12-15-75 Council Meeting Minutes

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COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING (CONTINUED) ORDINANCE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 2 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, PERTAINING TO THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT. This being the time heretofore set for public hearing on the above ordinance, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Councilman Peter J. Nemeth made the presenta- tion for the ordinance. He indicated that, first of all, he wished to thank the Council for the honor it had bestowed upon him in the presentation of the resolution commending him for his ser- vice with the Council for the years of 1972, 1973, >_1974,a anal 1975. He indicated he was looking forward to working with the Council for the next four years as Mayor. He then explained that the proposed ordinance merely changed the word "shall to "may" regarding the Public Safety Director serving as a member of the Board of Public Safety. He indicated that, during his administration, he had no plans for a Public Safety Director position, and the ordinance, as it was presently worded, mandated that the director must serve on the Board of Safety. Council President Parent made a motion that the ordinance be recommended favorably to the Common Council, seconded by Councilman Taylor. The motion carried. ORDINANCE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 5820 -75, ESTABLISHING A MERIT SYSTEM OF PROMOTIONS FOR THE BUREAU OF POLICE OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND. This being the time heretofore set for public hearing on the opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Councilman the ordinance to the February 9, 1976, regular meeting of the President Parent. The motion carried. ORDINANCE AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE APPROPRIATION OF $1,140 FROM THE URBAN REDEVELOPMENT FUND TO SERVICES CONTRACTUAL ACCOUNT #269 FOR SECOND YEAR RENTAL ASSISTANCE PAYMENT. above ordinance, proponents and Miller made a motion to continue Council, seconded by Council This being the time heretofore set for public hearing on the above ordinance, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Mr. Michael Vance, Chief Deputy Controller, indicated that the same problem would be experienced with this ordinance as with the revenue sharing appropriations concerning the amount of time left this year for approval by the State Board of Accounts. He asked that the ordinance be continued because sufficient time was not left for approval before the end of the year. Councilman Taylor made a motion to continue the ordinance to the January 19, 1976, regular meeting of the Council, seconded by Council President Parent. The motion carried. ORDINANCE AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE EXPENDITURE OF $75,000.00 OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS FOR THE BUREAU OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. This being the time heretofore set for public hearing on the above opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Mr. Gene Stokes, Environmental Protection, made the presentation for the ordinance. amount of money budgeted for the department from tax funds for the He asked that the Council approve the ordinance in order to allow of substand buildings within the city. ordinance, proponents and Manager of the Bureau of He indicated that the year 1975 had been expended. for the continued demolition Councilman Miller wondered about the number of burned -out homes that needed to be demolished. Mr. Stokes indicated that the situation changed almost daily. He stated that approximately 225 to 230 homes were estimated. He added that this figure also included vacant and abandoned structures. Councilman Miller made a motion that the ordinance be recommended favorably to the Common Council seconded by Councilman Kopczynski. Councilman Taylor wondered if Mt. Stokes considered the 230 homes to be critical. Mr. Stokes indicated that some of the homes could be saved if the money was available for rehabilitation. He indicated that normally 10 to 15 of these units were in- cluded on the Board of Public Safety agenda for demolition. Councilman Horvath wondered if any money remaining at the end of this year could be carried over if the appropriation was approved. Mr. Stokes indicated that the fiscal year for Community Development funds ran from June to June so a carry over would not be necessary as in revenue sharing funds. Councilman Szymkowiak wondered how many homes in his district were substandard. Mr. Stokes in- dicated that he was aware there were many units in the Second District which needed demolition. He stated that he and his staff were working as diligently as possible in trying to keep abreast of the situation. Councilman Szymkowiak felt the Board of Public Works should mandate that all debris be hauled away within 48 hours of demolition. He indicated that this was a problem with some contractors. He felt some of them were very negligent in clearing the property after demolition of the structure. Councilman Serge Basked for an explanation of the procedure involved in tearing down a house. Mr. Stokes explained that the property owner had certain property rights and the Board of Public Safety must locate the owner to inform him that demolition proceedings were being considered. He stated that the owner is then given 30 days to make an effort to repair the house. If, within this 30 -day period, some sort of effort is not made to improve the structure, the Board would be called upon to initiate the demolition procedure.