Town Council

Rocky Ripple Town Council Meeting August 8, 2023 Rocky Ripple Town Board Chair, Mandy Redmond, called the meeting to order at 7:40 pm. Town board members Megan Hulland and Randy Sanders were present. Julie Smith, clerk treasurer, Mike Kiefer, town marshal, and Sarah Guffey, 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 – July minutes were presented, Megan made a motion to accept the minutes, Randy seconded. All were in favor, motion unanimously passed. Treasurer Report for July 2023 – Other than routine expenses, only a mowing invoice was submitted for payment. Ending bank balance for 07/31/2023 was $88,928.61. Outstanding checks are considered cancelled after being outstanding and unpaid for a period of 2 years as of December 31st each year.(IC 5-11-10.5). Randy motioned to accept the Treasurer’s report and Megan seconded the motion. All were in favor, motion unanimously passed. Randy is looking into pricing for clerk treasurer services. Budget Planning Prep for 2024 – The board met before the meeting and will again at 6:30 on August 15th. The hearing and the adoption meeting will be on September 12th and October 10th respectively at 7 PM prior to the monthly board meetings. Old Business Rocky Ripple Flood Protection: DPW Updates, ILA – Mandy sent a letter to DPW’s director Brandon Herget in July expressing the board’s concern about the lack of communication and also concern about the riverfront property owners who have been in limbo regarding the status of their homes. Mandy had a phone conversation with Brandon Herget and asked about having another public meeting, but he said he was not agreeable to that because he saw no value in doing so. Likewise, he said DPW was not interested in having the monthly project meetings with the town. However, he did agree to still have updates with Shannon Killion on an individual basis as the town wants them. He said DPW would try to take a more proactive approach so that the town would not have to ask about everything. Brandon commented that DPW is committed to this project having already spent $10M and they have a 5-year plan once they are able to move forward. DPW is pursuing FEMA preapproval per Mandy’s request. Brandon agreed that he would work with legal counsel to have them review our last draft of the floodwall interlocal agreement and provide feedback. That conversation was on July 15th and on July 31st the board received Bob Frye’s comments. Bob did not accept most of the suggestions. A preliminary review of it indicates detail was removed from some areas as well as removing some exhibits. Board will meet at a later date to discuss; the earliest will be in September due to board member vacations. In its current state, there is no point to sign it. No news on the FEMA accreditation of the Northside FloodWall project. CEG STEP Program Update – The project is moving along as planned. The marshal and Mandy talked with Jeremy Kosegi today about a plan to not interrupt or disturb the roads that are being paved. Most of the invasive work is in yards not in the roadway itself. Phase 1 will be completed by September 29th. Phase 2 is being worked on as we speak and will be wrapped up by December 15th, and Phase 3 will be done by February 2024 and those contracts are due by August 11th. TSW will be entering a few alleyways and creating a 6-foot swath for access for some homes. New Truck/Snow Plow Update/Sale of Old Equipment – Notice ran in paper and the auction for the truck will start August 21st at 4 pm and run through August 31st at 4 pm. Already a recall on the new truck. Decals have not been installed yet. INDOT ADA and Title 6 Compliance Plan – No update. Technically on hold but we are currently in compliance. Town Manager/Marshal’s Report - 2023 Road Paving – On July 16th at 0500 in the 5100 block of Riverview Drive there was a roommate disturbance involving injury. No charges filed. Waiting to hear from Baumgartner Paving about scheduling the paving. Community Association Updates – All is well. CPR class had a total of 14 participants, 4 were from Rocky Ripple. Thank you again for letting us use the town hall. Margaret has been the liaison for the festival with CEG about parking for the festival. T-shirts on order. Games in the park have not been rescheduled. Still need volunteers for the festival. Secretary position is still open. New Business Speeding Cars in Rocky Ripple/Related Safety Concerns – Speeding has become an issue in the town. We currently have speed humps on Lester and Clarendon. Speed bumps are bigger and can damage your car if you do not slow down. Speed humps are less intrusive and are effective in slowing you down. Gave town attorney, Sarah Guffey, an action item to research the legal ramifications of installing speed bumps and a motorist’s car being damaged. Megan will inquire with Butler regarding some movable speed bumps that they have had and if we could use them. Budget – Randy proposed that we consider a new real estate tax to raise some additional funds to keep us running in the future. Asked Sarah to investigate what it would take for us to establish another tax. He estimates we need another $10K to prepare for future expenses and/or cost of current ones that keep increasing. Community Concerns 341 Ripple Road has some new tenants. There has been construction, but no visible permits. Concern is about more than 4 unrelated people living there. Dan Axler proposed that the board talk to Butler University and have pick-up/drop-off be in Holcomb Gardens for their camps. Randy made a motion to adjourn, Megan seconded. All in favor. Meeting adjourned at 8:51pm. Respectfully submitted, Julie Smith