City Council

TOWN OF CICERO TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2024 at 7:00 PM Call to Order: President Lutz called the meeting to order at 7:08 and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. Gary gave the prayer. Mr. Lutz called for roll call. Members of the Cicero Town Council were present or absent as follows: Present: Joseph Cox Absent: Eric Hayden Dennis Johnson Christopher Lutz Emily Pearson Declare a Quorum Present: President Lutz 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 Aaron Culp, Town Attorney Keith Bryant, Town Engineer Bruce Freeman, Storm Water Management Board President Dan Strong, Project Coordinator Approval of Agenda: Mr. Hayden made a motion to approve the agenda as amended. Mr. Cox seconded, motion carried 5-0. Lights Over Morse Lake – Ms. Stokes-Bear and Ms. Hayden were present to request a contingency rain day for the fireworks display as the weather does not look promising on July 4th. Council inquired with the department heads about their availability, but in the end, consensus was to move the fireworks display to Saturday July 6th if needed. Approval of Prior Minutes: Town Council Staff Meeting Minutes, June 13, 2024, 7:00 PM Town Council Meeting Minutes, June 18, 2024, 7:00 PM Mr. Hayden made a motion to approve the minutes listed above as presented. Mr. Cox seconded, motion carried 5-0 Approval of 7/2/2024 Claims: Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve claims dated 7-2-24 as presented. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 5-0. Council Committee Reports: 1. Our Town Cicero (OTC) Report – Ms. Pearson had nothing to report. 1  2. Economic Development Committee (EDC) Report – Mr. Cox reported that EDC is on the comprehensive plan steering committee. 3. Stormwater Utility Management (SWU) Management Board Report – SWU President Freeman had nothing to report. Legal Counsel Report – Mr. Culp reported that he submitted the Facilities Agreement for Morse Waterways annual lake cleanup for signature. He added that the town will need to supply a staff member to collect signed waivers. Ms. Gary volunteered. Mr. Culp will email the waiver for volunteer signatures to Ms. Gary. Cicero/Jackson Township Plan Commission Report - Director's Report - June 2024 Permit Revenue: June 2024 = $5,319 YTD: $25,057 June 2023 = $10,496 YTD: $52,808 Difference: Month = $-5,177 YTD: -$27,751 A total of 19 building permits were issued in June 2024. Ten were within the corporate limits (none of which was for a new home). Another 9 permits were issued in Jackson Township (two of which were for new homes). Estimated Cost of projects permitted: $1,464,020. Additional notes: Mr. Zawadzki has completed the National Flood Insurance Program course which is an IDEM requirement starting in 2025. There was a Comp Plan Steering Committee meeting on June 24th. It was well attended. They did some activities to begin the planning process. The survey portion of the Comp Plan is ongoing. The QR codes have been placed at several locations in Town and in the Township. Please take the survey if you have not already. The next Planning Commission meeting scheduled for July 10, 2024, has been cancelled due to lack of business. Next BZA meeting is scheduled for July 18, 2024. Town Engineer Report 1. Tamarack – Mr. Bryant stated that nothing has changed, and they are still waiting for completion of the punch list from Section 4 by MI Homes. Once that is complete, they will reinspect and request that the town accept the infrastructure. Mr. Cox noted that the dead trees have been replaced. 2. Water – Mr. Bryant had no updates. 3. Wastewater – Mr. Byrant receives a monthly report from Reynolds Construction and emailed to everyone earlier this week. He will schedule a preconstruction meeting soon if the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) is received from the State Revolving Fund (SRF) group. The SRF Group indicated that they hope to send this approval next week. If approved, Reynolds may begin to mobilize next week. Right now, they continue to review shop drawings from Reynolds. There was a brief discussion about the fence and the slats had been removed during value engineering. They can be added back later if desired. Reynolds had also questioned if we desired the barb wire at the top of the fence. Not all of the fence is being replaced, so the new fence (including barb wire) matches the existing fence. The barb wire is not attractive but does provide a better 2  barrier for public safety onto the site where they could be injured. It was agreed to match the existing fence. 