Common Council

CITY COMMON COUNCIL OF HARTFORD CITY, INDIANA APRIL 1, 2024 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 April 1, 2024. ROLL CALL: Members of the council present were Michael Wolfe, Tracey Witt, Tony Scaggs, Bill Aspy, and Ron Dudelston. Mayor Eckstein, Attorney Brandon Murphy, and Clerk-Treasurer Dana Whatley were also present. PUBLIC HEARING - OCRA GRANT FOR WASTEWATER PROJECT: Mr. Ron Dudelston made a motion to suspend the regular council meeting. Mr. Bill Aspy seconded the motion. The vote to suspend the council meeting was 5-0. Mr. Greg Beumer with Kleinpeter Consulting and Mr. Keith Bryant with United Consulting explained a proposed $1.5 million dollar Wastewater Project to replace sewers, sewer holes and laterals in several areas of Hartford City. The city is applying for a $700,000 OCRA grant for this project. This public hearing is the first step in the grant process. Mr. Ron Dudelston made a motion to close the public hearing. Mr. Michael Wolfe seconded the motion. The vote to close the public hearing was 5-0. Mr. Tony Scaggs made a motion to re-open the regular council meeting. Mr. Bill Aspy seconded the motion. The vote to re-open the regular council meeting was 5-0. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Mayor Eckstein asked to amend the agenda to add Mr. Ted Ward with Shafer Leadership to item B2 of new business. Mr. Ron Dudelston made a motion to approve the amended agenda. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to approve the amended agenda was 5-0. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR MARCH 4, 2024: Mr. Tony Scaggs made a motion to approve the minutes as submitted. Mr. Bill Aspy seconded the motion. The vote to approve the minutes of March 4, 2024 was 5-0. OLD BUSINESS: A.) DR. LEE – HERITAGE DAYS – STREET CLOSURES: Dr. Lee was unable to stay during the meeting this evening. He did stop by prior to the start of the meeting and dropped off the map of proposed street closures for council review. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the street closures for Heritage Days. Ms. Tracey Witt seconded the motion. The vote to approve the street closures was 5-0.  B.) BILL SMITH – EMA: Mr. Smith reminded everyone of the Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024. He also invited council members and other elected officials and first responders to attend the FEMA workshop on paperwork requirements during a disaster declaration. This workshop will be held on April 15, 2024 from 10am – 12 noon at the 4-H building. C.) ORDINANCE 2024-01 AMENDING SECTION 155 OF THE CITY CODE – SIDEWALKS (TABLED FROM THE FEBRUARY MEETING): After a little discussion, Mr. Tony Scaggs made a motion to table this subject indefinitely. Mr. Ron Dudelston seconded the motion. The vote to table this subject was 5-0. D.) TRAVIS WILLIAMSON – NEW INDY CONTAINERBOARD UPDATE: Mr. Williamson updated the council about the status of the New Indy Containerboard incident. They have resolved their issues and are currently in compliance since February. They did incur $66,000 in overage costs with the Wastewater Department. E.) GREENSCAPE ORDINANCE – DISCUSSION TO AMEND ORDINANCE TO ALLOW FUNDING MECHANISM FOR THIS COMMITTEE: There was some discussion, and this topic was taken under advisement. NEW BUSINESS: A.) MR. GREG BALSANO WITH BAKER TILLY – REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT TO COUNCIL: Mr. Balsano presented the council with the TIF Report which included the TIF Parcel list and the overall report to be uploaded onto Gateway. Mr. Balsano also explained that 2024 is the first year that the Redevelopment Commission is to give the City Council an annual report at a meeting going forward. B.) BSM GROUP – RIGHT-OF-WAY REQUEST FOR 1701 W. MCDONALD ST.: After review of the proposed project, Mr. Ron Dudelston made a motion to approve this right-of-way project. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to approve the BSM project was 5-0. B2.) MR. TED WARD – SHAFER LEADERSHIP: Mr. Ward explained to council that his Company is a non-for-profit organization that has many services they offer. He wanted. to introduce this for consideration by the council. This topic was taken under. advisement. C.) JEFF THOMAS – ADA/TITLE VI AGREEMENT – PERMISSION TO SPEND OVER $10,000: Mr. Thomas explained that the Board of Works approved entering into a contract with USI Consulting. They will be responsible for keeping Hartford City ADA & Title VI compliant. This is crucial so that the city can obtain grant funding from both the state and federal government. Their estimate is up to $19,000 for these services. Mr. Thomas asked for permission to spend over $10,000 on this. