[0:09] Now please, will you stand for the pledge?

[0:15] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[0:20] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, [snorts] with

[0:25] liberty and justice for all.

[0:35] » Okay, Missy, you want to do roll call? Tanya?

[0:39] » Here. >> Ryan?

[0:40] » Here. >> Libby?

[0:43] Brits? John?

[0:44] » Here. >> And we have a quorum.

[0:48] » I don't know if you picked up Libby, I think she's online.

[0:51] » Oh, Libby, are you here, Libby?

[0:55] » You can't hear. >> Thank you, Libby.

[0:57] » Are you you're muted, dear.

[1:01] » Ah, there we go. Now I'm here. >> Okay.

[1:07] All right. Um, we're going to make a change on the agenda to to move uh

[1:12] uh new business H up to A in new business. So we'll look for a motion to

[1:17] approve those changes. >> I'll make a motion to

[1:21] move new business H up to new business A.

[1:27] » I'll second. >> All in favor?

[1:29] I.

[1:33] And looking for a motion to approve meeting minutes.

[1:40] » Make a motion to approve the minutes from August 3rd, 2026.

[1:44] » I'll second. >> All in favor?

[1:47] » I.

[1:50] » And You go ahead.

[1:55] The executive session. >> Yeah, the we had an executive session

[1:58] and only what was discussed Only only what was posted was discussed.

[2:04] » Okay.

[2:06] Okay. First up, we have old business, which is

[2:11] um the council to consider the second

[2:13] reading of ordinance 2026 8A establishing the residential rental

[2:18] registration. Um

[2:22] » Do you want me to start off? >> Yes, if you would, please.

[2:24] » So, as we've been discussing for quite some time now and at the last meeting on

[2:31] first reading, you have before you um both a clean copy for signature and a

[2:39] redline copy showing um the changes that have been made

[2:45] in the signature copy from the introduced version.

[2:50] There was a mistake at the last one that some of the changes that I was

[2:53] explaining to the council um that we were making, the majority of

[2:57] which were changes that we arrived at with uh working with the attorney for

[3:03] the Indiana Apartment Association. That copy didn't get printed for you, so

[3:08] those changes are in there now. All all of the those pieces. So, we discussed a

[3:13] lot of those changes. A lot of it was clarification just to make sure that it

[3:16] was clear with what's allowed under the law not only in how

[3:22] um multifamily rental units are treated, also making adjustments to if you have

[3:29] um you know, a a multifamily or rental unit

[3:32] that has a an LLC with multiple owners listing one owner, still having to list

[3:38] the, you know, a human being and an actual address, but

[3:44] making it more workable uh for those type of situations, also clarifying

[3:50] difference between registration and permit um

[3:55] and the changes that we made as discussed in

[3:59] the public meeting with the interested parties about providing a grace period

[4:03] or a cure period. That was in the last months and this as well. 30-day grace

[4:07] period if um the inspector comes out and finds something

[4:11] issues a notice that the property owner would have 30 days to bring the property

[4:15] into compliance before a violation with any sort of penalty

[4:20] would attach. Um and then one other item to just draw your attention to that we

[4:27] will need to if you choose to move forward and adopt this tonight on the

[4:31] third page of the signature copy under 157

[4:36] .04 registration required and the first section there A

[4:42] when we had drafted this um it was you know all rental you know all existing

[4:48] rental units shall be registered with the town between August 1st, 2026 and

[4:52] November 1st, 2026. We're beyond August 1st, so

[4:57] perhaps change that. My suggestion would be if you move forward and adopt it

[5:01] tonight, September 1st and then December 31st, you know, get it all done before

[5:06] the end of the year or however you'd like to discuss, but that

[5:09] is one uh change that we would need to add to this.

[5:18] Similarly, if you wanted to in 157.06 we had a $5 registration fee that was

[5:25] waived until November 1st, 2026. If you wanted to move that to

[5:30] whatever that second date um that you picked in

[5:34] 15704 to to make that consistent, you could do that as well or you could leave

[5:38] it at the registration fee is waived until

[5:42] November 1st.

[5:50] » So, if we approve this, will we sign this tonight then?

[5:54] » Uh yes. >> Okay, just based on the changes that we

[5:57] made. >> I would just clean up that language and

[5:58] add that.

[6:02] » [clears throat] >> So, Jerry, what would be a a good

[6:04] timeline then to be able to get the uh I guess the registration form

[6:11] drawn up? >> Do you want to make it till December

[6:14] 31st? You want to go till the end of the year?

[6:18] » Would September 1st give you enough time then to draw up the

[6:21] documentation? >> Okay.

[6:33] » So, in 157.04, the proposal would be to change

[6:38] registration between September 1st and December 31st would be the deadline.

[6:46] Also, in that that same subparagraph 157.04a,

[6:51] we had a date of July 1, 2026. Um

[6:56] I I think we just move that to the adoption upon the adoption of the

[7:01] ordinance just to get rid of that date. There's also a July 1 date in 157.08

[7:07] that we could do the same thing. Instead of saying as of July 1, 2026, just say

[7:11] as of adoption of the ordinance.

[7:22] » Any other questions for Alex?

[7:27] Do we have any other public questions or comments regarding the

[7:34] Monett ball?

[7:44] » In my mind at least, this is a new release

[7:48] with a mark up.

[7:51] Or has this mark up been around a while? It's new.

[7:56] A recent >> The council has seen this mark up.

[7:59] » Yes. >> Yeah.

[8:00] » And how long have you guys had benefit of it?

[8:04] » They've seen the >> You guys have had ample time to see it.

[8:08] » Well, that's what the public meeting is for.

[8:10] You're you're right. >> You've already

[8:13] You've already told me more than I than I can consume and give an opinion about.

[8:18] » Well, everything that I've mentioned tonight I actually went through at the

[8:22] last meeting as well. >> Um so that

[8:27] » So all of these changes were discussed as proposed changes as proposed, some of

[8:31] them by the Indiana Apartment Association and their attorney, and then

[8:35] some from the public meeting that you participated in before the first

[8:40] reading. >> Is is there an unmarked iteration of

[8:43] this available right now?

[8:46] » You have it in your email box. I emailed it to you about 3:00 this afternoon.

[8:50] » through it. I had didn't have time to digest it at all, but what I have is

[8:55] this minus the marking. >> I don't know what marking I mean what

[9:00] we're talking about right now in the meeting. Okay, changing those dates

[9:03] » what I picked up here. >> Yeah. Correct.

[9:06] » Okay. >> That's what they're all like.

[9:08] » What I got in my email at 4:00 was this reduced to no marks. It it the

[9:16] clean version. >> There were two documents.

[9:19] » Mhm. >> Okay.

[9:21] » There's a clean version. >> I just I must open them I must have

[9:23] opened the finished one then. I didn't have time to

[9:26] » And what and what you'll see I'll tell you in the redline version that you got

[9:30] in your email, instead of having these dates that we're talking

[9:34] about, I had actually inserted blanks. >> Okay, so

[9:38] uh >> But that's not a substantive difference.

[9:41] » Well, what I would ask for is is that we get some time to where we can digest

[9:45] this. Because this is like I said, you were

[9:49] kind enough to get one to me this afternoon sometime, but I

[9:53] wasn't able to look more than just a look at it.

[9:57] And I don't know anybody else here that has the benefit of this for any length

[10:01] of time. >> No.

[10:02] » To say to say what what your feelings are about it, their

[10:07] feelings are about it. Then that that almost makes this a

[10:11] performance vote. >> Well, I would disagree because after the

[10:15] last meeting, I sent out another redline copy that had these same changes in it.

[10:19] » And it's basically everything we discussed at the meeting that we had.

[10:22] » Yeah, there's there's no major differences from the meeting that you

[10:25] were at. >> The only difference is tonight

[10:26] » Not major. >> Changing the time.

[10:28] » make a difference to that at all.

[10:32] Alex sent me both, and I just saw I just saw them one.

[10:36] He sent me both this afternoon. I did not have a chance to even look at

[10:40] it. I wonder how many people were on a thread with Alex this afternoon

[10:46] and had the benefit of looking at it. That's all I'm suggesting is

[10:50] that we table this for now and try to figure out what all the changes mean.

[10:56] » Well, the thread that I used was responding to your email, so it was a

[10:59] thread you created. So, that's how many people were on it.

[11:03] » But at the point in time and the timing, and I'm not the only

[11:08] one. I don't know I don't >> You're all on it. You're all on it.

[11:11] Everybody that was at that meeting is on it.

[11:14] » Have any of you made up your minds whether you like it or not?

[11:16] » Yes. >> You have?

[11:18] » Yes.

[11:23] » Well, then that makes the vote um

[11:25] complete. I don't

[11:28] I was hoping that you'd be open to hearing something, but I don't want to

[11:32] probably I sent you all an email with what my thoughts were and everything.

