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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 3, 2024 Council Minutes COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA September 3, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes The Common Council of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana met for the Regular Meeting on September 3, 2024. Council President White along with City Clerk Gill called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. The meeting was open to the public in person as well as live streamed via the City Website using Zoom. INVOCATION: Councilperson Burns led the invocation. Pledge of Allegiance: ROLL CALL: The roll call was conducted by City Clerk Lisa Gill and present in Council Chambers were Councilperson Burns, Councilperson Semones, Councilperson Anderson, Councilperson Reed, Council President White, Council Vice President Hawkins, Councilperson Snelling and Councilperson Stoner. Councilperson Webb was absent. Let the record reflect that 8 Council Members were present in Council Chambers and 1 absent. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Councilperson Semones made a motion approve the agenda, seconded by Councilperson Anderson; motion passed, 8-0. APROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilperson Reed made a motion to approve the Minutes for Budget Special Meeting on August 19, 2024, seconded by Councilperson Burns; motion passed, 8-0. Councilperson Burns made a motion to approve the Minutes for Regular Proceedings on August 19, 2024, seconded by Councilperson Stoner; motion passed, 8-0. CLAIMS TO APPROVE: Civil City$1,252,500.68 Council President White stated the Civil City Claims were in the amount of$1,252,500.68 . Mrs. Metcalf advised there were no changes. Councilperson Burns made a motion to approve the Civil City Claims, seconded by Councilperson Reed; motion passed, 8-0. Parks$101,124.49 Council President White stated the Parks Claims were in the amount of$101,124.49. Mrs. Metcalf advised there were no changes. Councilperson Semones made a motion to approve the Parks Claims, seconded by Councilperson Anderson; motion passed, 8-0. REPORT OF THE CLERK: Clerk Gill stated she had nothing for this evening. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Heather Metcalf 2024-OR-44 (PUBLIC HEARING) Ordinance of Additional Appropriation— Council President White advised this additional appropriation was for the Economic Development Abatement for Professional Services in the amount of$30,000. Mrs. Metcalf stated there were no changes. Council President White opened the Public Hearing at 6:06 pm and no members of the community came forward to speak for or against the matter; the Public Hearing was closed at 6:07 pm. Councilperson Reed made a motion to approve 2024-OR-44 on the third and final reading, seconded by Councilperson Stoner; motion passed, 8-0. 2. Heather Metcalf 2024-OR-45 (PUBLIC HEARING) Ordinance of Additional Appropriation— Council President White advised this additional appropriation was for Building Demolition — Professional Service in the amount of$20,000 and Building Authority—Contractual Services in the amount of$65,000. Council President White opened the Public Hearing at 6:07 pm and no members of the community came forward to speak for or against the matter; the Public Hearing was closed. Councilperson Burns made a motion to approve 2024-OR-45 on the third and final reading, seconded by Councilperson Semones; motion passed, 8-0. 3. Heather Metcalf 2024-OR-46(PUBLIC HEARING) Ordinance of Additional Appropriation— Council President White advised this additional appropriation was for LIT Public Service Police Capital Loan Payment in the amount of$275,000, General Police Equipment in the amount of $2,944.82, Local Law Enforcement Continuing Education Police Training in the amount of $8,000, and Local Law Enforcement Continuing Education Police Travel and Mileage in the amount of$10,000. Mrs. Metcalf stated there were no changes. Council President White opened the Public Hearing at 6:08 pm and no members of the community came forward to speak for or against the matter; the Public Hearing was closed. Councilperson Snelling made a motion to approve 2024-OR-46 on the third and final reading, seconded by Councilperson Stoner; motion passed, 8-0. 4. Heather Metcalf 2024-OR-47 Ordinance of Transfer of Certain Funds Within the Same Department— Council President White stated this was a transfer of funds within the same department. Councilperson Burns made a motion to approve 2024-OR-47 on the third and final reading, seconded by Councilperson Reed; motion passed, 8-0. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Appointment of Youth Advisor—Council President White thanked Councilperson Reed for taking this under her wing and developing the application so this could be possible. After feedback was received from the Council, Council President White said he chose Heaven Williams as the Youth Advisor. Council President White thanked Miss Williams for applying and encouraged her to reach out each Councilperson. Ms. Williams thanked the Council for the appointment and said she will fulfill the appointment to her greatest ability. Lisa Hoffman from Indiana Southeast presented Miss Williams a certificate emblematic of a scholarship that Heaven will receive. Clerk Gill advised if Miss Williams provides her email address she will be added to the Council Packet distribution list. 2. Chad Reischl 2024-OR-48 (PUBLIC HEARING) Rezone Request for Property Located on 3.4 Acres at the End of Briscoe Drive from R1 (Single Family Residential-Large Lot) to R2 ( Single Family Residential-Medium Lot)— Mr. Reischl advised this came before the Council a month ago and at that time the applicant wanted to rezone this tract from R1 to R3. It had received an unfavorable recommendation from the Plan Commission and the Council turned down the application. The applicant has returned and is now requesting to rezone this tract from R1 to R2 which is a slightly less dense zone district than previously requested. The property is surrounded by both R3 and R2 zone districts. The rezoning is not at odds with the comprehensive plans however there are considerable connection and transportation concerns with how this property would be accessed. The application received an unfavorable recommendation from the last Plan Commission meeting. The applicant was not present for questions. Councilperson Reed advised she spoke with the applicant after the last Plan Commission Meeting about the concerns with Gilmore being a narrow street. When she was discussing concerns with the applicant after the meeting they advised her they would also be happy to keep the zoning at R1 to develop. Council President White asked Councilperson Reed if this was in her district and she advised it was and she was not in favor of the rezoning due to the narrowness of Gilmore. Councilperson Reed advised Mayor Moore was also present at the Plan Commission Meeting and was not in support of the rezoning request. Councilperson Reed said she would not be voting in support of this request. Council President White said he normally is in favor of what the District Council person's opinion so he would be voting unfavorable as well. Council President White opened the Public Hearing at 6:21 pm and no members of the community came forward to speak for or against the matter; the Public Hearing was closed. Councilperson Reed made a motion to consider the rezoning application 2024-OR-48 seconded by Councilperson Stoner; motion failed, 0-8. 3. Chad Reischl 2024-OR-49 (PUBLIC HEARING) Rezone Request for Property Located at 3803 Hamburg Pike from C1 (Commercial-Medium Scale)to R3 (Single Family Residential-Small Lot) — Mr. Reischl advised the applicant owns two parcels at this location. These parcels previously had houses on them that were torn down in the 90s. A dental office was going to be put at the location so it was rezoned to Commercial however the plan never materialized and the two properties have been sitting empty ever since. The owner would like to combine the property with the property to the south which is already zoned R3. The owner is planning to put 4 new single family homes. This is acceptable with the comprehensive plan and the surrounding properties are also zoned R3. This request also received a favorable recommendation from the Plan Commission. Council President White opened the Public Hearing at 6:23 pm and no members of the community came forward to speak for or against the matter; the Public Hearing was closed. Councilperson Semones made a motion to consider 2024-OR-49 seconded by Councilperson Anderson; motion passed, 8-0. 4. Chad Reischl 2024-OR-50 (PUBLIC HEARING) Rezone Request for Property Located on 8.13 Acres, Corner of Woodland Ct. and Cardinal Lane from M2 (Multi-Family Residential-Medium Scale to R3 (Single Family Residential-Small Lot)- Mr. Reischl advise this parcel was a little over 8 acres at the corner of Woodland Court and Cardinal Lane. The property is currently zoned M2 and the applicant is requesting to rezone to a single family resignation with the intent of putting 40 to 48 houses on this particular piece of property. This comes with a favorable recommendation from the Plan Commission. Mr. Reischl advised the applicant, Nick Hunter was present to answer any of the Council's questions. Councilperson Snelling asked Mr. Hunter what the price range would be for these homes. Mr. Hunter advised these will be approximately $250,000 and will be 3 bedroom 2 bathroom homes on slab foundations. It is a cottage style community and is tentatively being called