Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 16, 2021 Council Minutes COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY-- JEFFERSONVILLE,INDIANA February 16,2021 Regular Meeting Minutes The Common Council of the City of Jeffersonville,Indiana met for the Regular Meeting via teleconferencing on February 16,2021. - Council President Owen along with City Clerk Gill called the virtual meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. ROLL CALL: - The roll call was conducted by City Clerk Lisa Gill and those members teleconferencing(Covid-19)were Councilperson White,Councilperson Burns, Councilperson Paris,Council Vice President Maples, Councilperson Croft,Councilperson Webb,Council President Owen, Councilperson Hawkins and Councilperson Ellis. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve the Minutes of February 1,2021 of the Regular Meeting,seconded by Councilperson Burns; roll call vote: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns—Yes Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb—Yes Council President Owen-Yes Councilperson Hawkins—Yes Councilperson Ellis—Yes Motion passes 9-0 APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: • Council President Owen stated they needed to table number 9 and number 15. Council Vice President Maples made the motion to amend the agenda and approve it tabling number 9 and number 15,seconded by Councilperson Burns; roll call vote: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns—Yes Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes. Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb—Yes Council.President Owen-Yes Councilperson Hawkins-Yes Councilperson Ellis—Yes Motion passes 9-0 CLAIMS TO APPROVE: Civil City$1,354,156.81—Ms. Heather Metcalf, City Controller indicated no changes. Council Vice President Maples made the motion to approve the CivilCity Claims,seconded by Councilperson Croft; roll call vote: Councilperson White-Yes Page 1 of 6 Councilperson Burns—Yes Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb—Yes Council President Owen-Yes - Councilperson Hawkins—Yes Councilperson Ellis—Yes Motion passes 9-0 Parks$40,638.70-Ms. Metcalf indicated no changes. Council Vice President Maples made the motion to approve the Parks Claims,seconded by Councilperson Burns; roll call vote: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns—Yes Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb—Yes Council President Owen-Yes Councilperson Hawkins—Yes Councilperson Ellis—Yes Motion passes 9-0 REPORT OF THE CLERK: Nothing at this time but when we get to the Ordinance with Len Ashack which is number 14 she did have a couple of people contact the office. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Les.Merkley 2020-OR-67 An Ordinance Establishing Fees.for Copy of Body Camera Video Taken by The Jeffersonville Police Department at Accident Scenes Tabled during approval of agenda 2. Heather Metcalf 2021-OR-3 Ordinance of Transfer of Funds Within the Same Department Mrs. Metcalf stated there are no changes from the last meeting. Council Vice President Maples made the motion to approve the ordinance on the third and final reading, seconded by Councilperson Croft; roll call vote: Councilperson White,Yes Councilperson Burns—Yes Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb—Yes . Council President Owen-Yes Councilperson Hawkins—Yes Councilperson Ellis—Yes Motion passes 9-0 NEW BUSINESS 1. Clark County Cares Judge Brad Jacobs to Give Summary of Drug Awareness Week Judge Brad Jacobs stated he would like to thank the Council. Drug Facts week was all virtual this year and it turned into a huge boom because they reached so many more people than they normally would have in other times. They still had the panel that they normally have in person and it was livestreamed and then replayed. Carolyn King is Page2of6 here as well to give a brief overview of this event. Ms. King also thanked the Council,they reached thousands of people during this event. There are lots of good things going on around here. Ms. King gave an overview of the panels they had this year and stated they could not have done it without the support of the Council and partnering with them. Council President Owen thanked both Judge Jacobs and Ms. King for this initiative and the event. 2. Heather Metcalf 2021-OR-6 Ordinance of Transfer of Funds Within the Same Department Mrs. Metcalf stated these are just like the prior transfers that were just approved. They are just to get the appropriations in the proper category. There is one request from the Fire Department moving$19,500 from Lease Payment to Capital Lease Payment;there is one request from the Police Department moving $8,000 from Motor Equipment Supply to Repair and Maintenance. Councilperson Burns made the motion to approve the ordinance on the first and second reading,seconded by Councilperson Croft; roll call vote: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns—Yes Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb—Yes Council President Owen-Yes Councilperson Hawkins Yes Councilperson Ellis—Yes Motion passes 9-0 3. Heather Metcalf 2021-R-4 Resolution Authorizing the Investment of Public Funds Pursuant to IC 5-13- 9-5 Mrs.Metcalf stated this is done at the beginning of every year and allows us to invest in banks that are on the State's depository list. Council President Owen added this is a practice that has yielded some great returns for the City. Councilperson Webb made the motion to approve the resolution,seconded by Council Vice President Maples; roll call vote: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns-Yes Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb—Yes Council President Owen-Yes Councilperson Hawkins—Yes Councilperson Ellis—Yes Motion passes 9-0 4. Len Ashack PUBLIC HEARING 2021-OR-7 Ordinance Repealing Ordinance 2011-OR-73 and Establishing Sewer Rates and Sewer Capacity