[0:00] Okay, you're screaming.

[0:05] » Let's call tonight's uh March 9th city council meeting to order. Would you all

[0:10] rise for the pledge of allegiance?

[0:14] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[0:19] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:25] justice for all.

[0:29] Thank you.

[0:34] » Okay. Again, I was going to say Brad, would you call the role?

[0:40] » Michelle, would you call the role, please?

[0:42] » Doug Stock >> here.

[0:44] » Melissa Tucker, Beth Ening,

[0:47] » here. >> Derek Cox,

[0:49] » here. >> And Brad Dryer

[0:50] » here. >> Thank you. You all receive copies of the

[0:55] minutes. uh pre prior to the meeting. Um these are the meetings from our last

[1:01] month. Were there any questions or comments on those

[1:06] corrections? >> If not, could I have a motion to approve

[1:10] the minutes from last month's meeting? >> I'll make that motion.

[1:16] » I'll second it. >> We have a motion and a second to approve

[1:18] the meetings from the February 9th meeting. All those in favor say I.

[1:22] » I. Opposed. >> Thank you. Motion carries.

[1:30] Next item up are department head reports.

[1:33] There were a few copies of the uh me um department head reports and in the

[1:39] meeting agenda tonight at the back. Are there any questions from anyone?

[1:46] Thank you.

[1:50] We will move on. I don't see any members of mayor's youth council tonight. So, we

[1:56] will move into old business, which we have none.

[2:00] I'm going to I'm going to go a little out of order on what you see on the

[2:03] agenda tonight. Um, I'm going to start with our third order

[2:08] of business and which involves Belterra. Um, Amy Streer is here from the Ripley

[2:14] County Community Foundation to report on the funds that they received and she is

[2:20] going to give us a an update on how that worked out. Yeah. So, thank you this

[2:25] evening for yielding a few minutes of your time to me just so I had the

[2:29] opportunity to come and say thank you. Um, last fall the council was gracious

[2:34] enough to award uh a $15,000 Belterra grant for an AED initiative and the

[2:41] whole purpose of that initiative was to provide every law enforcement officer

[2:45] their vehicle uh to put an AED machine into their police cruisers. Um, back in

[2:52] the fall when I came, uh, none of our police cruisers in the county had an AED

[2:58] machine. And now all of our police cruisers have an AED machine, including

[3:02] 13 or 14 13 that came to the city of Batesville as well. We um, thanks to

[3:08] your generosity and we received um, significant support from the Ripley

[3:13] County Health Department, from the Gilmore and Gilda Reynolds Foundation

[3:16] out of Ozgood. Um, we received some from the ta uh the um Jim Tyson Foundation

[3:23] out of Versailles as well as numerous individuals that made um donations. As a

[3:29] result of that, we were able to not only um buy the enough AED machines for

[3:35] Ripley County, but the Franklin County Community Foundation came on board and

[3:38] they were also able to raise enough money to equip all of their law law

[3:43] enforcement officers as well. Um, I will tell you that um all of the police were

[3:48] very uh police departments were very grateful for this initiative and for

[3:52] receiving their AEDs. It's kind of um ironic, but this morning I received a

[3:58] message from the Ripley County Sheriff's Department that one of their officers

[4:01] last night had to use the AED machine and was able to um maintain or help

[4:07] maintain a a pulse in a um in an individual um long enough for the

[4:12] ambulance to get there. and we're all hoping the best that that individual

[4:15] make it. I don't know enough about it, but they are being used and they are

[4:19] making a difference. We could not have done it without your support. So, I

[4:22] thank you. Um, thanks to a another grant that the community foundation received

[4:27] from another entity. Um, the board of directors has also been able to

[4:32] establish a an endowment fund that will help to perpetually support um the AED

[4:38] machines. And so for example, the we will provide a new set of pads to the

[4:42] Ripley County Sheriff's Department since they had to use those um yesterday. So

[4:47] thank you very much. Could not have been done without you. Um and we're very

[4:52] grateful. So So thank you. >> Thank you, Amy.

[4:56] » And I I just want to put a plug in real quick. I think Ray Worester is here to

[5:00] make a a Belter request. I have already worked with Ry. community foundation is

[5:05] well aware of the project that is occurring at the American Legion Post.

[5:09] We are working with Rey um to get some grants out to them to help support not

[5:13] only their bathroom project but a sever several other projects that they have to

[5:17] maintain their building. Um so I saw him here so I just wanted to give a plug

[5:21] that we are working with him. He is actively seeking other grant funding as

[5:25] well. So yeah. All right. Any questions or or concerns?

[5:30] » What do you anticipate? So, you talked about the pads. Yes. I'm assuming that's

[5:34] going to be the the main thing that you're going to have to replace once

[5:37] they if they've been used. Do you anticipate other cost? I mean, I see the

[5:41] 5-year battery. Um, >> no. And there was a 5-year warranty on

[5:46] the machines provided they were not submerged in water. If it's not

[5:50] submerged in water, it should be covered. Any issues? So basically it's

[5:54] going to how can in year six when the departments maybe need a new machine,

[6:00] how are we going to be able to fund that to help replace those? Um but right now

[6:05] I think it is just providing pads um to those officers when they get used or

[6:11] they expire. >> And what is what do the pads cost to

[6:14] replace those? >> Uh about $200.

[6:16] » Okay. >> Mhm. Good question.

[6:22] Any other questions or comments? >> You guys are going to be unsung heroes

[6:27] at some point. In all honesty, it's a whole bunch of equipment and obviously

[6:30] we used it once already, but it's equipment that you purchase that you

[6:33] hope that you never have to use, right? >> The idea that we have the availability

[6:37] and we have proof of one that's already had a use. It's that's an amazing

[6:40] opportunity to save lives for sure. >> Yeah, but you're right. It's one of

[6:43] those things we hope we never have to use, but yeah, but thank you very much

[6:47] for helping us to reach that goal. >> Thank you, Amy. Thanks.

