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[0:00]
October 5th, 2026 to order.
[0:04]
Uh-huh. Michael Wolf, Tracy Witt here. Bill Asby, oh, absent Ron
[0:12]
Devilson, Tony Skaggs, Mayor Dan Eckstein, City Attorney Tyler Rothstein, Cork Treasurer
[0:19]
Dana Watley here.
[0:25]
Approval of the agenda for October 5th, 2026.
[0:32]
Yeah
[0:36]
Make a motion to approve the agenda as published. 2nd.
[0:42]
All right, Michael Wolf, Tracy Witt, Ron Duddleson, Tony Skaggs.
[0:50]
Tony Skaggs, yes, for real.
[0:53]
OK, if we could please stand for the pledge.
[1:00]
Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic
[1:06]
for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice
[1:13]
for all.
[1:18]
That's what happens when you get old. I share. Approve the uh minutes meeting from
[1:26]
September 8th, 2026.
[1:46]
Any questions?
[1:52]
Make a motion we accept the minutes published.
[1:58]
OK. OK. Michael Wolf, Tracy Webb, Ron Daddelson, Tony Skaggs, 40.
[2:10]
All business. Second reading of Ordinance 202607.
[2:18]
The um 2027 budget. This will be the second reading in adoption.
[2:30]
We had our public hearing last month.
[2:34]
Any questions?
[2:38]
Comments
[2:41]
And or concerns.
[2:49]
I'm gonna entertain emotion. When you're ready.
[3:07]
Just to remind, if your budget is not approved by December, no, by November
[3:15]
2nd, November 2nd, we will convert to last year's or this year's budget for next
[3:20]
year, just, just a reminder.
[3:34]
Mayor, I'll make a motion that we uh accept the budget as written.
[3:42]
I will say it. OK. Michael Wolf, Tracy Whit, Tony Skaggs, Ron Duddleston.
[3:53]
31. OK. Also last month or actually we
[4:01]
discussed uh. The uh approval of the water meters that we're placing 500, you guys
[4:08]
got copies of those, uh, the invoice.
[4:16]
Which part of the new um
[4:20]
Software that we got the. We had, I think actually approximately 500 m that weren't
[4:26]
reading because of the, uh, the age of the meters. So, um, conversations one on one,
[4:33]
that's what was discussed. Uh, so there's an invoice to officially approve. To replace
[4:41]
that. And I will talk later on in the meeting about um What the report goes to
[4:49]
that the new software, the new program has already helped um. That replacement of
[4:56]
these meters will be a part of Amy um being able to detect if somebody has a leak,
[5:04]
because right now they're not, so.
[5:09]
Any questions?
[5:21]
No questions. I'd entertain a motion.
[5:29]
I'll make the motion. OK. Tracy made the motion. I'll sack it. OK,
[5:37]
Michael Wolf, Tracy Wett, Ron Duddelson, Tony Skaggs.
[5:45]
Thank you.
[5:50]
New business It's that time of year. Cindy is here to talk about trick or treat.
[5:59]
Uh And she's excited. I can tell that.
[6:05]
Good to see you everybody. It's that time again of year, of course, and uh trunk
[6:08]
retreat will be coming. I believe you all have flyers in your folders. Kind of spell
[6:12]
out what's going on, but it's going to be. Um, and Monica does a wonderful job with
[6:18]
the graphics. So it's going to be Saturday, October 24th. From 6:30 to 8:30 uptown
[6:25]
around the square, it's gonna be on the, the west, north and east side of the courthouse
[6:30]
as before. Um, last year we had 65 trunks and I'm guessing roughly, we're not even
[6:36]
really quite sure the number about 2000 children. So we expect that number this year,
[6:40]
hopefully. And, uh, as of today, which is just September 5th, we have 32 trunks already.
[6:47]
So it's moving along very quickly, uh, with that goes, um. We have spooky music that
[6:54]
we play for one of our council members, uh, Brian Ross does. And then we also have
[6:59]
the Presbyterian Church along with the Lutheran Church that gives out free hot dogs
[7:03]
and snacks and water. And then we also give out uh prizes for best costumes and best
[7:10]
trunks. So if anybody wants to enter, feel free, let me know. Or donate. We're good
[7:17]
with donations too as well, or, or both, or both, yeah, absolutely both. Um, we also
[7:23]
are gonna have, um, a, a little girls dance group will be up there as well participating.
