HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-22-18 Council Minutes REPORT OF SUB-COMMITTEE ON MINUTES
TO THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND:
THE SUB-COMMITTEE HAS INSPECTED THE MINUTES OF THE
January 22,2018
MEETING OF THE COUNCIL AND FOUND THEM TO BE CORRECT.
THEREFORE, WE RECOMMEND THE SAME BE APPROVED:
TIM SCOTT
--DAVID VARNER
APPROVED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL ON: February 12,2018
ATTEST:
EMAH F WL R, CITY CLERK
REGULAR MEETING January 22, 2018
Be it remembered that the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana met in the
Council Chambers of the County-City Building on Monday, January 22,d 2018 at 7:00 p.m. The
meeting was called to order by Council President Tim Scott and the Invocation (John P. Warren,
Chairman of the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi) and Pledge to the Flag were given.
ROLL CALL
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Tim Scott 1St District, President
Regina Williams-Preston 2nd District
Randy Kelly 3rd District
Jo M. Broden 4th District
Dr. David Varner 5th District
Oliver J. Davis 6th District, Vice President
John Voorde At-Large
Gavin Ferlic At-Large, Chairperson Committee of the Whole
Karen L. White At-Large
OTHERS PRESENT:
Kareemah Fowler City Clerk
Jennifer Coffman Chief Deputy Clerk
Bianca Tirado Deputy Clerk
Graham Sparks Clerk Executive Assistant
Bob Palmer Council Attorney
REPORT FROM THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON MINUTES
Councilmember Karen White made a motion that the minutes of the December 11 th, 2017,
January 2nd, 2018, and January 81h, 2018 meetings of the Council be accepted and placed on file.
Councilmember Gavin Ferlic seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9)
ayes.
SPECIAL BUSINESS
There was no special business.
REPORTS OF CITY OFFICES
Representing the City Administration: Mayor Pete Buttigieg
Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of the City of South Bend, IN, stated, I appreciate the chance to be with
you. I was not able to join at the first meeting of the year so this is my first chance to wish the
Council well. I am looking forward to a good 2018 with you. I just got back from the King
Center as there was a vigil for the student from Washington High School who was killed. We
have to make sure that this year is better than last year. We have to. There is a moral voice of the
community that is pretty clear about three (3)things that, I would like to think, we are all unified
around. First, this has to stop. We all know and say that, but we have to keep finding ways to
keep saying and repeating it. The second is that if anybody knows anything about this shooting
or any other shooting, they need to share what they know with the community. That is true in
every case, especially homicides and other serious crimes. That is one (1)of the reasons there is
increased attention and encouragement toward Community Policing. There are many efforts by
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REGULAR MEETING January 22, 2018
the officers walking the beats to knock on doors and become more approachable. Third, this
cycle of violence has to be broken. It is like a disease. Once someone is affected by it they are
likely to transmit it and we need to make sure that doesn't happen. I was impressed by the unity
of purpose expressed by everybody who was gathered tonight as this happens almost every time
something like this happens. There are a few things the City is doing with support from the
Council that I would just like to reiterate for the record. First of all, the Council has funded the
Street Outreach Personnel. That has hit the ground and their function is working through
Goodwill as a more community-based position as opposed to law enforcement. They have the
potential to break that cycle of violence by focusing on prevention rather than response. We have
more police officers coming online. We all have a role to play as we seek to recruit good people
into the police force. This is not just a police concern. One (1) could argue that we are fortunate
that the number of shootings that happened last year did not lead to more fatalities than it did. I
think most of us can remember what it was like in the 1990s when we sometimes had more than
twenty (20)homicides in a year in South Bend. We have to do everything we can to make sure
that doesn't happen again. That is all I have to say about that tonight.
