09-13-04 Council Meeting Minutes

Home Browse Search

REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 13,2004 COUNCIL DISTRICT UPDATES —4TH DISTRICT COUNCILMEMBER ANN PUZZELLO Councilmember Ann Puzzello, 4th District Councilmember gave an update on activity in the 4th District. She stated that the 4th District is the northeast corner of South Bend. It is bounded by Notre Dame, Mishawaka, mostly by Jefferson Street on the south and the river on the west. A lot of work has been done this summer, or is in the process of being completed or is still in the planning stage. The northeast neighborhood has been receiving a lot of attention from the Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization (NNRO) which is the facilitator for five local funding entities; Notre Dame, Memorial Hospital, St. Joseph Medical Center, Madison Center and the City of South Bend. NNRO has partnered with South Bend Heritage to renovate a number of homes in the area, build new homes, make plans to build townhouses from Napoleon St. to Howard St. on Eddy, reconfigure and rebuild in the Georgiana and Burns Street area and make large improvements to Coquillard Park. Notre Dame and I.U. are in the process of building a medical facility, the Transgene Research Center on the corner of Angela and Notre Dame Av. It will benefit both universities and the community with meeting rooms for local groups. The "Five Corners area where Eddy, Corby and South Bend Avenue all come together has always been a bottleneck for people wanting to get from and to the city. This will be changed in the next several years to a four way intersection joining South Bend Avenue with Eddy and Corby with Howard. The St. Joseph Medical Center has made the decision to move its facility to Granger. This leaves a large area to be redeveloped in the northeast neighborhood. There are many possibilities for this land use from medical uses to housing. We are sorry to see our hospital leave, but are hopeful about the future of this vital area of our city. Fredrickson Park has been a problem rather than a benefit for the City and the neighborhood for more than 15 years now. Finally it is in the process of being developed as an environmental center for study by local students. In Seitz Park, the firefighters Union have erected a beautiful memorial to fallen firefighters. We watched with great pride and some sadness as it was dedicated this summer, and blessed as part of the Blue Mass this past Friday. The memorial makes the park even more beautiful. The City is involved in the beginning stages of a large sewer separation project. The 4th District has three neighborhoods which will be part of this project. These areas are the Harter Heights neighborhood, the neighborhood of Rockne, Cedar and Madison Streets and Edison Park. These neighborhoods have had a lot of trouble with flooded basements and this work should be a big help toward alleviating this problem. The intersections at LaSalle and Colfax with Eddy Street have long been a safety problem with the hill making left turns dangerous. This is finally going to be improved in the spring with left turn arrows and new lanes. The North Shore Drive erosion project is being completed this summer along the hill on the river's edge. The erosion has caused a dangerous situation on the south side of North Shore Drive. The hill is being "shored up" with materials which will no pollute the river. There has been a lot of street paving activity in my district this summer, thanks in large part to our appropriation from the wheel tax. Some streets or certain blocks of streets that are receiving work are Corby, Walsh, Francis, Howard. A more controversial upgrading is in the work to upgrade the intersections of Ironwood and McKinley and Ironwood and Jefferson Boulevard. So much is happening or being planned in the 4th District that neighbors need to be aware of events. A neighbor should call either the public works department or me if he/she needs more information. If we work together, the 4th District will remain the greatest district in the City. RESOLVE INTO THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE At 7:05 p.m., Councilmember Coleman made a motion to resolve into the Committee of the Whole. Councilmember Kuspa seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. Councilmember Coleman, Chairperson, Committee of the Whole, presiding. Councilmember Coleman noted that this is the portion of the meeting in which members of the council meet as the Committee of the Whole in order to hear presentations and public comment on bills that are presented for ordinance consideration. Each bill that will be heard tonight will have a Public Hearing and after the hearing on each bill, the 3