A meeting of the Town & Gown Committee took place on Monday, April 19, 2004 at 7:30 p.m. in the City Manager’s Conference Room. The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Joan Odell. Members attending were: Carl Anastasia, Gerald Conway, Hal Godwin, Carl Luft, Dillon Moore (DUSC), James Neal, Hal Prettyman, Ron Smith, and Larry Thornton.

Guests included: Mayor-Elect Funk, Council Members David Athey and Frank Osborne, several Newark residents, UD students, and a representative from The Review.

Ms. Odell thanked Mr. Godwin for his long service on the Town & Gown Committee. He served on the committee since 1987. Ms. Odell welcomed Mayor-Elect Funk and said she hoped he would have a long tenure with the Committee as well.

Ms. Odell announced her retirement from the university, effective July 1, making this her last meeting of this committee.

1. APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 24, 2004 MINUTES

There being no additions or corrections to the minutes, they were approved as received.

2. NEWARK POLICE REPORT – CONWAY

Chief Conway reported that Part I crimes were up by 9% for the first quarter of this year (January 1 to April 10, 2004). Rape investigations had a 450% increase with nine reported rapes, but of those nine, all but three were acquaintance rapes (ex-boyfriends, a family member, etc.). Robberies were down and he credited that to the robbery task force that ran in February and early March. Burglaries were up by% and thefts were up by%. Auto thefts were down.

Part II offenses – criminal mischief was down. Chief Conway discussed briefly the bee bee gun incidents involving 50 windows and car windows. Two arrests were made involving that incident.

Alcohol investigations were down from 168 compared to 120 this year. Drug investigations were also down, noise and disorderly premises investigations were up. Chief Conway expected that to increase as the weather becomes warmer. Overall, Part II crimes decreased by 5%.

3. UNIVERSITY POLICE REPORT – THORNTON

Mr. Thornton reported that Part I crimes were down during the period from July 1, 2003 until the present. There were two rapes reported on campus, three robberies (two arrests made), and one reported aggravated assault. Burglaries were down by 24%, motor vehicle offenses were down by 57%, and theft was down by 16%. Alcohol statistics showed they made 238 student judicial referrals this school year (less than the number during the time period last year). Drug investigations were down as well, from 51 to 38.

Mr. Neal asked how the meeting went with Chief Conway and the landlords. Chief Conway explained that seven (mostly managers) showed up for the landlord meeting with the police department. Letters were sent to the owners and managers of local apartment complexes inviting them to attend a meeting with the police department similar to what the UD did several months ago. It provided a forum for the police department to discuss their strategies and the apartment managers to discuss their problems and strategies. They plan to meet again in the fall at which time Chief Conway planned to have additional statistics to discuss. The poor attendance may have been due to the meeting being held during the day, and it was suggested that the meeting in the fall be held in the evening.

4. UPDATE ON AWARDS CEREMONY

Ms. Odell reported that the ceremony was scheduled for May 3rd at 7:00 p.m. She noted that at the last meeting the committee agreed to sponsor the ?Nikki Woolf? volunteer award. Ms. Woolf had been an active volunteer at the university. Her parents set up the award ten years ago after Ms. Woolf was accidentally killed in an automobile accident.

University officials will be invited to the ceremony by Ms. Odell, and the committee’s secretary, Pat Fogg, will invite city staff and City Council Members.
Marianne Green and a committee from the university selected the students who would receive the awards. Ms. Green would be making the presentation, along with Mayor-elect Funk and others.

5. NEW BUSINESS

There were no comments forthcoming.

6. OLD BUSINESS
A. Update on Town Meeting Project – Ron Smith

Mr. Smith reported that he met with Dr. Vaness in early March and she made some suggestions on how to proceed. One suggestion was to hold a town conversation rather than a town meeting. They discussed who the stakeholders might be who would participate in a panel. Mr. Smith would like to have something scheduled by September so it could be advertised at Community Day. It was suggested that they should use Newark High School for the town meeting.

It was also suggested that questions could be submitted to the Town & Gown website which would help facilitate the meeting. More conversation and less presentation was suggested by a committee memter.

B. Update on DUSC Meeting – Hal Godwin

Mr. Godwin advised that he met with Dillon Moore, Morgan Long, and John Cordrey on March 15th prior to the City Council meeting at which time he was able to get their view on some of the issues that were on the Council’s agenda. The plan was to meet on Monday afternoons, prior to the Council meeting, at which time they would review the agenda.

