02-26-73 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING FEBRUARY 26 1973 REGULAR MEETING - RECONVENED (CONTINUED) Mr. Charles Crutchfield, 22045 Roosevelt Road, asked the Council to come forward with a resolution in support of the resolutions Mrs. Frances Wilson had submitted to the Council on the president's cutback of federal funds. He asked that the Council not take this matter lightly, as it has deeper implication than just a cutback of funds. He also indicated that it was true that some of these federal programs have not done their job, but he wanted the Council to take note of the pro- grams that have. He felt that revenue sharing was not the answer, and he asked the Council to use the resolution of the City of Chicago as a guide. He concluded by indicating that there had been a great deal more people present at the meeting who had wanted to speak on this subject but who had to leave the meeting earlier. Mrs. Constance Green, 3217 West Dunham, indicated that the petition Mrs. Wilson had talked about was a copy of the petition that she had given to the Council two weeks ago. She also mentioned that the Council had referred seven ordinances on revenue sharing to committees. She indicated that she would like to go into the committees within the next two weeks and consider that the Mayo: took six evenings of his time and went to the city for discussion on the revenue sharing with the citizens. He then submitted his proposal on revenue sharing shortly after the last meeting. She mentioned that the first two meetings had not gone over well. Also, during the meetings, she pointed out that the citizens asked for many things but one thing they did not ask for was the Civic Center. She mentioned that the president's cutback on types of poverty programs is threatening other programs as well. She mentioned that there is a Democratic Congress with their hands tied. She quoted a figure of 3.6 million dollars being received, and she asked that the Council seriously consider where this money should go. She asked how many people really want the Civic Center. She mentioned that unemployment is a great problem, and she wanted to know how many people would be employed by the Civic Center. She felt that a majority of the people in South Ben( do not want the Civic Center because too much money will be spent on the building. She mentioned that besides the cost of construction of the building, the citizens will still have to pay to use the building by admission to various activities. She indicated that she hoped the Council would not take the same attitude that was taken when she gave them a copy of Mrs. Wilson's petition previously. She felt the Council was responsible to the people and not just a few interest groups Mrs. Helen Otolski, 758 Lombardy, indicated that she wanted to speak on the Kenneth Kwieran matter She mentioned that she was Mr. Kwieran's witness and that she did file a complaint with the Police Department and the patrol car had arrived about 30 minutes late, and by that time, the kids had disappeared. She mentioned that she had given the police the necessary information about the incident and nothing had been done about it. She also mentioned that she had called the police on the matter involving the car hitting the utility pole. She said she had waited for the police and no one had come to investigate the situation. She wanted to get some idea on what type of protec- tion the citizens can expect from their Police Department. She mentioned that the kids are drivin( all over the lawns on Lombardy Drive, and the residents hoped that Lombardy could be constantly patrolled with the hopes of stopping this. Mr. Kenneth Kwieran, 730 Lombardy, stated that he felt Mr. Gallagher had humiliated him and cut him down in front of the public. He also mentioned that, after the previous Council meeting, the paper had published things that he had not said. After the last meeting, he had left with a feeling that something could be done and that he would receive some help with his problem. He indicated that he had come to this meeting only to be humiliated and he had thought that a solu- tion to the problem could be found. He announced that he had seen 10 police cars stopped at the White House Restaurant one day and it was the truth; he did not like to be called a liar, and he did not like Mr. Gallagher's implications. He also mentioned that he was able to see Mr. Gallaghe: as Mr. Gallagher had stated, only he was in the office for about 15 minutes and not 45 minutes. He mentioned the fact that Mr. Gallagher had requested him to bring the witness to his office; however, he indicated that he had to work every day and could not always take off work when he wanted. He felt that many times, people are afraid to come forward because when their names are known, they are harassed. He also stated that Mr. Gallagher had indicated there was no damage to the lawns, and he maintained that there is damage because he had seen it. He mentioned that Mr. Gallagher had not been out to his property to investigate the damage so how would he be aware that there was damage. He also mentioned that, as far as the car hitting the telephone pole, he had: seen it happen and nothing had been done about it. He felt the west end of the city should be patrolled. He admitted that there has been no damage within the past week and that recently, the patrol cars had been driving through the area and shining their spot lights into the homes. He briefly mentioned that he had read the city ordinance on the sidewalks and parkways and cars being prohibited to these areas. He asked the City Attorney to speak to the Council on his behalf as Mr. Roemer had investigated the damage personally and would be able to give an honest account of the situation. City Attorney Roemer indicated that, in his opinion, the damage was more than minor. He had been advised by the School Corporation that the damage to the school lawn was minor and they would not prosecute. He felt the collective proglem was that there are plenty of houses in that area that have been damaged. He mentioned that the Council had asked him to look into the matter in regard to police response. He indicated that he had gone to Mr. Kwieran's house to investigate. He had asked Mr. Kwieran if he had gotten a response to his telephone calls and Mr. Kwieran had indicated that he had. He had also asked Mr. Kwieran if the officers had been civil to him and Mr. Kwieran had indicated that they had been. He indicated that Mr. Kwieran could not identify the driver of the automobile, and he felt this was not a prosecutable matter as far as Mr, Kwieran's property was concerned; however, the school property is prosecutable only they say the damage is minor. Because of these facts, he informed the Council that the police cannot take any legal action because they cannot develop a case. He indicated that the police have been patrollin( the area and there was a stake -out one evening. Mr. Kwieran indicated that he was not "knocking" the Police Department, but he felt they were not getting the patrol cars out on the west end of town. Councilman Serge felt that, at the present time, the Police Department was not manned enough to take care of the problem. Councilman Kopczynski agreed with Mr. Kwieran on the problem of the patrol cars on the west end of town. He asked if Mr. Gallagher had personally gone out and taken a look at the damage, and Mr. Gallagher answered that he had not. Councilman Kopczynski stated that, in Mr. Gallagher's opinion, the citizens should determine what type of service they want from their Police Department. He mentioned that each area has its own problems and a problem) in one area might be minor in a certain section and much more serious in another. He explained a problem that had occurred in his neighborhood in the past about a family who operated everything from motorcycles with no mufflers to snowmobiles. He mentioned that this problem went on for nine years and it could never be cleared up. Fortunately, the family had moved away and the neighbor- hood became peaceful again. He indicated that he had been contacted by the people in Mr. Kwieran' area day after day and he felt it was time that the Police Department was responsible to the peopl