[6:53] » Well, um, he already got an introduction, so Ray, if you want to

[6:58] step up, um, Ray was here, you'll recall, a couple of months ago, um, and

[7:04] he's back tonight. >> Yeah. Yeah. I was, um, as a request from

[7:09] the American Legion, do we're upgrading our, uh, bathroom facilities to make

[7:14] them, you know, ADA compliant. um because if we hope to be able to rent

[7:20] our hall out a little bit more and and um be, you know, have a little

[7:26] fundraisers out of it and things like that. So, um we just hope that we we

[7:32] should have them done by the end of the month. I mean, we've been in the process

[7:36] of working on them and hopefully they'll be done by the end of the month.

[7:42] I I know you mentioned or Amy mentioned you've been working with them on some

[7:46] grants, right? Could you share with us what others

[7:52] received? >> Yeah, we we put in but we did have we

[7:55] did re receive some grants already from the Hillbrand Foundation uh from the

[8:00] Batesville Eagles and from the Batesville Tool and Die.

[8:05] And uh um I think we do have a couple other places that we applied for some

[8:11] grants but never heard any response for them yet.

[8:15] » And again your request >> um you had a specific request for an

[8:19] amount from >> Well, we were seeking about 15,000

[8:23] uh if that is possible, but anything would be greatly appreciated. And uh um

[8:33] » council questions. >> Would they be eligible for the uh big

[8:36] grant that's going out as well too? >> I don't believe so.

[8:42] » Yeah, that's why that's why I was curious. And that

[8:51] » that's what I thought. Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Just want to check. Okay. Any

[9:00] other questions? >> What's the time frame on uh completion?

[9:06] » Um hopefully by the end of the month. >> End of this month. Okay.

[9:09] » Yeah.

[9:14] » So, where's the money going to come from otherwise? Because it looks like we're a

[9:17] little short. >> Well, I mean, we've had some

[9:20] fundraisers. We had um well, we have stillboard shoots. Um, you know, that's

[9:26] the helps. Plus, uh, we have a barbecue dinner and we have a steak fry and u

[9:34] that's that's our main >> made folk made fundraisers.

[9:38] » Right.

[9:45] I'll make a motion to award the $15,000.

[9:54] » We have a motion. Is there a second? >> I'll second.

[10:00] » We have a motion and a second to approve a $15,000

[10:04] request to the American Legion. All those in favor say I.

[10:09] » I. opposed.

[10:14] » I said I >> I said yeah.

[10:16] » Okay. I couldn't hear everybody. >> Okay.

[10:18] » Sorry. I got a cold. >> Okay.

[10:20] » The motion carries. Um that your request is approved.

[10:24] » Do we have >> Okay. Hey, appreciate it. Thank you very

[10:26] much. >> Sorry.

[10:27] » Congratulations. Do we have a uh what's our total of Belter right now?

[10:32] » Just a hair over $75,000. >> Gotcha.

[10:36] » Thank you. >> I I I think

[10:40] put it that way >> if you want.

[10:41] » That's what's in the binder I inherited today.

[10:43] » What how much was the hair over? >> Uh he's got 757342.

[10:51] » Okay. Thank you.

[10:56] All right. Um I'm going to I'm going to go backwards. I'm going to ask Melissa

[11:02] Herzner. She's with uh Casa to give us uh she had asked last month to come to

[11:09] give us a presentation and I think we had kind of what I have people were

[11:13] sick. Um so she's here tonight. So Melissa,

[11:17] » hello. Good evening everyone. Um thanks for allowing me to come here. Sorry

[11:22] about last uh meeting but everybody was sick in and out of the office. We didn't

[11:27] know if we were coming or going. Um, my name is Melissa Hner and I'm the

[11:31] director of SEI Voices for Children, the Ripley County Courtappointed Special

[11:36] Advocate Program. And what we do is we're a nonprofit

[11:40] serving children and and families in our community. And our mission is simple,

[11:46] but it is incredibly important. We recruit, educate, support, and train

[11:51] volunteers to advocate for the best interests of the child victims who have

[11:55] experienced abuse or neglect. These are the children that are in the court

[12:00] system that are probably going to school with your kids, grandkids, nieces,

[12:04] nephews, or even sitting in your class or next to you at church. Um, every

[12:09] child in our community deserves at least that one adult who shows up consistently

[12:14] for them. But many of these children don't even have that one adult to show

[12:18] up. um before they even get to their first initial hearing, they've already

[12:23] changed to DCS case workers because they have one that does assessment, one that

[12:27] does permanency, and then there's, oh, let's switch it all up again. Um,

[12:32] however, once a CASA volunteer or staff is assigned to a child, we try to make

[12:39] sure that we are with that child till the case is closed. We advocate for the

[12:44] child and we go to b back for many of children. Um, often foster placements

[12:50] change because sometimes they're just not going to meet the needs of the

[12:53] children. Um, schools change. So, this is a lot of stuff on a child. So, having

[12:58] that one person show up for them at every corner is amazing. No matter where

[13:04] they're, and this is terrible to say, but no matter where their plastic

[13:06] garbage bag goes, we go with them. We go everywhere. Um, we actually have

[13:11] children right now placed in Northern Carolina with grandparents. We have some

[13:16] down in the bottom part of Tennessee, bottom part of Kentucky, and then the

[13:20] entire state of Indiana, all the way up north, all the way south, west, east. We

[13:25] see every child in our case at least once a month. Last year, we served 164

[13:31] children in this community. A lot of people say, "No way." A lot of people

[13:35] get bothered by that because they have no idea. And I put some um things in

[13:41] your guys' folder, but these advocates show up monthtomonth. They go to their

[13:47] visits, they speak with the teachers. I mean, we have a great rapport with the

[13:50] schools in this area. Um, Margaret Mary, they we get all medical records for the

[13:55] children, but um through our program in trained community volunteers like you

[14:00] guys. We are appointed by the judge to advocate for children in court. These

[14:05] volunteers meet the children regularly at like I said at least once a month. Um

[14:09] gather information from teachers, doctors, and caregivers. So it could be

[14:12] daycare relatives and then we monitor the safety and well-beings and then we

[14:18] report directly to the judge and we advocate for the child's best interest.