Mr. Godwin said he thought the meeting was very productive and he learned things such as all fraternities must give a one-week advanced notice to a Greek executive board that they plan to host a party. The Greek executive board then sets up a patrol to monitor the party. He thought that was very responsible on their part. He received a lot of input about Council’s proposal to forward draft legislation to the General Assembly that would make some changes to the Delaware Landlord/Tenant Code. Mr. Godwin took the students’ opinions to the Council meeting and ultimately Council chose not to more forward with the changes at that time. He believed it was healthy to have the students’ opinions mixed into the decision process. He advised if Mr. Funk wanted to continue these meetings, that he contact Marilyn Prime who would arrange that to happen.

Mr. Funk said his relationship with the university students was unique and he had students who worked in his office. which he believed gave him a better handle of what goes on at the university. He said he would feel more comfortable if he could offer one of the three students a job so that he would be around them all the time. He said he would have to meet with Marilyn Prime and DUSC before he knew for sure. He has met with the Interfraternity Council on several occasions and had a very good exchange of ideas. He thought the more contact there was between the city residents and the university students, the better off they were.

Ms. Odell thought it was great that Kevin Vonck, the university grad student, won the sixth district election. Mr. Funk thought Mr. Vonck he was a very special person, was very levelheaded, and a person who liked to analyze problems.

7. PUBLIC COMMENT

Albert Porach, 220 E. Park Place, said he had a problem with Mayor Godwin holding closed meetings with special interest groups, namely meeting with three students in private and then saying that it had a significant influence on the legislation that was before Council. He claimed the State of Delaware was notorious for the influence of lobbyists in the legislature and the legislature had an Ethics Code that attempted to control that influence. That doesn’t apply to local governments (he has not been able to find anything in the City Code that controls lobbying). Therefore, Mr. Porach believed if there was an issue before Council, the place to discuss it was in public, not in a private meeting with either the Mayor or Council. In this case, he did not feel the students were constituents.

Mr. Godwin advised that for 17 years he has met with special interest groups in private, mostly in their homes, and they were usually groups larger than three. If a family asked him to go to their house and talk about a piece of legislation Council was planning to discuss, he would do that. Sometimes he met at his office in City Hall and he saw that more as constituent service and not as a private meeting.

Mr. Porach said he understood that but he didn’t consider students constituents because in his mind a constituent was a bona fide resident who was domiciled in the city.

The question was raised about students being registered to vote in the city election. Mr. Godwin explained how any student registered with the New Castle County Board of Elections and has a Newark address is considered a resident and may vote. They must show proof of residency to the Board of Election which usually includes a driver’s license. Many students don’t register to vote in Delaware because their domicile is with his or her parents. They are not required to change their driver’s license because the law considers students as transient visitors.

Mr. Porach believed when you start to give more weight to a special interest group, that makes him ask where was the special interest group that would represent him. He asked if he could get a group of residents to come in and advance his issues just like Mr. Godwin did with the students.

Mr. Thornton interjected that the whole purpose for meeting with the students was to try and get their input and create a more positive atmosphere which was the purpose of the Town & Gown Committee. He did not view the students as a special interest group, rather he viewed them as another constituency.

Mr. Odell interjected that at the last Town & Gown meeting this was discussed and it was suggested that Marilyn Prime arrange the meeting with the students. Mr. Godwin added that ultimately the discussion was held at the Council table. He did not feel he did anything wrong meeting with the students to get their input.

Mr. Porach said he would have liked to have heard the students’ opinions and be given the opportunity to offer a counter argument to their opinion.

Mr. Neal thought the key to the whole issue was when the subject came to Council, that was the last place it was discussed and that was a public meeting. People had the chance to react to Mr. Godwin’s comments regarding the students input. He also pointed out that every elected official has to talk to people and they eventually make their decisions in the public.

Mr. Dillon thought the meeting with the Mayor was a step in the right direction. He viewed it as an information gathering opportunity and hoped that it would continue. Messrs. Dillon and Godwin thought the meeting allowed information to flow in both directions. Mr. Godwin heard comments from the students that they felt they understood the city’s business a little bit better after their discussion and had a different flavor about how government in Newark worked and tried to include students in the mix.

There were no further comments.

8. SETTING DATE FOR NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be held September 20, 2004 at 7:30 p.m.

9. Ms. Odell was thanked for her service on the committee.

10. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.