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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFEBRUARY 23, 2015COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA February 23, 2015 The Common Council of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana met in regular session in Room 101, 500 Quartermaster Court, Jeffersonville, Indiana at 5:30pm, on Monday, February 23, 2015. Council President Gill, with Vicki Conlin, City Clerk, called the meeting to order at S:30pm_ President Gill asked those in attendance to stand as Councilperson Samuel gave the Invocation. President Gill then led all those present in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. The roll call and those present were: Councilperson Smith, Vice President Zastawny, Councilperson Wadsworth, Councilperson Sellers, Councilperson Julius, Councilperson Webb, President Gill, Councilperson Owen and Councilperson Samuel. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Councilperson Owen made a motion to APPROVE the agenda, with Councilperson Sellers seconding, PASSING on a vote of 9-0. CLAIMS TO BE APPROVED: General Claims: Assistant Controller Heather Metcalf presented the general claims list in the amount of $918,601.76. Councilperson Sellers requested pulling a claim under the Mayor's promotional budget for $500 to the Jeff High Band so that they can be sure that all specifications have been followed_ Councilperson Sellers requested that it be put back on for next Monday's Council meeting. Ms_ Metcalf stated that the new general claims total after the removal of the claim to JHS Band is $918,101.76. Councilperson Owen made a motion to APPROVE the general claims list as amended with Councilperson Smith seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8-0-1, with Councilperson Julius abstaining. A. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Dennis Julius — Donation to Haven House: Councilperson Julius explained that when the extremely cold weather came through on Monday, he called Council President Gill and suggested the City Council look into some way of helping the homeless population in our community. He and President Gill came up with an idea to ask City Council to approve donating $2,000 in monetary aid. Councilperson Julius explained that he sent an email to all Council members asking for their approval and within just a few minutes, five members of the Council responded yes. After receiving this approval, Haven House Director Barbara Anderson was contacted along with Mr_ Paul Stensrud with Exit O and asked what their needs were during this emergency. Councilperson Julius stated that he wrote a personal check for $2,000 and gave it to Barbara Anderson, who in turn gave him a receipt. Councilperson Julius requested that Council reimburse him for this $2,000 check to be taken out of Council's Special Projects line item. This entire donation of $2,000 went toward the homeless and their needs during the white flag days and nights of dangerously frigid temperatures. Councilperson Julius explained that he was approached by a newspaper reporter who questioned whether or not this donation was approved in an illegal voting format. Councilperson Julius expressed his frustration with this matter. 1 PUBLIC COMMENT: Ms. Barbara Anderson came forward to thank the Council for their leadership and stated that this is the first time the Council has reached out to them in this way and they are humbled by the gesture. Ms. Anderson stated that she hasn't heard anything but good things from the community about Council's decision. Ms. Anderson explained that most of the $2,000 donation went to mattresses purchased from the local Bowles Mattress Co. in Jeffersonville and commented that Council did two things with their money - supported a local business (Bowles) and put mattresses under homeless people's heads. Exit 0 is now back in the Bales Building and Ms. Anderson is requesting Council provide additional support to purchase kerosene to heat the building. Ms. Anderson stated that this is not a political issue, it's a human issue. Councilperson Smith suggested opening up a line of credit for a set dollar amount at Heuser Hardware for Exit 0 to purchase kerosene to help heat the old Bales Building. After discussion, Council members agreed with this suggestion. Councilperson Smith made a motion to reimburse Councilperson Dennis Julius for the $2,000 City Council donation that was made to Haven House and Exit 0 for the homeless with Councilperson Sellers seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8-0-1 with Councilperson Julius abstaining. Councilperson Smith made a motion to open a line of credit not to exceed $500 for Exit 0 Ministries to purchase kerosene to heat the Bales Building where the homeless are staying with Councilperson Webb seconding, PASSING on a vote of 9-0. Carolyn King stated that she worked with the disaster recovery (Henryville tornado) and it will soon be spring again. Suggests Council think of some plans and discretionary funds, or some way of making decisions right on the spot for emergencies. Suggested having a plan in place for warming centers, because when disasters strike, you need to be on the ground making decisions immediately. Mr. Paul Stensrud with Exit 0 Ministries stated that he was truly thankful for Council's donation. COUNCIL COMMENTS: Councilperson Smith: Stated that it's easy to have communication with other Council members now that there is email. Back when he first started serving on the City Council, an idea and request for approval would have taken 8 phone calls and with email it's much easier, but having said that, it can get easily misconstrued. Councilperson Zastawny: None at this time. Councilperson Wadsworth: None at this time. Councilperson Sellers: None at this time. Councilperson Webb: None at this time. Councilperson Julius: Thanks to Haven House and Exit 0 for the work they do for the homeless. He visited the temporary shelters every morning and found around 40 people taking advantage of the temporary shelter and found is humbling. 2 Councilperson Owen: Stated that for the sake of clarification, there was never any email or discussion back and forth with any Council member that indicated that he was not in support of this initiative. The only communication from him was to Attorney Scott Lewis asking if Council was properly moving forward properly and within the law. Councilperson Owen stated that he has no problem with what Council has done here today. It's a great thing to help Haven House and Exit 0 who are working in the trenches at the hardest part of their year. How this got blown out of proportion to tonight's comments, he's unsure. The implication that he spoke to a reporter about this issue is unfounded. Councilperson Owen indicated to Ms. Anderson to please not misconstrue his concerns tonight as not being supportive of her. Ms. Anderson responded that Councilperson Owen has always expressed support of the homeless issue in the past and her intention was to eventually speak to him about this, so she is glad he brought it up. Councilperson Owen stated that he wished someone had brought it up to him as well and apologized to Ms. Anderson. Councilperson Samuel: None at this time. President Gill: Reminded Council of the Jeff Main Street Fundraiser, Chili & Brew on Thursday, February 26th, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm. Reminded Council members if they are not going to use their ticket to the event, to pass it on to another Councilperson so it won't go to waste. ADJOURNMENT: Councilperson Owen made a motion to ADJOURN at 5:53pm, with Councilperson Samuel seconding, PASSING on a vote of 9-0. Vicki Conlin, City Clerk APPROVED BY: Lisa Gill, President 3