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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 3, 2022 Council Minutes COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY JEFFERSONVILLE,INDIANA October 3,2022 Regular Meeting Minutes The Common Council of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana met for the Regular Meeting on October 3, 2022. Council President Owen along with City Clerk Gill called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.The meeting was open to the public in person as well as live streamed via the City_Website using Zoom. INVOCATION: Councilperson Ellis 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 White, Councilperson Burns, Councilperson Paris,Council Vice President Maples,Councilperson Croft, Councilperson Webb, Councilperson Hawkins,and Councilperson Ellis, Council President Owen. Let the record reflect that 9 Council Members were present in Council Chambers. APROVAL OF MINUTES: Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve the Minutes of September 19,2022 of the Regular Meeting,seconded by Councilperson Paris; motion passed,9-0. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve the agenda,seconded by Councilperson Burns; motion passed,9-0. CLAIMS TO APPROVE: Civil City$2,160,010.59—Heather Metcalf stated there were no changes. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve Civil City Claims,seconded by Councilperson Burns; motion passed,9-0. Parks$66,136.67—Heather Metcalf stated there were no changes; Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve Parks Claims,seconded by Councilperson Paris; motion passed, 9-0. REPORT OF THE CLERK: Clerk Gill reminded everyone that under the Budget Adoption they needed to sign by their name and mark either Yay, Nay or Abstain. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Heather Metcalf 2022-OR-59(Budget Adoption)Ordinance of Additional Appropriation Mrs. Metcalf stated there were no changes. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve 2022-OR-59 on the Third and Final Reading, seconded by Councilperson Burns; motion passed,9-0. 2. Heather Metcalf 2022-OR-60 Ordinance of Additional Appropriation (Public Hearing) Mrs. Metcalf stated there were no changes. Council President Owen opened the Public Hearing at 7:09 pm,Clerk Gill stated there were no comments sent to the Clerk's office.There were no members of the community present to speak for or against the matter. Council President Owen closed the Public Hearing. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve 2022-OR-60 on the Third and Final Reading, seconded by Councilperson Paris; motion passed,9-0. 3. Heather Metcalf 2022-OR-61 Ordinance of Transfer of Funds within the Same Department Mrs. Metcalf stated there were no changes. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve 2022-OR-61 on the Third and Final Reading, seconded by Councilperson Burns; motion passed,9-0. NEW BUSINESS 1. Matt Hall with Wheatley Group(Public Hearing) 2022-R-12 Resolution Regarding Waiver of Noncompliance for Aristocrat Commercial Developers, LLC(246 Spring Street) Mr. Matt Hall with the Wheatley Group presented the Resolution. Upon review,there has been some non-compliance cases regarding requirements for tax abatements. The Wheatly Group was asked by the City of Jeffersonville to investigate what the solution would be to bring these into compliance. Mr. Hall advised that the Resolutions before the Council, if approved would bring everyone back to compliance. This came through the Redevelopment Commission. Council President Owen opened the Public Hearing at 7:12 pm. Those present in Council Chambers to speak were the following: Alice Butler, 1773 Summerlin Place,Jeffersonville, IN 47130—Ms. Butler expressed concerns with approving the discussed Resolution (See attached). Clerk Gill stated there were no comments sent to the Clerk's office. Council President Owen closed the Public Hearing at 7:15 pm. Council Attorney Larry Wilder advised the Council that they are well within the parameters of the law to vote affirmatory on this action, that there is nothing that this individual raised that has caused for you to have the ability to not vote positive. Councilperson White asked the question; is this for the UEZ Investment Deduction? Mr.Wheatley advised it is and it can go before the Council instead of the UEZ Board. Councilperson White made a motion to approve 2022-R-12,seconded by Council Vice President Maples; roll call: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns-Abstained Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb-Yes Councilperson Hawkins-Yes Council President Owen-Yes Councilperson Ellis-Yes, motion passed, 8-0-1. 