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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNovember 21, 2016 COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA NOVEMBER 21, 2016 The Common Council of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana met in regular session in Room 101, 500 Quartermaster Court,Jeffersonville, Indiana at 7:00 pm, on Monday, November 21, 2016. Council President Owen along with City Clerk Conlin called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Council President Owen gave the Invocation and Council President Owen asked those in attendance to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL:The roll call was conducted and those present were: Councilperson White, Councilperson Zastawny, Councilperson Jahn, Councilperson Maples, Councilperson Gill, Council President Owen, Councilperson Hawkins, , and Councilperson Rodriquez. Councilperson Samuel was absent from the proceedings. MINUTES TO BE APPROVED: Minutes from the Council Workshop on November 7, 2016—Councilperson Gill made a motion to APPROVE the minutes, with Councilperson Jahn seconding, PASSING on a vote, 7-0-1 with Councilperson White abstaining. Minutes from the Council Regular Proceedings November 7, 2016—Councilperson Gill made a motion to APPROVE the minutes with Councilperson Zastawny seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Council President Owen stated under Unfinished Business we will be removing#1 and moving#5 in its place. Councilperson Gill made a motion to APPROVE the agenda with the noted changes with Councilperson Jahn seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. CLAIMS TO BE APPROVED: City Controller Heather Metcalf presented the Claims. Councilperson Gill stated she went over the claims and we are going to have to add to the Transfer list. Department have got to stop holding on to claims. Also when people travel we need to make sure they get their tax exempt number so we are not having to go back and correct those. Controller Metcalf said on page one a fund number will be changed so that the laptop and case will be coming from the software/hardware line. Also on page 8 the correct total for Capitol One is$179.69. There is a hand carried for Anne Langley, when she went to a training the credit card would not accept the amount so she put it on her personal credit card. The amount was$1,227.76. The new total is$1,668,346.61. Councilperson Gill made a motion to APPROVE the Claims as amended with Councilperson Hawkins seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. REPORT OF THE CLERK: Clerk Conlin said that she received another invoice for testing for the Fire Merit Board in the amount of $3575.00 Councilperson Gill asked for an update for the Ordinance Violations Bureau. The new employee has started, we now have the software installed on all of the needed computers with the exception of the 1 one computer we are waiting on. Hopefully the petty cash Ordinance will be passed tonight. We plan on accepting money beginning December 5, 2016. AGENDA ITEMS: UNFINSHED BUSINESS: 1. Les Merkley—2016-OR-80 An Ordinance Amending Portions of the Zoning Ordinance (2000- OR-61) To Align With the Recently Adopted Jeffersonville Comprehensive Plan Update (2015- OR-58) (PUBLIC HEARING HELD 11/7/16 TABLED 11/7/16) — Councilperson Zastawny asked how many public meetings were held in this district that included the residents. There were four held, there were no neighborhood specific meetings. Councilperson Zastawny said he noticed a theme with the height. Why can't we just limit the height back to the 40 feet and if there is a project that fits in with the area approve the variance. The City won't be able to meet the housing need at 40 feet. There are great opportunities available and it is our opinion that this is where we want this area to go and we want to signal that developers with a formal buy in. This will promote further success of downtown. Councilperson Jahn asked if maintaining the 40 ft. height would deter potential developers from coming to the area. Essentially yes, the Planning and Zoning Department has had developers come in and when they learn of the 40 ft. restriction they back out. One developer has even walked away from money they had invested. Councilperson White asked if they had indeed walked away from money they had already put forward and one developer in particular had. Councilperson Rodriguez asked if that developer could have asked for a variance for that location and Mr. Pruitt stated they could have but they did not, not knowing if it would be worth their time and effort. Councilperson Rodriquez asked where the housing study came from. It came from the Planning and Zoning Department using the Census Bureau and other sources. Councilperson Rodriquez asked about the graves on the site. City Attorney Les Merkley stated there were no graves moved. Councilperson Rodriquez asked if maybe the Historic District could be expanded. Councilperson Hawkins asked what the process was for the local Historic District to expand. The City Council would do that. Councilperson Gill asked when the calculations were being made for the housing needs did they include all of the apartments that were just approved? They were not taken out of the final number needed, they haven't been built. Also the infrastructure is really concerning. The Sewer District and Roads, how much has that been focused on. There was a meeting with the City Engineer, Waste Water Department and the City Attorney and the word the Planning and Zoning Department is getting is that there is capacity for these units. Councilperson Gill is concerned about the smart growth. Everything comes back to height. She respectfully disagrees and thinks that doing it on a case by case basis is smart growth. She has not heard any reason why it can't be done on a case by case basis. The apartment is her neighborhood has devalued her neighborhood. Has the Public Safety aspect of this been 2 discussed? There has not been a specific conversation about this. There will be more needs but there has been no specific conversations. Councilperson Rodriquez said he was surprised that more of downtown Jeffersonville wasn't in the Historic District and maybe that should be revisited. The Public Comment was reopened for this matter: Brandy Brewer—321 Pearl St—She has legitimate concerns about this overlay plan. Primary concern is the height concern. Please take us into consideration. Don't overlook our personal need. Beverly Knight 416—If there is no need to come downtown, why do you think people who live downtown would drive 35 minutes to a job. Think about this. This is your legacy. Case Keiper—Where are these 17,000 jobs going to come from? Need to wait until the jobs are here and do a case by case basis. A roll call was requested: Councilperson White- yes Councilperson Zastawny—no Councilperson Jahn —yes Councilperson Maples—yes Councilperson Gill —no Council President Owen —yes Councilperson Hawkins—yes Councilperson Rodriquez—no 2016-OR-80 was PASSED on a final vote, 5-3. 