10-14-13 Common Council Meeting Minutes

Home Browse Search

REGULAR MEETING OCTOBER 14, 2013 this is really our finest shot at basically turning this into a success story for both the Near Northwest Neighborhood and for the City of South Bend, so I speak in support of this for the neighborhood but also in support for the City and I would like to see this be a partnership. I think that a tax abatement would really be a nice show of that and I really appreciate your attention. Andre Stoner, 628 Cushing Street, South Bend, Indiana, I live about 3 blocks from this property and I have lived there with my family, 4 children, raised them for last 17 years. I would like to speak in favor of this project for several reasons. One, I think as we all know it is an abandoned building, that has been that way for a long time and we know that a building like that can attract a lot of problems. So the development would be a positive for our neighborhood, but beyond that I am really in favor of adding 42 well managed units, low income rental units, into our neighborhood. We have a lot of very poorly managed rental units in our neighborhood a lot of people who live far away who are not invested in the neighborhood and are making a lot of money off of people. Those of us that live in the neighborhood suffer because of it, we need good quality well managed low income rental units and this would add 42 of those units and so I am in favor of that as well. I think it would be a plus not only for neighborhood but for the city. Thank you. Mary Curgee, 1023 Portage Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, I did speak this afternoon but I just wanted to mention a couple of things. I strongly support this as I mentioned this afternoon, I am the President of the NNN Board and they too very strongly support this project and the tax abatement specifically. I live, like Kathy, I live a couple of door down from this building and I can assure you that it is a source of major blight along one of our corridors to the city. We have talked for years about bettering the corridors so that the City, the downtown becomes more attractive people will be invited and not afraid to come into the City. So that has not been mentioned yet tonight and I just want to point that out to that bettering this building would also take care a source of blight on one of our major corridors. And that’s a win; win for the City and the NNN and our neighborhood. I really encourage you to vote for this tonight and to pass it. The following individual spoke in opposition to this bill. Rev. Greg Brown, 1238 Diamond Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, been living there 49 years. The tax abatement 4% gives us the 96% and gives them the 4%. Bringing jobs and as far as doing things in the community every time we give these rebates something happens and it’ not in the city’s favor and we were listed as being a dying city, 4% is awful cheap for South Bend if we only coming back up. Are we going to get employees from this city; are we going to be guaranteed; what kind of guarantees are in the language; are we going to hire electricians, contractors from South Bend, that live in St. Joseph County. We always say we are going to do this, were going to do that, on the other end of Diamond, Walsh is working down there; they are not from South Bend. Try to be a contractor and go work in the cities around us and they want 50% of their dollar put back in their city. We need to look at this, it needs to be some more explaining done Council board before you bring this to the floor and vote on it. Our unemployment rate 12%, what is this going to do for our community, is this really going to repair, this is a Band-Aid on it, and we gave tax abatement, if you look at the history of it. If you look at A.J. Wright, we gave them an abatement, where is A. J. Wright at? Think about it. Thank you. No Rebuttal. Councilmember Gavin Ferric: No Comment Councilmember Oliver Davis: When I heard about this situation and the comments that were made even earlier today that talked about the community agreement it was pretty much said that no, we are not going to do that or it’s too late or we’re going to look at the next year. I was very pleased to hear tonight about 4%. Now, personally I think if 4% issue would have been raised earlier a lot of the conflict that we had up here probably wouldn’t have been up here tonight. Secondly, like one of my colleagues stated that’s a minimum. Is that a minimum of 4%? Nick Surah: Yes 23