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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03-05-1970 Page 165 . BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, MARCH 5, 1970 • The Board of Public Works and Safety of the City of Richmond, Indiana,. met i.n regular session in the Municipal Bldg . March 5, 1970, at the hour of 9: 00 a .m. Mr . Cecere was absent with • Mr . Jacobs presiding and Mr . Howell , City Controller in attend- ance. The following business was had to-wit : Mr . Howell moved that the minutes of the previous meeting be • approved, seconded by Mr . Jacobs and - on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried . • Police Chief Don Strahan appeared to request permission to send a police car with two men to the Regional basketball game at New Castle, at the request of Mayor Osborn. This has been done in the past to help police the Richmond fans . Mr . Howell moved the Board approve the request, seconded by Mr . Jacobs and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried . The Board-. considered the complaint of Councilman Frank Marino that the State Highways running through the City are not swept to the curbs . Street Commissioner Elmer Toschlog said that some of the traffic islands have not been swept since the State took over the sweeping of its highways in the city . Mr . Howell -moved the Clerk be ordered to write a letter to the State Highway and ask them to appear at the next Board meeting to discuss the cleaning of State Highways within the City, . seconded by Mr . Jacobs .-and on unanimous voice : vote the motion was ,carried . Street Commissioner Elmer Toschlog requested the Board to approve an :additional appropriation -for-: $10.,000 .00 to be presented .to , Council , because of the exceptionally severenter .. :The Street Department : has.:had. .to:s pend $13 , 660 .00 for salt during the past winter, compared :to last year ' s $3, 500 .00 . Seven hundred and fifty-five tons :of - salt have- been used. - Mr . Howell moved the . Board approve the request , seconded by Mr . Jacobs and on unani - mous voice vote :the--motion was carried . The- Clerk: read the following letter : March 2, 1970 To: Board of Public,-Works & Safety . Mr . Andrew C . Cecere, President - From: E . C .- Henn, 4th District Councilman Subject: . Fire- Plugs, for Hale Terrace Gentlemen: Many months ago you approved the installation of ,fire plugs for. the Hale Terrace Subdivision.. . • It:.has been called to my attention by Dr . E .. L . Ringenberg, 3451 Dorothy Lane; - that -your installation.-order- has not been carried out . For,:the protection of this-- highly assessed living area, I._ urge you ,toreview and renew your- ..efforts to:.the Richmond Water . Wor.ks Corporation to make these installations- at once, or at best get a promise for the installation of fire plugs in Hale Terrace. Your reply will. ' be appreciated. - Very truly yours , . _ /s/ E . C . Henn Page 166. Bd . of Works & Safety 3-5-70 The Clerk reported_.that an. order _ forthe hydrants in question had been sent to the Richmond Water Works April 10, 1969, and that they are installed and have been in service since June 18, 1969. Mr . Howell moved the Clerk be ordered to write a letter to Councilman Henn giving this information, seconded by Mr . _ Jacobs and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried. Fire Chief William Berry requested the Board approve the pro= motion of Probationary Fireman L . V. Baker to regular fireman, effective February 28, 1970 . L . V. Baker has successfully fulfilled his period of probation . Mr . Howell moved the Board approve the motion, seconded by Mr . Jacobs and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried. Chief Berry reported that the Fire Department is conducting a fire school at the No: 3 Fire Station . He also reported that three of the new alarm boxes have been installed . Mr . Howell read the following letter: February 18, 1970 To: Mayor and Managers of Direct Member Cities During the past year the National League of Cities and the U . S . Conference of Mayors have closely followed the progress of grant-in-aid programs under the Omnibus Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. Recently, the members of both organizations have expressed substantial concern at the direction of the pro- gram, and urged action to improve its effectiveness . The Congress of Cities of the National League Of Cities meeting in December passed a resolution calling for amendment of the Safe Streets Act to allow direct grants to cities , and more recently, the Executive Commitee of the U . S. Conference of Mayors adopted a similar resolution strongly urging Congressional action to allow direct grants to cities under the Safe Streets Act : - NLS and USCM have just completed an in-depth study of the Safe Streets Act which is being released February 18 . That study notes that substantial difficulties exist in the present program, among them: • state planning has not worked to create real criminal justice plans , but rather , it is amined at supporting unrelated projects . - - states have generally failed to concentrate resources on solving problems in high crime areas; instead they have spread the funds assigned them across the state in small and generally ineffective grants . because of the manner in which states are administering the program, .a large amount of money which could be otherwise be used to fight crime on the streets is being absorbed in administrative costs of the many state and regional ' bureaucracies acting as intermediaries between the federal government and local application for the federal assistance. You are urged to examine the attached study closely to determine the extent to which it applies to your city . Key conclusions are listed in the first section . NLC and USCM believe that cities have substantial rights under the program which states are failing to-rrecognize . We are currently engaged in an effort to secure amendments to the Act allowing direct grants to cities as directed by NLC ' s Congress of Cities and the USCM Executive Committee . We urge you to contact your Congressional delegation noting the problems with Bd . of Works & Safety 3-5-70 Page 167 . administration of the Safe Streets Act as they apply to your city and urging amendment of the Act to allow a substantial portion of the funds to be distributed . in. direct grants to cities . . You may also wish to use . the ' attached document in discussing problems of the Safe Streets Act with you local press . We would.-also appreciate receiving your observations about the administration and impact of the program. Sincerely, /s/ John Gunther /s/ Patrick Healy Executive Director , USCM Executive -Vice President, .NLC Chief Strahan said he .concurs with the conclusions.. He 'said although a great deal of time and money , is spent in the adminis- tration of. the program at the State level , nevertheless there seems to be much confusion about the operation and ditribution • of funds . He said he had applied for a grant for the City of Richmond under- the program last May . In, December he had. word that he had used the wrong application forma After reapplying, he attended a hearing in January , Where the grant was approved, but as yet the City has received no money . Indianapolis and Gary are the only two Indiana. cities who are being funded' directly from Washington:-without having to go through the State. He said those cities which have had racial disturbances are the ones who receive grants , citing Ft . Wayne, South Bend, Evans- ville, and Indianapolis as examples . Chief Strahan said that there is a bill before ,the House which would worsen the' situa- tion even more. , The .Board suggested Chief St,rahan write a letter to both Indiana Senators and Congressman Dennis , urging the defeat of this bill . Mr . Howell read the following letter: • .. . March_ 2, 1970 Honorable Byron -E.. K1 ute, Mayor City of Richmond Richmond, . Indiana 47374 Dear Mayor K.lute: It has been; brou-ght to my attention that . the action taken by your Board of Public Works concerning the closing of- the section of North Fourth did inadvertently omit the vacation of the alleys . - Please advise this office that the closing , of North Fourth Street will include the: vacation .of the alleys . • - Your cooperation . is appreciated. Sincerely, - /s/ E. M . Carbon Chief, Real- Estate Branch Post Office Department Cincinnati Regional Office Mr . Jacobs- moved the Board approve the vacation- of the. alley., running north and south .between No. "A" and . 5.th Sts . , and one half an alley running east and west between- 5th and 4th_ Sts . He moved the- Board set March, 26. for a public hearing, Mr . Howell seconded the motion and on unanimous voice vote the motion was . carried . There being , no. f.urther business, on motion duly made, seconded and carried, the meeting adjourned. . , /s/ Dale L . Jacobs , • Acting President Attest : /s/ Lotte Hoskins, City Clerk