2. Vicki Conlin—2016-OR-77 An Ordinance Amending 2015-OR-18, Which Amends 2012-OR-2, Which Amends 2011-OR-49, Which Amends 2009-OR-13, Which Amends 2008-OR-56, An Ordinance Establishing Departmental Petty Cash and/or Cash Change Fund. (Passed on 151 and 2nd reading 11/7/16)—City Clerk Conlin presented 2016-OR-77. There have been no changes since the first reading. Councilperson Jahn made a motion to APPROVE 2016-OR-77 on the third and final reading with Councilperson White seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. 3. Heather Metcalf—2016-OR-78 An Ordinance Transferring Certain Funds Within the Same Department (Passed on 1st and 211 reading 11/7/6) —City Controller Heather Metcalf presented 2016-OR-78. There have been no changes since the last meeting. Councilperson Gill made a motion to APPROVE 2016-OR-78 on the third and final reading with Councilperson Jahn seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. 4. Heather Metcalf— PUBLIC HEARING - 2016-OR-79 An Ordinance of Additional Appropriation (Passed on 1st and 2nd reading 11/7/16) —City Controller Heather Metcalf presented 2016- OR-79. There have been no changes since the last meeting. Council President Owen opened Public Hearing at 8:34 PM and seeing as no members of the community came forward to speak for or against the matter the Public Hearing was closed at 8:35 PM. Councilperson Jahn made a motion to APPROVE 2016-OR-79 on the third and final hearing with Councilperson Gill seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. 3 NEW BUSINESS: 1. Gary Leavell—Discussion on Smoking Ordinance for Downtown Barbeque— Mr. Leavell provided copies of letters sent to him. He is having difficulty because he was told that he had to move his BBQ smoker off site but there is no Ordinance that can be provided to him that says he cannot use this for his business. He feels as though he deserves an apology and that he should be able to continue on with his business. Councilperson Rodriquez asked what kind of compromise could be considered for this. Mr. Leavell advised that he would seek out legal representation to assist him further. 2. Matt Owen -2016-OR-81 An Ordinance Fixing the Salaries of Elected Officials of the City of Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana, Commencing on January 1, 2017. Council President Owen presented 2016-OR-81. There have been no changes to this Ordinance it is required that it is adopted yearly. Councilperson Jahn made a motion to APPROVE 2016-OR-81 on the first and second reading with Councilperson Gill seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. 3. Les Merkely—2016-OR-82 An Ordinance Establishing Fund to Accept State Infrastructure/Transportation Funds—There is a slight correction. Under section one it reads as the Clerk and should read as the Controller, it was a typographical error. Councilperson Gill made a motion to APPROVE the changes as mentioned with Councilperson Jahn seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. Councilperson Gill made a motion to APPROVE the amended Ordinance on the first and second reading with Councilperson Jahn seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. 4. Heather Metcalf—2016-OR-83 An Ordinance Transferring Certain Funds Within the Same Department—City Controller Heather Metcalf presented 2016-OR-83. City Council Attorney Report: Nothing at this time. Department Head Reports: Nothing at this time. Public Comment: Was addressed during Public Hearings. Council Comment: Councilperson White—Nothing at this time. Councilperson Zastawny—Councilperson Zastawny has worked with City Engineer Andy Crouch about the sidewalks being installed on Hamburg Pike. It will take $85,000-$100,000 for this project to be completed. Also he would like some sort of list of projects that are ready to be completed to be established in case there is additional grant money available to the area. 4 Councilperson Jahn—Just wanted to ask where the City was with the Internal Controls. Council President Owen stated he will address that during his Council Comment. Councilperson Maples—Councilperson Maples pointed out that Captain Moreland has a beard,the local Police Officers have an option to donate money to charity and be able to grow a beard for the month of November. Councilperson Gill—The Fire Department recently applied for a $100,000 grant that their match would need to be $11,000. The money is in their budget. Also a new BZA appointment needs to be made since Connie Sellers will be sitting on the County Commission. Councilperson Hawkins—Councilperson Hawkins would like to see an informal rule set that people who are on the agenda are sponsored so there is a place to go for additional information. Clerk Conlin clarified that a Department Head could be put on the Agenda and they can. Councilperson Rodriquez—Councilperson Rodriquez said he would like to see something done with the Historical District. Council President Owen—Human Resources Director Kim Calabro asked if she should go ahead and move forward with what was discussed at the last Council Workshop. Not sure he is in support of it and would hate for work to be done if there is not going to be the support to pass it. Adjournment: Councilperson Jahn made a motion to ADJORN at 9:20. APPROVED BY- Matt a resident ATTEST: L Vicki Conlin, Clerk 5