HomeMy Public PortalAbout03-05-1970 Page 165 .
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY OF THE
CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, MARCH 5, 1970
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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