Fees Mr.Ashack stated this will change four things. The first thing is that it changes the way that they bill from using hundred cubic feet to hundred gallons. This will allow people to compare their sewer bill to their water bill for the same time frame to make sure they are the same. The second thing is increasing the sewer use rates for people outside of City limits. It does not change anything inside the City of Jeffersonville. The third thing it does is increases the capacity fee for new developments that aren't currently being developed. The last thing it does is increases the surcharge for high strength waste. Doug Baldessari who prepared the ordinance as well as the study at the request of the Sewer Board is here to answer any questions. This will help to keep those people who live in Page3of6 Jeffersonville with consistent rates from the last years. Dale Orhem stated for years the City of Jeffersonville charged 50%more to those residents who resided outside of Jeffersonville until the State came in and said that was not allowed without a study supporting the rates and how they were determined. Mr.Baldessari completed that study for us. Mr.Orhem stated the rates will not be raised at 50%like it previously was but instead at 14.7%. Council President Owen opened the Public Hearing at 7:18. pm. Council President asked Mr.Ashack if anyone was present at City Hall and he stated there was not anyone present but he submitted a letter to Clerk Gill that she will read shortly. Clerk Gill stated she received a call from John Wadsworth and she gave him Mr.Ashack's contact information. Letter from Linda Donovan (read by City Clerk Gill)who resides at 112 Bluff Ridge Road Utica Indiana—Clerk Gill stated that the letter would be entered into the record in full and read the questions in the letter for the Council to hear. She would like to know what initiated the ordinance. She would like to know how it was determined that the residents outside of Jeffersonville City limits put a strain on the system. She would like to know what is different about the service required for those outside of City Limits so that their. . services would be higher than the resident inside of City Limits. Mr. Baldessari stated they did a study back in November and the increase is based off specific projects to serve those. Based on those allocations they determined those rates that could be charged to the users outside of the City limits. Councilperson Webb asked if for the tie in fees if there was a way to gradually increase those as opposed to all at once. Mr.Ashack stated that could be done if that's what the Council requested but it is not in the ordinance that was presented. Any developments that are in progress will not see a change in the fees. Council President Owen closed the Public Hearing at 7:28 PM. Councilperson Croft stated he is all for the people outside of City limits using the facility to assist with payment but he cannot support the increase for developers for the tap in fee. He would entertain a smaller amount but not as it is presented. Councilperson Ellis made the motion to approve the ordinance on the first and second reading,seconded by Councilperson Paris;roll call vote: Councilperson White-No Councilperson Burns—No Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-No Councilperson Croft-No Councilperson Webb—No Council President Owen-No Councilperson Hawkins Yes Councilperson Ellis- Yes Motion fails 3-6 Councilperson Webb stated he doesn't think it's so much the rate increase outside of the City, he thinks that is justifiable but he,believes it's the tap in fee. If it was done in gradual increases it may be more of a favorable motion. Councilperson Croft stated he agreed with that. 5. Chad Reischl 2021-OR-_Ordinance Establishing a Tree Ordinance Tabled during approval of agenda 6. Heather Metcalf 2021-OR-8 Ordinance of Additional Appropriation-Mrs. Metcalf stated this ordinance is to appropriate the cash balances in some of the smaller funds that are not tax rate funds. These balances are already there. The last one is for contractual services for the Engineering Department for the dredging of Duffy's landing. Mr.Crouch stated they have all of the permits and some quotes from different contractors. Council Vice President Maples made the motion to approve the ordinance on the first and second reading, seconded by Councilperson Burns; roll call vote: Page 4 of 6 Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns—Yes Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb—Yes Council President Owen-Yes Councilperson Hawkins—Yes Councilperson Ellis—Yes Motion passes 9-0 7. Emily Dippie-Update on Arts Program and the Plan for 2021-Ms. Dippie introduced herself as the new Public Arts Administrator. She gave an overview over what the Department's hopes are for the year. These are dependent not only on Covid-19 related matters but also that all of the funding they are anticipating and if it comes through. The theme for this year is"Emerge". They want to focus on community engagement and help transition people from 2020 into 2021 and not only help them to see beauty but also to contribute to it as well. There are several types of programs this year in hopes of being adaptable in the community. The permanent installations include an art hunt, a digital gallery,and the NOCO Entrance/Alleyway Mural. There will also be community created installations which includes a sticky note sculpture which would allow for an annual competition as well.as a NOCO Wayfinding Event. There will also be community experiences and events which includes a Teen Arts Council. Ms. Dippie gave an overview of the online initiatives which includes a Tik Tok making competition,a Public Art Video Series, and the Voice of Culture. ATTORNEY COMMENT: Corporate Counsel, Les Merkley—Nothing at this time. Council Attorney, Larry Wilder—He is very proud of our roads