City Council

MINUTES OF THE LAFAYETTE COMMON COUNCIL February 1, 2016 REGULAR MEETING The Common Council of the City of Lafayette, Indiana met in regular session on Monday February 1, 2016 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, Nargi, Reynolds, Campbell, Brown, Weast-Williamson, Downing and Ahlersmeyer. City Clerk Cindy Murray and City Attorney Ed Chosnek were present. Councilwoman Ahlersmeyer moved to approve the minutes of the January 4, 2016 council meeting. Councilman Brown seconded. Motion passed by unanimous voice vote. There were no Claims, Petitions or Communications: The Clerk stated the following reports are available in the City Clerk’s Office: Fleet Maintenance Department Monthly-December Water Pollution Control Department Monthly-December Water Works Department Monthly-December Police Department Monthly-November and December Ordinances for Second Reading: The Clerk read Ordinance 2016-01 (An Amendment to Ordinance No. 2010-11 Establishing A Local Wabash Avenue Historic District in the City of Lafayette, Indiana). Councilman Heide moved for passage, Councilman Reynolds seconded. Ordinance 2016-01 passed 8-0 on a roll call vote on second and final reading. Ordinances for First Reading: The Clerk read Ordinance 2016-02 (An Ordinance to Amend Amended Ordinance 2015-27 An Ordinance Fixing the Salaries of the Appointed Officers and Employees of the City of Lafayette, Indiana, for the Year 2016, Excluding the Sworn Protective Occupation and Law Enforcement Members of the Police and Fire Departments). Councilman Downing moved for passage, Councilwoman Weast-Williamson seconded. Claudine Laufman, Park Superintendent, spoke regarding the changes in the salary ordinance for the McAllister Recreation Center realignment. Ordinance 2016-02 passed 8-0 on a roll call vote on first reading. The Clerk read Ordinance 2016-03 (An Ordinance to Amend the Zoning of Tippecanoe County Indiana, to Rezone Certain Real Estate from R1U to R2U-329 S 26th, Rachel A. McEachen, Petitioner). Ms. McEachen spoke regarding the amendment for the zoning. Councilman Klinker moved for passage, Councilwoman Nargi seconded. Ordinance 2016-03 passed 8-0 on a roll call vote on first reading and final reading. Resolutions: The Clerk read Resolution 2016-02 (A Resolution to Amend the Comprehensive Plan for Tippecanoe County to Include the Hoosier Heartland Corridor Strategic Economic Development Plan). Councilman Klinker move for passage, Councilman Brown seconded. Mayor Roswarski spoke regarding the resolution along with Commissioner Tom Murtaugh. Ben Bontrager, Economic Development Director at American Structurepoint, gave a short presentation regarding the resolution and answered questions from the Council. Resolution 2016-02 passed 8-0 on a roll call vote on first and final reading. The Clerk read Resolution 2016-03 (A Resolution Approving a Deduction for Tax Abatement in an Economic Revitalization Area (ERA) Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., Personal Property Tax Abatement). Councilman Brown moved for passage, Councilwomen Ahlersmeyer seconded. Mayor Roswarski, Perry Barbee and Lloyd Wells spoke in support of the resolution. Tom Easterday, Vice President of Subaru, gave a short presentation to the Council regarding the resolution. Kevin McIntyre, Owner of Local Lafayette, spoke in opposition of the resolution. Resolution 2016-03 passed 7-0-1 on a roll call vote on first and final reading. Ayes: Heide, Nargi, Reynolds, Ahlersmeyer, Brown, Weast-Williamson and Downing Nays: None Abstention: Klinker There were no Reports of Standing Committees. There were no Reports of Special Committees. Report by the Mayor- State of the City Address “Mr. President, members of the City Council, those in attendance, and all the 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, to thank all our citizens. Everyone knows the strength of any community is its people and I feel blessed to be a part of such a special community. A community where your political party affiliation means less than your commitment to being a servant leader. A community where cooperation and collaboration are valued and respected, where government, faith based groups, schools, social service organizations, join hands and resources to solve problems, lift people up and move them towards self-sufficiency. Where kindness and compassion is the first thought, not an afterthought, but also with the understanding that education and personal responsibility are key factors in empowering people to be self-sufficient, becoming good citizens and living their lives with dignity. A community where citizens support the arts, diversity, innovation, participate in neighborhood associations and volunteer for community and civic organizations. In addition, I would like to thank the City Council, who work diligently to represent their constituents. I would like to thank the Board of Works, the Redevelopment Commission, our Police and Fire Merit Boards, the Historic Preservation, our Human Relations Commission, and all our citizens who serve on numerous other Boards that ensure we have a citizen driven government. I am honored to work with an incredible group of Department Heads who comprise our leadership team. I can tell you they are dedicated, creative, extremely competent and absolutely committed to this community. We have a tremendous team with