[7:29]
And then the Magic Corner will be doing treats and snacks and games as well. And
[7:34]
then in addition to that, we have the city police and the county police are doing
[7:38]
the haunted jail at the corner of Monroe and, and Main, which is gonna be fun. It's
[7:44]
gonna be kind of Around the same time, but a little bit different time, about an
[7:48]
hour later, but um it'll be up there going on when it's going on, so it should be
[7:52]
a fun time. We always pray for good weather. So we see what we get and that's it.
[7:58]
I think what you have in there is something regarding the street closures that we
[8:02]
need. You got this. You guys got a copy of that. The same as my address went across
[8:07]
High Street from black and black. Washington to Main and then Main Street from
[8:15]
High to Monroe, and then Jefferson Street from Washington to Franklin. Pretty much
[8:20]
the same as before. So no changes there, Jeff, so it's kind of a wrap.
[8:28]
We just need to make sure that uh Jeff, when, when would you have those uh barricades
[8:32]
up so we could put those up? It's on Saturday. We'll, we'll have them up there. Probably
[8:38]
Friday. OK. So, you
[8:44]
OK, and then the only other thing that I really think is make sure we've got plenty
[8:47]
of trash cans up there which I believe were good, but just make sure the other thing
[8:52]
too is we're gonna need a couple cones. In front of OBs. Just one spot they're gonna
[8:58]
do a trunk too, but so that people, you know, can go in and out if they want to go
[9:02]
in there to eat as well. And then I guess the other question I have is police, the
[9:07]
police are able to help with, Maybe crowd control a little bit. They were good with
[9:13]
doing that last year. We can do what we can. OK, OK, right, right.
[9:21]
They were very helpful last year. I mean, you guys had a wonderful display last year.
[9:27]
You have the party.
[9:33]
And, and that and then basically just helping if you can help put the barricades
[9:36]
up because uh we don't have a lot of strong manpower with us we're 3 women and 1
[9:41]
guy so yeah so that's pretty much it. So thank you very much. Well thank you and
[9:48]
I'll be here before we know it. OK, thanks awesome thank you.
[9:56]
Yes.
[10:00]
of the jail
[10:04]
all the way down Main Street and then it turns down the road anyway when you get
[10:08]
the line to get into it. I think it's a good idea that way with the jail being involved,
[10:14]
the old jail being involved now, I just think maybe we can close that off there as
[10:17]
well. Well, what we've had so far, we've had wars be there until this year. Um, it
[10:22]
ends up snaking around the road all the way down to Franklin, so it's just trying
[10:27]
to control it. We don't want any children to get hurt, obviously, so that's the main
[10:31]
concern.
[10:45]
From, from, from Maine to Franklin is what you're saying from Rome from Maine to
[10:49]
Franklin. No, I'm sorry, from Washington. Oh, OK. OK, so that
[10:56]
that might be good. I, uh, I've always been concerned about somebody. Refresh my
[10:59]
memory because I know the last two years they've come in different directions. One
[11:04]
year, Cindy, they were coming in off of Jefferson and the line went back forever.
[11:08]
And then was it last year we ran it through Monroe Street. That's what I thought.
[11:13]
OK. Did it, did it block Franklin? Did it go on down Monroe to Franklin and did it
[11:19]
wrap, or I can't remember. It wrapped all the way around Monroe and Franklin. Should
[11:24]
we? OK, OK. That was my concern, OK. OK, so I might wanna entertain that too, guys,
[11:32]
I guess maybe recommend a motion maybe give Jeff the latitude, yeah, um, and, and
[11:39]
fire to go and make a sound decision. yep, and I'm gonna make that motion, Mayor,
[11:45]
uh, Ronnie, are you OK with, I know you're on this approval form. Are you guys good?