Mayor Buttigieg continued, Our Streets Department was able to take advantage of the warmer
weather and has subsequently been attacking potholes. Unfortunately, we are in the middle of a
very intense freeze-thaw cycle which means moisture gets into the street, freezes,then expands
and that results in cracks in the pavement and that is what creates these potholes. We haven't
fully patched the potholes because of that cycle but we have gotten two (2) crews out to do as
much patching as possible. They try to cover the community in quadrants first. After that, they
then are directed by 311 calls. It really is useful to log your complaints with 311 because the
Department uses that data to prioritize those potholes. We have received many calls about State
Road 23 and many people neglect to realize that is, in fact, a State Road. We know INDOT is
aware of the conditions of the road and has committed to addressing it in the year to come. I also
had the chance to visit the FUSE Project which is currently providing permanent supportive
housing. We are upward of twenty (20)people now who are housed there. I recognized at least a
couple folks who have been in Project Warm before and that is definitely encouraging to see. I
really appreciate the partnership with the Heritage Foundation which has made that possible. We
think there is a need for, according to the report from the Working Group on Homelessness, as
many as fifty-four(54)beds for permanent supportive housing but this is a big leap forward. We
are especially looking for reducing pressure on the emergency warming centers.
Mayor Buttigieg went on, The City's Parental Leave Policy is available now as of January 1St
2018. Anybody who is expecting can take advantage of that pro-family policy. I don't know if
we have had any takers yet but as soon as we do, we will be able to take care of them. The Four
Winds Casino opened last week and you can really tell,just by talking to the people working
there, how much of an impact the jobs have had. The day we cut the ribbon sort of started the
clock as we have a year to begin seeing the revenue come in. Under the negotiated agreement, it
is a minimum of$2 million split evenly between Redevelopment and the General Fund or two
percent (2%) of the net-win, whichever is greater. Also,there are 93,000 more seats per year in
airline availability going to Detroit and Charlotte on American Airlines. We have been missing
American Airlines for about a decade in the South Bend markets. They are one (1) of the big
three (3) legacy carriers we didn't have. Having them back is a big deal and is exciting. We are
now, as a community, trying to encourage people to use those flights we have at South Bend
Airport. I know there has also been a lot of interest in the South Shore updates. We are less than
one (1)month away from obtaining the revised study that contains both the economic and
engineering impact. We hope that will help point the way toward a good answer that we can all
come together around. After the Council passed the resolution asking the Administration to leave
no stone unturned, that study was initiated. We are getting pretty close. It looks like all of the
options that have been mentioned are at least technically feasible but now we are waiting on the
economic side of the equation.
Mayor Buttigieg continued, I encourage everyone to look at the Diversity and Inclusion Report.
The Annual Purchasing Report was also just published to the City website. We are at$773,000
in City purchasing spent that goes to Minority-owned Business Enterprises and $1.2 million
going to Women-owned Business Enterprises. Those numbers are out of about $100 million total
in City spending. The good news is we now know what that baseline is but that baseline is also
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REGULAR MEETING January 22, 2018
telling us that we have a lot of work to do if we want our purchasing to really reflect the business
community at large. I was also very encouraged by the Annual Report of the PSAP Center. We
have been through a lot of ups and downs on that and a lot of leadership transitions. We believe
under the new director that was confirmed, Ray Schultz,there will be the right kind of
information and cross-training to get us to the performance we need to get to. Some people have
also been wondering if Limebike will remain in the winter. We had 10,000 Limebike rides
during the months of December. I'm still waiting to see some route data on this but there was no
day in 2017 that nobody used the bikes. I know it is hard to believe knowing how cold it was but
that could also indicate it is meeting a need that some people really rely on. We do need to have
a conversation about bike parking and we will be talking more about that in the coming year.
March 13, 2018 will be the State of the City address.
Councilmember John Voorde stated, Happy belated birthday.
Mayor Buttigieg replied, Thank you.
Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, Happy New Year to you. When the information comes out
regarding Ardmore, what is going to be your procedure of disseminating that to the Council and
the public?
Mayor Buttigieg replied, That will probably have two (2) steps. The first will be the releasing of
the information about the study. We will release the study and everything contained in that so the
public can view it. The next step would to be to offer a recommendation of which option would
be best. We are still open for input on how best to structure this process, though, and we
welcome any and all feedback on that process.
Councilmember Oliver Davis followed up, Is there any way we can have notices of
announcements like the American Airlines reveal? I was trying to see what time it was so I could
go but I never could figure out the time.
