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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 2, 2024 Council Minutes COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA January 2, 2024 Regular Meeting Minutes The Common Council of the City of Jeffersonville, Indiana met for the Regular Meeting on January 2, 2024. Council Vice President Hawkinsalong with City Clerk Gill called the meeting to order at 7:00 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 Council President White, Councilperson Burns, Councilperson Semones, Councilperson Anderson, Councilperson Reed, Councilperson Webb, Council Vice President Hawkins, Councilperson Snelling, and Councilperson Stoner. Let the record reflect that all 9 Council Members were present in Council Chambers. APROVAL OF MINUTES: Councilperson Burns made a motion to approve the Minutes from the December 18, 2023, seconded by Councilperson Webb; motion passed, 9-0. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA: Councilperson Anderson made a motion to approve the Agenda, seconded by Councilperson Burns; motion passed, 9-0. CLAIMS TO APPROVE: Civil City$1,558,053.25 Heather Metcalf-Controller stated the amount of the Civil City Claims was$1,558,053.25 and advised there were no changes. Councilperson Semones made a motion to approve the Civil City claims,seconded by Councilperson Stoner; motion passed, 9-0. Parks$151,487.34 Heather Metcalf-Controller stated the amount of the Parks Claims was$151,487.34 and advised there were no changes. Councilperson Semones made a motion to approve the Parks Claims, seconded by Councilperson Anderson; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Hawkins welcomed and congratulated all the new Council Members and said he was looking forward to working with everyone. He advised the Council to follow the rule of medicine, do no harm, if that is carried out throughout the City, everything will be fine. Mr. Hawkins stated there was a light agenda and the only requirement by State Statute was to elect a Council President and Vice President. He would also like to see a discussion about legal counsel. Councilperson Webb nominated Attorney Larry Wilder for Council Attorney. Councilperson Webb advised Mr. Wilder had been the Council Attorney for the last 6 years and has represented them in a lot of cases and was qualified to be the Council Attorney. Councilperson Stoner advised he would like to see a process of interviewing other attorneys that may be applying. Councilperson Semones agreed with Councilperson Stoner to establish a process that identified potential candidates. Councilperson Reed advised she supported getting an Attorney quickly and would like for this to be expedited. Councilperson Burns seconded the motion. Councilperson Stoner asked City Attorney Merkley if there has to be an attorney appointed today. Mr. Merkley advised no. Councilperson Snelling advised he would also like for there to be a process of electing an attorney. Councilperson Webb made a motion to obtain Attorney Larry Wilder as the City Council Attorney, seconded by Councilperson Burns; roll call: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns-Yes Councilperson Semones-Abstain Councilperson Anderson-Yes Councilperson Reed-Yes Councilperson Webb-Yes Council Vice President Hawkins-Yes Councilperson Snelling-Yes Councilperson Stoner-No, motion passed,7-1-1. Councilperson Hawkins opened up the meeting for nominations of Council President. Councilperson Semones nominated Councilperson White as Council President, seconded by Councilperson Snelling. Council Vice President Hawkins closed the nominations; roll call: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns-Yes Councilperson Semones-Yes Councilperson Anderson-Yes Councilperson Reed-Abstain Councilperson Webb-Yes Council Vice President Hawkins-Yes Councilperson Snelling-Yes Councilperson Stoner-Yes, motion passed,8-0-1. Councilperson Hawkins turned the gavel and meeting over to newly elected Council President White. Council President White opened the nominations for Council Vice President. Councilperson Semones nominated Councilperson Hawkins for Council Vice President, seconded by Councilperson Webb. Council President White closed the nominations; roll call: Councilperson White-Yes Councilperson Burns-Yes Councilperson Semones-Yes Councilperson Anderson-Yes Councilperson Reed-Yes Councilperson Webb-Yes Council Vice President Hawkins-Yes Councilperson Snelling-Yes Councilperson Stoner-No, motion passed,8-1. REPORT OF THE CLERK: Welcomed all the new Council Members and wished everyone a Happy New Year. Clerk Gill advised the new Council if they need anything she is there as a resource. Councilperson Semones and Council President White thanked Clerk Gill for all she does. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: Council Appointments for 2024 discussion Council President White advised that in the packet,there is a list of Council Boards and Commissions Appointments that are expired and some that are ongoing. Highlighted in yellow are the ones that Clerk Gill provided with the expiration dates. There is no one that has agreed to be on Solid Waste at this time, so that will be considered at the next meeting. Councilperson Stoner made a motion to amend the Drainage Board Appointment to remove member Bill Reedy and replace that position with Keith Fetz. Councilperson Burns asked if the list of appointments could be gone over and then make motions to approve. Councilperson Stoner withdrew his motion until the end of the list. The following was changed on Parks Authority: Evan Stoner replaced Bill Burns and Stacie Thompson replaced Ralph Scales. Councilperson Anderson made a motion to approve the proposed appointments to the Parks Authority, seconded by Councilperson Stoner; motion passed, 9-0. The following changes were made on the Plan Commission: Councilperson Reed made a motion to amend the Plan Commission slate and nominate herself to the Plan Commission to replace Amy Semones, seconded by Councilperson Semones; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Semones made a motion to approve the amended slate, seconded by Councilperson Burns; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Reed made a motion to approve the Redevelopment slate as presented, seconded by Council Vice President Hawkins; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Reed made a motion to amend the Public Arts slate to replace herself with Amy Semones, seconded by Council Vice President Hawkins; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Reed made a motion to replace Abigail Richmer with Dr.Allison Miller,seconded by Council Vice President Hawkins; motion passed, 9-0. Council President White made a motion to appoint Shannon Grant ( R ),Amanda Yabao ( D ), Chris Palmer Business ), and Dustin White ( Council)the UEZ, seconded by Councilperson Snelling; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Burns made a motion to appoint Dale Sariscsany to Drainage Board (District 2), seconded by Councilperson Snelling; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Anderson made a motion for Tim Franklin to continue on Drainage Board (District 4), seconded by Councilperson Webb; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Snelling made a motion to appoint Albert Frazier Jr. to Drainage Board (At Large), seconded by Council Vice President Hawkins; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Stoner made a motion to amend replacing Bill Reedy with Keith Fetz on the Drainage Board (At Large), seconded by Councilperson Snelling; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Stoner made a motion to approve Keith Fetz to Drainage Board (At Large), seconded by Councilperson Semones; motion passed, 9-0. Council Vice President Hawkins made a motion to retain Art Guepe to Drainage Board (At Large), seconded by Councilperson Burns; motion passed, 9-0. Council President White stated he put Councilperson Semones, Council Vice President Hawkins, and himself on the Finance Committee. Councilperson Semones said she would be happy to serve on the committee. Council Vice President Hawkins stated he would like the Finance Committee to meet more often. Council President White advised to meet quarterly. Councilperson Webb made a motion to appoint Councilperson Burns to the Clark County 911 Board, seconded by Councilperson Anderson, motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Burns made a motion to appoint Sam Smith to Fire Merit Board,seconded by Councilperson Stoner; motion passed, 9-0. Council Vice President Hawkins made a motion to amend and appoint Dave Stinson to Zoning-BZA in place of Meredith Rodriquez, seconded by Councilperson Webb; motion passed, 9-0. Councilperson Burns made a motion to approve the amendment of the Zoning-BZA,seconded by Council Vice President Hawkins; motion passed, 9-0. Appointment for Solid Waste will be on the next meeting agenda. Council President White opened up a discussion regarding the Collective Bargaining Committee and asked Councilperson Semones, Council Vice President Hawkins, Councilperson Burns and himself be the committee members. Councilperson Stoner advised that he would like to be on this committee as well. Councilperson Reed made a motion to table this discussion, seconded by Councilperson Stoner. The following Boards and Committees were discussed: Parks Authority, Plan Commission, Police Merit, Public Arts, Redevelopment, UEZ, Drainage, Finance Committee, Clark County 911, Fire Merit, Zoning and Collective Bargaining. (See Attached). ATTORNEY COMMENTS: Les Merkley—No Comment DEPARTMENT HEADS: Heather Metcalf-Controller-handed out a Circuit Breaker analysis that covers the past six (6)years, please go over it and contact her with any questions. JPD Chief Kavanaugh-on behalf of the two safety departments, welcome to the new Council Members; he is looking forward to working with all of the Council and is here to assist in any way possible and appreciates their efforts to serve the Jeffersonville community. JFD Chief Grant-Thanks to the Council PUBLIC COMMENTS: None COUNCIL COMMENTS: • Councilperson White—because of the next meeting being scheduled for January 16, 2024 and that being the same time as the AIM Conference, is everyone ok with moving the meeting to Monday, January 22, 2024. Next meeting to be held on January 22, 2024 at 7:00 pm. He would like to add to the next agenda discussion of the start time for the City Council Meetings. • Councilperson Burns—looking forward to working with everyone and moving things forward in Jeffersonville. • Councilperson Semones—looking forward to working with you all for the next four(4) years and getting to know you better. • Councilperson Anderson—Welcome to everyone. • Councilperson Reed---Thank you to all my constituent's in District 5 and all the ones that showed up. Please reach out if there is anything she can help with. • Councilperson Webb—to all current and new Council members,you will find that all of the Department Heads are very helpful and are happy to assist in any way. Thanks to everyone that attended the meeting, everything went well. • Council Vice President Hawkins—Agrees with Councilperson