Common Council

CITY COMMON COUNCIL OF HARTFORD CITY, INDIANA AUGUST 7, 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 August 7, 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, Attorney Patrick Wright, and Clerk-Treasurer Dana Whatley. 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. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES FOR JULY 3, 2023: Mr. Parrott made a motion to approve the minutes from July 3, 2023 as submitted. Mr. Dudelston seconded the motion. The vote to approve the minutes was 5-0. OLD BUSINESS: A.) MAYOR ECKSTEIN: 1.) LIGHTS: Mayor Eckstein talked about the IHCDA Grant the city received for the Light Up Hartford City Campaign. He asked for ideas on how to get the donors and community involved in the celebration of these lights. Mr. George mentioned that the Bruin head will go up tomorrow at City Hall in time for the start of the school year. It was mentioned that the Halloween lights will go up mid-September and then the Christmas lights will go up 11/1 – 11/3 so they will be up in time for the Holiday Bonanza at Weiler Plaza which will be held on 11/4/23 with an adverse weather date of 11/5/23. Cheri Brown with Purdue Extension stated that the IHCDA would like to be present during the celebration. It was decided that the Holiday Bonanza would be the perfect time to hold this celebration. Councilman George stated that anyone who would like to volunteer their time to help in putting these lights up it would be appreciated. 2.) RADIOS FOR POLICE & FIRE: Mayor Eckstein asked council to consider approving an expenditure of $50,000 to split between the Fire Department and the Police Department to help with the cost of the new radios that they need. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the expenditure. Mr. Parrott seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. NEW BUSINESS: A.) PETOSKEY PLASTICS – TAX ABATEMENTS: 1.) RESOLUTION 2023-21 – Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve Resolution 2023-21. Mr. Wolfe seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. 2.) RESOLUTION 2023-22 – Mr. Wolfe made a motion to approve Resolution 2023- 22. Mr. Parrott seconded the motion. The vote to approve Resolution 2023-22 was 5-0. B.) PARKS DEPARTMENT – PURCHASE NEW PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT: Ms. Amy George requested permission to spend over $10,000 on new playground equipment for the little kiddie playground at Sigma Phi Gamma Park. She stated that the total expenditure will be $20,400. Mr. George made a motion to approve the expenditure. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. C.) TRAVIS WILLIAMSON: 1.) ACCEPT & APPROVE QUOTES FOR CONCRETE WORK AT WWTP (PART OF SEWAGE WORKS BOND): Mr. Williamson presented 3 quotes for the concrete work to be done at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. He recommended that council accept the quote from Jutte Excavating. Jutte was the lowest bid and has also worked for the city before and has done very good work. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve the quote and expenditure. Mr. George seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. 2.) REQUEST TO SPEND OVER $10,000 (REMOVE & REPLACE CONCRETE FLOOR IN SEWER SHOP): Mr. Williamson requested permission to spend $29,000 to hire Kirk Townsend to remove and replace the concrete floor in the sewer shop. He stated that he has the funds available out of the grounds & maintenance line item and the sewer improvement fund. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the expenditure. Mr. George seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. D.) BRANDON MURPHY – ALLEY VACATION PROCEDURES: Mr. Dudelston made a motion to table this topic until the September meeting since Mr. Murphy was not in attendance. Mr. Parrott seconded the motion. The vote to table was 5-0. E.) DANA WHATLEY – PARKS DEPARTMENT CREDIT CARD: Ms. Whatley requested that the Parks Department be allowed to have a credit card with a $5,000 limit like all other departments. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve. Mr. Wolfe seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. CLERK-TREASURER’S REPORT: NONE MAYOR’S REPORT: NONE COUNCIL COMMENT: A.) MICHAEL WOLFE: Mr. Wolfe mentioned that the Blackford Band was performing their marching band program this evening at 7pm. He invited everyone to come out and watch it. He also mentioned that there would be a food truck and the band was also holding a fundraiser. B.) DUSTIN GEORGE: Mr. George mentioned that he had several calls regarding the intersection of High Street and Kickapoo St. being a dangerous intersection. He asked the council, police department and fire department to look at that intersection and come back to the September meeting with ideas on how we can correct this situation. C.) TONY SCAGGS: 1.) Mr. Scaggs thanked the committee that helped with the IHCDA grant. 2.) Mr. Scaggs stated that he’s received a phone call regarding the sprinkling credit on the utility bills. There was discussion and will be brought up in 2024 to possibly bring the credit back. D.) RON PARROTT: 1.) Mr. Parrott asked the Parks Department if they had considered looking at the playground equipment behind the old Southside School. Ms. Amy George said that Mr. Tyler Hunt sits on the committee for Blackford County Mental Health and they are looking at maybe making another park and utilizing that equipment. 2.) Mr. Parrott also stated that he enjoyed the city picnic and thanked all who were involved in the planning. PUBLIC COMMENT: A.) MS. ANNE OWEN: 1.) Ms. Owen reminded everyone that since there was a concert that was rescheduled due to rain, there will be a concert on Friday and Saturday this week. She gave kudos to Jeff Thomas and his crew for always having the trash cans, etc. ready to go for all the concerts this summer. 2.) Ms. Owen stated that the Area Plan Commission is working on an amendment to the ordinance for unsafe commercial buildings. She explained the steps that she needs to go through to have this amendment approved. She asked to be on the September council agenda to complete one of these steps.  B.) MR. BILL ASPY: Mr. Aspy mentioned that Trinity United Methodist Church is going to have a block party on 9/23/23 from 5-8pm. He asked for permission to block the alley for this event. Mayor Eckstein told him to contact his assistant, Monika about getting this taken care of. ADJOURNMENT: With there being no further business from the Common Council, Mr. Scaggs made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 6:45pm. FOLDER 2/REC 170527_002