City Council

TOWN OF CICERO TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2024 at 7:00 PM Call to Order: President Lutz called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Zawadzki 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: 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 Keith Bryant, Town Engineer Bruce Freeman, Storm Water Management Board President Dan Strong, Project Coordinator Approval of Agenda: Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve the agenda as amended. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 5-0. Approval of Prior Minutes: Town Council Executive Session Memorandum, November 6, 2024, 6:00 PM Town Council Meeting Minutes, November 6, 2024, 7:00 PM Mr. Hayden made a motion to approve the minutes listed above. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 5-0. Clarification from the previous minutes. It was reported that the interest rate for the Bond Anticipation Note was 2.75%. It was actually 2.61%. Approval of 11/19/2024 Claims: Mr. Cox made a motion to approve the claims dated 11/19/24. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 5-0. Open Bids – Police Vehicle – Mr. Cox opened the only bid received which was from Pike Auto Sales in the amount of $6,000.00. After discussion, Mr. Cox made a motion to reject the bid. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 5-0. Council Committee Reports: 1. OTC Report – Ms. Pearson had nothing to report. 1  2. EDC Report – Mr. Cox reported that Mr. Mann will be leaving the committee and he has an interested party. If there is a meeting in December, the interested party will attend. 3. SWU Management Board Report – SWU President Freeman had nothing to report. Mr. Hayden inquired about a stormwater project in Stillwater Cove. The board will continue to monitor and come back with some ideas. Legal Counsel Report – Mr. Cox made a motion to approve the Engagement and Free Agreement from Mr. Layton at Williams, Barrett & Wilkowski and allow President Lutz to sign. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 5-0. Cicero/Jackson Township Plan Commission – Mr. Zawadzki had nothing to report. Town Engineer Report – 1. Tamarack – Mr. Bryant indicated that MI Homes had notified them of completion of most Section 4 punch list items. Some were field verified before the meeting. United will inspect for completion of the full punch list upon full completion notification from MI Homes. Then, recommendation for Town acceptance of the infrastructure can move forward. 2. Water – Continue to wait for additional testing and results by Peerless Midwest. 3. Wastewater – Reynolds continues with plant work including proposed oxidation ditch wall pours, headworks improvements, piping, and other project work. 4. Jackson Street CCMG - United is awaiting proposed construction schedule from Midwest Paving. It was discussed that it would be good to invite the impacted businesses to a meeting with the Town, United and Midwest Paving once we know the schedule and more construction details from the contractor. 5. Catherine Street – The preliminary thoughts and estimates from Midwest Paving for this 2025 CCMG application were discussed. The desire is to submit for the January application. Mr. Bryant noted that the Midwest budget estimate for the Catherine / Flannigan area was a widening only from Ethel to Broadway. Longer longevity at a higher cost could be considered with additional milling and surfacing and possible drainage improvements in this area. The Morse Landing Drive area proposed was from the south side of Jackson Street to a point approximately 500’ south. The Council asked Mr. Bryant to look at each area and offer opinions and options for consideration. Old Business: a. Noise Ordinance – Removed from the agenda. b. Dock Fees – President Lutz opened the dock fee conversation and asked for comments. Mr. Johnson started the conversation and presented a dock rental facts and comparisons sheet to the council. Mr. Hayden put it up on the big screen for attendees to follow. The comparison was from Geist, Morse and Red Bridge Park Marinas. He also touched on resident rate considerations that he had put together for discussion. He further discussed the discount for residents vs nonresidents. Once Mr. Johnson finished his presentation, his proposal was a $100 increase for nonresidents and $75 for residents with a 5% rate increase cap for 2026 and 2027 with a reset if needed in 2028. There was a lengthy discussion in which all council members shared their thoughts and concerns. 2  After a lengthy discussion, Mr. Johnson made a motion to increase dock fees of $150.00 for both residents and nonresidents with a cap of 5% increase for 2026 and 2027. There was no second, motion died. Mr. Hayden then made a motion to increase dock fees to $1900.00 for residents and $2650.00 for nonresidents for 2025, increase reviewed and specified by the parks board. He also included in his motion that rates for the next year be presented in June. There was no second, motion died. Finally, Mr. Cox made a motion that resident and nonresident fees increase $150.00 each with no percentage caps and the Park Board have a recommendation no later than June next year. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-1 with Mr. Hayden voting nay. Mr. Hayden thanked the Park Board for their work and discussions on this, and President Lutz thanked the council. New Business: a. Ordinance No. 11-19-2024-01 – Fire Department Fees and Charges for Services – Mr. Cox made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 11-19-2024-01. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 5-0. b. Schedule Year End Meeting – Council scheduled the meeting for 12/30/24 at 10:00am. Ms. Gary will advertise. c. Ingerman Drain – A letter of support was prepared to send to the Hamilton County Drainage Board showing support from the Town of Cicero supporting the reconstruction of the AF Ingerman Regulated Drain. The council was in favor of showing support and Mr. Hayden made the motion to allow President Lutz to sign and send the letter. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 5-0. d. Triathlon – Chief Rednour informed the council that a second group is proposing to do an all-girls triathlon towards the end of July. Chief Rednour asked for feedback and approval from the council. Consensus was to move forward with allowing the triathlon. e. Notification of Exposure to Trama Memo of Understanding (MOU) – Chief Rednour discussed with the council an MOU with Hamilton Heights and the benefits. It’s a very good program to benefit the students. Chief Rednour stated that Mr. Culp has worked with the Hamilton Heights attorney on this. Ms. Pearson thinks it’s a great idea as did Cicero resident, Ms. Hahn. Mr. Culp stated that the Hamilton County Health Department is also supporting. Chief Rednour stated that other police departments are on board with the program as well. Ms. Pearson made a motion to move forward with the program. Mr. Cox seconded, motion carried 5-0. f. Survey – Mr. Cox gave a background report on the survey before presenting the results. The survey was driven by Jackson Township as part of the reorganization discussion as a potential way to stop Westfield from annexing into Jackson Township. The survey had 180 responses to the 10 questions that were asked. Mr. Cox shared the results from the survey for each question. Mr. Hayden stated that the input from a small group was good and that there seems to be support. Mr. Cox stated that there is a large amount of support for doing something. Miscellaneous: There was nothing. Comments by Citizens: Cicero resident, Mr. Hahn inquired where the fees for the fire department could be found. Mr. Hayden pulled the fees up on the screen and Chief Overholser 3 started to explain. Mr. Hahn asked if they are for a fire at a house. Chief Overholser said that they were not. That was all Mr. Hahn wanted to know. Motion to Adjourn: Mr. Cox made the motion. Ms. Pearson 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 Attested: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer The Next Cicero Town Council Meeting will be on December 3, 2024 at 7:00 PM at Cicero Town Hall. 4