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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-12-18 Community Relations w a PEACE 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER, CITY CLERK COMMUNITY RELATIONS NOVEMBER 12, 2018 4:53 P.M. Committee Members Present: Regina Williams-Preston, Jake Teshka, Karen White, Jasmine Brown(citizen member), Alfreda Gillespie (citizen member) Committee Members Absent: Sharon L. McBride Other Council Present: John Voorde, Jo M. Broden, Oliver Davis, Gavin Ferlic, Tim Scott Other Council Absent: None Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer Presenters: Regina Williams-Preston Agenda: Update: Committee Logistics for the Remaining of 2018 and All of 2019 Committee Chair Regina Williams-Preston called to order the Community Relations Committee meeting at 4:53 p.m. She introduced members of the Committee and proceeded with the meeting. Update: Committee Logistics for the Remaining of 2018 and All of 2019 Committee Chair Williams-Preston stated, I've passed around just kind of a nice little outline (copies of which are available in the City Clerk's Office). I know we have just a few minutes and we have quite a number of people, I think, that are interested in speaking tonight. So I will read through that quickly and buck some highlights. Also I've passed out a little summary that I have put together for another event(copies of which are also available in the City Clerk's Office)but it gives a little more detail to some of the different initiatives we have been working on in regards to housing,reducing violence by building peace, education and litter. She continued, Today is just kind of an overview of the year with regards to the projects and accomplishments we've made. And then we will look forward towards next year and what kinds of things we will be looking at. First (1St), in terms of accomplishments in projects, housing, you know we've had the homeowners assistance. That has been a big issue with our community. In conjunction with Community Wellness Partners, we were able to do a community survey to get more information from residents. Also, in partnership with the City of South Bend Department of Community Investment, we were able to look at our Home Improvement Program and open that up to additional people revising the guidelines for eligibility which made it more available for folks. Secondly, something we are looking at is equity in policy. So that is about partnering with INTEGRITY' SERVICEI ACCESSIBILITY JENNIFER M.COFFMAN BiAmIA BicL.TIRADO JOSEPH R.MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK EXCELLENCE I ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 1227 W.Jefferson Blvd.I South Bend,Indiana 46601 I p 574.235.9221.I f 574.235.9173 I www.southbendin.gov CITY OF SOUTH BEND I OFFICE OF THE CLERK the City and looking at how we can make sure we are reevaluating the process and the things we are doing. We want to make sure they are a benefit to community members. One(1) approach we are taking is gathering stories. We've posted forums over the last couple of years around housing and these are some of the issues that have come up. Some of the things that have risen out of that advocacy in partnership with people in the community and Council Members includes the Division of Economic Empowerment and Engagement. That is focused on creating equity in investment and giving greater access to the opportunities that already exist. She went on, With regards to education, last Christmas was our first (1st) opportunity to partner with the US Marines to try and get Toys for Tots. We tried to think about what kind of toys we were donating and we wondered why not donate toys that actually supported literacy. That was a really low key way,with a process already in place,to raise awareness of how these kinds of things could really help young people in this community that don't normally have access to those kinds of things and help those families get their children prepared for school. We also had an interest in the concept of reducing violence by building peace. In previous years, we've kind of brought peacemaking organizations together to talk. We had our first(1st)kind of official meeting and each of them talked about an interest in creating circles, restorative justice and all of that. So we had a meeting with the Neighborhood Resource Connection (NRC) and brought in a couple of the neighborhood associations to just kind of experience a circle to see if this was something they would be interested in doing next year. Again, the concept is building community across differences and building connections across generations, race, economic status or anything. We want to create more community so that we can engage our young people and provide alternatives to violence,just people we can talk to. That kind of thing. She continued, So, that happened and everybody engaged was interested so we look forward to doing some more of that next year. On those same four (4) points, one (1) of the big things we have all been talking about is the problem of renters living in deplorable conditions. We have some really bad landlords. Some are individuals and some are giant corporations such as Miami Hills. We had a resident come and share some things with us a few weeks ago about what is also happening at Beacon Heights. So there have also been initiatives in the community. Various organizations have had meetings about these issues. One (1) of the things that came up was the thought of landlord-tenant matching. We have some good landlords and we have bad landlords, and we have some good tenants and bad tenants. We want to know how to help them find each other so that maybe some people will be starved out if they aren't doing people right. Does that make sense? So that is an idea, a thought, and something we are hoping we can maybe do more of in partnership with the Real Estate Investors Association. I understand the Legal Department in the County deals a lot with eviction issues so they know people who are in need both on the renter side and the landlord side. Again, we want to reach out to those people to help try and solve some of those problems. She went on, If you remember when we had the problem with Miami Hills, we were wondering why the Health Department wasn't doing something. And they said they can't fail the place because if they did, there would be two hundred(200) families that would become homeless. We already know we have a problem with the homeless. So we are going to try and work with the community to address some of those issues. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 2 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committeemember Karen White asked, Isn't it also that the tenant has to contact the Health Department?That is something we became aware of and that is something we need to look at, too, with regards to how that information can be shared while the tenant is still protected. Committee Chair Williams-Preston replied,Yes and I think that is really important because I think it's an interesting theme as to what our role is in supporting people who don't have a voice. There are agencies like the Human Rights Commission and things like that but I want to know how that has worked in the past. How can that be more effective? Because I've heard that people go through the process but nothing really happened. So as representatives of people who live in South Bend, you know, the question becomes what can we do as elected officials to bring more of a voice? They can't just be ignored or pushed through the system. Councilmember Tim Scott stated,Councilmember White is absolutely right on that.This is another area where we can probably do some joint Committee meetings as well such as Health and Public Safety and Residential Neighborhoods. Police think whole City-wide with this as well. I ran up against something that kind of plays into this whole thing. I went through some of the first (1st) District and there are landlords who are on the list to accept Section Eight (VIII) housing that is inferior.We need to look at that and we've been talking to the Mayor about the Housing Authority. I'm sure we all have experience with that and how are we allowing that to happen? It literally tells the tenants to go talk to Human Rights about this. The Housing Authority has to come in and do inspection on these properties. I don't understand what that standard is and that is something I will be bringing up in the near future. Committeemember Alfreda Gillespie stated, I just want to address that issue. I've been on that other side and I think the problem is a lot of people who live in those housing developments do not have a voice. They are not vocal and do not have advocates. That is why I have committed myself to becoming a community advocate and be a voice for those people. I'm originally from Chicago and I never lived in public housing and never experienced any of this. I moved to South Bend and I have a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Education. However now, I am a retired educator and am sixty-seven (67) years old, and I am a foot solider out there in the community trying to increase voter registration, housing, and child development centers and sites. There are requirements that go along with this too. They say get a job. They go out and get a job and now they don't have childcare. The childcare they have is leaving the kids with anybody. Now there is the problem with child molestation and predators. We don't know who they are leaving them with. So,me being on this Committee, hopefully this coming year and others, is to address those issues and be a voice for those people. I've been on both sides. I've lived in public housing. I've lived in the 501 Building. I had a community garden for them for seven(7) years with inner-City children to keep them out of trouble. I partnered with a lot of people in the community so I've been on both sides. So what I'm saying is now, I just moved to Cottage Grove and Lincolnway West. Back in the day, that was not the place to be but I am so happy I landed there because of the newness in the neighborhood. I went to the NRC meeting because I want to be able to bridge the people from Lincolnway West all the way to Portage and sustain the neighborhood. It takes a village. Committee Chair Williams-Preston stated,Right, and we are so excited you are a part of it. I mean, when we talked before, I was really glad. I know you've been on this Committee before and it is my hope that all Committee and Council Members share more about what we are doing so that we can all get into where we really have an interest. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 3 ®CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK Committeemember Gillespie interjected, It's a target group. To bridge all those people together you have renters. Committee Chair Williams-Preston interjected,And we are going to move on because we are tight for time and we are actually past our scheduled time. Committeemember Gillespie stated, I had to say that. Committee Chair Williams-Preston replied,And we appreciate that but what we hope to do is have another meeting to flesh some of these things out as we go along. We are looking forward to, also, an anti-litter campaign next year. So get that on your radar in case of people wanting to get involved. We are looking to make that City-wide. Equity in policy, around that, we are looking at some time in the first(1St) quarter of next year addressing some of the citizen complaints we have had about towing, harassment and intimidation. And then also, I know we have had some conversations with Councilmember Davis about putting together that civilian oversight committee. Again, reducing violence by building peace and neighborhood circles. We are hoping to actually train some people next year and get them going in the neighborhoods and then, lastly, education. I had an amazing experience at the Charles Martin grand opening. I was listening to people tell their stories and I was talking to Councilmember White about the possibility of actually connecting with young people and putting those stories into, maybe, children book series. That is something I would really like to get going because capturing that history, I think,would be really empowering for the neighborhood and also just something fun to do,right? She continued, Again, Toys for Tots next year. There are some people here to talk today but there is a lot of concern in the community about what is happening in the School Corporation right now. There are some folks here to speak to make some commentary and request. Again, we've talked about the housing issue and people not having a voice and I think this might lead to it. I know, personally, I have some people who are constituents and in some of the neighborhoods a lot of the kids are dealing with various issues. I want to actually have folks who had come here to talk about it to speak. I know Ms. Brown has specific experiences that you have concerns about. Committeemember Jasmine Brown stated, Well, first(1st), we just elected three(3)new members to the Board in the City of South Bend,but then we had a snowball effect of issues happen shortly after that. Those things are very alarming and concerning. Not only on behalf of our children but for retaining quality educators in our community. When people see this stuff in the news, they ask themselves, why come to South Bend? We need good educators in the City for our children. Another concern becomes the kids that are not being involved in those incidents. There may have been four(4)or five(5), what about the other twenty-eight(28)kids in that classroom that are not receiving quality education because these events are happening. We are definitely working with the new School Board members and will continue to work with them. We continue to address the issues at the Board. Some of the things we are talking about, for sure, is getting the community