05-11-15 Agenda, Packet & Committee Meeting Notice

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RESOLUTION NO. 6� � I t1--jr- Bill No. 15- A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, RECOMMENDING THAT A TALL GRASSIWEED ABATEMENT PILOT PROGRAM FOCUSING ON Wf..4 for the past several months, discussions have taken place with members of the City Administration on needed updates to improve the City's tall grass /weed regulations; and those regulations aimed at updating our local procedures are set forth in Bill No. 22 -15 which received first reading on April 27, 2015, and is scheduled to have a public hearing, review and recommendation by the Council's Health and Public Safety Committee, as well as the Common Council on May 11, 2015; and in light of the proposed updates which streamline local regulations and focus on the property owner who fails to comply with paying the costs, rather than passing the costs of enforcement to the average taxpayer, there is an opportunity to create a Pilot Program which may provide job opportunities for youth this Summer; and QCa, a Pilot Program under the jurisdiction of the Department of Code Enforcement is potentially feasible to be in operation from approximately the week of Memorial Day through November 6, 2015; and the Department of Code Enforcement would work closely with the Law Department so that qualifying non - profit organizations and LLCs who specialize in life skills training and development of youth ages 14 years of age and older may have the opportunity to learn to safely mow, trim and remove debris from City - selected locations. Each qualifying non - profit organization and LLC meeting the standards set forth in the City's request for proposals would further be required to comply with: • Federal, state and local laws governing youth employment • Proper required liability insurance and worker's compensation coverage • Proper thresholds requiring supervision of all youth who are participating • Proper youth training in all aspects in the proper use, maintenance of all equipment • Proper youth training in all aspects in the proper use of safety goggles, gloves and other required items for youth safety and overall public safety • Provide the Department of Code Enforcement with before and after photos of each property assigned to be cut on a daily basis where clean-up abatement services by the youth have been provided information on the website for WorkOne Northern Indiana notes that "when you are young, getting a good job can be a tough process... successful job seekers foster an attitude of life -long learning'; and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the U.S. Department of Labor reported that last Summer "...unemployment among youth rose by 913,000 from April to July 2014 ... [with] the July 2014 labor force participation rate for 16 to 24 year old mean being 63.2 percent... "; and the Bureau of Labor Statistics for last Summer also reveal that youth employment rates were only 63.2 % for Whites, 56.2 % for Hispanics, 52.9 % for Blacks, 45.8 % for Asians leaving 3.4 million unemployed youth in July 2014 as reported in the August 13, 2014 BLS Economic News Release entitled "Employment and Unemployment Among Youth Summary ".