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 Westwood Neighborhood Association Meeting (via Zoom) Minutes from 8/18/2021 

Meeting called to order at 7:01p.m. by Board President Ron Huster

Board Members in attendance: Bob Bolinger, Angie Ponzini, Ron Huster, Penny Thompson

Neighbors in attendance: George Korr, Denise Hartsough, Warren Cook, Jannie Williams, Robb L (?)

Minutes of July meeting approved without changes.

Safety / Crime Report: Bob and Angie

The city had 143 calls in the past month: 36 domestic, 16 non-family, plus a few telephone assaults. A couple calls included the threatened intent to murder someone. There 

There were 2 homicides. The following categories were all increased: weapons, larceny, and burglary. 

There was improvement in speeding complaints registered. Speeding continues to be problematic in the W. Main corridor, especially by K College. Speeding is reported to be increasing throughout the country.

Ron reports that the state government will invest $75 million in policing efforts, as overall crime is up 25-40%. 

Road improvements continue on Solon and Nichols. The project is not expected to be completed until October. 

The Township Community Engagement Survey regarding policing is ongoing. Several members have completed the survey but felt they didn’t have pertinent experiences to report. Members feel the police need to educate residents before giving citations such as for parking on curb lawns.

Denise Hartsough regarding township planning commission: Approval for gravel mining was continued. A site plan was approved for an electric shop on Lake Street adding sidewalks and parking. The township’s master plan is still undergoing more work. 

Warren Cook further reported: Regarding the master plan, the maps are all out of date and future land use maps need to be updated. The township needs many sidewalks repaired at considerable expense. 

Fray’s Park: Meet Us in the Park planned for 9/11 (Ron reporting in Marti’s absence) Lots of activities are planned, kites to fly, games, book bags to be given, food gift certificates to be awarded. Committee is seeking long range vision for the park.

There is an ongoing dispute with Friendship Village re undeveloped property being access to the park. Jeanne Hess is working with them to identify a better way to access the park in the future. 

One of the volleyball courts will become a garden/ Monarch Waystation. The other will remain a volleyball/ pickleball court. The official Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 kick off is in October. The township is supposed to receive $3 million in funds for the project. 

Warren feels we need better avenues for public comment to the township entities. Denise encourages talking to the commissioners directly. 

Ron feels Zoom has diluted options for communication and feels there is a culture of not being responsive. 

Angie asks about Covid monies being distributed to counties. She reports the state has put out a list and that the township is receiving quite a large sum. She wonders for what are they are using the funds?

The resurfacing plus chip sealing on neighborhood streets is drawing to a close. Supposedly this combination is longer lasting than other treatments. 

Angie wonders about homeowners who do not want sidewalks on their property. Do they have a choice? Warren believes they can opt out.

The apportionment committee for the county will meet Weds 9/25/2021.

Meeting adjourned by consensus at 8:40 p.m.

Next meeting Weds. 9/15/2021 at 7 p.m. via Zoom log in 865 5383 6611 password 352564

Respectfully submitted: Penny Thompson, secretary pennythmpsn@charter.net

Westwood Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes of 7/21/2021

Meeting called to order by President Ron Huster at 7:03 p.m.

Minutes of 6/16/2021 approved as submitted

Attendance: Officers Marti Nuyen, Bob Bolinger, Angie Ponzini, Ron Huster, Penny Thompson

Representative Julie Rogers

Zoom host: Kalee Henderson

Neighbors in attendance: Cathy Ur, Jill Terilliger, Angela Thuringer, Warren Cook, Denise Hartsough, Brien Hoppe, Lori Dey, Coco Cook, Kelly (? Last name unknown) 

Julie reporting on her office and their activities: There is a town hall meeting scheduled for Tues 7/27 at The Douglas Community Center, 6:00-7:00 p.m. regarding MI new expungement activities. Senators Christine Morse and Sean McCann will attend also. There is another scheduled town hall meeting re Lead in the environment scheduled for 8/5/2021 at Douglas Community Center, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

State Budget: House Bill 4411 was approved on 7/13/21 providing the largest investment to date for Pre-K through 12 education. The bill allocates per pupil funding of $8700.00 and $240 M for counselors, nurses and social workers in the schools. 

