Loading...
HomeMy Public PortalAbout12-18-2000 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND,INDIANA,MONDAY,DECEMBER 18,2000 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana met in regular session at 7:30 p.m. Monday, December 18, 2000, in the Council Chambers in said City. President Larry Parker presided with the following Councilmembers present: Howard"Jack"Elstro,Etta J. Lundy,Bruce Wissel, Karl Sharp, Bing Welch, Phil Dickman and Sarah "Sally" Hutton. Paul Combs was absent. The following business was conducted: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRAYER BY COUNCILMEMBER WISSEL ROLL CALL Eight present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilmember Welch moved to approve the minutes of December 4,2000,second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. PRESENTATION OF REMONSTRANCES, PETITIONS, MEMORIALS, INTRODUCTIONS, MOTIONS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS COMMUNICATION FROM THE MAYOR Mayor Shelley Miller introduced the newest member of the administration,John Kenny,newly hired as the City Controller. She said he comes to the position from Earlham College. She said she had also just received word from City Attorney Bob Bever that the City has closed on the second phase of the Midwest Industrial Park. REPORT FROM BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY President Parker said the minutes of the meetings of November 22 and 30, 2000 were included in their packets. REPORTS FROM DEPARTMENT HEADS REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM SPECIAL COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM ORGANIZATIONS MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS President Parker announced there was a young man in the audience who was working on a merit badge.He was a member of Boy Scout Troop No. 119 and was working on a communications badge. Councilmember Hutton moved to appoint Diane Whitehead, Vanessa Orr and Dick Foore to the Urban Enterprise Board,second by Councilmember Dickman and the motion was carried on a voice vote. ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and read by titles only Ordinance No. 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113 and 114 - 2000, second by Councilmember Lundy and the motion was carried on a voice vote. ORDINANCE NO.108—2000 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 108 — 2000 — 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 Wissel who said it was a request for a tax abatement made by Wayne Dairy for new equipment totaling $6,442,500 and for $804,000 for real estate. He said this would come back to Council at its next meeting. Common Council Minutes Cont'd December 18,2000 Page 2 ORDINANCE NO. 109—2000 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 109—2000—AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE ABSOCOLD YOUTH FOUNDATION Tony Foster, the City's Grants Administrator, said this is a request for$10,000 from the Absocold Youth Foundation to help fund the construction of the outdoor skate park to be located on the corner of North 22nd and E Streets. He explained that the unexpected high cost was because of specialized concrete work associated with the project. In answer to a question by Councilmember Hutton, Foster said the original budget was $135,000 that paid for some design work then when it was put out for bid, it came in at $240,000. He said Stan Lambert, Parks Superintendent, had been working closely with the architect to reduce the cost and has outlined some ways in the next re-bid to do that. Foster said this request is for supplemental funding to help fund the project. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance the ordinance to second reading and read by title only,second by Councilmember Wissel and the motion was carried on a voice vote. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 109—2000 on second reading. President Parker declared the ordinance 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 the ordinance 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. 109—2000 on third reading. Ordinance No. 109—2000 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO.110—2000 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 140—2000—AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Foster explained that the City is requesting $172,000 from the Indiana Department of Transportation's enhancement program to fund a navigation way-finding system to serve as a combined recreation, beautification and economic development tool. He said the City would provide a 20-percent match of $43,000 if it is funded and the project is in a preliminary engineering phase. He said it is signage that is put into place and would easily be adapted to fall into the guidelines of the proposed sign ordinance that is currently being reviewed by Council. Councilmember Sharp asked how the money would be paid and Foster responded that when the project is let,the City would send its local match and INDOT would put the project out for bid. He said they would manage the project for the City,paying the bills for the project.Foster said the signage would be located at various points directing visitors to various places such as educational facilities and museums,to name just a few. Councilmember Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance the ordinance 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. 110—2000 on second reading. President Parker declared the ordinance on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance, Councilmember Welch moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Wissel moved to suspend the rules and advance the ordinance 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. 