[11:37] Okay. Okay.

[11:39] I don't need to repeat them in fact you and I people can

[11:41] » Well, and as you know, we don't deliberate over email, but I told you

[11:44] that I as the lawyer disagreed with your position, but that's what your time is.

[11:49] » And I did look up I did look at some of them, Bob. I read them.

[11:52] But I I did read some of the references that you made.

[11:56] » Yes. >> And I didn't see anything that that

[11:59] contradicted what we said. >> direct patient were probably erroneous.

[12:05] That's that's what I'm concerned about. So, I'm going to go to the library and

[12:08] read the actual law because there are there are good minds

[12:15] that that say that uh some of the listings

[12:20] that I sent you today may be erroneous. And if they are, I'm

[12:24] going to know.

[12:27] I mean I don't like following somebody who's

[12:31] incorrect on major scale if you'll notice

[12:35] what we saw. I just say I know what I'm I'm open to having the AI I use to be

[12:43] completely incorrect. >> So, you didn't read the things that you

[12:46] asked us to read. Is that what you're saying?

[12:49] » No. >> You you didn't

[12:52] » the the law all laws are copyrighted and

[12:56] they're not allowed to be printed and photo because they got to use And so,

[13:01] excerpts have to be filtered when they come through a third party, but they're

[13:05] not at the library to read the whole thing.

[13:08] I haven't been there yet, so Yeah.

[13:11] But if you guys have made up your minds, that's where it is. I

[13:15] You know what I mean? But I I would like to be told where I'm wrong.

[13:20] And if you look at the points with quite a few of them, they were all mad. And I

[13:25] I want to I don't want to state that. I want to know what the real thing is

[13:29] and uh and go from there. Then I'll be your

[13:32] fan. You know, or a fan of this.

[13:36] Okay? Okay, thank you all.

[13:38] » Thanks, Bob.

[13:41] Anybody else?

[13:55] » Look down here. 60 years I've had

[13:59] I've acquired a lot of property over the years because I was in that line of

[14:04] work, construction. And I'm going to tell you people

[14:08] something. We have a I have a lot of people that

[14:13] rent off me that are over 60 years old.

[14:17] They have lost their homes. You all make good income, every one of

[14:22] you. These people have lost their homes

[14:26] because of tax rate. You know, my tax is doubled in the last 5 years.

[14:32] We take good care of our people. We don't have any problems.

[14:37] We have helped people. And you know what? When I lay my head on

[14:41] my pillow at night, I can live with myself. Already this year alone

[14:47] I you know, I'm not in it to get rich. I don't take anything out of this world

[14:51] with me. Already we have roofed a lady's house

[14:56] because her husband died a few years ago and he won't have his retirement. See,

[15:00] we don't live in this world down here. We're up here where we've all got good

[15:04] jobs. And you forget there's little people in this world.

[15:08] Another guy that we helped this year, this is just

[15:11] this year. Last 4 months.

[15:15] He was down on his luck. We let him live in our apartment for 2 months

[15:20] and didn't charge him a dying or anything. You know what happened?

[15:26] He got his self-confidence back. He now has a nice job up here on Main Street,

[15:31] and he thanks us all the time. So, that is the other side of the rental

[15:36] business. It's not all profit. And And we're all You know, and I don't live

[15:42] high. I live in a simple little house, and the rest of it I give away to help

[15:46] people. And that's where I'm coming from, and you all And they good money,

[15:51] you live off of our tax money, a lot of you. And that's where we're at.

[15:56] So, that's what I got to say about this.

[15:59] It's a whole different story than what you're trying to put on us now.

[16:06] » Okay.

[16:10] » We weren't here for the first meeting, so we're not going to give everything.

[16:13] So, you'll have to pardon me if I do, but

[16:16] Jeff Brown. But, I would say

[16:20] one, I don't know the real benefit in this. You guys have recent last week.

[16:24] But, we've been here for 125 years in this town since we work great without

[16:27] this new building. This isn't a thing. This isn't an inspection thing.

[16:31] Uh we've never had to pay $5 for all the rentals.

[16:35] All of that, but as he just said, it's all going to still back on him.

[16:42] If you find us for that property there, still this building needs to be

[16:45] adjusted. It's going to be up beyond $500. That person is not going to get

[16:48] raised if you know you'll be successful. But, the rentals, the other rentals,

[16:52] everybody's going to go up to adjust this situation.

[16:56] Like he said, most of us here have decent incomes,

[17:00] but we do need to consider those of our neighbors who are just barely getting

[17:03] by. So, I don't know what you need to do to

[17:06] kind of adjust this thing. I guess you got to either railroad out of town or

[17:09] get rid of it or something like that or whatever.

[17:12] But, just think twice before you jump because, like he said, we try to be to

[17:17] the renters, try to make a decent income ourselves, but you also know there's a

[17:21] lot of people that are really struggling. And

[17:24] I I think you just have to think about it. It's going to just fall back on the

[17:27] renters. It always does, unfortunately, poor poor

[17:30] folks. And and that's not good. So, thanks

[17:33] twice for your job. It's nice to be able to have a hand in things. Sometimes

[17:37] sometimes it's not good for people to have a hand in having a situation. We've

[17:41] gone I see 1865 there. We're at this point we say the four blocks this has

[17:45] been going pretty good out here. It's like a good nice town to me. You sure

[17:48] you want to jump off this bridge? Anyhow, that's all I have to say.

[17:52] » I want to say thank you to both of you for taking care of people. I mean,

[17:55] that's a lot of people don't do that. So, that's that's a good thing. And

[17:59] we're not trying to put an undue burden on property owners. And and it doesn't

[18:04] cost you a dime to register the properties if you do them before the end

[18:07] of the year. And we're going to ask you to do it one time. The only time there's

[18:10] ever going to be a problem is if you don't take care of your property. And we

[18:13] all know that you guys do. So, we're not here to attack you for that. We're

[18:18] trying to keep away the ones that don't. This is our way of trying to and it's a

[18:23] problem. I know that a lot of you might not know that, but it is a problem. And

[18:28] Jerry has often not been able to get a hold of people. People are in bad

[18:31] situations because you can't get a hold of a property owner.

[18:35] Yeah. Yeah, and he will and he will continue to do that. And there's no

[18:38] reason for us to go in your properties or do anything unless somebody has

[18:42] complained and obviously some people complain about things that really just

[18:45] don't matter and they're not significant, but he has to address them

[18:48] cuz that's part of his job. But he'll contact you guys first like he always

[18:51] does. Our problem is is that we don't have information to contact those

[18:56] people. There's so many of them that he can't do that. Then he's knocking on the

[19:00] door with the tenants. Then it becomes a whole different situation, you know,

[19:04] because we can't get a hold of a property owner. But

[19:07] And and that really does exclude a lot of our local people. So, but we can't

[19:11] just you can't exclude people. We have to include everybody in this. But,

[19:15] you'll have the opportunity, like I said, to register these things at no

[19:18] cost to you. There'll be no burden on you. Nothing will really change for you,

[19:22] as long as you continue to take care of your property. And And obviously, you

[19:26] guys do. So, nobody's trying to to change that for you. So, I just want you

[19:30] to know that that's not our intention.

[19:34] Yeah.

[19:39] » Thank you, ma'am.

[19:47] » No, not only if you get rid of the property. Only if you sell it. You see,

[19:50] same owner same owner state, you never have to do it again. Yeah.

[19:54] Yeah. Ma'am.

[19:57] Could please come up here, cuz they can't hear you online if you don't come

[20:00] up here. >> [laughter]

[20:02] » Sorry.

[20:08] » I don't know. I haven't spoken with any landlord, property owners, or anybody

[20:14] who is objecting to a registration program.

[20:18] You people will have a need that you see. You're doing your job. We're doing

[20:23] our job. I don't know of one. Haven't spoken with

[20:27] one. Maybe there is one. There's nothing wrong at all with a registration and

[20:32] inspection program. Let's have one. The problem is the permit.

[20:39] If you if you morph the language, which appears to

[20:44] have happened, from uh a registration, and now it becomes a

[20:48] permit, and I haven't read all the markings on it, but if it becomes a

[20:53] permit, then it becomes control that I don't believe is uh justified, and I

[20:59] don't believe it is legal that you can take us and suspend us for

[21:05] one reason or another. Might not even be our own.

[21:09] So, if you want to have if you want to have a registration and inspection

[21:14] program, I'll head it up.

[21:18] But, not for me, though.

[21:22] Thank you. >> Thanks, Bob.

[21:25] Anybody else want to speak on it? Jay, come on up.

