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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 16, 2014COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA June 16, 2014 The Common Council of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana met in regular session in Room 101, 500 Quartermaster Court, Jeffersonville, Indiana at 7:OOpm, on Monday June 16, 2014. Council President Julius, with Vicki Conlin, City Clerk, called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. President Julius asked those in attendance to stand as Bobby Campbell gave the Invocation. President Julius then led all those present in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. The roll call and those present were: Councilperson Smith, Councilperson Payne, Councilperson Sellers, Councilperson Gill, Councilperson Glover, Councilperson Samuel, President Julius, and Councilperson Owen. Absent: Councilperson Zastawny. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: President Julius stated that Paul Northam has asked to be taken off tonight's agenda and Amir Mousavi has asked to be put on the agenda under Department Heads. Remove Jim Bosley with New Hope under New Business #4 and Attorney Les Merkley requested #5 under Unfinished Business be removed. Councilperson Samuel stated that he would like the Council to give the Drainage Board members who were invited to attend tonight's meeting certificates of appreciation for their service. President Julius stated that this will be done after the approval of the agenda. Vice President Gill made a motion to APPROVE the agenda with the changes, with Councilperson Samuel seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8- 0. The Drainage Board members that attended tonight's meeting were brought forward and given a certificate of appreciation by the City Council. Those members are: Rick Madden, Steve Gill, Chester King, Grant Morton, Curt Jacobs, Bob Rogge, Steve McCreight, Dan Christensen and Charlie Bryant. Vice President Gill, Council liaison to the Drainage Board, stated that these members work very hard, do their due -diligence, and expressed her appreciation for all that they do. MINUTES TO BE APPROVED: Councilperson Glover made a motion to APPROVE the minutes from the regular Council meeting on June 2, 2014, with Councilperson Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8-0. CLAIMS TO BE APPROVED: General Claims: Controller Amy Deering stated that she wants to add a hand -carried claim for City Clerk Conlin for $387 to come out of the Clerk's budget bringing the total to $361,892.87. President Julius stated that he will be abstaining from voting on tonight's claims list. Councilperson Sellers stated that the claim to Estes for Allison Brook Park paid from the Parks Department budget needs to come from Redevelopment. In addition, $300 of the $2,060 claim to Sounds Unlimited Productions under the RiverStage budget needs to be moved to the Mayor's Promotional budget for his Thursday movie night showing of Psycho", which he agreed to. Vice President Gill and Councilperson Sellers asked Controller Amy Deering to remind Paul Northam that any expenses for Allison Brook Park and the Marina need to be taken out of Redevelopment. After discussion, Council asked Ms. Deering to pull the claim to Estes for $180 to be rebilled to the Redevelopment Department making the new total for tonight's General 1 Claims List $361,712.87. Councilperson Owen made the motion to APPROVE the General Claims List with the changes, with Councilperson Sellers seconding, PASSING on a vote of 7-0-1 with President Julius abstaining. REPORT OF THE CLERK: None at this time. DEPARTMENT HEAD/COMMISSIONS/BOARD REPORTS: 1. Andy Crouch — Master Plan for Summer Workers: City Engineer Andy Crouch had two items to present to the Council. The first was previously presented in March and proposed a mobility projects at that time. Mr. Crouch explained that they want to move forward with the Middle Road sidewalks project which will connect between Pebble Creek Drive and Allison Lane, connecting multiple neighborhoods. This project was in the sidewalk master plan. The cost estimate for this project is $260,000. They currently have $241,000 from 2010, and are requesting to bump it up to $260,000 due to inflation. Currently, there is approximately $250,000 in the sidewalk project budget that has been set aside by the Council through EDIT funds. Mr. Crouch stated that they will be spending $150,000 to $160,000 of that budget for the Vissing Park sidewalk that will go from 10`h Street back to Vissing Park, leaving approximately $90,000 to $100,000. Vice President Gill suggested having Mr. Crouch attend the Council's Finance Committee meeting to discuss