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HomeMy Public PortalAbout02-18-2003PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND, INDIANA, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2003 The Common Council of the City of Richmond, Indiana met in regular session at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 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, Phil Dickman and Sarah "Sally" Hutton. Paul Combs was absent. The following business was conducted: PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PRAYER BY COUNCILMEMBER HUTTON ROLL CALL Eight present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the February 3, 2003 meeting were approved on a motion by Councilmember Parker, second by Councilmember Sharp, and the motion was carried on a voice vote. PRESENTATIONS, MEMORIALS, REMONSTRANCES, PETITIONS AND INTRODUCTIONS MOTIONS OR RESOLUTIONS. (MUST BE IN WRITING) RESOLUTION NO.2 — 2003 A RESOLUTION ALLOWING A LATE FILED STATEMENT OF BENEFITS FORM FOR A TAX ABATEMENT FOR BEACH AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE, INC. City Attorney Bob Bever explained that this resolution is a follow up from prior meetings including the Committee of the Whole meeting talking about Ordinance No. 105 — 2002 concerning Beach Automotive Service Inc. He said that at the time one of the three legal issues presented to him for review and advice was regarding whether or not the statement of benefits form was timely and the conclusion was that it was not and that led to the discussion about the specific requirements. Bever said the law specifically requires that when the statement of benefits form is filed it must be submitted before the initiation of the redevelopment or rehabilitation for which that deduction was claimed. In this instance, Bever said, it had been completed. However, he said, there is another section of the state tax abatement law that allows the Council to ignore that time requirement if, by separate resolution, it allows such a late filed benefits form. After discussing all of this, he said, and upon his inquiry to the petitioner, they asked if a resolution could be prepared to allow them to file this late form so Council could then proceed to discuss the merits of Ordinance No. 105 — 2002. Bever said, however, by approving this resolution it does not approve the ordinance but simply allows Council to consider the merits of it. He said in going back and looking at the records, he did not find one that Council had done allowing a late filed statement of benefits form. However, he said, he found three that Council approved for a late filed deduction application. He said these were done for Belden, Transilwrap and Frickenshear, so there is precedent in allowing late filed deduction applications. Councilmember Dickman said that based upon the Committee of the Whole meeting held February 5, it was decided that going forward Council would toughen up on the deadlines for filing, but agreed that this was a different type of situation. He moved to approve the resolution, second by Councilmember Wissel and the motion was carried on a unanimous roll call vote. .(YLl ILl 1U►1 [YkY Y [Y7►� y KYLI Y Y 11 ad k�YY] N Mayor Shelley Miller expressed her appreciation to the Street Department for clearing the streets during the recent snow that saw nearly a foot falling in the City over the weekend. She added to that her appreciation of the work done by the Sanitary Department for clearing the alleys as well as the Parks Department for clearing many of the City lots. She said she had also received a call from Richmond Community Schools about clearing the sidewalks so that students would be able to walk without fear of falling. She encouraged property owners to clear the walks in front of their homes to accommodate those students as well as other pedestrians. She also mentioned that she would be giving her State of the City address at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Council Chambers. She said department heads would be talking about the 2002 accomplishments and she would be talking about the 2003 goals. She invited not only Councilmembers but any citizens who would be interested in attending. Common Council Minutes Cont'd February 19, 2003 Page 2 Mayor Miller also spoke briefly about the housing grant, saying that applications are now available in the Community Development office and the first workshop has been held with homeowners. She said the next one would be on February 20, another on February 24 and the final one would be February 27. She said the deadline to submit a grant will be at 3 p.m. Friday, March 7. She said those interested in learning more about this should contact Jennifer McGuire in the Community Development office. Councilmember Lundy commented that she was very happy to see some action in this area and she invited those people wishing to apply should do so. Councilmember Sharp said he had sat in on some planning sessions for this grant and he feels it has been a job well done, noting that several changes were made from the original proposal. REPORT FROM BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS AND SAFETY President Welch said the minutes of the meetings of January 16, 23 and 30, 2003 were in the packets. REPORTS FROM DEPARTMENT HEADS REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM SPECIAL COMMITTEES REPORTS FROM ORGANIZATIONS MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING Councilmember Elstro moved to suspend the rules and read Ordinances No. 7, 10 and 11 — 2003 on first reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Lundy and the motion was carried on a voice vote. ORDINANCE NO.7 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 7 — 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING MAP FOR A CERTAIN PARCEL FROM R-2 TO C-2 Planning Director Bob Goodwin explained that this ordinance deals with the property at 3433 East Main Street where a vacant gasoline station is currently located next to the car wash. He said the request for the rezoning comes from Old National Bank. President Welch said this ordinance would be sent to the Planning Commission. ORDINANCE NO. 10 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 10 — 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AMENDING THE ZONING MAP FOR A CERTAIN PARCEL FROM C-2 TO C-4 Planning Director Bob Goodwin