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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-10-19 _Minutes - NCBCYakima City Council Committee Minutes Neighborhood & Community Building Committee (NCBC) City Council Chambers, City Hall October 19, 2017 Committee Members Dulce Gutierrez, Chair Carmen Mendez Avina Gutierrez Holly Cousens (Alternate, not present) Joan Davenport Cliff Moore Rosalinda Ibarra Sara Watkins Others: Martha Aitken, Dr. Phil Hurvitz, Dr. Brad Gaolach Staff 1 Ken Wilkinson Alvie Maxey Joseph Calhoun Chair Dulce Gutierrez called the meeting to order at approximately 2:05 p.m. FOR THE RECORD / FILE Board_ Appointed Reports - Standing Item Transit Development Plan/Transit Related Issues — Maxey provided a draft agenda of the next Transit Advisory Committee meeting which is November 8th Parks & Recreation Commission (P&R) — the topics discussed at the previous P&R meeting included: Harman Center programs and activities, P&R Comprehensive Plan, progress of Randall Park improvements. Other future park improvements were discussed by Wilkinson and A. Gutidrrez. Henry Beauchamp Community Center (HBCC) — the next quarterly meeting is October 24, 2017. Historic Preservation (HPC) — the next meeting is October 25' at 5:30pm. Calhoun reported that the HPC had a successful outreach program at the Farmer's Market and there is still one vacancy remaining. Yakima Planning Commission — Calhoun reported that the YPC issued its recommendation on the final plat process amendments; an ordinance will be presented to the City Council in November. He also noted that there is also one vacancy on this commission. Bike/Pedestrian Committee — the committee finalized their comments on the Bike & Pedestrian Plan. They are working on prioritizing projects and seeking grant applications for potential projects. Homeless Network — Davenport and M6ndez explained the transition of the Homeless Network and the Continuum of Care (CoC). The upcoming Homeless Network meeting is scheduled for November 14`x' at 9am. Further clarification continued regarding the roles of the staff representative and Council representative. TRANS Action Committee —D. Gutidrrez reported the next meeting is November 20"'. Elections will be take place for four positions. Staff will reach out to the Fairgrounds and SOZO to encourage participation in TRANS -Action. Ethics & Equal Rights Committee (EERC) — Watkins described her role in participating in the EERC committee meetings. Maria Rodriguez, Committee Chair, clarified that she provided a recommendation to City Council and it would be their responsibility to define the details of a permanent committee. After a brief discussion, A. Gutierrez moved, seconded by M6ndez, to direct staff to conduct a legal review of the recommendation presented by the EERC committee. Motion carried unanimously. City Council will consider whether to establish a permanent EERC committee at their November 7" business meeting. Community Integration Committee (CIEC) — D. Gutierrez reported that the CIEC presented their final recommendation to City Council on October 17th. The City Council postponed their vote to November 7' pending additional information related to the cost estimated for a permanent committee. WSU F4uitv Study Task 2 Deliverable — WSU Metro Center [consultant] representative Martha Aitken (Senior Associate WSU) and Dr. Phil Hurvitz (UW Dept. of Urban Design and Planning) presented a detailed overview of their findings of the Equity Study Analysis project. This was a two-step project which consisted of data audit/validation and data analysis/assessment. For the process audit they concluded that the City collects data in a non -biased manner and the data is handled appropriately for its original intent, which is to support the city's geospatial (GIS) data and land use planning. They also performed a site visit to several City parks for direct observations to compare with the data collected. The limitations identified in the data collection is that the information lacked necessary elements to assess disparity. For the analysis strategy, the Metro Center team used additional information gathered from the Census data and American Community Survey data. Dr. Hurvitz further described several data graphs, using 16th Avenue as the geographical dividing line between eastside and westside of Yakima. Page 1 Some of the comparisons included; increased median family income, ethnic composition, and college graduation rates, average year of built structures, and amount of park area per resident, streetlights, police and fire department calls for service. The complete results for each selected GIS data layer, including all graphs, are available at:lrttp://gist.gis.washington.edu/yakiina equity/ Ms. Aitken shared recommendations and potential next steps that the City can implement; such as, adding information to include the date of resource allocation to evaluate trends over a period of time, develop a set of ranking criteria for future resource allocation and investment opportunities. She also suggested the City explore the racial equity toolkit that the cities of Seattle, Portland and Dubuque have implemented. Another resource is the Kettering Foundation which has a method for