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HomeMy Public PortalAbout06-15-1987 5Z3 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND. INDIANA.JUNE 1 5. 1987 1 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana met in regular session June 15, 1987 at the hour of 2 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers in said City. President Brookbank presided with the following 3 Councilmembers present: Elstro, Williams, Whitesell, Parker, Hutton Morris and Theobald. Absent: 4 Hankinson. The following business was had to-wit: 5 6 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 7 8 SILENT DEVOTIONS 9 10 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JUNE 1,1987 11 12 Councilmember Hutton moved to approve the minutes of the previous meetings as prepared, seconded by 13 Councilmember Whitesell and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried. 14 15 COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR 16 17 Mayor Frank H. Waltermann informed the Council that he has been working on the 1988 Salary Ordinance 18 and will be presenting it to the Common Council at their next regular meeting. He said he would forward 19 information on the Salary Ordinance to the Council in ample time for them to address questions to him 20 regarding the ordinance. 21 22 Mayor Waltermann stated the City had received some more of the capital equipment as prioritized by the 23 Capital Equipment Committee. He said the new bus has arrived along with two trucks for the Street 24 Department, four trucks for the Motor Pool to be assigned to Planning and one truck for the Park 25 Department. 26 27 Mayor Waltermann said he has received no work on the All-America City Award, except July 13, 1987 had 28 been set to receive the award in a White House presentation. 29 30 REPORT FROM BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY 31 32 President Susan Silberstein reported the Board had approved the resignation of Patrolman Rick Irvin and 33 approved the hiring of Probationary Patrolman Barry Ritter. She said they approved a buzzer and door lock 34 system for the Richmond Police Department with the move of the Communications Center to the EOC. Ms. 35 Silberstein stated the Board had received bids for a railroad siding and would be receiving bids for paving 36 projects on June 25, 1987 and slurry seal projects on July 9, 1987. 37 38 Ms. Silberstein reported the Board had affirmed Orders to wreck and remove properties on North 19th and 39 1111 Sheridan and ordered the property at 1107 Sheridan repaired or wrecked within six months. She said 40 properties on North 12th and S.W. 3rd Street were approved for burning for Fire Department training upon 41 approval by the State Pollution Control Board. 42 43 Ms. Silberstein also informed the Council of hearing dates set for unsafe structures at 1413 North B Street 44 and 214 North 13th and that the Board was acting on various inoperable vehicle complaints. She also stated 45 that West End had notified the City they wanted to terminate a lease agreement on a portion of the Municipal 46 Parking Lot south of Elder Beerman. 47 48 Councilmember Williams asked if the City advertised when they hired police officers and firefighters and Ms. 49 Silberstein said the jobs were posted and advertised. 50 51 Councilmember Williams commented on no minority women being hired in these positions and Ms. Silberstein 52 informed Councilmember Williams that the Board had just approved the hiring of a minority female as a 53 Probationary Patrolperson with the Police Department and are very pleased with her performance. 54 55 Councilmember Elstro informed Ms. Silberstein that he had received two complaints on burning the property 56 on S.W. 3rd Street and Ms. Silberstein said the State contacts all residents within 500 feet of the structure 57 and the Board had tabled the request for public input,but did not receive any. 58 59 Councilmember Elstro asked about the Walking Patrol and when it was going to get started and Mayor 60 Waltermann said there are officers walking on certain occasions within the City, but it was financially 61 impossible to locate Walking Patrol in every part of the City. 62 63 Councilmember Elstro said he felt they needed someone from May on in the south end of the City particularly 64 and the program does promote good will. 65 le- Common Council Minutes Cont'd June 15, 1987 Page 2 1 Mayor Waltermann said they were looking at working some type of program into the budget, but there have 2 been problems all over the community and he realizes there is a need to increase manpower,but with budget 3 cuts it is impossible. 