Mayor Buttigieg replied, I understand and am aware of that. If it makes you feel better,the
Airport didn't even want to tell me what was going on until the day of the announcement. I think
there was some concern about one (1) of the competing airlines getting word of it before it was
announced.
Councilmember Oliver Davis interjected, Somebody else sent out a text and then everybody
found out. The more advanced we can have stuff like that,the better, because I like to personally
go to as many of those things as possible. Thanks.
Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, Thank you for coming. There are a lot of great things
going on, of course, and what a terrific summary. I appreciate you coming to do that tonight. I
wanted to piggyback on just a couple of things you had said. In terms of information and looping
the Council in and with all the different measures underway addressing violence, and particularly
youth violence, maybe a little bit more information going forward in terms of the outreach
specifically within the high schools. Also, I was unable to attend some of the youth workshops
that address that issue and I think those could be good and informative regarding action and
response to this issue. The other thing to pick up on, with regard to the recommendations that
were behind the funding for the increased street outreach, maybe we could go back as an
Administration or a Council and look at the fullness of that and see if there is anything left yet
unturned. In light of some of these changes as incidents occur, if there is anything coming to
light, I'm just thinking that perhaps there could be something because I know there was a really
collaborative group behind that. And then, similar to that, a little bit if you could share anything
on the lead initiative and where we are with that. I did want to lift up the people going out
tomorrow night for the point-in-time count for the community. These numbers are so important
to what we do and how we do it. It also further identifies the needs and issues. It also helps us,
not just as a City respond, but more so collectively as a community because of the breadth of
some of these issues that people are dealing with as well as their networks of families and friends
that care. I just really do applaud the FUSE Center as it is an amazing facility. I am very hopeful
going forward. I think we are at about the halfway point. I think that is ahead of some of the
projections. Again thank you for coming and the leadership on the PSAP Center, I think we all
know how critical it is to support that primary function of City government. I am very pleased
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REGULAR MEETING January 22, 2018
with your leadership and the Council's ability to budget the vision. The Limebike thing is
shocking, being an avid bicyclist. That could be an all-time record for South Bend.
Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated, Thank you and I look forward to working with
the City Administration toward reducing violence by building peace.
RESOLVE INTO THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
At 7:21 p.m. Councilmember Karen White made a motion to resolve into the Committee of the
Whole. Councilmember Dr. David Varner seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of
nine (9) ayes. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic, Chairperson, presiding.
Councilmember Gavin Ferlic explained the procedures to be followed for tonight's meeting in
accordance with Article 1, Section 2-11 of the South Bend Municipal Code.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
BILL NO.
89-17 PUBLIC HEARING ON AN ORDINANCE OF
THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA,AMENDING
CHAPTER 21 OF THE SOUTH BEND
MUNICIPAL CODE, ARTICLE 3
COMMERCIAL/MIXED USE DISTRICTS TO
REVISE PERMITTED USES AND
DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS.
Councilmember Oliver Davis made a motion to continue Bill No. 89-17 to the Zoning and
Annexation Committee meeting to be held on February 12th, 2018. Councilmember Dr. David
Varner seconded this motion which carried unanimously by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes.
01-18 PUBLIC HEARING ON AN ORDINANCE OF
THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA AMENDING
CHAPTER 2 (ADMINISTRATION) AND
CHAPTER 6(BUILDING)OF THE SOUTH BEND
MUNICIPAL CODE, BY REMOVING ZONING
ADMINISTRATION AND AREA BOARD OF
ZONING APPEALS FROM THE
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BUILDING
DEPARTMENT AND REMOVING
ASSOCIATED FEES
Councilmember Oliver Davis, Chair of the Zoning and Annexation Committee, reported that
they met this afternoon and send this bill forward with no recommendation.
Ayoka Paek, Zoning and Business Administrator for the Building Department with offices
located at 125 S. Lafayette Boulevard Suite 100, South Bend, IN, served as the presenter for this
bill. Ms. Paek stated, These changes are some of the final touches to the transition of the Zoning
Administration duties from the Building Department to the Area Plan Commission staff. The
first is to remove some of the defined zoning and administrative responsibilities from the
Building Department and the second part is to adjust the Building Department's fee schedule so
it doesn't reflect certain duties that, subsequently, we no longer take care of. Most specifically,
these are the Area Board of Zoning Appeals special exceptions, variances and a few.other zoning
documents that we used to provide.