[21:36] » My name's Julius Howard Jr. Um

[21:39] I'm the inspections. Say they come in there, you know, obviously a lot of

[21:43] these rentals are old. They're old. And there's stuff that's probably not up

[21:48] to code, but I mean, is that grandfathered in?

[21:52] You know, you come in there and say, "Okay, this has got a

[21:56] 100 amp service, and it needs a 200 or something." I mean, is that something

[22:00] when they come in there to inspect it, they can just say, "Well, okay, you got

[22:03] to, you know, do a $10,000 upgrade on this, and a $5,000 upgrade."

[22:08] And And like Bob said, I mean, I try to keep my rent cheap.

[22:13] And my tenants all stay. I mean, I've had the same people for years. They

[22:17] don't They're not leaving. I keep it cheap, you know, I mean, all right,

[22:20] yeah, you got to put new carpet in, paint, and spend $5,000, and then you

[22:24] might get somebody that ain't worth a crap. Then, you know, they move in, and

[22:28] you got to throw them out a month later. I mean, is that something that's going

[22:32] to be? Or when they come in for the inspection, what is that going to

[22:34] » Jerry, you want to answer that? Come up here and answer that for me, William.

[22:39] » If you don't understand, please gesture [clears throat] you do.

[22:43] This has never been an issue, all right? Now, if you have bad renter,

[22:48] you know, I've had rental properties in the past. When I did,

[22:52] get a bad renter, tear the place up, you probably had it. Everybody that has

[22:55] rental properties has. Destroyed, like you brought up your

[22:59] furnace. Somebody calls and says, "I don't have

[23:02] any heat." Children are dying, you know, they come in and take a look at it.

[23:07] I'm not going to tell you whether or not we're going to burn it.

[23:11] You can't hit a 60-year-old furnace and have to burn

[23:14] it. That's just the way it goes. We could agree.

[23:18] If you're asking me if I'm going to go in there and look for problems, no.

[23:23] I'm going to address the problem I'm talking about.

[23:27] » In most cases, he's going to address that with you first before he ever goes

[23:30] out there, you know.

[23:34] Right. >> Is that Is that between service

[23:38] » Yeah, yeah. I mean, I just thought, you know, like I said, I mean, there's some

[23:41] a lot of older units and I mean, I could cost somebody 50,000

[23:46] like that just snap your fingers and you can't absorb that. I mean, like you say,

[23:51] he said about the taxes. It's like crazy.

[23:53] » It's like saying this is This isn't an actual

[23:56] gas or taxation issue that we've taken. That's why I'm working with you, though.

[24:02] » Yeah. >> It's like times that

[24:04] some of these are owned by out-of-town corporations.

[24:09] Give you a post office box out in Texas and they're and they'll phone numbers. I

[24:13] have no way to contact them. I've spent hours and hours talking with

[24:16] them. It's like that. It's like cases like that.

[24:20] I mean, I could name all these serial number appeals.

[24:23] You know, and so you guys I've talked to, you I haven't talked to. I don't

[24:27] view problems with them. >> Okay.

[24:31] That would Thank you. >> I I have respect for you guys that that

[24:34] are reasonable with your rent because we you know, we've always been known for

[24:37] that here in town. That's always been something that we've

[24:41] It is. I know.

[24:45] » It's crazy when I pay taxes. It's >> I know. Yeah.

[24:49] » Well, the two-car garage one I mean, it's like

[24:51] » Yeah. you know, that's two months of my

[24:53] rent has gone and then and then insurance is going up, you know, and

[24:57] then I'm I'm eating all this. >> Right.

[25:00] » They said, "Grant." And they they think, you know, well,

[25:03] we'll go somewhere else. I mean, usually I would say, "Hey, take a couple months

[25:06] to think about it." And then they call around and they're like, "You know,

[25:08] » And you That was another thing I just Yeah.

[25:12] » Right. So, probably it's a >> Yeah.

[25:14] I I understand. >> Thank you.

[25:16] » Yeah. Yeah, the property tax thing is

[25:19] something everybody talks about. So, and you know you can appeal those, too.

[25:25] I did go through that this year myself. So, I'm telling you, if if you feel like

[25:28] you're unjustly charged, you should appeal them, you know?

[25:32] I know it takes time, but it might be worth it.

[25:36] » I'm Mary Lou Garrison, and I just like to say this.

[25:40] John left me with these apartments. I would have much rather he left me with a

[25:45] bunch of money. >> [laughter]

[25:47] » It is not easy being a landlord. It is >> No, it's not.

[25:50] » It is difficult. >> It is.

[25:51] » I mean, you you come up a all kinds of situations. Sometimes, like

[25:57] Bob said, you let somebody live in your apartment for two or three months cuz

[26:00] they don't have the money and they don't have a job. I mean, it's I don't think

[26:05] anybody's getting rich off of having apartments. At least I'm not. But I just

[26:10] wish that you would take into consideration as as we implement these

[26:14] things that you would take into consideration. We're not trying to be

[26:18] difficult. We're just trying to make it through, you know? Just I'm just trying

[26:24] to make it through, and I'm going to leave the apartments to my girls, and

[26:27] hopefully they will sell them. Now, say, "Why don't you sell them yourself?"

[26:32] There's so many ands, ifs, and buts, and so much trouble. I I can't afford to

[26:37] sell them. I can't afford to sell them because I live in one of them,

[26:43] and and and different things. I can't afford to sell them. I can't afford to

[26:47] do anything else than I'm doing. But I do appreciate those that have taken time

[26:52] and have called me back this week. I appreciate it very much.

[26:56] I wish we could all get along. I wish we could all care about each other. I wish

[27:00] we could all be a community and and that's what we really need to be.

[27:06] We don't have that a lot of times and that's very sad.

[27:10] » Thanks, Marilyn. Anybody else?

[27:15] Okay.

[27:20] All right. So, anybody else have anything they want

[27:24] to add or >> [sighs]

[27:26] » we going to questions?

[27:29] If not, we're looking for a motion.

[27:38] » I'll make a motion to approve second reading of ordinance 2026-8A

[27:43] establishing the rental registration. >> I'll second.

[27:46] » All in favor? >> Aye.

[27:48] » Aye.

[27:54] Any opposed? >> No.

[27:56] » No. I didn't hear Fritz, so yeah. Okay.

[28:01] Motion carries.

[28:04] And I need to sign this one here. We need to do this, right?

[28:15] Thanks again for your contribution and your opinion. Appreciate it.

[28:18] » Just one point of clarification that is with the changes we discussed.

[28:22] » With changes, yes. Yeah.

[28:24] » Okay. I'll clean that up so that we're going to have a complete

[28:27] » Yeah. So, that'll be September 1st through December 31st to registration

[28:32] for free. And then we're they're working on the

[28:35] application part of it, so we'll get it out to you just as soon as as soon as we

[28:38] get it done.

[28:48] Okay.

[28:51] But next we have um the 2027 proposed budget by Beth Marsh.

[28:57] This is under new business.

[29:02] Okay, you should have the budget before you.

[29:07] So as as we always do, I've met with all the department heads and gone over

[29:11] everything. Then we had a meeting earlier this month with the there was a

[29:15] public meeting um just to sort of go over everything again and then made some

[29:20] additional changes after that. So I'm just going to go over some of the final

[29:22] things that we made. Um

[29:26] so based on the salaries, we've increased everyone's salary in the

[29:30] budget for 3%. Um the longevity pay is changed as usual. We did have a couple

[29:36] price um adjustments based on their positions um that are pre-proposed ones

[29:42] for the park manager and the others for the town manager.

[29:45] Um on both of those, obviously none of these these are all allowable in the

[29:50] budget. It's then obviously got to be approved in the salary resolution or

[29:54] salary ordinance that you have. So those are you know, it's just but it's

[29:57] been put and allowed in the budget. Um then we've added a full-time officer

[30:03] under the um general fund. Um we've also added a few positions because we're

[30:08] trying to get everything in order

[30:12] in case the day comes that Joe wants to retire.

[30:15] » Trying to phase me out. >> Yeah, phase him out, you know.

[30:18] Um we're adding a civil engineer and then an assistant town manager. We've

[30:22] added those positions. We've also added a deputy planner, but in that we've also

[30:27] eliminated the building inspector assistant position and that's not being

[30:32] rehired. And one of the reasons we're adding that deputy planner is when I

[30:36] looked at the fees that we've received, they're up 450%

[30:40] over last year. So I mean, it's definitely justifiable as far as where

[30:45] that's at. So, that's why we've added that position.