110—2000 on third reading. Ordinance No. 110—2000 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. • Common Council Minutes Cont'd December 18,2000 Page 3 ORDINANCE NO.111—2000 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 111 —2000—AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROPRIATION OF A GRANT FROM THE INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Foster explained that this ordinance deals with a request made by the City for $2 million from INDOT, specifically to fund the construction of a new Main Street bridge. He said it requires 20 percent match that would come from the TIF fund, adding that the City has been in touch with the County and the officials have provided their support for the application.In answer to a question by Councilmember Sharp about the 20 percent match,Foster said it works the same way as he explained with the prior ordinance.He said that 20 percent match would be$500,000. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance the ordinance 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. 111—2000 on second reading. President Parker declared the ordinance on public hearing. There being no comments either for or against the ordinance, Councilmember Lundy moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Elstro and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and advance the ordinance 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. 111—2000 on third reading. Ordinance No. 111—2000 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO.112—2000 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 112 — 2000 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2000 BUDGET John Kenny explained that this is a transfer of funds within the Finance Department,deleting$15,000 from the Other Supplies Account and adding $10,000 to the Computer Equipment Account and $5,000 to the Furniture and Fixtures Account in the General Fund. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance the ordinance 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. 112—2000 on second reading. President Parker declared the ordinance 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 the ordinance 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. 112—2000 on third reading. Ordinance No. 112—2000 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO.113—2000 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 113 — 2000 — A GENERAL ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING A CASH TRANSFER FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE OFF STREET PARKING FUND Mayor Miller explained that it was discussed at some length during the budget process that this fund was operating at a deficit because of the reduced revenues and declines of the contributions of the downtown merchants over the years. She said this ordinance deals with a request for a transfer from the General Fund into the Off-Street Parking Fund to bring it out of the deficit before the end of the year.She said the amount would not exceed$15,000.She added that along with the request goes the recognition that the way the fund is operating needs to be changed so the City doesn't look at cash transfers in future years. She explained that the Off-Street Parking Committee had met within the past few weeks and had come up with a plan. Common Council Minutes Cont'd December 18,2000 Page 4 Terry Quinter, operations manager for Roseview Transit and Off-Street Parking, said that in cooperation with the City Clerk's office, Main Street Inc. and Public Works and Safety, the plan is to communicate more with the uptown merchants and visit with them personally. She said the intent is to explain what the maintenance cost entails as well as the improvements made in the parking garage which include new elevators,ugraded lighting and the stairwells. She said now that a couple of businesses have relocated out of the downtown,the North 7t'Street City parking lot is rarely full which brought about the elimination of a parking attendant and cutting the hours of another. She said the attendant would be on duty only from 2 to 6 p.m. during the time of most of the traffic in the lot. She added that that change would be monitored and revisited in either April or May to re-evaluate it. Councilmember Welch said he thought it was a good idea to see what people want in downtown parking. Mayor Miller said the City would be mailing surveys to merchants and could be mailed to the general public. She said that based upon the response,it could give a stronger indication of the shortcomings in the parking situation. Quinter said the Committee is open to suggestions, adding that signage would be added to the parking garage. Answering questions posed by Councilmembers, Quinter said revenue from the parking permits go into the Off-Street Parking fund.Mayor Miller said the fine money is split,with the fines realized from the uptown area going into the Off-Street Parking fund and the others going into the General Fund. Councilmember Welch moved to suspend the rules and advance the ordinance 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. 113—2000 on second reading. President Parker declared the ordinance 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 the ordinance 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. 113—2000 on third reading. Ordinance No. 113—2000 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO.114—2000 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 114—2000—AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE TO BE KNOWN AS THE 2001 FIREFIGHTER AND POLICE OFFICER SALARY ORDINANCE City Attorney Bever explained that the City has reached agreements with the Police and Firefighters' Unions, which has resulted in his bringing the 2001 salary ordinance for those two departments to Council in the form of an ordinance. He explained that the agreement with the Firefighters contains a 41/2 percent increase for 2001, the same in 2002 and a 51/2 percent increase in 2003. He added that this allows at the end of that third year, when that extra one percent is added that the City puts in the Firefighters pension, that the Police do not,that they are almost identical at that time.He said the actual contract is anticipated to be approved by the Board of Works Thursday. In answer to a question by Councilmember Hutton, Mayor Miller said the bus drivers' contract was negotiated in July or August and was for 31/2 percent. Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and advance the ordinance 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. 114—2000 on second reading. President Parker declared the ordinance 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 the ordinance 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. 114—2000 on third reading. Ordinance No. 114—2000 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. Common Council Minutes Cont'd December 18,2000 Page 5 ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING AND ENGROSSMENT ORDINANCE NO.84—2000 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 84 — 2000 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE VACATING AN UNUSED PORTION OF A ROADWAY LOCATED AT THE CORNER OF SOUTH A AND GARWOOD ROAD Speaking in favor of the ordinance was Brad Smarelli, 3100 U.S. 27 South, who explained that he is also one of the owners of the property at 4351 South A Street. He said he is here tonight to ask the City to vacate an unused portion of roadway along the corner of South A Street and Garwood Road. He said he intends to use the property to add parking space at that location.He said he was here tonight to answer the question Council had two weeks ago as to how much parking is needed. He said the building is 6,500 square feet and there is 235 square feet not used by the public which means, by City Code, there are 31 spots needed.He said at that same meeting, Council had a question about what the cost would be and $2,000 is what Council came up with. He explained that he had covered all this in letters he distributed earlier to Councilmembers, stating that he also had made the offer to let the City have the property back within five years if needed, with some advance notice. He also stated that Council had some questions concerning drainage,saying that Gordon Moore is here tonight to explain that. Moore, a representative of Kramer & Associates, said a drainage plan had been submitted to the City Engineer's office and was approved today.He said the building is located 40 feet from the right-of-way and explained that Councilmembers had drawings in front of them to refer to as he was explaining it. He said all the area along Garwood Road on the west side, as well as the parking lot itself, would have to have fill material brought in which would be quite an expense.He added that the parking lot would be the detention area and would drain to the west where a new catch basin would be constructed. The discussion which ensued centered around issues such as 32 parking spots to comply to City Code, green space, traffic concerns which would include possibly a right turn lane off Garwood. City Engineer Bob Wiwi said Walmart would be putting up a new signal at a new location directly opposite the entrance to Kroger which would provide a better ingress and egress from the Walmart store. Councilmember Welch said he could foresee additional traffic from areas such as Boston,cutting down South A Street to go to the Walmart store rather than get out on to Main Street. He said he believes in the foreseeable future there would be a need for turn lanes,left,and an acceleration lane on Garwood Road. President Parker declared the ordinance on public hearing. There being no further comments either for or against the ordinance,Councilmember Elstro moved for engrossment,second by Councilmember Hutton. Prior to the vote,President Parker said he had a question regarding the amount,which he directed to Bever. The figure that Smarelli used,Bever said, was$2,000 and after talking with several bankers,he said it was hard to put a value on this because of the lack of marketability. He said that is how the$2,000 figure was reached. Bever said the City doesn't want to set a precedent and does not want to make that a donation a condition,then actually selling it for that. Councilmember Welch,directing his question to Bob Goodwin,director of Planning, asked if the retaining wall of the parking lot could set right on the property line. He also asked if they kept the green space there at the parking lot could a condition be put on that that it would have to be maintained as green space. Smarelli said he did not want to put the walk next to the building but hoped to landscape it making a small berm to block the headlights. President Parker said the ordinance now needs an amendment. Councilmember Hutton moved to agree to sell the property back for the amount given,second by Councilmember Welch and was carried on a vote of 5 in favor and three against. Councilmember Elstro moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Hutton and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Hutton moved to suspend the rules and advance the ordinance to third and final reading and read by title only,second by Councilmember Elstro and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Dickman commented that he feels the City needs to look at vacation of property as income. The Clerk read Ordinance No. 84—2000 on third reading. Ordinance No. 84—2000 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCES ON THIRD READING There were none. Common Council Minutes Cont'd December 18,2000 Page 6 UNFINISHED BUSINESS President Parker announced that because of the New Year holiday falling on the first Monday in 2001,that both Council meetings during January would be moved one week forward, making the meetings fall on January 8 and January 22. It was also discussed that the work session for Council concerning Ordinance No. 83 — 2000 would be open to the public,however,since there would be no formal action taken at the meeting and there had been a public hearing on the ordinance,there would be no public input.He said this could be discussed further at Council's January 8,2001,meeting. CALL FOR ADJOURNMENT There being no further business,on a motion duly made,seconded and passed,the meeting was adjourned. Larry Parker,President ATTEST: Norma Schroeder,Clerk