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HomeMy Public PortalAbout04-07-2002(No PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, MONDAY, APRIL 7 2003 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., Monday, April 7, 2003, in the Council Chambers in said City. President Bing Welch presided with the following Councihmembers present: Howard "Jack" Elstro, Etta J. Lundy, Karl Sharp, Bruce Wissel, Larry Parker, Phil Dickman, Stephen H. Rabe and Sarah "Sally" Hutton. The following business was conducted: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRAYER BY COUNCILMEMBER SHARP ROLL CALL Nine present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the March 17, 2003 meeting were approved on a motion by Councilmember Parker, second by Councilmember Lundy, and the motion was carried on a voice vote. PRESENTATIONS. MEMORIALS, REMONSTRANCES, PETITIONS AND INTRODUCTIONS MOTIONS OR RESOLUTIONS. (MUST BE IN WRITING) President Welch commented that there is a request of Council to reconsider Resolution No. 3 — 2003 which was offered by Carroll Electric Inc. Councilmember Wissel said that there apparently was some misunderstanding about when this resolution was to be placed on the agenda, adding that it certainly was not the intention of Council to conduct business without, giving them the opportunity to present their case. He moved to allow reconsideration of the resolution, second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Resolution No. 3 — 2003 — A RESOLUTION ALLOWING A LATE FILED STATEMENT OF BENEFITS FORM FOR A TAX ABATEMENT FOR CARROLL ELECTRIC, INC. (RECONSIDER)? President Welch said he would allow Dan Stamper, president of Carroll Electric Inc. and Thor Construction Co., 15 minutes to give his presentation to the Council. He said both companies are located at 1111 North West T Street, the location of the requested abatement. He gave some background of the company, explaining how he became the owner. He apologized for his failure to submit the necessary forms for the abatement before the improvements were initiated, adding that he did not realize that this was a criteria for applying for the abatements. (His comments in their entirety are on tape and on file in the Clerk's office.) Comments were made by Councilmembers Lundy, Sharp and Rabe, with the latter bringing attention to the $16 per hour average w age. S tamper s aid his lowest paid employee is paid $10 plus b enefits and h e is totally unskilled. At the request of President Welch, Councilmember Wissel re -updated Council on the status of his evaluation on this particular resolution and the request. Councilmember Wissel said that he understands that when Stamper came in for his permit process, Planning Director Bob Goodwin had mentioned that abatements need to be filed before construction starts, which means that was a little bit extra warning than what others would receive. He also said the Tax Abatement Committee had discussed eligibility and the direction in which the committee had been going. He also commented about the Committee of the Whole meeting in January it was discussed that the committee did need to be in compliance and require the resolutions. He said that is one of the things the committee and Council have been looking at and changing their goals. He commented on the copies of previous abatements and filings which were provided by Tony Foster of the Community Development office to Stamper and Council. He said those go back all the way to 1992 and commented that in his 8 years on the Council there have been several revisions made along the way of internal direction that have not been put in ordinance form. Councilmember Wissel said the trend had been going more toward manufacturing, adding that some of the reasons for this is that the abatement process allowed by Wayne County has forms available for other businesses that don't meet the City guidelines. He explained that the reasoning behind going more toward manufacturing also is that when an abatement is given it is an economic advantage to the business that receives i t, g iving them a s tep up against the competition. He s aid w ith manufacturing risk, that in akes sense because in the world of competition we want those businesses to have an advantage. 1 7l Common Council Minutes Cont'd April 7, 2003 Page 2 However, h e said, o nce you get a way from manufacturing you get i nto a p osition where you're p itting taxpayers against other taxpayers where you're giving one electrical contractor an advantage over another. He said that is why the committee has tightened its direction and where it's going with that. He said when the state designed the tax abatement it was as a tool to give communities so that they could retain jobs and also build jobs. Commenting on the actual abatement request made by Stamper, Councilmember Wissel said it is still going to affect the taxation of the building in the same way. He said Stamper's figures indicated $30,000 and the parking lot, which he indicated was running about $28,500, would not qualify for the abatement and there was $3,000 for the landscaping. He said with those figures it would make Stamper's tax abatement request "awash," that there is not an increase in taxes. With all that said, Councilmember Wissel said the Tax Abatement Committee's recommendation stands. Councilmember Rabe explained that he was, again, going to vote in favor of suspending the rules and allowing the late filed abatement. He said he understood that attracting all the manufacturing jobs is important, but our nation has moved into a service economy and now high tech. He said that he believes a lot of the job creation comes from businesses such as Stamper's and the service industry and he believes everything should be done to help'those types of businesses to expand. He said he doesn't look at this like one local business is given an advantage over another, but what is being done is that when the local business adds on and purchasing new equipment new taxes are implemented more