Residents Speak Out At Third Ward Meeting

Young people clamored for jobs, householders deplored speeders, a neighborhood activist called for a crackdown on fire pits and a former councilman asked what became of the road repair plan at Monday's Third Ward Town Meeting.

Youth Organization for Unity members wearing bright green T-shirts took issue with the city's summer youth employment program, one saying its late start in July left only a few weeks' worth of pay checks. Another youth program stopped in 2007 or 2008, student Isaac Wilkins said. Council President Bridget Rivers pledged to bring his concerns back to the administration. Councilwoman Rebecca Williams said people sometimes have the impression that city government can provide jobs, but she said it has a finite number of  jobs and the role of a municipality is to provide services.

Two commissions were established in 2006 to involve youth in government, but Williams said neither has had any appointments for years. (See Plaintalker post here on youth commissions.)

Resident Laura Glover spoke forcefully on the need for "quality of life" improvements in her Bellevue Avenue neighborhood, including curbs on speeding and upkeep of vacant homes. James Lee of West Eighth Street said his street is "like a little drag race" and with many more children now in the neighborhood, he favors speed humps like those in South Plainfield to slow drivers down. Councilman Adrian Mapp said he tried to get speed humps installed in Plainfield when they were installed in the neighboring municipality, but the administration rejected the idea.

Former Councilman Malcolm Dunn, now a PMUA commissioner, had a number of concerns including timely budget passage and a road repair program that was conceived in 2004 but was stalled for several years. He directed a lot of comments to Mapp, who like himself had served as council president. Mapp said 22 streets were repaired when he was president in 2004 and 33 were done when he held the seat last year. Dunn said there was once a chart online where residents could follow the road repair schedule.

Dunn also asked about a long-discussed application for the city to be designated as a transit village. Corporation Counsel David Minchello verified that the application was made this year. Dunn said such a  designation is why people come to other towns that have it. (See a 2006 Plaintalker post on the topic here.)

Dunn followed Wilkins at the microphone and shook his hand, telling the council and audience that Wilkins had received a Bill Gates scholarship that will pay for his education through the doctorate level.

Longtime community activist Nancy Piwowar brought copies of fire laws to the microphone, recounting how a neighbor had a new fire pit but was using it without a permit or proper safeguards. Concerned about flying embers, she called the Fire Division one night to get the fire put out.

"I kept my neighborhood from being burned down that night," she said.

Piwowar said she hoped the mayor would put fire code information in her newsletters to residents.

Other speakers raised a wide range of concerns during the two-hour meeting, which was taped for broadcast on the local community stations. Members of the youth group received instruction from community television board advisor Lamar Mackson on operating the camera. The 2013 Town Meeting schedule concludes with the Ward Four meeting 7 p.m. on June 19 at Jefferson School, 1750 West Front Street.

--Bernice