funding and President Julius requested Clerk Vicki Conlin to add this to the agenda for the next Finance meeting. Mr. Crouch presented a green space maintenance plan for the City of Jeffersonville. Mr. Crouch gave Council a list of all the green spaces that need to be maintained on a seasonal basis starting around March or April through October. Mr. Crouch suggested hiring four additional employees for the remainder of the season at a cost of $33,000 ($32,000 for labor and $1,000 for miscellaneous equipment needed). Mr. Crouch suggested a trial basis this year to see if this idea meets expectations. Councilperson Samuel made a motion to move forward with the expectation of paying the $33,000 out of the Beautification fund, with Vice President Gill seconding, PASSING on a vote of 7-1. 2. Chris Grimm — New Police Officer Proposal/COPS Grant: Police Chief Chris Grimm came before the Council to present his plan for hiring police officers for the City of Jeffersonville. There are currently 75 sworn officers and plans to hire 5 new officers every year over the next five years. Chief Grimm outlined and explained for the Council hiring benefits, the Rule of "60" and 2007-R- 11 (Jeffersonville's Fiscal Plan for Annexation) which states that as a result of the annexation, needs to maintain a ratio of 2 police officers per 1,000 population. The estimated population by the US Census for 2013 is 45,929 which translates into 92 officers. Twenty-five additional officers would bring the staffing to 100 which is in anticipation of future growth. Chief Grimm outlined for the Council the cost of this hiring plan. The General Fund budget for this year's salaries is $4,089,000 and LOIT budget is $542,100. To hire 5 officers in August, 2014, they would have to add approximately $150,000 to their General Fund budget and would add $250,000 to their LOIT budget. Chief Grimm stated that the LOIT budget could be offset by a year because they wouldn't purchase cars for the new officers this year. Vice President Gili asked if the cars are fully equipped and Chief Grimm stated yes, they will have everything an officer needs to hit the ground running. Chief Grimm explained that every year the incremental cost slowly increases to pay for the additional police officers: 2015 - $362,040, 2016 - $389,755, 2017 - $430,905, 2018 - $474,340. Chief Grimm stated that based on the surplus that the City has in the General Fund, it funds this plan with no problems and stated that Controller Amy 2 Deering can verify the numbers. Chief Grimm stated that this plan spreads the cost over a 5 -year time frame and will produce no tax increase to the public because the money is already there and can be funded. Chief Grimm stated that as the City grows they need more officers to meet the response times and currently we don't have the manpower to be proactive. President Julius stated that no one here is saying we don't need additional police officers, but the main goal is how to be fiscally responsible. President Julius explained that his problem with Chief Grimm's scenario is he doesn't know how they can be fiscally responsible and assume that we will get more money in every year and if we don't, tap that fund dry. Chief Grimm clarified that it is not a $5,000,000 increase, but a $2,000,000 increase. President Julius stated that you need to compound those numbers and Chief Grimm stated that they have been compounded. President Julius disagreed. Councilperson Samuel stated that they have built up the reserves (emergency fund) over the last number of years and it appears that the plan taps into their savings. Chief Grimm stated that it doesn't touch the Rainy Day Fund at all and stated that there is 4.7 million dollars in the Rainy Day Fund, which is the emergency fund, and there was 5 million dollars left over in the General Fund for the City of Jeffersonville at the first part of this year and remarked what better way to spend it than on public safety? Councilperson Samuel stated that his apprehension is at the level that they are going to be pulling funds from their savings, they could be faced with the decision to lay off or raise taxes when the savings is gone. Councilperson Smith suggested the administration, including the Mayor, Chief Grimm, Chief Hedrick and Controller Amy Deering put together a plan breaking down every officer and the cost, break into a tax rate and then have the administration along with the Mayor go to Indianapolis and put a referendum on a ballot that asks for a tax increase to pay for this plan warning that it's not going to be about just the Police Department, it's going to be about the Fire Department too. Chief Grimm stated that this isn't the Mayor's plan, this is a plan that the