[14:22] And what we mean by reporting directly to the judge is the way the judge puts

[14:25] it is he has attorneys there that want to follow the attorney law and the

[14:29] attorney lingo and then you have DCS and their attorney for them. But who who's

[14:35] there for the child? If you have an attorney for a child, they don't even

[14:39] meet the child. They show up right before the hearing and give their two

[14:43] cents. We see the children. We know what they're about. Um, Judge King really

[14:48] thinks the world of our program and has helped keep us afloat um with his

[14:54] guidance on what we should do and what we should not do. He he really feels

[14:58] that our volunteers because they don't have the background in law give the best

[15:02] unbiased um recommendations.

[15:06] So you're wonder how we impact your community and as I said last year we

[15:12] served 164 children. We trained and um supported

[15:17] throughout the entire year approximately 24 community volunteers and then we

[15:22] provided thousand of hours of advocacy. So we build what our volunteer hours are

[15:29] on um the lowest paid employee from us and that's about $19 an hour. So you can

[15:35] imagine that's a lot of money that we're saving with these volunteers and

[15:39] driving. I mean they they go everywhere. The child the children receive support

[15:44] and stability early. It's reduces long-term costs to communities including

[15:49] homelessness, incarceration, long-term public assistance. We just recently

[15:54] started working with the SMART program in Ripley County on trying to get mentor

[15:59] in to speak to these older youth that have most of them have been victims of

[16:04] child abuse previously. So, we we're starting to give that mentor to them to

[16:08] to be able to to have that one consistent adult. Um,

[16:15] and supporting these children now is both the right thing to do and smart

[16:19] investment in our community's future. The current challenge is historically a

[16:24] large portion of our funding for victim service organizations like ours has come

[16:28] from the office for victims of crime through the victims of crime act which

[16:32] is a voca grant. You'll hear that a lot. Um and we were told at the beginning of

[16:38] the year that it's going to be cut an additional 40%. So in our budget that's

[16:43] about 60 to $70,000 that we're going to have to look to to rebudget. But we're

[16:48] not freaking out about it because we will do it no matter what. Um, this has

[16:52] resulted in major reductions to our VOCA grants, which that's what I was been

[16:55] working on the last couple days. It's due Wednesday. Um, including here in

[17:00] Indiana for our organization. That means we are now facing significant funding

[17:05] gaps. Our staff is totally funded by grants. We do not take donations. our

[17:11] fundraiser that we have once a year. We use all that money to go back into the

[17:16] community as in supporting our volunteers, making sure children have

[17:19] what they need. You'd be surprised how many kids don't have money to play a

[17:24] sport, um haven't been to a museum, and things of that sort. So, whenever we

[17:30] hear of a need, we go out there and we try to support that as well with our

[17:34] donations and our fundraisers. And then why this matters locally of

[17:40] course is the number of children we serve. So if you think about it, it's

[17:43] about seven classrooms is how many children we served last year. That's a

[17:48] lot. That's almost 3% of the total amount of children in Ripley County. Um

[17:56] we if if the funding declines continue through the VOCA grant and other grants,

[18:01] the number of children we can serve will be um more at risk. Right now for the

[18:08] last four years that I've been the director and then the prior year to

[18:12] that, we've never had a wait list. So there is not one child that is waiting

[18:16] for a CASA advocate. We cover every single child. Um, and this is why we are

[18:23] coming to our local leaders and community partners today. There are

[18:27] three three different ways, not just money, people in our community can make

[18:31] a meaningful difference. The one is board leadership. We're always seeking

[18:35] community leaders willing to serve on our board. We usually meet once a month,

[18:40] um, about an hour and a half of your time, and we welcome all levels of

[18:47] support from that. um our volunteers to volunteer if it feel it tugging at your

[18:51] heart. Our volunteers are the heart of the program. If it wasn't for them, we

[18:55] couldn't do what we do. I mean, we already do a lot. Um staff advocates for

[19:00] children, supports the volunteers, attends every court hearing, attends

[19:04] every um child family team meeting and represents that child. After training,

[19:10] volunteers advocate for a child's best interest and remain involved throughout

[19:14] the court case. So until that child is in permanency whether that's um

[19:19] reunification with the parents if it is adoption guardianship or third party

[19:23] custody for many children this volunteer becomes the one consistent adult I can

[19:28] remember one child um that I had on the first case when I moved here to this

[19:33] area he had no one he was adopted by his grandparents and they abused and

[19:39] neglected him and he wanted to play football so I had to reach out to the

[19:42] school because he was starting in the middle of a year a Assa volunteer at the

[19:46] time got him into be able to play football even though it was already

[19:50] started because he wanted to play. I'm like just let him be on the team. He

[19:53] doesn't have to be out there in the field all the time. Um

[19:57] one time uh myself and his family case manager from DCS was the only people

[20:01] that ever showed up to his games. Not even where he was placed for foster care

[20:05] showed up. So that's a lot of things that our volunteers do. We have great

[20:10] stories. We have sad stories. It's hard. I'm not going to lie. But yet the

[20:14] support that you get from my staff is absolutely amazing. We all started out

[20:19] as volunteers. So we know what it takes to be a volunteer and we know what it

[20:23] means. And then of course the final is financial support. But before I get to

[20:29] that, the volunteers is 30 hours of initial training at your own pace and

[20:33] then um pass the background check have to be 21 years of age or older. And then

[20:38] the financial support with reductions, like I said, with the VOCA funding, um

[20:43] the community support is now more critical than ever on any of that.

[20:46] Having more volunteers, taking more off the staff. Um donations help us with

[20:51] recruiting and training volunteers. We provide supervision and support and we

[20:56] ensure every child assigned receives a quality advis an an advocate. So what

[21:02] that means is we oversee we have a lot of experiences staff. So, we oversee our

[21:06] volunteers and guide them. Um, even small contributions from local partners

[21:11] can help ensure no child waits on a list for an advocate.