[11:52]
All right, thank you. All righty, so that they can get out easily if possible. So
[11:58]
I'll make a motion we accept the street closure and let these guys earn their money,
[12:04]
basically. I'll take it. OK, Michael Wolf. Hi Tracy Witt. Hi, Ron Duddleston.
[12:12]
Hi Tony Skaggs. 40. Thank you. OK, thank you, Cindy.
[12:21]
In the union.
[12:26]
Counseling, we've
[12:29]
We've set up before you guys wanna set up this year?
[12:35]
I'd say so, yes.
[12:39]
Put us, put us in, Cindy and Tracy dress up. I'm sorry. Well, that's so nice of her.
[12:47]
Oh, OK. I, I, I thought I felt some pressure, but I wasn't sure. Thank you. OK.
[12:57]
Hey Ron, yes ma'am, are you gonna have a separate, uh, thing from, from the clerk's
[13:02]
office, or is it all gonna be joint? It's just joint client. You, so Kim put us in
[13:06]
with the clerk's office from the county. Yes, no, we want our separate. OK, got you.
[13:12]
So you, so you can add one, yeah, yeah, I mean, we're special. All sorts of special.
[13:19]
We're special, aren't we, Tony? I think so.
[13:24]
OK, we'll move on to the um B uh the ordinance
[13:31]
2026-08 2027 salary ordinance.
[13:46]
Oh my goodness
[13:54]
Just so everybody does know that we did a, just a 1% increase across the board, so.
[14:01]
Very minimal.
[14:25]
Any discussions, questions?
[14:47]
With intended motion if. Chance to look it over.
[15:21]
Sure
[15:44]
You think El Presidente? Hm, what do you think? You thinking? I'm not thinking anything.
[15:51]
I'm just sitting here.
[16:10]
I
[16:19]
Yeah
[16:23]
Mayor, I'll go ahead and make a motion we accept this. OK. Get the motion.
[16:33]
I'll second.
[16:37]
Michael Wolf, Tracy Wood, Tony Skaggs, Ron Devilstone, no.
[16:44]
Through you.
[16:47]
Next is the.
[16:53]
Go to see um ordinance regarding claims that have got late fees with financial
[17:00]
charges. That ordinance is 2026-09. I was able to number that before between. Yeah,
[17:07]
I'll, I'll take the lead on this one really briefly. Uh, for the council. So essentially,
[17:12]
Dana came up to me, if you recall back in April, May, there was a, uh, an ordinance
[17:18]
approved by everyone for the use of a credit card for the court treasurer as well
[17:21]
as the mayor. Um, as part of that ordinance, there was not uh allowed uh for prepayment
[17:28]
before approval by the board of Works, as you know, the city gets an invoice for
[17:32]
something, it gets approved by either us or the board of works or you or the board
[17:36]
of works, and then it's paid. Um, there are situations that come up, Dana reports
[17:40]
in which a bill is due, say on the 4th or on the 5th, and there's a late fee of a
[17:47]
percentage or other items. Uh, before either this council meets or the board of works
[17:52]
meets. So what's ended up happening is, uh, the city is incurring a late fee, um,
[17:58]
then it gets approved, but it's still costing the city money. So, um, fortunately
[18:03]
or not fortunately, um, this happens to towns. Cities all over, uh, Indiana. In Indiana
[18:09]
statute allows, uh, an ordinance, but it needs to be passed first, approving for
[18:15]
the prepayment of certain expenditures, uh, and the list is enumerated right there
[18:20]
on the ordinance, and this is the exact list verbatim from the statute. Uh, that
[18:25]
can be allowed prepayment first so the court can go ahead and pay these, so there's
[18:28]
no incurring of a late fee, uh, and then subsequent approval or, uh, by whichever
[18:33]
board or whichever counsel, uh, after the fact. So, those are licenses or permit
[18:38]
fees, insurance premiums, property purchased by the US government, utility payments
[18:43]
or utility connection charges, federal grant. Programs, grants of state funds, maintenance
[18:49]
agreements or service agreements, which I imagine is probably where it comes up the
[18:52]
most, um, and we get them through like Comcast, that's the biggie, um, I'm trying
[18:59]
to think there's a couple of those types, so that that would be part of it, lease
[19:03]
agreements or rental agreements, uh, bond issuance, city payroll, uh, state, federal.
