Town Council

Rocky Ripple Town Council Meeting June 13, 2023 Rocky Ripple Town Board Chair, Mandy Redmond, called the meeting to order at 7:33 pm. Town board members Megan Hulland and Randy Sanders were present. Mike Kiefer, town marshal, and Sarah Guffy, town attorney, via Zoom, were also present. Julie Smith, clerk treasurer, was not 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 – May minutes were presented. Randy made a motion to accept the minutes, Megan seconded. All were in favor, motion unanimously passed. Treasurer Report for May 2023 – No expenses or income out of the ordinary were noted for the month. It was noted that the check for the purchase of the new snow plow and truck cleared and insurance costs for the year of $7975.00 were paid. The ending bank balance for 05/31/2023 was $72,391.47. Warrants for the month will be signed at next month’s meeting when the secretary/treasurer returns. Megan motioned to accept the Treasurer’s report and Randy seconded the motion. All were in favor, motion unanimously passed. Old Business Rocky Ripple Flood Protection: DPW Updates, ILA: – Mandy wrote and distributed a Town Council update via ENews on 12Jun2023 that noted current status of the Rocky Ripple flood protection project status, the final design of which remains on hold until the Warfleigh/Northside floodwall becomes FEMA accredited. DPW has provided no comments on the ILA with Rocky Ripple Town Council suggested changes. Riverfront residents with homes scheduled to be demolished as part of the project expressed extreme frustration with the project and DPW and the fact that their lives and future planning have been in limbo for over a year now and with the delay of the project will continued for several years. Megan asked Shannon about appraisal timeframes and there was no update. Megan met with Bruce Arick, Butler University. Butler’s PCA (Project Cooperation Agreement) with DPW for the floodwall project has also not been completed. Arick stated that they are in a holding pattern and are still awaiting completion of appraisals for affected Butler property. Negotiation for land and monetary contribution to the project is ongoing. CEG STEP Program Update – Phase 1 construction is underway. Phase 2 contracts have been distributed to residents and are due back to CEG by June 30th. Contracts for Phase 3 are forthcoming. Town Council received a contract to be signed for Town Hall; Mandy will confirm with CEG that Town Hall is part of Phase 3 before signing it. Redesign of town website (Town Web) – Work on the redesigned website was completed and the new site is now live. Details of changes made were included in the Town Council update distributed on 12Ju2023. The town calendar is still not viewable on phones, but Town Web is working on this. Electronic forms for rental of town hall and Hohlt Park pavilion are now available and ability to pay electronically will go live soon as well. Town Hall Maintenance/Repairs – No repairs currently. Paddles for AED arrived. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds – New Truck/Snowplow Update – Decals are still to be installed on the new truck. Marshal Mike and Ely have been practicing installation and removal of the snow blade, and salt spreader which are both much easier than with the old truck. License plate for truck should arrive soon. Randy has gathered needed info for posting sale of old truck. Randy will work with clerk/treasurer to get notice of the sale published and get final listing info to the auction website. All ARPA funds received have now been spent. INDOT ADA and Title 6 Compliance Plan – Draft of revised ordinances that contain Title 6 compliance information should be completed, even if we cannot complete ADA portion at this time. Mandy to complete draft and provide for review. Town Manager/Marshal’s Report - 2023 Road Paving Grant Application – Sealed bids for paving of roads associated with the CCMG paving grant were received from Globe and from Baumgartner. Bids were opened at meeting and were as follows: Globe: $66,733.00; Baumgartner: $60,554.00. It was agreed to go with Baumgartner. Motion to accept made by Randy; seconded by Megan. All voted in favor. Paving will be completed as soon as it can be scheduled. Dan Axler asked about patching 51st and Riverview potholes. Town Manager will ask Baumgartner to patch these when they are in town. Community Association Updates –Vice-president and treasurer were reelected at May RRCA meeting. Secretary position remains open. Kickball is scheduled in Hohlt Park for July 8th and 29th. Festival on target and all artist spots are filled. Upcoming elections – Per the update included in the 12Jun2023 message, Town Council reminded residents that there is still time to register and run as an independent candidate for the fall election (filing deadline for major parties has passed). The town is seeking someone to run for Clerk/Treasurer position as well as additional Council candidates. Independents need to collect signatures from seven registered voters to be considered eligible to run. Megan and Randy plan to run again; Mandy and Julie do not. New Business Frank’s Livery Tactical Advisory Committee– Megan attended recent meeting and it was reported that river floats are going well with no complaints from affected areas. It was noted that Town Council and RRCA should approach Frank’s for possible sponsorship of RR festival and/or raffle donation. Community Concerns No additional community concerns were raised Randy made a motion to adjourn, Megan seconded. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm. Respectfully submitted, Mandy Redmond (filling in for clerk/treasurer)