Weinland Park Community Civic Association

Safety and Mobility Committee

Summary of Meeting of April 18, 2013
Present at meeting: John Risteter and Chris Orban, co-chairs; Laura Bidwa, Sheila BillingsleaMoser, Greg Denby, Joyce Hughes, Rory Krupp, Anne Mann, Isom Nivins, Officer Steve Smith,
Steve Sterrett, and Kimberly Wilson.
Chris Orban, co-chair, called the Safety and Mobility Committee meeting to order about 5:35
p.m. on April 18 in the citys Northside Neighborhood Pride Center.
Shooting. Committee members discussed the shooting on April 16 along North Fourth Street
near East Eighth Avenue that seriously wounded a woman on a passing COTA bus. Community
Liaison Officer Steve Smith reported on the ongoing investigation that has involved interviews
with numerous people. Among the discussion points were:

The bus does not appear to be the target of the shooting.

An hour or two after the shooting, police officers responded to a fight among rival groups of
young people. The melee temporarily blocked North Fourth Street while officers worked to
break up the fight.
Ongoing problems appear to emanate from a rental property on North Fourth Street.
The corner of North Fourth and East Eighth appears to have an upsurge of criminal behavior,
including a recent shooting in which a bullet lodged in one of the new houses under
construction and the breaking out last week of windows of two cars of residents parked along
North Fourth.
Steve Sterrett reported that the new Neighborhood Options for Youth program in Weinland
Park uses special-duty Columbus police officers. He will ask them to pay attention to the
problems around this intersection.

Restorative justice. Kimberly Wilson, juvenile restorative justice diversion coordinator with
Franklin County Domestic Relations and Juvenile Court, explained the new community
restorative circles that Judge Elizabeth Gill would like to initiate in Weinland Park, Franklinton,
and the Southside. Each neighborhood circle would consist of a panel of six to eight community
members who would meet monthly with juvenile offenders and their families to decide matters
of juvenile delinquent behavior that are referred from the court. Joyce Hughes said she would
like Weinland Park neighbors to volunteer to serve on the panel. Ms. Wilson left applications for
the panel. The committee agreed to bring the community restorative circles idea to the civic
association meeting on April 24 and to seek volunteers to serve on the panel.
Safety grant. Ms. Hughes reported that the Columbus Department of Public Service has
approved the civic associations recommendation that funds in the citys safety grant to Weinland
Park should support the bicycle safety lights project and the litter team project. Mr. Orban said
he would like to incorporate signage in the alleys to reduce speeding as part of the bicycle
project.

Ms. Hughes also reported that the department is concerned that the remaining funds in the safety
grant be expended. The grant was made five or six years ago and should be closed out for
auditing purposes. She said the department proposed that the remaining funds could be directed
toward the purchase of another city safety camera that would focus on preventing graffiti. Laura
Bidwa suggested that she would prefer that the remaining funds be used to fund special-duty
officers to deal with recent crime in the area. Other neighbors expressed support. After
discussion, the committee members voted to approve a motion that Ms. Hughes write a letter to
the safety director asking that the remaining funds be used to support directed patrols by the
Columbus Division of Police during the spring and summer to prevent further criminal activity
and violence.
National Night Out. Mr. Sterrett reported that the planning committee for the Weinland Park
Neighborhood Festival would like the Safety and Mobility Committee to help in the planning for
the annual National Night Out activities in Weinland Park on August 6.
Crime statistics. Greg Denby said that the Weinland Park crime statistics for March 2013
havent been compiled yet in the citys database, but he showed the neighborhood crime map for
March that illustrated far fewer crimes reported than for a similar month last year.
The business of the committee being concluded, Mr. Orban adjourned the meeting shortly before
7 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,

Stephen A. Sterrett