[21:16] Um, why this matters to our little town here. Every child we serve comes from

[21:21] our community. They may not be placed back in this community at the time, but

[21:25] that is our community. They attend our schools. They grow up in your

[21:29] neighborhood. Their future will shape the future of our town. So instead of

[21:34] trying to change the entire town at once, let's start with changing a

[21:37] child's life one child at a time. When we invest in protecting and

[21:42] supporting vulnerable children, we are in investing in a stronger, safer

[21:47] community for everyone. We are incredibly proud of the impact

[21:52] this program has made in our county. Um I think we moved here in 2018 to

[21:57] actually open an office here. We started out in one small little office. We

[22:02] invite the council and members of our communities to partner with us by either

[22:06] sharing our mission, sharing it on Facebook, sharing any brochures,

[22:10] encouraging people to volunteer. If it's not you that's going to step up, you

[22:14] know, somebody like you're already thinking of somebody, reach out to them

[22:17] and encourage them to be a volunteer, considering board services, um, and then

[22:21] supporting the program financially. Together, we can ensure every child has

[22:25] a voice and a chance for a better future. I thank you for your time and

[22:29] would be happy to answer any questions or statements.

[22:39] » I think you did a very good job on uh on advocating for CASA and the and the

[22:42] importance of the community. So no question.

[22:45] » Yeah, it's I am very passionate about it and that's what I tell everybody. You

[22:49] can you can't teach passion. So we always want passionate people that want

[22:54] to step up for children. I can teach the rest.

[23:00] » All right. >> And I will I will echo some of the

[23:02] sentiment that and I'm sure Mike can probably attest to some work with with

[23:05] some CASA volunteers too just in my line of work and down at the prosecutor's

[23:09] office. But um from an action item, the the VOCA funding is a serious threat.

[23:14] Um, we have a victim advocate at the Ripley County Office, Alan Baker for the

[23:19] prosecutor's office, and then, um, Bradley Ramy at the Franklin County

[23:23] Prosecutor's Office who is funded through the VOCA um, funding at the

[23:27] federal level. And, um, I know both of their budgets were cut about 15%. And

[23:32] so, um, I understand I assume that they both are continuing in those roles

[23:36] despite those cuts um, annually. So, from an action item standpoint, I would

[23:41] if you run across one of your legislators, ask them because it's not

[23:45] just in the volunteer realm with CASAs. It's um at the prosecutor level, I

[23:51] assume that there's cost there's VOCA funding that comes through with police

[23:54] enforcement um and things of that nature. So, that grant program is is

[23:59] under threat um just like most government funded programs. Um but

[24:03] certainly something that is is meaningful and worthwhile um especially

[24:07] in the you know in in legal realm and DCS cases. So I would echo that and I

[24:12] appre I appreciate what you all do at CASA without a doubt.

[24:16] » Thank you. I appreciate it.

[24:22] » Thank you Melissa.

[24:26] » Now we will move up to item one on our agenda. Um, item one on our uh, new

[24:32] business agenda tonight was a first reading of ordinance number one-2026

[24:38] and uh, it was a planning commission recommendation on uh, B4 zoning. I don't

[24:43] know, John, would you like to um, bring council up to date?

[24:50] » Um, yeah, this came up a few months ago. We were variance request where we found

[24:56] out to be fall zoning. The only thing that was allowed was small cell

[25:00] facilities. So, we've just been trying to update our zoning code to allow

[25:05] what's actually out in that zoning district. You look at the map, the only

[25:09] place in the city that zone this is around 46 in. There's about 10

[25:14] properties there. The things that I was recommending we put in there are pretty

[25:19] much what's out there now. You know, just trying to make approvable what's

[25:25] there and keep what's there. So every times something changes, they don't have

[25:29] to come in for variance because it's just, you know, there's no reason

[25:35] to make them do that. It's not good for the zoning to not allow anything. We're

[25:38] just trying to make what's there approvable.

[25:42] » I think we recently had to grant a variance

[25:47] housing out there. That's how this came up.

[25:50] » Someone variance and we looked at the code, asked me what was allowed there

[25:53] and there's basically nothing. and

[25:59] » was looking to buy a property there and they were asking the same thing and

[26:03] we'll just try to update it so when these properties change hands they don't

[26:06] have to get a variance every time. So the added the added uses as permitted

[26:12] uses within the B4 would be a dwelling townhouse

[26:16] uh a live work dwelling, child care facilities and these were

[26:20] previously not allowed um but are now would now be permitted uses dental

[26:25] medical or clinic and dental medical office or clinic and off all other kind

[26:31] of offices. a retail sales, service, repair and

[26:36] special handling uh location. Retail sales service and repair all others.

[26:42] Um and I believe that was the only added

[26:47] » in addition to the per previous permitted uses of a small cell facility

[26:51] and then a specific or special use permit for rooming or boarding house

[26:57] um would be re would be added as permitted uses. So again, nothing out of

[27:02] the ordinary from what it's already there though. It's not like there's

[27:05] something added, you know, I mean, we have something in the vicinity of those

[27:09] categories already. >> Yeah. Like the townhouse was just

[27:12] approved through that variance. I mean, the walk live, walk, dwell, and

[27:16] there's a couple houses there and people have been walking out of them. There

[27:20] used to be a dental office. No, an eye doctor's office there. You know, that's

[27:23] where the, you know, that special handling retail sale. That's for like

[27:28] the salon, the beauty salon there. under that and then they also sell uh

[27:34] that other shop behind it that's owned by the same people. That's, you know,

[27:37] it's it's basically what's already out there.

[27:41] » And Andrea, thank you for bringing printing those out and sending those.

[27:45] So, this is again to John's point, this is in the area of 46 and Tuli Road. Um

[27:50] those exhibits shaded red or those properties shaded red are the um before

[27:56] the properties at issue. And so, um, from a council option standpoint, so

[28:04] area planning had a meeting last month and passed up this res this

[28:08] recommendation, uh, or last week, sorry, and and passed

[28:12] up a recommendation to council. Council now has the option to approve the recom

[28:18] ordinance as drafted and recommended, reject it outright, or reject and

[28:23] provide changes for APC to reconsider. Those are your options tonight um from

[28:27] area planning. >> But just to be clear, we're we're

[28:31] looking at the just the ones that are uh zone B4, not the B2s. Correct.

[28:36] » Correct. Correct. >> Yep.

[28:42] » And obviously the planning commission's recommendation was to move forward. Yes,

[28:48] they >> with the recommend John just mentioned

[28:52] » and if there is a use that is on these parcels right now for clarification if

[28:56] there's a use on these parcels right now that's nonconforming with this ordinance

[29:01] amendment or adoption or that was not in conformance with the 2022 adoption that

[29:06] would be permitted to continue but if there was a change of hand if or of

[29:11] ownership or if there was a se like termination of that use for a period of

[29:15] a year they would not be permitted to re-upstart that non-conforming use. So,

[29:19] it doesn't affect current property owners, it's a forwardlooking ordinance.

