HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC OCTOBER 7, 2019 COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA
OCTOBER 7, 2019
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 October 7, 2019.
Council Vice President Lisa Gill along with City Clerk Conlin called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.
Councilperson Ellis gave the invocation. Council Vice President Lisa Gill asked those in attendance to
stand during the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL:The roll call was conducted and those present were Councilperson White, Councilperson
Maples, Councilperson Paris, Council Vice President Gill, Councilperson Hawkins, Councilperson Owen,
Councilperson Ellis, Councilperson Samuel. Council President Zastawny was absent from the
proceedings.
MINUTES TO BE APPROVED:
September 16, 2019 Budget Workshop—Councilperson Owen made a motion to APPROVE the minutes
with Councilperson Hawkins seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
September 16, 2019 Regular Proceedings—Council Vice President Gill said there was a clarification she
would like to be made. Under New Business Item #3 where it said that Council Vice President Gill
opened the Public Hearing and said this is not how it has been done in the past, that was in reference to
someone not from the negative bringing it back up. She did not want any confusion on that matter.
Council Vice President Gill asked Clerk Conlin what was changed in the minutes that would be signed.
Clerk Conlin read "Council Vice President Gill said this is not how it has been done in the past while she
has been on this Council, it has always had to be a member who was in the negative to bring up the
motion to reconsider". Council Vice President Gill asked Council Attorney Wilder if a motion needed to
be made to amend the minutes and he advised that the Council would need to do that to accept those
changes. Councilperson Samuel made a motion to AMEND the minutes from September 16, 2019 with
Councilperson Ellis seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. Councilperson Samuel made a motion to
APPROVE the minutes as amended with Councilperson Ellis seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA:
Councilperson Owen made a motion to APPROVE the agenda with Councilperson Samuel seconding,
PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
CLAIMS TO BE APPROVED:
City Controller Heather Metcalf presented the Civil Claims. Council Vice President Gill stated there are
two sets of Civil and two sets of Parks. We will have to approve each one individually. Controller
Metcalf stated it would be easier to just have it on two different dockets. Civil City—the first one is for
$2,169,532.09. Council Vice President Gill stated the bulk of that is for the Health Insurance.
Additionally there was a large claim for the fuel but that was from August. There were several invoices
together. Then there was another large claim for New Chapel Park. Council Vice President Gill asked if
all of the claims were in order and Controller Metcalf stated they are. Councilperson Samuel asked if
there will be reimbursement for repairing a guardrail. Insurance will not be reimbursing the City for that
cost. Councilperson Samuel made a motion to APPROVE the Civil Claims as presented with
Councilperson Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. City Controller Heather Metcalf presented the
second set of Civil Claims in the amount of$9,434.23. Council Vice President Gill asked if all claims were
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in order and Controller Metcalf stated they are. Councilperson Samuel made a motion to APPROVE the
Civil Claims with Councilperson Ellis seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
City Controller Heather Metcalf presented the Parks Claims. There is one change on page two. The very
top one for the mileage it was calculated for the 2019 rate and it should have been calculated at the
2018 rate. It will deduct$1.89 from the total bringing the new total to $315,475.18. Councilperson
Samuel made a motion to APPROVE the Parks Claims with Councilperson Owen seconding. Council Vice
President Gill asked if the claims were in order and Controller Metcalf stated they are. Parks Claims
PASSED on a vote, 8-0. Now for the $16,939.38 Parks Claims. Council Vice President Gill asked if these
claims were in order and Controller Metcalf stated they are. Councilperson Ellis made a motion to
APPROVE the Parks Claims with Councilperson Samuel seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
REPORT OF THE CLERK:
Nothing at this time.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
1. Lisa Gill/ Nathan Samuel—2019-OR-51 An Ordinance Establishing a Non-Reverting Fund for
the Purpose of Funding Aide to Non-Profit Organizations for Addressing Needs and Services
for Jeffersonville Homeless Assistance—Councilperson Samuel said the changes were made to
reflect the discussion from the last meeting. Councilperson Samuel made a motion to APPROVE
2019-OR-51 on the second and third reading with Councilperson Ellis seconding, PASSING on a
vote, 8-0.