[30:48] Um and then

[30:53] the benefits we've added a 20% So, we've not gotten to receive the information on

[30:58] that yet. Um as our far as our supplies, we've

[31:01] done a 3%. Um we did increase the police fuel to

[31:06] reflect the higher gas prices and then also for the additional officer. Um we

[31:11] have added $10,000 for police vests. Um we he's applied for a $10,000 grant,

[31:18] which is also in that which will cover that. If we don't receive that, we still

[31:22] have the funds to accommodate that, but hopefully we'll have a grant to cover

[31:25] those. Um and then we've um added 3% basically

[31:30] for the rest of those. For our other services, um again,

[31:34] basically overall, it's 3% um for most expenses related to that. Um

[31:40] we did add a little additional monies for some planned um IT cost um as far as

[31:46] that. We've got um some increases in the trash contract

[31:52] based off of the contract. We've increased that, but then the offset is

[31:55] the revenue, which is so it offsets each other.

[31:58] Because we had such a liability insurance went up last year so much, we

[32:03] did include another 30% for that cuz we don't know exactly where that's going to

[32:06] come in yet. Um we're hoping it'll be lower, but we just want to make sure we

[32:10] accommodated that. And then we also added $2,500 additional

[32:15] for fireworks for next year. Um and then our utilities, um which we

[32:19] normally always do, is at 10%. Um capital outlays for the township town

[32:25] portion of it, we've added um for the cloud-based computing um versus

[32:31] on our server cuz we're moving that to cloud-based this year.

[32:34] And then the vehicles, we will don't have any police vehicles in this budget.

[32:39] Um we're hoping to do a geo bond and then a lot of times we take some as the

[32:43] continuing education. Um so we don't have any in this year's budget um

[32:48] for that. Um local road and street, we're keeping

[32:52] the same um which we've not really changed. It's

[32:55] always at the 50,000. We just kept that the same. Um MBH, um again we did the

[33:00] same for the um personal services. And then um there weren't really much

[33:06] changes in the supplies other than the 3%. We had a little bit added for some

[33:11] clothing and boots that's increased to the current spending.

[33:14] Um and then our other services we have added monies for some

[33:20] projects. >> [clears throat]

[33:21] » So the MBH funds that come in are split part of it has to have 50% of it has to

[33:27] be set aside for capital projects and we've been letting

[33:31] that build up. Well, this year we're going to budget 350,000

[33:35] um of that. So part of that money's going to come out of there and we're

[33:38] going to be using that restricted money. So um

[33:42] 200,000 of that's going to be used for that. So um which is for the repairs of

[33:46] streets cuz it's for construction, reconstruction, preservation. So we'll

[33:49] be using that for paving projects. Um and then we're going to increase

[33:54] signs in our capital outlays $10,000. And then some of the other requests for

[33:59] equipment and things from Brian we're going to be doing in the geo bond.

[34:04] And then under the park we will be um

[34:09] increasing again fuel um for higher prices for about 10%.

[34:14] Um we'll be adding um

[34:18] trees. We're going to add trees. We're adding a line for that for $20,000.

[34:23] And um our pest control's been a little bit higher, so we've increased that as

[34:27] um as well. We have some equipment repairs we're

[34:30] adding um for the dump truck for 22,000. And again, our liability insurance.

[34:37] Um as far as capital outlays, we will be

[34:40] doing um 75,000 for the planned um restroom renovations. Um we

[34:46] got some fence replacements. We're adding $25,000 for trails.

[34:51] And then, you know, some things for the buildings. We will also be doing some

[34:54] some of the things that are going to be coming through this year, which we have

[34:57] been as I've mentioned in the past, we we've been trying to save her money for

[35:01] that. So, we've got some build-up cash in the park. So, we'll be doing

[35:04] additional appropriation at the same time we do the public hearing. So, it'll

[35:06] be a public hearing and then a resolution that you can adopt right

[35:09] after that. So, I'm going to have that exact amount. We'll have that at the

[35:12] next meeting. Um as far as um the rest of the money

[35:18] that we need for the paving, we will be taking out of the CCD, the capital

[35:23] cumulative capital development. So, that one's going to be higher than what we

[35:26] normally do. We'll be adding um 100,000 there.

[35:30] And overall, that's pretty much it. The um circuit breakers, they did finally

[35:35] come out and they they actually did decrease a little bit. Um but they

[35:39] finally just came out, so I got those numbers. I'm still waiting for

[35:43] miscellaneous revenues. They're supposed to come out this week, so we'll see.

[35:48] They were a little late on some of the others, so hopefully we still have that.

[35:52] Um overall, um the budget is up 20%, but a lot of that is for capital is what the

[35:58] majority of that's for. Um but, you know, there's things that

[36:01] the projects that we've been planning and we're able to do those this year.

[36:06] Does anyone have any questions?

[36:10] » I do not. >> So, we'll have the public hearing at the

[36:13] second meeting in September, and then the first meeting in October is when

[36:17] we'll do the budget approval. If anyone has any questions or anything before

[36:21] then, just please reach out to Misty or myself, and we'll be happy to answer

[36:24] that. >> Okay. Good. Thanks, Ben.

[36:28] » Uh yeah, Joe, didn't you say the uh with

[36:31] the civil engineer that may change or >> It Well, the title of it may change. I

[36:36] think both of those positions she mentioned that the title might be just a

[36:40] little different, but the funding is still the same.

[36:45] » Okay, so the the their salaries, what's on here is what it's going to be then?

[36:49] » Right. >> Okay.

[36:55] » Yeah. >> Okay.

[36:57] Okay. So, that could change still then. Okay, okay.

[37:04] Okay. Yeah.

[37:09] » Okay. Thanks, Beth.

[37:13] You don't have to stay here all night.

[37:17] Okay, uh next step, uh we have a revised um

[37:21] the 2027 uh budget for the fire territory.

[37:26] Um the lit actually came in There's a 10.9%

[37:31] increase county-wide lit. So, the original proposed amount

[37:36] um the original proposed budget we had was

[37:39] a deficit of 204,000. But with the um improvements, we're in

[37:43] an excess of 52,960. So, the new budget goal

[37:48] um it's what's shown here on this.

[37:54] 700 7,564,739

[37:58] would be the new budget for the 2027 fire uh Warren Township fire territory.

[38:05] So, um

[38:07] we just need to make a motion to approve this new revised budget

[38:14] for the fire territory.

[38:19] Unless you have questions about why it's changing, but it's really for the

[38:22] better, so >> Yeah, what are what are they getting for

[38:24] the >> Um they'll be allocated their capital

[38:28] expenses including a camera upgrade, turnout gear, and a training building.

[38:32] Uh they also we've also approved uh three full-time positions for the

[38:39] firefighters, too. So, all that will be able to to happen

[38:42] now.

[38:48] I think Correct. Yeah, it was 204,000

[38:54] uh was the deficit. And now we're

[38:58] over at 15 52 960. >> Even with the proposed changes, right?

[39:02] » Yes. I think uh yeah, the the actual So, the

[39:06] budget goal was seven seven million 564,739

[39:10] and then the proposed budget from the fire territory is 7,511,779.

[39:18] I think Florrie's on there if she has I don't know if she has anything to add to

[39:21] that. I hope I got everything that

[39:27] Uh I think that's it.

[39:32] So, we just need to um approve that budget for them if

[39:36] everybody's in favor of that.

[39:42] » I'll make a motion to approve the revised 2027 fire general fund budget.

[39:48] » I'll second. >> All in favor?

[39:50] » Aye. >> Aye.

[39:51] » Aye.

[39:56] » Okay.

[40:03] Okay, next step we have the BOT agreement for Landmark in Memorial Park

[40:08] and this is Doug with Reynolds Construction.

[40:11] » Good evening. Doug Tishbane with Reynolds Construction. Nice to see you

[40:14] again. I apologize I'm a couple weeks late in

[40:18] being here. I was anticipating being here the 1st of the month, but we ran

[40:22] into a little concern about the ADA compliance to the north side of the new

[40:27] pedestrian bridge. Got all that figured out and worked out,

[40:30] so um I think over the last couple of weeks

[40:34] we've had a couple of improvements. Memorial Park added to the project on

[40:38] some restroom renovations. So, we worked with Heath in order to come up with

[40:42] those numbers. Um Alex has given us a redline version of

[40:47] the agreement, which we gave a couple of weeks ago, and we've accepted all of

[40:51] those. We had to add the exhibits, which goes

[40:54] through the pricing and some of the GMP reports, guaranteed maximum price

[40:59] reports, and some other exhibits that'll be filled in or at a later date, more

[41:02] towards the end of the project. So, really at at at this point in time

[41:08] our original number on just Landmark, if you remember, was a million 941 408.

[41:15] And working with Heath on the Memorial Park upgrades,

[41:20] that was an additional 243, so we're currently at 2.184 million.

[41:26] And I think we're asking for approval of the agreement tonight, so we can get to

[41:30] work. >> We want you to get to work.

[41:34] » Absolutely.

[41:38] » When do you expect to move in and be ready to start?

