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REGULAR MEETING JULY 9, 2012 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Councilmember Dieter asked Councilmember Henry Davis if Mr. Toothaker is the owner <br />of that property, would he like any follow up? <br /> <br />Councilmember Henry Davis stated yes, and that he wants to find out who owns the <br />building. He stated that he thinks that it is necessary. If we are going to be this city that <br />st <br />is 21 Century and going to be helpful to all classes of people MBE/WBE, excited to <br />spread the wealth and re-divide the pie, he doesn’t think that we should stop short of <br />commercial buildings and paying rent to a person who probably owns most of the real <br />estate downtown, especially if he owns this building and we continue to do business like <br />this with Mr. Toothaker or CB Richard Ellis. <br /> <br />Mr. Lonnie Douglas, Director, Human Rights Commission, 309 St. Louis Blvd., South <br />Bend, Indiana, spoke in favor of this bill. Mr. Douglas advised that the currently location <br />of his office has generated concerns about maintenance, obsolescence, and client <br />accessibility. He noted that the City Engineering Department has inspected the property <br />and concluded that the level of repair needed to correct problems exceeds the benefit in <br />retaining this building for the South Bend Human Rights Commission. He stated that he <br />and his entire staff are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to a move to 319 <br />Niles Avenue. He urged the Council’s favorable recommendation of this bill. <br /> <br />Councilmember Schey thanked Mr. Douglas and assured him that she thinks we all value <br />the work that the Human Rights Commissions does. She stated that the debate has been <br />centered around trying to make a wise choice on behalf of the taxpayers. She stated that <br />they want to make sure that we are provided the best accommodations that they can. She <br />stated that they have just been very judicious about the cost, so please bear in mind that <br />what is the debate is centered around not that they don’t value very much the work that <br />the Human Rights Commission does. <br /> <br />Councilmember Henry Davis stated that the only reason that he is voting for this bill is <br />because he doesn’t think any worker should work in those types of conditions. He stated <br />that he is sure that it is miserable in that building given the triple digit temperatures that <br />we have been experiencing. He reiterated that he doesn’t believe that anyone should <br />have to work in those kinds of conditions he doesn’t care who you are or where you come <br />from. That is one of the only reasons that he is voting for this bill, outside of that he <br />thinks that it is up to the Administration and it is their responsibility to find adequate <br />space for the city departments. He stated that he doesn’t think that they are short of city <br />property that they own. He stated that we could have done a better job in locating a <br />property for office space for the Human Rights Commission well before we got this <br />point. He stated that it is almost a forced situation right now and the Council is being put <br />up against the employees. He stated that he is always going to go for the employees, so <br />he is going to support the bill, because they are employees and they work hard. But he <br />does not support the way that this was handled and thinks that the administration on <br />down to the departments need to be mindful of office space and real estate that we own <br />here in South Bend, Indiana. He stated that as a matter of fact he has already asked for an <br />audit during the sessions of budget, so they will find out how many properties that they <br />actually own. He stated that it is more than those properties that showed up on that piece <br />of paper. He stated that he has done a Google search himself and found more than what <br />was presented earlier today. The other deal is that he thinks that the Human Rights <br />Commission deserves more as well, so not only should they get a new office space, allow <br />them to go county wide. They handle issues from people in Mishawaka and all over the <br />county and they come to South Bend and bring them to South Bend and being paid by <br />South Bend. He thinks they should probably get paid by South Bend, City of Mishawka <br />and the County Council as well. He stated that there needs to be a conversation between <br />the three (3) governmental bodies so that they can stretch their arms and spread their <br />wings and also be compensated for the work that they do. Because they don’t just handle <br />South Bend complaints and assumes that they deal with more issues outside of South <br />Bend rather than South Bend. He stated that he is going to go out on that limb, because <br />he has been here for a while and knows that to be true. He thinks that they need to make <br />an approach to go county wide rather than city wide because we shouldn’t have to <br />continue to foot the bill for outside areas. He stated that we do it all the time, so now is <br />the time for those outside areas to pony up their dollars to make sure that division is well <br /> 6 <br /> <br />