City Council

MINUTES OF THE LAFAYETTE COMMON COUNCIL February 6, 2012 REGULAR MEETING The Common Council of the City of Lafayette, Indiana met in regular session on Monday February 6, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 20 North 6th Street, Lafayette, Indiana. President Campbell called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. The Pledge of Allegiance was given to the flag of our Country. The following members were present: Present: Heide, Klinker, Reynolds, Campbell, Brown, Ahlersmeyer, Downing and Weast-Williamson, and Meyer City Clerk Cindy Murray and City Attorney Ed Chosnek were present. The City Clerk stated that there was a quorum present. Councilwoman Ahlersmeyer moved to approve the minutes of January 9, 2012 meeting, Councilwoman Weast-Williamson seconded. There were no additions or corrections. Minutes approved by unanimous voice vote. The Clerk stated there were no Claims, Petitions or Communications. The Clerk stated the following reports are available in the City Clerk’s Office: Clerk’s Office Monthly-December Water Pollution Control Department Monthly-December Water Works Department Monthly-December Fleet Maintenance/Motor Vehicle Department Monthly-December Ordinances for Second Reading The Clerk read Ordinance 2008-27 (An Ordinance Repealing the Lafayette Municipal Code Title 13 Entitled Building and Construction, by Adding Chapter 13.06 Entitled Electrical Licensing Required) by title only on second reading. Councilman Campbell moved for passage, Councilman Heide seconded. Councilman Campbell moved to replace Ordinance 2008-27 in its entirety with the Ordinance titled Second Amended Ordinance No. 2008-27, Councilwoman Weast-Williamson seconded. President Meyer stated after hearing public comment at the Ordinance Committee meeting in January, the committee sent and recommended six (6) different amendments to Mr. Chosnek’s Office. Ed Chosnek, City Attorney explained the changes made from the previous Ordinance. Mr. Chosnek also noted a scriveners error in the Second Amended Ordinance on page (9), section (6) and requested the Council remove the wording Electrical Contractor and replace it with Licensee. Mr. Campbell moved to replace the word Electrical Contractor with the work Licensee in section 6, Councilman Brown seconded. The motion to amend for scriveners error passed by unanimous voice vote. Chapman Flack, 1219 Brown Street spoke regarding the amendments. President Meyer called for vote on the motion to amend as a whole, the amendments passed 8-0 on a roll call vote. President Meyer called for discussion on Ordinance 2008-27 as amended, Stephanie Richeson, 222 N Brookfield Dr. spoke in opposition to the ordinance. Chapman Flack also spoke regarding the ordinance. Ordinance 2008-27second amended passed 8-0 on a roll call vote on second and final reading. The Clerk read Ordinance 2012-02 (An Repealing Chapter 3.01, Fire Protection: Chapter 3.02, Installation and Maintenance of Fire Warning Devices and Section 6.07.110, Burning of Paper and Leaves on Private Property and Adding Chapter 3.01; Chapter 3.02; Chapter 3.04; Chapter 3.05; and Chapter 3.06) by title only on second and final reading. Councilwoman Weast- Williamson moved for passage, Councilman Downing seconded. Fire Chief Richard Doyle spoke regarding the Ordinance. Ordinance 2012-02 passed 8-0 on a roll call vote on second and final reading. The Clerk read Ordinance 2012-03 (An Ordinance to Amend section 1.02.040 of the Lafayette Municipal Code Pertaining to the Ordinance Violation Bureau) by title only on second reading. Councilman Klinker moved for passage, Councilman Heide seconded. Ordinance 2012-03 passed 8-0 on a roll call vote on second and final reading. There were no Ordinances for First Reading: There were no Resolutions: There were no Reports of Standing Committees: President Meyer requested Council Members to review their Committee Appointments. There were no Reports of Special Committees: Report by the Mayor: Mayor Roswarski gave the following State of the City Address: STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS, February 6, 2012 Mr. President, members of the City Council, those in attendance and all citizens of Lafayette: It is my honor to deliver to you my STATE OF THE CITY address. I would like to begin with what I believe is most important. That is to acknowledge and thank those who help make our community strong and vibrant. First, I would like to thank the City Council, members of the Board of Works, the Redevelopment Commission, our Police and Fire Merit Boards, and all those who serve on our citizen-driven boards and commissions. I also thank the City department heads for their leadership and vision, and our City employees, who day in and day out get the job done for our citizens. I want to thank our business community and our labor organizations, who work to keep Lafayette working. A special thanks, too, to all our residents who continuously work hard, volunteer, promote the arts and culture, and find time to give of their talents and treasure.  