The state’s general budget in still a work in progress, but is proposed to include $10 M for lead poisoning prevention. Also continuing funding for $2.00 per hour increase in wages for direct care workers.

Nichols Rd. speed limit: Cooper Township initiated the request for the speed study and increase. Kalamazoo Township was never approached for input. HB 4014 to address the issue is currently in committee. 

Public Safety: The new consolidated reporting system has not yet been activated, so Bob has only city statistics available. It was a busy month with 155 reported incidents. Of those, 41 were assaults (26 domestic) including 10 with weapons and 9 with guns. There were 25 vehicle break ins, 22 burglary and 25 larcenies. Vandalism is increasing. There were disturbing the peace citations (fireworks?) 

The City has a reporting mechanism on their web page for traffic issues. It can be found at 

KalPublicSafety.org/traffic.

Angie reports that will the help of Ring devices, the serial shooter has been arrested on N. Edwards St. The township police have increased their patrols. 

Citizen input: Jill Terwilliger reports she received 3 yrs ago a warning about long grass on her property. At that time she was advised to mow around the border and that seemed to resolve the issue.

Now an officer and someone from the township came and talked to her about the 8” grass mowing rule. They consider her steep yard to be a lawn where as she considers it to be a garden. She feels there is a need for updated parameters. In response, Denise Hartsough recommends Jill contact Dexter Mitchell to discuss the issues. Warren Cook concurs. 

Denise reporting on the planning commission: Discussions occurred regarding the definition of accessary building, the height of building in Planned Unit Developments, fencing for marijuana facilities, as well as wind and solar installations. The goal of the next meeting on 8/5 will be to standardize fencing requirements for marijuana facilities and finalize regulations regarding wind and solar which are currently under review with input from U of M.

Warren reports he continues to seek appropriate maps to add the the master plan. 

Imagine Kalamazoo 2025: Marti met with Patrick McVerry in Fray’s Park for the purpose of discussing the 9/11 event “Meet Us in the Park”. There was a discussion regarding goals for the park. Marti is meeting tomorrow with Dan Baiden regarding planning for the event. It is noted that the date is the 20thanniversary of 9/11 and there may be conflicting events in the community.

Road update: Work continues on both Solon and Nichols roads. There currently are no plans for a roundabout at Ravine and Nichols.

Meeting adjourned 8:22 p.m. by general consensus. 

Next meeting 8/18 7 p.m. via Zoom.

Meeting ID:811 7816 7681 Passcode: 319764

Respectfully submitted: Penny Thompson, secretary pennythmpsn@charter.net

WESTWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

MEETING AGENDA DATE: June 16, 2021 7:00 pm

Place: Meeting place closed due to Corona Virus 19 

I. Zoom Meeting held with minutes to be posted on web page.

II. Roll call of Board Members and count of attendees.

III. Discussion and approval of May 19, 2021 minutes.

IV. Additions or deletions to agenda.

V. Agenda:

A.  Status of Public Safety.

1. Crime Report and other public safety information. (County-wide crime  reporting)

VI. Committee Reports:

A. Kalamazoo Township Planning Commission Notes. (if available)

B. Waste Not C&D Recycling update.

C. Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 Westwood.  Frays Park. Township Master Plan.

D. Nichols Road and Solon Street construction – Update

E. Chip Seal/Fog Seal in Westwood (Twsp).

VII. Public Comments – Chance for neighbors to bring up issues not discussed. 

(Please limit to three minutes)

Next meeting: WNA Meeting July 21, 2021. 7:00 pm.  It will be a Zoom Meeting.

WESTWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

MEETING AGENDA DATE: May 19, 2021 7:00 pm

Place: Meeting place closed due to Corona Virus 19 

I. Zoom Meeting held with minutes to be posted on web page.

II. Roll call of Board Members and count of attendees.

III. Discussion and approval of April 20, 2021 minutes.

IV. Additions or deletions to agenda.

V. Agenda:

A.  Status of Public Safety.

1. Crime Report and other public safety information. (County-wide crime  reporting)

2. Township plans for near future.

VI. Committee Reports:

A. Kalamazoo Township Planning Commission Notes. (if available)

B. Waste Not C&D Recycling update.

C. Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 Westwood.  Frays Park. Township Master Plan.

D. Communications about water main breaks –Katherine Mills

E. Nichols Road and Solon Street construction – Update

F. Yard Sale Report.

VII. Public Comments – Chance for neighbors to bring up issues not discussed. 

Next meeting: WNA Meeting June 16, 2021. 7:00 pm.  It will be a Zoom Meeting.

Minutes in Minutes – a quick summary of the April 21, 2021 meeting:

Crime report indicated that the number of crimes have dropped, but still lots of assault cases. Speeding on neighborhood streets continues to be a problem.

Suggestions are to attend zoom meetings for Township and voice need for “your speed is” trailers to record speed and time of day.

Sidewalk & Non-Motorized revealed nothing planned for Westwood (City) in next five years. Township has plans but money is in short supply. Need suggestions. Township listed spot repairs as #1 priority followed by sidewalks that don’t connect to streets and sidewalks that aren’t connected.

Township Planning report restated the sidewalk needs and public input on the Township’s Master Plan.

IK2025 (Westwood City) is planning a Frays Park gathering for Saturday September 11, 2021. More will follow, but need to collect ideas for Frays Park vision for the future and current needs. Currently, the Parks Dept is working on the two volley ball courts and planting 18-20 new trees to replace ones that have been lost. 

A board member has added a survey to the neighborhood Face Book page concerning how people would like to be notified of a water main break in their area, in addition to the city hanging a card on the doors of the households/businesses effected.

The Road Commission of Kalamazoo County is holding an informational Zoom meeting Wednesday, April 28 at noon to share information on the upcoming road work on Solon Street and Nichols Road. The public is invited and the info is on the RCKC web page under “Projects”.

The WNA will be there and will post details, after.

Reminder to sign up for the neighborhood yard sales. Over 100 signed up already. Link is on Face Book page and web page.

Open discussion on a way to communicate what’s happening in Westwood for those who don’t like Face Book or computers. Data collection needed to identify who these people are so we can create a mail-list or delivery by hand to these neighbors.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45 so there was lots of discussion. 

Ron Huster

Westwood Neighborhood Association

Westwood Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes via Zoom on April 21, 2021

Meeting called to order by Ron Huster, president at 7:00 p.m.

Board members in attendance: Bob Bolinger, Marti Nuyen, Angie Ponzini, Ron Huster, Penny Thompson

Neighbors in attendance: Ray Helms, Steve Leuty, Ann Wright-Parsons, Sean Fletcher, Kalee Henderson (Zoom host), Jeanne Hess, Katherine Mills, CoCo Cook, Warren Cook, Joyce McNally, Megan (unknown last name), Kathy Ur.

Safety committee: Angie wonders if we could get a speed monitoring device on loan to help control speeding in the neighborhood. Members feel speeding is especially a problem on Grand Prairie and Croyden especially. Jeanne Hess will check with the city on the availability of a loaner machine. Bob feels there are also issues west of Frays Park on Croyden. Ron believes the township board needs to hear our concerns at the Monday board meetings. 

Jeanne reports there will be opportunity for citizen input at an upcoming “Meeting of the Whole”, not the next meeting, but the one after that. Citizens can call in their concerns and issues, and KDPS will be there. In the meantime, Jeanne will report our concerns. There is a possibility speed bumps could be added in 2022 budget.

Angie wonders is police departments can partner with each other to enhance coverage. There exist high tech trailers which capture the time, license plate number, speed moving which allows law enforcement to talk to the offender. They cannot issue a ticket unless they witness the offence.

