Memorandum 14-142 Safe Routes to Schools Grant Application

Memorandum 14-142

TO:                       Mayor Wythe and Homer City Council                                          

THROUGH:       Renee Krause, Deputy City Clerk       

FROM:                Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission

DATE:                  September 17, 2014

SUBJECT:         City of Homer Safe Streets Program and Application for the Safe Routes to                                             School

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission at the regular meeting on August 21, 2014  under Pending Business had the Safe Routes to School and the Homer Safe Street Program on the agenda. Following is the excerpt from the minutes of that meeting and the motion made in support of these programs.

B. Safe Routes to School and Homer Safe Street Program

Ms. Engebretsen provided a summary for her information contained in the packet. She requested a motion from the commission if they supported Council applying for a grant through the Safe Routes to School program.

LOWNEY/LILLIBRIDGE – SO MOVED.

There was no discussion.

VOTE. YES. NON-OBJECTION. UNANIMOUS CONSENT.

Motion carried.

Ms. Engebretsen then provided an outline on what the Homer Safe Streets Program which the project in Old Town is the guinea pig for the program.

Some aspects of the proposed program are:

- Intended to facilitate city and community members to form partnerships to solve local problems.

- Streamlines the city response to citizen concerns

- Opens doors to better communication and coordination of services

- Public Education

- Funding mechanism using the HART program to pay for improvements

- Technical assistance and partnerships to solve problems

- This has not been presented to Council

Questions and comments posed by the commission were:

- Issue with roads in areas such as parks and not necessarily in a community

- Users of the facility could bring that before the city

- Educating the general public on the existence of the HART program and how it works

- Research by the city on speed humps versus speed bumps

- Most cities who installed the speed humps wanted them removed

- Speed bumps are good idea in a parking lot

- May need to hire an engineer

STEFFY/MACCAMPBELL – MOVED THAT THE PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY COMMISSION SUPPORTS THE IMPEMENTATION OF THE HOMER SAFE STREETS PROGRAM.

Discussion on educating and informing the public on the safety issues to be addressed implementing this program. Include the hard facts in the education, invite the newspapers to print an article also; perfect time with the roads being redone to install crosswalks too.

VOTE. YES. LILLIBRIDGE, LOWNEY, BRANN, ROEDL, MACCAMPBELL, ARCHIBALD, STEFFY

Motion carried.