Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-06-19 CCACCommunity/Campus Advisory Coalition (CCAC) The February 6th, 2019 Community/Campus Advisory Coalition (CCAC) meeting was called to order by City Clerk Kareemah Fowler at 3:34 p.m_ in the Council Informal Meeting Room in the County City Building at 227 W. Jefferson Blvd, South Bend IN. Persons in attendance included the following individuals representing the following entities: Kareemah Fowler Tim Scott Jo M. Broden Joseph Molnar Marguerite Taylor LuElla Webster Tim Sexton Tony Oleck Pam Claeys Anna Mullek Gail Mancini Ken Baierl Adam DeBeck City of South Bend City of South Bend City of South Bend South Bend City Clerk's Office Robinson Community Center North East Neighborhood Connection University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame River Park West Neighbors St. Mary's College IU School of Medicine IUSB Holy Cross NOTRE DAME UPDATES/CONCERNS: kfowler@southbendin.gov tscott@southbendin.gov jbroden@southbendin.gov jnnolnar@southbendin.gov mataylor43@yahoo.com lwebstel@nd.edu timothy.d.sexton@nd.edu aoleck@nd.edu pamelaeys52@sbcglobal.net amullek0l@smc.edu gmancini@iu. kbaierl@iusb.edu adebeck@hcc-nd.edu There were no issues from off -campus students during the polar vortex which was encouraging. The Student Government has been leading initiatives to engage the off -campus students such as a Christmas decorating contest before Christmas break and are working on an initiative to promote students clearing their sidewalks of snow during the winter. The Landlord Summit is coming up where the University meets with landlords who typically house students. It is a good opportunity to learn about issues that University officials may not have been aware of. The University has a good working relationship with South Bend Code Enforcement and Police and has developed sessions where students who are interested in moving off campus can learn about off -campus living. The University did not come out completely unscathed from the polar vortex. A couple of buildings had pipes burst including the Administration Building where there was a decent amount of damage. The University officially supports the Rental Inspection bill that is moving through the Common Council. There are some students who are interested in engaging with the City's efforts to support the Hate Crime legislation that is moving through the legislature down in Indianapolis. Notre Dame supports that legislation as well. Back the Bend planning is ongoing and anyone who is interested in helping plan can contact the Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC). The RCLC received a $100,000 donation from the Chicago Blackhawks after the Winter Classic. Most of those funds will go to the new computer labs in the new RCLC building that is going to be built. The Blackhawks have a long partnership with the RCLC and this gift was just part of their support of the Center over the past few years. ST. MARY'S UPDATES/CONCERNS: St. Mary's is currently celebrating their One Hundred and Seventy -Fifth (175th) anniversary. There are a number of historical events planned to engage the community throughout the year. Those events will go up on the St. Mary's website. The College is interviewing for a new director of campus safety. The College is making sure students can provide their input by meeting the top candidates. Student Government has set up the ability for students to be able to print from their own device anywhere on campus and developing a go -to once a week email. This campus wide email will cut down on students receiving dozens of emails from multiple sources throughout the week. Junior Mom's weekend is coming up soon in April and there will be a ring blessing this year at a special mass. Current student government elections are on-going. INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTH BEND UPDATES/CONCERNS: The search for a new Chancellor is underway. Currently the University is interviewing four (4) individuals that will continue throughout the spring as they come to visit the campus. There will be open forums for every candidate where students and the public can get to know the candidates and provide their feedback. The Search Committee is interested in everyone's opinion in the candidates. The City of South Bend did a great job with the polar vortex last week. IUSB closed for three (3) days which is very rare for us and the first (lst) time since the blizzard of 1978. It was very useful to take direction from the City on when to close and for how long. The campus survived with only minimal issues and no significant damages to the facilities. HOLY CROSS COLLEGE UPDATES/CONCERNS: There were a few small incidents due to the extreme cold last week. There was a power outage on parts of the campus and the University of Notre Dame helped out our students tremendously until power was restored. Parents weekend is coming up and aligns with Notre Dame's weekend. Holy Cross will be supporting the Back the Bend initiative this year as was done over the past few years. INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE UPDATES/CONCERNS: There were no issues from the extreme cold. The college is celebrating fifty (50) years of medicine in South Bend this year. In October, the pediatrician who identified the lead issue in Flint Michigan will be coming to speak. More details will come as we get closer to the event. 2 RESIDENTS/NEIGHBORS UPDATES/CONCERNS: River Park is dealing with a troublesome issue of a peeping tom who has turned into an exposer. The Police are doing a wonderful job working with the residents to catch this person. They've done a great job over the past year integrating into the neighborhood and getting to know the neighbors on a person level. St. Margaret's Winter Walk — which is the primary fundraiser for the organization — will be Sunday February 17th starting at the County -City Building. CITY OF SOUTH BEND UPDATES/CONCERNS: The Rental Inspection program is working through the Council with a few Committee meetings for information only scheduled. We currently have residents paying large sums of money for sub -standard housing. This program not only helps with renter's rights but also provides resources for relocation costs and developing places for residents to go if their residence comes back sub -standard. There are a large and diverse number of individuals who rent in South Bend, it ranges from students and grad students of the local colleges all the way to working class parents with children. The City has received some pushback from local landlords however there are no new requirements made from this legislation, it is solely a forward thinking ordinance that addresses the ongoing rental issues that gives the City more resources to address trouble issues like lead. It pushes those issues to the forefront and makes sure landlords are being held to the standards that already exist and enforces them with support. This is putting the responsibility on the landlord and City where it belongs to spot these problems and not on the residents. The City is happy to work with the local universities and develop dialogue between the colleges and the local neighborhoods regarding student residents. These community organizations are interested in factoring in students into their thinking, but the students need to come to the table. Councilmember Jo Broden spoke to the Committee regarding her efforts and efforts on part of the City to support the hate crime legislation currently being debated down in the Indianapolis Legislature. The Council passed a resolution that stated the City's support for the passing of Hate Crime legislation by the Legislature. The governor is a powerful advocate who is pushing for hate crime legislation that also include inclusive language covering all our bases. That is new and hopefully will help push us across the finish line. There is a folder on the Council website that has the resolution and other supporting documents. That is the best way to learn about what local groups are doing regarding this issue. We are trying to develop partners from across the community to show the entire City's support for this legislation. Indianaforward.org is the statewide coalition that pulls together all these diverse groups supporting this legislation. There is a local coalition of nineteen (19) local groups that is working with IndianaForward. Hopefully there will be a local event in the coming weeks that pulls all these people together with businesses and other organizations to demonstrate that this area wants this legislation. There are twenty-five (25) senators who are so far "no" on the legislation. The closest to us is Linda Rogers. This is such a critical issue for our local colleges and economy where we want to demonstrate that we are an inclusive state. The Common Council will be considering in the coming weeks a Health and Public Safety and Utilities joint Committee climate briefing. We hope all residents feel welcome to come and have 3 a dialogue with the City Administration and Council on what we can do regarding climate change in our City. Hopefully a potential ordinance can be passed that will push from one (1) administration to the next administration in 2020, a list of actual climate goals the City needs to act on. The City is watching the Air B&B movement and how it affects the colleges and local community. Houses are being advertised for football games and other events at much larger occupancy than the houses should actually hold. Currently there is no legislation or action planned but the City is monitoring the situation. The City Clerk's Office is going to put out a lawn parking interactive map for every special Notre Dame Stadium event going forward, not just football games. Notre Dame has suggested more events are coming and the City is prepared to work with the residents and the University on handling parking. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler adjourned the meeting at 4:30 p.m. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 20th 2019 at 3:30 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Kareemah N. Fowler El