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HomeMy Public PortalAbout06-17-2002PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, MONDAY, DUNE 17, 2002 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., Monday, June 17, 2002, in the Council Chambers in said City. President Bruce Wissel presided with the following Councilmembers present: Howard "Jack" Elstro, Etta J. Lundy, Karl Sharp, Bing Welch, Larry Parker, Phil Dickman, Paul Combs and Sarah "Sally" Hutton. The following business was conducted: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRAYER BY COUNCILMEMBER LUNDY ROLL CALL Nine present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the June 3, 2002 meeting were approved on a motion by Councilmember Welch, second by Councihmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote PRESENTATION OF REMONSTRANCES, PETITIONS, MEMORIALS, INTRODUCTIONS, MOTIONS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS A. Terri Pizzano, executive director of Hoosier Daylight Coalition, scheduled to talk to Councilmembers did not make an appearance. COMMUNICATION FROM THE MAYOR Mayor Shelley Miller informed Councilmembers of communications received about a future project which the state wants to undertake, saying that is concerning improvement of National Road West from South West 18`h to South West ls`. She said the state is looking at major improvements including turn lanes and it is going to be asking for community response. She said the state indicated that it would like some response by the end of July. She said the initial time for construction looks like it might be around 2008. She said this is a project that she feels the City should follow closely and work with the state as the engineering and planning stages proceed. In answer to a question by Councilmember Elstro, Mayor Miller said she had spoken to Tony Foster today about the status on the monitoring of the wells in the aquifer project and learned that the project is being done this year and it is supposed to be completed during the summer. She said Indiana -American Water has agreed to partner with the City and will be doing the testing and the ongoing monitoring. She also talked about the project in the South end of the City, stating that she had been in close communication with some of the neighbors. She added that the City is receiving the materials now and is waiting on an additional shipment, adding that in communicating with the railroad she has been told that they want to go ahead with the project and close the road for a period of time. She said City Engineer Bob Wiwi has been in touch with the railroad to learn what the timetable will be so he can communicate that information to the businesses and the residents in the area. Mayor Miller said the only thing that's holding up the project now is the wait for the materials. She said the work is being done in three different phases which are the improvement of the railroad crossing, pouring asphalt and the improvement of the street and work on curbs and sidewalks. Councilmember Combs commented on a meeting he attended last week, along with representatives of the City, with residents of Butler and J Streets. He said he had asked at that meeting about the possibility of something coming from the M ayor's office that would give an outline as to what has b een done in the Gorge over the last year so it can be ruled out that anything done there would contribute to the problem with the snakes. He said if no correlation is found he would not feel comfortable in using City funds to resolve the issue of the snakes in the area. Mayor Miller commented that Amy Spears of the Community Development office had already contacted Stan Lambert, Superintendent of the Parks and Recreation Department, and they are working on a timeline, adding that there are many factors that go into a situation like this. She said her office, as well as the County, is working very closely with the residents of that neighborhood to address some of their concerns. Alluding to the monitoring wells in the Southeast Industrial Park, Councihnember Welch asked the Mayor if the City is on track with USGS wells. She answered that the City budgeted for that project in the 2002 budget and the grant received initially was extended and all the funding is in place. She said an easement from all the property owners has also been received to clear that, the project is moving forward and when she receives an update on it she will forward it to Councilmembers. Councilmember Welch still had some questions about the project and the Mayor said she would get that information on the monitoring for Council. Common Council Minutes Cont'd June 17, 2002 Page 2 FROM BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY President Wissel said the minutes of the meetings of May 23 and May A, 2002 were in their packets. REPORTS FROM DEPARTMENT HEADS REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM SPECIAL COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM ORGANIZATIONS MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS President Wissel asked the Richmond High School students in the audience to come forward and introduce themselves. All were students in Mr. Weir's class. ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and read Ordinance No. 52 - 2002 by title only, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. ORDINANCE NO. 52 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 52 — 2002 — 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 Sharp explained that the ordinance deals with a tax abatement request made by The Safety Zone, LLC, which is currently in the old Nettle Creek building on Peacock Road. He said their intent is to build out in the Midwest Industrial Park and they manufacture protective equipment such as rubber gloves and raincoats for industrial workers. He said this ordinance would be reviewed by the Tax Abatement Committee and come back to Council. ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING AND ENGROSSMENT ORDINANCE NO.32 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 32 — 2002 — 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 Welsh said this ordinance deals with a request for a tax abatement submitted by Smith Dairy as the company anticipated purchasing the Fresh America building. He said that upon checking out the request it was found that the building had already been abated and it could not be abated a second time but that any improvements that they would make or additions put into the building could be abated. When that information is received he said this could be moved forward and asked that the ordinance be held on second reading. ORDINANCE NO. 49 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 49 — 2002 — 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 Explaining this ordinance was Councilmember Elstro who said that this ordinance and Ordinance No. 50 — 2002 go together. He said this ordinance is for $1,200,000 which would be for a new building. He said Phil Hacker of 391 Gravel Pit Road, representing the company, was in the audience to answer questions. Hacker said there are two different entities involved, stating that Ordinance