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REGULAR MEETING Januga 22, 2018
This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and
opponents were given an opportunity to be heard.
None from the public wished to speak in favor of or opposition to this bill.
Councilmember Randy Kelly made a motion to send Bill No. 01-18 to the full Council with a
favorable recommendation. Councilmember Oliver Davis seconded this motion which carried
unanimously by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes.
Councilmember Karen White made a motion to, for purposes of public hearing, hear both Bill
Nos. 02-18 and 03-18 together. Councilmember Randy Kelly seconded this motion which carried
unanimously by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes.
02-18 PUBLIC HEARING ON AN ORDINANCE OF
THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AUTHORIZING THE
ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION
BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING
FUNDS TO PAY FOR CERTAIN CAPITAL
PROJECTS AND INCIDENTAL EXPENSES IN
CONNECTION THEREWITH AND ON
ACCOUNT OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE BONDS,
AND ALL MATTERS RELATED THERETO
03-18 PUBLIC HEARING ON AN ORDINANCE OF
THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, APPROPRIATING
THE PROCEEDS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH
BEND GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS,
SERIES 2018.
Councilmember Karen White, Chair of the Personnel and Finance Committee, reported that they
met this afternoon and send both these bills forward with no recommendation.
Steve Cox, Fire Chief of the City of South Bend with offices located at 1222 S. Michigan Street,
South Bend, IN, served as presenter for these bills. Chief Cox continued, Both these bills are to
enable us in building Fire Station Number Nine (9), subsequently replacing the building that was
built in 1926. We've had multiple previous discussions with Council regarding this throughout
last year's budget process. I also have individuals here to speak to more of the financial aspect of
this if need be. Councilmember Dr. David Varner asked a few questions earlier today in the
Committee meetings that I feel I should clarify on the record. He had asked about the square
footage of the actual fire station and I erroneously stated that it was 8,000 square feet. It is
actually projected to be 10,000 square feet. We also estimated the building to be built at
approximately$330 per square foot. Hopefully that helps satisfy some of the numbers in
question brought forth in the Committee meeting. Additionally,the classroom attached to this
bond for the new training center is being estimated at $500,000 total at approximately $110 per
square foot. As stated,that is anticipated to be a prefabricated building in order for us to drive
down that cost to build that building. Some of the utilities we would put in an actual building
would be minimized because of the heavy-duty cost associated with those utilities. There is a
$310,000 contingency built into the bond as well,per advice from Council, to ensure that any
issues that may come from construction would be able to be addressed on the fly. I hope that
answers some of the previous numbers more clearly.
This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and
opponents were given an opportunity to be heard.
None from the public wished to speak in favor of or opposition to this bill.
Councilmember Karen White made a motion to send Bill No. 02-18 to the full Council with a
favorable recommendation. Councilmember Oliver Davis seconded this motion which carried
unanimously by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes.
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REGULAR MEETING January 22, 2018
Councilmember Randy Kelly made a motion to send Bill No. 03-18 to the full Council with a
favorable recommendation. Councilmember Oliver Davis seconded this motion which carried
unanimously by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes.
RISE AND REPORT
Councilmember Karen White made a motion to rise and report to full Council. Councilmember
John Voorde seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes.
REGULAR MEETING RECONVENED
Be it remembered that the Common Council of the City of South Bend reconvened in the
Council Chambers on the fourth floor of the County-City building at 7:28 p.m. Council President
Tim Scott presided with nine (9)members present.
BILLS —THIRD READING
BILL NO.
01-18 THIRD READING ON AN ORDINANCE OF
THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA AMENDING
CHAPTER 2 (ADMINISTRATION)AND
CHAPTER 6 (BUILDING) OF THE SOUTH
BEND MUNICIPAL CODE, BY REMOVING
ZONING ADMINISTRATION AND AREA
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS FROM THE
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BUILDING
DEPARTMENT AND REMOVING
ASSOCIATED FEES.
