City Council

MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL JUNE 28, 2021 The regular meeting of the Hammond Common Council of the City of Hammond, Lake County, Indiana was held on June 28, 2021 in the Hammond City Council Chambers. Council President Dave Woerpel presided. City Clerk Robert J. Golec facilitated. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE was recited by all. A Moment of Silence was observed; Invocation by Councilwoman Alexander ROLL CALL PHYSICALLY PRESENT: Alexander, Spitale, Venecz, Kalwinski, Torres, Emerson, Rakos, Woerpel ELECTRONICALLY PRESENT: Tyler ABSENT: None TOTAL: 9 MAYOR'S ADDRESS Mayor McDermott - I'll go over what we for the last couple weeks and update you on some previous items that we spoke about during this address. I'll start off with the most defining thing in the last two weeks, unfortunately was the passing of Badge No. 448, Sgt. Tom Sawyer, Hammond Police Officer. Passed away at the age 53, a Covid related death. If you don't mind I'm gonna go through his biography real quick. Tom Sawyer was hired by the Hammond Police Department on December 18th , 1997 and was promoted to sergeant in 2012. During Sgt. Sawyer's tenure with the Hammond Police Dept. He has served in the Patrol Division, Front Desk Sergeant, Field Training Officer, he was assigned to the Community Affairs Division as part of the neighborhood response team, and the Criminal Investigations Division as a Detective. For twelve years Thomas performed the duties in the Hammond Police Jail. Tom received the Purple Heart Award from the Hammond Police Department after sustaining serious bodily injury while apprehending a mentally ill subject on the street. Thomas Sawyer was a Sergeant in the United States Air Force as well. He served in the Security Forces. He assisted when called during Hurricane Katrina. He was stationed in Korea and Germany, and completed three tours to Iraq and Kuwait. Sgt. Sawyer was described by his fellow officers as a man of faith who loved and adored his wife and his children and was excited .about the possibility of retirement and moving on to the next chapter of his life. Tom was always willing to help when needed. Tom was a man of strong religious faith. He loved his job and his country. The loss that the Hammond Police Department feels is great. The gratitude owed to Tom for his service here and abroad is huge. He will forever hold a special place in our hearts and will truly be missed. Tom is survived by his wife and two children. We had a full police honors funeral last week for him. It was unfortunately for us the first one I've experienced as your Mayor. It was very humbling and impressive and sad. He had two kids, teens, maybe young twenties, 53 years old, from Covid. Every Hammond Police Officer was at this funeral. It was in Crown Point, which made me wonder, who's covering our streets right now? For an update to the Council, the Lake County Sheriffs Office assumed responsibility for the streets of Hammond during that, and I appreciate Oscar Martinez, the Lake County Sheriff, for helping with that. As well as Mayor Spehar, the Whiting, Indiana Mayor, who had the Whiting Police Department cover the northern part of our city. But that was very sad, and as a reminder, you know, we're still in the middle of a pandemic. I don't Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 1 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28, 2021 MAYOR'S ADDRESS cont. Mayor McDermott cont. - want to get into whether or not Sgt. Sawyer was vaccinated because it doesn't matter unfortunately, but I just want to remind people that we have these vaccines out there, that are effective and safe. Only 45% of our city employees are vaccinated and that's higher, unfortunately, than the rate of our Hammond residents. So, I want to remind everybody, you know, unfortunately we are still experiencing deaths from this horrible disease and the vaccines are aplenty. Under more brighter news, on Saturday, June 191\ we held our first annual Juneteenth celebration at MLK Park on a beautiful day. This was the second year in a row the city recognized Juneteenth. If you all remember, last year we passed a resolution, the Council, and we gave the employees the day off. We were pretty unique in that regard. Well, the second year we also gave the employees the day off and the Federal Government made it a national holiday. So we were ahead of the curve on that. We also, last week, during Sgt. Sawyer's funeral, we had a very important meeting in Indianapolis that I could not attend even by Zoom. This was a meeting with the Indiana Gaming Commission in regards to a divestiture order from the Indiana Game Commission against the new owners of Hammond Horseshoe Casino, which is the company Eldorado. Eldorado purchased all of the casinos in Indiana from Caesars, they had five casinos, and unbeknownst to them at the Indiana Gaming Commission meeting of about six months ago, the Indiana Gaming Commission ordered Eldorado to divest themselves of three of the licenses. Because of previous