Minutes from the September 13, 2004

Meeting of Martin Drive Neighborhood Association

We did forget to start our meeting by having everyone introduce his/herself. But we did have an intense agenda for this meeting.

At 6:35, Alderman Michael Murphy addressed the group with comments about the difficulty on 42^nd Street, some building code violations on 44^th Street, the Council's need to address the gas station problem and the building alarms. Neighbors shared their thoughts concerning all of these issues. Alderman Murphy noted that the Common Council will hear people's concerns about pay before pumping in the city of Milwaukee at City Hall on Sept. 21. There was some agreement among the neighbors to allow businesses to make their own decisions about pre-paying for gasoline.

He had asked the Chief of Police Nan Hegarty to possibly take more time to start the non-answer of burglar alarms in residences. As of September 17, police will not respond to burglar alarms unless they receive a verified response from someone connected to the place. A majority of neighbors were in agreement that the taxpayers should not be subsidizing the alarm business in the city of Milwaukee. The Chief of Police did agree to re-visit the issue in 6 months.

Some neighbors questioned Alderman Murphy about the time the night street lights are turned on. He agreed to check on the problem. However, for every 5 minutes that the lights are turned on, we pay $200,000 a year, i.e. turning on the lights at 6:25 instead of 6:30. Having such information tends to give us better understanding of the answers to some of our challenges.

Officer Wayne Jensen, who became the shift commander of the Third District Police on July 18^th, has 35 years on the job. (I apologize for not having his rank listed before his name.) Our liaison officer, Officer Thomas Kupsik, joined with the Shift Commander to give us important phone numbers and reassure us that we do have recourse within reason to get help with problems.

Vice - Control 935 - 7411 for drug issues

Officer Kupsik 935 - 7733 for community issues and support

Captain Oliva 935 - 7230 mostly available from 8 - 4 P.M.

Shift Commander 935 - 7231

933 - 4444 nuisance calls

After working with the police over a mishap, call the Third District if you were unsatisfied with services. The Shift Commander does a resolution check after 10 days. The Officers also do Knock and Talk visits which help the police get a better understanding of what might be happening in a household in between complaint calls. The Nuisance Ordinance requires that a property receive 3 calls in 30 days before it can be identified as a nuisance. There are 25 different categories for nuisances. After those 3 calls the owner is sent a letter stating the issues that have resulted in police calls. Ten days after the letter is sent, a bill is sent to the owner requesting payment for the inordinate use of police time.

Lois Nugent addressed the neighbors on behalf of the Urban League School of Science and Math at the 46^th and State Street location. There are over 150 students in grades 6 - 8 from 8 A. M. to 3 P. M. Mr. Polite, the principal, was unable to attend our meeting due to a scheduling conflict.

Jacqueline Ward and Mike Shubert spoke to us about building a healthy neighborhood using four points: 1. Image - façade money has been provided to some residents on 42^nd and 43^rd Streets; 2. Market, 3. Neighborhood Management, and 4. Physical Appearance. There are 20 loans available for people in the neighborhood under these points. The question asked by Mike was "How do we get houses for sale connected to buyers?" One suggestion was to use the realtors who live in our neighborhood.

Terri Bartlett and Sharon Williams collected 200 surveys from 24^th to 46^th Streets for Making Connections. They will be asking neighbors to help organize a neighborhood-wide event to make the results and suggestions from the surveys come alive. This meeting will be Monday, Oct. 11, at the Washington Park Senior Center from 6:00 - 8:00 including time to eat. Each family is asked to bring a dish to pass, (mostly for the variety that we could enjoy), that would supplement the food that will be provided. Watch for further information.

Halloween, Trick or Treat, is Oct. 29^th from 7 - 8 P.M. Good news of the night: 43^rd Street had a block meeting (party) organized by three parents that involved the kids. Congratulations!