all our City employees. I get countless compliments and have example after example of team members going above and beyond to serve our citizens. In my 2012 State of the City, I talked about the heart and soul of Lafayette. In 2013, I had my top 10 issues and they all revolved around people and quality of life. In 2014, I discussed two key issues, first education and I won’t read the whole section from that night, but I would like to read that last line because based on what we see happening now, I think it is very appropriate and I quote “making our voices known at the State House, that we want an educational system that works and meets the needs of our individual communities”. The second was the importance of strengthening the middle class, that we work diligently to help create jobs that allow families and individuals to enjoy a decent quality of life. Tonight we are going to talk about challenges, opportunity, focus, direction and commitment. We are going to talk about planning and execution of that plan. As we look to the next four years, we absolutely look with optimism. We know we have built a strong foundation and we are moving in a positive direction. We also know this is a time for vigilance and unwavering commitment to public safety. The first part of my presentation will focus on the issue of crime and the drug abuse problem and our response. The second portion will be a quick recap of 2015 and a short overview of 2016. Back on September 24th, 2015, we held a press conference outlining our strategy and initiatives that we felt were necessary to maintain the quality of life we have all come to enjoy. We fully understand that the drug epidemic that is sweeping this Country and our state is a significant issue in our community as well. We have heard Federal elected officials, State officials, Governor Pence during his State of the State, and State Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush all talk about the scope of the problem from addiction of prescription pain medication to heroin use, and the devastating effects of Meth. It is in large cities, small towns, the suburbs and rural areas. The state of Ohio was featured on 60 minutes regarding the epidemic. It will take a national effort from all of us regardless of where we live to make a difference. It will take a commitment to law enforcement, addiction and mental health services, a partnership with the medical community, and the judicial and education system. We must ensure that we strengthen the commitment to pre-K education, all day kindergarten, and programs that get our children started down a positive path, and give people hope. I need to make it clear that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem, but it is also reality that law enforcement is an important piece of the solution and plays a critical role in keeping innocent community members safe while we tackle the addiction issues. We know that a significant amount of our crime is driven by drug activity. We made it clear, back in September, that we would not waiver in our commitment to make a difference: Today I reaffirm that commitment. The day of the press conference, we outlined several initiatives. I would like to cover those initiatives to ensure that you and the community are fully aware of our plan, and give you an update as to the progress. I think it is important this Council and every citizen know that this plan is not going to end up on a shelf; and that we did significant research before our press conference and when it was over we went to work. The first initiative we announced was the take home car program. Having Police Officer’s living in our neighborhoods truly becoming a part of the community is critical. We also understand that Police visibility is important. We know that we have 18 Officers that live in the City limits that already have take home cars for special duties or because they are a Commander. We have 24 Officers who had made the decision to live in the City limits, but did not have a take home vehicle. Those Officers will now have the opportunity for a take home squad car, which will give us a total of 42 vehicles in our neighborhoods. In addition, any new Officer, after completion of the training program and are First Class Officer status, if they chose to live in the City limits they will get a take home car. All 24 of the new cars have been delivered and are being equipped. Our goal is to encourage new officers to live in the City limits, and to grow the numbers over the next few years. From a financial standpoint, there is significant data that suggests take home vehicles can actually save the Police Department money over time, through decreased maintenance cost and length of life of the take-home vehicle, because the vehicle is not used in the 24 hour cycle. In addition, you have an individual that is solely responsible for that squad car. We have managed our finances well and we are able to implement this program. The second initiative was to add 5 new Police Officers and a new dispatcher with the 2016 budget and I appreciate your support. Two positions will be added to the Street Crimes Unit, one position will be added to the Drug Task Force, one position to Crime Prevention, a Sergeant for Administrative Services, and a dispatcher who will be directly assigned to the Street Crimes Unit when they are engaged in investigations. On January 20th, 6 candidates went to the Lafayette Police Merit Board. 