4 5 Councilmember Elstro said he felt the program allowed the officers to get out, make friends and prevent 6 future problems. 7 8 REPORTS FROM SPECIAL COMMITTEES 9 10 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE 11 12 Councilmember Whitesell announced the following dates for Committee of the Whole meetings on the 13 proposed salary ordinance. July 9, 1987 and July 16, 1987 at 7:00 PM in the Board of Works Room. He 14 added meeting dates would be announced at the next meeting for budget hearings. 15 16 REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES 17 18 AIRPORT BOARD 19 20 Councilmember Parker announced the Airport was in receipt of a grant from the State of Indiana Department 21 of Transportation for resurfacing the runways. He said the grant was 90%Federal funding,5%State and 5% 22 City. He added the State has committed their share of the funding which is 25,000.00 and asked the City 23 keep in mind their share would be 25,000.00 and give it due consideration in the upcoming budget hearings. 24 25 Councilmember Parker also announced that twenty to twenty-five resumes have been received for the 26 Manager's position with most having military experience. 27 28 PLAN COMMISSION 29 30 Councilmember Morris announced the Master Plan Central Committee would be meeting this Saturday from 9 31 AM to 3:30 PM for their second retreat,this time to establish firm goals for the Master Plan. 32 33 REPORTS FROM OTHER COUNCIL COMMITTEES 34 35 HUMAN RELATIONS ORDINANCE 36 37 Councilmember Morris reported the Citizen Advisory Committee for the Human Relations Ordinance had 38 heard testimony from prior commissions members and at their next meeting on June 18, 1987 they would be 39 hearing from the Dayton Ombudsman's Office. 40 41 MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS 42 43 STREET TREE COMMISSION REPORT 44 45 Mr. Carl Reynolds of the Richmond Street Tree Commission reported to the Council that the priorities of the 46 Commission were to plant trees and maintain them, get financial backing and to follow through with plans and 47 intentions. He said they have agreed on some areas and problems and they discuss these further at their 48 meeting of June 17, 1987. 49 50 Mr. Reynolds said that through age and neglect, Richmond now had rotting and diseased trees. Mr. 51 Reynolds said there have been 180 trees removed since the first of the year and even though it is a first 52 response to replace the trees, you cannot plant where another tree was located. 53 54 He said this has been a learning year for the members of the Commission and they have started from the 55 I ground up. He shared experiences with trees that were donated by Senator Allen Paul and Representative 56 Dick Bodiker and how they were not properly cared for and did not survive along with trees that had been 57 donated by a private citizen that were also not properly cared for and died. 58 59 WHEEL TAX DISCUSSION 60 61 President Brookbank commented that she had invited Max Smith, President of the County Commissioners 62 and Chris Beeson, President of the County Council to make a presentation on the proposed Wheel Tax. 63 64 Mayor Waltermann asked Mr. Smith if he would do the presentation made at the recent workshop since it 65 was a very good and informative presentation. Common Council Minutes Cont'd June 15, 1987 Page 3 1 Mr. Smith said the proposed Wheel Tax had been brought up for discussion at this time since the Gasoline 2 Tax revenues were not what were anticipated. He said the County had only received 98%of the anticipated 3 125%of revenues. Mr. Smith said that the County also had used revenue sharing funds on the highways 4 and that is no longer a source of revenue. Mr. Smith said they have been able to make many improvements 5 in the roads,but are now faced with a lot of maintenance and no revenue. 6 7 Mr. Smith explained there are two (2)separate taxes involved in the Wheel Tax. He said one is a surtax or 8 excise tax that is paid when plates are purchased that can range from two percent(2%)to ten percent(10%) 9 and they feel at a minimum rate there would not be that many persons having to pay over an additional$7.50. 10 He said the other part of the tax is a wheel tax on trucks, buses, etc. and ranges from $5.00 to $40.00 per 11 vehicles assessed for property tax. He said the income would be distributed to the County and incorporated 12 areas based on the street miles and population. 13 14 Mr. Smith said the County portion of the revenue from the tax would be approximately$363.000.00 and the 15 Cities would share over$373,000.00 dependent on the number of vehicles in the County. 