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Home My WebLink About04-11-11 Health & Public Safety n . "��.`i�ly.r"� �/� C�� G.J��', � y� �� F� � !y , f ■�q� /////�'�,�. 0+��i , �`° ��k HEALTH AND PUBLIC SAFETY APRIL 11, 2011 Health and Public Safety Committee Members Present: Chairperson White; Henry Davis; Ann Puzzello;Tim Rouse Other Councilmember's Present: Oliver Davis; Citizen Member Marcus Ellison Other's Present: Lynn Coleman;Ann-Carol Nash; Catherine Toppel; Phil St. Clair; Mayor Stephen Luecke; Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand; Murray Miller; Gary Gilot; Mr. Shabbaz; Linda Wolfson; Gregg Zientara; Chuck Leone; Aladean DeRose; Lee Byers; Hardie Blake; Glenda Rae Hernandez Agenda: Graffiti/Neighborhood Quality of Life Chairperson Karen White opened her committee hearing noting the full committee was present. She then proceeded to explain why she called the meeting and what she hoped to accomplish. Chairperson White described her and her constituents growing frustration with graffiti in the city. The problem is pervasive and getting worse. In particular she wanted to hear from the administration what they were going to do to eradicate what is there and how they planned to sustain the enforcement. Mayor Stephen Luecke was first to speak. He said he had appointed Lynn Coleman, Assistant Mayor, to head a task force to effectively address the graffiti problem. Mr. Coleman was to work with the city department heads already working to eradicate graffiti. Basically, it was to be an assessment of what we were now doing and brainstorming what it would take to do it better. Lynn Coleman then recounted his recent efforts in that regard. He found that while several departments have to deal with graffiti, no central office catalogs complaints or tracks follow-up responses. The Park Department, Code Enforcement, Legal and the Police Department were all spending time and resources on the problem. He stated that his goal was to coordinate efforts through one office recognizing this task many require hiring a new person or persons. Beyond ongoing eradication effort he suggested a more diligent effort to find and hold accountable the offenders. A key to these efforts would be a marketing component to raise awareness of the City's program and hopefully enlist cooperation and compliance among the citizenry. Phil St. Clair spoke next as head of the Park Department responsible for graffiti abatement on public property. He stated that his department averages 850 to 1,000 man hours a year eliminating graffiti. He had contacted his counter-part in Elkhart finding that in Elkhart they used a work force of five, now 2 solely responsible for eradication. Phil then put a price tag he estimated at$80-$85 thousand for equipment and paint and $80 gallon, plus at least a full time crew of 2 to step-up his efforts. Lynn Coleman stated that the police department had applied for grant money to help address efforts. Council Attorney Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand urged coordination of efforts having heard graffiti complaints get called in to various departments. Parks; Code and the Mayor's Office said they would coordinate handling of the complaints. Citizen Member Marcus Ellison, Karen White, and Kathleen Cekanski-Farrand all had questions about abatement costs, timing of remedial action, prioritization of complaints and such. The Mayor wondered about the Council's expectations. Was their intent to eradicate graffiti on private as well as public property? This of course he indicated raises cost and liability concerns. In light of the unanswered questions, Chairperson White stated she would schedule a follow-up committee meeting on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 3:30 p.m. in the Informal Meeting Room. She also asked the administration to be ready to present a progress report on the taxi cab ordinance at that meeting. Under miscellaneous, Henry Davis chided the administration for being slow to pick up trash illegally dumped in his district. He also asked something be done about persistent nuisance calls about the apartments at 524 W. Colfax. There being no further business to come before the committee at this time, Chairperson White adjourned the meeting at 4:28 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, �C�.i��ll � '�� / Karen L.White, Chairperson Health and Public Safety Committee