4 were chosen to move to the Pension Board interview, which is the final phase. We have a swearing-in tentatively scheduled for March 12th. The dispatcher position is posted and we are taking applications. We also discussed expanding downtown parking enforcement, to get City personnel into additional neighborhoods, to clean-up ordinance violations, be an additional set of eyes and ears, and to free up our Police Officers to focus more time on serious crime. This has happened. The new Northern boundary has moved from Ferry Street all the way to Greenbush. The East boundary has moved from 11th Street to 18th Street and the Southern boundary has moved from South Street to Romig. We discussed that this was a multifaceted approach and we discussed dealing with abandoned houses that can be a breeding ground for criminal activity. As you are aware, we are very aggressive in dealing with unsafe structures through our Hearing Authority, but we needed to do more. In July of 2015, a new state law went into effect and we almost immediately began looking on how we could use it most effectively. To date, we have nine abandoned homes on the list that are moving through the process. We also work with County Commissioner’s to obtain additional homes from the Sheriff’s sale, so we can ensure they go back into an appropriate use. We also discussed hiring an additional Inspector to help address problem properties in our neighborhoods, and give our neighborhood associations more support. That position will be posted on February the 8th. Lafayette Housing Authority: We have also made changes at the Lafayette Housing Authority regarding vouchers for housing assistance and the Authority is being vigilant. In 2016, new preferences went into effect for the Lafayette Housing Authority. Through input received from local organizations and recommendations from the program committee, LHA has identified special populations that should receive preference over other applicants. In addition to serving local residents, elderly, youth at risk, victims of domestic violence and working families will receive preference points. In addition, the following processes are now in place at the Lafayette Housing Authority: MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) LHA has executed MOUs with the Lafayette Police, West Lafayette Police, and Tippecanoe Sheriff’s Department which provides vital assistance in monitoring criminal activity with respect to lease and program violations. HEARINGS Support from the local law enforcement includes sharing of information in conducting investigations, and prehearings and hearings. Police officers attend hearings to provide testimony regarding activity that has caused a participant to be terminated. MONTHLY CRIMINAL ACTIVITY REPORT LHA and LPD have collaborated to create a monthly criminal activity report for LHA assisted units. The report provides information of units that have had police activity and may initiate a LHA investigation. REPORTING FRAUD THROUGH THE ACTION CENTER LHA has a mechanism for the citizens to report fraud or criminal activity in the Housing Choice Voucher program through the City’s Action Center. A link is also provided on the housing authority webpage and Facebook page. Each Action Center report is thoroughly investigated. So as a result of these changes, we have seen a significant increase in the number of individuals removed from the program for drug and criminal activity. To give you an example, in 2014 only a total of five people lost their voucher due to drug and criminal activity. In 2015, twenty-three people lost their voucher due to criminal or drug activity, which demonstrates our changes are working, and drug and criminal activity will not be tolerated. In addition, recently myself, the Chief of Police, the Prosecutor and Sgt. Mellady all testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee to amend the State law that would give Police Officer’s additional enforcement authority in residential apartment complexes. We are committed to ensuring people who need help are getting it, including seventeen veterans who are using our VASH vouchers, but also those who are involved in drug and criminal activity are being held accountable and removed from the program. We also worked to find faith based partners to work with people outside the realm of enforcement. We are working with Faith Ministries and the Hartford Hub is becoming a reality for the Lincoln Neighborhood. We believe that the Community Center holds great promise for future generations. I have also been meeting with Pastor Robby Bradford of First Assembly of God. He came and asked what they could do to help. Out of those discussions, they have purchased the old Payless site across from their church, and will be putting in a Community Center to help strengthen and give new opportunity to that area of Southwest Lafayette. As you can see, we went to work. We told the community what we were going to do and we are doing it. But again, I must make it clear that this has to be a community response. The vast majority of our crime is related to drug addiction and drug activity. Our robberies, our aggravated assaults – most have a drug connection. When people ask what the City is doing, I politely say, you mean all of us, right, not just government; and, are you willing to get involved? From the feedback I received, I feel confident that our citizens will rise to the occasion and help meet this challenge. As I stated, we look to 2016 with enthusiasm. 