Neighborhood Planning Council 5 - Urbandale

Urbandale Neighborhood Planning Council #5 Council Minutes – June 8, 2015 Meeting at Christ United Methodist Church 65 North Bedford Road Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:04 PM by Robert Whitfield, chair. Attendance: Robert Whitfield, Chair; Sara Schmanske; Paula Scarbrough; Freeman Thomas; Curtis Roberts; Deb Owens; David Moore; Walt McIlroy; Hal Longman; Pat Graw; Joshua Fausey; Fred Bachman; Stan Beckwith; Kathy Antaya. A quorum of at least seven members was present. Excused absences: Dale Stratton; Rebecca Runyon; Carl Brockman ** Members please call 269-963-7148 for “excused absence” (leave message) ** Guests included: Alvin White; Alvin White III (banner artist); Sue Bachman; Richard Jones; Suasan Baldwin; Beverly Case City staff included: Eric Morris; Officer Kurt Roth Previous Minutes: Minutes from May meeting were approved by voice vote. Chair Announcements/Correspondence: Zoning Board of Appeal June meeting Police Report: Officer Roth provided a written and oral report for police activity in Urbandale in May .  Police have arrested suspect for the recent spate of “breaking and entering” of vehicles. Suspect confessed to several in Leila Arboretum and a dozen others around the city.  The dedicated Traffic Unit has spent 6 hours in the last two weeks watching for speeders and other traffic issues.  Officer Roth also answered questions from members.  Remember: recovered goods can be returned to the owners if properly identified – so, please mark your personal property! Also, police depend on us being observant neighbors and calling in reports of suspicious activity. Guest Speaker: none School Report: no report Code Report: Eric Morris provided a written report of code violations, and also answered questions from the group. Lots of “tall grass” violations during this rainy period. Morris is working with Matt Flanders to increase resident participation in the Community Action Agency grant program. Several residents have inquired about these grants. The CAA Housing Rehab Grants are available for residents who have been cited by the city for code violations. These grants are up to $5,000 ($12,000 for roofs) and are income dependent. Call Matt Flanders, 269-966-3387, for more details. Membership: no report Beautiful Battle Creek Award: none Old Business: none New Business: none Nominating Committee: no business Public Service Comments, Members: (1) From Commissioner (Mayor) Owens:  Historic District Commission - seeking new member  Zoning Board of Appeals – seeking new alternate member  WKKF has awarded a grant to BC Police for “Implicit Bias Training” for taking them beyond anti-racism training  BC Vision Kick off – jobs, talent development, culture of vitality  Cereal Festival – parade Fri night, 6pm; event Sat, 8-12  Downtown work – City is replacing some benches along river paths  Rain barrels are available at www.bcwater.org (2) From Commissioner Baldwin:  Historic District Commission approved new signage for BCCF new office downtown, on Mich Ave  City Commission is evaluating 2 documents for job review process of City Manager. These docs include evaluation of “leadership” and include specific, tangible goals, in particular business development, citizens feeling safe, customer service by city staff. (3) From Paula Scarbrough and Fred Bachman: Results of Banner Contest – Neighborhoods Inc granted $1,000 to our NPC to be used in a manner that enhanced our sense of community. By vote of the NPC, we chose to purchase razor banners that could be placed in front of various Urbandale businesses. Scarbrough suggested we initiate a banner design contest at Urbandale schools. She visited 2 schools (grades 1-6), and allowed 1 week for artistic designs to be submitted. About 20 designs were submitted for consideration. The submissions were placed in the window of our Family Fare. The design by Alvin White III was selected as the winner! He received several nice gifts in recognition of this honor. Pictures of the awarding were published in the BC Shopper News. Six banners in all were purchased, thanks to financial contributions from BC Tile, Chemical Bank, Larsen Construction, Spanky’s, Finish Line Laundry and Bachman-Hebble Funeral Home. Banners will be finished in July. Our NPC needs to create a set of rules for handling and moving of these banners. (4) Pat Graw noted that Leila Arboretum is having a week-long tree carving event, Fantasy Forest Art Contest, June 13-21. Fred Bachman thanked the Banner Contest Committee. Public Comment: A guest raised a question regarding problems with a neighbor on code compliance issues. The situation has been resolved. She recommended in similar situation that we each “stay on it; persevere… it is our neighborhood and we want to keep it good.” Next Meeting: July 13, 2015 Adjournment: 8:05 P.M. Respectfully submitted by: Kathy Antaya