slowly, not a "tax cut." Councilmember Dickman said when he came into tonight's meeting his intentions were to vote against adopting this resolution but he changed his mind and is going to go toward approving it if Stamper comes forward with more definitive information on the training he mentioned. He feels it is worth giving Stamper an opportunity to get that information together for Council. Councilmember Rabe moved to approve Resolution No. 3 — 2003, second by Councilmember Hutton and the motion was denied on a vote of 5 against and 4 in favor. Voting against were Councilmembers Elstro, Lundy, Sharp, Wissel and Welch, with those voting in favor being Councilmembers Parker, Rabe, Dickman and Hutton. President Welch suggested to Stamper that there is a point in question about what he has done to the building and the cost that he has incurred as to whether or not it is truly abatable under the existing statute. He said that statute has many sections and this Council is dealing with only two sections of that statute but there is a third section that the County Assessor and Auditor administer and he suggested that Stamper get with them RESOLUTION NO.4 — 2003 — The Clerk read Resolution No. 4 — 2003 - A RESOLUTON AUTHORIZING AN INTERNAL TEMPORARY TRANSFER OF FUNDS Explaining this resolution was City Controller Ann Cottongim who commented that her letter of explanation that was included in the packets received earlier by the Councilmembers addresses the contents of the resolution. She said she is asking for a temporary transfer of monies to the respective funds be allowed, from the City's TIF Fund, to be repaid prior to December 31, 2003. She said all repayments shall be made with interest at a rate at least equal to the rate being realized upon any monies currently held by TIF. The reasoning behind this request is the temporary shortfall of monies within the General Fund, Parks & Recreation, Police Pension and Fire Pension which totals $2,265,000 because of certain real estate tax payments which have not been timely made from the State of Indiana and/or Wayne County. After much discussion among Councilmembers, the City Attorney, the Mayor and Cottongim, Councilmember Wissel moved to approve Resolution No. 4 — 2003, second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote. COMMUNICATION FROM THE MAYOR Mayor Shelley Miller made some comments about the change of procedures in the percentage cities had to put up for a construction project that had been awarded as a federal project. Those procedures have been changed, only for 2003, she said, which will save the City $415,000 to apply for projects. She said that is good news from INDOT. REPORT FROM BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY President Welch said the minutes of the meetings of March 6 and 13, 2003 were in the packets. REPORTS FROM DEPARTMENT HEADS Common Council Minutes Cont'd April 7, 2003 Page 3 REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM SPECMJI COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM ORGANIZATIONS MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS President Welch asked those students in the audience to step to the microphone and introduce themselves. All were from Gary Weir's government class at Richmond High School. Councilmember Sharp commented on a memo distributed about the Spring Cleanup to occur Saturday and a notice was also received on the Visioning meeting for all elected officials. ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and read Ordinances No. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 — 2003 on first reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote. ORDINANCE NO. 19 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 19 — 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE APPROVAL OF A STATEMENT OF BENEFITS FOR A PROPERTY OWNER APPLYING FOR DEDUCTIONS UNDER I.C. 6-1.1-12.1 Councilmember Wissel explained that this ordinance deals with a request from the Vandor Corp. for a 10- year tax abatement for new manufacturing equipment valued at $1,201,000, creating 9 new jobs and retaining 71. He said this request would be handled by Councilmember Sharp and it would come back to Council on second reading at its next meeting. ORDINANCE NO. 20 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 20 — 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE APPROVAL OF A STATEMENT OF BENEFITS FOR A PROPERTY OWNER APPLYING FOR DEDUCTIONS UNDER I.C. 6-1.1-12.1 Councilmember Wissel said this ordinance deals with a request for a 10-year abatement of new manufacturing equipment for the Richmond Baking Co. and is in the amount of $450,000. He said it would create 3 new jobs and retain 120 and it would also come before Council at the next meeting. ORDINANCE NO. 21— 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 21 — 2003 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT PROGRAM Tom Broiles, Deputy Chief in the Richmond Fire Department in charge of training, firefighter education and safety, explained that this ordinance deals with three programs in an amount up to $112,175, adding that the City commits to provide local funds in the amount up to $11,217.50. He said $33,175 would be used for wellness and fitness activities and equipment for 5 stations; $65,000 for Hazardous Materials Response Team training and equipment; and $14,000 for Rapid Intervention Team equipment and training. Councilmember Wissel moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 21 — 2003 to second reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice N vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 21 — 2003 on second reading. President Welch declared Ordinance No. 21 — 2003 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance Councilmember Elstro moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 21 — 2003 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Elstro and the motion was carried on a voice vote. 73 Common Council Minutes Cont'd April 7, 2003 Page 4 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 