Steamboat Landing. Councilperson Semones said she was at the Plan Commission Meeting and commended Mr. Hunter on his presentation during the meeting. Council President White asked if there would be an HOA for this neighborhood and Mr. Hunter confirmed there would be. Council President White asked if Mr. Hunter would include a restrictive covenant on short term rentals and Mr. Hunter said he had not given it much consideration at this point but he would be willing to consider putting that in the HOA covenants and restrictions with the uptick in short term rentals in the area. Council President White opened the Public Hearing at 6:30 pm and no members of the community came forward to speak for or against the matter; the Public Hearing was closed. Councilperson Burns made a motion to approve 2024-OR-50, seconded by Councilperson Reed; motion passed, 8-0. 5. Heather Metcalf 2024-OR-51 Ordinance of Additional Appropriation Council President White stated this additional appropriation was for the Board of Public Works— Contractual Services. Mrs. Metcalf advised this was like a transfer but since it was pertaining to two different departments so it needed to be completed as an additional and a reduction. Councilperson Burns made a motion to approve 2024-OR-51 on the first and second reading, seconded by Councilperson Semones; motion passed, 8-0. 6. Heather Metcalf 2024-OR-52 Ordinance of Transferring of Certain Funds Within the Same Department Council President White advised this was transferring $1,000 from Building Commission—Cell Phone to Building Commission—Other Supplies. Councilperson Semones made a motion to approve 2024-OR-52 on the first and second reading, seconded by Councilperson Anderson; motion passed, 8-0. 7. Heather Metcalf (BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING) 2024-OR-53 Ordinance for Appropriations and Tax Rates Council President White stated 2024-OR-53, the budget in the total amount of$64,999,582. Council President White opened the Public Hearing at 6:34 pm and no members of the community came forward to speak for or against the matter; the Public Hearing was closed. Councilperson Burns made a motion to approve 2024-OR-53 on the first and second reading, seconded by Council Vice President Hawkins. Council President White asked if the budget being reviewed today was what was presented to them and Mrs. Metcalf confirmed that was correct. Council President White confirmed with Mrs. Metcalf that this budget did not include the salaries as currently contracted by the Police and Fire and Mrs. Metcalf confirmed that was correct. Council President White asked Mr. Wilder what would happen if the budget was voted down and Mr. Wilder advised if the budget was voted down then it would revert back to last year's budget with no increase. Council President White stated his request would be if they pass the budget on the first reading tonight then the Council would have a budget meeting at 5:00 pm before the next Council Meeting where they can make any adjustments that they may want to make and then they could pass it at the regular scheduled meeting. Councilperson Reed asked if there were any specific concerns that the Council were unhappy with in the presented budget. Council President White said Police Salaries were not included and neither were Fire Salaries. Councilperson Snelling said they are not sure about the insurance at this time either. Council President White said there was going to be a Wage Consultant Meeting on Wednesday. There are a number of things that need to be looked at. Council President White said he had gone through and made some suggested cuts that he was not ready to share with anyone yet. Council President White advised that since Councilperson Burns had already made a motion it would be up to him if he would be willing to modify his motion to only include the first reading. Councilperson Burns said he did not see a need to do that. Council President White said he had mentioned that he wanted to start building the budget by putting all the salaries in and then building from there and that did not happen. Council President White advised they had the Public Hearing and a motion was on the table; with no further discussion, motion passed, 8-0. After discussion it was decided to hold a Special Meeting on September 11, 2024 at 5:00 PM. ATTONEY COMMENTS: Larry Wilder—No Comment Les Merkley—Not Present DEPARTMENT HEADS: Chad Reischl—Mr. Reischl advised that the Planning Department was working on the rules for Short- Term Rentals as requested by the Council. It is their intent to bring those to the Plan Commission later this month. He asked if there were any of the Council who might want to see a first draft and all of Council requested to see the draft. Council President White he would like to see in the draft requirements for rear