2. Matt Hall with Wheatley Group(Public Hearing)2022-R-13 Resolution Regarding Waiver of Noncompliance for Aristocrat Downtown,LLC(527-531 Spring Street) Council President Owen opened the Public Hearing at 7:18 pm.Those present in Council Chambers to speak were the following: Alice Butler,1773 Summerland Place,Jeffersonville, IN 47130 Mrs. Butler, asked why the owner of said property did not file the 2 page form that would only take 10 minutes to complete, and why should the owner not be penalized for not doing what needed to be done. Advised that she knows that one of the Council Members is the owner of these properties and she is very ashamed that the other Council Members are in favor of these Resolutions. Clerk Gill stated there were no comments sent to the Clerk's office. Council President Owen closed the Public Hearing at 7:20 pm. Council Vice President made a motion to approve 2022-R-13, seconded by Councilperson Webb; roll call: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns-Abstained Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb-Yes Councilperson Hawkins-Yes Council President Owen-Yes Councilperson Ellis-Yes, motion passed, 8-0-1. 3. Matt Hall with Wheatley Group(Public Hearing)2022-R-14 Resolution Regarding Waiver of Noncompliance for Global Payments INC. Council President Owen opened the Public Hearing at 7:22 pm.Those present in Council Chambers to speak were the following: Alice Butler, 1773 Summerland Place,Jeffersonville, IN 47130 Mrs. Butler stated it is a shame that the public is not getting told who owns these properties, that it has to be looked up on the Indiana Secretary of State Website for this information when the owner of said property is sitting before us. Council Attorney Larry Wilder advised it is obvious that Councilperson Burn has abstained from the vote due to having interest in said properties. Clerk Gill stated there were no comments sent to the Clerk's office. Council President Owen closed the Public Hearing at 7:25 pm. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve 2022-R-14,seconded by Councilperson Paris; motion passed 9-0-0. Council President Owen advised no roll call is needed. 4. Matt Hall with Wheatley Group(Public Hearing) 2022-R-15 Resolution Regarding Waiver of Noncompliance for Leo Properties, INC. Council President Owen opened the Public Hearing at 7:25 pm.Those present in Council Chambers to speak were the following: Alice Butler, 1773 Summerland Place,Jeffersonville, IN 47130 Mrs. Butler stated her disappointment in the City Council,that there is no integrity, transparency, honesty. Council President Owen closed the Public Hearing at 7:28 pm. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve 2022-R-15,seconded by Councilperson Paris; roll call: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns-Abstained Councilperson Paris-Yes Council Vice President Maples-Yes Councilperson Croft-Yes Councilperson Webb-Yes Councilperson Hawkins-Yes Council President Owen-Yes Councilperson Ellis-Yes, motion passed, 8-0-1. 5. Matt Hall with Wheatley Group(Public Hearing) 2022-R-16 Resolution Regarding Waiver of Noncompliance for 1507 Production Road LLC. Council President Owen opened the Public Hearing at 7:28 pm.Those present in Council Chambers to speak were the following: Alice Butler, 1773 Summerland Place,Jeffersonville, IN 47130 Mrs. Butler,stated it is not right for these resolutions to be passed,the penalties should be paid and voices her disappointment again.Clerk Gill stated there were no comments sent to the Clerk's office. Council President Owen closed the Public Hearing at 7:30 pm. No roll call needed this time. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve 2022-R-16, seconded by Councilperson Webb; motion passed,9-0. 6. Kim Calabro 2022-OR-Ordinance Amending 2022-OR-62(Salary Ordinance)Ordinance Fixing the Salaries of Appointed Officers and Employees for All Departments of the City of Jeffersonville for the Year 2023 Mrs. Calabro presented the changes made to the 2023 Budget: Page 2-changes reflecting 2023 contract already on file. Page 4-additional employee for the Parks Department, bringing the total to 13,also base pay for Police Department is reflective of contract language currently in use approved by this City Council. Page 5-Vehicle Maintenance changing a mechanic to a Lead Diesel Mechanic. Page 7-WW Treatment Plant changed base rate for all technicians of the laboratory plant operator position to have the same base rate. Page 7-Mrs. Metcalf advised section 2B Clothing allowance for Fire and Police,their reimbursement is being done with a claim now and not on their payroll check, and therefore this is not needed on the Salary Ordinance. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve 2022-OR-62 on the First and Second Reading,seconded by Councilperson Burns; motion passed,9-0. 7. Matt Owen Retaining KROGER,GARDIS&REGAS, LLP for Purpose of Redistricting Council President Owen advised this is to retain KROGER, GARDIS & REGAS, LLP for the purpose of redistricting and is for legal purposes. Councilperson Burns made a motion to approve, seconded by Councilperson Croft; motion passed,9-0. 8. Heather Metcalf 2022-OR-63 Ordinance of Additional Appropriation Mrs. Metcalf advised the budget that was approved last year for the 457 Match was just an estimate,this is a truer number that would get us through the rest of the year for the General Fund, Motor Vehicle, Park's and Sanitation. There are 2 others that are not included in this, which is Fire and Police. Fire should be fine, but Police may have to come back in November for. an Additional Appropriation. These numbers are budgeted in next year's budget. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve 2022-OR-63 on the First and Second Reading, seconded by Councilperson Burns; motion passed,9-0. 9. Heather Metcalf 2022-OR-64 Ordinance of Additional Appropriation This is for the Park's phone system conjunction with Spy Glass telecommunications in the amount of$6,000.00. An audit is done every 3 years with the last one being in 2019. An email was sent out today regarding this audit.There will be a savings of$22,779.00.Spy Glass fee is. around $18,900.Changes that were made are:disconnection of 8 Centrex Lines, canceled publication in telephone books, reduced rates of each line down to$32.00 per line, removed 4 unneeded wireless devices and changed some of the plans. Council President Owen advised this will come out of the Park's General Fund. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve 2022-OR-64 on the First and Second Reading, seconded by Councilperson Paris; motion passed, 9-0. 10. Heather Metcalf 2022-OR-65 Ordinance of Additional Appropriation Clark Miles, City of Jeffersonville Sanitation Director is requesting$258,817.10 for a new packer, the one currently being used is 17 years old and has been repaired several times. Council - President Owen asked how long it would take to get the packer. Mr. Miles advised up to 6 months and would come from Indianapolis.. Councilperson White made a motion to approve 2022-OR-65 on the First and Second Reading, seconded by Councilperson Hawkins; motion passed,9-0. 11. Heather Metcalf 2022-OR-66 Ordinance of Transfer of Funds Within the Same Department This transfer is for 2 departments. The first one for Sanitation under Contractual Services and the second one is for Motor Vehicle for.tires from the Motor Equipment line. Council Vice President Maples made a motion to approve 2022-OR-66_on the First and Second Reading,seconded by Councilperson Croft; motion passed, 9-0. _ ATTORNEY COMMENT: Larry Wilder- No comment Les Merkley-Absent DEPARTMENT HEADS: Kim Calabro-invited everyone to the City of Jeffersonville Employee Health and Wellness event on October 5, 2022 from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm at the Envision Center. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Janice W. Leavell-1411 Sportsman Drive,Jeffersonville, IN 47130 regarding King Holiday Committee. Mrs. Leavell gave a brief summary of what the King Holiday Committee is about and requested a donation of$5,000.00 to fund the MLK scholarships, poster winners and plaques. No fund raisers have been done for 2 years now.The breakfast that is held yearly is paid for by donations from businesses in Clark County. The City of Jeffersonville.was one of the first in the United States to celebrate the King Holiday after it was established in 1983. Kelly Khuri-4819 Salem Noble,Jeffersonville, IN 47130 regarding Cyberdome America. Mrs. Khuri is wanting to know if Cyberdome America is the same as the Global Cyberdome based in Israel and Nigeria, is it a sub siderary,and where she could find that answer. Council President Owen advised that he does not know the answer. She can contact the Secretary of State or the Regional Director