WARREN Council seeks people for program

The committee will address quality-of-life issues, one councilman said.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Council members expect to submit names of prospective Safe Streets Now committee members to council president Doug Franklin by Oct. 16.
Last week, council approved establishment of an expanded Safe Streets Now commission. The ordinance expanded the commission from seven to nine members appointed by the mayor and confirmed by a majority of council.
One member will be appointed from the police department, one will be the director of public safety and service or his designee, one will be from council, and four members would be appointed at large.
One member would be appointed from the fire department and one would be the deputy health commissioner or his designee.
The legislation also establishes a 25-member citizens committee to assist the commission, which would address quality-of-life issues, from crime to high grass, throughout the city.
Twenty-one members of that committee will be appointed by the council president on the recommendation of members of council. Four committee members will be appointed by the mayor.
Committee members must be confirmed by a majority of commission members.
Started in California
Safe Streets Now was started in 1990 in Oakland, Calif., by a woman who was frustrated with the condition of her neighborhood and the lack of success of governmental agencies to curb its decline.
Another piece of legislation being considered by council would use $2,000 to cover expenses such as signs, film and other supplies.
The plan is to revive the program that worked a few years ago but died out. A Safe Streets group worked to close a convenience store that had been a sore spot for the Palmyra Road community.
"We saw that it worked before," Councilman Alford L. Novak, D-2nd, who proposed the legislation, said at a meeting on the committee Wednesday.
The residents logged, photographed and videotaped activity at the store, which they said involved alcohol sales to minors and drug activity. They also got copies of police reports.
When the city objected to renewal of the store owner's liquor license, group members attended the hearing and presented the evidence they'd compiled and the state rejected the license renewal.
"The idea is for the committee to not just focus on crime, but on issues that affect quality of life," Novak said.
Showing interest
Councilman Robert Holmes III, D-4th, said he's already been approached by two people interested in being involved. He suggested people who are interested in being appointed to the committee contact their council members.
The committee would be composed of all residents and no elected officials.
Councilman Gary Fonce, D-at large, believes it's important for police to be involved in the training of committee members so citizens learn not only what to do but what not to do in certain situations.
After the committee is established, members will elect their own officers.
The new group could work to get problem homes declared public nuisances, sue in small-claims court and lobby financial institutions to maintain the neighborhood properties they acquire through bankruptcy and foreclosure.
dick@vindy.com