I'd like to call to order this meeting of the planning uh and economic economic development meeting um committee meeting of the city of Jackson set for 2 30 uh p.m.

on August the 6th.

Appreciate everybody being here, the folks that are here, and the ones that aren't here, shame on them.

Okay.

So let's move forward here.

I've got an agenda that I just scribbled out with um the um supervision of uh council president Harley.

So um first thing I've gotten written down here is the um proposal by councilman Stokes uh to um move code enforcement from planning over to JPD.

So I we don't have do we have somebody from we don't have anybody we got Mr.

Brunson here for code enforcement and we got um the um Angela here from planning but we don't have anybody from JPD and Mr.

Stokes isn't here to defend himself.

Anybody you do my my uh my council members want to weigh in on that or offer any any points one way or the other.

Mr.

Parkinson.

Sure, thank you, Mr.

Chairperson.

Um I can uh appreciate the effort that uh Mr.

Stokes has presented, and and I've been working with the planning department since I started because code enforcement has it, I think it's something that we all want to see smoother.

And so I can appreciate the spirit with which he was presented it.

I I think uh our citizens can feel like there's a lot of bureaucracy, and in part that's because there is a little bit of redundancy or inefficiency in the system, uh, but in part it's because uh people are entitled to do process rights, and there's a lengthy process we have to follow.

Um and so you know, I think there's valid efforts to to try to smooth that out and get that as as smooth as it can be.

Um but I think what I fear is that we have taken uh a very blunt instrument to a situation that needs a real careful scalpel, and to just uh eliminate the planning department in an attempt to address inefficiencies in the code enforcement process, I personally feel is that is is not the best way to approach it.

I I think that's a big big thing, and and if it were to be done, it would need a lot more consideration and a in a very careful strategic plan before we move forward with it.

So um, so I I don't support the item as it was initially presented, but I am uh excited to work with Mr.

Stokes and with the entire department to try to see as we have been how we can uh smooth the process.

Uh can I say one other thing too?

Is um the there's 20 neighborhoods in Ward 7, and once per quarter, uh leaders from all 20 neighborhoods get together.

And in May, uh the neighborhood meeting that we had was specifically devoted to this topic, specifically designed around code enforcement.

And at that, and and Mr.

Hartley graciously's not by other others came as well.

We attempted to present from the very first time a resident notices a problem with a house or an issue until it's absolutely completely resolved.

We we attempted to go step by step by step by step by step, jumping around from you know, Mr.

Boone gets the 311 call, he sends it over to planning, planning does their work, they send it over to legal, legal sends us to us, we vote.

I mean, I mean it's just an extremely convoluted process.

And we easily spent an hour and a half, if not two hours attempting to go through the steps, just explaining the steps.

And um, and so it is a cumbersome process, and I think we're trying to find where in those steps can we remove, but some of it is just what the state of Mississippi requires in order to give people due process rights.

So it's a it is a convoluted process, and I I am I do think we can get clear on like when do we send environmental, when do we send to I mean there's processes in there that we can control um, but I just don't think eliminating the planning department in its entirety is is the way to do it.

Okay, thank you, Mr.

Hartley.

Yes, uh I'd like to chime in on that as well.

Uh at this juncture, the planning uh director and uh code enforcement there.

We're going to be hitting uh Blythe.

And uh I think right now uh I want to see what kind of mileage we can get out of this.

Um I think I may have said it earlier uh about six years ago.

Uh I was a uh volunteer with Jackson Association neighborhoods, and we did a study on code enforcement, and we visited other towns and we went through the entire process.

What we found out at that time was that it was some of cases were taking up to three years.

Uh we want to cut that down.

Uh I do believe um uh uh clerk of council, if you would make a note that we need to uh bring this up as a legal issue to our legislative in our legislative committee.

Okay, because um we need we need state support.

Uh as uh council colleague said, um part of the uh what catches us up is state law, and we need to know if there's any other ways around that.

But in the interim, we will be going out to the neighborhoods and starting uh some blight cleanup.

And we're in the midst of uh getting uh equipment, getting the personnel, getting the strategy.

Uh that uh anyone in planning I'm sorry, I'm going on yeah.

Let me let me before we get to blight, I'd like to finish with this particular issue.

I we can't I guess my my thought on this is uh I would love to keep it in the committee and we revisit okay.

So then I'm not trying to get this out of committee.

The uh I just wanted um it was on the agenda um because it because councilman Stokes had proposed this this um ordinance at the last meeting, and and he's not here to weigh in on him from his side, but since we have now have uh Chief Brackney here who oversees JPD, obviously.

Uh if you got any comments you'd like to offer on code enforcement um and whether how that would is that something that would work with your plan for JPD and and is it a good thing, bad thing, you know, pros and cons of you know how it affects the community?

Excuse me.

Uh one minute.

We have we do have a quorum now.