City Council

TOWN OF CICERO TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2023 at 7:00 PM Call to Order: President Blueher called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. Gary gave the prayer. President Blueher called for roll call. Members of the Cicero Town Council were present or absent as follows: Present: Chad Blueher Absent: Joseph Cox Eric Hayden Dennis Johnson Christopher Lutz Declare a Quorum Present: President Blueher declared a quorum with all members present. Others Present: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer Jeff Rednour, Police Chief Lance Overholser, Fire Chief Frank Zawadzki, Cicero/Jackson Township Plan Commission Director Terry Cooper, Street & Utilities Director Jim Hunter, Parks Superintendent Aaron Culp, Town Attorney Dan Strong, Project Coordinator Approval of Agenda: Mr. Lutz made a motion to approve the agenda as amended. Mr. Cox seconded, motion carried. Approval of Prior Minutes: Town Council Staff Meeting Minutes, October 12, 2023, 7:00 PM Town Council Executive Session Memorandum, October 17, 2023, 6:00 PM Town Council Meeting Minutes, October 17, 2023, 7:00 PM Mr. Hayden made a motion to approve the minutes listed above as presented. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried. Approval of 11/8/23 Claims: Mr. Lutz made a motion to approve the claims dated 11/8/23. Mr. Cox seconded, motion carried. Council Committee Reports: 1. OTC Report – President Blueher didn’t have an update, but Mr. Cox inquired about the donation from EDC for the mural on Byron Street. After a brief discussion, Mr. Cox made a motion to approve the donation in the amount of $200 from EDC to OTC. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried. 2. EDC Report – Mr. Cox had no update as the monthly meeting was cancelled. 3. SWU Management Board Report – SWU President Freeman was not present, but asked Ms. Gary to relate that he has nothing new to report. 1 Legal Counsel Report – a. Mr. Culp relayed that the Plan Commission would be forwarding positive recommendations for several zoning ordinance amendments to the council for its consideration. These include changing the minimum lot size in R5 from 5,000 sq ft to 10,000 sq ft and establishing generator permits and the applicable requirements. b. President Blueher stated that Ms. Wendy Gillespie has accepted an appointment to the Cicero Plan Commission. Cicero/Jackson Township Plan Commission – Director's Report - October 2023 • Permit Revenue: October 2023 = $13,255 YTD: $85,465 October 2022 = $ 9,099 YTD: $162,231 • We have issued a total of 16 building permits for October of 2023. Seven are within the corporate limits (of which 0 were for new homes). • We have issued nine permits in Jackson Township (of which, 0 was for a new home). • Estimated Cost of projects permitted: $30,050,017. Additional Info: Plans are finalized for the IDDE portion of our MS4 permit, which should be in effect by 12/01/2023. Town Engineer Report – Mr. Bryant was not present, but submitted the following via email: 1. Tamarack – Town infrastructure is complete for the most part. The developer has indicated again that the final punch lists for Sections 1-3 are complete. United will inspect and verify the completion. 2. Auburn Estates – Section 1: Town infrastructure is complete. Three-year maintenance bonds have been submitted. Mr. Culp has prepared Resolution No. 11-08-2023-01 for the town to accept the infrastructure. Mr. Bryant recommended acceptance. Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve Resolution No. 11-08-2023-01. Mr. Cox seconded, motion carried. 3. Water – Waiting for additional well site test well access and work by Peerless Midwest. 4. Wastewater – We have BOT guaranteed maximum numbers from Reynolds for the current base bid. We also have budget numbers for various value engineering alternatives and options for consideration as reviewed on November 7. Review and evaluation are in process. 5. Tollgate Road – The Contractor, Midwest Paving, has cleared the south end and performed test holes for utilities. The contractor has recognized that the weather will not allow them to properly complete the paving. He has asked to be able to install culverts, etc. and wait for the final milling and paving in the spring of 2024. We recommend allowing this as it will result in the best end product for the town. Pay applications 1 and 2 have been submitted with recommendations for payment. 