HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-29-16 Community RelationsCOMMUNITY RELATIONS MARCH 29, 2016 5:13 P.M.
Committee Members Present: Regina Williams- Preston, Gavin Ferlic, Randy Kelly,
Karen White, Laquita Hughes
Other Council Present: John Voorde, Jo M. Broden, Oliver Davis, Tim Scott
Others Present: Alkeyna Aldridge, Joseph Molnar, Adriana Rodriguez
Kathleen Cekanski- Farrand
Agenda: Kick -Off Meeting
Chairperson Regina Williams- Preston called the meeting to order with one item on the agenda.
She introduced Laquita Hughes as the citizen member for the Community Relations Committee.
Chairperson Williams- Preston went over the annual report and the highlights from the year for
the Committee. They held eleven (11) public meetings in total and focused on "Light up South
Bend ", enhancing the sidewalk programs, welcoming the Pokagon Band regarding investment
and development which we are seeing the fruits of that labor now, the Street Naming Committee
which is moving along, and Councilmember Henry Davis Jr. began talks regarding a pilot
initiative on homelessness. This Committee also proposed that South Bend Schools not lower the
GPA for students in sports even though that did pass. Also, this is the Committee which the new
flag design resolution came from and that worked out well.
Some suggestions for 2016 from this Committee were updating the South Bend Municipal Code
to address the purposes of the Committee. Councilmember Karen White explained this was to
provide a clear definition for the overall focal point of the Committee. The Committee was
responding to resolutions from the Councilmembers that were not really in line with the overall
purpose of the Committee. The duties as of now are enhancing communication and developing
working partnerships within the city particularly with public and private entities. Councilmember
White stated having a clearer definition of the duties of the Committee would be helpful.
Councilmember Williams- Preston asked if any of the Committee or Council members had any
ideas or proposals for where this Committee put its resources and time this year.
Councilmember White stated she wants to see the Council as a whole and this Committee focus
on communication at all levels with the neighborhoods and to really have a strategic direction for
our neighborhoods. She stated trying to help neighborhood associations flourish because some
are struggling and there are resources that the Council possess to help those neighborhoods.
Councilmember John Voorde asked about the neighborhood walking tours and if they were
helpful last year.
Councilmember White responded yes they were very helpful, the Councilmembers learned a lot
just by walking through the neighborhoods and listening to the residents and their concerns and
ideas.
Councilmember Randy Kelly mentioned he would like to see this Committee work more closely
with Code Enforcement and take some proactive approaches towards issues we are seeing in the
communities. If the Councilmembers know of issues beforehand from these neighborhood
leaders they can possibly work with Code to address them before it becomes a real problem.
Bridging the gap between Code Enforcement and the neighborhoods would help the City as a
whole be more connected and responsive to issues.
Council President Tim Scott mentioned the student art work now in the Mayor's Office, Council
Offices, and Clerk's Office. There will be more student art work added to the Informal Meeting
Room as well and it will rotate every three months. That was a great way to get the community
engaged, especially the students in the area. Council President Scott stated he would like to see
some type of initiative come out of Community Relations, Community Investment and Health
and Public Safety trying to do home repair for people who need it which would help prevent
houses sliding into the vacant and abandoned and then all the work of 1000 homes in 1000 days
would be lessened. There are a lot of residents and volunteer organizations who have expertise
and are wanting to help these people but there is no real avenue for them to take advantage and
get out into the community. Those three (3) committees could brainstorm how to get those
people with expertise who want to give back to the City to the people who need the help. Also
doing some type of event where the residential neighborhood associations get to gather at say the
Century Center and just meet and share ideas about what works and what doesn't work.
Committee member Laquita Hughes agreed with Councilmember White that it is important to
build connections in the communities and bring people together to talk and hear different
perspectives from every side of town which would help unify the city. Also, helping the
relationship between the police and the youth in South Bend. We are not going beyond the bare
bones of interactions and having both sides come together would be beneficial to the city.
Councilmember Jo M. Broden spoke about the definitions of the Committee and trying to figure
out the definitions of all the committees. They should be looked at and reevaluated to see if they
are still relevant and useful. Just in this report that Chairperson Williams- Preston spoke about a
lot of those issues could easily have been in other Committees. She proposed having a discussion
to look at the Committees that are not some of the very obvious committees like PARCS or
Health and Public Safety so that we are using our resources most efficiently and getting the most
out of the time we put into being councilmembers. The current committee structure is very
unwieldy and there is just too much overlap for an efficient organization.
Council Attorney Cekanski - Farrand stated the Councils that expanded the committee list felt
strongly that each Councilmember is the chairperson of a Committee. There was also a need to
kind of remove some of the workload from Personnel & Finance and Health & Public Safety.
Any proposed changes to the committees should be heavily vetted because a change would be
overruling a previous Council. As long as it is done properly there is nothing against
streamlining for efficiencies.
Chairperson Williams- Preston stated it is definitely something for every person to think about.
She stated interest in significantly increasing the sidewalks initiative. Even though that may be
Public Works, it is what people here all the time regarding community relations. There are
avenues through the private sector that we may be able to get funding from, because it is
important for us to show the people of this city that we are listening to them. If we talk about
prioritizing we need to tackle areas that help build trust between the residents and their
government and sidewalks are a tangible item that people can see and not just something on
paper. Also, Chairperson Williams- Preston made note that they need to be leaders in race
relations which is not something that a lot of people like to talk about but it needs to be talked
about because that is how you build fruitful relationships with people who don't trust the "man"
or the "system ". As a body, the Council needs to figure out a way to engage in conversations
that relate with the race. Race is something that runs through every single issue and we need to
be open and honest about that.
Chairperson Williams- Preston asked if anyone from the public wished to speak.
Gary King, 730 N. Hill St., spoke about his suggestions for the design of the new flag. He felt
that all ethnic and cultural groups are currently not represented on the new design. Everyone has
come to this area and this community and he mentioned adding a silhouette of a boat that
represents everyone traveled here from somewhere. South Bend needs to be who we are and not
a satellite of anyone else. We have a lot of resources in this City and we should tap into them.
With no further business before the Committee, Chairperson Williams- Preston adjourned the
Community Relations Committee at 5:39 p.m.
Respectfully Sub tted,
6 Regi a Williams- Preston, Chairperson