Common Council

CITY COMMON COUNCIL OF HARTFORD CITY, INDIANA NOVEMBER 4, 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, November 4, 2024. ROLL CALL: Members of the council present were Ron Dudelston, Michael Wolfe, Tracey Witt, Tony Scaggs, and Bill Aspy. Mayor Eckstein, and Clerk-Treasurer Dana Whatley were also present. City Attorney, Brandon Murphy was absent. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the agenda as presented. Mr. Aspy seconded the motion. The vote to approve the agenda was 5-0. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FOR OCTOBER 7, 2024: Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve the minutes for October 7, 2024 as submitted. Mr. Wolfe seconded the motion. The vote to approve the minutes was 5-0. OLD BUSINESS: A.) 2ND READING OF THE ORDINANCE 2024-06 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY CODE WITH REGARD TO RABBITS AND FOWL: Mr. Aspy made a motion to approve the 2nd reading of Ordinance 2024-06. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to approve the 2nd reading of Ordinance 2024-06 was 5-0. B.) 2ND READING OF ORDINANCE 2024-07 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCES 2007-03 AND 2019-09 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING HARTFORD CITY CODE CHAPTER 52 SEWAGE TREATEMENT: Mr. Wolfe made a motion to approve the 2nd reading of Ordinance 2024-07. Mr. Dudelston seconded the motion. The vote to approve the 2nd reading of Ordinance 2024-07 was 5-0. C.) NOISE ORDINANCE DISCUSSION: Mr. Dudelston made a motion to table this topic until the December meeting. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to table was 5-0. NEW BUSINESS: A.) MR. LEE BEARD – PROBLEMS WITH YOUTHS AT THE LIBRARY SPLASH PARK: Mr. Beard a resident of Hartford City and Ms. Michele Risinger, Library Director both raised concerns about a group of young people causing disturbances at the library park, including loud music, vandalism, and inappropriate behavior. The library has taken measures such as removing chairs, closing the treehouse, and installing lights to deter the group. However, the issue persists, and further actions are being considered. B.) MR. GARY MROCZKA & MR. TOM SPAULDING WITH AECOM-STATE ROAD 3 PROJECT UPDATE: Mr. Mroczka and Mr. Spaulding were not in attendance at this meeting. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to table this topic until December’s meeting. Ms. Witt seconded the motion. The vote to table was 5-0. C.) AEP – CONTRUCTION JOB AT WABASH AVE./GILKEY/NORTH WALNUT ST.: Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the work to be done for this project. Ms. Witt seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. D.) MR. WARREN BROWN – TAX ABATEMENT DISCUSSION: 1.) PETOSKEY PLASTICS PROPOSED SB-1 PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT: Mr. Scaggs made motion to propose a 10-year descending abatement for personal property. Ms. Witt seconded the motion. The vote to request Attorney Murphy to draw up a resolution for a 10-year descending abatement for Petoskey Plastics was 5-0. A public hearing will be held at the December meeting regarding this proposed abatement. 2.) SPECIALTY T, LLC. PROPOSED SB-1 PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT: Mr. Scaggs made a motion to propose a 3-year descending abatement for personal property. Mr. Dudelston seconded the motion. The vote to request Attorney Murphy to draw up a resolution for a 3-year descending abatement for Specialty T, LLC was 5-0. A public hearing will be held at the December meeting regarding this proposed abatement. E.) MS. ANNE OWEN – CORNUELLE TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY: Ms. Owen stated that the Cornuelle Veteran’s Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 30, 2024 from 3pm – 6pm. She asked for volunteers to help with the celebration. She gave her street closure requests and gave details of the planned events that day. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve the street closure requests. Mr. Aspy seconded the motion. The vote to approve was 5-0. F.) MR. BILL BACON: 1.) PERMISSION TO SPEND OVER $10,000 TO HAVE CLEAR WELL CLEANED: Mayor Eckstein addressed Council on behalf of Mr. Bacon as he was unable to attend this meeting. He explained that the clear well at the Water Treatment Plant had not been cleaned in decades. They are cleaning it in hopes that it will help in resolving the current water issue the city is having. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve the expenditure. Ms. Witt seconded the motion. The vote to approve the expenditure was 5-0. 2.) WATER UPDATE: Mayor Eckstein gave an update on the water project. He stated that the Water Department is collaborating with a company to find the underlying cause of our issues. He stated it has been a long and frustrating process, but they are beginning to see some improvement. MAYOR’S COMMENTS: Mayor Eckstein explained that the city owns a property across the street from the Senior Citizen’s Center. He asked for permission to spend over $10,000 to clean up this property. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve this expenditure. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. The vote to approve this expenditure was 5-0. CLERK-TREASURER COMMENTS: NONE COUNCIL COMMENT: A.) MS. TRACEY WITT: Ms. Witt thanked the Street Department for the great work they have done with picking up the leaves. B.) MR. RON DUDELSTON: 1.) Mr. Dudelston reminded everyone that the Area Plan Commission will meet on November 12, 2024 at 6pm. The City Council’s request to prohibit farm ground to be allowed in R1 zoning areas will be on the agenda. 2.) Mr. Dudelston also reminded everyone that the Animal Shelter Task Force will be meeting on November 7, 2024 at 6pm. 3.) Mr. Dudelston proposed to start holding quarterly Town Hall meetings with the City Council. He asked for this topic to be put on the December agenda. PUBLIC COMMENT: A.) CHERI BROWN: Ms. Brown gave an update on the $20,000 Bicycle/Pedestrian Planning Grant from the Indiana Department of Health. She stated that we have received our matching portion. We have received $5,000 from Ball Foundation Rapid Grant. We received $10,000 from IU Health and the city will pay $5,000. She stated that we have submitted the grant application last week. ADJOURNMENT: With there being no further business, Mr. Scaggs made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 7:06pm. FOLDER 2/REC 43