[29:23] » So, the the one property that just sold, which is on the corner uh to Calv 46,

[29:29] which is um which is where that dentist office was or

[29:33] » an eye doctor. Yeah. >> Is is what's going to go in there? Is

[29:37] that okay for what what that zoned? >> I think so.

[29:41] » It's an it's an office >> from my understanding. Yes. Yes, they

[29:46] » cuz they asked me about this. That was the one that was selling that

[29:50] asked me about it. I, you know, I sent the stuff that we were going to change

[29:53] it to, so they're aware and they haven't came and questioned it. So, you know,

[29:59] they never told me specifically what was there, but they know what we were doing.

[30:04] » Well, I guess my question is, if we're making these changes, does it make sense

[30:06] to I mean, I don't want to throw a a wrench to this whole thing. Does it make

[30:11] sense to look at a couple of these along 46 that are B2

[30:15] to to also include those ju and maybe we're just talking about those two

[30:20] pieces of property to B4 to give it kind of continuity around everything else

[30:25] there John without what's it don't share

[30:29] information if you're not at liberty to to share but is it do you know what the

[30:33] use of that building is going to be >> actually tell me specifically they

[30:37] » Derek do you by chance know >> I knew it was it was within the line of

[30:41] something with a medical side. That's what I was told like

[30:45] » which is kind of what's there >> from my and again I'm not the legal

[30:48] scholar that's your area blame but no for from what I understand it would be a

[30:52] very similar setup to what was in there with the eye doctor

[30:55] » okay yeah they they just told me they would talk about expanding the parking

[31:00] and do >> it was going to be a whole variance

[31:05] thing then because they were changing something unless we you know

[31:10] » but they didn't you provided them a copy of the updates and they didn't have

[31:14] balls or they didn't squall like mash >> cats.

[31:19] » Um so they should be aware and they came to the one meeting at plan commission

[31:25] when we talked about this >> la last week

[31:28] » no >> oh okay

[31:30] » trial where we were discussing how we wanted to move forward with this.

[31:35] So

[31:39] » this is obviously the first reading. Um I my recommendation would be I would

[31:47] like to see if we could entertain a motion to suspend the rules and just do

[31:51] this under one under one reading rather than have a second reading again

[31:58] next month. This had been delayed. >> I'll make a motion to suspend the rules.

[32:04] » Okay. Okay, I need a second. >> I'll second.

[32:08] » I have a motion and a second to suspend the rules. All those in favor say I.

[32:12] » I. >> I.

[32:13] » Opposed. >> That motion carried. So, since we had

[32:17] the motion to suspend rules. Now, I will ask for a motion to approve ordinance

[32:22] number one, 2026 as presented by uh planning and zoning.

[32:28] » I'll make that motion. >> I'll second the motion.

[32:31] » Have a motion and a second. All those in favor say I.

[32:34] » I. >> Real quick. Sorry. I apologize. My bad.

[32:38] Hey, I just want to get my layout straight. So, I know where the the old

[32:42] uh office was. Right across from there is the lot they're putting the uh

[32:47] apartment complex on. Correct. Where it was. Woods, right by Doug Anders.

[32:51] » Doug. >> Then there's Doug's. And then what are

[32:53] those other three B4s that go? So, right after Southeast. So, I'm just

[33:00] seeing with the lots. I'm just trying to figure out what's there right now cuz we

[33:04] got I think the one right beside 46 is Doug Amber is that before the second one

[33:09] from from the intersection. >> So the woods they're not they're not

[33:12] doing anything there are they doing the as you get next to Doug Amber

[33:19] » they're putting in apartments there but I don't know if that encompasses the

[33:23] woods as well. I'm not >> I think you're right now. I think that

[33:26] woods is that first B4. The second one is the new apartment. Then the third one

[33:30] would be Doug Hamburgers. And then but I lose where B4 comes in after Doug's.

[33:35] What other business? >> I think there's residential there.

[33:38] » That's what I thought. Ralph Hostel or whatever used there, right? That's what

[33:41] I thought. >> Yeah.

[33:43] » Okay. >> No, I was just getting my bearings. I'm

[33:47] absolutely for the motion. So, sorry. >> I I think Doug Hamburger owns that last

[33:52] that last >> empty lot.

[33:55] » Okay. That's what I'm trying to figure out. And I I think it he had

[33:57] contemplated expanding his office at one point in time, but I don't know where

[34:01] that's at currently.

[34:09] » Okay. Do we have any other questions? Okay. We did have a motion and a second.

[34:15] All those in favor of approving ordinance uh 101-2026

[34:20] say I. I. Opposed. >> That motion carries.

[34:27] That completes our new business for tonight. The next item up is clerk

[34:32] treasures report.

[34:45] report. Brad is actually attending a clerk treasure training this week. So,

[34:51] uh, Michelle is covering for him.

[34:58] » I don't have any questions. I will ask for a motion to approve claims.

[35:03] » So moved. >> Have a second.

[35:06] » A second. >> All those in favor say I.

[35:10] » I. I. >> Opposed. Motion carries.

[35:15] Next item up is mayor's report. But before I get into that, I'm going to ask

[35:20] um Amy Lunsford to step to the microphone and um just

[35:27] give us a brief update on the um the MSRP grant that um Main Street uh

[35:34] applied for earlier in the year and how we're moving forward with that.

[35:39] » Okay. So, you guys all probably remember about this time last year, um, we came

[35:43] and we did the initial movements to, uh, apply for a Main Street revitalization

[35:48] grant through OKR. Um, it falls under their community development grant funds.

[35:53] Um, we did not apply that round one. We just didn't feel our application was

[35:58] solid enough to make that happen. We did apply for round two. Um, unfortunately,

[36:04] we did not receive that grant. Um it was announced last week I believe. Um that

[36:11] grant opened again for round one of 2026.

[36:15] Uh we are going to take another stab at it. Um and we are going to start that

[36:21] process again. Um with the proposal for that due I believe on the 3rd of April.

