City Council

TOWN OF CICERO TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM Call to Order: President Cox called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Zawadzki gave the prayer. President Cox 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 Cox declared a quorum with four 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 4-0. Approval of Prior Minutes: Town Council Meeting Minutes, March 4, 2025 Ms. Pearson made a motion to approve the minutes listed above. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Approval of 3/18/25 Claims: Mr. Lutz made a motion to approve claims dated 3/18/25 as presented. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Council Committee Reports: 1. OTC Report – Ms. Pearson gave a quick update. OTC has not yet dissolved. Ms. Hayden is working to create a flyer that will have businesses and restaurants listed to distribute information during local events. 2. EDC Report – President Cox had nothing to report. 3. SWU Management Board Report – SWU President Freeman reported that the SWU Board will have their first meeting of the year Monday, March 24, 2025. Legal Counsel Report – Mr. Culp gave an update on the request from Stillwater Cove’s HOA for the town to take in Wellworth Drive as part of the town’s roads. After a brief discussion, it 1 was the consensus of the council to wait until all members of the council were present to make a decision. Cicero/Jackson Township Plan Commission Report – Mr. Zawadzki had nothing to report. Town Engineer Report – Keith Bryant 1. Tamarack – Resolution 03-18-2025-01 Dedication of Infrastructure – Mr. Bryant informed the council that they have performed the final punch list inspection for Section 4 of the Tamarack subdivision, reviewed the proposed maintenance bond and recommended acceptance of the infrastructure by the town. Mr. Culp prepared the resolution that is similar to the resolution for Sections 1-3. Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve Resolution 03-18-2025-01. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. 2. Water – Mr. Bryant had nothing new to report on the water system and future improvements. 3. Wastewater – Mr. Bryant relayed to the council that Reynold’s Construction continues to work at the plant on the new oxidation ditch, sludge building foundations, miscellaneous pipework and other activities. Reynolds recently reported a delay in the sludge press delivery. They are reviewing schedule adjustments and options to minimize the delay impact. Mr. Bryant noted that storage tank removal was intentionally separated from the overall plant work as it is performed by a specialty contractor and doing so reduces the overall cost. The old tank is no longer needed with the new generator installation and ongoing IDEM restrictions and requirements become more expensive for underground tanks. Four quotes were received, opened and read aloud for the tank removal. They were as follows: Hoosier Equipment Service, Inc. - $21,684.25 Optum Petroleum Services - $26,307.00 AEC, LLC - $30,651.00 The Gesco Group, LLC - $31,804.00 Mr. Johnson made a motion to award the project to Hoosier Equipment Services, Inc as the lowest, most responsive and responsible quote subject to review by United Consulting. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. 4. West Jackson Street – Mr. Bryant stated that a meeting was held with the local businesses and property owners, Midwest Paving (MP) and town representatives on March 17th to discuss the project impacts and answer questions. Mr. Bryant, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Strong and President Cox were in attendance. The meeting was well received by the businesses. Weekly schedule updates from MP are to be emailed to the businesses and perhaps included on the town’s webpage to keep everyone informed. MP plans to begin the watermain work on the south side of the road from Byron Street to Washington Street on March 31st. Their concrete subcontractor will begin sidewalk improvements from Peru Street (south side) and work westward to Pearl Street. They will then cross to the north side and replace the walks from Pearl Street eastward to Peru. Milling, paving and asphalt placement would follow the concrete, lighting and other miscellaneous work. 2  5. 2025 Community Crossings Matching Grant – Mr. Bryant informed the council that United is working on the project design and bid documents including field work. The plan is to receive bids in approximately 60 days. Old Business: a. SB 355 Letter – Mr. Culp updated the council on the letter he drafted sharing the council’s concerns relating to SB 355. The letter will be sent to the State Senate and House Representatives and the Democrat and Republican Caucuses. The consensus was to sign and send the letter. b. 2015 Bond – Mr. Lutz gave an update on the General Obligation Bond, Series 2015. The intent was to maintain the current tax rate at that time. Mr. Lutz covered a list of items the bond waw being considered for at that time, but was left open ended at that time; however, the list of items was never acted upon. The council at that time didn’t want to decide on a specific project as some terms were ending on the council. So they decided to wait until the new council was in place. President Cox stated that they would pick this discussion up later. New Business: a. Crypto Currency – Chief Rednour briefly spoke and introduced Detective Fionda to share what they have learned about crypto currency and her role as a member of the FBI Task Force. Detective Fionda spoke about a case she is currently on working to recover crypto currency for a victim. Detective Fionda then explained how the process works and the process once the crypto currency is recovered. Mr. Culp stated that the town will need to adopt a crypto policy in the future and will work on the policy. Chief Rednour asked the council to allow him to set up a crypto account to receive crypto currency in the future. Consensus was to move forward with setting up the account. The council thanked Detective Fionda for working on this and for the good job she is doing with the task force. b. Fire Equipment – Chief Overholser addressed the council and asked to purchase equipment out of his capital line item since this has paid off the two cardiac monitors and Lucas Device which would free up a payment of $38,000.00 annually. Chief Overholser asked the council to consider using the funds available to purchase a power load system in the amount of $41,910.00 and 2 Life Pak 35 cardiac monitors in the amount of $127,593.34 for a total of $169,503.34. Using the Indiana Bond Bank with an interest rate of 4.99% the payment would be $37,200.00 annually, which is less than the previous payments. Ms. Pearson made a motion to approve the purchases. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. c. New Truck Purchase – Director Cooper addressed the council regarding the purchase of a single axle dump truck and concerns from the staff meeting. Mr. Cooper shared with the council that if the agreement was signed and the truck was ordered by March 28th and the schedule is an April/May build, the price would be locked in for the truck at $246,192.00. President Cox noted that the contract does have a no cancellation clause, and the town can be held to increased costs for surcharges. The council would be agreeing to this if the contract is signed and the costs will probably continue to increase. Ms. Pearson made a motion to move forward with the contract in the amount of $246,192.00 and allow 3  President Cox to sign. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 3-1 with Mr. Lutz voting nay. d. Plan Commission Resignation – Mr. Lutz resigned from the Plan Commission effective today. Council thanked Mr. Lutz for his service on the Plan Commission. e. Appointment – President Cox stated that the council will need to appoint someone from the council to replace Mr. Lutz on the Plan Commission. Mr. Johnson made a motion to appoint Mr. Hayden to the Plan Commission. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Miscellaneous: Mr. Culp, Mr. Lutz and President Cox will be absent from the April 1st council meeting and asked to keep the agenda light for that meeting. Comments by Citizens: There were none. Motion to Adjourn: Mr. Johnson made the motion. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Signatures on Official Documents! Signatures of Cicero Town Council AYE NAY Joseph R Cox Dennis D Johnson Eric C Hayden Christopher J Lutz Emily K Pearson Attested: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer The Next Cicero Town Council Meeting will be on April 1, 2025 at 7:00 PM at Cicero Town Hall. 4