21 — 2003 on third reading. Ordinance No. 21— 2003 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO.22 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 22 — 2003 — A GENERAL ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 93.08 OF T HE CITY OF RICHMOND CODE REGARDING OPEN BURNING OF REFUSE Bever explained that this ordinance could be held until the next Council meeting. ORDINANCE NO.23 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 23 — 2003 — A GENERAL ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 10.99 OF THE RICHMOND CODE Bever explained that this ordinance could be held also until Council's next meeting. ORDINANCE NO. 24 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 24 — 2003 - AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA,) EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER NATIONAL BOARD PROGRAM Don Griffin, director of Hope House, explained that this grant is for an amount up to $3,000 and because the City acts as the fiscal agent through action of this Council it is necessary for the City to be the, formal applicant and recipient of the funds and pass them on to Hope House. The funds would be used to help provide food for the homeless within the community. Councilmember Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 24 — 2003 to second reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Elstro and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 24 — 2003 on second reading. President Welch declared Ordinance No. 24 — 2003 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance Councilmember Elstro moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Wissel moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 24 — 2003 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 24 — 2003 on third reading. Ordinance No. 24 — 2003 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 25 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 25 — 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF RICHMOND TO RECEIVE A DONATION Explaining this ordinance was Jennifer McGuire in the Community Development department who said it deals with asking for donations from local merchants in regard to the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns' "If I were Mayor, I would..." contest open to all 6`h graders. IACT is acting in partnership with the Department of Education. Councilmember Wissel moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No.25 — 2003 to second reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 25 — 2003 on second reading. President Welch declared Ordinance No. 25 — 2003 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance Councilmember Elstro moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on a voice vote. (�A Common Council Minutes Cont'd April 7, 2003 Page 5 Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules -and advance Ordinance No. 25 — 2003 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Lundy and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 25 — 2003 on third reading. Ordinance No. 25 — 2003 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO.26 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 26 — 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF RICHMOND TO RECEIVE CONTRIBUTIONS Mayor Miller asked that this ordinance be held until Ron Chappell, Human Rights director, could be present to explain it. ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING AND ENGROSSMENT ORDINANCE NO. 13 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 13 — 2003 - AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 11— 2002 KNOWN AS THE 2003 SALARY ORDINANCE Street Commissioner Gordon Moore addressed some of the concerns voiced by Councilmembers at its last meeting. He said he felt Councilmember Wissel's question about why the salary of the supervisors could not be reduced was a legitimate one. He pointed out that the salaries of five out of the six supervisors were reviewed and it was found they were approximately seven percent under the supervisors and all other City departments so they were given a 7 percent increase last year. Now, he said, the City is in the middle of negotiations with the union and the debate is whether or not it should be a 3 percent, 5 percent or 1 percent. He said it doesn't matter on any of the above mentioned individuals because none of them would receive any additional salary increase for this year. He said he would like to make it clear that all of the union members including the sanitary district and the street department have not received any pay increase for the year 2003 at this time. He added that when the negotiations are completed those six would not be included in that pay increase. He said they are at a level right now that supervisors are at other City departments. Moore pointed out that three of the supervisors spend four hours every day doing nothing but responding to nothing but trouble calls. Other responsibilities, he said, include meeting with residents, private contractors, daily job assignments, soliciting quotes for ordering parts and supplies and reviewing applications. He said that all those things are going to be reassigned to the two management positions. He said what this would put those people back into the work force and back into the supervision where right now he feels they are doing management duties and not so much of the supervision. He pointed out to Council all of the projects that the Street Department is doing which includes assessments of existing streets, sidewalks, curbs and drainage projects; re -assignment of project priorities; and design in-house of the improvement projects of the asphalt, concrete and drainage. He also mentioned long term projects, meetings, training seminars, and meetings with the union. He said that he feels confident that in the future that second management position will be needed, adding that he can assign duties right away to one piece of management. He said that he feels that the responsibilities and duties have been increased to the point that he can justify the need for 34 employees, adding that in January of this year he went from 30 employees to 31. He said he wants to take on additional duties which include maintenance of right of ways. After discussion among Councilmembers with comments by Mayor Miller and Bever and no decision , reached, it was decided to hold the ordinance on second reading. ORDINANCE NO.14 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 14 — 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING MAP FOR A CERTAIN PARCEL FROM R-2 TO R-3 SPECIAL USE DISTRICT Councilmember Wissel said this ordinance had been withdrawn by the petitioner and he moved to strike it, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. 