Police Department has been working on for three months that the Mayor supports. Councilperson Smith stated that he will not vote for a tax increase or vote to raise sewer bills. Councilperson Owen stated that Council needs to keep in mind this is a 5 -year plan, nothing is binding and tonight we just need to discuss what we can do with the next calendar year budget. Councilperson Owen asked Ms. Deering if this plan was feasible and Ms. Deering stated that she feels that the plan is 100% fundable. Councilperson Julius made a recommendation for Council to have a workshop on this proposed plan and include Chief Grimm and Ms. Deering. Also suggests reviewing 2007-R-11 and see what the City committed to and stated if the City committed to something we're not funding, then we need to find out how to make it happen. Councilperson Glover questioned what else in a workshop would be presented to Council other than these facts presented by Chief Grimm, 2007-R-11 and the Controller's point of view of the financial situation. Councilperson Glover stated that if Council isn't for the plan, go ahead and vote it down now and be done with it. Councilperson Glover stated that his residents in the 6th District are still living with County roads, still dealing with response times that are not adequate and they were promised those things when they were annexed into the City. President Julius explained that this information was handed to four Council members on Thursday of last week and questioned how Council can be fiscally responsible by voting on a $5,000,000 claim just four days later. Councilperson Glover stated he doesn't think if they sat there for six months and had fifteen different workshops that these figures would change, the Controllers figures would change, or anybody's opinion would change. He stated that the residents that are paying taxes deserve police protection that they pay for. Councilperson Glover stated all he asks is if they want to have a workshop that's fine, but stand up and make a decision and live by it. Vice President Gill stated that she totally agrees with him, but by asking to look at numbers isn't saying that Council doesn't want to give them the officers, she just want to make sure they can sustain their 25 -year 3 career. Chief Grimm stated that the COPS Grant Deadline is June 23, 2014, and can't apply for this grant unless we hire. Matt Owen made the motion to APPROVE the Chief to hire three police officers in conjunction with receiving the COPS Grant, seconded by Councilperson Sellers, PASSING on a vote of 8-0. Chief Grimm also stated that he would like to have a workshop to discuss the rest of his proposed plan, and Council members agreed to do so. Resident Terri Hicks came before the Council to voice her opinion regarding the hiring of the Police Officers and stated that she understands the Council's hesitance in approving big funds, but thinks an understaffed force can lead to serious crime issues. Resident Ron Smith said he is wary of the City spending too much money and warned Council to not assume that they're going to have the money to pay for it. Resident Wes Bricker stated that he doesn't think that the Council can afford these new Police Officers and suggests looking at a hiring alternative to the plan. Resident David Newton came before the Council to express his concern about the traffic woes at the corner of Hwy. 62 and Utica-Sellersburg Road. Mr. Newton stated that the turning lane that the City recently constructed to correct the problem has only been made worse with people coming out of the Circle K stating that it is now a dangerous situation. Requests that Council look into an alternate exit out of the area. 3. Amir Mousavi — Update on Fire Truck: Safety Director Amir Mousavi stated that he has been working with the adjuster, the Fire Department and a Council member regarding fixing or replacing the truck that was involved in the accident. Travelers Insurance stated that their adjuster estimates a minimum of $100,000 to repair. The engine, alignments, and ladder will cost approximately $250,000 to $270,000 to fix. Once they decide what the truck is worth and how much it will cost to repair it, then we can decide to either keep the truck or decide to buy a new one. Councilperson Smith recommended the Mayor claiming this issue a state of emergency or something similar to hurry the process and eliminate the bidding process. Council Attorney Lewis stated that this request would have to go through the BPW, if it's a true emergency. A. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Amy Deering — PUBLIC HEARING on 2014 -OR -25 An Ordinance of Additional Appropriation: Ms. Deering requested approval of this Ordinance stating no changes have been made with the additional amounts, but have added four reduction items that were circuit breaker cuts that were discussed at the Finance Committee meeting. PUBLIC HEARING — 2014 -OR -25: Council President Julius opened the Public Hearing at 8:40pm and without further comment closed the hearing at 8:41pm. Councilperson Owen made a motion to APPROVE 2014 -OR -25 on the 2nd and 3rd reading, with Councilperson Payne seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8-0. 2. Amy Deering — 2014 -OR -29 An Ordinance Transferring Certain Funds within the Same Department: Ms. Deering requested approval of this Ordinance stating that it was approved on the 1St reading at the last Council meeting and there have been no changes. Councilperson Sellers made a motion to APPROVE 2014 -OR -29 on the 2nd and 3`d reading, with Councilperson Payne seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8-0. 4 3. Les Merkley - 2014 -OR -28 An Ordinance Prohibiting Unauthorized Camping: Mr. Merkley explained that this Ordinance prohibits camping on public property and more importantly establishes procedures that law enforcement needs to follow when enforcing this Ordinance. Mr. Merkley stated that he has had correspondence with the Mayor's Homeless Taskforce and they are comfortable with this Ordinance. There was one request that we notify the homeless advocates prior to having any sweeps of the homeless camping areas, however, doesn't feel like this should be included in the Ordinance and instead be kept with the Board of Public Works in order to give the City more flexibility. Councilperson Samuel stated a couple of concerns that Ms. Keeney with the Homeless Taskforce had asked for clarification and were they dealt with or why were not they. Councilperson Samuel read the questions raised 1) Ms. Keeney as asked about the scope of the Ordinance being limited to this one area since public parks are already limited to a certain time. Mr. Merkley responded he did not feel comfortable from a legal standpoint of adopting an Ordinance dealing with one area of the City he thinks we have a much stronger this is an Ordinance that has been upheld legally in other cities and other communities and if you say we are going to apply this to on area or one park you have some legal issue that would have to be answered in Federal Court. 2) The scope of the Ordinance to include private property seems unnecessary. Mr. Merkley again this is a model Ordinance that has withstood scrutiny from the courts and at the end of the day very little we can do about private property anyway this is a way to assure that this is not stricken by the court. Councilperson Smith made a motion to APPROVE 2014 -OR -28, with Councilperson Owen seconding. Councilperson Payne stated that although Mr. Merkley stated that this is a model Ordinance, he does not believe the language in this should include private property so he will be voting against it for that reason. After discussion, 2014 -OR -28 PASSED on a vote of 7-1. 4. Les Merkley 2014-R-11 A Resolution Approving and Ratifying Interlocal Agreement Between Clark County (Maintenance/Repair of County Owned Vehicles): Mr. Merkley stated that due to the fact that there are pages missing from this packet he is requesting that it be tabled. Councilperson Samuel made a motion to TABLE 2014-R-11, with Councilperson Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8-0. B. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Art Greer — Southeast Marines 2014 Car and Motorcycle Show: Mr. Greer explained that the Marine Corp League is a congressionally chartered veteran's organization. They voluntarily aid and assist all Marines, Fleet Air Force Corpsmen as well as their widows and children. Mr. Greer stated that he is here tonight to let Council know what this organization does and the City can use them as a resource for "Toys for Tots", one of their biggest programs. Mr. Greer stated that they would love the City's help in collecting those toys. They are having their second annual car show at Gray and Wells and extending an invitation to Council to the car show. 2. Matt Hall and Wendy Chesser — One Southern Indiana: Ms. Chesser stated that One Southern Indiana is the economic development and chamber organization for Clark and Floyd Counties. As of last week, they have 985 business members and they look for partners to help them support the business community. Ms. Chesser stated that she believes that the best social program in the world is a good paying job and that is the premise under which their development team works. Ms. Chesser stated that they were here tonight to give the Council a return on the City of Jeffersonville's investment in One Southern Indiana. Ms. Chesser stated that their numbers are good because they work with the existing businesses that want to expand and stay in Jeffersonville. Mr. Hall gave Council an outline of the progress and current activity in Clark and 5 Floyd Counties. President Julius requested One Southern Indiana to create a worksheet on a company requesting a tax abatement outlining what income we are going to derive over a five year period stating that needs to be done in order to decide whether to continue giving tax abatements. The Council thanked Ms. Chesser and Mr. Hall for coming to tonight's meeting and giving that presentation. 