Neighborhood Planning Council 5 - Urbandale

Urbandale Neighborhood Planning Council #5 Council Minutes – October 12, 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; Sara Schmanske; Freeman Thomas; Curtis Roberts; Deb Owens; David Moore; Walt McIlroy; Hal Longman; Pat Graw; Joshua Fausey; Fred Bachman; Kathy Antaya. A quorum of at least seven members was present. NOTE: Beverly Case, Catherine LaValley and Terry Lancaster were present for the meeting. They have been nominated for membership and are awaiting City Commission appointment. ** Members please call 963-7148 for “excused absence” (leave message) ** Guests included: Susan Baldwin (City Commissioner); Kaytee Faris (candidate for City Commission); Caitlin LaValley; Paul Makoski (Calhoun Co Public Health Dept.); Marylou Ramon. City staff: Dennis McKinley; Officer John Chrenenko; Fire Chief Dale Schmaltz; Police Chief Blocker Chair Announcements/Correspondence: none Additions/deletions to the Agenda: Chairman Whitfield asked for a motion to waive the normal agenda order due to the large number of guests who wish to address the NPC. Motion passed. Previous Minutes: Minutes from September mtg were not available. Sequential Order of Business 1. Candidates for City Commission: Kaytee Faris introduced herself as an At Large candidate for the City Commission. She is a member of NPC #4. Susan Baldwin introduced herself as an incumbent, running for another term as an At Large candidate. Deb Owens (current mayor and our NPC #5 commissioner) is running for reelection in Ward 1. 2. Police Report: Officer John Chrenenko provided an oral report.  Discussed the recent double-shooting during a used-car sale. Two men traveled from Grand Rapids to inspect a vehicle they had seen for sale on Craig’s List. The meeting place was an empty/abandoned house, and almost immediately they were attacked by three men. One of the buyers was legally carrying a concealed weapon; fired his weapon and hit two of the attackers. All three attackers fled the scene. All three have been apprehended.  This incident should serve as a warning to use extreme caution in dealing with unknown buyers/sellers. Meet in a public place. Do not carry cash. Let someone know your plans.  The BC Police are setting up a “safe zone” in their parking lot for these types of exchanges. This space may also be a good place for other exchanges, like transferring children between hostile ex- spouses, etc.  An up-tick in card-reader fraud has been reported. Criminals surreptitiously insert a device into the credit/debit card slot in gasoline dispensers at local gas stations. After you use your card to purchase gas, they can read all the card info and use it for other purchases. Consider using cash as one method to avoid this scam. 3. Fire Chief Dave Schmaltz invited all residents to attend a series of Open Houses at fire stations around the city. He wants people to get to know their local fire fighters and to become familiar with the stations. The FD will also be involved in a series of Community Conversations between Nov 2 and Nov 17. 4. Police Chief Blocker invited all residents to a series of Community Conversations to be held Nov 2-17. They are particularly interested in comments about the FD and PD facilities. Says Blocker, “The old/deteriorating buildings are causing issues with recruiting and retention of officers. And these conditions could potentially cause problems with the performance of our duties.” The PD headquarters were constructed in the 1970’s. 5. Paul Makoski, Director of Environemental Health for the Calhoun Co Health Dept, spoke at length about the health hazards associated with meth labs (a follow up to last month’s police presentation).  “Cooking” one pound of meth creates 6 pounds of toxic waste  During the cooking process, fumes penetrate carpets, rugs, wall coverings, adjoining rooms, mattress and box springs, toys, wardrobes, etc., and they must be discarded.  A sticky residue is left behind that must be cleaned off all hard surfaces. Walls must be cleaned, not just repainted. Residue can be picked up on your shoes and transferred to another house.  Clean up is difficult and it is very easy to simply spread the toxic residue onto other areas. Problems can also be worsened if you use the wrong type of cleaning agent. A homeowner might be able to clean a single-family residence in 6-8 weeks! Unfortunately, a professional cleaner might cost “tens of thousands of dollars” to do the job.  Contaminated material and cleaning supplies must be disposed of in a toxic landfill.  The Health Dept must condemn any house the Police Dept reports to them as a “cook house.”  A Certified Technician must inspect & approve the cleaning before the house is reoccupied.  A non-cleaned/remediated house CANNOT be sold until it is inspected and approved as clean. School Report: Catherine LaValley is our school liaison. Strategic Planning Process meetings will be held in Nov and Dec. The plan should be rolled out in Feb. Code Report: Dennis McKinley provided a written report of code violations, and also answered questions from the group.  Last week of November is the end of the curb-side, yard waste collection period.  The City is revising the Vacant Building Code, with input from residents. Membership: none Beautiful Battle Creek Award: Sara Schmanske nominated 128 Dunning Ave Old Business: none New Business: Fred Bachman reported on the Oct 6 City Commission mtg. Alvin White III, received a proclamation from the city for his design of the Urbandale business banners (razor banners). Several of the NPC members were there to show our support. Also noted during the event was Alvin’s recent election as President of his school’s Student Council. Nominating Committee: Fred Bachman called for candidates for NPC #5 positions of Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary. Robert Whitfield, Hal Longman and Kathy Antaya were nominated. Public Service Comments from Commissioner: From Commissioner (Mayor) Owens: We will have a Community Development engagement at the Nov mtg. BC and Emmett Township are having an on-line auction of vehicles, Oct 15. Willard Beach rededication is Oct 15. Oct 14 is the “100 Day Roll Out” of the BC Vision effort. The city will be hosting “small group” discussions of how to make our city more business friendly. Comments for the Good of the Order  Bachman-Hebble is collecting gently used sweaters between now and Thanksgiving. All sizes – men’s, women’s, children’s and infants’.  Tea Party is hosting a candidates open forum, Oct 22, 630 pm at Kool Family Center. Next Meeting: November 9, 2015 Adjournment: 8:36 P.M. Submitted by: Kathy Antaya