4. Tollgate Road – Mr. Bryant reported that the paving is installed. Midwest Paving has work to do on the shoulder, finish grading, ditch work and striping. Midwest will also work on the transition from new to old pavement on the NE corner of the subdivision entrances before stripping. 5. Brinton Street Storm Water Rehab Project – Mr. Bryant has been in touch with Insituform, and they have committed to finishing the last liner segment before July 22nd. Once that is complete, we can close out that grant/project. 6. Jackson Street Project – Mr. Bryant said that the project has gone out for bid. He requested extending the respond to date until 7/23/24 to generate more interest, should contact with potential bidders the following week suggest the need. An unsuccessful bid will result in the loss of the Community Crossing Matchings Grant (CCMG). There was a brief conversation concerning light posts and parking spaces. It was suggested to invite business owners to a meeting to discuss timelines as they will be impacted by the scope of work on Jackson Street. Mr. Brant also hopes to receive and send out an estimate soon. Actually, the bid numbers will determine the real cost of the project. Old Business: a. Annexation Ordinance 04-16-2024-01 – Mr. Culp requested that Council adopt the annexation ordinance relating to 23333 Tollgate Road as it was 100% voluntary by the property owner. Mr. Cox made a motion to approve and adopt Annexation Ordinance 04-16-2024-01. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 5-0. b. Employee Handbook Ordinance 07-02-2024-02 – Ms. Gary asked that Council adopt the new employee handbook. President Lutz inquired if the department heads had a chance to review the handbook and they had. Afterwards, Ms. Pearson made a motion to adopt the new employee handbook. Mr. Hayden seconded, motion carried 5-0. New Business: a. Barnes & Thornburg Engagement Letter – Mr. Culp stated that this is for Bond Council for the Bond Anticipation Note (BAN) Mr. Hayden made a motion to table so the Council has time to review the letter. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 5- 0. b. Hamilton County Regional Water Plan – President Lutz stated that he is looking for reps to attend (likely in July). He asked Mr. Strong who agreed. Ms. Pearson agreed to attend if President Lutz found that he was not able to attend. Miscellaneous: a. Food and Beverage (F&B) Ordinance 07-02-2024-01 – Mr. Culp introduced the F&B Ordinance for a first reading. He will then work with Ms. Gary to schedule a public meeting which council agreed to schedule for 7/23/24 @ 7:15 pm. b. Jackson Street Demo – Mr. Strong requested that Council reject the previously approved bids for the demolition as he needs to do a proper Request for 3  Quotes (RFQ). Mr. Hayden made a motion to reject the prior quotes. Mr. Cox seconded, motion carried 5-0. c. Lights Over Morse Lake (LOML) Program – Ms. Gary has programs for the town festivities if anyone would like one. d. Heavy Trash Day (October) – Ms. Gary stated that Cicero’s Heavy Trash Pickup Day in October at the Street Department will need to be cancelled if there is not an alternative location as the Street Department will not be available. There curb side pickup will not be a problem, but with the wastewater treatment plant under construction there will be no place for the dumpsters as they need to be in a fenced in location. President Lutz asked Ms. Gary to place this on the staff meeting agenda. Comments by Citizens: a. Ms. Mayer, Cicero resident, inquired about the Jackson Street project, i.e. parking, payment for the project and outdoor seating was the main focus. President Lutz explained about the grant and different sources of funding that the town has. b. Mr. Hahn, Cicero resident, inquired about the approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) concerning a transfer station out on US 31. Mr. Cox and Mr. Culp explained the variance procedure, saying that the BZA is responsible for doing its due diligence and making sure all criteria are met once a hardship has been identified by a property owner. By statute, we must have a variance procedure. The property owner bears the burden of proof. The board sets the policy and there is no outside conversation allowed with the BZA outside of a public meeting. Motion to Adjourn: Mr. Hayden made the motion. Mr. Cox seconded, motion carried 5-0. Signatures on Official Documents! Signatures of Cicero Town Council AYE NAY Christopher J Lutz Joseph R Cox Eric C Hayden Dennis D Johnson Emily K Pearson 4 Attested: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer The Next Cicero Town Council Meeting will be on July 16, 2024 at 7:00 PM at Cicero Town Hall. 5