[19:09]
County taxes again, I don't know how much it applies here for us, um, but it's part
[19:14]
of the statute and then expenses that must be uh paid because of emergency circumstances,
[19:19]
uh, and then number 13 is the late payments and that's those are all right from the
[19:24]
statute, um, and that's 3654 uh 364814 excuse me,
[19:32]
um. There's a scrivener's error on section 3. I need to, I need to switch that statute
[19:37]
to 364814. Other than that though, uh, any payment needs to have, uh, itemized claim,
[19:43]
invoice or bill. So it's not like Dana can just, or any court treasurer can just
[19:47]
go pay it and not see it. It will, it needs to be approved at the subsequent meeting
[19:51]
per the statute. Um, so it's just a way in an effort to save money. You don't have
[19:57]
to adopt all 1 through 13. I just copied that over right from the statute. This may
[20:03]
or may not be germane to the discussion, but RDC, does it fall under this, or do
[20:09]
we have to have our own? So this, when I looked up the statute, the statute said
[20:16]
it included is the fiscal office, officer of the municipality is the exact words.
[20:22]
Um, so I don't believe RDC would fall under this. Uh, I would need to see if they're
[20:27]
eligible to do it under the statute. OK, OK. The one good thing I have with RDC is
[20:33]
I, since we've appointed you two to for me to reach out to you, that's kind of my
[20:39]
fail-safe there. That, that is, that is true, Green. OK, thank you. And with everything
[20:44]
in the process and we, it's, it seems to lag. This is, this is an issue. Um, because
[20:50]
the department's getting late fees, well, the snail mail, that's another issue with
[20:53]
it. So it's just by the time we get the bill and we're able to pay the bill and then
[20:57]
they get the, get the payment back, it's, they're trying to force us to go to, you
[21:02]
know. You know, direct pay through the bank, and I'm old fashioned. I don't play.
[21:09]
So So this is, this is an issue that we're battling department heads are battling,
[21:15]
um, so. Yeah, I would encourage you to definitely look at this and, uh, It's
[21:22]
still gonna have to be the board of work through that a lot that be processed, you
[21:26]
know, it still has to be approved, but they'll still, yeah, everything will still
[21:28]
come on a docket. And if it's not enumerated as those 1 through 13, it still cannot
[21:34]
be paid under the statute without prior approval.
[21:40]
So this is just kind of sprung on you. So if, you know, if uh there's questions or,
[21:45]
you know, you. Something that's not knockable 9 you can. You look at it in November
[21:51]
if you want, but, OK, Dana, Dana said she really wants it now. I do really want it
[21:57]
now just because I've already got late fees that that I'm accruing in different things,
[22:02]
and, um, state board of accounts takes the same opinion on late fees as they do sales
[22:08]
tax, and I don't want it to turn around and be you gotta pay this out of your own
[22:12]
pocket. Not a fan. So do you wanna take a few minutes to look it over? Ask Tyler
[22:19]
questions.
[22:23]
Michael's shaking his head down. Yeah, I don't see any reason to, to, to, to, to
[22:28]
cut them any. Um, that's just my opinion. I just said that just cause we just, you
[22:34]
know, just got it, we just wanted to be that, it's something needed.
[22:43]
Like I said, there's a, it's a, it's a non-substantive error that I just, I'll switch
[22:49]
for Dana, so we'll sign it if you guys approve it. Um, that code section at the very
[22:53]
section 3, that's the, it's an identical section, it's for towns instead of cities.
[22:58]
So I need to change that to 364814. So I'll send that to Dana. That would be the
[23:02]
only change.
[23:05]
36 48 14 and I'm gonna send it to you right now. That's the only thing is that that
[23:12]
ordinance is 2026 09. Yes, correct. Thank you.
[23:20]
I like a motion that we accept. Ordinance 2026-09 as published.
[23:29]
I'll second. Other than that, other than that minor grammatical, yeah, other, other
[23:33]
than the, the minor change. In Section 3 under subsequent approval.
