03-24-75 Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING MARCH 24, 1975 REGULAR MEETING - RECONVENED (CONTINUED) REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Mr. William Hojnacki, Director of the Department of Human Resources and Economic Development, introduced Ms. Janice Patton, Director of the South Bend Human Rights Commission. She submitted the 1974 annual report of the commission, and indicated that copies of the report were previously mailed to the Council members. She stated that the commission had handled 127 cases in 1974 of which 33 were carried over into 1975. As of March, 1975, 23 formal complaints had been filed and 17 were considered back - logged cases. Part of the annual report contained statistics such as: the South Bend Human Rights Commission handled the fifth largest number of formal complaints in Indiana. Ms. Patton compared the complaints handled by the South Bend Human Rights Commission and other cities with budgets considerably greater. As an addendum to the report, Ms. Patton indicated that the commission was working on a set of priorities that the commission viewed as th responsibilities outlined in the ordinance. The commission also was working towards several recommendations concerning police relations in the community. A set of working guidelines was also established to interpret the laws relating to discriminatory matters. Regarding the concili tory aspects, the commission had found probable cause to either reinstate employees or allow them a reimbursement for wages lost, etc. She invited the Council members to attend the commission meetings held on the second Wednesday of each month. Councilman Kopczynski also invited Ms. Patt to attend the Council meetings. He wondered who was paying for the ads which had been appearing on television. Ms. Patton indicated that any ads for the South Bend Human Rights Commission were public- service times courtesy of the television stations. Councilman Miller indicated that he ha read the annual report of the commission completely. He stated that, when the number of complain was considered, it was close to the number of issues the councilmen were also involved in; likewis the amount of the telephone calls. He felt the Human Rights Commission performed a certain and definite function within the city. In the Community Development program, there was a position for an EEO officer. He indicated that he had not read the total regulations under the Community Development Act, but he assumed that the city could fund certain functions that would fall into t position. Mr. Hojnacki indicated that ineligible activity was operation and maintenance. He stated that "soft costs" could be funded if they were directly related to the "hard cost program" He indicated that the EEO officer was the same position the city has had for a number of years. This position dealt with contract compliance only and did not deal in the general area of public law and discrimination. Councilman Miller wondered if there would be a possibility for the staff of the Human Rights Commission to handle the EEO component, and the city could then pick up one o two of the staff members under the Community Development program. Mr. Hojnacki felt that could not be funded under EEO, in his opinion. He indicated that the question of discrimination in the open housing market was being dealt with. The only relationship with the programs would be the word "housing ". He stated that the more reasonable approach to the problem would be to pick up the EEO officer under the Human Rights Commission. He agreed, however, that the position should be tied to the Human Rights Commission or even perhaps the Legal Department as it involved the legality of contracts. Councilman Miller stated that, if the city was faced with a severe "budge crunch ", an employee might be saved if this route was taken. He asked that the possibility be explored before the next Council meeting. Councilman Szymkowiak talked about the amount of time he has spent as a councilman working for the people in his district and the small amount of pay h receives for his services. Ms. Patton indicated that she and her staff were not complaining abou the amount of time spent in handling the cases; she merely wanted to cover all the aspects of the commission and the case loads and complaints in order to keep the Council informed of the activities of the commission. Councilman Kopczynski indicated that he was keeping a log of many things he did as a councilman. He felt a councilman's salary should be around $20,000 a year if it was compared to the other positions within the city. Councilman Miller stated that the report prepared by Ms. Patton and her staff was very excellent, in his opinion, and he congratulated Ms. Patton on her report. Council President Parent also congratulated Ms. Patton and thanked her for her presentation. PETITIONS I (We), the undersigned, do hereby respectfully make application and petition the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, to amend the Zoning Ordinance of the City of South Bend as hereinafter requested, and in support of this applica- tion, the following facts are shown: 1. The property sought to be rezoned is located on the south side of Ireland Road east of and contiguous to the Montgomery Ward and Scottsdale Mall property. 2. The property is owned by Place and Company, Inc., who have contracted with Tower Federal Savings & Loan Association of South Bend to sell same to it provided the rezoning herein requested is granted. 3. A legal description of the property is as follows: A tract of land situated in the Southwest Quarter of Section 30, Township 37 North, Range 3 East, St. Joseph County, Indiana, described as follows, viz: Beginning at a point on a line that bears South 89 degrees 55 minutes 20 seconds East 1649.98 feet East from the West Quarter Section Corner of Section 30, Township 37 North, Range 3 East; thence 89 degrees 55 minutes 20 seconds East 200 feet to the Northerly projection of the Western boundary of the Plat of Scottsdale Addition, Section "A ", as recorded in the Office of the Recorder of St. Joseph County, Indiana; thence South 00 degrees, 00 minutes, 24 seconds West along said Western boundary 230 feet; thence North 89 degrees 55 minutes 20 seconds West 199.99 feet; thence North 00 degrees 04 minutes 40 seconds East 230.00 feet to the place of beginning, containing 1,06 acres, more or less. 4. It is desired and requested that the foregoing property be rezoned from C -2 Use and Height and Area District, to C -1 Use and G- ,,Height and Area District.