3. Mike Smith — Discussion on the Extension of 911 Consolidation Budget from July 1, 2014 to August 1, 2014: Councilperson Smith stated that he is on the Fiscal Board and they have all of the building requirements with the existing building and are in the process of ordering all of the computer-aided dispatch equipment. Councilperson Smith stated that the hang-up is the personnel issues and several members on that board have gotten very close to that. The board had agreed to give the final budget by July 1, 2014, and because of the personnel issues and the questionnaires that were sent out to all of the municipalities asking for information coming back so slowly, every representative is going to their municipality and asking for an extension simply due to personnel. Councilperson Smith said he is requesting that it be extended to August 1, 2014. 4. Kelly Phillips — Resolution Finding Substantial Compliance with Statement of Benefits for Tax Abatement for 2014: Ms. Phillips presented the Resolution along with the spreadsheet of the 25 companies who filed tax abatements for this year. Councilperson Owen made the motion to APPROVE, seconded by Council -Vice President Gill PASSING on a vote of 8-0. 5. Lisa Gill — JNLA (Jeffersonville Neighborhood Leadership Association) National Night Out: Josh Rodriguez, JNLA Chairperson request $6,000.00 for National Night Out (NNO) August 5, 2014. Mr. Rodriguez reported supply schools supplies to 180 children, 22 neighborhood and roughly 50 neighborhoods, and have won three awards past year, NNO is a crime fighting night. Councilperson Glover made the motion to APPROVE, seconded by Councilperson Samuel PASSING on a vote of 8-0. Mr. Rodriquez stated he would like to have a line item in the budget instead of coming every year to request the money. CITY COUNCIL ATTORNEY REPORT: 1. Scott Lewis — Dennis Julius Conflict of Interest Statement Mr. Lewis presented the forms for Approval of the Conflict of Interest Statement with Council Vice President presiding. Councilperson Samuel made the motion to APPROVE, seconded by Councilperson Sellers PASSING on a vote of 7-0-1 with President Julius abstaining. PUBLIC COMMENT: 1. Rebecca Doss and Scott Moore — stated that their father lives are the corner of Mulberry and Market Street at 303 W. Market and the parking has gotten extremely difficult since the bridge opened and is requesting a resident only parking sign. Mr. Merkley stated that there is a • moratorium on residential parking signs at this time. Mr. Merkley suggested they take this request to the Board of Public Works and Safety meeting. COUNCIL COMMENTS: Councilperson Smith: None at this time. Councilperson Payne: None at this time. 6 Councilperson Sellers: The Mayor vetoed the Ordinance regarding the Steamboat Day Pins and commented on line that the pins were a tax. Last year, at a Steamboat Day Committee, Lisa Gill and myself discussed funding and the need to have private and public partnerships. Free events but overtime has to be paid to police, fire, sanitation, etc. Individuals requested the Cities Vendor list, was going to contact, and never did. After the first of the year budgets are set and Shane Corbin went to the UEZ, Mayor to Redevelopment and the Council each appropriated $20,000. Sara Schultz had stated selling pins for the event could raise approximately $20,000 for admittance to events. Mayor called the selling of the pins a tax, UEZ, TIF and Council are all tax dollars, the Council appropriates money for the skating rink and an admission is charged. Dennis Julius and I met with Paul Northam to hire a contract employee to go after corporations in Jeff to donate. Two months have gone by now and out of the one-person name Mr. Julius submitted and the two others that Mr. Northam stated he had, no one has been contacted or interviewed. Louisville, New Albany, Clarksville and Madison charge for events, Jeff cannot continue financially to have all events free. Vice President Gill: Vice -President Gill wanted a workshop on the Police Issue and after the Finance Committee meeting, she had contacted Councilperson Glover and