[41:44] » So, we've got a couple of pre-construction meetings I need I know

[41:47] we need to set up with Adam. Uh we've got to get through the state

[41:50] permitting processes, which we we've already started.

[41:54] Um I'm hopeful

[41:56] uh that we're going to have boots on the ground probably within

[42:00] Don't let me do it, but I'm going to say 30 days.

[42:06] With a anticipated completion in March of next year.

[42:17] » You said March 1st of next year. Is that what you said or

[42:20] » March of next year. >> Okay.

[42:22] » [laughter] >> I think the document says on a tentative

[42:24] schedule that it's scheduled for April 1st, so

[42:28] as soon as we get through the pre-construction meetings and the

[42:31] permitting, I'll be able to give you a schedule, so you'll see what the

[42:36] actual deliverable is.

[42:43] » Any questions?

[42:46] » Nope. Okay.

[42:47] » Yeah. Guess we'll look for a motion then to

[42:50] approve.

[42:54] » I'll make a motion to approve the BOT agreement for Landmark and Memorial

[42:57] Parks. >> Second.

[42:59] » All in favor? >> Aye.

[43:01] » Aye. >> Aye.

[43:03] » Just get going. >> Thanks, sir.

[43:04] » Thank you very much. >> Yeah.

[43:06] If you can get started earlier, that'd even be great.

[43:08] » That'll be good. >> Thanks.

[43:12] That, too. Not not not to put any pressure on you or anything.

[43:17] Yeah, no kidding. If we any of this could be nice.

[43:21] » [clears throat]

[43:43] » Okay.

[43:46] Uh next we have the MOU water agreement with McCordsville. Joe?

[43:52] » Okay, uh this this is something that we've been talking about with

[43:55] McCordsville for a while and brought it up with the council several times um

[44:00] over the year. This is a an MOU between the town of

[44:04] Fortville and the town of McCordsville to service water

[44:08] into the territory that will eventually become McCordsville

[44:13] or should be McCordsville before the

[44:17] service is ever provided. And just to refresh your memory, we've got an MOU

[44:21] with uh McCordville that 400 will be our

[44:25] boundary as far as annexation. So, we will not annex beyond 400 and they won't

[44:30] come this direction. Um a big part of this MOU and I know part of their

[44:34] concern is we we for one, we just wanted to make

[44:37] sure that they were good with us

[44:41] getting into that territory and then giving us a territory that we

[44:45] could plan to to make sure that we could size the mains properly and make sure

[44:49] that we'll be able to service the area correctly. And then their part of the

[44:54] agreement was uh more of a concern that we don't try to annex across that

[45:00] original agreed upon 400 boundary um just because we are servicing the

[45:05] water to that area. So, that's pretty much what this agreement spells out. And

[45:09] if you look at the very last page, there's a an exhibit there. It's got the

[45:13] drawing. 400 West

[45:16] is where the town of Fortville's limits are. Um our sewer territory ends at 400

[45:21] West. McCordsville comes up to uh 400 West on the west side of the road. Um

[45:27] there's about a square mile, roughly, that's kind of marked out there that

[45:32] makes more sense for Fortville to service them. Um

[45:37] we stopped we didn't go any further south because I think uh

[45:41] there's some development that they're proposing along 234 that will more than

[45:45] likely have citizens in the area. Makes more sense for citizens to serve them

[45:49] than it would for us. So, and they this was kind of a uh

[45:53] you know, a a mutual agreed upon territory that

[45:57] worked for McCordsville, worked for us that we could serve and it would allow

[46:02] them to continue to grow because as of right now citizens uh

[46:07] is not prepared to service part of this territory.

[46:11] And and we can So.

[46:14] And you have it. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

[46:18] » What will be responsible for servicing any problems out there in

[46:23] right-of-ways, and we'll have access to all that, or

[46:26] » Yeah, all the all the water mains will be owned by the town of Fortville once

[46:30] it's said and done. So, yeah, we'll take care of all the maintenance, hydro

[46:33] flushing, and exercising the valves, and

[46:37] just like we do the Hamilton County area.

[46:40] » So, the the big benefit, I guess, that that we get is

[46:44] the that utility money, that water money and stuff coming in.

[46:48] » Yeah, we get the asset of the the additional plant,

[46:52] and then the the revenue. And as you know, the

[46:55] bigger your user base is, the easier it is to try to keep the cost down for

[47:00] everybody paying into it. Cuz the more people we have in paying into the

[47:04] system, it's it allows us to keep our rates lower, and keeps it

[47:08] In fact, let me go back to the water um prior to our last rate increase,

[47:14] and we had to do the water treatment plant, which we're going to do a water

[47:17] treatment plant anyway, we hadn't raised our rates for over

[47:21] what, 16 or 17 years. And that was a lot of that was based on

[47:26] extending our utilities out, and being able to pick up more users. Was able to

[47:30] keep our rates down for everybody here. >> Yeah, hookup fees and all that good

[47:34] stuff. >> Mhm.

[47:35] » Okay, cool. >> Yeah, and and I think I brought this up

[47:39] earlier, but uh there will be a time that we're going to need uh to drill an

[47:43] additional well, and add some additional filtering at the

[47:47] water treatment plant. The plant was designed to add that on,

[47:51] and uh the fees that they'll pay for connection

[47:55] will essentially cover the for all that

[47:58] replacement or add-on.

[48:08] Then there's McCordsville hasn't signed this. I know that they've uh

[48:11] they've already approved it in theory. Uh there was some tweaks that they

[48:14] wanted uh the town managers, myself and Tim Grob

[48:18] to to look at and uh make sure that we were good with it or to put some things

[48:22] in place, but in theory they're um they've already approved it. So, we just

[48:27] got to get them to sign it. >> How do you guys decide the uh third

[48:31] party? >> It's written up in here and it's kind of

[48:35] lengthy, so >> It's nice to have

[48:37] » That's kind of like how do you get the third party that would be beneficial

[48:40] » We only need the third party if there gets to be a a point in time that uh say

[48:45] Tim and I can't agree on something or my predecessor, whoever the town managers

[48:49] are at the time, um if they can't agree upon it, then we'll select a mutual

[48:54] party that's not going to benefit either community either way.

[48:58] » Yeah, that's what I was kind of curious where you get that

[49:02] where you get that person from.

[49:11] » So, what do you need from us? Do you need us to approve?

[49:13] » Yeah, just vote on it and sign it and then we'll get it to McCordsville and

[49:16] let them do the same. >> Okay.

[49:19] » I'll make a motion to approve the MOU water agreement with McCordsville.

[49:23] » I'll second. >> All in favor.

[49:25] » Aye. >> Aye.

[49:30] » Make sure we sign the right page here. One's from McCordsville and one's from

[49:35] » Now, if you mess up, I got another >> Yeah.

[49:39] » [clears throat] >> There you go.

[49:41] » Oh, I just lost it.

[49:46] » Okay, uh next step. We have uh Council to consider resolution number

[49:51] 2026-8C, approving and adopting a parks and

[49:55] recreational facilities naming rights policy.

[50:00] And Alex, I don't know. Do you want to

[50:04] surely dust in this? >> Yep, I can run through this. This is

[50:07] something that we've talked about with the council and then with Heath. Um as

[50:11] you're you working on these improvements to to the parks and some other buildings

[50:17] throughout the town, having an opportunity or having a

[50:20] specific policy for naming rights. And so we looked at some other communities.

[50:27] We found I think that Zionsville had one that seemed to work with us. So we

[50:33] modeled and and finessed that from a starting point to get what we've got in

[50:38] front of you this evening to create a policy that if

[50:43] someone comes to the town and would like to

[50:45] um have their name on a public facility, this outlines the process that

[50:52] they would go through doing that.

[51:01] » It says a lot. A lot more a lot more than I thought it

[51:04] would.

[51:11] » A lot of it well into that it you know, we're you always try to have a

[51:16] balance, but who installs it and what if they who

[51:21] maintains it and um so those types of we we tried to address those

[51:28] issues. Um so

[51:32] longer than it probably it could have been, but we wanted to try to cover the

[51:37] town and also make any potential, you know, business or person that wanted to

[51:44] um take advantage of it and have the naming

[51:46] rights that they're going to have some responsibilities as well. It's not just

[51:50] » Sure. >> write a check for,

[51:52] you know, X amount and that they don't have There's some responsibilities that

[51:56] that go on with that. So, that's why it's

[51:59] uh eight pages.

[52:03] Seven. Actually, six. Selling myself short. It starts on the

[52:08] The resolution's two pages. >> Each name that we we choose a name,

[52:12] let's say we have new parks that come along,

[52:14] it's voted on that the the majority on the name. It's just not one person

[52:20] naming it. >> Correct.

[52:21] » Thank you.

[52:28] » Yep. To specifically,

[52:31] um in section four, the town council governs the approval of naming rights.

