City Council Meeting Minutes - 9/21/09
THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE WAS GIVEN BY ALL IN ATTENDANCE.
PRAYER WAS GIVEN BY PASTOR MICHAEL DEES, SUNNYSIDE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE.
MAYOR SMALL OPENED THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL.
ROLL CALL:
SANDY YORK PRESENT
ANGIE GOODMAN PRESENT
JAMES KIDD PRESENT
MARY MALONE PRESENT
MARK KOGER PRESENT
VAUGHN REID PRESENT
RICHARD HAHN PRESENT
MAYOR SMALL SAID HE HAD AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE ABOUT SOME GRANTS THAT THEY ARE LOOKING IN TO. HE SAID BY LAW, A PUBLIC HEARING MUST BE HELD ON THE ONE GRANT.
MAYOR SMALL SAID THAT SEVERAL MONTHS AGO, THE CITY OF NEW CASTLE APPLIED FOR A ONE MILLION DOLLAR GRANT FOR THE SEPARATION OF STORM WATER PROJECTS. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN 100% FUNDED BY THE GRANTOR. UNFORTUNATELY, WE DID NOT GET THAT GRANT. OUR FALL BACK POSITION AS OF THIS EVENING, WAS TO APPLY FOR A DIFFERENT TYPE OF GRANT, A GRANT CALLED THE C F F GRANT. THAT GRANT WILL ONLY GIVE US $600,000.00 AND THE CITY WOULD HAVE TO MATCH THAT MONEY. $360,000.00 FROM THE STORM WATER UTILITY FUND AND $400,000.00 FROM AN EXISTING SEWER BOND. THE C F F GRANT WOULD COST US A LOT OF MONEY AND NOT GET US AS MUCH FOR THE BUCK IN SEPARATING THE STORM WATER FROM THE WASTE WATER. FRIDAY, WE LEARNED THAT THE DR2 GRANT WAS GOING TO BE OPENED UP AGAIN FOR THE REMAINING APPLICANTS, WHOM WERE UNSUCCESSFUL THE FIRST TIME AROUND. THIS WOULD BE A 100% GRANT SOMETHING FOR US TO APPLY FOR, PERHAPS RATHER THAN DOING THE C F F GRANT WHICH REQUIRES SUCH A LARGE MATCH. HE ASKED THE COUNCIL TO DO WHAT THEY HAD ORIGINALLY PLANNED, TO HAVE A BRIEF PUBLIC HEARING, AS REQUIRED BY LAW, ON THE C F F GRANT AND THEN HE SAID HE APOLOGIZED TO THE COUNCIL AND OFFERED A RESOLUTION THAT HE HAD JUST RECEIVED THAT GOES ALONG WITH THE APPLICATION FOR THE C F F GRANT. MAYOR SMALL SAID THE RESOLUTION WAS AUTHORIZING ON BEHALF OF THE CITY TO APPLY FOR THIS GRANT. HE SAID HIS GUT FEELING IS THAT WE WILL NOT APPLY FOR THIS GRANT BUT IT IS BETTER TO HAVE PAPERWORK IN HANDS THAN JUST IN CASE WE FIND OUT THE LAST MINUTE THAT WE CAN'T FOR SOME REASON, APPLY FOR THE DR2 PLUS GRANT. THE C F F GRANT HAS TO BE SUBMITTED BY OCTOBER 2ND. WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING TO PASS A RESOLUTION.
COUNCILMAN REID SAID SO WE ARE NOT GOING OUT AND REFINANCING OR GETTING ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
MAYOR SMALL SAID THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING SO IF ANYONE WISHES TO SPEAK OR ASK QUESTIONS, NOW IS THE TIME.
PRESIDENT YORK MADE THE MOTION TO AMEND THIS ORDINANCE PURSUIT TO INDIANA CODE 36-4-7-2, SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO RESEND THE AMENDMENT BASED UPON THE FINDINGS OF THAT INDIANA STATUTE . SHE READ FROM THE STATUTE, THE COMPENSATION OF AN ELECTED OFFICIAL MAY NOT BE CHANGED IN THE YEAR FOR WHEN IT IS FIXED, BUT MY BE REDUCED AS FIXED FOR THE PREVIOUS YEARS. THE ORDINANCE WAS SUBMITTED IN ERROR AT OUR PASS MEETING.
ROLL CALL VOTE; SEVEN VOTES AYE. PASSED AND ORDERED.
PRESIDENT YORK MOVED TO TABLE THIS ORDINANCE UNTIL THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING SO COUNCIL COULD STUDY THE DRAFT. COUNCILMAN REID: SECOND ROLL CALL VOTE: SEVEN VOTES AYE. TABLED.