at that, time was agreeable to go to workshop. It is important for her to try to make the best decision she can and there are nine members on this council, going to have opposing positions, but to be more respectful to each other. It was stated it is fundable and City will be receiving more money into LOIT, but out of LOIT is purchasing of a new fire apparatus, PSAP, and for new Police Station portion. Mayor wants 100% of LOIT spend on the new Police Building. Vice -President Gill wants to sit down and look at LOIT to be able to do her due diligence, not saying she doesn't support the hiring of new officers but wants to make sure able to fund and sustain these officers. Councilperson Glover: None at this time Councilperson Owen: Mr. Smith, left unfortunately, but I appreciate his passion and views, we had a little bit of disagreement on some figures and will give him a call. Councilperson Samuel: Over the weekend, Councilperson Samuel received an email with an attachment that had a snap shot of Chief Hedrick's Facebook Page. Councilperson Samuel read the statement. "It is time that the Jeff City Council steps up to the plate and commits to providing the level of Public Safety the citizens of Jeffersonville deserve. Both the Police and Fire are presently understaffed. Out of all Class 2 cities in Indiana Jeffersonville ranks LAST in Firefighters per population and LAST in Firefighters per square mile. LAST, Now here is the kicker — If you added 15 Firefighters tomorrow -Jeffersonville would still be Last. You Deserve Better." Councilperson Samuel stated, Past 6+ years he has been on the Council most request, if not every request brought before us has been granted We may seek out clarification or do our due diligence but approved. Examples are: New fire headquarters with top amenities; New training tower; New Safety Town for children's education' 2 new fire trucks totaling approximately 1.6 million and about to replace another. Fire Board for new river patrol plus new dually truck, 2 Quad Cab 4wheel drive trucks for Chief and Asst. Chief's;; just to list those I could recall without looking back. Councilperson Samuel stated he is disappointed that our Chief chose to go this route, he is a better man than this, and I feel this Facebook post/social media is disingenuous, irresponsible 7 and totally unprofessional. Citizens of Jeffersonville deserve better by our leadership. It presented as if we (the Council) had denied a proposal. We have not. We have yet to even receive a written proposal both making the request and justifying the need as well as appropriate recommendations to fund it. Saying 15 isn't enough, are you asking for 30? We don't know because no request has been made. Our entire general fund budget is spoken for or appropriated especially after we just had to cut $3.5 million due to our property tax cuts, due to our property tax caps. If we use our emergency savings or as other call it "reserves", without adding revenue, we will blow thru those and then be faced with two options, Layoffs or raising our taxes. We want neither of those and I am concerned for the Tong -term stability not just looking at here and now. I would expect our Chief to professional manage our Department and stop managing via Facebook post or Social media outlets and bring a proposal to the table where we can have a workshop to openly discuss our options. This Council is very opened and receptive to whatever our Public Safety needs. We have constraints and want to do what is right but our job is to make sure we can pay for it. When these statements are made via social media before a request comes to us it is a slap in all nine councilmembers face and we deserve better than that. President Julius: President Julius stated he had received an e-mail from the Jeffersonville Professional Firefighters Union 558 agrees with growth of the city and comparison to Indiana 2nd Class Cities warrants additional personnel. However, we will not engage in public debate on the matter until able to sit down with city leaders and discuss all aspects of the city budget and city growth in order to develop a long-term plan to protect current and future firefighter's jobs. President Julius stated earlier he had made a comment to Chief Grimm would make everyone life easier not to hear or read in the media to sit down and collectively try to come up with a plan instead of pinching others into a corner. It makes sense but doesn't seem like this can happen. President Julius appreciated the Local 558 making the statement. ADJOURNMENT: Councilperson Owen made a motion to ADJOURN at 9:35pm, with Councilperson Payne seconding, PASSING on a vote of 8-0. APPROVED BY: s Dennis Juli • resident Vicki Conlin, City Clerk 8