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve this expenditure. Mr. Aspy seconded the motion. The vote to approve spending over $10,000 was 5-0. D.) RESOLUTION 2024-07 – A RESOLUTION APPROVING CF-1 FOR REAL PROPERTY FOR SPECIALTY T, LLC.: Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve this CF-1. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. E.) RESOLUTION 2024-08 – A RESOLUTION APPROVING CF-1 FOR REAL PROPERTY FOR SPECIALTY T, LLC.: Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve this CF-1. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. F.) RESOLUTION 2024-09 – A RESOLUTION APPROVING CF-1 FOR REAL PROPERTY FOR TRU-FORM STEEL & WIRE, INC.: Mr. Aspy made a motion to approve this CF-1. Mr. Wolfe seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. G.) RESOLUTION 2024-10 – A RESOLUTION APPROVING CF-1 FOR REAL PROPERTY FOR TRU-FORM STEEL & WIRE, INC.: Mr. Aspy made a motion to approve this CF-1. Mr. Wolfe seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. H.) RESOLUTION 2024-12 – A RESOLUTION APPROVING CF-1 FOR PERSONAL PROPERTY FOR NEW INDY CONTAINERBOARD: Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve this CF-1. Mr. Aspy seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. I.) TRAVIS WILLIAMSON – PERMISSION TO SPEND OVER $10,000 FOR SLUDGE CONVEYOR, PART OF THE MISCELLANEOUS SEWAGE WORKS CONSTRUCTION BOND: Mr. Williamson explained that this expenditure is part of the $2 million allocated out of the CSO bond. They have a quote regarding this part of the project in the amount of $175,800. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve this expenditure. Ms. Witt seconded the motion. The vote to approve this expenditure was 5- 0. J.) CODY CROUSE – PERMISSION TO SPEND OVER $10,000 FOR FLOCK CAMERAS: Chief Crouse explained to council what Flock Cameras are and how they work. He asked for permission to spend over $10,000 for Phase I to purchase 8 cameras to start. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve this expenditure. Mr. Aspy seconded the motion. The vote to approve this expenditure was 5-0. K.) TRACEY WITT – DISCUSSION ABOUT CHICKENS AND GUINEAS: Ms. Witt stated that she had a homeowner complaint about a neighbor that is raising chickens and guineas and the noise and smell being bothersome. There was a discussion about practical solutions. This topic was taken under advisement. L.) RON DUDELSTON – DISCUSSION TO AMEND ORDINANCE 92.04 WEED CONTROL AND VEGETATION: Mr. Dudelston said he was proposing to change the grass length to 8 inches tall, and change the form of notice to homeowners and residents. Attorney Murphy stated that he would draft an amendment for consideration at the May meeting. MAYOR’S COMMENTS: Mayor Eckstein stated that he was made aware of a resident who was injured by a dog-at -large recently. He stated that this is a growing concern. He would like the council to consider making harsher penalties for repeat offences. This was taken under advisement. Mayor Eckstein also brought up demolishing some blighted properties in the city. He wants to request additional appropriations in the amount of $125,000 to do this. He asked the council members to submit any properties in their districts that need to be addressed. CLERK-TREASURER COMMENTS: RESOLUTION 2024-11 – DPW ENCUMBERANCES: Ms. Whatley stated that the council held a special meeting on December 19, 2023 to allow Mr. Thomas to encumber money towards a match for a CCMG grant in 2024. This was approved by the council at that meeting. She asked the council to please sign this resolution as part of the encumbrance requirement. COUNCIL COMMENT: Mr. Ron Dudelston thanked Mr. Jeff Thomas for the large trash pickup success. He stated that the numbers look good. PUBLIC COMMENT: Mr. Tyler Hunt – Parks Board President asked for permission to spend $20,000 for the youth baseball at the Little League Park. The Parks Board had already approved the expenditure and had been given a $5,000 donation toward this project as well so they would only be spending $15,000 out of the Park Fund. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve this expenditure. Mr. Dudelston seconded the motion. The vote to approve this expenditure was 5-0. ADJOURNMENT: With there being no further business, Mr. Scaggs made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 7:53 pm. FOLDER 2/REC 180120_002