16 17 Councilmember Williams asked what was expected of the Common Council and Mr. Smith said the County 18 Council needed to adopt the tax prior to July 1, 1987 and with cities and towns also benefiting,they were 19 looking for support from them. He said without the support of the cities and towns within the County, the 20 County Council was less likely to adopt the tax. 21 22 Councilmember Williams stated the tax did not have his blessings. He said with so many taxes, there is a 23 limit to what people can give and he would vote against it if he had a vote. Councilmember Williams reminded 24 all that common sense needed to be used. 25 26 Mr. Smith said the Wheel Tax was similar to the user fees the City of Richmond has since the people using 27 the roads would help support the maintenance and construction of the roads. 28 29 Councilmember Parker said most constituents he has talked with are in opposition to the tax. He said not 30 only automobile owners benefit from the roads, but others as well. He suggested a tax might be paid in the 31 form of a sales tax which would be fairer than the Wheel Tax. 32 33 Mr. Smith explained there were very few options for raising revenues and this is the option presented by the 34 State. He added this is the only option locally directly tied to roads. 35 36 Councilmember Whitesell asked if it were approved prior to July 1, 1987 would it be effective in January of 37 1988 and how can changes be made after approval. 38 39 Mr. Smith explained that it would be effective on January 1, 1988 and that changes can be made annually 40 prior to July 1st of each year. 41 42 Also speaking was Mr. Chris Beeson, President of the Wayne County Council. Mr. Beeson commented he 43 believed it had to be readopted each year. 44 45 Councilmember Whitesell asked if the surtax was on vehicles 11,000 pounds or lighter and Mr. Smith 46 explained there would be separate classes on the wheel tax and the surtax applies to all. 47 48 Councilmember Whitesell said he was concerned with the timing and that it had not been thoroughly 49 evaluated. He commented on acting now and not deciding to implement if other areas of revenue became 50 available. 51 52 Mr. Smith said that it needs to be adopted now, since it would be included in the vehicle registrations. 53 54 Councilmember Morris asked if there were other options available for revenue and Mr. Smith said the County 55 could divert a part of the Local Option Tax to offset the loss of revenue sharing and that those funds now go 56 to property tax replacement. 57 58 Councilmember Morris asked why the County waited so long to include cities and towns in on the decision if 59 they wanted input. 60 61 Mr. Smith said they did not act last year, since they were not certain of the status of revenue sharing funds. 62 He said with the Local Road and Street Funds and Motor Vehicle Highway funds not coming through as 63 anticipated in May, it showed they would run significantly short of funds. 64 65 He said the County has used revenue sharing for capital equipment and asphalt and they will not be able to -528 .62„u Common Council Minutes Cont'd June 15, 1987 Page 4 1 carry on their programs of improvements without additional revenue and without significant revenue 2 increases they will be in bad shape in the future. 3 4 Councilmember Morris stated the County had,a good basis and demonstrable need to adopt the tax without 5 cities and towns making the decision. 6 7 Councilmember Elstro asked if the Option Tax stayed in the County and how much was received. 8 9 Mr. Smith said it did stay in the County an over$2,000,000.00 are received. He said the Wheel Tax will be 10 collected within the County and not go to the State. 11 12 Mr. Beeson explained to the Common Council,that the County Commissioners want to see the tax adopted 13 and since it is beneficial to the rest of the incorporated areas,they wanted their input. He said if there is no 14 positive response, the County Council will not adopt the tax. He said alternative ways of receiving do not 15 include cities and towns. 16 17 Mr. Beeson said there were three options available to the County, (1) Collection of monies based on the 18 property tax, (2) the Surtax and Wheel Tax or (3) do nothing. He said if they do nothing there will be a 19 problem in the future. 20 21 Councilmember Elstro commented on the amount of county taxes never enjoyed by the residents of the City 22 of Richmond. 23 24 Mr. Beeson said the County Council is still listening and they have not made up their minds, but will make a 25 decision as to whether to hold the meeting to adopt the tax after receiving public input. 