voice back to the Board. We want to make sure the community voices and issues are heard. I think we need to change some of the leadership on the Board and I think that is where we need to begin. Dr. Spells is hosting a bus tour next week on November 17th where he will be going around to Lakeside Community residents. He will actually be getting off the bus and walking up to doors and will talk about some of the programs that are going on in the SBCSC. That is one(1)thing we are looking at there that will be happening very shortly. EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY I INNOVATION INCLUSION ! EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 4 •CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK She continued, I don't know if this is the right time or not, I'm a little new at this experience and I apologize,but I would like to motion to have a separate meeting in the evening sometime to start addressing the SBCSC issues. This is chronic and is far past-due, but we need to start getting on board about making some changes here in South Bend when it comes to our education. And one (1) last one (1) for sure, I would like to talk to the Board members about getting another liaison back with the Common Council. We used to have one(1) years ago but for some reason that is not happening anymore and I think the partnership between the two (2) can only benefit the kids in our community. Committee Chair Williams-Preston asked, Was that a liaison with the City or with the Council, specifically? Committeemember Brown replied, I believe it was Mr. Sniadecki who used to be a Board Member and was supposed to be a liaison to the Common Council. Committeemember Karen White stated, I don't recall that. Committeemember Brown stated, Well it wasn't being fulfilled, then. Maybe that is more of an impetus to get it done. Committeemember White stated, I do know, under this Committee, part of the responsibilities is that relationship with education, but I don't recall that specifically. Committeemember Brown stated, I thought it was specifically with the Common Council. At least that is what I was told from information given to me. I think that is an integral part that the two (2) entities are working together. We can only benefit from that. Committee Chair Williams-Preston stated, You all saw the article in the paper about what happened at Wilson and what happened with that. The IUSB students were removed because of the things they were witnessing in terms of how teachers were treating students. We put it on the agenda with regards to that but then,of course, in recent weeks, everyone has seen the video about what happened at Clay. So this is something of concern and I've had numerous people contact me with concern about what we are doing with the climate in our schools. When we talk about safety it's not just gun violence but how we are creating a safe, welcoming and nurturing environment. So yelling at kids is not nurturing. Using racial comments is not nurturing. Committeemember White stated, I just want to add to the items of interest. I've been asked to look at establishing the status of the African American Males Commission. That request came from a State representative and I indicated to him at that time that I would have to wait until after the budget process but I want to at least let you know that is being reviewed. We had an ordinance but it was so vast and it really wasn't manageable. We need to address that as South Bend is one (1) of the only communities that does not have that. I would like to look into reestablishing that for our community. Committee Chair Williams-Preston replied, I remember when I first (1st) heard about that and I thought that was a great idea. I know one (1) of the things that had been talked about a long time ago was doubling up on committee responsibilities. We also have public, private, voucher and EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION INCLUSION EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building,227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD 574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 5 CITY OF SOUTH BEND OFFICE OF THE CLERK charter schools and it is very confusing for parents to understand how all those things work together. That is also something to think about. Committee Chair Williams-Preston then opened the floor to members of the public. Nate Levin-Aspenson, 330 West Colfax Avenue, stated, I work with a group called Indivisible Indiana District Two (2) and around late fall of 2016 we started to look into a particular administrator at Clay High School. There are a lot of physical abuse and bullying incidents in that school and not much being done about it. From a file, it was handed to us by a whistleblower who also worked at that school. It pointed to a much larger and more endemic practice of not only covering for this administrator but also kind of a culture of hostility towards students. It almost draws an 'us' versus `them' mentality. It's troubling. We ended up dubbing shadow suspensions where after a child had reached their maximum of days suspended, this administrator would just send them home and tell their parents to keep them home and they kind of just drop off the map. This points to a much larger problem. The principal of that school is fully aware of it. Through our many conversations with Dr. Spells and others, they became aware of the problem and have been fully aware of it for about two (2) years now. I have an email exchange between the School Board and they are now fully aware of it as well. In addition to this very hostile culture towards students, in particular students of color, there are also these institutional practices that are pushing away students as well as violating State educational laws and,quite possibly,the Federal Consent Decree on South Bend Community Schools. I just wanted to share with the Committee my experience with this issue. Based on my interactions, I do not believe that any action is being taken on their part to address these cultural and institutional problems. Sue Kesim, 4022 Kennedy Drive, stated, I want to get very briefly back to housing. I would like to remind the Council that within the last three (3) years, you guys gave millions of dollars to Miami Hills, an out of town developer, to make changes. If those changes weren't made or whatever,perhaps talk with your Council Attorney about doing a callback on some of that money. They were given money. Council President Tim Scott stated, It was a bond issue and they fell through on it. No money ever came from the City of South Bend. With no further business, Committee Chair Williams-Preston adjourned the Community Relations Committee meeting at 5:18 p.m. Res•ectfully Submitted, , 0,12L. Regi tilliams-Preston, Committee Chair EXCELLENCE ACCOUNTABILITY INNOVATION I INCLUSION I EMPOWERMENT 455 County-City Building 227 W.Jefferson Bvld South Bend,Indiana 46601 p 574.235.9221 f 574.235.9173 TTD574.235.5567 www.southbendin.gov 6