promises they made in regards to the two racinos that they own, they had to keep those together. Which basically the IGC was telling them not only did they have to sell Southern Indiana boat, the new boat in Terre Haute, they also had to get rid of Hammond Horseshoe. And Eldorado did not want o get rid of Hammond Horseshoe. The thing where it concerns us is Eldorado is the owner of Caesar's Loyalty Program. Which is a big reason why people gamble at the Hammond Horseshoe. Because when you gamble at Hammond Horseshoe, you get credits with Caesar's Vegas, and you can go to any Caesar's property in the United States of America. The thing that was scary about that divestiture order is if Eldorado has to sell at fire sale prices it could have been some bargain operator that bought it. Jack's Casino or something like that comes along and Jack's Casino has the biggest casino in the Midwest, the biggest casino in the state oflndiana, our casino, and Jack's Casino may not have the Loyalty Rewards Program and Jack's Casino may not even be a great operator. They just bought it at a fire sale price because the JGC ordered the sale. After a few months of the Eldorado's ownership, they installed a new CEO of Hammond Horseshoe named Catherine Jenkins, she's excellent. She's done a great job. I haven't noticed a bit of difference. The old CEO Dan Nita has been moved up to like a regional role. He oversees multiple boats now. He's still.stationed in Hammond but he is not the CEO of Hammond Horseshoe anymore, it's Catherine. I've been nothing but impressed. I haven't even rioticed a difference, and I don't know if any of you have noticed a difference either. It got to the point where I wrote a letter on behalf of Eldorado asking the Indiana Gaming Commission to rethink that divestiture order and obviously Eldorado wanted to keep the Hammond Horseshoe and lucky for all ofus, last week during the JGC meeting, by a four to one vote, they reversed that divestiture order. Which means Eldorado could keep Hammond Horseshoe Casino, we're still gonna be part of the Loyalty Rewards Program, and I feel good about our ownership group. Because we're competing with Hard Rock, which is a big name, eventually Chicago is going to build a good casino, we'll be competing with them and we want the best name behind us. It's the best casino in the state oflndiana and I want the best ownership group and I think the JGC made the right decision. So, I think that's huge for us. If you have any questions, you can interrupt me too, by the way. June 23rd we had Mayor's Night Out at the Sportsplex. Councilman Barry was hosting that day. We had quite a lively discussion. We also had State of the City last week, the formal State of the City. I have an informal State of the City next week before the Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce, but this Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 2 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28, 2021 MAYOR'S ADDRESS cont. Mayor_McDermott cont. - was an actual written speech. I had a lot of members of my team work real hard to get that put together. I know the Council got a copy of it. Tomorrow big meeting with the Federal Railroad Administration. That's something that we had a meeting with about a month ago. The Federal Railroad Administration is the agency in charge of regulating railroads and obviously we have a lot to complain about. So this is our second meeting with the FRA and I'm hoping that we get a lot of cooperation out of this lady that's based out of Chicago, and she seems real sympathetic towards our cause. So, we'll see how that goes. I'll obviously update you at our next meeting. Previously covered topic updates, the closure of the Franciscan Hammond Hospital. I've had one phone call in the last couple weeks that I haven't reported to you previously, this was with the CEO of Methodist Hospital. Who has a big interest in the City of Hammond. Which is encouraging. Special Events Committee has been hard at work, obviously, with the summer coming up. Next weekend the weather is supposed to be nice on the 4thof July and we have our citywide fireworks display set to go from six different locations across the city. The closest location to here where you could observe it is MLK Park. We tried to strategically think about where each of the launch locations were across the city soi that theoretically anybody in our city, any of the 30 thousand homes in our city could go in the backyard and watch a fireworks display. So that's what we're going for. We did this last year during the pandemic and this is round two, so we'll see how it goes. Festival of the Lakes is set in stone. Everything is ready to go. To go through again real quick, Saturday before Festival of the Lakes, the 11th,we start off with a 5K run called the Roadie Run. It's part of the Gold Cup Series, which is really cool, we've never been part of the Gold Cup Series before. Because every year when we do our fest there was a horrible conflict with our running race with another race that's ru out of Southlake