Town Council

Rocky Ripple Town Council Meeting July 11, 2023 Rocky Ripple Town Board Chair, Mandy Redmond, called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm. Town board members Megan Hulland and Randy Sanders were present. Mike Kiefer, town marshal, and Sarah Guffey, 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 – June minutes were presented. Megan made a motion to accept the minutes, Randy seconded. All were in favor, motion unanimously passed. Treasurer Report for May 2023 – Typical expenses were reported for the month. Per an email sent in advance, Julie noted that a $900 payment that was intended for mowing had been paid for Marathon gas cards; Julie plans to resolve this overpayment. First invoices for new electronic reservation system for park pavilion and town hall were sent yesterday. Property taxes for the first half of 2023 were paid. The ending bank balance for 06/30/2023 was $89,418.60. Randy motioned to accept the Treasurer’s report and Megan seconded the motion. All were in favor, motion unanimously passed. The board discussed the need to get 2024 budgeting meetings on the books, beginning in August. Mandy shared that she would follow-up with Julie to determine when the first meeting could be scheduled. Old Business Rocky Ripple Flood Protection: DPW Updates, ILA: – Mandy shared that there was not much new news related to the project status, nor the ILA. On 27Jun2023, the Board sent a letter to DPW expressing frustration with the lack of communication and requesting a public meeting to reengage with the City and get an update. The City has not yet provided a response to the letter. District 7 Councilor John Barth mentioned he would follow-up with the City directly. DPW has provided no comments on the ILA with Rocky Ripple Town Council suggested changes. Mandy asked Sarah Guffy, the town attorney, if there might be any actions to take to push the City on the lack of public meetings or updates; Sarah mentioned she would look into options for the town. Riverfront residents with homes scheduled to be demolished as part of the project continued to express extreme frustration and wondered if there might be other actions the town could take to force a response from the City. Sarah mentioned that – without proof of a decline in property values – there would be little cause for action from the City. CEG STEP Program Update – Mandy shared an update from CEG related to grinder pump installations for riverfront residents who have homes impacted by the floodwall project. CEG now recommends waiting until the floodwall project is complete before doing the sewer hookup, as they believe that some installations could be impacted by the floodwall and could require a relocation of the unit, which would be at the owner’s expense. CEG has confirmed to residents that they will be able to hook up for the reduced STEP price, even if the floodwall project is cancelled. Phase 1 construction main line has been constructed and CEG is finishing connection to Butler; pumps will be installed once this connection has been complete. Phase 2 contracts were due back to CEG on 30June2023; CEG will be reaching out to property owners who have enrolled soon with a goal to start construction in early August. Phase 3 contracts were sent out in early July with construction planned to start in early October. Mandy confirmed with CEG that the town hall property is part of Phase 3 and that we can hold off on signing the contract until we have more clarity on the future of town hall. CEG confirmed that future sewer hookups will not be included as part of the STEP discounted program and that the process and costs will be different. Redesign of town website (Town Web) – Redesigned website is now live. Randy worked hard to get electronic forms for rental and subsequent payment of town hall and Hohlt Park pavilion live as well; things seem to be going smoothly. Town Hall Maintenance/Repairs – No repairs currently. American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds – New Truck/Snowplow Update – Title for the new truck arrived. Marshal Mike was able to locate decals from the old supplier for $220 and expects these to 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. Randy mentioned he plans to share the posting more broadly via social media and is targeting August for a launch. All ARPA funds received have now been spent. INDOT ADA and Title 6 Compliance Plan – No update. Mandy plans to work on an updated draft of the ordinances. Town Manager/Marshal’s Report - 2023 Road Paving Grant Application – Town Manager notified Baumgartner that their bid was selected as the winner. Town Manager will coordinate paving with Baumgartner and CEG to ensure paving work does not conflict with sewer installation progress. Community Association Updates – Kickball on July 8th was cancelled due to weather. Many thanks to the town board for offering the town hall as a cooling place while power was out in early July. Festival on target and all artist spots are filled; more volunteers are always needed. Lots of sponsors are interested. Rachel discussed hanging a signboard at the pavilion to post updates and include a QR code to direct for future rental opportunities. Megan discussed potential for Frank’s Livery involvement at the festival and/or a community paddle; Rachel thought this could be a good idea and suggested other opportunities for river engagement. Keep Indianapolis Beautiful communicated information on Neighborhood Clean Up activities to block captains earlier this month and RRCA will determine when next Rocky Ripple Clean Up event will occur. RRCA is also working closely to keep track of planned CEG paving closer to the festival. New Business Usage of town hall for CPR training – Rachel requested use of the town hall for an upcoming CPR training course on August 3rd. Registration for this training will be $55. Mandy mentioned that the board still has some money in the RREM fund and that perhaps we could offer to pay the fees for a few interested residents. With $238.44 in the RREM budget, the town could cover four slots. Megan and Randy were in agreement that this was an excellent idea and the board approved the requested use of town hall. Community Concerns A meeting attendee expressed concern about construction trucks idling in Rocky Ripple and wondered if this could be added to the town ordinances. The board explained that this would be challenging to enforce and likely could not be completed before the sewage construction work was completed. A resident also cautioned the town that CEG does not mark internet (unlike other utilities) as part of the sewer work, so residents should be aware and prepared. Tree limbs observed over roads as part of recent storms; Mandy mentioned that it may be time to send letters to residents with problematic limbs to request trimming. Randy made a motion to adjourn, Megan seconded. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned at 8:36 pm. Respectfully submitted, Megan Hulland (filling in for clerk/treasurer)