6. Brinton Street Storm Water Rehab Project – The contractor, Insituform, has completed all of the contract lining. They have one manhole to repair and restoration completion for current agreement completion. We have been notifying them on a regular basis to get the paving done before the weather will not allow it. We are still awaiting updated and corrected numbers on the potential scope additions. Once received, we will review and make recommendations to the Storm Water Board and Council. Upon acceptance, work 2  with Ms. Henderson to submit to OCRA for approval. Any additional work requiring paving restoration will likely wait until spring of 2024 at this point. Old Business: President Blueher and Parks Superintendent Hunter would like to expand Dog Park. After much discussion i.e. location, cost, he asked for a motion to proceed. There was no motion. However, there was a motion to table the conversation by Mr. Hayden. Mr. Lutz seconded, motion carried 4-1 with Mr. Blueher voting nay. New Business: a. 2024 Budget Receipts/Revenue Summary – Ms. Gary gave a summary of the town’s revenue as Mr. Lutz requested. b. Town Hall Roof – Mr. Strong relayed that he had secured three estimates for the roof at the town hall. Mr. Lutz made a motion to allow President Blueher to sign and move forward with the new roof. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried. c. Municipal Reorganization – Mr. Lutz touched on an article that he has seen in reference to Sheridan and Adams Township combining into a single government. After a brief discussion, he asked Mr. Cox if he could arrange for a speaker at a December meeting for insight and a better level of understanding. Mr. Cox said that he would do that. d. Food & Beverage Tax – Mr. Lutz thinks the 1% food and beverage tax might be a good opportunity for the town to grab some additional revenue not necessarily targeted at Cicero residents that we are not currently capturing. He asked that the council put together a list of some possible uses for these funds as he would like to have specific targets for the revenue. He asked Mr. Cox to reach out to some of the local restaurants. He also asked Mr. Culp to get some specifics for a resolution. e. Hero’s Honor – Ms. Gary presented a document from INPRS (Indiana Public Retirement System) for Hero’s Honor, a line of duty special death coverage for 1977 Police and Firefighters. After a brief discussion, Mr. Hayden made a motion to approve the benefit. Mr. Cox seconded, motion carried. f. Kiosk – Mr. Cox made a motion to deem the kiosk as salvageable contingent on Mr. Culp’s approval. Mr. Lutz seconded, motion carried. g. Shift Sergeant – Chief Rednour requested permission to approve a shift supervisor position, not to exceed $7,000 for the 3:00pm to 11:00pm shift. Mr. Cox stated that it is included in the Police 2024 Budget. Mr. Cox made a motion to approve the request. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried. h. Real Estate Resolution No. 11-08-2023-02 – Mr. Lutz made a motion approve the resolution. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried. i. Lights Over Morse Lake – Ms. Gary stated that Ms. Roosa with LOML is requesting a commitment for the 2024 July 4th festival not to be paid until January 2024. Mr. Hayden made a motion to approve the request. Mr. Lutz seconded, motion carried. j. Gutter Replacement – Mr. Strong had a quote to install new gutters at town hall. After a brief discussion, Mr. Culp said that he would need to secure three quotes. Miscellaneous: There was nothing. Comments by Citizens: 3  a. Mr. Hahn, Cicero resident, has concerns about the amount of traffic, effect on the school system among other concerns with the new Lennar subdivision. He believes that the town has the potential to approve or deny the project. He asked that the council think of the people they were elected to represent as he does not feel they are in favor of it. b. Mr. Farr, Cicero resident, was present to express his unhappiness with the his water bill. He did install an irrigation system and he did use a lot of water, but did think he should pay for the wastewater. He did receive a credit for the months of June, July and August, but wasn’t prepared for the cost without the credit. Council took this as an opportunity to look at the credit parameters of the credit. Council asked Ms. Gary to place this on the staff meeting agenda and thanked Mr. Farr for his insight. Motion to Adjourn: Mr. Cox made the motion. Mr. Lutz seconded, motion carried. Signatures on Official Documents! Signatures of Cicero Town Council AYE NAY Chad M Blueher Joseph R Cox Eric C Hayden Dennis D Johnson Christopher J Lutz Attested: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer The Next Cicero Town Council Meeting will be on November 21, 2023 at 7:00 PM at Cicero Town Hall. 4