Town Council

Rocky Ripple Town Council Meeting June 4, 2024 Rocky Ripple Town Board member, Randy Sanders, called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. Town board members Rachel Hunter, Randy Sanders and Megan Hulland were present. Julie Smith, clerk treasurer, Mike Kiefer, town marshal and Sarah Guffey, town attorney, were present. Welcome Community! Town board member, Randy Sanders, 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 Miscellaneous – Randy sent an e-blast related to the town’s ongoing search for a new Clerk Treasurer. Five individuals expressed interest to the board and several were in attendance tonight. Because we are in a holdover situation, Julie clarified that the town could appoint a new Clerk Treasurer at the time of her formal resignation versus having to conduct a special election. This also means that – in the case of a tie – the Clerk Treasurer may not cast a tie breaking vote, as they were not elected. Randy thanked the community for helping to step up. Minutes – May minutes were presented with no changes. Megan made a motion to accept the minutes as written, Rachel seconded. All were in favor, motion unanimously passed. Treasurer Report for May 2024 – Large portion of the town insurance bill was paid, along with other routine expenses including park mowing. Julie is still working on tracking down the outstanding balance for Taekwondo rentals. Randy confirmed that the $1800 2015 directive allocation on the ledger was allocated for specific purposes that are no longer at play. Randy made a motion to move this $1800 to the General Fund; Rachel seconded. Motion passed. Very solid rental revenue from town hall and the pavilion this month. Ending bank balance for 5/31/2024 was $87,414.81. Rachel motioned to accept the Treasurer’s report and Megan seconded the motion. All were in favor, motion unanimously passed. Audit Update – Randy and Julie met with Brooke Nelson to conduct an audit of the town’s financial bookkeeping. A few minor things were noted; additionally, Brooke clarified guidance on how a certain portion of the MVH funds must be used per state statue. The town will investigate what this means for certain expenses not approved in restrictive guidelines. Old Business Rocky Ripple Flood Protection: DPW Updates, ILA – Not much new news this month. DPW confirmed that the CLOMR has not yet been submitted to FEMA but will be submitted in late June. The Board will continue to collect questions from residents and will work with District 7 Representative John Barth to help determine the best path forward on a public meeting. For individual homeowner meeting requests, Randy offered the town hall for use if needed. Residents expressed a strong interest in live, in person meetings vs. virtual. CEG STEP Program Update – Citizens Energy Group (CEG) continues to complete restoration in the neighborhood. Several residents have reached out to determine when their homes will have restoration completed and the Board has been coordinating with CEG to track down answers. Speeding Cars in Rocky Ripple/Related Safety Concerns – No update for this month. Board plans to address with Michael Lofton during an upcoming lunch. Due to work schedules and travel, this lunch is tentatively planned for 7/19. INDOT ADA and Title 6 Compliance Plan – No update for this month; Megan wants to bring her past research forward in an upcoming board meeting. Rachel is working on reformatting Rocky Ripple’s ordinance document now to simplify future editing. Town Manager/Marshal’s Report – An incident involving two individuals on the 900 block of Clarendon occurred on 6/3 and involved IMPD. One incident involving a harassment claim was also investigated in the same timeframe. Marshal Mike received one response to his Community Crossings Grant (CCG) paving RFP from Baumgartner for $71,972.05. Randy made a motion to accept the bid and Rachel seconded; motion passed. This work will cover paving portions of Riverview Drive on and off up through 54th St. and Lester St. from 51st to 52nd. The town discussed pursuing cost sharing for Lester with Butler University, as has been done in the past. Board will bring this into the discussion with Michael Lofton in July. Paving won’t start before July. Community Association Updates – The Rocky Ripple Community Association was awarded an Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center (INRC) grant; congrats to everyone for their hard work. The grant awarded totals $14,975.00 and will help pay for five new picnic tables, adult fitness equipment, disc golf equipment, two new wheelbarrows, signage for the pavilion, a new shed door for the community garden and a mural. A resident asked if he could use the bushhog to clear a portion of the Holht Park boundary; Marshal Mike explain he would need to sign a waiver relieving the town of all responsibility in case of injury. Snack bag packing will take place at town hall on Sunday, July 7th at 10:30am. Event is free and open to residents; snack bags will be donated to Horizon House. Town garage sale will take place on Saturday, July 13th from 8:00am-1:00pm. New mulch will purchased for the playground equipment in the park. RRCA will also be working with an arborist to trim back tree limbs over the pavilion. In preparation for the Rocky Ripple Festival, the Board will share a copy of the existing liability waiver and vendor forms with Sarah Guffey for review. New Business Update to Rental Forms – Randy has made some adjustments to the town hall and park pavilion rental forms; new language states that payment must be received within 72 hours of request to book and that cancellations that occur fewer than ten days before the event are non-refundable. Megan suggested that the board explore other booking systems, as the current system is a bit labor intensive. With rentals ramping up, the town may need to consider options. Randy and Megan will look into this before the next meeting. 2025 Budget Planning Meeting – A preliminary budget planning meeting was set. It will take place at 6:30pm on Tuesday, July 9th at the town hall. Community Concerns None. Meeting adjourned at 8:47 pm. Respectfully submitted, Megan Hulland