11-14-11 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 14, 2011 Mr. Tony Trinca, 139 Camden Street, South Bend, Indiana, stated that there was talk when the Kroc Center was first introduce that the bridge would be torn down and replaced. He stated that idea got scrapped because of cost. He stated that the $250,000 is a deal to maintain the existing bridge. He asked the Council for their favorable consideration. Ms. Valerie Daniels-Houston, 205 Sadie Street, South Bend, Indiana, stated that she spends a lot of time in the housing apartments across from the Kroc Center and she knows how children cross that street. She stated that $250,000 seems like an awful lot of money just to do repairs, however, she agrees on providing a safe crossing for the children that will be taking advantage of the programs that the Kroc Center will be providing. She stated that she has seen children run across Western Avenue to get to the Save-A-Lot Grocery store. She urged the Council to vote in favor of this bill. Ms. Marva Leonard-Dent, residing at 5206 Hazelwood Ct., South Bend, Indiana, business address, 501 Alonzo Watson Drive, South Bend, Indiana, stated that it is truly humbling and a blessing to be in the Council Chambers tonight. She stated that she had not been in the room for over 20 years when she worked in the City Attorney’s Office. She stated that some of the faces are the same like Kathy, John and Mary Beth and it is good to see everyone again. Ms. Dent stated that she has filed with the Office of the City Clerk a petition of approximately 140 signatures of people who came to a meeting that the Housing Authority held in favor of this bill. Ms. Dent stated that she stands humbly and with much respect in duel roles in support of this bill. She noted that as the Executive Director of the Housing Authority. The Housing Authority owns and manages over 800 properties and administers about 2100 vouchers. She stated that those properties are scattered over 9 developments and hundreds of single family homes. Five (5) of those 9 (9) housing developments are located at the intersection of Western Avenue, Chapin Street and Laurel Ct. She stated that many times it has been said that the bridge is symbolic and just being a monument. She stated that the bridge was built in 1968, a traumatic year for the United States, the Vietnam War, the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the chaos of the Democratic Convention in Chicago. She stated that two African American Athletes raising a clinched fist during the playing of the National Anthem at the Olympic Games and ending the year with the Man’s First Flight to the Moon, Apollo 8. She stated that it was in 1968 that the South Bend Redevelopment Commission took the extra ordinary step of symbolically and physically linking the west side of the city with the rest of the city with the Chapin Street Pedestrian Bridge. While initially this area remained neglected offering little more than a bridge to an empty lot, eventually improvements were made and provided piece of mind to parents of over 400 low income families living within a minutes walk of the bridge assuring that the children would have safe crossing. She stated that she knows this for a fact, because in 1963, she was one of those children who would run across Chapin Street because there wasn’t any bridge. She stated that she was at Monroe Circle when she would run through the area to get to the park and Laurel Ct. She stated that Mr. Alonzo Watson began his career at the Housing Authority striving for his dream that one day families of all incomes would have the same opportunity to reach for their dreams in this City. She stated that the Park Department, and the Common Council agreed by virtue of naming that park after Mr. Watson. Then along came the Kroc Center, and the naming of Alonzo Watson Drive. Ms. Dent stated that the bridge, the Housing Authority, Al Watson and Joan Kroc is a symbolism is an understatement. She stated that exactly what the bridge was originally built for and what it needs to stay for still exists. Looking daily at what a treasure the Kroc Center is becoming and knowing that it will be for the rest of her life and the life of children and their families at the Housing Authority, we need to nurture the dreams of thousands that come across the doors as Gladys Muhammad, one of the Directors at the South Bend Housing Authority said that this is opening up the doors of opportunity. It is opening the doors of the future, opening the doors of all kinds of opportunities and we need to bridge that gap. She urged the Council to vote favorable on this bill. 11