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REGULAR MEETING August 14, 2017
<br /> 2017-0602A, Eric Boyd v. Historic Preservation Commission. Councilmember Dr. David Varner
<br /> seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of seven(7) ayes.
<br /> NEW BUSINESS
<br /> There was no new business.
<br /> PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR
<br /> Sue Kesim, 4022 Kennedy Drive, South Bend, IN, stated that she does not condone the
<br /> expenditure of a quarter of a million dollars to have installed the chandelier for the Phantom of
<br /> the Opera production in South Bend. Ms. Kesim stated, I just want to say that, as a citizen,that
<br /> does not match my values. I think there's a lot of other things we can spend $268,044.74 on. So,
<br /> when you're doing the budget I hope that you keep in mind values that pertain to all citizens, not
<br /> just to you.
<br /> Samuel Brown, 222 East Navarre Street, South Bend, IN, stated that criticism made toward
<br /> Mayor Pete Buttigieg by a member of the Police Department—which stated that the Mayor does
<br /> not support the Police Department—was unfounded. Mr. Brown stated, I support our Mayor. He
<br /> has a very difficult job. I think this could have been done in a more classy way. I don't think our
<br /> Mayor deserved this.
<br /> Charles Bush, 1778 Prairie Avenue, South Bend, IN, stated that he has, on three (3) occasions,
<br /> brought to the attention of Councilmember Oliver Davis the need to repave a street in his
<br /> neighborhood.Nothing has been done since. Mr. Bush stated that he wanted to bring this forward
<br /> to At-Large Councilmembers to see if progress can be made.
<br /> Pat Matthews, 52127 Fall Creek Drive, Granger, IN, stated that he is the manager of MAJCM,
<br /> LLC. Mr. Matthews stated, I am here to give you an update on the Echoes development, located
<br /> on the 1200 block of North Ironwood. Mr. Matthews explained that the original proposal was
<br /> tabled by the Council in May, and he and his parry were asked to return with a better proposal.
<br /> He stated, I'm here tonight to correct some of the misinformation that suggests that we were not
<br /> good neighbors, or that we have been disrespectful to the Council. Mr. Matthews stated that
<br /> MAJCM attempted to join the neighborhood group and asked if they could be included in their
<br /> email list. The request was denied. He stated that demolition has taken place on the property and
<br /> that part of that process was the removal of trees from the property. He stated that though
<br /> neighbors have been negatively pointing out the removal of these trees, this is a typical part of
<br /> this process. Mr. Matthews stated, It is true that the number of the units has increased, however,
<br /> what hasn't been mentioned in some of the news articles is that we've also purchased positional
<br /> property since we had our meeting in May. So, that allowed us to do that. In summary, I
<br /> personally have regular communication with the neighbors through their designated point person.
<br /> The communication has been consistent and comfortable, I think.
<br /> Sharon Banicki, 3822 Ford Street, South Bend, IN, stated that she is disappointed that the Mayor
<br /> turned down the $10,000 request to "put the homeless to work in the parks." Ms. Banicki stated,
<br /> I hope that at budget time, none of the elected officials or appointed department heads have the
<br /> audacity to ask for a$10,000 raise when that money could be better spent on the citizens who
<br /> need it more than those who don't. Ms. Banicki then recounted a story of a female resident who
<br /> had a problem house and had contacted the City to help her resolve the issue. The resident heard
<br /> nothing for some time, but after making little progress on her house, the Police Department and
<br /> Code Enforcement helped to clean up the property. Ms. Banicki stated, She couldn't be more
<br /> pleased. Ms. Banicki thanked all those involved.
<br /> Don Dumich, 2015 Peachtree Lane, South Bend, IN, quoting Jim Masters at the previous
<br /> Council meeting, stated, "I know that the primary concern of the Council is the protection of the
<br /> surrounding community."Mr. Dumich stated, If that is true, it gives me hope, because in two (2)
<br /> weeks, we're going to be back in this room discussing a former church property. Mr. Dumich
<br /> expressed shock at the fact that the developers at MAJCM would declare a church property with
<br /> forty (40) years of history vacant, demolish it,then expect preferential treatment, a rezoning
<br /> petition, and a"laundry list of variances."
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