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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-08-16 Residential NeighborhoodsRESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS FEBRUARY 8, 2016 4:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Karen White, Jo Broden, Regina Williams- Preston, John Voorde Other Council Present: Tim Scott, Dr. Varner, Gavin Ferlic, Oliver Davis, Randy Kelly Others Present: Jennifer Coffinan, Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand, Adriana Rodriguez Agenda: Organizational Meeting Karen White, Chair of the Residential Neighborhoods Committee, called the organizational . meeting to order. Chairperson Karen White distributed the 2015 annual report by the Residential Neighborhoods Committee. She noted the positive comments from the citizens regarding the walking tours that the Committee participated in the previous year and also mentioned the Quality of Life Ordinances. Chairperson Karen White stated that neighborhoods will be vital in the budgetary process making sure that we have safe and clean neighborhoods. Chairperson White asked the committee members to think about and share their thoughts regarding what the purpose of the Residential Neighborhoods Committee is and how they should work with the various neighborhood associations. Councilmember Regina Williams Preston stated the Committee should work with the Neighborhood Resources Connection group that already is heavily involved with the various neighborhood associations. In regards to her own district she mentioned getting up to speed and involved with the West Side Main Streets Plan and connecting folks with what is happening with the redevelopment of Lincolnway and Western. Councilmember Jo Broden stated there are a lot of individuals wanting to communicate what is going on in their neighborhoods with the City. She stated this could be in cooperation with churches and schools in their districts and venues like the last Mayor's night out as a good example of giving residents at a district level the opportunity to have their voices heard. Chairperson Karen White agreed regarding nontraditional ways of reaching out to residents and getting the information to the people who may not have internet or don't go to the various meetings. She agreed those venues could include local churches and other organizations. Councilmember John Voorde asked if the Mayor's Office would be the point person for these initiatives. Chairperson Karen White stated it would probably be Cherri Peate and she would reach out to her to come and meet with the Committee. Councilmember Jo Broden stated it would be nice that if something came from Zoning, Public Works or Community Investment that the administration would give the councilmember of the specific district information regarding where the activity was occurring, so they could be involved and not required to play catch up when the ordinance is first brought forward. She stated she and Randy Kelly should look into what is going on around the Howard Park area and the old TRANSPO site. Chairperson Karen White asked the district members to email or give to her the expectations or questions that they have for this Committee in their various districts. She agreed with Councilmember Jo Broden that they need to be ahead of these issues and not fumbling for words when residents come and ask about specific things the city is doing. Councilmember Tim Scott voiced his hope that between this Committee and the Community Investment Committee, we need to look into types of community investment in the neighborhoods regarding home repair. This would be the next logical steps after the Vacant and Abandoned Housing Initiative and would help houses from sliding into vacancy in the future. He stated perhaps the Council and Community Investment and the various Neighborhood Associations should do some type of round table meeting to get all those people together and the ball rolling. He stated Pam Myers was interested in this and some other people as well because this will stop us from returning to the problem we had before the Vacant and Abandoned Housing Initiative. He also voiced his support of the walking tours. Councilmember Dr. Varner expressed his support behind seeing the curbs and sidewalks initiative moving forward. Councilmember Jo Broden stated building relationships with churches and nonprofits at a district level is very important for this Committee. Chairperson Karen White passed around the one citizen member application turned in for this Committee and asked the Committee members to look it over and get back with her as to what they think. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic reported he received three citizen applications that were very great but he is only allowed to select two, so if any chairperson of a committee did not receive two applications he would be glad to give them the contact information of the person he did not select. Councilmember Tim Scott stated he emailed the Council a map of every neighborhood association boundaries in PDF form. Councilmember Randy Kelly reported on a great conversation he had with a resident today regarding "Community Orientated Code Enforcement" which includes people doing their best to maintain their homes as best they can. This person talked about how Code Enforcement people give him letters but they never call or try to talk to him and he thinks a better approach would be establishing a relationship between Code Enforcement and the home owners. Councilmember Randy Kelly stated he would like this Committee to look into developing some of those ideas. There being no further business before the Committee, Chairperson Karen White closed the meeting at 4:20 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Karen White, Chairperson