[52:37] » So, along those lines, Heath Luster, parks manager, for the record, I wanted

[52:41] to bring to your attention that I received a phone call this past week

[52:45] from the Zumbo Anybody know Charles Bailey?

[52:49] Uh he had a plaque dedicated over to him in Landmark Park on one of the trees.

[52:54] » He was on the park board for a lot of years.

[52:56] » So, his son, Philip, uh passed away. I got a phone call from his grandson,

[53:01] Jake. Um they would like to donate $25,000

[53:05] to the park to rebuild the retaining wall by the basketball court and put up

[53:10] a fence along the creek to keep balls from going in there.

[53:14] Um and his only ask was if we could put up a sign that was basically Philip

[53:20] Bailey Memorial Basketball Court. And so,

[53:23] I don't know if that really pertains to what we're talking about here from a

[53:29] gazebo standpoint, but I wanted to bring to your attention as we're going through

[53:33] this that there'll be opportunities such as, you know, this young man. And my

[53:38] understanding of it is is the plan for him is to stick another $25,000 in an

[53:44] account and every year whatever interest accrues, figure out some way to give it

[53:48] back through the parks and or schools. And so that's something he wants to

[53:52] continue to do, but it'll be something um that he's looking for just kind of

[53:57] confirmation. Is that something that the council would be willing to do? And so

[54:01] obviously with having his naming rights um

[54:04] paperwork, you know, I want to make sure that, you know, we are still allowing

[54:08] for things like that if and when they come up. So

[54:12] » That's awesome. That's really nice. >> Thank you.

[54:21] » Joe, did you have Are you good with all this? You didn't see anything in here

[54:24] that was concerning, did you? >> No, I didn't see anything that was

[54:27] really concerning at all. You know, something we've been talking

[54:31] about for quite some time and it >> Yeah.

[54:34] I think it looks good. I mean I >> Seems pretty thorough.

[54:39] » I really didn't see anything that concerned me either, so.

[54:48] Guess we're looking for a motion then.

[54:52] » I'll make a motion to approve resolution 2026-8C

[54:57] approving and adopting the parks and recreation facilities naming rights

[55:00] policy. >> I'll second.

[55:02] » All in favor? >> Aye.

[55:10] » Sure.

[55:20] » So as you go through your advertisements and solicitations

[55:24] I'm going to be very specific about what you ask. Have you discussed this

[55:27] » Yeah. Yeah.

[55:29] » And just social media, it's all stuff like that.

[55:32] » [laughter]

[55:35] » Abraham Lincoln was in it? >> Oh.

[55:37] I guess it was. It makes sense. Yeah, thanks. Thanks.

[55:44] » Abraham Lincoln said don't believe everything

[55:48] you read on the internet.

[55:54] » [laughter]

[56:02] » Okay, next step we have the

[56:07] Council to consider first reading of ordinance 2026 8B. It's amending the

[56:12] 2026 salary ordinance.

[56:16] Um I'll just start off with this first I

[56:19] guess because this was

[56:22] something that I recommended to Beth and that we need to try to do here moving

[56:26] forward in the next few years to prepare for Joe's exit.

[56:31] His salary was never has never been and really still wasn't at where it should

[56:36] be and we're trying to get it to the level it was comparatively to to

[56:41] find someone that will somewhat replace what he does. So

[56:46] this part of this here is to actually amend his salary

[56:53] so the town managers bi-weekly pay would would change to 4,330

[56:59] 77. Um and then also it's adds in the senior

[57:04] planner to be hired. I think They've already had applications and

[57:10] stuff on that too. So this is the reason that we're asking to amend this

[57:15] salary ordinance.

[57:19] I don't know Joe if you want to add anything or

[57:21] » No, I mean you you pretty much covered everything.

[57:24] » Yeah. So we are closer to having it where it

[57:28] should be. Um

[57:30] I think and if we stay on top of it for the next

[57:34] few years, we should be ready by the time he gets ready to retire to

[57:39] to attract the right person, hopefully. >> Is Is this starting from today?

[57:44] » Yeah. >> Or is it retroactive?

[57:45] » It is not retro. Not retro. It started >> wait till after the ordinance is passed?

[57:50] » Yeah. >> Okay.

[58:00] » Questions? >> Okay, so this is This ordinance is for

[58:03] this year. So then we still got >> Yes. Yeah, you have We haven't seen the

[58:07] salary ordinance for 2020. We'll see that after the

[58:11] uh October after the budget's passed. >> Uh so how how soon are we looking to get

[58:16] that senior planner? >> I think uh

[58:21] » We We extend We extended a job offer to a

[58:25] candidate and it was accepted. Um I can tell you more about it during

[58:31] planning and building comments. >> Yeah. Okay.

[58:34] » Don't steal his thunder. That's what he's saying.

[58:36] » [laughter] >> I don't want to disrupt the flow.

[58:39] » Yeah.

[58:42] Okay, so if there's no other questions than that, then I'm looking for um a

[58:46] motion to approve this salary amendment.

[58:53] » I'll make a motion to approve first reading

[58:57] of ordinance 2026-8B amending the 2026 salary ordinance.

[59:02] » I'll second. >> All in favor?

[59:05] » I. >> I.

[59:06] » I. >> Nay.

[59:12] » Did Libby vote? >> I say

[59:15] Did nay, right?

[59:18] » We have to be able to see Libby vote. >> Is Libby still on there?

[59:30] » So 3 1. >> Yeah.

[59:32] » 3 1. >> So where do I put her for Olivia? Is it

[59:35] abstaining or do I just put recuse? >> Yeah.

[59:37] » She disappeared. I

[59:40] She probably She might even lost connection. I don't know.

[59:44] Okay.

[59:48] And that passes 3 to 1. First reading.

[59:53] Okay, up next we have Council to consider commercial lease

[59:57] agreement for the Community Center with Indy Sharks Baseball.

[1:00:00] » I can cover this if you'd like just to save Heath the trouble to walk up. As

[1:00:05] you know, this um

[1:00:07] is the same lease terms that we had with the Sharks from last year.

[1:00:13] Um same rent, same terms. That was the only thing that that changed was to make

[1:00:17] it so that they can continue to be there um for another year. And then next year

[1:00:22] if they give us notice that they want to extend,

[1:00:25] we've got the right to negotiate um an increase in rent or other terms at that

[1:00:30] time. But this would just allow them to continue

[1:00:33] uh being in the space and using the space under the same conditions as the

[1:00:37] existing lease. >> Any problems Ashley or Heath?

[1:00:53] » Any questions from anybody up here? Good.

[1:00:56] Questions? >> I'll make a motion to approve commercial

[1:01:00] lease agreement for the Community Center with Indy Sharks Baseball for 2020

[1:01:06] Well, just for the next year? Is that what it is?

[1:01:08] » It's >> Yeah, 6 27.

[1:01:10] » Starts September 1st. It's for the >> I'll second.

[1:01:15] » All in favor. >> Aye.

[1:01:16] » Aye.

[1:01:19] » Do I need Do I need to sign this one?

[1:01:35] » You got You got it. >> Yeah.

[1:01:37] » Okay. >> Yeah.

[1:01:38] Okay. Next step, we have

[1:01:42] Council to consider purchase of utility terrain vehicle by the Four Wheel Police

[1:01:46] Department. Pat.

[1:01:50] » Good evening. Like I mentioned the last

[1:01:53] um meeting that we had had some refunds

[1:01:57] that weren't really expected to the PD. Um and there's funding there and I was

[1:02:04] have been looking at a way to give us some off-road capability

[1:02:09] to patrol the parks a little bit easier, patrol the trails,

[1:02:14] things like that. And with the recent floods,

[1:02:17] um I know a lot of

[1:02:19] departments have used them for that type stuff. Knock on wood,

[1:02:24] we hadn't had any of that, but I think Penn kind of got hit a little bit and

[1:02:28] Camber City was underwater and a lot of the Southeast communities were

[1:02:31] underwater. Um so, I have the money in my budget

[1:02:37] that's been basically fully refunded by some over payments and by insurance.

[1:02:43] Um and I reached out and got three quotes, which you guys all have.

[1:02:48] Here's a summary of the quote um with all the specs. Everything's the exact

[1:02:53] same except from Indy Power Sports. They did not have

[1:02:57] what I was looking for, so they quoted a higher-end model, which I'm really not

[1:03:02] interested in. Um

[1:03:05] but I'd like to get approval to go ahead and

[1:03:09] make that purchase for the from Fear Power Sports in Berne, Indiana

[1:03:16] uh for 26,725. That covers everything that we would

[1:03:21] need um to have some off-road capability and to

[1:03:25] be able to to patrol the trails a little bit easier.