7s Common Council Minutes Cont'd April 7, 2003 Page 6 ORDINANCE NO. 15 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 15 — 2003 — A SPECIAL USE ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT TO BE USED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES Councilmember Wissel reported that the Richmond Advisory Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on this ordinance at its March 27 meeting. He explained that this is a rezoning request for a Planned Unit Development on a Medical Arts Building which is currently an R-3 and an R-4 multiple family resident district. He said the property is located at 1824 Chester Boulevard and the vote was 7 to 1 to recommend approval. He said Commissioner Serrani voted against the request with concerns about traffic existing in the residential area near the school. He added that 18 notices were sent to adjacent property owners with two comments received in favor and two received in opposition. Jeff Baxter of Friends Fellowship spoke in favor of the request. Speaking in favor of the ordinance was Mike Lang, CDS Associates, representing the petitioners Keith L. and Carol B. Whisenhunt. He said the 28,000 square foot professional type of medical practice building would be located on the west side of Chester Boulevard just north of Crestdale Drive. He presented drawings of the structure, noting that this building would be a "benchmark" of which all future medical facilities in the area would be based and be judged. He talked about the landscaping and the retention pond and noted that he has been working with INDOT in reducing the amount of curb cuts on Chester Boulevard. He added that a suitable drainage plan has been developed and meets the requirements of the City Engineer's office and all other utilities are readily available to the site. The variances they are requesting is from a 25-foot parking lot setback to a 10-foot setback which is a professional office use. He talked about lighting and spoke to the issue of traffic, explaining that professional office buildings are one of the smallest traffic generators. He said there would not be any conflict with the school traffic because school lets out around 2:30 to 3 p.m. and peak traffic time would be from 4 to 6 p.m. Lang answered questions posed by Councilmember Welch about the ditch, laying aside doubts that there would be any amount of drainage into it. Lang said the Valley Drive exit would be a 16-foot driveway. Councilmember Parker questioned the exact use of the building and Lang answered that it is a professional medical arts building, adding that many doctors are doing eye surgery or minor surgeries in their offices and in meeting with the City planners they wanted to be specific but not precluded from leasing from a doctor who performs minor surgeries. He did add that the tenants have not been established as yet. Lang said he knows that the property is being actively marketed as a professional private practice medical arts building. President Welch declared Ordinance No. 15 — 2003 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance Councilmember Wissel moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Wissel moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 15 — 2003 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 15 — 2003 on third reading. Ordinance No. 15 — 2003 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 16 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 16 — 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING MAP FOR CERTAIN CONTIGUOUS PARCELS Councilmember Wissel reported on the March 26 Planning Commission meeting, saying that the petition is a request for rezoning for C-4 general business district from the current R-1 and R-2 single family residence district. He said this is the area joining the old Ramada Inn site, adding that an agent from the Home Depot was representing the request. He said the vote was 8-0 in favor of the request, adding that 17 notices were sent to adjacent property owners with three comments received in favor and four comments received in opposition. President Welch declared Ordinance No. 16 — 2003 on public hearing. Appearing in favor of the ordinance was Jennifer Maxwell site development coordinator for a firm which handles the approval process for the Home Depot. She invited questions from the Councilmembers. Councilmember Dickman asked if there are any plans to acquire the two properties north of the site and Maxwell answered that as of now there are no plans to do that. IS Common Council Minutes Cont'd April 7, 2003 Page 7 There being no further comments either for or against the ordinance Councilmember Elstro moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Wissel and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Wissel moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 16 — 2003 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 16 — 2003 on third reading. Ordinance No. 16 — 2003 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCES ON THIRD READING CALL FOR ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, on a motion duly made, seconded and passed, the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 P.M. ATTEST: Norma. Schroeder, Clerk Bing Welch, President 1