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HomeMy Public PortalAbout08-18-2002PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 2003 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana met in regular session at 7:40 p.m., Monday, August 18, 2003, in the Council Chambers in said City. President Bing Welch presided with the following Councilmembers present: Howard "Jack" Elstro, Etta J. Lundy, Karl Sharp, Bruce Wissel, Larry Parker, Stephen H. Rabe, Phil Dickman and Sarah "Sally" Hutton. The following business was conducted: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRAYER BY COUNCILMEMBER SHARP ROLL CALL Nine present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilmember Parker moved to approve the minutes of August 4, 2003, 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) Councilmember Hutton moved to open the agenda and add Resolution No. 8 — 2003 — RICHMOND URBAN ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATION REDESIGNATION APPLICATION RESOLUTION. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Dickman. President Welch explained that the resolution is on the behalf of the Richmond Urban Enterprise Association and asked Renee Oldham, director of Main Street and the UEA to step forward to further explain the reason for the resolution. She said the Urban Enterprise Zone has been in existence for approximately 20 years and it is time to renew the application for the program for another 5 years. She said this renewal is due to the Indiana Department of Commerce on September 1, 2003. She said that during the last five year period there has been nearly $28 million worth of re -investment in the Urban Enterprise Zone. She mentioned all of the various programs which have been instituted within the last five years. She also commented on the goals of the group. One of the major things she mentioned was that 68 percent of the people who have less than a ninth grade education reside in the zone in the City of Richmond. She said they want to target those people and possibly establish a partnership with Richmond Community Schools. Councilmember Lundy moved to adopt the resolution, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. COMMUNICATION FROM THE MAYOR REPORT FROM BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY Minutes of the Board of Works meeting of July 24, 2003 were in the Council packets. REPORTS FROM DEPARTMENT HEADS REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM SPECIAL COMMITTEES Councilmember Lundy said she had a report from the Housing Authority, stating that at its last meeting it was brought up that there is a great problem with drugs and loitering in some of the HUD apartments, especially in the Bobby Smith Apartments. She said although the Housing Authority has a contract with the Police Department to patrol those apartments, the Board members are wondering if there is more that can be done. She requested that the Mayor, Police Chief Pipes and Barry Ritter would get with some members of the Board and try to work out this problem. Councilmember Rabe gave Council an update on the Street Tree Commission, saying that throughout the summer that group had spent a significant amount of time reviewing City Code as it pertains to the Commission. Councilmember Dickman reminded Councilmembers that this coming weekend there are a lot of things planned at the Richmond Municipal Airport including a flyover of the Stealth Bomber. REPORTS FROM ORGANIZATIONS 1 113 Common Council Minutes Cont'd August 18, 2003 Page 2 MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS President Welch reminded Councilmembers that the next regularly scheduled meeting of Council will fall . on the Labor Day Holiday. He said that meeting would be held Tuesday, September 2, 2003, as well as the RP & L Board meeting. . Councilmember Wissel pointed out that he has a conflict with the Committee of the Whole meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 28. He said that is the same night as the Plan Commission meeting and he is obligated to attend that. He also added that that group would also like to use the Council Chambers, too. After a brief discussion the meeting night was changed to Wednesday, August 27, to be held at 6:30 p.m. President Welch said that three members of the Human Rights Commission are well past appointments by Council and all three have expressed a desire to be re -appointed. He asked Council to consider the reappointment of Mr. Hunter, Mrs. Ducey and Mrs. Khamis, adding that he would ask for a vote on that at Council's next meeting. ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING Councilmember Elstro moved to read Ordinances No. 41, 55, 56, 57, 61, 62 and 63 — 2003 by title only, second by Councilmember Rabe and the motion was carried on a voice vote. ORDINANCE NO. 41— 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 41— 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING MAP FOR PART OF A CERTAIN PARCEL FROM C-2 TO C-4 GENERAL BUSINESS DISTRICT President Welch said the ordinance is a zoning request and would go to the Planning Commission. Councilmember Wissel suggested that on those ordinances referred to Planning Commission tonight and in the future, an explanation could be given as to what they concern so that those interested could attend the Planning Commission meeting. President Welch said that could be done and asked Planning Director Bob Goodwin to explain these ordinances tonight. Goodwin said Ordinance No. 41 — 2003 deals with a request by Tuffy Muffler on East Main Street so they could acquire the property next door to take care of outside storage. ORDINANCE NO. 55 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 55 — 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT TO BE USED FOR RESIDENTIAL PURPOSES President Welch said this ordinance also deals with a zoning request and would go to the Planning Commission. G oodwin said the P lanned U nit D evelopment r equest d eals with p roperty a t the c omer o f Southwest comer of 18`h and South A Street. He said the request is for two buildings, each of which has three units and it is a courtyard atmosphere. ORDINANCE NO. 56 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 56 - 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING MAP FOR A CERTAIN PARCEL FROM R-2 TO A SPECIAL USE ACCESSORY PARKING AREA Goodwin said this ordinance deals with a request by Doan and Mills Funeral Home to acquire land immediately to the north of their current establishment to allow for more parking. President Welch said the ordinance would go to the Planning Commission. ORDINANCE NO. 57 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 57 - 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 