Webb regarding the Department Heads. Before Covid it was discussed having a committee to set rules for the Council's meetings, then meeting were held via Zoom. He would like to start that discussion again. • Councilperson Snelling—excited to work with everyone. All the department heads have been great. Looking forward to the next four(4)years. • Councilperson Stoner—See Attached Statement ADJOURNMENT: made the motion to ADJOURN the meeting at 7:50 p.m. APROVED BY: 1(-) Dustin White, Council President ATTEST: sa Gill,Clerk Thank you President White. Thank you to the voters of Jeffersonville for giving me the opportunity to serve our community. To those attending our meeting today,wether in-person or online,wether you voted for me or not,thank you for being engaged and for your commitment to the continued improvement of our city. To my fellow council members, it's an honor to be able to work alongside of you,and I'm so confident in our ability to work together in the best interests of the City of Jeffersonville. I would also like to extend a thank you to the Mayor Mike Moore,as well as Department Leadership throughout our city, for your open communication,dialogue,and support throughout this transition. As the world around us gets more and more chaotic,as political partisanship dominates at the state and federal level,I have never been more certain of the incredible potential of our local governments to make a positive impact in our communities.It is imperative that we maintain our critical city services such as wastewater, street,and sanitation.It is critical that we support our emergency services,not only in competitive pay and benefits,but in professional development,mental health&wellness,as well as equipment safety and quality. But what does that look like exactly?It looks preserving the city services and facilities that we currently have, it looks like continuing to find new ways to make our parks and events more accessible to all of our residents, it looks like making sure that our police officer pay remains competitive with departments throughout our region and state, it looks like being proactive and ensuring our Fire Coverage meets the moment as growth booms in River Ridge.It looks like never giving up on vacant buildings such as the old Kroger, Pizza Hut, Mainsource Bank building and others along 10th street. It looks like being laser- focused on ensuring goals outlined in our Building Jeff Comprehensive Plan are achieved. One of the areas that are of particular interest to me is how we can partner with community agencies,as well as state and federal partners,to address our current issues related to housing. The issues related to housing, specifically the unsheltered population that we see in our city, is not a challenge we face alone. Cities all across America are asking themselves the same questions. We should look to successes of cities of comparable size across America,for ideas and solutions on how to best address these challenges. But housing issues are not only about homelessness. With the rising cost of living making it harder for Americans young and old to find quality, stable housing,we have an obligation to do our part to promote quality and affordable housing for our growing,workforce population in Jeff. We do want a situation where young people like myself cannot afford to live here. The bottom line is this. While we may differ on approach or have disagreements in the process,I believe that each member of this council has a heart for Jeffersonville,and a strong desire to see our city continue moving forward. Disagreement will happen,how we deal with it, and how treat each other in the process is important.Through mutual respect and dialogue, I know that we can make this work. And to our engaged citizens here today and those watching online,we are all in this together. We rise and fall as one, and we need your help to strengthen our city. Please know that I am available to you should you have any questions,comments,or concerns. Together,there is nothing Jeffersonville cannot accomplish. COUNCIL BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS APPOINTMENTS BOARD/COMMISSION NAME EXPIRES BUILDING AUTHORITY RICHARD EKLUND 12/31/2024 ALLAN CONNER 12/31/2024 BILL FRY 12/31/2024 INSURANCE COMMITTE JACKY SNELLING 12/31/2024 STEVE WEBB 12/31/2024 PARKS AUTHORITY LARRY JORDAN 12/31/2027 STACIE THOMPSON 12/31/2027 CARMEN CROUDEP 12/31/2027 EVAN STONER 12/31/2027 PLAN COMMISSION DONNA REED 12/31/2024 BILL BURNS 12/31/2024 STEVE WEBB 12/31/2024 POLICE MERIT SCOTT ALDRIDGE 12/31/25 PUBLIC ARTS TEAH WILLIAMS-HAMPTON 1/31/2026 JOHN WOHRLE 1/31/2026 DR.ALLISON MILLER 1/31/2026 ROSIE CALLAHAN 1/31/2025 AMY SEMONES 1/31/2025 REDEVELOPMENT SCOTT HAWKINS 12/31/2024 EVAN STONER 12/31/2024 SEWER BOARD BILL SAEGESSER 12/31/2024 DALE OREM 12/31/2024 UEZ SHANNON GRANT(R) 12/31/2027 AMANDA YABAO (D) 12/31/2027 CHRIS PALMER (BUSINESS) 12/31/2027 DUSTIN WHITE (COUNCIL) 12/31/2027 DRAINAGE (District 1) SHANE CALKIN 1/13/2025 (District 2) DALE SARISCSANY 1/12/2026 (District 3) GREG LANDERS 1/13/2025 (District 4) TIM FRANKLIN 1/12/2026 (District 5) JOHN KETENBRINK 1/13/2025 (District 6) ADAM ROSS 1/13/2025 At Large ALBERT FRAZIER JR. 1/12/2026 At Large KEITH FETZ 1/12/2026 At Large ART GUEPE 1/12/2026 COUNCIL BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS APPOINTMENTS BOARD/COMMISSION NAME EXPIRES FINANCE COMMITTEE AMY SEMONES 12/31/2024 DUSTIN WHITE 12/31/2024 SCOTT HAWKINS 12/31/2024 CLARK COUNTY 911 BILL BURNS 12/31/2024 FIRE MERIT SAM SMITH 12/31/2027 ZONING DAVE STINSON 12/31/2027 SOLID WASTE EMPTY 12/31/2024