[36:28] Um so we do have the grant administrator going after that again. Um, I know that

[36:33] we're going to have some meetings with OKRA to find out where we can tweak that

[36:37] application to make it a little stronger. They did not approve any Main

[36:42] Street Revitalization Program grants in that round. Um, the CDBG holds several

[36:48] different construction type of grants and we're all kind of against each

[36:52] other. So, a lot of them were drinking water grants that were approved and not

[36:57] that main street revitalization. Um, so we are going to try again and we

[37:02] are going to have another public hearing. That public hearing is going to

[37:05] be on the 30th. So it's a Monday evening um at I believe we said 5:30 was the

[37:12] time for that and it will be in this room. Um but that would give us another

[37:17] chance to show what the options are, what we're doing, get some public

[37:22] feedback and start for round one of 2026.

[37:27] um and hope that things go a little bit better for us in that round. Does anyone

[37:31] have any questions about that?

[37:35] Um 5:30 5:30, right? Yeah.

[37:41] » All right. Great. So hopefully we see everyone here um on the 30th and give

[37:47] your feedback on the plans and and how everything's going to move forward.

[37:52] » Thanks, Amy. So, now I will move into my mayor's

[37:56] report. I'm going to start off with a lovely

[38:00] topic. Um, we've been made aware of an increase

[38:06] of dogs defecating on public and private property. I think we've I think we've

[38:12] seen it on uh on Facebook and um we've heard different department heads comment

[38:18] about it. Um, I actually had a little stop with one of our police officers. We

[38:26] had a a woman came into the office a couple of weeks ago to point out a

[38:32] sidewalk that was so completely covered. You couldn't walk down the sidewalk to

[38:38] which point our officers did address the issue um with a citizen and we got that

[38:45] taken care of. Um, but I just like to remind everyone that, you know, to clean

[38:51] after your clean up clean up after your dog, um, we actually do have an

[38:56] ordinance and the penalty for a violation,

[39:00] um, is up to $1,000, um, if you choose not to clean up the

[39:06] mess. And I don't understand it, but it seems like wherever wherever we see

[39:09] those signs that say, you know, I think some of them say no poop zone,

[39:17] apparently that people interpret that as an interpret interpret that as an

[39:21] invitation um because those seem to be the worst spots.

[39:26] So, I just want to remind people and I will we'll share this also to remind

[39:31] people who own pets, you are required to license your pet and I think there are

[39:36] more than five pets in the city of Batesville.

[39:39] » Um, five. >> So, um,

[39:43] » I will just share that too to remind people to to come in and register their

[39:47] pets. >> It does help us keep track and if one of

[39:51] a pet's picked up, it's easier for us to locate. Now, I know a lot of people say,

[39:55] "Well, I chip my pets." But not everybody does. Um, so it just helps us

[40:00] and um we depend on a lot of volunteers for that, so it helps them. So, we're

[40:05] grateful for that. Um, this is a a little old news, but uh Duke

[40:12] is, you know, weather permitting, going to be flying the power lines, and

[40:16] they're going to be doing some uh tree trimming along easements and so forth in

[40:20] the coming in the coming months. Um, this is a little dated too, but I, you

[40:27] know, again, I want to congratulate Schmidz. Apparently, their sold total

[40:31] for this year was over 239,000 thingalings.

[40:36] More recently, congratulations to the Baseville High School boys varsity

[40:40] basketball team and their recent sectional win. They will be playing uh

[40:44] Silver Creek, um, who I think is ranked number one in class 3A. Um, and I

[40:51] believe that game's at 400 p.m. this coming Saturday

[40:56] and um, it is in Charles Town. So, congratulations to the the basketball

[41:01] team on that victory. And also congratulations to the Bassville Choirs

[41:07] on winning best vocals and placing as a first runner up at the Avon show choir

[41:12] competition this past weekend. Uh, the show choir has been doing an awesome

[41:17] job. Um, and there's another feather in their cap.

[41:22] Uh, you can test your March Mad Madness knowledge at this month's Main Street

[41:26] Trivia Night on Thursday, March 12th from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Little

[41:31] Charlie's. Uh, registration starts at 6:30. Um, again, the host location is

[41:37] Little Charlie's, and I believe the first place winner receives a $25 gift

[41:41] certificate from Little Charlie's. I know we had last month's uh mayor's

[41:49] book club last week and we are having this month's mayor's book club this

[41:53] week. On Wednesday, March 11th, uh we will be meeting at the Batesville

[41:57] Memorial Public Library to discuss the book Sidewalks in the Kingdom.

[42:04] Uh it's a uh I will say a ministerial

[42:09] approach to um urbanism and community.

[42:19] Finally, let's see. We continue. Congratulations to the Batesville

[42:25] Intermediate School, the middle school, and the high school for qualifying for

[42:29] the 2026 Indiana uh state archery tournament.

[42:33] Um they will be competing against nearly 5,000 archers from over 300 schools. Um

[42:38] the Bulldogs secured have secured top scores in the state across all three

[42:42] divisions. We wish them all the best as they compete this year. Um

[42:48] we have the Friends of the Library book sale which I think that's twice a year.

[42:53] That is happening again on March 14th and 15th at the library annex from 9:00

[42:58] a.m. to 5:00 p.m. They take cash check or Venmo and again it's in the annex.

[43:04] That's the building on the corner of Elm and um Bow Ringer.

[43:09] Finally, the chambers uh Easter egg hunt is Tuesday, March 31st at 6 p.m. There

[43:16] will be three age groups and they will be searching for 5,000 eggs. Uh bring a

[43:21] basket. uh co-sponsors um or the chamber member businesses and

[43:27] the mayor's youth council. I know our youth council will be helping out at the

[43:31] event. Um finally, uh tomorrow night is the uh

[43:36] chamber uh members appreciation dinner and awards dinner. Um I believe it

[43:43] begins at 5:30 and it's at the >> Ronweber Marketplace.

[43:52] That is all I have. Are there any comments from any citizens tonight?

[44:01] If not, that will complete our agenda. Our next

[44:06] regularly scheduled meeting is Monday, April 13th at 6:30 p.m.