Councilmember Karen White made a motion to pass Bill No. 01-18. Councilmember Oliver
Davis seconded the motion, which carried by a roll call vote of nine (9) ayes.
02-18 THIRD READING ON AN ORDINANCE OF
THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AUTHORIZING THE
ISSUANCE OF GENERAL OBLIGATION
BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING
FUNDS TO PAY FOR CERTAIN CAPITAL
PROJECTS AND INCIDENTAL EXPENSES IN
CONNECTION THEREWITH AND ON
ACCOUNT OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE
BONDS, AND ALL MATTERS RELATED
THERETO.
Councilmember Gavin Ferlic made a motion to pass Bill No. 02-18. Councilmember Oliver
Davis seconded the motion,which carried by a roll call vote of nine (9) ayes.
03-18 THIRD READING ON AN ORDINANCE OF
THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, APPROPRIATING
THE PROCEEDS OF THE CITY OF SOUTH
BEND GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS,
SERIES 2018.
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REGULAR MEETING January 22, 2018
Councilmember Randy Kelly made a motion to pass Bill No. 03-18. Councilmember Gavin
Ferlic seconded the motion,which carried by a roll call vote of nine (9) ayes.
RESOLUTIONS
BILL NO.
18-02 A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA,
RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO. 4663-17 AND
APPROVING A MEMORANDUM OF
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ACTING
THROUGH THE INDIANAPOLIS FIRE
DEPARTMENT, AND THE CITY OF SOUTH
BEND, INDIANA, REGARDING INDIANA
TASK FORCE ONE
Councilmember Tim Scott, Member of the Personnel and Finance Committee, reported that they
met this afternoon and send this bill forward with no recommendation.
Elliot Anderson, Assistant City Attorney for the City of South Bend with offices on the 12th floor
of the County-City Building, South Bend, IN, served as presenter for this bill. Mr. Anderson
stated, As we discussed earlier,this is sort of a procedural remedy we are undertaking. Back in
August 2017, the Council approved Resolution 4663-17 that approved a Memorandum of
Agreement between the City of Indianapolis Department of Public Safety and the City of South
Bend acting on behalf of the Fire Department, for the South Bend Fire Department's
involvement in Indiana Task Force One (1)which is an emergency response task force under the
Department of Homeland Security. Unfortunately, after we executed the agreement on our end
we sent it back down to Indianapolis and they responded that they had dissolved their
Department of Public Safety. At that point, I got involved and negotiated with one (1) of
Indianapolis' assistant attorneys to craft a new agreement which essentially substitutes the City
of Indianapolis in all of the places where it said Department of Public Safety. There aren't any
substantive revisions but we wanted to send it back though Council the same way it went through
in A_ ugust.
Steve Cox, Fire Chief of the City of South Bend with offices located at 1222 S. Michigan Street,
South Bend, IN, This is a wonderful opportunity for our Department to take part in not only
training but employment activities regarding natural disasters and man-made disasters. With this
comes Federal dollars for training, deployment assets and backfill funding. In essence, we are
getting the entire package of pre-deployment training, equipment, and backfill/overtime coverage
anytime we send individuals out. More important for us, operationally, is that our folks actually
get to take part in major events throughout the county and are able to bring that experience back
here.
Councilmember Jo M. Broden asked, What happened to their Department of Public Safety?
Mr. Anderson replied, I don't know all about the internal reconstruction but I know that at some
time, I think, at the end of 2016 or the start of 2017,their Mayor made a decision to no longer
have that Department. It was a newly elected Mayor.
This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and
opponents were given an opportunity to be heard.
None from the public wished to speak in favor of or opposition to this bill.
Councilmember Randy Kelly made a motion to pass Bill No. 18-02. Councilmember Dr. David
Varner seconded the motion, which carried by a roll call vote of nine (9) ayes.
BILLS FIRST READING
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REGULAR MEETING January 22, 2018
BILL NO.