by Masonite Door Corp. for equipment in the amount of $621,900 and it is for a 10-year abatement. President Welch said the ordinance would be referred to the Tax Abatement Committee and returned to Council at its next meeting. Common Council Minutes Cont'd August 18, 2003 Page 3 ORDINANCE NO. 61— 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 61 — 2003 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE WAYNE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY Tony Foster of the Community Development office explained that the Richmond Fire Department is requesting $53,813.65 to purchase equipment for hazardous material and weapons of mass destruction response. He said Fire Chief Mike Allen is in the audience tonight to explain the ordinance further. Councilmember H utton moved t o a mend the o rdinance t o correct p aragraph 2 t o r ead " Fire" i nstead o f "Police," second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Chief Allen explained that the funds would be used to acquire certain amounts of specialized equipment which includes self contained breathing apparatus, specialized training suits and testing equipment to make sure it is safe to operate in hazardous materials environment. Councilmember Wissel moved to suspend the rules and advance Amended Ordinance No. 61 — 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 Amended Ordinance No. 61 — 2003 on second reading. President Welch declared the amended ordinance on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against, Councilmember Elstro moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Lundy and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Wissel moved to suspend the rules and advance Amended Ordinance No. 61 — 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 Amended Ordinance No. 61 — 2003 on third reading. Amended Ordinance No. 61 — 2003 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 62 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 62 — 2003 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Foster also explained this ordinance, saying that the City of Richmond Police Department is requesting up to $43,153 to use to purchase equipment, training and overtime as well as technology equipment which includes in -car cameras. He said that this year the Wayne County Sheriff's Department will share in the use of these funds, splitting them 55-45, with 55 percent going to the City and 45 percent to the Sheriff's Department. As a result of that sharing, Foster said the City will end up with $23,734 and the match will end up being $2,637, adding that the match is figured each year into the budget. Councilmember Parker moved to amend the ordinance to read $23,734 and $2,637, second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Foster said the way this works is that it is two separate applications with each stating what the amount of the match is. Since this is the first time anything like this has happened in the past 10 years that the fund has been taken advantage of, Foster wasn't quite sure about some of the answers but assured Council that the amendment which was made is correct. In apologizing for the confusion Foster explained that he is dealing with timelines established by the Department of Justice which gave less than four weeks to submit the request. The motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Sharp also pointed out a typographical error in the second WHEREAS and moved to change the sentence to replace the word "or" with "for," second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Amended Ordinance No. 62 — 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 Amended Ordinance No. 62 — 2003 on second reading. 15 Common Council Minutes Cont'd August 18, 2003 Page. 4 President Welch declared the amended ordinance on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against, 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. 62 — 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 Amended Ordinance No. 62 — 2003 on third reading. Amended Ordinance No. 62 — 2003 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 63 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 61 — 2003 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE INDIANA CRIMINAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE Foster explained that this ordinance deals with a request made by the Richmond Police Department for $33,582 to be used to fund overtime compensation for officers participating in "DUI and Seat Belt Blitzes." He said there is no local match required. Councilmember Wissel moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 63 — 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. 63 — 2003 on second reading. President Welch declared the ordinance on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against, Councilmember Parker moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Wissel and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Sharp moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 63 — 2003 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Elstro and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 63 — 2003 on third reading. Prior to the vote being taken, Councilmember Rabe said he would like to explain why he would be voting against t he ordinance, s aying t hat h e had n o p roblem with t he d rinking a nd d riving 1 aw b ut d id h ave a problem with the seat belt law. He said that it is his personal view that the government does not have the right to protect people from themselves and he does not support the blitzes and the "road blocks" that come along with them. He said it is not just an inconvenience but "an infringement on our civil liberties." He said he feels it is a poor use of tax dollars and police time and resources, adding that this is in no way indicative of the Richmond Police Department and said he has talked with many of the police officers who feel the same way and would rather be out doing what they call "regular police work." He alluded to a recent "Letter to the Editor" in the Palladium -Item in which he expressed the views stated above. Ordinance No. 63 — 2003 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING AND ENGROSSMENT There were no ordinances on second reading. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Councilmember Sharp commented on the contributions made to the community by the late Bob O'Maley, as did Councilmember Rabe who referred to him as his mentor and friend. CALL FOR ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, on a motion duly made, seconded and passed, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 P.M. ATTEST: Norma Schroeder, Clerk Bing Welch, President