County so we could never get a Gold Cup designation which is important. If you have a Gold Cup designation, you get like an automatic extra fifty to a hundred runners. So, we're Gold Cup this year. It's the week before the fest starts but it's part of the kick off. It starts on July 11. It's important for the employees because they run against the Mayor and if they beat me they get a day off. So you'll see a lot of employees in really good shape right now because they are all running and trying to beat me. Which shouldn't be too hard. Tuesday, July 13this Old Dominion, Country Night. Wednesday, July 14this a change. We have Twista opening for Busta Rhymes, opening for Nelly. I updated you previously on that. Thursday, July 15th,the band Limp Bizkit. Friday, July 16th,we start with the festival golf outing, it's a scramble, it takes place at the Lost Marsh Golf Course. That evening we have REO Speedwagon, followed by fireworks. Saturday, July 171\ we have something new that we're trying this year, is a gospel breakfast. Where we're getting a really good breakfast, by the way. I think it's $5. If you show up it starts at like 7:30 and then we'll have music that goes basically til 10 o'clock. With a good breakfast for $5 and gospel music, I think it's gonna be a great time. I hope you guys can make it. It's our first annual. I know our Ministerial Alliance and our Special Events Committee is working real hard on making this special. So I hope that you guys could show up and show support for our first annual event. Saturday we also have Sammy Hagar and the Circle, that's important. Sammy Hagar and Friends was the initial announcement. Sammy Hagar and the Circle is important because of the bandmates he's playing with. It means that they are only gonna play Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and Sammy Hagar, that's the Circle. Followed by a fireworks display that night. On Sunday, July 1gt\ at the Hammond Marina, we have what I refer to as Polkamania. It's sponsored by the Mohawk's. It's a great event at the Hammond Marina. Sunday we also have the hot rod and custom car show. It takes place near the fest grounds. So polka fest is going on at the marina, hot rod and custom show is going on at the pavilion, and of course Latin night, one of olir big nights every year, Los Tucanes de Tijuana plays Sunday night for the final day of the fest. Pre-sale tickets, we've Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 3 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28, 2021 MAYOR'S OFFICE cont. Mayor McDermott cont. - already set a record this year. $400 thousand in pre-sales. Which is ..... that used not even be a revenue source. Now it's a major revenue source. We've still got a couple weeks to go. So, I'm hoping that we can hit $600 thousand in ticket sales before ... maybe even more. Which is a high bar we're setting right now. So this year's line up seems to be taking a ..... Councilman Barry and I have been dealing with some push back from the neighborhood that was affected by recent closures. We mentioned that we shut off, because of a survey we performed in the neighborhood south of Highland, north of 1651\ east of Stateline, west of Hohman. If you live in that area we sent a survey around to each house asking about the traffic changes. I've done this in different parts of the city. Sometimes these tum out well, sometimes they turn out not so well. This one turned out very well. Literally, 80% supported the traffic changes. I've had a couple losses across the city doing this as well and sometimes they come back 50/50. Sometimes they come back less than. This was closer to 80% so obviously the neighborhood strongly supported it. However, as Councilman Barry will probably tell you, that doesn't mean everybody loves what we've done. Which is basically we shut off the state line. The only way you can go west to east across Stateline now is if you're on Highland or 165th . Obviously, taking away the cut through traffic that's going through the neighborhood to get from Stateline to Hohman. So, we are in the process now of engineering a permanent design change for that area over there. Right now it's not very pretty. It's blocked up with temporary construction barriers. But we put them up after the last report to the Hammond City Council. And that's my report to you unless there's any questions. Councilman Kalwinski - Any update and follow up with Cargill? Mayor McDermott - You know, Councilman, I was gonna put that in here but I didn't want to open that Pandora's Box. Because I've gotten hardly anything lately. I'm not sure if you're getting them still but I know the last time I talked to Cargill, a couple weeks ago, they said we're pretty sure what's causing the noise. We're gonna tum it on temporarily today to verify that's what's causing the noise. So if you get complaints, we know it's .... it sounds to m:elike they know exactly what it is. Councilman Mark, I haven't received a complaint here in city hall or on my cell phone. A lot of people in the neighborhood have my