COUNCIL REPORTS:
COUNCILMAN KIDD ANNOUNCED THAT THE HOPE INITIATIVE REGULAR MEETING WILL BE 6:00 P.M. AT THE LIBRARY ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH. ON OCTOBER 10TH. A MEETING WILL BE HELD AT THE BROOKS HARBOR FROM 8:00 A.M. TO12:00P.M. FOR ALL HENRY COUNTY AND CITY ELECTED OFFICIALS AND EVERYONE INTERESTED IN A VISION TO ACTION PROGRAM FOR HENRY COUNTY.
COUNCILMAN HAHN ASKED ABOUT YARD MOWING. THERE IS A HOUSE, NEXT TO RON PADGETT, BETWEEN MAIN AND WOODWARD, THE HOUSE IS EMPTY AND THE GRASS IS ABOUT 3 FOOT HIGH.
PUBLIC:
JOANN DICKERSON, 1600 BLOCK OF H AVENUE, SAID THERE ARE 5 VACANT HOMES IN THE BLOCK SHE LIVES IN. THE RE IS BRUSH, TREES DOWN AND SO MUCH GRASS THAT IS SO HIGH. SHE SAID THEY LIVE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOCK AND IT IS USELESS TO TRY TO FIX OUR HOME UP. SOME HOMES HAVE OPENED DOORS AND YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON WITH PEOPLE GOING IN AND OUT ALL THE TIME.
NORMA DISHMAN THANKED THE COUNCIL FOR ATTENDING THE ASPHALT MEETING LAST WEEK. SHE SAID THERE IS AN EMPTY TOTE AT 1202 MOURER. NO ONE LIVES THERE. MRS. DISHMAN ASKED IF THE STREET DEPARTMENT WILL PICK UP EXTRA TRASH ACROSS FROM HER RESIDENCE. SHE SAID THE PEOPLE HAD MOVED OUT AND LEFT IT.
MAYOR SMALL SAID THE NEXT ITEM BROUGHT UP WAS THE RUBBLE OFF OF HILLSBORO PIKE, NEAR THE TRAINING CENTER. HE SAID THAT MOST OF THE RUBBLE WAS FROM MAXWELL PARK. MR. HACKER SAID HE WORKING ON THIS TO CLEAN IT UP.
MARY LOGAN, N.16TH ST., COMMENTED ON THE BIG PILES OF ASPHALT, CEMENT TELEPHONE POLES ETC. IN THAT AREA. SHE ASKED IF THERE WAS A TIME LIMIT ON CLEANING THAT UP. SHE SAID IT LOOKS LIKE A DUMP. HER COMMENT WAS RESPECT FOR THE PARKS AND ASKED FOR VOLUNTEERS TO HELP CLEAN IT UP.
COUNCILMAN HAHN SAID WHEN PEOPLE HAVE A TRASH PROBLEM, CALL THE BUILDING INSPECTOR AND THEN ANITA WILL MAKE A TICKET AND FORWARD IT ON TO THE STREET DEPARTMENT OR WHATEVER DEPARTMENT.
COUNCILMAN REID SAID TO COUNCILMAN HAHN, YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU DON'T ALWAYS FOLLOW THAT PROCEDURE BECAUSE HE SAW COUNCILMAN HAHN BRING PICTURES OF HOUSES THAT ARE DILAPIDATED AND NEED SOMETHING DONE. YOU PASSED THEM AROUND TO US AND MAKE A PUBLIC ISSUE ABOUT IT. HE SAID TO COUNCILMAN HAHN, IF I PUT YOU ON THE DEFENSIVE TONIGHT, I'M SORRY BUT HE WANTED TO MAKE SURE IT GOT TAKEN CARE OF. I JUST SAW A BIG PILE OF TRASH TODAY AND HE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE STREET DEPARTMENT KNEW IT WAS THERE. HE SAID HE DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO CALL DURING BUSINESS HOURS. HE BROUGHT IT HERE TONIGHT, KNOWING ALL DEPARTMENT HEADS WOULD BE HERE. HE SAID TAKE THAT AND DO WITH IT WHAT YOU WANT TO.
STREET COMMISSIONER AYERS SAID HE WILL TAKE CARE OF IT.
COUNCILMAN HAHN SAID BRINGING IT UP AT COUNCIL, THAT IS FINE BUT IF YOU CALLED AHEAD, GET A HEAD START ON IT. IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE STREET DEPARTMENT NOT PICKING IT UP, THEN WE WILL KNOW WHY INSTEAD OF PEOPLE COMING UP HERE AND COMPLAINING ABOUT THINGS AND WHY THINGS ARE NOT BEING PICKED UP. PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE BEAUTIFICATION OF THIS CITY.
PRESIDENT YORK MOVED FOR ADJOURNMENT.
COUNCILMAN KIDD: SECOND.