parking and maximum numbers of people per unity. Mr. Reischl advised he would look into those concerns. Councilperson Reed said she would like to reiterate that this was for Residential Properties and not for the empty buildings that could be used for Office Spaces. Council President White said he would also like for Mr. Reischl to look into the Non-Owner Occupied dwellings to make sure they are zoned Commercial so they are paying taxes at the correct tax cap if the owner is an Institutional investor. PUBLIC COMMENTS Eric Grant—Mr. Grant advised he resided in Jeffersonville and thanked the Council for creating the Youth Advisor position as a spot for the City's youth voices to be heard. Mr. Grant congratulated Miss Williams and said he was very proud of her. COUNCIL COMMENTS: • Councilperson Burns—No Comment • Councilperson Semones—Councilperson Semones welcomed the Youth Advisor and said she looked forward to working with her. She also thanked Mr. Reischl for the work that he has done concerning the Short-Term Rentals and looks forward to seeing the draft of that. She will have a final draft of the Rules Ordinance along with a couple of green initiatives she has been working on in the near future. • Councilperson Anderson—No comment • Councilperson Reed— Councilperson Reed welcomed the Youth Advisor. Miss Williams is actually the person who inspired her to really advocate for this position with the Council when she heard her speak at the groundbreaking ceremony for the pool for Jeff High. Councilperson Reed said she was able to tour one of the non-utilized firehouse this week that will need some improvements. Some of the final drafts for the speed reduction plans will have budgetary adjustments this week and she is very excited about that. As a reminder the Community Health Fair Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month is Saturday, September 21 at Parkwood Elementary School. • Councilperson Webb— Not Present • Council Vice President Hawkins—Council Vice President Hawkins thanked Councilperson Reed for all of the work done in order to get the Youth Advisor position in place. Council Vice President Hawkins congratulated Miss Williams and asked Council President White when they would be hearing back from the State about the City's share of taxes. Council President White said they should hear in November or December. • Councilperson Snelling— No Comment • Councilperson Stoner— Councilperson Stoner welcomed the Youth Advisor. He has reached out to a few of the Council about the $50,000 that was budgeted for 2024 for the Homelessness but has not yet been allocated to any organizations. That will need to be done by the end of the year and he hoped they could get that done in October before winter so the organizations have the resources before it started to get cold. Councilperson Stoner said he appreciated Council President White's question to the developer about the deed restrictions for the short-term rentals. He thought that was a creative way that could address the issue. • Council President White—Council President White said he looked forward to having the discussion about the $50,000 for homelessness. He thinks there might be different ideas and he looks forward to having those discussions. Regarding the budget he would like to see a $5,000 pay adjustment for the Street and Sanitation workers now. He is asking the Administration to facilitate that process. He is open to any discussions regarding that issue at any time. He would also like to incorporate that amount or similar based on the wage study. They have the wage study that shows the 50th percentile wages and 75th percentile wages and the 75th percentile would be around that $5,000 increase for Street and Sanitation workers. He is asking the Administration to send the Council a modified budget with those numbers included so that they can properly pay their essential workers what they deserve. He is laying that on the table for the Administration to consider and hopes they will adjust their recommendations in the budget to accommodate that. Additionally in respect to the budget when they did the negotiations they understood and said they would have to buckle down and it would be a lean year in 2025. It is going to take some time for the budget to catch up. The excess levy appeal is not happening in a timeframe that he had hoped it would and until they get there some tough decisions will need to be made. ADJOURNMENT: Councilperson Burns made the motion to ADJOURN the meeting at 7:04 p.m. DISCLAIMER: These minutes are a summary of actions taken at the Jeffersonville City Council meetings. The full video archive of the meeting is available for viewing at www.cityofjeff.net for as long as this media is supported. APROVED BY: n U / ,ems` U Ott Dustin White,Council President ATTEST.. Lisa Gill,Clerk