Common Council

CITY COMMON COUNCIL OF HARTFORD CITY, INDIANA JULY 7, 2025 MEETING MINUTES CALL TO ORDER & WELCOME: Mayor Dan Eckstein called to order a meeting of the Common Council of the City of Hartford City at 6:00pm, July 7, 2025 ROLL CALL: Members of the council present were Ron Dudelston, Michael Wolfe, Tracey Witt, Tony Scaggs, and Bill Aspy. Mayor Eckstein, City Attorney Aubrey Crist, and Clerk-Treasurer Dana Whatley were also present. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the agenda as submitted. Mr. Dudelston seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF JUNE 2, 2025: Mr. Wolfe made a motion to approve the minutes of June 2, 2025 as submitted. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0. OLD BUSINESS: A.) 2ND READING OF ORDINANCE 2025-05 FOR ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS: Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the 2nd reading of Ordinance 2025-05. Mr. Aspy seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0. B.) MS. ANNE OWEN – ZONING RECOMMENDATION FROM AREA PLAN COMMISSION: A significant discussion took place regarding the need to define agriculture more clearly within the city ordinance. Ms. Owens stated that the Area Plan Commission gave a favorable recommendation for no agriculture in an R-1 zone within the Hartford City limits. It was discussed to have legal counsel, Attorney Drew Hall to draft an ordinance that clarifies the verbiage to give clear direction of what agriculture within city limits means. Mr. Ron Dudelston made a motion to have Attorney Hall work with Attorney Crist on drafting an ordinance to be reviewed by city council at the August 4, 2025 meeting. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0. C.) MS. CHERI BROWN – EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK DISCUSSION: Ms. Brown provided an update on the employee handbook review process, which has been ongoing for a few months with weekly meetings with input from department heads. Given the handbook was last updated in 2006, the committee recommended hiring an HR consultant. Proposals were received from New Focus HR and Wagner, Irwin and Shiel. After many recommendations it was decided to proceed with New Focus HR. NEW BUSINESS: A.) MR. CHRIS EHRHART – BLACKFORD COUNTY IRACS (INTEGRATED RE- ENTRY AND CORRECTIONAL SUPPORT): Mr. Chris Ehrhart, Program Director of the Blackford County IRACS and Ms. Kimbra Reynolds, Executive Director of Past Recovery Services, presented the IRACS program. They highlighted the success of reducing recidivism and destigmatizing addiction through services like matrix groups, one-on-one coaching, recovery plans, and community support. They reported serving 703 individuals since 2022 and requested $107,000 from the opioid settlement funds to maintain the program, with a target date of October 1, 2025. Council requested that they come back to the August 4th meeting to report how their fund raising is going and council will determine what they can do to help with the fund raising. B.) 1st READING OF ORDINANCE 2025-08 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 91 (PUBLIC MEETINGS, ASSEMBLIES AND CELEBRATIONS) OF THE HARTFORD CITY CODE OF ORDINANCES: Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the first reading of Ordinance 2025-08. Mr. Aspy seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to suspend the rules to go onto a second reading. Mr. Aspy seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0. Mr. Scaggs made a motion to approve the second reading of Ordinance 2025-08. Mr. Dudelston seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0. C.) RESOLUTION 2025-13 A RESOLUTION OF THE HARTFORD CITY COMMON COUNCIL APDOPTING THE ELECTRONIC MEETING PARTICIPATION POLICY: Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve Resolution 2025-13. Mr. Wolfe seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0.  D.) CODE CHAPTER 94: HEALTH AND SAFETY, SECTIONS 94.01 – 94.04 WEED CONTROL: Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve the first reading of Ordinance 2025-09. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to suspend the rules for a second reading of this ordinance. Mr. Scaggs seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0. Mr. Dudelston made a motion to approve the second reading of Ordinance 2025-09. Ms. Witt seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken. Michael Wolfe – AYE, Tracey Witt – AYE, Bill Aspy – AYE, Ron Dudelston – AYE, Tony Scaggs – AYE. The vote to approve was 5-0. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: Ms. Cheri Brown explained about a new program called “We Noticed.” It is a program to recognize those citizens who take care and pride in their homes and properties. It will be on a nomination basis. Neighbors, friends, or people in the community that are out and about in the city can nominate a home by contacting the mayor’s office with the address. People can make nominations anonymously if they would prefer. Once the nomination has been made Ms. Brown will contact the homeowner to see if they are willing to participate. If they are, a recognition sign will be placed in their yard for two weeks. MAYOR’S COMMENTS: Mayor Eckstein stated that Saturday in the Park and the Fireworks show were a huge success. He thanked the Park’s Department for their hard work in preparing the park for this event. He stated they have put down new mulch, painted, upgraded the restrooms. He stated that the park looked great. He thanked Mr. Bill Bacon, Water Superintendent, Mr. Jeff Thomas, Department of Public Works, and Mr. Travis Williamson, Wastewater Superintendent for their help. He stated that it was a total city effort to prepare for this event. CLERK-TREASURER COMMENTS: NONE COUNCIL COMMENT: A.) MS. TRACEY WITT – Ms. Witt complimented the Park’s Department on how nice Sigma Phi Gamma Park looks and all their hard work in getting it ready for Saturday in the Park. B.) MR. BILL ASPY – Mr. Aspy said he has had great reports on Saturday in the Park and the Fireworks show. C.) MR. RON DUDELSTSON – Mr. Dudelston congratulated all who had a hand in making Saturday in the Park and the Fireworks show a great success. D.) MR. RON DUDELSTON - Mr. Dudelston presented a road closure request form and asked council, the Fire and Police chiefs and Clerk-Treasurer Whatley if this form would be helpful in simplifying the process in presenting requests to the council for approval. PUBLIC COMMENT: A.) MR. DOUG HUTSON – REED LANE: Mr. Hutson addressed council, expressing concerns about the severe condition of the alley known as “Reed Lane.” This alley serves as the sole access point for garages and driveways for 10 properties on Commercial and Chestnut streets. He stated that the recent patching done by the street department made things worse and claimed that it damaged his car. He requested reimbursement for alignment and new tires. The mayor stated that he, DPW superintendent Jeff Thomas and Councilman Aspy have been down that alley multiple times since. Council member Aspy stated he considers it one of the better alleys he has inspected. The council declined to reimburse Mr. Hutson for his request. They stated that city does not pave alleys or cover damages not due to negligence. B.) MR. LARRY GARRETT – GOLF COURSE: Mr. Garrett expressed gratitude to Ms. Anne Owen and the council for their efforts in addressing R1 zoning in what he believes is Hartford City’s only PUD (Planned Urban Development). He highlighted how the PUD protects property values and ensures good planning, emphasizing its importance for the city’s future development and preservation of assets. C.) MR. ROGER WRIGHT – FARMLAND: Mr. Wright inquired about the wording of a resolution concerning agricultural land, specifically asking about the terms “new” and “grandfathered.” The mayor clarified that the resolution would apply to agricultural land based on its status 365 days prior to the resolution’s approval date. D.) MS. ANNE OWEN – NUGGET: Ms. Owen stated it was good to see the buffalo statue named “Nugget” placed outside of city hall for everyone to enjoy. ADJOURNMENT: With there being no further business, Mr. Scaggs made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 7:00pm. FOLDER 2/REC 55