2. Lisa Gill/Heather Metcalf—2019-OR-52 An Ordinance Transferring Certain Funds within the
Same Department-City Controller Heather Metcalf presented 2019-OR-52. There have been
no changes since the last meeting. Councilperson Owen made a motion to APPROVE 2019-OR-
52 on the third and final reading with Councilperson Maples seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
3. Lisa Gill/Heather Metcalf- Heather Metcalf-Public Hearing 2019-OR-53 Appropriations and Tax Rates
for 2020—City Controller Heather Metcalf presented 2019-OR-53. There have been no changes since the
Public Hearing. Councilperson Samuel made a motion to APPROVE 2019-OR-53 on the third and final
reading with Councilperson Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote,8-0.
NEW BUSINESS:
1. Lisa Gill/ Les Merkley-2019-R-14 Resolution Approving Statement of Benefits for Real Property Tax
Abatement(Posco)—City Attorney Les Merkley presented 2019-R-14. This comes with a favorable
recommendation from Redevelopment Commission. There are representatives from POSCO as well as
One Southern Indiana. Anne Keller from One Southern Indiana was present on behalf of POSCO to
request the consideration of the tax abatement. They are the fifth largest steel producer in the world.
They specialize in processing wire rod that are used in the manufacturing of nuts, bolts, and shafts in the
automotive industry. At this time POSCO has proposed investing 5.3 million dollars in additional real
property to expand their current property at the Port. They currently employ 23 full time employees and
this will increase an additional 13 full time employees ranging from $29-$34/hour. Representatives from
the company are present to answer any questions if needed. Councilperson Samuel made a motion to
APPROVE 2019-R-14 with Councilperson Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote,8-0.
2. Lisa Gill/ Les Merkley-2019-R-15 Resolution Approving Statement of Benefits for Real and Personal
Property Tax Abatement(Amatrol)—City Attorney Les Merkley presented 2019-R-15. This comes with a
favorable recommendation from Redevelopment Commission. Anne Keller from One Southern Indiana is
present as well as representatives from Amatrol as well. This is a family owned company that produces
hands-on training equipment and software which is used to train technicians and engineers in a range of
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industries. They are proposing investing 2 million dollars in additional real property and five hundred and
fifty thousand dollars in personal property to expand the current facility. The company currently
employees 198 full time workers and with this project will plans to hire 35 additional employees with a
pay range between $23 and$26 an hour. Mr. Paul Perkins is here to answer any additional questions if
needed. Mr. Perkins thanked the Council for all consideration and support. Councilperson Samuel made
a motion to APPROVE 2019-R-15 with Councilperson Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote,8-0
3. Lisa Gill/ Les Merkley—PUBLIC HEARING -2019-OR-54 An Ordinance Changing the Zoning
Map of a Certain Tract of Property Located Designation 4315 Utica-Sellersburg Road And Fully
Described in Attached Exhibit A from Cl to C2— City Attorney Les Merkley presented 2019-OR-
54. This comes with a favorable recommendation. Council Vice President Gill opened the Public
Hearing at 7:25 pm and as no members of the community came forward to speak for or against
the matter the public hearing was closed. Councilperson Hawkins made a motion to APPROVE
2019-OR-54 with Councilperson Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
4. Lisa Gill/ Les Merkley—PUBLIC HEARING-2019-OR-55 An Ordinance Changing the Zoning Map
of a Certain Tract of Property Located Designation 611 Hopkins Lane And Fully Described in
Attached Exhibit A from R1 to R2—City Attorney Les Merkley presented 2019-OR-55. This
comes with a favorable recommendation. The applicant is Murphy Homes. The plan is for 13
homes to go in that area, but that is dependent on drainage and other needs. Councilperson
Owen said he appreciates the applicant and his quality of work. Council Vice President Gill
opened the Public Hearing at 7:30 pm and as no members of the community came forward to
speak for or against the matter the public hearing was closed. Councilperson Maples made a
motion to APPROVE 2019-OR-55 with Councilperson Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
5. Lisa Gill/ Kim Calabro—2019-OR-56 An Ordinance Amending 2018-OR-64 an Ordinance Fixing
the Salaries of Appointed Officers and Employees for All the Departments of the City of
Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana for the Year 2019—Human Resources Director Kim Calabro
presented 2019-OR-56. This is to add the three new firefighters for this year to get them hired
in so they will be ready to go January 1 next year. Councilperson Hawkins made a motion to
suspend the rules in anticipation in 2019-OR-56 passing on all three readings with Councilperson
Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0. Councilperson Hawkins made a motion to APPROVE
2019-OR-56 on all three readings with Councilperson Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
6. Lisa Gill/ Kim Calabro—An Ordinance Amending 2019-OR-57 An Ordinance Fixing the Salaries
of Appointed Officers and Employees for All the Departments for the Year 2020— Human
Resources Director Kim Calabro went over the highlighted changes for the Ordinance 2019-OR-
57. Parks Director Paul Northam did note there is one error, there will actually be 5 Generalist
and 7 for Green Space. Councilperson Samuel made a motion to APPROVE 2019-OR-57 on the
first and second reading with Councilperson Owen seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
7. Lisa Gill/ Heather Metcalf—2019-OR-58 An Ordinance Transferring Certain Funds within the
Same Department—City Controller Heather Metcalf presented 2019-OR-58. This is for the end
of the year transfers. Councilperson Owen made a motion to APPROVE 2019-OR-58 on the first
and second reading with Councilperson Hawkins seconding, PASSING on a vote, 8-0.