The strength of our community is our people. We must never lose focus that we are servant leaders, As you have heard me say before, we will lead and we will keep moving Lafayette forward. We embrace change, and we strive for continuous improvement in our city operations. When the global economic downturn began, we promised: To keep pushing forward, To continue to complete projects, and To position ourselves to gain market share as the economy improved. We have done just that. In 2011, we were again fiscally responsible while still accomplishing our goals. We continued to: Build roads, Take on wastewater and storm water projects, Build new trails, Rehabilitate homes, and Improve our parks and zoo. City services have never been better. We continue, too, our work with local businesses and industries to help Lafayette remain competitive in today’s global marketplace. Even when some of our local businesses were facing significant challenges, my administration and you, the City Council, and our community, stuck together. We all believed in each other and the power of working together as a team. I believe our community is unique in our relationship with businesses large and small. Tonight, I am pleased to let you know that many of those businesses have now reached employment levels at or above pre-recession numbers. With last year’s announcement of Nanshan’s 100 million dollar investment in a new aluminum facility and Alcoa’s recent announcement that it will add a new, 90 million dollar plant at its 75-year-old facility, we have secured 190 million dollars of industrial investment and hundreds of jobs – all within three miles of each other. I believe that may be unique in the world right now.  These achievements are a testament to our entire community, and, as we often say: Lafayette is Open for Business. Indeed we are. And I believe we will continue to move forward in Lafayette in 2012. Yet, a city is more than roads and pipes and services. A city has a heart and soul, and the heart and soul are its people. As we enter 2012, we must look seriously at what we have done and what we still need to do. We must tap the heart and soul of our community to take the next, the most vital steps in our success. That leads me to these thoughts I want to share with you: If you have not volunteered before or for a while, please do in 2012. If you have not yet signed up to be a Read to Succeed volunteer at one of our schools, please consider it. If you have been wondering if there is a child you could mentor, I assure you there is. Please act now. If you have ever thought about volunteering at one of our schools, do not wait. They need you. If you have ever thought, “I should compliment my child’s teacher, or thank one of my old teachers for the difference they made in my life,” do it now. They need to hear that now more than ever before. It’s time for Lafayette to put its heart and soul, its people, to work for our community. How can each of us do our part to make sure more kids graduate and fewer go to jail? How do we ensure there is no child abuse? How do we help families stay together? How can we help people secure the resources to become self sufficient, not through hand outs, but a hand up? How do we instill in people that they must take personal responsibility? How does our community set standards and expectations to ensure that we have the citizens and workforce for the future? How do we as an entire community work to fight the factors that lead to crime, particularly drug and alcohol abuse? How we respond to these questions is our greatest challenge. It’s far easier to build roads and infrastructure, create jobs and stimulate new investments.  It’s far easier to plan our riverfront development, improve our parks and add more trails. We are pretty good at getting those things done, and we’ll continue. My questions for 2012 are: How will we help each other? How will we develop our human capital, every resident, from the homeless family to the entrepreneur? Tonight, I ask everyone in our great community to seriously reflect on what you, individually, can do. That answer will take varied forms. It may be taking better care of your property. Or making a significant commitment to community involvement. Or something as simple but extremely important as renewing your commitment to your own family and spending more time with your children. Get to know your neighbors. Turn on your porch light. Visit a nursing home. Regardless of what path you choose, Lafayette needs everyone, every heart and soul, to do something extra, something more for others. I believe we are at a significant juncture in our community’s development. What we choose to do in 2012 will determine which way we are headed as a community. Tonight is a call to action, a request for everyone to ask and decide: What can I do for my community? I’m willing to step out of my comfort zone for the sake of our community. The challenge is now. The time is now. And I believe Lafayette has what it takes to stretch our hearts and souls even more. Thank you. There was Miscellaneous and New Business. There were no Reports of Council: Public Comment: Perry Barbee, 3700 Redbud praised Mayor Roswarski’s speech. Councilman Campbell moved to adjourn Councilman Brown seconded. Meeting adjourned at 7:45 pm Minutes prepared by Cindy Murray, City Clerk Complete audio of meeting available in the City Clerk’s office or at www.lafayette.in.gov