[23:41]
Michael Wolf. Hi Tracy West. Hi Ron Adelson. Hi Tony Skaggs. Hi. Does this need two
[23:48]
readings since Norton's? Once is fine. Once is OK. Yeah, yeah, OK, yeah, wait a
[23:56]
second. Pardon me, we don't need to suspend the rules. OK, thank you.
[24:05]
I just sent that to you, Dana. So if we just print that out, we can have everybody
[24:08]
sign it here and we're good to go. Oh, OK. If you guys will hang afterwards, I'm
[24:14]
gonna have to go to my other computer to don't sign this.
[24:18]
Yeah, it can't because it's on the 2nd page so it was just, yeah.
[24:24]
Mhm. I'm sorry about that. I
[24:30]
It's the one OK. You wanna attempt to yours on the on the back end of the. When I
[24:37]
come to you for the ADP, I'll go through mine, yeah, because you have someone waiting
[24:42]
here for part of what you're talking about, so we've hit the whole agenda, right?
[24:45]
You miss anything.
[24:50]
Um, just got a couple of things. Last month you guys approved mainstream to have
[24:56]
right of way to. Build fiber, um, to his community, um, yes.
[25:05]
And Brian is here through mainstream, um, just to talk a little bit about it, answer
[25:12]
any questions, you know, it's all one, all one packets, yeah, here's some pricing.
[25:18]
So everybody is going to have an option of um
[25:24]
Fiber, so, um, met, uh, 2 or 3 weeks ago with, with, with uh department heads and,
[25:31]
and your team and, uh, the people who's been doing the project right now going trying
[25:37]
to get all the permits and going through that process. So I wanted Brian to come
[25:42]
today and just talk about, you know, obviously we're live streaming, talking about
[25:46]
the benefits of what this can be, um, for every resident in Hartford City. So I just
[25:53]
want to maybe give a, a, just a snapshot of, and I gave them what, what you gave,
[25:59]
so. Oh yeah, thank you, Mayor. Um, so as the mayor said, I'm Brian Gabriel, I'm the
[26:03]
president of Mainstream Fiber. Um, we are an Indiana-based company. Our offices are
[26:07]
in Indiana. Our technicians are in Indiana, and our support is in Indiana at this
[26:11]
point. So, um, what we're doing is we're building fiber to communities all over the
[26:16]
state, um, and we are excited to partner with Hartford City to build fiber to as
[26:21]
much of the city as possible. Um, a majority of that goes on poles, um, but there
[26:26]
is some need for underground in certain areas. That's why we're Requesting the access
[26:30]
for the right of way underground for the areas um on our permits. Uh this is a true
[26:35]
all fiber product all the way to your house. It doesn't, you know, go coax or copper
[26:40]
the last half mile. It's a fiber all the way to your house. If you ever look at some
[26:43]
of the ads from competitors, they'll say. Fiber powered or fiber enabled, it means
[26:47]
it only goes so far and then in terms of different technology kind of thing so um.
[26:53]
We're doing this all over, I said, the state, it's, uh, communities are excited about
[26:56]
it just to have high-speed internet, um, low latency connections, symmetrical speeds
[27:01]
for upload and download. You can stream video, you can have two-way conference calling,
[27:06]
even at your house kind of thing, you have a high-quality project. So, um, you know,
[27:10]
happy to answer questions or, or go into it and, and thank you for confirming our,
[27:13]
our use of the right of way on the permits we've already submitted. Um, as the mayor
[27:18]
said, we did meet a couple of weeks ago with utilities group. Just to coordinate
[27:21]
locates for the underground part, um, police and fire and those, uh, were present
[27:26]
as well. So with our, with our vendors that are gonna be doing that. So we, we try
[27:30]
to coordinate this and, and do it right out of the gate. Um, and then any remediation,
[27:35]
we'll coordinate with the city too if there's stuff that needs to be fixed or grass
[27:39]
grown or those things, we just ask for patience on that as it's hard to grow grass
[27:42]
in December in Indiana usually. Um. But again, we're not, you know, if there is an
[27:47]
issue, we'll, we'll keep a tally of that and definitely hit it in the spring and
[27:50]
clean things up as needed and, and we're here for the long haul. We want customers
[27:54]
and partnership, not just, uh, uh, come in and build it and lead kind of thing too.