No. 49 — 2002 would be Richmond Brick and Block would be the applicant and is an LLC which operates a manufacturing firm and Ordinance No. 50 - 2002 is the landholding company which is DWRW, LLC. Councilmember Elstro pointed out that it is stated correctly on Ordinance No. 50 — 2002 that the estimated new value is $75,000 instead of $66,000. Councilmember Welch asked where the $9,000 was added. Hacker answered that it had been put in the insulation, raising that number from $12,000 to $21,000 and that change would be made on the page with the breakdown of the numbers which is attached to the request. In answer to a question by Councilmember Welch, Hacker said this would create 14 new jobs. President Wissel asked Bever if these two ordinances could be acted upon at the same time and he answered that it was proper to do it that way. Common Council Minutes Cont'd June 17, 2002 Page 3 ORDINANCE NO. 50 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 50 — 2002 — 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 President Wissel declared Ordinances No 49 and No. 50 — 2002 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 Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 50 — 2002 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 Ordinances No. 49 and No. 50 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 49 and No. 50 — 2002 were adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 51— 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 51 — 2002 — 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 President Wissel explained that this ordinance is an abatement request made by BMW Realty, LLC and unlike the other ordinances tonight this is under the special ordinance plan for the uptown area under an Economic Development Target area. He said it is for the location at 1017 East Main Street which was a complete renovation of an existing building into a Laundromat. He said the amount requested was $150,000 and after meeting with Bill Wingate, president of the corporation, it wasdecided to reduce that amount to $126,800. He added that this is for real estate only since the Economic Development Target Area for the uptown does not allow for abatements on business property or equipment. He said there is a correction in the average salary listed on the information attached to the ordinance, adding that the abatement request was for a 10-year period but the ordinance requires that if work is done only on one story it is only eligible for a five-year abatement. He said he looked at this ordinance differently than the abatements that are usually granted for industry because he felt that it was not fair to compare an industrial wage with a downtown retail type wage because there is a different level of economic activity. After that explanation, President Wissel recommended that this ordinance be amended to a 5-year abatement instead of 10 years and that the estimated value be changed to $126,800, second by Councilmember Welch. Bever explained the difference on a five-year and 10-year abatement, saying that the requirement is that it be at least 40 percent of the work, which is what the defmition of "significantly" is, and is either on an upper floor or the exterior. President Wissel said that, with that explanation, the statement he had made earlier was incorrect. However, since the exterior renovation amounted to only 23 percent, with the new information provided by Bever, it still would not qualify. Councilmember Lundy commented that she understood that there would be a different wage scale but she was troubled that there would be no health benefits. President Wissel said there was a motion and a second on the floor that Ordinance No. 51 — 2002 be. amended to read a five-year abatement request and a value of $126,800. The motion passed on a voice vote. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 51 — 2002 on public hearing. Renee Oldham, executive director of Main Street, said she believed that when this process was begun this was the intent, to see some new investment in the uptown area. She pointed out that this building had been vacated for a long time and when the Wingates stepped forward to improve the property it was definitely an asset to the east end of the uptown area. She said she sees this as a catalyst for others in the area to continue to invest in and encourage others to do the same. There being no other comments for and none against, Councilrember Elstro moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 51 — 2002 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 51 — 2002 on third reading. Common Council Minutes Cont'd June 17, 2002 Page 4 Councilmember Lundy said she didn't mean to imply that she is not in favor of downtown development, adding that when Council set the set of rules for the other ordinances, criteria was set as where they wanted to begin and end and she feels the same should be done with this so there won't be any conflict. Councilmember Dickman expressed his appreciation to the Wingates for doing something with this building because he was concerned that it would sit for years and years with no activity. He said he feels that they have done a nice job with the building. Ordinance No. 51 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCES ON THIRD READING Alluding to some letters in the local newspapers stating that Council and this administration is giving money away through tax abatements, Councilmember Welch said he feels that many people do not understand exactly what tax abatements are all about. Commenting further, he s aid they are not giving money away, but, in essence, are gaining. He s aid the objectives of tax abatements is to create economic growth and job growth and as this is done through abatements, businesses are encouraged to expand or to locate here in the City and build facilities. He said for those people who may be in doubt about tax abatements, taxes are not forgiven on the property. As an example, he said tonight Council considered a request from a company which was interested in spending $1 million to come to Richmond, and that money would, under current tax structure, generate about $100,000 in taxes annually. He said all Council does is set up a 10-year diminishing scale on that money and the first year the business pays nothing, the next year it pays $10,000 etc. and at the end of the 10 years they are paying the full tax rate. But, he said, the City has increased the assessed evaluation on the tax books by $1 million and created 14 jobs. Councilmember Sharp said these people do not have reduced taxes, they are paying taxes on any property and any equipment they have now and they will continue to pay taxes on what is already there. The only abatement they get is for any improvements or any additional equipment they may buy. Councilmember Combs commented that he is in favor of being supportive of tax abatements, adding that he feels it is consistent with being financially responsible. CALL FOR ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, on a motion duly made, seconded and passed, the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 P.M. ATTEST: Norma Schroeder, Clerk Bruce Wissel, President