2015 proved to be another successful year. The community was recognized by Forbes as the #2 Best Small Metro in the United States for business and careers. The Boyd Company ranked Lafayette the top small market in the central U.S. region. In September, S.I.A. announced a 140 million dollar investment and hiring an additional 1200 people, and in January 2016, they announced that the hiring was beginning. G.E. Aviation completed their building, began installing equipment and hiring new team members. We announced the Marq – a new 25 million dollar development, along the Wabash River. Streetscape is underway, which will transform Main Street. Renovations are taking place at the Long Center to preserve and enhance it for future generations. The parking Garage will also undergo extensive maintenance this year. The Centennial Townhomes look wonderful. We completed the Berlowitz Watershed Master Plan and are working on the Alexander Ross Master Plan. The Sagamore Parkway and Greenbush Street projects are moving along. The South 18th Street project will be underway in a few months. The Regency Springs Apartments have opened on Alabama Street. We are putting the final touch on the Meyers bridge, and the Depot, to preserve this important community asset. Our downtown bi-centennial art piece is coming along nicely.  We have a new Marketing and Communications Department, which has significantly enhanced our communications and engagement with our citizens, highlighted local businesses, promoted quality of life, and is marketing us to be competitive in the global economy. We worked with Tippecanoe County to create the Hoosier Heartland Corridor Strategic Economic Development Plan. Matchbox, our community co-working studio, has over 200 members. We have a new baseball team – the Lafayette Aviators. Our City finances are in good condition and we have practiced sound financial management. The reality is the future of our community is bright. We have a strong foundation. We have a committed community. We have a plan for law enforcement and we have the strength and the will to carry it out. Economic Development, private investment, the arts, quality of life initiatives, future development planning, and infrastructure improvements are all moving in a positive direction. Thank-you and may God continue to bless our community.” Miscellaneous or New Business: Departmental Updates: Engineering Jenny Leshney, City Engineer, gave the following update: Last year was another record year for building permits and inspections, and this year has started off with several large projects.; SIA’s continued expansion, the Marq, Poppa Top, Wing Etc., the YMCA, and we expect Home2 Suites and Residence Inn to be submitted soon. Despite the continued fast pace of private development and demand for permits and inspections, we continue to work on department projects 1. Began implementation of the new inspection, code enforcement, licensing, and permitting software, Tyler MUNIS. Complete implementation of the new inspection and permitting software, go live in 3 weeks. Work toward a citizen self-service portal for permitting and inspection. 2. Continual update of new department page of the City Website. 3. As we work on projects we continue the implementation of the City-wide bicycle and pedestrian m a s t e r plan. 4. Continue to work on tree plantings, ash and dead tree removal and an Adopt a Tree program, our urban forester has hired a work study intern from Purdue and continues to work and with Purdue students and professors to enhance our efforts. 5. Strengthen our Code Enforcement efforts related to property maintenance, unsafe structures and abandoned properties. Our new code enforcement position and building inspector position will be in place this spring. 6. Continue to facilitate and assist the Wabash River Enhancement Corporation with riverfront development. Public Works Projects CDBG neighborhood curb and sidewalk projects City-wide street repair and paving projects Final punch list for Old Romne th y Road Reconstruction Start construction on the S 18 Street Widening, from VMP to CR430 S Columbian Park Trail Crossing at Scott and South Street John T Meyers and Riehle Plaza Pedestrian Bridges Ramp Project on the John T Meyers Bridge  Market Square Signal and Greenbush Street Sewer and Road Projects Alexander Ross Drainage Area Master Plan Sagamore Parkway, All phases Twyckenham/Beckenham Trail Downtown Streetscape Project Main Street Streetscape Project Long Center Building Renovations Big Four Depot Building Renovations Parking Garage Renovations Traffic Signal at Fastlane Drive and Veterans Memorial Parkway East Water Works Kerry Smith, Water Works Superintendent, gave the following update: 2015 was a year that saw several changes at Lafayette Water Works. We completed a new SCADA system (System Control and Data Acquisition), that has total fiber optic communications, thus eliminating radio communication and line-of-sight telemetry, providing a much more reliable system of communicating between our water towers, booster station, well fields, and treatment plants. In 2015, we also created a computer