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HomeMy Public PortalAbout03-04-2002PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2002 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., Monday, March 4, 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, Paul Combs, Phil Dickman and Sarah "Sally" Hutton. The following business was conducted: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRAYER BY COUNCILMEMBER WELCH ROLL CALL Nine present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the February 19, 2002 meeting were approved on a motion by Councilmember Parker, second by Councilmember Sharp and carried on voice vote. PRESENTATION OF REMONSTRANCES, PETITIONS, MEMORIALS, INTRODUCTIONS, MOTIONS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS President Wissel asked a student in the audience to come forward and introduce herself. She was Allison Riddle, a senior at Richmond High School, in Gary Weir's Government Class. COMMUNICATION FROM THE MAYOR Mayor Shelley Miller announced that Saturday, March 9, will be Wayne County Visioning Day from 10 a.m. to noon in the Centerville High School cafeteria. She also invited those interested to attend a regional forum to be held by the Indiana Department of Commerce from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13, in Whitewater Hall at Indiana University East. She said this meeting is "critical," because they are gathering public comments to review their consolidated plan that they submit to HUD on how they distribute the community development block grant money to communities throughout Indiana. REPORT FROM BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY President Wissel said the minutes of the meeting of February 7, 2002 were in their packets. REPORTS FROM DEPARTMENT HEADS REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM SPECIAL COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM ORGANIZATIONS MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS President Wissel announced that action is to be taken tonight by Council concerning the reappointment of John Rusie to the Redevelopment Commission. Councilmember Hutton moved to reappoint Rusie, second by Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice vote. President Wissel stated that he had received an invitation from IACT on a redistricting school that they will be conducting during March and April. He said that he and Councilmember Sharp had already attended a session on this at the IACT Convention, adding that Council is required by law to pass an ordinance on redistricting the City Council districts by November 8 even though no changes are made. He invited those wishing to attend to see him or the City Clerk and those arrangements would be made for them to attend. ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING Councilmember Elstro moved to read Ordinance No. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 - 2002 by title only, second by Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice vote. ORDINANCE NO. 13 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 13 — 2002 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF RICHMOND TO RECEIVE CONTRIBUTIONS Common Council Minutes Cont'd March 4, 2002 Page 2 Explaining the ordinance was Assistant City Engineer Greg Stiens who is also the City's director of transportation who said it deals with a proposal to have a "Fun in the Sun Hot Air Balloon Festival" to be held on August 23 — 25, 2002 at the Richmond Municipal Airport. He said the Richmond Board of Aviation Commissioners approved this on February 14 and said the Richmond Parks and Recreation Department would be assisting the airport in hosting the event. He said a balloon event organizer, Jay Gillett, would be hired, adding that he is the same person who organizes it at the Muncie Festival. Stiens said they expect about 20 to 30 balloons to participate in the first year. He added that this ordinance will allow the City to accept contributions for the festival and all monetary contributions will be deposited into a special account in the City Controller's office. Councilmember Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 13 — 2002 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. 13 — 2002 on second reading. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 13 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance, Councihember Hutton moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 13 — 2002 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. 13 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 13 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. Councilmember Dickman commented on this, noting that Stiens has been instrumental in getting this event started, adding that he feels City Engineer Bob Wiwi and the staff at the airport deserve some recognition also for their efforts. ORDINANCE NO. 14 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 14 — 2002 — AN APPROPRIOATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF RICHMOND TO RECEIVE A DONATION Explaining the ordinance was Fire Chief Mike Allen who stated that the first project on the ordinance was the youth education program which the department will be conducting on its own this year rather than relying on an outside firm. He said the firefighters are developing the literature which will be used in the coloring books and putting them together. The other two, the thermal imaging program and the confined space rescue program, are ongoing projects. He said this ordinance allows the department to receive donations for all three of the programs. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 14— 2002 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. 14 — 2002 on second reading. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 14 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance, Councilmember Elstro moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Combs moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 14 — 2002 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. 14 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 14 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 15 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 15 — 2002 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF RICHMOND TO RECEIVE CONTRIBUTIONS Common Council Minutes Cont'd March 4, 2002 Page 3 Explaining the ordinance was Mayor Miller who said that on March 21 the City will be hosting the South Central Mayor's Round Table Meeting for the first time in several years. She said this ordinance would enable the City to receive contributions for the event. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 15 — 2002 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. 15 — 2002 on second reading. President Wissel said this ordinance needs to be amended to have the words "South Central" inserted. Councilmember Welch so moved, second by Councilmember Parker and the motion was carried on a voice vote. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 15 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the -ordinance, Councilmember Dickman moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Welch and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 15 — 2002 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. 15 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 15 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 16 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 16 — 2002 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE. AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL FOR IMPAIRED AND DANGEROUS DRIVING Explaining the ordinance was Tony Foster of the Community Development office who said this ordinance deals with a request made by the Richmond Police Department to purchase 10 Portable Breath Testers (PBTs). He added that a local match of $1,245 is required, which is 25 percent of the total project cost. He said that match will be made from the Department's budget. He said if this is awarded it would bring the total of PBTs to 31. Councilmember Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 16 — 2002 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. 16 — 2002 on second reading. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 16 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance, Councilmember Parker moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 16 — 2002 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 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 16 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 17 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 17 — 2002 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION Foster asked Stiens to explain this ordinance since he is in charge of the particular project it covers. Stiens said the airport wishes to submit a grant application to the FAA to purchase a new Automated Weather Observation System. He said the amount is $48,556 and the cost of the project is approximately $118,000 which would require a local match of $69,444 which would come from EDIT funds. He said the system would improve the safety at the airport and will also allow operations such as cargo and taxi service to occur at the airport. Common Council Minutes Cont'd March 4, 2002 Page 4 Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 17 — 2002 to second reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 17 — 2002 on second reading. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 17 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance, Councilmember Elstro moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Combs moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 17 — 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. 17 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 17 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 18 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 18 — 2002 - AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE INDIANA CRIMINAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE Foster explained that this grant is an annual one that the City submits on behalf of the YWCA's Genesis program. Lisa Mount, a victims advocate at Genesis, said this ordinance deals with assisting with the expenses of the Genesis program In answer to a question by Councilmember Parker, she said the local match of $14,500 represents cash donations and in -kind gifts received by Genesis. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 18 — 2002 to second reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 18 — 2002 on second reading. President Wissel declared Ordinance No. 18 — 2002 on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance, Councilmember Sharp 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. 18 — 2002 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. 18 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 18 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO. 19 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 19 — 200 - 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 the ordinance was Councilmember Sharp who said this is a request for a 10-year tax abatement made by Spartech Plastics for new and used equipment for $882,285. He said this would allow the industry to add 15 employees. He recommended that this be held on second reading until the next meeting. ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING AND ENGROSSMENT ORDINANCE NO.93 — 2001 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 93 — 2001 — 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 City Attorney Bob Bever said he had distributed an amended version of this ordinance tonight to Councilmembers and explained that this is the first ordinance presented to Council regarding the uptown target area. He pointed out the differences to Councilmembers, noting that he had used the old ordinance format. Common Council Minutes Cont'd March 4, 2002 Page 5 President Wissel said this ordinance would be held on second reading tonight to give the tax abatement committee and opportunity to meet with First Bank representatives and would be brought back on second reading at the next Council meeting. ORDINANCES ON THIRD READING UNFINISHED BUSINESS Councilmember Combs questioned the listing on the agenda of those serving on the Tax Abatement Evaluation Committee and asked if there had been changes made. President Wissel answered that those assignments were made at the beginning of the year. He said Councilmember Sharp is the chairman and serving on the committee are Councilmembers Elstro and Welch and he also continues to be a member. 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: 1 Norma Schroeder, City Clerk Bruce Wissel, President