and how well they have been maintained. Thanks to the Street Department and everyone who makes things run. DEPARTMENT HEAD COMMENT: COUNCIL COMMENTS: • Councilperson White—Stay safe and keep warm the best you can. In regards to the Sewer Ordinance he would like to see more discussion concerning the matter and he looks forward to those discussions. Also he would like to encourage everyone to get their Covid-19 vaccine as it becomes available. • Councilperson Burns—Thank you to the Street Department as well as the other departments who have helped during the snow events. They have done an excellent job. • Councilperson Paris—Nothing at this time. • Council Vice President Maples—He would also like the thank the.Street Department and the other employees of the City for stepping up during the inclement weather. • Councilperson Croft—He would like to reiterate that Mr. Morlan is really doing a good job getting this taken care of. As far as the Sewer Ordinance, he is for charging the residents who reside outside of City limits but he does not support the tap in fees. Also in regards to Bridgepoint Schools closing he has had numerous calls regarding this and he has not had one that is for closing it. • Councilperson Webb—Kudos to the Street Department,they have done an excellent job. In regards to the Sewer Ordinance he thinks there would be more of a consensus if it gradually increased and looks forward to having those conversations.. • Councilperson Hawkins—Thank you to the Street Department for all of their hard work. Page 5 of 6 • Councilperson Ellis—Thank you to the Street Department, he always has faith in them. • Council President Owen—He would like to echo the thanks to the departments during the inclement weather. He would also like to thank Mr.Wilder for stepping up and providing lunch for the workers who were out in it,that has happened a couple of times. He would also like to see the Sewer Department Ordinance come back addressing the concerns that have been expressed. Maybe we can come back to that with some adjustments that everyone can get behind. ADJOURNMENT: Councilperson Burns made the motion to ADJOURN the meeting at 7:53 p.m. APROVED BY: Matt Owen, P ATTES ill,Clerk Page 6 of 6 Date: February 11, 2021 To: Jeffersonville City Council From: Linda Donovan (112 Bluff Ridge Rd., Utica, IN 47130 - presenting comments and questions on behalf of several of the 990 residences impacted by the proposed sewer rate changes) RE: Comments and Questions- Notice on the Changes to the Jeffersonville Sewer Rates In the February 4, 2021 Jeffersonville Sewer Board meeting,the rate increase information provided indicated the sewer rates were changing for those in areas served by Jeffersonville but were not within the Jeffersonville city limits. It was stated that the need for the increase impacting these 990 residences was related to "additional expense incurred due to length of lines and service required". It was indicated that this rate increase protects Jeffersonville residents from sharing those costs. In the proposed ORDINANCE REPEALING ORDINANCE 2011-OR-73 AND ESTABLISHING SEWER RATES AND SEWER CAPACITY FEES, the information states "the Common Council of the City of Jeffersonville believes that it is in the best interest of the citizens to fairly spread the cost of capital repairs and replacement of the wastewater treatment facilities and collection systems among those whose use "tax"the wastewater treatment facilities and collection systems'capacity. (Assuming, tax=strain?) In order to try to understand both the information provided in the Feb 4 meeting and the information provided in the ordinance, I reviewed the Sewer Board meeting minutes and/or the recordings for the last 12 months to try to determine what caused the ordinance to be initiated. I could find nothing that provided any insight into the ordinance initiation or how it was determined that the 990 residences put a strain on the facilities and or capacity that would exceed the demands of those living inside the city limits. In order to understand the proposed rate increase, I have the following questions: • If the ordinance's statement is correct, how was it determined that the 990 residences "strain" the facilities and collection system's capacity-especially when many of the newer and older residences of the 990 are "empty nester" homes without children? • If the information stated at the Feb 4 Sewer Board meeting is correct, wouldn't the length of the lines be the same as new or replacement lines for those in Jeffersonville, which has previously been a shared cost for ALL without regard for location? • Also, what is different about the "service required" for the 990 residences versus those that live in Jeffersonville that would make it more expensive to service the 990 residences especially since the 990 represent 7%of the total residences served by Jeffersonville Sewer Department? • In the decision to increase the costs,was there consideration given for the many years of the shared costs among ALL residences to replace the aging system located primarily in the older downtown area of the city? I do know that Jeffersonville is working diligently to comply with the multi-million-dollar EPA Consent Degree to resolve overflows from the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO). The Wastewater website indicates the major contributing factor in the CSO issue is storm water—not sewage. I don't believe that the 990 residences have the same system, but have shared in any CSO replacement costs passed on through rate increases for ALL. It would be very helpful to understand what happened that seems to want to change the "sharing" relationship that has been on-going for years. We ask the City Council either delay the ordinance adoption or reject the ordinance until there is more insight and documented information supporting the ordinance is provided to the public.