10-26-15 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING October 26, 2015 like those things are taking away from the climate of violence in the City. I offered several things in the past but it takes more than me offering these conclusions or these solutions. It takes all of us and I charge the Council with the responsibility of not only developing the conversation but finding reasonable approaches that may be faith based, they may economically base, they could be a combination between the two. But being intentional about the way our environment is currently looking for our children. We’ve seen swimming pools taken away from our children. We see how the schools are dealing with their finances, you know vouchers, children are scattered. We are talking about housing in the area being very bad. We are talking about food deserts. We are talking about all these negative forces that we are aware of that are happening; unemployment. We seem like we are surprised when we have these types of shootings. I am no longer surprised I’m just sick of hearing about them. I think we’ve done a hell of a job failing a lot of our kids. I think we have opportunity to make some great ground. We’ve given close to $200,000 to Mademen to help provide summer jobs. That’s awesome but that’s just one thing. How do begin to fund Kennedy Park also. That’s just one thing. I am interested in health and public safety, whatever committee st in the coming weeks to have that conversation. A lot of these are happening in the First (1) nd District or the Second (2) District. Tim you have a shared interest with me on this, we all should have. I don’t think the fixes are going to be quick but I think we can start putting some things in place to make it happen. If we can begin to have committee hearings about it I think it would behoove us not to. New Business Privilege of the Floor Jesse Davis – P.O. Box 10205, South Bend- I come to you tonight as we are getting close to elections. Three (3) years ago I brought in some skeleton friends to ask the Mayor to check his closet. Clean out some of the skeletons. He got back to me and said he couldn’t find them; all he could find were socks and tee shirts in there. Transparency has been pretty much zero (0) here in our City. There’s been several big issues brought up in the last three (3) to four (4) years and we’ve never really gotten any answer to them. We get letters, we got rid of a contractor, so and so resigned, Phil Sinclair’s son has cleared out of the City Cemetery Building and he’s not using it anymore but those are not answers. Kathryn Roos’s patio, we convened a local grand jury and nobody was indicted there was still wrong doing. Somebody allowed City workers to go there with City trucks, City equipment, and do work for her benefit on private property. Was anybody ever reprimanded for that? Who is going to make sure that the homeowners that were double billed by a contractor that the City forced upon them for years? Who is going to make sure they are reimbursed for the money that was stolen from them. I brought that to Council, I took it to the police chief, the police chief said he wanted to handle it as a civil matter through the City. If that’s the case it should be the city’s responsibility to make sure that these people are reimbursed. The City forced them to use this contractor. I’m going to be short and I brought some skeletons tonight that I am sure are hiding in Pete’s closet now. Let’s try and get some transparency and accountability and some honest responses. I brought you eight (8) issues that we’ve never got truthful answers on. Also, one (1) from February where there was equipment returned to the City garage, large dollar equipment, somebody covered a camera up. I was told it went to a state police investigation in February we are in October now, nobody looked at the video and determined who brought the equipment back and what equipment was brought back? These are answers that we deserve. We deserve real answers not just kick it under the rug type answers. Jason Banicki-Critchlow – 3822 W. Ford St., South Bend – I know we have difficult questions in front of us as a City. The budget is always a difficult process and yet as soon as the budget process is done I read about $100,000 to purchase equipment for Dr. Ansari’s next business project. I hope we all take some time and really consider and think about where we are using our dollars when we do have school problems, when we do have violence problems. Just because the good doctor allowed his name to be used for political purposes in the primary season doesn’t mean that he should be being paid back with money after July he closed down his entire practice in South Bend. He took all of his equipment, all of his doctors, and all of those tax dollars with him to Mishawaka. We as tax payers should not be subsidizing his next business venture. If it’s 10