involving the public in addressing challenging issues. After considerable discussion and audience participation, the following items were requested: • Dulce Gutierrez, Council member o More conclusive narratives with explanations of what data was and what data wasn't considered and/or included in the analysis (describe the input and output variables) o Streetlights — timing data (as energy-saving method some streetlights alternate on/off) o YPD — the City's response is in terms of calls responded to o Transit — transit riders under the age of 18 Avina Gutierrez, Council member o Streetlights — conditions (working and non -working) o YPD — duration of response time from when a call comes in to when a LEO arrives o YPD — pattern in trends and locations on types of calls (such domestic violence, violent crime, property damage) o YPD & YFD — identify the meaning of "open" and "closed" time on calls for service o Transit — comparison of transit stops and explanation of "why" (for instance, if there is less bus stops on a certain side of town, is it because of increased car ownership or higher income, resulting in less need for public transportation) • Mary Lopez, Audience member o How many streetlights are working? What is the distance between streetlights? How can the public request a streetlight? o More information about the condition that parks are in — observed no bathrooms, water fountains in east side parks o Income — include information on single-family income (one -parent income) o Education — percent of people who didn't finish high school o YPD — how many calls are from Spanish-speaking people; what was the service response (some people who call 911 report that an officer didn't respond) o YPD — nature of the call (graffiti, domestic violence) o Transit — more ridership information, specifically about minors Rogelio Montes, Audience member o Suggested that the City provide more data to WSU overall o YPD — police response outcomes (3 hours for an officer to show up) o Transit —information about other age demographics, not just senior citizens D. Gutierrez requested additional discussion at the next NCBC meeting in November and asked that the consultant present to the full City Council at their December 12' business meeting, the committee members agreed with that timeline. The consultant will discuss and clarify the requests with staff to ensure that the data is available. Neches Parkwa Evaluation and Discussion —Wilkinson presented a PowerPoint regarding designating Naches Parkway into a park and what the feasibility would consist of. Some points that were highlighted include: • Naches Parkway is 15 blocks long and stretch from Race Street north to H Street. Page 2 • Cost of annual maintenance is estimated at $57,000 which involves grass mowing, trimming trees, irrigation system maintenance and watering costs. ■ One-time costs include: benches starting at $600 each, picnic tables starting at $1,500 each, signage at $80 per sign including installation, fence costs range from $4,750 to $26,000 per block depending on the type, and basic non -decorative trash receptacles are free. • Annual projected maintenance costs of $8,500 include labor for trash removal and disposal fees. • Public safety considerations: low curb height, need for fencing, and close proximity to traffic. Watkins spoke about options and potential changes to the Yakima Municipal Code related to re -designation of Naches Parkway, which include: amending YMC Section 13.20 to add Naches Parkway to the park curfew ordinance; amending YMC Section 13.16 Park Rules and Regulations to address specific matters pertaining to Naches Parkway; and adding a definitions sections in the Rules and Regulations ordinance for "parks", "parkways", and "trails" and other park terms. Following an extensive discussion, A. Gutierrez motioned to direct staff to prepare amendments to YMC 13.20 Park Curfew ordinance and YMC 13.16 Parks Rules and Regulations, and include a definitions section in YMC 13.16; motion carried unanimously. Another motion was made by A. Gutierrez, seconded by Mdndez, to change Naches Parkway to a park with minimal requirements necessary, such as signage, trash receptacles and disposal; motion carried. The NCBC will make these recommendations to the full City Council at their November 7" business meeting. Approval of Minutes — A motion was made by Mdndez, seconded by A. Gutidrrez, to approve the minutes of 09/21/2017 as presented; motion carried unanimously. Recap of Deliverables — Staff reviewed the following list of deliverables from this meeting: • Equity study update at the next NCBC meeting • Staff to encourage SOZO and Fairgrounds to participate in the TRANS -Action Committee ■ Legal review and analysis on the recommendations presented by the EERC and CIEC ■ Follow-up with YPD on response times pertaining to the equity study D. Gutidrrez announced that Spanish interpretation services are available; however, require a 48 hour advance notice. Audience Participation — none noted. Adjourn — D. Gutidrrez adjourned this meeting at approximately 3:49 p.m.; the next meeting is November 16, 2017. Approved by: r Date Approved: �_� �1 �© l Prepared by: Rosalinda Ibarra, Community Development Administrative Assistant Page 3