26 27 Councilmember Whitesell stated he was not sure he disagreed with the formula and felt it was reasonable fair 28 to distribute on the road and population formula, but he is not certain he agrees with the tax. 29 30 Mayor Frank Waltermann stated he had done some checking and estimated the cost to be 24,000.00 to 31 asphalt one mile of street and with 289,000.00 to 300,000.00 being returned to the City it would not provide 32 that much revenue for streets. He said if the State Auditor would make up his mind on the distribution of 33 gasoline taxes it would also make it easier for cities and counties to budget for street repairs. 34 35 Mayor Waltermann said the City will be able to absorb a portion of the lost revenue from the gasoline tax and 36 it will not hurt the City that badly. He said he wanted to stress that the City anticipated the loss of revenue 37 sharing and have absorbed that loss and still presented a balanced budget and increased city services. He 38 said the City has planned carefully, presented good budgets and still upgraded the poor equipment that was 39 inherited. He said the Street Department is currently not even on the tax rolls. 40 41. Mayor Waltermann said he does not support the Wheel Tax. He said he can honestly say the City needs 42 more money and they could certainly use it, but they can't say they need it. 43 44 PETITION AGAINST THE USE OF SOUTH 10TH STREET PARK FOR SENIOR CENTER 45 46 Ms.Gertrude Ward, property owner in the City of Richmond and president of the Neighborhood Preservation 47 Services presented a petition to the Council in opposition to the use of the South 10th Street Park as a site 48 for a new senior center. Ms. Ward said the petition contains 153 names against the SWAG building being 49 destroyed and the use of the 10th Street Park for a new building. She said they feel there are other option 50 available and they should be investigated. Ms. Ward said they are not against a senior center, but feel it is 51 unnecessary to demolish a historic building. She said they would like the City to consider keeping the SWAG 52 and bringing it to code and use other places for parking. She said it was important to keep open space in the 53 city and the space in the 10th Street Park preserves the character of the area. Ms. Ward commented that 54 they City has encroached in enough of its green spaces. 55 56 Also speaking was Martha Potter, 227 South 10th Street. Ms. Potter said the residents of the area did not 57 want a building in the park. She said many people use the park and they are also concerned with the safety 58 of elderly having to cross the street from the parking facility to the proposed senior center. She said there 59 were empty houses south of the SWAG that could be purchased for parking. 60 61 Ms. Louise Williams, 316 South 10th Street, said she hated to see the park destroyed. She added that the 62 City now complains against children on the streets and yet we are destroying the space available for them. 63 64 Councilmember Williams said he was not opposed to the senior center or an expansion,just opposed to the 65 location. He said the parking is also a problem. Councilmember Williams said he felt it will be hard to get a 62.1 Common Council Minutes C nt'd June 15, 1987 Page 5 1 bond issue approved and f els other alternatives need to be considered. 2 3 Councilmember Hutton co mented that the Park Board is arranging a neighborhood meeting to discuss the 4 senior center and it will be held at the end of June. She said residents will get notice and be asked for their 5 input. 6 7 ORDINANCES 8 9 ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING 10 11 Councilmember Whitesell moved to suspend the rules and read Ordinance No. 33-1987 on first reading by 12 title only,seconded by Councilmember Elstro and on unanimous voice vote the motion was carried. 13 14 15 APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE NO.33-1987 16 17 The Clerk read on first reading by title only Ordinance No. 33-1987-AN ORDINANCE TO APPROPRIATE 18 WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND. 19 20 President Brookbank announced the ordinance would be advertised for public hearing on July 6, 1987. 21 22 ADJOURNMENT 23 24 There being no further business,on a motion duly made, seconded and passed,the meeting was adjourned. 25 26 27 28 29 Jane R. Brookbank, President 30 31 ATTEST: 32 Mary Merchanthouse, City Clerk 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 • 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 1