[27:58]
So, um, I think you have the pricing plan in front of you. We try to be competitive
[28:03]
if there's a. Lower cost tier that somebody still wants service from us, we try to
[28:07]
adhere to that all the way up to kind of the fancy bells and whistles of having,
[28:10]
you know, cameras and multiple Wi Fi access points and those kind of things. So we,
[28:15]
we manage all that again through our, our teams here in the state. Um, but really
[28:21]
wanted to come and say thank you for your, your cooperation with our permits and
[28:25]
then, you know, thanks to the mayor's office and the clerk-treasurer for just being
[28:28]
great to work with so far. So if you have any questions, I'm happy to try to answer
[28:31]
as I can here.
[28:36]
When will you be ready to rock and roll to the homeowners? So we're gonna start construction
[28:40]
probably the next week or two. Like we have the kickoff meeting and those things.
[28:43]
So our goal is to be finished like spring of next year. It could be quicker than
[28:47]
that, but it depends on weather and those things. Um, we already have a cabinet here
[28:51]
in Hartford City, so what we can do is as we start building the fiber, the places
[28:55]
we do build, we'll be able to actually turn on pretty quick. So that is, that is
[28:58]
a nice thing to have. It's a Advantage that you guys have over a lot of communities
[29:01]
we go into. Um, so I mean, before the end of the year, some people have access to
[29:06]
service, but the project should be done in spring. Again, weather dependent and those
[29:09]
fun things, so. And the pricing is gonna be similar to this in the spring because
[29:14]
I noticed uh there's like a termination date on this of uh 31 October. So yeah, it's
[29:22]
a great question. So we, we do a, a promotional flyer every month. It'll be the pricing
[29:25]
be very similar, I'd say within a few dollars in the spring. OK, thank you. That's
[29:29]
kind of what I thought. Thank you. It's, and then again there's, we try to find the
[29:32]
right package fit for the right customer too, you know, what they want as far as
[29:36]
perks or not, you know, we can do a very basic connection or again I said the bells
[29:40]
and whistles, but yeah, you'll, it'll become very competitive to what it is now,
[29:42]
not the same. Great, thank you.
[29:47]
So Brian, if I'm viewing on live stream and I'm. Thinking, OK, I just, you know,
[29:52]
have internet. If I go to fiber, what's the benefit, um. What's some of the benefits
[29:59]
I would get if, if, as a customer if I'm gonna go from, you know, X Y Z, um, so not
[30:06]
to get overly technical, but if you think about like copper or coaxial when you have
[30:11]
that, that, that's fed by a fiber connection, so the fiber comes into this box and
[30:15]
then figured it out from that. So it can get slow when a lot of people are online
[30:20]
streaming or watching a game or you have latency where you're, you know, your, your
[30:23]
TV buffers, you're trying to watch the IU game and it buffers out and comes back
[30:27]
in. Fiber is bringing that node technology all the way to your house, so. It's called,
[30:33]
it's a low latency, which means it's, it's moving even quicker than high-speed internet.
[30:37]
So having a lot of bandwidth is great, but if it's got high latency, you have that,
[30:41]
those pixels, you know, it's just things act up, so it's better than satellite, better
[30:46]
than cable. It's, it's Well, recently, the federal government has invested, um, you
[30:50]
know, billions of dollars in through the BEAD program to build out throughout the
[30:54]
country as far as possible. Um, mainstream is a recipient of some BED dollars too,
[30:58]
which is great, but it's really like the gold standard of technology for internet
[31:03]
connection. Um Yeah, I mean, I just, you know, local company is nice to deal with
[31:09]
for support, um, easy to talk to, understand the areas, and, you know, really good
[31:14]
symmetrical speed. So like you may have, um, usually with COA, the upload speed is
[31:18]
slower than the download speed. With ours, it's symmetrical. So if you have a gigabit,
[31:22]
and you can go up a gig or down a gig. So if you're uploading photos, or back to
[31:26]
that live stream like two-way conversation, you don't have those bandwidth limitations
[31:30]
like you would with other technologies. Um, those are just a few of the highlights,
[31:33]
so.
