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Home My WebLink About02-20-17 Health and Public Safety o�spU T8 B�,rV � O ti � d W rEnce 0a� • 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER,CITY CLERK HEALTH &PUBLIC SAFETY FEBRUARY 20, 2017 5:30 P.M. ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING Committee Members Present: Jo M. Broden, John Voorde, Karen White Committee Members Absent: Oliver Davis Other Council Present: Tim Scott Other Council Absent: Randy Kelly, Gavin Ferlic, Regina Williams-Preston, Dr. David Varner Others Present: Jennifer Coffman, Graham Sparks Agenda: Organizational Meeting Committee Chair Jo M. Broden called the Health and Public Safety Committee Organizational meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Committee Chair Broden introduced the members of the committee and explained the process of the meeting. She highlighted the format of the organizational meeting. It will start with a general discussion and review of what happened last year, with the remaining time of the meeting dedicated to members of the general public to share concerns or ideas they had regarding health and public safety. She reiterated the mission of the Health and Public Safety Committee being "...the oversight of the various activities performed by the Fire and Police Departments, EMS, Department of Code Enforcement, Ordinance Violation Bureau and related health and public safety matters." Committeemember John Voorde stated, I was Chair of this committee last year and the largest issue we dealt with was the negotiation with the Police Department. We ended up with a four(4) year agreement which was quite honestly beyond our expectations but through the negotiations, the money was spread out according to their preferences. The Fire Department contract runs out this year so that will be an issue taken up by the committee. Another pending ongoing issue is the Animal Care and Control business under Code Enforcement, specifically looking at chapter five (5) of the South Bend Municipal Code. Other than bills routinely assigned to the Health and Public Safety Committee,these were the main issues addressed in year 2016. Committeemember Karen White stated, Through the budget process, clearly public safety was a main concern in the neighborhoods. We want to ensure that the Code issues individuals are living with in various neighborhoods are addressed,particularly the homeless. We heard a lot about the homelessness issue specifically from citizens within the third (3`d) district. Part of the 455 County-City Building•227 W.Jefferson Boulevard•South Bend,Indiana 46601 Phone 574-235-9221 •Fax 574-235-9173•TDD 574-235-5567•www.SouthBendrN.gov JENNIFER M.COFFMAN ALKEYNA M.ALDRIDGE JOSEPH MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK OPERATIONS budget process approved an additional position,Assistant Director, within Code Enforcement. We must follow up with that to see if the job has been posted or even if someone has been hired. We also heard through the budget process in terms of Code Enforcement the need to have additional investigators to really address what the citizens are asking from the Administration and the Council. Committee Chair Broden stated, I have been to some of the meetings of the Homeless Task Force coordinated by the Mayor's Office. We met on February 1, 2017 and July 17,2017 is when final recommendations and a report will be submitted. That will impact the legislation certainly forthcoming. Councilmember Tim Scott added, Is there an update to PSAP-911? I know there is talk within the County as well to restructure the management teams and decision makers within PSAP-911. That will be crucial to us because we are the largest service and dollar amount provider to PSAP. As of now,their overall funding method is not sustainable. Also, I look forward to doing walkabouts in neighborhoods. Committee Chair Broden reminded the committee that they have received one (1) applicant thus far for citizen membership on the Health and Public Safety Committee and that there is training for that on March 6, 2017. She also let the committee and public know that she has worked to expand the meeting notification process to increase transparency. She stated, We are trying to stay ahead of the budget process because discussion for fiscal year 2018 is already starting next month. So it is important that we have the departments we oversee provide understanding of their goals and objectives early on so we can get public and committee input. Committee Chair Broden then opened the floor to the members of the community for any comment in regard to health and public safety. Robin Vida, Director of Health Education of St. Joseph County, stated, I'm here tonight to talk specifically about the establishment of our Food Access Council. This looks at food insecurity, hungers, and local sustainable food systems. We use the term Food Access Council to be able to be broad. The three (3) core values used to start strategic planning and development are access, sustainability and health. We know food insecurity, hunger and obesity actually are titled the `triple threat.' We see that those who are the most food insecure tend to have the poorest health outcomes. We are taking and shifting the lens of the work we are doing at the Health Department to look specifically at social determinants. Things like food access, community support, transportation, education, and employment all impact health outcomes. The Food Access Council is the first attempt at making some change. So far we have developed a map of the entire County that's based on the census tract and it has each census in terms of poverty, income level and food insecurity rate—which is established by the USDA. We have clustered those census tracts to do primary food system assessments to see what resources do exist and do not exist, and then talking to those in those tracts to find the disconnect between resource and access. One of the most food insecure areas is the area closest to the Martins on Portage Ave. So, technically they don't qualify as a food dessert, so finding out why they aren't using that grocery store and finding the barriers is imperative to solving the problem. 2 Committeemember White asked Ms. Vida if she could provide that map and data to the committee. Ms. Vida said yes. Committee Chair Broden encouraged also that each district be provided with district-specific data. Ms. Vida agreed. Ms. Vida then went on to describe the various partners involved in the initiative, highlighting many various organizations throughout the community. Ms. Vida also referenced the `500 Cities Project' initiated by the Center for Disease Control. It highlights specific health outcomes of the five hundred (500) largest cities in America, South Bend being one of them. Ms. Vida revealed it came out last month and promised to share that report with the full Council. Committee Chair Broden also asked Ms. Vida to share to the committee about bike safety initiatives going on. Ms. Vida replied, Through the Bike South Bend Committee they are developing a co-op of some sort, looking at pop-up bike-repair programs. The first pilot pop-up is scheduled for the first weekend in May,the same weekend of the Mayor's Rides. Our goal is two percent (2%) of people biking, and we are pretty close. Councilmember Scott asked Committee Chair Broden to see if there was any update to the Public Events permitting process. With no other members of the community wishing to address the committee, Committeemember White asked to have a brief discussion on upcoming issues that will be facing the committee. Committeemember White stated, I know there have been issues regarding lead and the Council has been asked to address it from an ordinance perspective. I know there has been an issue with synthetic drugs. There will be a press conference this Friday at 9:30 a.m. to really begin that discussion in terms of the impact it is having within the community. Also with the recent shootings we have had, more discussions will be had on those issues. Jesse Davis, P.O. Box 10205, stated, I came in late but the Mayor put together the work group on homelessness. From what I understand those meetings are not open to the public, but is that information going to be put out in a public forum? Committee Chair Broden assured follow up on that question to Mr. Davis. She also highlighted the existence of an `Older Adult Commission' that is in our ordinance and wanted to dig deeper in to that. With no other business on the agenda, Committee Chair Broden adjourned the Health and Public Safety Committee Organizational meeting at 5:56 p.m. RespecttffuAlly Submitted, /1/ Broden, Committee Chair 3