Southwest Lansing (MI) and my neighborhood

AGENDA
Public Safety
Tenth Floor Council Conference Room, City Hall
Wednesday, October 7, 2009 – 11:30 a.m.

Councilmember Sandy Allen, Chair
Councilmember Carol Wood, Vice Chair
Councilmember Eric Hewitt, Member

I. Call To Order

II. Roll Call

III. Approval of Minutes

• September 16, 2009

IV. Public Comment

V. Discussion/Action:

1. Make Safe or Demolish Orders

• 1912 N. High Street

2. Noise Ordinance

3. Fireworks Ordinance

4. Update on LPD Overtime

5. Reverse 911 System

6. Request for Stop Sign on Muskegon at the Corner of Glenrose

7. Request for Stop Sign on Walsh Avenue Between Holmes Street and Pennsylvania Ave.

8. Update on Pending Traffic Calming Requests

9. Budget Policies and Priorities

4. Receipt of Communications

5. Other

6. Adjourn

7. Pending
i. Discussion on Club Venue

ii. Discussion on Traffic Calming for Prospect Street – Stop Signs

GOOD NEWS — Thankfully the school just called to report that the missing child has just been found, moments before they were about to issue an Amber Alert. She had gone home with another child as they hoped had been the case.

THANK YOU — Thank you to everyone for your eyes and ears. Thanks to LPD for bringing out the K9 unit to assist in this search.

NOT SO GOOD NEWS — However, in this process I discovered that our reverse 9-1-1 system is not currently operational.

The reverse 9-1-1 system is an emergency notification system that sends automatic telephone calls to alert residents of an emergency situation. When operational, it can target all residents or just those residents in a specific area affected.  It should also allow residents to register their cell phone number in the system to be alerted by text message.

If our police, fire, or other public safety office needed to let citizens across the city or in a specific area of the city know about an Amber alert or emergency situation (e.g. police chase in the neighborhood, gas main break, chemical spill, emergency evacuation etc.) they would not currently be able to do this.

Most cities have these emergency infrastructures in place.

Our city is dependent upon Ingham County for these operations. I am uncertain about why the system has not yet been up and running but will seek to learn more and share that information with you.

In the meantime, if you have concerns about this situation I would urge you to contact your Ingham County Commissioner and your City Council Representatives.

Thank you
Melissa S. Quon Huber, Ph.D.
Averill Woods Neighborhood Association
Sept 30, 2009 5:50 p.m.

MISSING CHILD-Wednesday afternoon, Sep. 30, 2009

Averill Elementary School (Lansing, MI) called to say they have a missing child:

Description:       Petite, black 5 year old female

Wearing:           Tan jacket with fur collar
Pink striped shirt
Pink cast on her arm

Today was her first day at kindergarten. No reason to suspect foul play but it has been an hour since school let out. They hope she took a wrong bus but haven’t been able to locate her.

Please contact Linda Fuller at Averill 930-5750 or LPD immediately if you locate her.

Thank you
Melissa S. Quon Huber, Ph.D.
Averill Woods Neighborhood Association
Sept 30, 2009 4:20 p.m.

If you live in the city of Lansing, do you struggle with cars going too fast in your neighborhood?  Have you and your neighbors asked the city for help?  Has it worked?

In this video at City Council-member A’Lynne Robinson’s Second Saturday meeting where she meets with Third Ward constituents, Council-member Eric Hewitt talks about measures being discussed in the council’s Public Safety Committee to help residents.

You are invited to leave comments and reaction about car traffic in city neighborhoods.

A short street in southwest Lansing-Starlight Lane-where residents enjoy the relaxed pace on the road have been inundated by diverted speeding traffic diverted from Waverly Road.  And residents are looking for help from city officials to find a solution.

The city of Lansing has pulled the plug on their agreement to implement temporary barriers to through traffic in and out of Waverly Road.  Instead, according to Lansing City Council-member A’Lynne Robinson, the city has switched gears and started to construct sidewalks with curb and gutter for a portion of Starlight.

This frustration for the street residents was discussed at Robinson’s Second Saturday meeting last Saturday where she met with her Third Ward constituents.   The homeowners feel like the improvements are being forced on them and won’t have the same effect as the temporary barriers to through traffic.

She said that the issue has been discussed in joint meetings between the Woodmere and Averill Woods Neighborhood Associations.

Lansing (MI) Third Ward Council-member A'Lynne Robinson

The Starlight experience is a possible case study on traffic calming on city streets as more residents complain about neighborhood speeders and as the city budget tightens.

This is the first of two videos from the meeting.  Please note: Click on the link to see the video.  The link will take you to the video player where you can watch it.  On this one Robinson describes the problem and the agreed on solution which was withdrawn.

The Averill Woods Neighborhood Association has been busy looking at our challenges and drafting a strategic plan to deal with them.  Making use of the varied strengths and expertise represented in our southwest Lansing area, the association has identified top concerns and is working to empower residents to find and implement effective responses.

You are invited to download our strategic plan and to leave comments on this blog post.

Here’s the deal….

We’re going to make Averill Woods Neighborhood Association T-shirts and sweatshirts available for sale.

We’re hoping everyone in the family will want to order one and help spread the word about this fabulous neighborhood!  Here’s your chance to wear your neighborhood pride on your sleeve!

But we need some creative minds to help us design a recognizable “Averill Woods” t-shirt .

PRIZE: The creator of the winning design(s) will receive a free Averill Woods T-shirt based on their design(s).

CATEGORIES: You can enter in two categories:

(1) Catch phrase - Create a short statement or catch phrase that can be lettered on the back of the shirt and embodies the positive spirit of our neighborhood.  This can be submitted as a text file or imbedded in email.

(2) Graphic - Create a graphic image with or without a catch phrase that embodies the positive spirit of our neighborhood.  You can specify colors or black and white. This should be submitted as a .jpg or .png file. (more…)