Neighborhood Planning Council 9 - Rural Southwest

Urbandale Neighborhood Planning Council #5 Council Minutes – April 13, 2015 Meeting at Christ United Methodist Church 65 North Bedford Road Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:03 PM by Robert Whitfield, chair. Attendance: Robert Whitfield, Chair; Johnny Vick; Dale Stratton; Sara Schmanske; Paul Sajtar; Deb Owens; David Moore; Walt McIlroy; Hal Longman; Pat Graw; Fred Bachman; Kathy Antaya. A quorum of at least seven members was present. Excused absences: Rebecca Runyon; Carl Brockman; Joshua Fausey ** Members please call 269-963-7148 for “excused absence” (leave message) ** Guests included: Mary Lou Ramon; Freeman Thomas; Paula Scarbrough; Steven Andrus; Mark Dionise, MDOT City staff included: Dennis McKinley; Officer Kurt Roth Previous Minutes: Minutes from March meeting were approved by voice vote. Chair Announcements/Correspondence: • Zoning Board of Appeals meets on Tues, April 14, at 4pm. Go to room 301 City Hall. • The Urbandale Food Pantry, located in Overflow Church on Michigan Ave, needs volunteer help and funding. Please contact the church or the Food Bank of South Central Mich (269-964- 3663) if you can help. Police Report: Officer Kurt Roth provided an oral report for police activity in Urbandale in March. • Generally, crime rates are “average.” • 3rd Town Hall Meeting was March 26, 6pm at Post-Franklin Elementary School. Notes from all Town Hall meetings are available on the BC City website. • Unfortunately, attendance by residents at all three Town Hall events has been very low. The Police Dept and officers have expended significant time and effort preparing for these meetings. Due to lack of interest by residents and after careful consideration, the Chief has decided to cancel the rest of the meetings. • BC now has a dedicated Traffic Unit. An officer will attend the May NPC meeting to discuss. • A member reported problems with vehicles speeding on Dunning Ave. Office Roth will look into this issue. • 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: Mark Dionise, MDOT. He discussed road construction work planned for our area this summer, and distributed an official MDOT map of this work and time schedule. For up-to-date information on all statewide lane closures, go to www.michigan.gov/drive. Briefly: parts of M-89 will be resurfaced; Martin Luther King Dr/Skyline Dr/BL-94 and bridge over I-94 (at exit 92) will receive major resurface work; M-66 north of I-94 will be resurfaced. He also addressed the question regarding an increase in speed and vibrations from “big trucks” along Bedford Rd between Michigan Ave and Morgan Rd. It was also noted that there appears to be a significant increase in the number of big trucks passing along this route. Dionise said MDOT has not changed the weight limits on this “trunk line.” But he asked if there was a new project occurring locally that might be the cause of more trucks? He also noted that as the economy improves, there will be more commercial traffic transporting goods. Another member complained of the repaving work done at Hillcrest and Michigan Ave that has created a very bad water puddle problem at that location. Several people also complained of the extreme hazard at the corner of Mich Ave and Bedford Rd. Specifically, there are no left turn signals for traffic traveling north or south on Bedford Rd, when turning into Michigan. Dionise promised to look into both these concerns. School Report: Urbandale NPC is in need of a representative from the Urbandale “school system.” Ideally, this would be a parent, teacher or Board member that lives in our area. However, anyone with a sincere interest in our schools is qualified! We only ask a willingness to provide a monthly report of school activities and issues to the NPC. Code Report: Dennis McKinley distributed a written report and gave a verbal report. He noted that yard-waste curbside pick-up began April 1 and runs through Nov. 1. On May 4 (through Oct 31) the “weed inspector” begins observing home lawns for compliance with code. McKinley reminded folks that there are Housing Rehab Grants 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. McKinley also answered questions from the group. Membership: no report Beautiful Battle Creek Award: Dale Stratton recommended 300 Morgan Rd. for this month’s award. Old Business: Mayor Owens updated the NPC on the Neighborhood Inc. grant. The idea to place banners on the four light poles on the corner of Bedford Rd and Michigan Ave is NOT possible. The utility company does not allow this. The group discussed other ideas, including buying a large moveable banner that could be placed in front of various Urbandale businesses. She will investigate the costs and convene the subcommittee when appropriate. Owens is following through with the grant deadline and application (deadline June 30, 2015). New Business: NPC #5 was asked to review, and accept or reject, the “NPC Dissolution and Reinstatement Policy” as drafted by city staff. After a brief discussion, NPC #5 members approved the draft by a voice vote. Nominating Committee: Three new members were nominated, and supported by voice vote, for NPC # 5 membership: • Freeman Thomas, 6 Myrtle, BC 49037, 269-209-3782 • Steven Andrus, 138 Morgan Ave, BC 49037, 269-883-0192 • Paula Scarbrough, (biz address) 1 N. Bedford Rd, BC 49037, 269-579-4839 They each accepted the nomination and are looking forward to the City Commission’s approval. Public Service Comment from Commissioner (Mayor) Owens: • There is a citizen survey available on-line at the city website. • The Farmers Market will reopen May 2 in the newly renovated Festival Market Square, Jackson and McCamly streets. • The city commissioners will discuss Proposal 1 at their April 14 meeting. Public Comment: none Member Comment:  • Calhoun Co. Tea Party has a guest speaker at their meeting April 23. • Leila Arboretum has a special weeklong event June 13-20. Called the Fantasy Forest Art Competition, it will transform the grove of dead Ash trees located at the arboretum entrance on Michigan Ave. A weeklong schedule of family friendly events culminates with prizes awarded for the best artistic sculptures created out of the massive tree trunks. For more details call 969- 0270 or see Leila’s Facebook or web page. Next Meeting: May 11, 2015 Adjournment: 8:08 P.M. Respectfully submitted by: Kathy Antaya