battle Creek and crime perception/the way crime statistics are compiled/reported, a workshop will be scheduled. Budget workshops are coming up soon as well. Comm. Gray’s AccessVision program, “Keeping You Informed,” features past and present African American elected and appointed public servants this month in honor of Black History Month. 6. Old Business: Bylaws revisions were discussed, tabled until March meeting. 7. New Business: S. Gray received a call from the Transportation Department regarding the status/ownership of the bus stop at Seedorf and Washington. The department is interested in doing some upgrades to the bus stop that is now just a frame because the glass has been broken out of it. Members present welcome the idea of utilizing whatever grant dollars are available to upgrade this bus stop. L. Gray will check with the Battle Creek Community Foundation to see if this bus stop was part of any past neighborhood grants. 8. Old Business: None 9: Public Comments/Member Comments: S Gray said he would be working to schedule Brad Palmer as a guest speaker to give a presentation on the keys to success in school safety. FHC-Hutchings said the Family Health Center went to the Historical Commission and got approval to demolish a couple of buildings nearby its property, all in an effort to move forward with an addition to the center. They still have to go before the Zoning Board and the Planning Commission for permits, etc. B. Phillips said there have been more than 100 inquiries about some newly-built and rehabbed homes for sale. About 30,000 inserts were placed in the BC Shopper recently. S. Gray gave his State of the Council speech. “We are meeting our goals. Change starts here. A changed person can change the world. We are still about growing the NPC and developing the Block Captain concept.” 10. Next Meeting: 7 p.m., Monday, March 11, 2013 at Neighborhoods, Inc., 47 N. Washington Ave. 11. Adjournment: By S. Gray at 8:12 p.m. Respectfully Submitted: Samuel Gray, chair