Common Council

CITY COMMON COUNCIL OF HARTFORD CITY, INDIANA MAY 1, 2023 MEETING MINUTES CALL TO ORDER & WELCOME: Mayor Eckstein called to order a meeting of the Common Council of the City of Hartford City at 6:00pm on May 1, 2023. ROLL CALL: Members of the council present were Michael Wolfe, Dustin George, Ron Dudelston, Ron Parrott, and Tony Scaggs. Also present were Mayor Dan Eckstein and Clerk- Treasurer Dana Whatley. Attorney Brandon Murphy was absent. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve the agenda as submitted. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. Mayor Eckstein explained the city is holding two public hearings this evening and that he would entertain a motion to suspend the regular council meeting. Mr. Wolfe made that motion. Mr. George seconded it. The vote to suspend the regular council meeting was 5-0. PUBLIC HEARING: A.) VACATE ALLEY BEHIND AMERICAN LEGION: There was discussion about this alley vacate and it was clarified that the vacate is between Monroe St. and the north/south alley on the east side of the Legion. Mr. Chad Oxley and Mr. John Oxley are the other building owners and they wanted to make sure they have vehicle access to alley and their building. It was stated that they would have that access. The Legion wants to make a smoking area behind their establishment so that the inside of the business can be smoke free. With no further public comment, Mr. Dudelston made a motion to close this public hearing. Mr. Parrott seconded the motion. The vote to close the public hearing was 5-0. B.) RESOLUTION 2023-14 – SB1/RP FOR JB SOLUTIONS INVESTMENT: There was discussion about their planned work and if it would all be abatable. The Blackford County Auditor was in attendance and stated that she would take a closer look at the request for abatement to make sure what qualifies and what does not. With no further public comment, Mr. Scaggs made a motion to close this public hearing. Mr. Parrott seconded the motion. The vote to close the public hearing was 5-0. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to re-open the regular council meeting. Mr. George seconded it. The vote to re-open the regular council meeting was 5-0. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Mr. Wolfe made a motion to approve the minutes from the April 3, 2023 meeting as submitted. Mr. George seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. OLD BUSINESS: A.) HERITAGE DAYS: Dr. Tom Lee came on behalf of his wife Lori to request the street closures needed for the Heritage Days Festival. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve the street closures as requested. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to approve the street closures was 5-0. There was discussion about the proposed helicopter rides being offered at this year’s festival. Everyone was in favor of having these rides but there was concern about where the proposed take off/landing site was going to be. After much discussion, the council stated they would only approve these rides if they could be held at 3M field so that no one attending the festival downtown could possibly be injured by the helicopter working out of such a confined space or being hit by flying debris. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the helicopter rides being held at the 3M field. Mr. Dudelston seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. B.) JERRY ROBBINS WITH THE DEPOT – NOISE ORDINANCE: There was much discussion on this topic and Council was reminded that this question was raised last summer too. Councilman Dudelston read the ordinance aloud for the council. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to leave the ordinance as it stands. Mr. Dudelston seconded the motion. The vote to leave the ordinance as is was 5-0. C.) 2ND READING OF ORDINANCE 2023-02 – VACATE ALLEY NORTH OF NEWBERRY BUILDING: Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve the 2nd reading of Ordinance 2023-02. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. Mr. Dudelston asked if the council would take a roll call vote on this item. Mr. Wolfe – YAY Mr. George – YAY Mr. Scaggs – YAY Mr. Parrott – YAY Mr. Dudelston – YAY The ordinance passed 5-0. D.) ANNE OWEN: 1.) HERITAGE DAYS PARADE: Ms. Owen explained that the parade will line up at 5:45pm on May 17th at the National Guard Armory. The parade will begin at 6 pm and will travel down Jefferson St. to Franklin St., then moving on Franklin St. to Monroe St. and it will finish behind 1st Financial Bank. 2.) WEILER PLAZA SUMMER SCHEDULE: Ms. Owen stated that she has a schedule prepared for the Street Department for all the events being held at Weiler Plaza so that they can put out extra trash cans, etc.  3.) GLORIOUS BUILDING: Ms. Owen explained that the 2nd half to the Glorious will be demolished within the next week to 10 days. NEW BUSINESS: A.) B&M ASHMAN INC. – COMCAST RIGHT OF WAY REQUEST: No one was in attendance from this company, but they had sent all the details of this job request. Mr. Wolfe made a motion to approve the right of way request. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. B.) BILL SMITH: 1.) MONTPELIER CIRCUS: Mr. Smith announced that Montpelier will be holding a Circus on June 12, 2023 at 5pm and 7:30pm. He asked if anyone would be willing to hang up signs in their businesses and if they would be willing to donate money to buy tickets for underprivileged children. These tickets will be given to the local township trustees for distribution. Mr. Scaggs made a challenge to his fellow Councilmen, Mayor & Clerk- Treasurer by starting off the fundraising with a $20 donation. All the others followed suit. 2.) EMA – CIVILIAN EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (CERT): Mr. Smith stated that he has completed 3 years’ work and is ready to submit the plan to FEMA. He’s written the lesson plans and is now looking for volunteers to train and serve on this team. C.) MEGAN BROWN WITH PURDUE EXTENSION – MENTAL HEALTH: Ms. Brown was unable to attend tonight’s meeting. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to table this topic. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to table was 5-0. D.) JAG STUDENTS FROM BLACKFORD JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL: The JAG students were not in attendance this evening. Mayor Eckstein said we would just take this off the agenda. E.) CHERI BROWN – PURDUE UNIVERSITY CONTRACT FUNDING: Mayor Eckstein explained that the Board of Works has approved the contract from Purdue for Cheri Brown’s services. The Council needs to approve the funding for it. The funding request is $35,270.00. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the funding. Mr. Parrott seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. F.) SHALEE OIL TAX ABATEMENT: There are two tax abatements presented to Council on behalf of Shalee Oil. One for personal property and one for real property. Resolution 2023-15 is for personal property, and we are awaiting the other resolution from Attorney Murphy on the real property abatement. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve both abatements. Mr. Parrott seconded the motion. The vote to approve both abatements was 5-0.  G.) 3M TAX ABATEMENT: There are 10 CF-1’s and 1 SB-1 for 3M. The SB-1 needs to be tabled until the June 2023 meeting but the other 10 can be voted on at this meeting. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the CF-1’s for 2013-2022. Mr. Dudelston seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. H.) RESOLUTION 2023-14 – TAX ABATEMENT FOR JB PROPERTY INVESTMENTS: Mr. Dudelston made a motion to table this resolution until the June 2023 meeting. Mr. Parrott seconded the motion. The vote to table this resolution was 5- 0. I.) JEFF THOMAS – PAVING PROPOSAL FOR CITY HALL PARKING LOT: Mr. Thomas presented quotes to pave the front and back parking lots of City Hall. Brook’s Construction came in with the low bid of $59,990. He explained that he does have the funding available to do this project. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the expenditure and accept the Brook’s Construction bid. Mr. George seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. J.) TRAVIS WILLIAMSON – PERMISSION TO SPEND OVER $10,000 TO TELEVISE SR 3 NORTH: Mr. Williamson explained that INDOT is planning on resurfacing Highway 3 North in 2027. To get ahead of this project he’s asking permission to spend over $10,000 to run a camera under the highway to look at the sewer infrastructure that is there and see what needs to possibly be replaced during that project. He explained that it will cost approximately $13,500 for 7,300 feet of camera work. Mr. George made a motion to approve this expenditure. Mr. Dudelston seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. CLERK-TREASURER’S REPORT: NONE MAYOR’S REPORT: A.) NEWBERRY BUILDING UPDATE: Mayor Eckstein stated that Blackford County decided to pull back part of their share of the funding of the Newberry Project due to a Courthouse repair project that needs to be done. The scope of the Newberry Project is now focused on the first floor and getting the restaurant open. The County has given $300,000 to finish this piece of the project. B.) OCRA GRANT OF $250,000 TO BLACKFORD COUNTY: Mr. Warren Brown explained that Blackford County was awarded a $250,000 small business grant. The application process is now open to small businesses in Blackford County. The maximum amount to be given to any one business is $10,000. C.) TRAILHEAD & DISC GOLF BRIDGE: Mr. Brown explained that the bridge is ordered and should be delivered in October 2023. The concrete work for the bridge is scheduled to start in a couple of weeks. PUBLIC COMMENT: D.) ANNE OWEN: Ms. Owen remembered one other thing that she needs Council’s approval for. She is requesting that a Port-O-Potty be stationed in the parking lot north of Weiler Plaza for the months of June through August. The company will service them weekly, and it will not take up any parking spaces or effect the handicapped availability. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve of the temporary restroom facility being placed in the parking lot. Mr. George seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. COUNCIL COMMENT: A.) MICHAEL WOLFE: Mr. Wolfe thanked the Greenscape Committee for hosting this year’s city-wide litter cleanup. B.) DUSTIN GEORGE: 1.) Mr. George thanked everyone who helped with the cleanup. He thanked Mr. Jeff Thomas for the use of the Street Department’s truck. He also thanked the Pit Stop for providing lunch. He also stated that 700 tree seedlings had been passed out throughout the community. 2.) Mr. George stated that Petoskey Plastics is going to start providing trash bags to all city departments at no charge to the city. 3.) Mr. George stated that all funds have been raised and are currently being collected to purchase an ADA compliant water fountain for Weiler Plaza. This is a Blackford Development Corporation project. C.) RON DUDELSTON: Mr. Dudelston asked the question regarding the swimming pool repairs. He stated he noticed the deck around the kiddie pool was being resurfaced and he wanted to know if that was in the original scope of work. Mr. George clarified that a section of the deck next to the kiddie pool had a problem and it was repaired. He stated that it was in the original scope of work. ADJOURNMENT: With there being no further business from the Common Council, Mr. Scaggs made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 7:42pm. FOLDER 2/REC 170218_002