[44:12] » John, I got I got a question when you get done. just um so one of the things I

[44:18] was looking through the notes um and specifically with Angela um can you guys

[44:22] help me just understand one of the things you Angela brought up was uh

[44:26] continue to exploration of opportunities to expand distribution of local and city

[44:30] news right now what exactly do we do to distribute is it just through I mean I I

[44:38] love your newsletter um so I I see that but what when we've got a an

[44:44] announcement that we want to get out. What's what's the process there?

[44:48] » So, depending on the type of announcement, either Andrea or I will

[44:51] create a press release. So, if it's a press release type of an event, then

[44:55] those will go out and we have a list of media sources that those will go out to,

[44:59] including Tom and other local sources. If we're just trying to get information

[45:03] out through the newsletter, then everything that goes through the

[45:06] newsletter goes out once a month. Usually, the first week of the month, we

[45:10] have about 1,600 people or so on that email list. Um, we do make hard copies

[45:15] of that and take it to the library and to a couple other places in town, but

[45:19] it's pretty cost. I mean, it it is expensive and high maintenance to do

[45:23] that. So, we don't do thousands of those, just a couple hundred. Um, and

[45:28] then everything that goes through the newsletter or through a press release

[45:31] also gets put out on social media. >> And so, through the media, it's WRBI. Is

[45:36] there other station, other radio station? And and I guess where I'm

[45:39] getting is, you know, back in the day we approved what WRBI and the Herald

[45:44] Tribute as our news people. Um but things have changed over time and and

[45:48] I'm I reached out to uh Steven Harmire. Um just to kind of see, you know, where

[45:54] where what that reach could be. Um Stephen has about 13,000 people in

[45:59] Batesville. Now that could be a husband and wife, those kinds of things. But I I

[46:03] guess I'm questioning is that would that not be and we've got you know a social

[46:07] media that a rising social media star I think on council that uh might be able

[46:12] to to maybe add some input but but the but the A12 I think is is something that

[46:18] is just another way to get the news out. So I'm curious if we if we include them

[46:23] with that or >> depends on what it is. if it is um if

[46:26] it's something that we know we have a pretty we have a really broad social

[46:29] media contact to and that's really where most of his content is. So if it's

[46:34] something I need to get out outside of Facebook then I definitely make sure

[46:38] that these guys get it. If it's something that I know needs to be rep

[46:41] needs to go out through social media we have a pretty big social media presence.

[46:47] So depending on what it is I may or may not send something that just needs to be

[46:50] pushed out through social media there. What would be the harm for him pushing

[46:54] it out? >> Um I don't know that there's necessarily

[46:57] harm for it. >> So I'm I'm just I mean if if it's we

[47:01] struggle with this and we've struggled with this. How do we get people educated

[47:04] on the city going on? >> Yeah. I for let's first off social media

[47:11] informs it doesn't educate necessarily. >> Okay. I agree with that. I mean

[47:15] sometimes there's some there's some bias to that. I understand that. Um but

[47:19] » let me just be candid. I I know Stephen is upset because he did not get a copy

[47:23] of the news of the press release that was about Sarah's resignation and I um

[47:28] received a late night message from him that was a little abrupt. So I'm sure

[47:32] that's why he reached out to you but and that's fine. It it was really just an

[47:36] oversight. That's really the only thing I think that he hasn't received.

[47:40] » So he didn't reach out to me. I reached out to him just like I said just because

[47:44] again >> timing thing. Um well just again if

[47:47] we've got 13,000 more people that we can get information to

[47:52] I think it's a fair point. Yeah. >> Well and to that and like you said elf

[47:57] in the room. So what whole goal is that I'm doing is the same concept right? We

[48:02] don't we have we're fragmented uh in Batesville. We got a million different

[48:06] groups that all have the same vision but nobody that has a microphone able to

[48:10] direct people on how to go. And to your point, whether it's 812, which is an

[48:13] incredible way to do it, but the media has changed. The way we consume the

[48:17] media has changed, finding that adaptation to your point on we have all

[48:22] this information and we put it out and I see it all the time. I study it. Like we

[48:26] put it out, we'll put a little slide out telling what it is, but it's nothing

[48:29] really to introduce what the slide's about. And in a world of white noise,

[48:33] you have people scroll through. So you need to have someplace that those slides

[48:36] are good, but you got to have somebody with a microphone that actually directs

[48:40] people on what to go, how to how to contact people. All those things fall in

[48:44] line with 812. And >> well, and Brad, I think, and for

[48:47] everyone, I think you also need to have someone on the back end who is managing

[48:51] how that communication is being addressed once it hits the public. If I

[48:56] put out something on our social media account, I can manage if there is

[49:01] aggressive or inflammatory or inappropriate backlash or there's a

[49:06] comment that maybe is detrimental to one of you that needs to be removed and

[49:11] frankly I can't do that when it goes out on someone else's website. So I think

[49:15] depending on what it is, we do have to be realistic about whether we want to be

[49:19] able to have be a part of the conversation or not. if it's social med

[49:24] if it's social media based >> well and unfortunately social media you

[49:27] can say a lot of things good and bad and so and I guess as as public officials we

[49:33] got to have a little bit thicker skin and or not look at the stuff because

[49:36] some of the stuff you just you cringe about um but I wouldn't be opposed to

[49:41] you know again using social media as a way to educate it I mean send it to

[49:46] Derek and if Dererick could put it out there for him for for his what he's

[49:49] doing the more I mean the more people get that information, people are going

[49:55] to talk about it one way or the other. So, we might as well at least try to get

[49:57] something out there that's that's and I guess I I think the point I I don't want

[50:02] to put words in Angela's mouth, but I I think the it the communication it has to

[50:07] be consistent. >> I agree.

[50:09] » Um, and sometimes it's not going to be that way.

[50:13] » Everything that happens, everything that goes on our social media, we send him

[50:16] press releases that are specific that need to go out to the to the broader

[50:20] media. So, I'm not going to send Stephen or you every single thing I post on

[50:26] social media. >> I'm not So, what if we just say the

[50:29] press releases that we're sending out to the other me news media that we send it?

