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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-12 Government Operations Committee Minutes Government Operations Committee June 12, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. Minutes Councilors: Sprague, Blanchette, Gallant and Gratwick Staff: Conlow, Farrar, Yardley, McNeil, Patterson, Steve Hunt, Bonnie Irwin, Willette, Heitmann Others: Don Cooper, Dawn Gagnon, (BDN) George Kinghorn, Niles Parker 1. Referral: Council Ordinance 12-185 Amending Chapter 134, General Assistance, of the Code of the City of Bangor, to Comply with State Law. Shawn Yardley, Director of Health and Human Services explained that this process will modify the current ordinance to bring the City of Bangor in compliance with State Legislative Laws. The changes involve two items; 1.) General Assistance Administration and distribution process will decrease by 10%. 2.) Housing through General Assistance will be eligible for only 9 months per year of housing benefit. After some questions and discussion, a motion was made to refer the proposed to Full Council, it was doubted and a vote was taken by Chair Blanchette. 3: In Favor, 1: Opposed. The Ordinance will be recommended to Council for approval. 2. Proposed Resolve – Tobacco Free Environment City employee Bonnie Irwin, Public Health Educator at Health and Community Services with the Healthy Maine Partnership and Bangor Region Public Health and Wellness, described this resolve as a move to see the City of Bangor support Tobacco Free Environments. This would include discussions on items involving long term goals, cost of tobacco use, roll modeling for children, the environment, litter, etc… in order to make specific improvements within the City of Bangor. After dialogue and questions from Councilors with differing opinions, a motion was made to move to Full Council, it was seconded and approved unanimously. 3. Discussion of Possible Relocation of Community Connector Transit Bus Hub George Kinghorn introduced himself as the incoming president of the Downtown Bangor Partnership. He said that there is a perception around the city of Bangor that the area of Pickering Square, the Transit Bus Hub, is an unsafe area. “There are young people loitering, smoking, cursing and fighting which is preventing citizens from being in that area”. In order to continue with moving downtown forward, George as well as other Bangor businesses and citizens would like to see changes made. Whether it’s a perception of safety or an actual safety issue, we do not want to limit folks from coming downtown with all we have to offer. Different ideas were offered such as moving the hub further away from the parking garage, form policies to prevent smoking, loitering and cursing, installing a speaker system that plays classical music to deter young people from milling around. Another idea was to redesign the area in order to separate bus riders from pedestrians and vehicles for safety reasons. Niles Parker introduced himself as the Executive Director of the Maine Discovery Museum. He explained his concerns about the Bus Hub location and described how it has become far worse than ever before. He said that last year, Bangor Police had to search his business for a man armed with a gun who ran from Pickering Square. Last week, an employee of Mr. Parker’s went to Pickering Square to use the mail box and discovered a man with a knife involved in a fight. Joe McNeil, Community Connector Superintendant, expressed his concerns related to these safety issues but is also concerned about where to relocate. Joe’s opinion is that Pickering Square is a great location to downtown and they have been there now for 20 years. He would rather look at a possible redesign of the area. Don Cooper, BACTS Transit Planner suggested a study be done (there are one million riders a year on the BAT buses) There is a possibility that DOT funding could be available with a local match. Gratwick expressed his interest in funding a grant to study the issue. He also recommended that this subject be brought back to committee for recommendations and postpone it for now. Gallant suggested that rather than spend the money on a study, have our police force monitor the area on a regular basis to prevent vulgarity and loitering. Cathy Conlow confirmed the opinion of Committee Members that the committee now wants to put off the decision about a study and possibly come up with measures other than relocating the bus hub for focusing on safety during the summer to help with the issues of Pickering Square. The Committee agreed with that approach and asked staff to return to the Committee with recommendations to address the issues raised. It was also noted that funding for the hub study was not immediately available, but might be later in the year if that continued to be of interest. 4. Discussion/Review of Community Connector Passenger Boarding Policy Farrar explained that this was a request from Council to look at the policy in place which is currently an “on demand” policy. The BAT bus stops on the request of the passengers both in terms boarding and discharging. Councilor Blanchette noted that she has received complaints from constituents that followed one of the buses on Union Street and said that the bus stopped approximately every 20 feet. Joe McNeil explained that in the past, there were designated bus stops. McNeil agreed with the concerns and said that he has considered utilizing bus zones in the heavy traffic areas with designated bus stop signs. McNeil stated that according to Dana Wardwell, Public Works Director, the cost of each of these signs would run around $80. McNeil also said that these bus zones would need to meet ADA requirements. He further noted that designated stops would save on wear and tear of the buses, as well as enable on time performance for the drivers. Gratwick suggested that McNeil prepare a plan with pricing information for proposed designated stops in specified bus zones and return to the Committee for further discussion. The Committee agreed with that approach. 5. Public Park Event Permit Policy Tracy Willette, Parks and Recreation Director explained that in 2009, Staff and Council approved an Event Permit Policy to address increased desires of event sponsors to hold events in city parks as well as at the waterfront. At the end of 2011, due to increased growth of waterfront events, Council requested Staff review the current policy in place, and return to Council with proposed changes. Willette consulted with the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and held workshops to brainstorm ideas. Handouts were distributed explaining their results in detail. In summary, the following changes were described:  Have a separate permit policy for the waterfront alone.  Add a process for denied permits that would include language indicating the reason and criteria for the denial. Willette suggested that if the Committee had no additional changes, he would like to submit to Council for consideration. Gallant made a motion to move the recommendation to Full Council, it was seconded and approved. A motion was made to adjourn at 6:30 p.m.