06-18 FIRST READING ON AN ORDINANCE TO
VACATE THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED
PROPERTIES: STREET VACATION—
WESTERN AVENUE FROM FRANCES STREET
EAST 241 FEET+/- TO PARRY STREET, THE
FIRST NORTH/SOUTH ALLEY EAST OF
FRANCES STREET, BETWEEN WESTERN
AVENUE ON THE NORTH TO THE FIRST
EAST/WEST ALLEY SOUTH OF WESTERN
AVENUE, SOUTH BEND, INDIANA
Councilmember John Voorde made a motion to send Bill No. 06-18 to the Public Works and
Property Vacation Committee and set it for Second Reading and Public Hearing on February
12th,2018. Councilmember Karen White seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of
nine (9) ayes.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There was no unfinished business.
NEW BUSINESS
Councilmember Karen White announced, On February 22"d, 2018,there will be presentation on
the impact of Synthetic Drugs that has touched our community. That will be held at the Charles
Martin Youth Center from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. that day.
Councilmember Tim Scott announced, At the Near Northwest Neighborhood Association Center,
on February 2nd, 2018, they are going to look at Riverside Drive and Hudson. That is quite a
crazy little corner and they are going to look for improvements to that. That meeting starts at
5:30 p.m. on that day.
PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR
Sue Kesim, 4022 Kennedy Drive, South Bend, IN, stated, The City has funded $100,000 in
conjunction with Work One (1) for a transitions program which helps people upgrade their
careers. That money runs out so please consider increasing that this next budget season. I think it
is great for our City to boost up people who need extra training. I think we should also stay on
top of Headstart funding. I understand you don't fund that but you do serve as Community
Outreach and if there is an issue with that funding, I would hope you would reach out to your
constituents and work on that. In 2017 we had one hundred(100) shootings and over sixteen (16)
dead. We need to work on that. I went to the neighborhood watch meeting and there are two
hundred(200) block captains. They would like 1,200 block captains. I would like you to reach
out to your constituents to see who would like to participate as a citizen to work on these issues. I
think it would be great to have a couple different kinds of programs. I don't know if anger
management programs are continuing in the schools but I think there could be de-escalation
violence workshops in the neighborhoods. We might want to consider having something that
shows people what happens when someone gets shot. We should show what happens in the ER.
My dad is a doctor and I got to actually, unfortunately,watch those things. I think it has an
impact when you actually see it. And also, we need to show the ripple it has on the families.
With each person shot, it probably affects three hundred(300)people. I would like to see
training on assisting a shooting victim. We have had one hundred(100) shootings in South Bend.
Just as we help people understand how to help someone having a heart attack or a stroke, I think
it is time to add programs that help someone bleeding and bleeding out. As great as our response
teams are, if our citizens know how to stop bleeding in the moment, we have time for the
emergency people to get there. We have like sixty percent (60%)rentals in our neighborhoods.
Jesse Davis, P.O. Box 10205 South Bend, IN, stated, The reason I came tonight is because I'm
sure every one of you have marched in the streets for equality. It was brought to my attention by
several citizens that there was an arrest made over the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. We all
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REGULAR MEETING January 22, 2018
know the courts were closed for that day. The person arrested was released on the Holiday,
apparently per a judge, with a zero (0) dollar bond for an OWI that involved an accident. There
were approximately twenty(20) other people incarcerated the same day. Those other twenty (20)
people did not get the same privilege to be released. They had to sit in jail until the next day
when the courts reopened. A lot of people thought that was unfair and unequal treatment. A
young lady was arrested, I believe the next day, on an OWI charge. For the same exact charge,
she had to post a$500 bond to get out of jail when the other person who got out on a holiday and
the when the courts were closed didn't have to post any bond. So we all march in the streets
about equality but in our justice system, here in our community, it appears things aren't equal.
We got in such a heated debate on social media on Facebook that someone from Facebook
happened to pick out my post on a community page and deleted the post. I reached out to the
news media and they didn't want to cover it. Under the Constitution we are all supposed to be
treated equally and fairly when it comes to our judicial system. We had a judge's wife who
chimed in and flat out said that people are treated differently based on the amount of money they
have and the people they know in this community. That is wrong. You guys need to look into
this.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Council, President Tim Scott adjourned the
meeting at 7:45 p.m.
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