Non-motorized and sidewalks: The group met last week with Dexter Mitchell, Anthony Ladd and George Waring re non motorized issues. Steve reports the township is actually ahead of the city in coverage and improvements. There are plans coming up to reseal several roads. Due to changes in businesses, traffic is heavier on Sage and Stonebrook, yet there are no sidewalks on those streets. Nor on Picadilly. And on Canterbury and Croyden, the sidewalks end before reaching Frays Park. Also true on Seminole and Cherokee streets. Sidewalk issues can be included in the Imagine Kalamazoo, (IK) 2025 plan.

Kalamazoo Township Planning Board notes: Warren Cook and Steve Leuty reporting

Steve reports that almost all items discussed were related to Northwood.

Warren reports there was an April 14 meeting to work on the master plan. They will add maps in order to help explain priorities. The group also studied the non-motorized plan. Priorities identified include the following issues: Spot repairs to sidewalks, orphan corners (where the sidewalk just stops before reaching a destination), and missing pieces of sidewalks. Now the challenge is finding the funds to make the repairs. The existing areas needing spot repairs are the first priority. Also priorities are issues of barriers such as cars parked over sidewalks, uncleared snow, and overgrown vegetation which present safety hazards.

Ron will send info to Warren about a possible funding source of which he is aware. 

Angie asked if sidewalks must be made of concrete. By regulation, asphalt is used for trails and can be up to 8 ft wide. New sidewalks are required to be 5 ft wide and must have drainage. 

Marti Nuyen reporting regarding Frays Park: City Parks and Recreation is willing to purchase new nets and pole padding for volleyball courts. They are planning to work on 2 new sand courts. Two park department employees live in Westwood, which may be to our advantage.

The city will also be planting 16 new trees in the park on Arbor Day (4/22). 

A new group “Friends of Frays Park” is starting and has 2 new volunteers. There will not be a “Meet Us at the Park” event on May 1st, due to the increase in Covid locally. It has been rescheduled for Saturday, Sept 11, 2021.

There is currently no activator in the city for Westwood. Jeanne Hess reports they have been hired but haven’t yet started. 

Katherine Mills regarding water main break communication: Katherine is the Westwood representative. She is seeing suggestions regarding the best way to communicate with residents when a break occurs. Some neighbors have internet access but don’t check it on a regular basis. Warren asked about information re lead line replacement. The aging infrastructure may be too small to meet current demand, and needs to be upgraded to break resistant materials to prevent future problems. 

Ron stated that the Kal. County Road Commission will meet next Weds at noon via Zoom. Neighbors may want to attend to discuss recent road changes.

Katherine states that Republic Services is emptying dumpsters at Hillside School at 6:30 a.m. and awakening families. Despite previous complaints, there has been no progress on the issue. Members report service with Republic continues to be widely problematic, yet they have no other choice of providers. 

Ann wonders about a newspaper which covers local news. issues and events. Could be weekly and free? Also on the internet. Suggests setting up a simple Google form for input. Would need someone to take on the project. Wonders if the township provides any information which could be published. Steve volunteered to check on this question and report his findings.

Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, Penny Thompson secretary/ treasurer pennythmpsn@charter.net

Next zoom meeting May 19, 2021 Next meeting login: 828 2285 1781 password: 620212

WESTWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

MEETING AGENDA DATE: April 21, 2021 7:00 pm

Place: Meeting place closed due to Corona Virus 19 

I. Zoom Meeting held with minutes to be posted on web page.

II. Roll call of Board Members and count of attendees.

III. Discussion and approval of March 17, 2021 minutes.

IV. Additions or deletions to agenda.

V. Agenda:

A.  Status of Public Safety.

1. Crime Report and any other information. (County-wide crime reporting)

VI. Committee Reports:

A. Sidewalk & Non-Motorized report. (Add)

B. Kalamazoo Township Planning Commission Notes. (if available)

C. Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 Westwood. Township Master Plan – working on this now. Survey upcoming.

D. Communications about water main breaks –Katherine Mills. (Add)

E. Nichols Road and Solon Street construction – Zoom Meeting. (Add)

VII. Public Comments – Chance for neighbors to bring up issues not discussed. 

Next meeting: WNA Meeting May 19, 2021. 7:00 pm.  It will be a Zoom Meeting.