[1:03:29] And with the town growing and it just and we're putting in more trails and

[1:03:33] parks and things like that, it just gives us that a different advantage

[1:03:38] um than what we currently have with a a truck or a patrol vehicle.

[1:03:43] We don't have any off-road capable vehicles even though they're all-wheel

[1:03:46] drive or four-wheel drive, they just they're not going to go through water or

[1:03:50] mud or anything like that.

[1:03:56] » What's the top speed on these?

[1:04:01] I couldn't find it in the specs. >> I'm not It's not in the specs?

[1:04:04] » [laughter] >> I can do that real quick Google search

[1:04:07] for you. Hold on. >> I was just curious.

[1:04:09] Top speed of a Polaris Ranger XP 1000. >> That's 60 to 65 miles an hour, sir.

[1:04:19] They will not Hopefully, we won't ever need to to go

[1:04:23] that fast. >> I bet you it'll be tested.

[1:04:29] With the >> There will There will be new policies on

[1:04:32] this piece of equipment. >> Does that cost like fully outfitted?

[1:04:36] That's how much? >> fully outfitted. Um only thing we would

[1:04:38] have to do is add some lights, which I have some in the garage.

[1:04:42] And then get some um we have leftover out in the garage from some of the other

[1:04:47] vehicles. So, we would throw some decals on it and

[1:04:51] some lights in it and a siren and that's really about it.

[1:04:56] Those would be very minimal costs. Um

[1:04:59] we have the equipment, just some installation fees.

[1:05:03] Couple hundred bucks, I don't know.

[1:05:08] » Damn.

[1:05:12] » They will entertain a motion. >> I'll make a motion to approve the

[1:05:16] purchase of a UTV by the Fort Worth Police Department from Bear Power Sports

[1:05:22] for $26,725. >> I'll second.

[1:05:26] » All in favor? >> Aye.

[1:05:28] » Aye.

[1:05:31] » Thank you.

[1:05:36] » All right.

[1:05:41] All right.

[1:05:44] So, next we have departments, Joe.

[1:05:50] » Okay. I don't know where Let me turn my mic on so you can hear

[1:05:53] me. Um The trails plan is coming along um

[1:05:58] pretty good right now as far as the section two. We're still

[1:06:03] uh looking to let that project November 5th. Uh seem like everything's lining up

[1:06:07] with all of our permits and all the INDOT stuff that we need. So, looking

[1:06:10] forward to to getting moving on that project. Um INDOT has uh given us the

[1:06:16] approval for the intersection at 13th and uh Broadway for the South um Madison

[1:06:22] Boulevard project that we're working on. We had uh talked to INDOT about

[1:06:26] expediting that permit just due to some of the other intersections that INDOT's

[1:06:31] going to be working on the next few years. Um we can try to get our project

[1:06:35] done before

[1:06:38] um they start closing down some of these other intersections and causing detour

[1:06:42] issues. Um and then we've got a uh

[1:06:46] 300 ft of 10-in storm pipe that's on McCarty Street north of Church.

[1:06:51] Um we've been having a lot of issues and I think a lot of you probably gone

[1:06:55] through the standing water on State Street there at McCarty when we get a

[1:06:59] good rain. The uh the pipe we tried to get a video

[1:07:03] through it. The only thing we could get a video through the pipe was busted and

[1:07:06] collapsed and pretty bad shape and it's it's packed

[1:07:10] full of stones. So, we're going to be getting some price

[1:07:13] quotes to set one manhole and run about 300 ft of storm pipe so we can fix that

[1:07:18] and get that drain flowing again. Um just an update on the alley there on

[1:07:23] Main Street. All the concrete's in, the dirt's in, the electrical's ran, the

[1:07:27] water's ran. Um

[1:07:29] our goal is we got a patch on the west side where they had to dig up the

[1:07:33] water main. Uh we're going to get that patched, try

[1:07:36] to get all the plantings in there and get it opened up for the uh

[1:07:40] uh the Blazer 88 ride this weekend and

[1:07:44] definitely before Christmas. [clears throat] So,

[1:07:47] we I know Heath has picked up all the plants and if the weather holds off,

[1:07:52] they'll be getting those put in the ground on Wednesday.

[1:07:55] » Looks really nice. >> Thank you. I'll pass that along to the

[1:08:00] guys who worked so hard to put it in. >> So, that storm uh

[1:08:06] storm line you're responding about replacing is all 300 ft need to be

[1:08:09] replaced or can just a spot repair? >> Um actually the pro- project is probably

[1:08:18] closer to a little over 400 ft and what I'm doing is I'm setting a structure at

[1:08:22] that location and then from the from the structure north of

[1:08:28] Church Street to the ditch, it all needs to be replaced. The segment from there

[1:08:31] back to the original manhole, I'm going to see about getting that

[1:08:35] lined. I need to do some more inspection on some of the other pipe in there

[1:08:38] first.

[1:08:42] I'm just trying to do the worst of it as far as replacement.

[1:08:44] » Yeah. >> It's going to be a little tricky because

[1:08:46] we got a storm sewer and a or a sanitary sewer and a water main and everything in

[1:08:50] there and there's previously been dug and we're going to be 10-ft deep so

[1:08:54] that makes it a little bit uh more sketchy when you got previously

[1:08:58] disturbed trenches along next to where we're digging.

[1:09:04] » How far How How deep is that sanitary though? It's probably

[1:09:08] 20 30 ft? >> No, it's not that deep in there. In

[1:09:11] fact, it's probably going to be real close to the 10-ft deep.

[1:09:14] » Really? >> It's going to be

[1:09:17] cuz that was part of our uh combined sewer system back in the day.

[1:09:20] We put in a new sanitary at the uh same elevation or maybe a little bit

[1:09:25] deeper than existing storm and just use the storm converted to your

[1:09:30] combined to sanitary or storm sewer.

[1:09:35] That's all I have unless you got something for me.

[1:09:37] » Yeah, I got a question. Uh the trees that are in the easement

[1:09:41] I had a uh resident say that he's hitting his head on trees as he's coming

[1:09:46] through on Stat and on Main Street. Is the town responsible for that or is it

[1:09:52] the land the homeowner right in front? >> It It's realistically it's the

[1:09:56] homeowners because in most cases it's their tree. Um

[1:10:00] but we've been going out and trimming. Anytime anybody reports anything, even

[1:10:04] though that we do have the ordinance that says that the homeowner is supposed

[1:10:07] to maintain them, if they if they were if somebody reports it to us, we're

[1:10:11] going out and taking care of it. >> Okay. Cuz he was just wondering if he

[1:10:14] could volunteer to trim them back. If it's

[1:10:19] to get it done. Uh there's quite a few. He He drove me

[1:10:23] around today. There's There's a lot of trees that are

[1:10:26] » Just give me a route and I'll get our guys to do it. We can knock it out

[1:10:29] quicker and we can get rid of the limbs. If homeowner sees somebody out there

[1:10:33] besides the street department trimming >> just asking for him if it's possible.

[1:10:37] » It's like I don't I don't know that I want to get

[1:10:41] somebody out there doing it voluntarily and

[1:10:44] » Okay. >> get hurt or something like that and then

[1:10:45] the property owners. I know even when the street guys are out there, we've

[1:10:48] been uh yelled at by property owners, so

[1:10:53] It'd probably be cleaner. >> I didn't know if there was an ordinance

[1:10:55] that they had to keep them so high or >> They just need to Yeah, for ADA purposes

[1:11:01] and stuff, they need to be high enough you're not going hit your head on them.

[1:11:04] » Okay. >> Sure.

[1:11:05] » Cuz he's pretty tall. He's like 6'5. >> [laughter]

[1:11:09] » So, I just he's probably tall as Andy, so

[1:11:11] » Just Just give me a route. Give me a route moment to do

[1:11:14] » Okay. I'll let I'll I'll I'll have him write

[1:11:17] up a route. Thanks. >> And we we always have that uh

[1:11:20] app on our website where people can report any issues. So, we've been

[1:11:23] getting quite a few of those lately. >> Mhm.

[1:11:29] » [clears throat] >> Adam?

[1:11:36] » Uh yes, so anything that I wanted to report on was to follow up on the senior

[1:11:40] planner position. So, um really quickly

[1:11:44] for the public's benefit too is we had a um there's myself, and there's Jerry in

[1:11:49] the department, and then we had a part-time

[1:11:51] um administrative assistant, uh Sarah. She did a wonderful job, but she went

[1:11:55] ahead and took um full-time employment elsewhere.

[1:11:58] So, rather than refilling that position, we actually eliminated it.

