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REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 13, 2012 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Councilmember Henry Davis stated that he made a statement at the last Council meeting <br />about the moral on the police force. He apologized for making a statement that was so <br />blank without giving any examples. He stated to clarify his position about the moral in <br />the police department he wanted to make sure that he added some comments on what he <br />wanted to say so that he is not speaking into the wind. Moral is how the progression in <br />the ranks are being divided up or even happening, and how vehicles are being divided up <br />or being given out for use, who gets a new one who doesn’t. He also stated multi-tasking <br />and making sure that all the employees are happy in their positions. He stated that they <br />have situations in which employees have served in the same positions for the last 10, 15 <br />or even 20 years and have not moved and in any job he can understand that being <br />frustrating and at the same time being complacent. Moral will become low, there is also <br />an issue with the Metro Homicide and if we do use them and work in concert with the <br />Metro Homicide Unit and it has been an issue of sharing resources, but have to ask for <br />the resources. So if there is a situation or matter that happens that requires the Metro <br />Homicide Unit to come out we have to call them to ask them to come out and we are <br />working in concert and sharing dollars with that typical department, so moral is <br />obviously, and some of those things can be talked about during the course of negotiations <br />and what does it look like for South Bend and what does it look like for them to cover <br />and investigate their own crimes rather than using the Metro Homicide Unit. <br />Councilmember Henry Davis stated that they have had another conversation on the <br />vacant and abandoned housing earlier and he wanted to touch on a few points on how we <br />got to this level. He stated that it is going to take a whole lot to correct it obviously, but <br />none of these things just happen. He stated that to build a community and a <br />neighborhood a school is always used. He stated for example St. Joe High School, and <br />now you are starting to see more homes being built on Notre Dame Avenue etc. as well <br />as on Huey and Kalorama Streets where we just talked about earlier in the meeting. So <br />when you begin to look at some of the areas that have been depreciated in the past and <br />have a situation that you are looking at assets being pulled away. He stated that he can <br />nd <br />talk about the 2 District about assets like a city pool; grocery stores and retail outlets <br />that is one of the first things to leave out of the area. Then you talk about Kennedy <br />School and LaSalle High School, they left and the neighborhood wasn’t allowed to use <br />those schools anymore because it became a project to raise test scores. Then there is <br />transportation where the bus routes were cut out or at not at the high volume that they <br />once used to be. Then you go back to housing and when you don’t have any or the best <br />housing or you have more houses demolished, so you are looking at more than 2,500 <br />homes that will be demolished within the next three years and the end of the next three <br />years total, starting back a few years ago. So, it begs the question of how are we going to <br />redevelop an area that need it the most. He stated that during the course of one of the <br />first budget sessions he was asking about CRA loans. Community Reinvestment Act <br />monies and how banks that we use our monies to deposit in banks are being used. More <br />than 98% of our money was in First Source Bank, the rest of the money is in Key Bank. <br />He stated that they need to find out how much money are they loaning to small <br />businesses that want to develop in under privileged areas, distressed areas, areas that need <br />the growth. If that is not happening, maybe we need to have conversations with <br />Community-Wide or a Bank of America or whoever is in the City to see what type of <br />program they can start to begin the investment process back into the areas that need it the <br />most. He stated that he thinks that this is probably only necessary, but when we also <br />begin to talk about crime, and he stated that he means this whole-heartedly we are in a <br />situation that we have a lot of crime, whoever started it, whatever happens, what’s going <br />on. Is it political, could be, but the key defining moment right now is that neighborhoods <br />and people that live in neighborhoods are the victim. He stated that he cannot press upon <br />it anymore to understand what legacy means. He stated that if he was to re-visit Kennedy <br />School, there’s mention of Henry Davis being a Joe Boland award winner at Kennedy <br />school anymore. There is no mention of him playing varsity basketball in the third grade, <br />and so on, this is for real and this is really serious. He stated that what he is getting at <br />and moves onto LaSalle High School, which is no longer, and there is no mention of <br />Henry Davis being an athlete, band member or anything of those things at the high <br />school. He stated that his legacy has been ripped away, so why would he feel more <br />comfortable in a City that keeps erasing the history that he has within the City, so what he <br />is getting at is that while he is legislating and talking about rebuilding neighborhoods we <br />need to understand that legacy is very important. He stated that he sees a huge and very <br /> 11 <br /> <br />