number. As soon as I say this I'm gonna get twenty. That's why I didn't put it in my report. But I have not received a complaint which tells me that Cargill figured it out, hopefully. Have you heard anything different? Councilman Kalwinski - No. Councilman Kalwinski - In one of the meetings in the last few weeks you mentioned the beginnings of clean up action in the Robertsdale area, (unclear) Whiting Metals, what can you tell us? Mayor McDermott - I was gonna do a clean up right on Stateline. Because I was driving across the state line one day and it was ... this was probably March, it looked really bad. I was like, man, that's like the entry way to our city. I've been looking a lot over there because we're talking about a real beatification, like, shielding kind of project. But that litter was out of control. So I came back, and I think we had Mayor's Night shortly after that and I mentioned it at Mayor's Night, like, I want to do a clean up over on the state line beca~se it looks horrible. Well, my staff took it personally, the Port Authority in particular, and they cleaned the heck out of it. So like we're literally planning a cleanup and then I drove by there and it's sparkling clean. Which, thankfully, our staff Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 4 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28. 2021 MAYOR'S ADDRESS cont. Mayor McDermott cont. - jumped on it but we were gonna do that ourselves so we are still evaluating that. We don't have a place picked out. If you have ideas, we'd be open to it, Councilman. Because I think we could get quite a few people. Councilman Kalwinski - This is private property but the marina development, the Walmart area, it's notoriously unkempt. Their management group does not clean it often enough and there is litter strewn everywhere in the complex. That's a private issue and that's probably a code issue. Mayor McDermott - It is a code issue but I'm not opposed to cleaning up, if that's the area we want to focus on, I'm not opposed to that. Councilman Kalwinski - (Unclear) Mayor McDermott - I know. It's like that in my part of the city too, Councilman. We have a development over there that's notorious for letting it go, then they'll clean it up, and then they'll let it go. Councilman Kalwinski - So I wasn't really referring to the clean up. I was asking about the Whiting Metals neighborhood and what's being done there. Mayor McDermott - Good question. We have a firm, in fact I'm sure you'll notice claims have been going to a firm called Bioforensics. It's working right now, coordinating between I.D.E.M., the U.S.E.P.A. and ourselve.s. It's a weird situation, Councilman Mark, because we want to clean .... there's a hundred plus properties around Whiting Metals, basically, right around the north basin of George Lake, there's a couple hundred homes in that area with about a hundred, give or take, they have minor lead issues. Meaning lead' s high enough to be concerning but it's not like what we ran into East Chicago. So it's not like top ofU,S.E.P.A.'S list. It's not top ofH.D.E.M.'s list, but everybody in that whole neighborhood knows about it bebause U.S.E.P.A. cleaned up a dozen properties and then everybody else is just sorta waiting. Now, the U.S.E.P.A. would rather see us file a superfund. I thinkl.D.E.M. would rather see us file superfund as well. So that's an option and ifwe file for superfund the Federal Government presumably will pay for the entire cleanup. We would be responsible for hardly anything locally. Okay, however, that's a long process. So ifwe decided to go that route and declare a superfund in that part of the city, you know, the people that live there would be living in a superfund site and the hundred or so homeowners, try to sell their home and, "Oh, by the way, it's a superfund site." "Oh, I was gonna pay $150K, now I'm gonna pay you $100k or less." Councilman Dan, would that affect your market value? Councilman Spitale - Definitely. Mayor McDermott - So, it's a weird situation we find ourselves in where we're so of being persuaded not to go it alone. Because we're sort oflucky, using the Federal Govemments's ridiculously inflated number, when they were doing properties, they were doing them for $50 grand each. So ifwe even use their real inflated figures, I think ifwe followed everything they did, we could do it cheaper than they did. So we're thinking, what ifwe do everything, we saw what U.S.E.P.A. did with the properties, so what ifwe follow the same specs they followed Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 5 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28. 