8. Lisa Gill/2019-OR-59 An Ordinance of Additional Appropriations (Fire Department)—City
Controller Heather Metcalf presented 2019-OR-59. This is for the three new fire fighters to start
this year. Councilperson Owen made a motion to APPROVE 2019-OR-59 on the first and second
reading with Councilperson Hawkins seconding, PASSING on a vote, 7-1 with Councilperson Ellis
voting against the matter.
9. Lisa Gill/2019-OR-60 An Ordinance of Additional Appropriations (Parks Department)—City
Controller Heather Metcalf presented 2019-OR-60. This is for a long term employee who is
retiring and then bills that did not arrive in a timely manner. Councilperson Owen made a
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motion to APPROVE 2019-OR-60 on the first and second reading with Councilperson Hawkins
seconding, PASSING on a vote 7-1 with Councilperson Ellis voting against the matter.
10. Lisa Gill -Appointment to the Jeffersonville Building Authority—Councilperson Paris said he
would like to nominate Jon Sowder to the board with Councilperson White seconding, PASSING
on a vote, 8-0.
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL ATTORNEY
Thank you to the Council for their understanding while he was away. He is glad to be back.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
DEPARTMENT HEAD REPORTS:
Nothing at this time.
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
Councilperson White—Today we had representatives from HUD come down and recognize the Envision
Center and the great work of Paul Northam. We are officially recognized as a HUD and Envision Center
by the Secretary of HUD and we are the only one recognized in the State of Indiana and only one of 16
nationally. We are very proud of that.
Councilperson Paris—No Comment.
Councilperson Maples—No Comment
Councilperson Hawkins—No Comment
Councilperson Owen—Since we last met as a Council there was a new story run on some protesting on a
decision that was made by our Jeffersonville Police Department recent hire experienced officer, merited
officer. Probably Chief Kavanagh may have reached out to other Council members that to kind of
explain that situation. He was kind of shocked to see that on the news. He told him when he called that
the Police Department operates with the utmost integrity and they are just as professional as our fire
department. He trusts his judgement and the merit process. We are getting 30 days within an election
and that might have a little bit to do with the negative press as the expense of the officer. He thinks it's
uncalled for and he let the Chief know those were his thoughts. He wanted to publicly express his
support.
Councilperson Ellis—He too received some phone calls. There is a group of Pastors from the community
who will be talking with the Mayor as well as the Chief to come to their own conclusion. He will be at
the table when the discussion takes place. He will vote a number of times against additional
appropriations. He would like to set a budget and live within that budget.
Councilperson Samuel—On page 9 under the unsafe building there is about$3600 of cutting grass in
contracts. He is wondering about hiring part-time labor for the Green Team
Councilperson Gill—The majority of those are vacant homes. She doesn't want to see the Park's
department going on vacant homes. We can get reimbursed for those through the liens. She also
wanted to address the media coverage. Her disappointment is in their coverage of their story. The
president of the local 100 issued a letter and she encouraged all Council to share that, it was a great
letter.
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ADJOURNMENT:
Councilperson Samuel made the motion to ADJOURN and the meeting adjourned at 8:16 P.M.
APPROVED BY:
isa Gifl, ice-President
ATTEST:
1.,(;41-L" AiL- ,
Vicki Conlin, Clerk
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