[50:34] I again I Derek has has gotten a following. if Derrick wants to put that

[50:37] out there on his his site just to and and we can monitor it obviously um in

[50:44] that if we see it's getting abused and there's becoming more of an opinion of

[50:49] how that stuff is done then then we make changes. That's just my I mean again my

[50:55] my only thing with it is there's just a lot of people out there. Unfortunately,

[50:59] my wife gives me a lot of information because she's heard from the 812 or WRBI

[51:04] going in, as she calls it, tried and true. So, uh, she gets a lot of, you

[51:09] know, a lot of the messages from both those places. And I just thought it'd be

[51:13] another avenue and and Derek's.

[51:19] And with that being said, thank you, Sarah, for everything you've done. Yeah.

[51:24] » Yeah. I I was getting ready to go there since uh

[51:29] » Yeah, I would like to thank Sarah, too. I know uh Sarah stepped into her role.

[51:35] Andrea, did you have something? >> I I Well, I saw you had up and then I

[51:40] then you went like this. Well, you know, I just wanted to uh address the uh

[51:46] certain um press releases like if WRBI, the Daily News, there are a couple

[51:54] of organizations or news outlets who have reached out and sent formal letters

[51:58] requiring a a a following the Indiana code. So, if Mr.

[52:05] Harmire wants the information, he can certainly reach out to us and and

[52:11] request the information that he be included within the the notice that is

[52:18] sent out to other news outlets. More than welcome to do that. I would say

[52:23] though he can capture just like every other news organization

[52:30] can capture if they follow if they're doing social media and can follow that

[52:34] on the page and if he had any additional questions or a followup to that article

[52:41] or whatever we have put out on our social media then he can more than happy

[52:46] to reach out to Angela or myself or somebody else within the the city if it

[52:52] would be the parks, uh, social media. He's more than welcome

[52:56] to do that and we'll be happy to answer any questions he has.

[52:59] » Okay, fair enough. I'll let him know to to reach out to to request the

[53:03] information. That again, my only thought was there's 13,000 people that were

[53:06] could be missing. So, if if it needs if he needs to do some things on his end,

[53:12] then that's certainly up to him. >> Yeah. And what Angela or Andre is

[53:16] referring to is is when we have a public notice of a hearing, um, news entities

[53:22] can or media entities can send requests that when we have those kind of

[53:26] notifications that it gets sent directly to them. And I will say Andrea does a

[53:30] fantastic job and Angela as well when we do have those types of things, I think

[53:33] that they send them voluntarily over to, you know, WRBI or or the Basil leader,

[53:38] whomever, right? I I think that they are very transparent in that. I don't think

[53:41] we have just meetings or public hearings that we don't broadcast to the media

[53:46] generally speaking. So, but as far as the other the other work, you know, with

[53:50] the newsletters and and public service announcements that Angeline puts

[53:55] together, council or whomever, I think to your point, I think that that's more

[53:59] of a um discretionary thing for for Angela. That's not necessarily anything

[54:03] required by statute. So,

[54:09] » good. Good. I think Sarah uh I want to say off the

[54:16] top of my head because I wasn't here when that happened but um started with

[54:21] the city over 12 years ago and I think at the time your role was

[54:27] initially you came in as sort of community development and and we'll say

[54:33] we didn't have it we Main Street was kind of a just happening thing and Um

[54:40] this was under uh Mayor Flutterman and then under Mayor Flutterman Sarah's role

[54:46] did evolve into economic development which she continued to be part of under

[54:53] Mayor Bettis and has continued to be a big part of. She was a a very integral

[55:00] part of all of the um the ready uh program when that program was announced

[55:08] back in what 23. What I think was it um may well Sarah

[55:17] and Mayor Bettis um got involved with our our regional our

[55:23] regional group and actually I think it was Mayor Battis at the time that kind

[55:27] of made the decision where we were going to go with our

[55:34] as as far as what we were going to be a part of. Um, but I know S Sarah was

[55:39] involved in the in the projects that were selected and the projects that were

[55:44] presented um

[55:47] for the city of Batesville and those have all been I think I think we can all

[55:52] agree Batesville was very lucky with the projects that we got awarded. Um, we we

[55:59] secured $2 million for Margaret Mary. We secured a million dollars for uh KDF.

[56:05] We've secured $2 million for the library innovation center. Um, we've secured

[56:14] almost $2 million to to finally complete our our road at the industrial park

[56:24] to make the rest of that property sailable. Um, so those were um well,

[56:32] what else am I the skate park um and prior to that she was involved with

[56:40] marketing the um the infamous Shell building. Um and um

[56:49] we've uh we're we're moving on, you know, hopefully to the next steps with

[56:54] that property. So, she's really been a part of a lot of things, a lot of good

[57:00] things that happened in the community. And I think um

[57:06] there's there's probably hiccups to some of the things that we got involved with

[57:11] my first year, as we well know. I think everybody that got involved with some of

[57:16] those projects thought, "Wow, this is going to be great." And then, "Wow, this

[57:19] is not so great." Um but we worked through all that and um just want to

[57:26] thank thank you for all the things you've done over those 12 years. Um

[57:32] I know my uh my sister-in-law was walking in the neighborhood last night

[57:36] and met Peter and May and they have a their second one's on the way here soon,

[57:43] right? So, I I think Sarah's going to enjoy some time with family and and

[57:47] grandkids, and I uh I envy her that I I was hoping to see some of mine uh

[57:56] yesterday, but I thought better of it. I better if I go up there and get one of

[58:01] those kids sick before they fly back to New York, I'm going to be in big

[58:04] trouble. Um anyway, thank you, Sarah. We appreciate it.

[58:18] Did did I ask for a motion to adjourn? >> Anybody else?

[58:23] » I will. Oh.

[58:33] out of order then. Jerry, thanks for correcting me.

[58:38] » I would have been at the bar by myself all night, Jerry. You know, nobody

[58:43] there. >> Thank you, Jerry.

[58:46] I I will now entertain a motion to adjourn.

[58:50] » I make a I'll make a motion to adjourn the meeting.

[58:53] » We have a motion to adjurnn. Do we have a second?

[58:56] » I'll second. >> Motion and a second. All those in favor

[58:59] say I. >> I. opposed.

[59:04] The meeting is adjourned.

03-09-2026 Council Meeting

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