Town Council

Rocky Ripple Town Council Meeting January 10, 2023 Rocky Ripple Town Board Chair, Mandy Redmond, called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. Town board members Megan Hulland and Randy Sanders were present. Julie Smith, clerk treasurer, Mike Kiefer, town marshal, and Matthew Dodson, town attorney, via Zoom, were also present. Welcome Community! Town board chair welcomed and thanked those who were present at town hall as well as those who are joining us for tonight’s meeting via Zoom. Clerk Treasurer Reports Minutes – December minutes were presented. Megan made a motion to accept the minutes with said corrections, Randy seconded. All were in favor, motion unanimously passed. Treasurer Report for December 2022 – Besides routine expenses, we paid out trustee wages, 4th quarter legal fees, October’s mowing invoice, flyer printing, gas cards for snowplow, floodwall counsel, and microphone purchase. Property taxes received. Ending bank balance for 12/31/2022 was $157,041.14. Randy motioned to accept the Treasurer’s report and Megan seconded the motion. All were in favor, motion unanimously passed. Old Business Rocky Ripple Flood Protection: Updates, Floodwall Poll Fact Sheet Committee – Had a meeting on December 22nd with the city of Indianapolis to review the latest drawings which were presented to the town board at the Riveria Club meeting in November. They managed to get through half of the drawings and related questions in their hour and 15-minute-long meeting. The town board requested a follow-up meeting but have not heard back from them as to when that might happen. The board is trying to arrange DPW meetings with individual homeowners aside from those that have homes scheduled to be demolished as part of the project. There are significant changes to outbuildings and land required for easement which has not been previously discussed with the affected homeowners. Many questions still need to be answered. No technical people were present at the meeting to explain changes that the town board noticed as they reviewed the updated drawings. The meeting prompted more questions which Mandy forwarded on to the city. One of the questions is that more septic systems will be affected by these revised drawings and people need to understand what they will do about that as well as be informed of this new development. Two independent appraisers appraised the town hall. Appraisers will report their findings to DPW by the end of the month and the town board has requested a copy of that appraisal as well as a public records request. The town has also asked if they will appraise the rest of the town’s property. The town has finished their initial review of the Inter Local Agreement. They have defined areas needing clarification for better understanding. They have made some changes and are awaiting wording from counsel before they wrap it up and submit their preliminary draft to the city. At that time, they will ask the city for the exhibits that they promised they would provide by this date. The town board has met twice with the floodwall counsel. The town board is not ready for legal counsel to send an official letter. More information is needed before we arrive at that point if it is determined to be required. Town board is trying to be frugal with funds they have to spend. The city says everyone has been contacted by the relocation specialist which needs to be validated again. The river barge concept is no longer going to be utilized for this project. Plans for DPW and subcontractors to come onto properties will need to be discussed. The appraisal process is being actively worked on so that final estimeated costs can be tabulated and approved by City County Council. No construction team has been hired although the RFI was done a while ago. Per DPW, the 90% final plan is coming in late January. Homework on exhibits need to be done by the town board as well. Specifically, the town board needs to put together specifications for a new town hall, including a design of what they want the town hall to look like and where they want it located. Brainstorming sessions with town residents will be held, the first brainstorming session will be held on Saturday, February 4th from 9:30-11:30 to discuss a strategic vision of Rocky Ripple’s Town Hall. Town Hall Maintenance/Repairs – The electric meter mast fell and was noticed by a local resident. Not sure how or why it fell, but it was fixed by Art Bracken and Paul Redmond. They are only asking for reimbursement of parts. Thank you. Sale of Old Police Car – The car is ready for auction. Advertisement is set to run this Friday since we need a 15-day notice. Auction is set to begin on Monday, January 30th and end on Thursday, February 9th. We pay no fees; buyer pays a premium. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds - Projects – All funds have been allocated. Will need to file a report but no information on that task has been received at this point. INDOT ADA and Title 6 Compliance Plan – Megan submitted a revised plan, and it was accepted. Mandy is still cleaning up the formatting of the ordinance document so it will be easier to add/edit in the future. Town Manager/Marshal’s Report - 2023 Road Paving Grant Application – On December 14th at 2100 hours in the 5100 block of Annette Street, there was a harassment report done. Mike has been working on the 2023 CCMG grant and has identified four roads to be paved in the neighborhood and they include Clarendon Road between 53rd and 54th Street, Crown Street between 52nd and 53rd, Patterson Street between 51 st and 52nd and Annette Street between 51 st and 52nd Street. Total comes to $75,180.85 with our share (25%) being $18,795.23. Lester Street needs to be addressed this year, and Board is hoping that Butler University will help us in paving it since it is heavily used by Butler University students. There is a 2nd round of CCMG grants in July that we could apply for if we deem the need to do so. Megan made a motion to spend up to $18,795.23, Randy seconded. All in favor, motion passed. Community Association Updates – There was no meeting in December. Bingo will be coming back. Dates will be finalized next week at RRCA meeting. The RRCA is willing to help with the brainstorming session by bringing refreshments. The RRCA would like to be part of the town hall discussion. Waste Management wants to start charging for the recycling bin out by the garage. New Business – There are purple dots on some trees. AES will be trimming those trees back from the wires. John Barth forwarded an email from IPD stating that Hyundai and Kia cars have seen an increase of being stolen due to being easy to steal. Matthew Dodson, our town legal counsel, who has served us for 5 ½ years has submitted his resignation. Thank you for your service. The board has already begun a search for new town legal counsel with recommendations from Matthew. Stay tuned for an update at next month’s meeting. This is an election year. If you are interested in being on town council, this is your chance. Deadline for registering to run on a party ticket in the primary is February 3rd. Primary is on May 2nd. Deadline for Independents is on July 15, 2023. Community Concerns Megan made a motion to adjourn, Randy seconded. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 8:34 pm. Respectfully submitted, Julie Smith