of that LLC. Mrs. Khuri also thanked the Council for allowing public comments. COUNCIL COMMENTS: • Councilperson White—supports the UEZ and is happy to seethe support for those businesses in the zone. They help fund the zone,which in turn helps provide a better quality of life for those people that come to the zone to patronize those businesses and participate in the activities down town. Thank each of you for your vote. Councilperson White attended a Claysburg Tower neighborhood meeting today and they are talking about the opening of a down town Counseling Service in Jeffersonville. An apartment complex at the corner of Spring and 15t'Street has been purchased to house the people they counsel. A question was brought up about trying to have an ordinance to limit the number of counseling services that come into City like the one for gas stations.Would like to discuss this with legal and Chad Reischl regarding the Apartment Complex that was bought. • • Councilperson Burns—City Council will have a table at the City of Jeff Food Fest on October 24, 2022 from 5-7 pm. • Councilperson Paris—No Comment • Council Vice President Maples—No Comment • Councilperson Croft—No Comment • Councilperson Webb—No Comment • Councilperson Hawkins---Thanks to Heather and the staff for the hard work on the budget. • Councilperson Ellis—Made a motion to provide$5,000.00 to the Holiday Committee,seconded by Council President Owen. Council President Owen advised that the CIS is no longer funded and to transfer that$5,000.00 to the Riverboat,Special Projects fund for this to be paid, he also advised Mrs. Leavell that a statement would need to be given regarding the request and a W9. Motion passed, 9-0. • Council President Owen—Agreed with Councilperson Hawkins comments about the budget, also was going to suggest funding the King Committee. He agrees with Councilperson White regarding the tax incentives with the UEZ. The Jeffersonville Trustee Dale Popp reached out regarding touring the Catalyst Rescue Mission and the Head of the Homeless Coalition regarding potential funding from the City and how the City can partner with some of the incentive's going on around about the homeless conversation. Both groups have reached out to other elected officials and has a tour scheduled at the Catalyst Rescue Mission for this Friday, October 7, 2022 at 1:30 pm. ADJOURNMENT: Council Vice President Maples made the motion to ADJOURN the meeting at 8:08 p.m. APROVED BY: Matt Owen, ent A1T: Li a Gill, Clerk October 3, 2022 These resolutions are missing lot of information. Information that taxpayers deserve to know. Where's the transparency? 1. Why didn't the owner of these companies file the required forms on a timely basis? What was his excuse? Actions have consequences and a failure to file should have consequences too. 2. How much is the tax abatement for each of these properties? There is nothing in your resolutions that tells us how many tax dollars we are giving away to these companies who did not bother to file a simple 2 page form on time. 3. Who owns Aristocrat Downtown LLC; Aristocrat Commercial Developers LLC; Leo Properties Inc; 1507 Production Rd LLC and Global Payments? Who? Do you know? I think you do. I know I do. 4. Why is Matt Hall from the Wheatley Group, an advisory firm, presenting these requests for waivers rather than the owner of the properties? Are you trying to hide who the owner is? 5. Is the owner here?? I think you know the answers but don't want the public to know. This is a total lack of transparency. There should be a penalty for not filing on time. Just like the IRS and others have penalties for not filing required forms. In this case, the penalty should be the company forfeits any abatement for the year in question. We cannot make exceptions for certain people because of what political office they might hold. The abatementsare basically a gift from the rest of us who pay our taxes for those who develop properties in an enterprise zone. Asking them to file a simple 2 page form each year by a set deadline is not asking too much. If they are not responsible enough to do so,then they should suffer the consequences. Maybe next year they will learn their lesson and mark their calendar and make sure they file on time. Approving these resolutions looks like you are just taking care of one of your own.If you care about all taxpayers, as one of you who is running for higher office says he does, you will vote NO on all these resolutions. Alice Butler 1773 Summerlin Place