simulated hydraulic model of our distribution system. This model took into account the approximately 350 miles of water of mains of various sizes, our water towers and tower heights, different pressure zones within the system, high capacity users and times of day they are at their peak usage, etc. The information that this model provides lets us see where our infrastructure needs improvement and where we need to focus our resources in the future. In 2016, we will be finishing up installation of an on-site sodium hypochlorite generator at our Glick treatment plant. Sodium hypochlorite is mild bleach (.8%) used to disinfect our water. In comparison, household bleach is about 6%. Currently we generate sodium hypochlorite at our Canal Road facility and are purchasing a 12.5% solution for use at Glick. Before we started using bleach in 2006, we used gaseous chlorine that was extremely volatile and very dangerous. Were gaseous chlorine to be released, it would cause evacuations of the immediate area and several surrounding blocks. We also fed gaseous chlorine at Columbian Park which is in a very densely populated area, not to mention being adjacent to a city park and swimming pool. By eliminating this threat and switching to this mild form of bleach, we have totally negated any safety risk associated with chlorine. Currently, we are in the middle of a meter change out program. As water meters age, they tend to slow down which then gives a reading of less water than the customer is actually using, which increases our unaccounted for water. Unaccounted for water is the difference between the water we pump at the plant versus the amount of water we sell to our customers. Some of this unaccounted for water can be attributed to our semi-annual flushing of fire hydrants, fire department and street sweeper use, flushing of new mains during construction, and leaks. All unmetered water. Typically, our unaccounted for water is less than 5%. However, that number has been creeping up over the last three or four years mostly due to metering. We are currently hovering around 14%. What does this mean and why is this important? In 2015, Water Works budgeted revenue was $7,800,000.00. For every 1% of unaccounted for water we can account for through metering, translates into an increase of $78,000.00 in annual revenue captured. So if we were to find just 5%, that is $390,000.00 annually. Also, WPCD revenues are based on our meter readings. Their 2015 budgeted revenue was $30,800,000.00, one percent of which is $308,000.00, and five percent would be a 1.54 million dollar increase in annual revenue. Our last meter change out in the late 1990s saw us drop from 18% unaccounted for water down to 6%, or a 12% recapture of lost revenue. Were we able to accomplish that again, that would translate into 4.6 million in today’s dollars annually between the two utilities. So, the numbers can be quite staggering. And because the entire project will cost an estimated 6 million dollars, the return on investment is very short. The last time we changed meters, we went from meters that had to be read manually by opening a meter pit and physically writing the reading down in a book, to meters that could be read simply by touching a pad on the outside of a meter pit lid with a wand capturing the reading and saving it to a handheld device which was then downloaded in the Utility Billing Office. This was a major improvement and much more efficient. The new meters we are installing today are read by radio and are manufactured by a company called Neptune. Instead of having to physically touch each meter pit lid, we can simply drive through a neighborhood that has the new meters installed and capture the readings with a laptop or handheld device as we go. What used to take several hours can now be read in several minutes. Then, in August of 2015, we took this radio reading system to a new level. We installed three “Gateway” collection units within our system. One is located on the water tower on Twyckenham Boulevard, one on a radio tower at Fire Station 7 by the Fairgrounds, and one at Columbian Park on an existing tower. This allows us to capture readings from any meter that these towers can reach, typically within a one-half mile radius, and backhaul that data to UBO via fiber optics to a desktop computer. Currently, UBO is able to read approximately 2,500 meters instantly. This exponentially reduces the cost of gathering meter readings. In 2105 we installed 2,800 new Neptune meters and our goal for 2016 is to install an additional 3,500. This would bring our total to about 15,400, or about 50% of our system. We also intend on installing three more Gateways in locations yet to be determined. The end game of the meter change out program is to eventually read every meter in our system automatically and instantly without the need to send several people out every day in all kinds of weather expending man hours and fuel, while keeping our employees out of harm’s way from being constantly in traffic. In conclusion, it is our greatest goal to find new ways to be more efficient in our day to day operations while improving safety for our employees. Reports by Council: None Public Comment: None Councilman Heide moved to adjourn, Councilman Klinker seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 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