explained that this property is located at North 7' and D Streets, just south of Little Sheba's and is now a parking lot. President Welch said this, too, would be sent to the Planning Commission. ORDINANCE NO. 11— 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 11 — 2003 — AN APPROPRIATION ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING SUBMITTAL, ACCEPTANCE, AND APPROVAL OF A GRANT FROM THE INDIANA CRIMINAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE Lt. Paul Phillips of the Richmond Police Department explained that this ordinance deals with the program Operation Pull Over sponsored by the Governor's Council. He said since 1999 the number of injuries caused by auto accidents within the City are down 45 percent. He said that is due almost exclusively to increased seatbelt usage. He said the grant money received from this request is used exclusively to pay salaries for the officers to engage in selective enforcement operations which are mostly the enforcement of Driving Under the Influence and seatbelt usage. Councilmember Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 11 — 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 Ordinance No. 11 —2003 on second reading Common Council Minutes Cont'd February 19, 2003 Page 3 President Welch declared Ordinance No. 9 — 2003 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 Lundy moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 11 —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. 11 —2003 on third reading. Ordinance No. 11 — 2003 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCES ON SECOND READING AND ENGROSSMENT ORDINANCE NO. 105 — 2002 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 105 — 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 AND SPECIFICALLY 6-1.1-12.1-7 (UPTOWN AREA) President Welch gave his report as the investigating party for the abatement request, commenting on his meeting with Brad Beach during which he expressed his concerns about the tardiness of filing the application and the length of time for the abatement. He said during that meeting several other questions were raised which included whether or not an auto repair business was to be considered as a retail business of the uptown area and meet those guidelines. He said that has since been clarified by the Law Department and in the Committee of the Whole meeting. He said that Beach had applied for the equipment he had installed in the building addition and under the target area rules and regulations there is no abatement for equipment and that gave him further cause for concern. He said he told Beach at that time he could not recommend approval of the abatement request. However, Councilmember Welch said that since then Council had had a Committee of the Whole meeting and discussion with the Law Department to make certain that the guidelines applied to these types of requests be made very clear at the time of the application being taken from the abatement administrator so that they fully understand the rules and guidelines placed in the target areas. He said that he feels that with the passage of the resolution tonight it has said that Council admits that it didn't follow as closely as it might have on this abatement request. He said he felt this request should be amended and drop out the request to abate the equipment and machinery and to discuss the length of time of the abatement. Renee Oldham, director of Main Street Inc., spoke in support of the ordinance, calling it a "great" ordinance, saying that the whole idea was that it would work as a tool that would enhance and create investment uptown. President Welch read a letter of support for the ordinance written by Frank Mazzei, director of the Richmond -Wayne County Chamber of Commerce. Brad Beach commented on the work that had been done on his property, stating that the addition to his building resulted growing from two bays to five bays, spending $58,000 in doing this. He said they cleared brush, paved and graveled the north lot, painted the interior of the existing building and installed a new electrical system and a new heating system in the total building. He said that they did the majority of all the work themselves but estimated that had they paid someone to do it the cost would have come close to $100,000. He said they have landscaping plans and they will strive to improve the area, adding that he had plans for the building next door which used to be a pizza parlor. He said they pay above average wages, have a benefit package that includes holidays, paid life insurance and matching contributions to a retirement plan. He added that during the summer months they hire local students who want to pursue a career in the automotive field and they sponsor many events within the community. He expressed his appreciation to the Council for its support. Councilmember Wissel moved to amend the ordinance to remove the words "new manufacturing equipment", second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Wissel moved to amend the ordinance from a 10-year abatement to a 5-year abatement, second by Councilmember Dickman. The ordinance was adopted on a roll call vote of 5 to 3, with Councilmembers Elstro, Lundy and Hutton voted against. Councilmember Sharp moved for engrossment, second by Councilmember Wissel and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Councilmember Wissel moved to suspend the rules and advance Ordinance No. 105 — 2002 to third and final reading and read by title only, second by Councilmember Sharp and the motion was carried on a voice vote. Common Council Minutes Cont'd February 19, 2003 Page 4 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 105 — 2002 on third reading. Ordinance No. 105 — 2002 was adopted on a unanimous roll call vote. ORDINANCE NO.8 — 2003 The Clerk read Ordinance No. 8 — 2003 — A SPECIAL ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE APPROVAL OF BENEFITS FOR A PROPERTY OWNER APPLYING FOR DEDUCTIONS UNDER I.C. 6-1.1-12.1 Councilmember Wissel explained that this request is made by Carroll Electric and because almost all the work has been done on it he said he would like to have another resolution done in support of doing that. He said that being the case there would be no action called for on this tonight. ORDINANCES ON THIRD READING UNFINISHED BUSINESS 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