2021 MAYOR'S ADDRESS cont. Mayor McDermott - and we did it at.our own cost. Maybe we could do it for $30 grand per property. If they would certify it, once we did the work, if they would certify it, would you rather go this route? We made the determination that it could cost us $3 to $5 million to go this route. But we'll get it done within a few years. Whereas going the U.S.E.P.A, going superfund; this could be a decade long process. This could be two decade long process. So like, when you're talking about $3 to $5 million, I think it opens the door for us to think about doing it ourselves. We have a neighbor, our neighbor Whiting, that was polluted by this polluter. We're talking even before any ofus were born Whiting was getting polluted by Hammond Lead, which was not a neighborly thing to do but it happened. And prevailing winds in that part of the city are north-northeast so when smoke goes up in the air from these factories, it would take it right over Whiting and lead is heavy, and it would fall like snow, right in Whiting, for decades. Whiting was getting lead snow from this plant. Of course], our properties were getting some of it, but most of the properties that are affected by Hammond Lead was in Whiting. So, when you think about our problem, $3 to $5 million, worse case scenario, and then you look at our neighbors, Whiting, it's a lot more serious of a situation for them. You're talking four or five times the amount of money it would cost us. Four or five times the magnitude of the problem. So if you're in Whiting right now you probably don't have the same options we have in Hammond because it's only a $3 to $5 million dollar problem for us. So for a city like Whiting, they may have no option but to go superfund, which is not pleasant. It's an ugly, weird, situation we're dealing with, Councilman Mark, we've been working real hard on it and I'm hoping we get the clearance from U.S.E.P.A. and I.D.E.M. to go ahead and do it ourselves. Councilman Kalwinski - Since before Memorial Day, fireworks have been going off and my phones been going off, and (unclear/can't hear) police department have a game plan on enforcement? Mayor McDermott - Being honest with you, Councilman, not really and you could blame me if it makes it easier but like, the thing is, this state of Indiana has tied our hands and we sell millions ofdollars of fireworks every year and you're supposed to blow them off on certain times and it's just being widely ignored and I guess, you know, I could tell my Police Chief, my police Captains, listen, every time you hear an M-80, every time you hear one of these fireworks go off, it's not legal, you go over there and ..... I don't know. It's just, I know it's not satisfactory and I'm getting the same complaints you have, Councilman Mark, but I just keep bouncing the people down state, saying hey ... Ifl had my druthers, personally, I don't know you guys feel about this, but ifwe were given the option to make fireworks illegal in Hammond; I'd be all for it. I don't like them. I think they are disgusting, noisy, dirty, dangerous. IfI were ever given the opportunity I would do everything I could as Mayor to make sure that you couldn't sell a single firework in Hammond and you couldn't blow off a single firework in Hammond, because I hate them. I think they are dangerous. However, we don't have that option because the state of Indiana took it from us. The state of Indiana pumps all these fireworks into the public and then they're shocked that, "What? They're blowing them off on a Tuesday and you're not supposed to!" I know people don't like hearing me say that, Councilman Mark, I'm just being honest. Councilman Kalwinski - If the police officer wrote a citation, what is the range of the fine for that citation? Mayor McDermott - Good question, we have Captain Bunner here, Captain of Patrol. Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 6 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28, 2021 MAYOR'S ADDRESS cont. Councilman Kalwinski - I want to say it's up to $2,500. Mayor McDermott - I'm not sure, Councilman .. Captain Bunner - I believe it's something like that. It's elevated so the first offense is usually less. But a lot of time the problem lies in locating it. So if we're on patrol an we hear a big boom, which way did it come from? If nobody's currently out? Do we follow the smoke? Is it already gone? That kind of thing. So, we really rely on the residents to call us. Mayor McDermott - So, if you saw somebody on a night where they're not supposed to be blowing them off, you guys would do something? Is that true? Captain Bunner - Yes, I would. Mayor McDermott - It depends on the officer? Captain Bunner - It's still officer discretion but it's annoying for everybody so I assume if they would see it they would ... Council President Woerpel - The Clerk's made me aware that for the record, because the mic's behind the t.v. that they're not getting it on the tape player so the way this is set up is we also need that mic back there so we could hear it in the chambers until we can get all these problems fixed. Councilman Kalwinski - Just one last thing here. I get it. I understand all of that but also because we have so many new residents from Illinois and we have lots of people coming through the city, people don't know the state statute or the Hammond statute if you will. So this is more for the administration, maybe we should be putting that in the Water letter that comes out with the Water bill about