[1:12:04] And then converted it to a planner. Just have an additional planner so that this

[1:12:08] way that this person um has the ability to review items and

[1:12:12] also approve items, um and it'll hopefully make things more

[1:12:16] efficient for the residents. Like I had mentioned I think maybe at a previous

[1:12:20] meeting, ultimately what we'd like to get to is

[1:12:23] some over-the-counter approvals for some simple things, whether that's easement

[1:12:27] encroachments, electrical permits, shed, um really

[1:12:32] um routine type items. So, um

[1:12:37] So, in order to do that, um we we interviewed probably about

[1:12:43] I I think we interviewed seven people, and we had probably

[1:12:48] maybe about 40 45 um applicants in one fashion or another.

[1:12:53] So, we had a really good amount of qualified people that were interested in

[1:12:57] the position. And it was originally going to be an

[1:13:01] assistant planner,

[1:13:05] a lower-tier entry-level position. However,

[1:13:11] we ended up offering the job to her. Her name is Hannah Rose Urbanski. She was

[1:13:16] the planning director and she was an interim planning director and then

[1:13:20] became planning director in Pendleton. She's got her

[1:13:24] undergraduate degree in planning, master's in planning.

[1:13:27] So, she's got great experience, especially in a small town like ours.

[1:13:32] So, very personable, very knowledgeable. Definitely looking forward to having her

[1:13:39] start. She's going to start on Monday, October 5th.

[1:13:44] So, that's where we're at with that and and if you have any questions, happy to

[1:13:51] to address those. >> Did you get a chance to look at that

[1:13:54] sign? Cuz when you look at the drawings on McDonald's, it looks like that

[1:13:59] port-bill sign is even with the

[1:14:03] um where people have to stop at the

[1:14:06] McDonald's before they go into the walkway. It's it's pretty flush straight

[1:14:10] on for a sight. >> Yeah, I haven't I haven't had the

[1:14:14] opportunity to look at it yet, but we certainly have time and um

[1:14:18] your point is well taken, but we want to make sure that

[1:14:22] that port-bill sign is not going to cause a sight visibility issue there

[1:14:25] with people coming in and out of the McDonald's.

[1:14:28] Um so, if we need to adjust it, we certainly can.

[1:14:31] Um I think the state would want us to do that, too.

[1:14:34] So, um yeah, we'll definitely it's on the list and we'll continue to look at

[1:14:38] it. >> All right, thank you.

[1:14:40] » Thanks. >> Um with that senior planner having

[1:14:44] [clears throat] her master's and her all that, is there any fear of being over

[1:14:48] qualified that I don't I don't know how much schooling

[1:14:51] it normally takes and stuff for that position, but

[1:14:54] I just didn't know, like I said, if it would be over qualification and

[1:14:57] » yeah, the Well, the other thing that we did, too, that I forgot to mention was

[1:15:01] um >> [clears throat]

[1:15:03] » that is why the the position, although the funding is at the same amount that

[1:15:09] we had originally anticipated, we did at least

[1:15:12] um give her a higher title of senior planner to reflect her

[1:15:17] um qualifications. So, I think um you know, in talking to her,

[1:15:22] I think she she wants to get back in the

[1:15:25] municipal planning and and um

[1:15:29] she's familiar with Fortville, so I think certainly with with any

[1:15:34] applicant, there's always a degree of of risk that that person

[1:15:39] may move on, but um you know, at the end of the day, I think given the the

[1:15:45] applicant pool that we had, it was a strong pool, um there's no doubt that

[1:15:50] she was the most qualified and and also had the best

[1:15:54] experience um for a town like like Fortville, so

[1:15:59] we'll see. Looking forward to it. >> That's good.

[1:16:02] » No no issues you think of her uh hourly pay and stuff?

[1:16:07] I mean, she going to start wanting a lot more

[1:16:10] money and stuff after few months or a year?

[1:16:13] » Well, I guess we'll we'll cross that bridge when we get to it and um

[1:16:19] » We told her what the pay was when she was applying and see if it was something

[1:16:22] she was interested in. >> Yeah, okay.

[1:16:24] » Yeah, we have those those discussions um early on.

[1:16:29] And uh So.

[1:16:33] » Cool. Hope she works out. >> Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I think

[1:16:36] she will. Any other questions on planning stuff?

[1:16:42] » No. Okay.

[1:16:44] That's it for me then. >> He's coming up.

[1:16:51] » Uh Joe touched on Main Street. Um talked about 25,000. So that's all I

[1:16:57] got for you tonight unless you guys have any questions for me.

[1:17:00] » We don't have any. >> Okay. Thank you.

[1:17:02] » Thanks, Heath.

[1:17:05] And Andy, what's on your plan?

[1:17:10] » We have Blizzard 88 this weekend. Should be a nice event as long as weather is

[1:17:16] good. Um

[1:17:18] and [clears throat] then the following weekend Cammy's Cause.

[1:17:21] So uh we They're actually on Some of you may have seen it on Facebook, but they

[1:17:27] are going to have a celebration that was supposed to happen last Saturday.

[1:17:30] It's going to be this Saturday at 11:30 in the morning at uh Three Rivers and

[1:17:35] where uh Cammy's Cause received their a check to put them over the

[1:17:41] million-dollar mark for funds that they raised for

[1:17:44] uh the minus 4p um program and everything and it's

[1:17:49] it's going to be a big deal. So uh Jared sent us a message just asking everybody

[1:17:54] to come out for that if they could uh to help celebrate when they come back out.

[1:17:59] Uh doesn't have to be anything long, just you know, something that they've

[1:18:02] been working on for Here we are in the 22nd year of that. So

[1:18:07] um it's going to be awesome. Um

[1:18:10] Other than that, I think that's all I have.

[1:18:14] That is this Saturday. This Saturday at Three Rivers 11:30 a.m.

[1:18:20] » And do you do you know where people can get like yard signs?

[1:18:24] » I Well, they bunch of them showed up this weekend around town. Um

[1:18:29] and your wife actually asked me about that as well. And they're supposed to be

[1:18:33] bringing some up to us here as well. Um so I'll find out for sure if anybody

[1:18:38] needs one, I can get one for you or whatever. I mean, we get

[1:18:43] Um, just under 2 weeks now from that for that huge event, so

[1:18:48] five stages, 33 bands. It's going to be pretty big deal and it

[1:18:53] encourage everybody to if you can light up your house with

[1:18:57] green lights, that's the official color of Cammie's Cause and decorate

[1:19:01] storefront windows and decorate your house if you want. I don't

[1:19:05] know. I think Fritz has already started that.

[1:19:10] Anything else for me? >> Do they need Are they still looking for

[1:19:13] donations and stuff for their um their auction?

[1:19:17] » I I'm not sure. >> I don't know that either. I was

[1:19:21] » Um, always looking for donations, I believe.

[1:19:23] So

[1:19:26] Reach out and ask. >> Okay.

[1:19:30] Pat, anything else from you?

[1:19:31] » Yep. Um, Officer Payne graduates this week from

[1:19:35] ILEA, so we'll be happy to get him back. Um,

[1:19:40] Officer Morland in the back there, we submitted his waiver to the law

[1:19:44] enforcement training board from Illinois. They held their meeting today,

[1:19:47] so we're waiting to hear back to see if his waiver was approved or not.

[1:19:51] Assuming it will be with some stipulations of doing our criminal law,

[1:19:55] traffic law type stuff. Um, and then

[1:20:00] uh Um, last week I got Alex the new MOU for

[1:20:03] the school for 26 through 31.

[1:20:09] Um, he's going to give me the final blessing on it and then I'll get it to

[1:20:12] the school. We can continue staff officers out there

[1:20:16] and and then in the MOU it also states that uh they'll be responsible for a

[1:20:21] vehicle. So I know Beth said that we were working

[1:20:26] on some. Uh, Beth and I talked about having

[1:20:29] school get one for us next year also, so that should get us in line where we need

[1:20:34] to be. But, it's nice that

[1:20:36] they're willing to do that and just buy us well, we buy the car and then they

[1:20:41] just pay us back. So.

[1:20:44] Other than that, I don't have anything unless you got questions.

[1:20:50] » Nothing. Missy, you have anything for us?

[1:20:55] Alex, do you have anything else for us? >> I don't have anything else unless you

[1:20:58] have questions for me.

[1:21:03] » Any more public comment?

[1:21:11] Brian, you have anything? >> I do not. Thank you.

[1:21:14] » I have nothing. >> I'm good.

[1:21:18] » I'm good. >> I'll take a promotion to approve and

[1:21:21] sign vouchers. >> I'll make a motion to approve and sign

[1:21:23] vouchers. >> Second.

[1:21:25] » All in favor. >> Aye.

[1:21:26] » Aye. I'll make a motion to adjourn at 7:52.

[1:21:29] » I'll second. >> All in favor.

[1:21:30] » Aye. >> Aye.

[1:21:34] Thank you for coming.

8/17/2026 - Fortville Town Council Meeting

Transcript