when you can do it and if you're cited what the fine can be. Maybe we even need to have police under cover swarm a certain part of town on days that are not supposed to be fireworks and start writing them. If we wrote some citations the word would get out pretty quick. And if people knew that there's only twelve days you can do them and if they knew that the fines could be up to $2,500 maybe that would help curtail some of this. Because without a plan, people are just doing whatever, whenever, now. Mayor McDermott - Councilman Mark, I'll do something. I'll task Corporate Council in the Law Office to come up with some type of flyer that we could put out to remind people. But it is one of those situations. I'm just being honest, it is one of those situations where out hands are completely tied by Indianapolis and I wish we had some local home rule on that issue because I hate them. I think they are bad for our city. ,We get the environmental concerns with the noise, then we get the litter afterwards, and then we get the added bonus of having the fire department get to show up for trash calls and roofs on fire. It affects our city more than any other city because we're the first city that you hit when you come to Indiana from Chicago and it's just chaos. I hate it. I totally agree with you, Councilman. Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 7 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28, 2021 MAYOR'S ADDRESS cont. Councilman Kalwinski - My fence was set on fire a couple years ago. Mayor McDermott - I know. It's out of control. Councilman Kalwinski - It wasn't on one of the days it was legal. Like a double whammy and it's frustrating to live next to an Army Vet with PTSD, people with dogs, seniors, special people who have issues, and we're not helping them. We're not doing enough for them. Mayor McDermott - I agree, Councilman Mark. I wish we had more options. But I think it's a good idea, we'll follow up with some type of flyer. I don't know ifwe could get them out in time through Water, we'll figure out some way to get them out. Councilwoman Alexander - Mayor, I sent you a message just recently. Just a little while ago, if you could check that for me. And them hopefully we can get something resolved. It's regarding Juneteenth. Mayor McDermott,.. You know Juneteenth was great. I didn't love the fact we weren't in the brand new part of MLK Park though. Councilman Barry, Councilwoman Katrina and myself talked about that and I talked to our staff. It's like, we spent $5 million on this park, it's gorgeous and we're sitting here on the old end that's not fixed up. It made no sense, but it was an electrical issue that will be resolved before next year. I'm not sure if that's what you're talking about, Councilwoman. I wasn't thrilled with that when I got there. First when I pulled up, I was coming off Tapper like, where is everybody. Then I saw everybody on the other end. It's like, we'll fix that next year. Councilwoman Alexander - Yeah, it can get better next year. Bigger and better. Council President Woerpel - Mayor, I just wanted, I should have said it last meeting when everybody came in chambers. But I wanted to thank you, your staff, the Clerk's Office and all the Council people for the last sixteen months. I mean, we only missed one meeting and it was just because there was a storm and the power was out. But the speeches you give and the LT. Department for putting these on Zoom. I mean, I literally sat there where my Ipad wouldn't work and I'm watching these meetings on Zoom on my phone and my phone's ringing off the hook but somehow we managed to get through this. Like with this problem here with the mic, I know I've been talking to Megan about maybe budgeting because we have to make some upgrades for the chambers anyway next year for the new rules. But I just wanted to thank you and the Clerk and all of my colleagues for not missing a beat during this whole pandemic. Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 8 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28. 2021 READING OF THE MINUTES Councilman Spitale, supported by Councilman Emerson, moved to accept the minutes from June 14, 2021 and place on file. ROLL CALL VOTE (approve minutes) A YES: Alexander, Spitale, Venecz, Kalwinski, Torres, Tyler, Emerson, Rakos, Woerpel NAYS:None ABSENT: None Motion carried 9/0/0 MINUTES APPROVED APPROVAL OF CLAIMS Councilman Rakos, supported by Councilwoman Venecz, moved to approve the claims from June 9, 2021 through June 23, 2021. Claim #2863 through #3109, inclusive. Councilman Rakos, supported by Councilwoman Venecz, moved to amend in claim: #3110 P.H. Mueller Sons Inc Facade Rebate $6,911.26 ROLL CALL VOTE (amendment) AYES: Alexander, Spitale, Venecz, Kalwinski, Torres, Tyler, Emerson, Rakos, Woerpel NAYS:None ABSENT: None Motion carried 9/0/0 CLAIMS AMENDED ROLL CALL VOTE (as amended) A YES: Alexander, Spitale, Venecz, Kalwinski, Torres, Tyler, Emerson, Rakos, Woerpel NAYS: None ABSENT: None Motion carried 9/0/0 CLAIMS APPROVED (as amended) PUBLIC HEARINGS None COMMUNICATIONS None COMMITTEE REPORTS Councilman Torres - Council as a Whole will be bringing out 21-22. Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 9 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28. 2021 COMMITTEE REPORTS cont. Capital Improvement Board- Councilwoman Venecz- Met on June 2!51.We voted to approve Resolution No. 21-01 to Establish Electronic Communication Policies. We approved $199,700 for Kennedy Avenue Downtown Hessville Reconstruction Design Agreement. We approved $92,000 for Design Engineering for 17th Street, Oxbow from 2900 to the 3300 block. We approved $74,578 for Florida Avenue Roadway and Utility Design. We approved $62,820 for JF Mahoney Drive Reconstruction Design. The next meeting will be July 6, 2021 and the time is to be determined. Community and Crime Watch Committee - Councilwoman Venecz­ Watch at Mt. Zion Pleasant View Plaza will be in August Edison Community Watch; September Irving Community Watch; September Hessville Crime Watch; August Thurs., July 8th ; Whiting-Robertsdale C.W.; Whiting Mascot Hall of Fame; and Chief Andy Short will be the guest speaker. Councilwoman Venecz- I would also like to announce that the City of Hammond Security Light Program is back for 2021. Qualified applicants will receive a free security light. You must own and reside in your Hammond home. You must provide proof of home ownership, provide a valid driver's license. Applications will be received in person only, between July 6 and July 9, on the 3rd floor of City Hall in Room 312. Quantities are limited so first come, first served. If there are any seniors in the city, please contact me and I will personally bring an application to your home. My phone number is 937-9774. Piggybacking on Councilman Kalwinski and the fireworks, uh, fireworks are illegal in the City of Hammond until tomorrow. June 29th, 30t\July Pt, 2nd , 3rd , 51\ 6th, 7th,8th,ad 9th . They will be legal from 5pm until 2 hours after sunset which is roughly about 10pm. On the 4 thof July, fireworks will be legal from 10am to midnight. And for future reference, fireworks will be permissible on December 31stfrom 10am until lam on January 1st . If anybody wants to make note of that. I also want to announce that discharging firearms in the City of Hammond is strictly prohibited. So, if you can't wait for the fireworks and you want to shoot off a gun, remember what goes up must come down and we had a fatality in our city a couple of years ago that a young man passed away from some idiot shooting the gun up in the air and the bullet came down and struck this young man in the head. So, please, please, during this holiday we certainly have many reasons to celebrate the freedoms that we have in this Country but just don't be stupid about it. Look out for your neighbors, look our for your families, and as usual, if you see anything suspicious call 911. Be patient with the information that they're asking because they need to paint a picture for the police officer that's going to respond to your call. So, please be patient with the questions. Because community is not just about me, it's about us. Thank you ORDINANCE 3RDREADING-FINAL PASSAGE 21-22 An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Hammond Authorizing the City of Hammond, Indiana, to Issue One or More Series of its Economic Development Revenue Bonds and Approving and Authorizing Other Actions in Respect Thereto (415 Sibley-3 Comers Project) (Bank Calumet-NW! Project) Prepared by• Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 10 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28 . .2021 ORDINANCE 3RDREADING - FINAL PASSAGE cont. Councilman Torres, supported by Councilman Emerson, moved for passage. Councilman Torres- This Ordinance is going to renovate the old Calumet Bank into apartments and commercial space. And also 415 Sibley Street, the construction of a new building for an apartment and also retail space. ROLL CALL VOTE (passage) A YES: Alexander, Spitale, Venecz, Kalwinski, Torres, Tyler, Emerson, Rakos, Woerpel NAYS:None ABSENT: None Motion carried 9/0/0 ORDINANCE NO. 9511 PASSED INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCES 21-23 An Ordinance to Appropriate Funds in the Hotel/Motel Innkeepers Tax Fund for the Hammond Park Department. Councilwoman Venecz, supported by Councilman Torres, moved the proposed ordinance to J st and 2nd reading by title and referred it to the Council as a Whole Committee with a Committee Meeting on July 12, 2021 at 5:15p.m.,with a Public Hearing on July 12, 2021. Councilwoman Venecz-This is an annual transfer of money from the Innkeepers Tax of $29,089.65 to the Hotel/Motel Fund. The funds will be used for special events, promotions, and again, that amount is $29,089.65. ROLL CALL VOTE (1st & 2nd ) AYES: Alexander, Spitale, Venecz, Torres, Tyler, Emerson, Rakes, Woerpel NAYS:None ABSENT: Kalwinski Motion carried 8/0/1 MOTION CARRIED 21-24 An Ordinance Reclassifying Certain Lands in the City of Hammond for Zoning Purposes and Amending Ordinance No. 8514 (An Ordinance Establishing a Zoning Plan for the City of Hammond Including the Regulations and Maps to Administer the Zoning Plan in Order to Provide for Orderly Growth and Development Within the City, All in Accordance with the Comprehensive/Land Use Plan, as Amended) for Property Commonly Known as 5551-53 Claude Avenue Councilman Torres, supported by Councilman Emerson, moved the proposed ordinance to 1st and 2nd reading and referred it to the Council as a Whole Committee with a Committee Meeting on July 12th , 2021 at 5:15p.m. and an Intent to Consider on July 12, 2021. Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 11 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28, 2021 INTRODUCTION OF ORDINANCES cont. Councilman Torres- This Ordinance is to create a community park in the neighborhood of Jacobs Square which is Northeast of Thornton and Claude, part of the downtown redevelopment plan. I'm sure it'll be a plus to the neighborhood. It will create a recreational area for the kids in that neighborhood. Thank you. ROLL CALL VOTE (1st & 2nd) AYES: Alexander, Spitale, Venecz, Kalwinski, Torres, Tyler, Emerson, Rakos, Woerpel NAYS:None ABSENT: None Motion carried 910/0 MOTION CARRIED RESOLUTIONS None NEW AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS Councilwoman Alexander- As before, I have the COVID numbers from last month to this month. From June 281\ today, for 46320, we have an additional 44 cases; for 46327, we have an additional 25 cases; for 46323, we have 77 cases; for 46324, 74 cases; 46394, 29 cases. That's 249 new cases from last month to this month. I also have a vaccination report as well. For 46320, we have 36.8% ofresidents fully vaccinated that's 4,132. For 46327 we have 34.3% ofresidents in that area. That's 3,265. For 46324, 39.4% are fully vaccinated, that's 7,091. For 46323, 38.7% are fully vaccinated, that's 7,21~. For 46394, 43.1%, that's 4,699 residents fully vaccinated. As we continue to fight through this pandemic and the loss of Sgt. Sawyer, I just continue to encourage our residents to stay safe, get vaccinated, we want to build those numbers up. Our surrounding cities like Munster and Highland, their vaccination numbers are higher, do your research. I'm not saying go get your vaccination. I'm asking people to actually do their research on a vaccination. It's your choice, but to get those numbers up so that we can fully get out of this thing. So, I do want to continue to encourage the residents to do so. And as we do enter into the 4th of July season like Councilwoman Venecz said, let's be safe, be wise, as we're putting off fireworks. Not shoot up guns because bullets do have to come down. For instance, one year I had a bullet come down into my car. So we want to just be safe and make sure we're doing things the proper way. Council President Woerpel- I know we all received a message from RISE NWI regarding a meeting to hear more about their literature and tactics to educate the citizens on the vaccine. Councilwoman Alexander- Yes. Council President Woerpel- Did the Mayor say what city employees? It's running about 40% correct? Councilwoman Alexander- Correct. So, again, even looking at the city employees versus the residents, we still want to get those numbers up. Encouraging ... I don't know if it's something ... I know a resident had asked if we can put a billboard up, you know, encouraging people to get the vaccine, get some yard signs or something. But Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 12 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28, 2021 NEW AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS cont. Councilwoman Alexander cont. - just to get more information out there. I know we have the meeting coming up that's going to talk about the vaccinations and information that we need to put out in different communities, from all walks of life, so that they know the difference. I'm fully vaccinated, but yet I still will wear my mask because I want to continue to be safe, and that's what I encourage people to do. PUBLIC EXPRESSION No one spoke. Councilwoman Alexander, supported by Councilman Torres, moved to adjourn. ROLL CALL VOTE (adjourn meeting) AYES: Alexander, Spitale, Venecz, Kalwinski, Torres, Tyler, Emerson, Rakos, Woerpel NAYS: None ABSENT: None Motion carried 9/0/0 MEETING ADJOURNED Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 13 MINUTES OF THE COMMON COUNCIL cont. JUNE 28. 2021 2021 HAMMOND COMMON COUNCIL ATTENDANCE RECORD OF ELECTRONIC AND PHYSICAL PRESENCE May une uly A.ug Sept Oct Nov Dec 24 14 28 12 26 9 23 13 27 25 8 22 13 27 Katrina Alexander p p p Dan Spitale p p p anet Venecz p p p Mark Kalwinski E p p Pete Torres p p p Barry Tyler E p E Bill Emerson p p p Scott Rakos p p p Dave Woerpel p p p Initials RG RG [gG- E==ELECTRONIC P==PHYSICALLY PRESENT A==ABSENT If the member qualifies for an exemption from the "Consecutive - SO" requirements, draw a circle around the Efor that meeting/ member. Dave Woerp , resident Hammond Common Council AIT~.~ RobertJ. Gole~ty Clerk Time: 6:55 cb/dw Prepared by Robert J. Golec Hammond City Clerk 14