[31:38]
Count on any questions? All I know is I'm looking forward to it because I mean I've
[31:44]
got, I've got two different ones because I got T-Mobile and AT&T just to have one
[31:50]
for a backup with for when the other goes down because they do go down every time
[31:55]
so something that I could get. And the whole area get would, would be very beneficial.
[32:00]
I know my doctor said I needed to add fiber to my diet, so this would be even, even
[32:05]
more beneficial. I'd get, kill two birds with one stone. I probably should put an
[32:09]
asterisk on there, not, not a fiber for fiber, yeah. No, no, and we're, and we're
[32:14]
excited to, to work with the city too. I mean we built Montpelier, I think it was
[32:17]
the end of last year and those things too. It's been a good, good project for us
[32:20]
and we're going all over, like I said, the state. It's, it's, um, you know, it's
[32:23]
fun to partner with communities and do this. We, we do ask for patience and we will
[32:27]
coordinate, like I said, with utilities for construction. Um, construction can be
[32:31]
messy, but we'll take pride in ownership, make sure it gets cleaned up very quickly
[32:34]
and any issues we've given the, um, mayor utilities escalation points in our organization
[32:40]
to get things remedied quickly if they need to. So, um, yeah, MS fiber.net is our
[32:46]
website. You can look at pricing and plans, and you can actually sign up for service
[32:49]
now too, I believe we have it turned on for Hertford City. People go ahead and get
[32:52]
in the queue to get lined up for actual service. So yeah, again, any other questions
[32:57]
about me to come back and talk anytime or, or, you know, meet offline anytime as
[33:01]
well. I
[33:06]
So what neighborhood are you gonna start with? What neighborhood are you gonna start
[33:10]
with? It's a great question. I'll have it in front of me.
[33:15]
I wish I had a zoom in and we could zoom for live stream. They could see the pricing,
[33:19]
but they are very, very competitive, very competitive. Monica will have these out
[33:23]
and just there again, this does, like you said, in the, in the end of the month,
[33:28]
but you kind of recycle with promotion. So this will just give it kind of a, a roster
[33:34]
of, of what you, uh, what you offer and the benefits and. If anybody wants a copy
[33:40]
after me, I can, I'll make copies and at no charge, so, um, with that.
[33:48]
You have any last questions? I have, I have a question. In terms of the pricing,
[33:54]
is it static for the life of the contract? Is it month to month? So it's, it's month
[34:01]
to month, but we don't really typically change prices more than once a year and when
[34:05]
we do that's usually minimal and honestly the way the market's going, the prices
[34:10]
are coming down more often and they're going up, so we try to maintain competitiveness.
[34:15]
So sorry about that. Sure, it's OK. Yeah, take care of.
[34:21]
Up time to think can you understand. Yeah, so we, we strive for 100%. I know it's
[34:26]
not gonna happen, right? Um, ours is susceptible to when things get hit by a pole
[34:30]
gets hit by a truck, it can go down, um, but we also service some commercial clients
[34:36]
up here already that are important for us to get back up. So I mean we, we strive
[34:40]
for what's called a 99.99 uptime, not guaranteed, but that's what our strive is.
[34:45]
But if something happens at 7 o'clock on a Saturday night, people will be out here
[34:49]
within a couple of hours to start working on it. I don't mean it's gonna be restored
[34:52]
in a couple of hours, but we'll have crews in place to start repairing fiber and
[34:56]
those things as well, um, and then we'll have, uh, call support 24/7. You can call
[35:00]
in and actually get, you know, support or from the list kind of thing. So yeah, I
[35:05]
mean, it's. It's a great question. Usually it only goes down for a bad event where
[35:10]
somebody hits a pole or somebody digs up a fiber line, but we do have diverse connections
[35:14]
into the city to our, our node there. So again, not bulletproof, but it's, it's very
[35:20]
good. So yeah, of course. OK, well, hey, thanks for coming and appreciate it.
[35:30]
I'm really, I'm, I'm liking the outdoor Wi Fi booster. If, if I did my math right,
[35:37]
Councilman Skaggs could buy this. And I could tie into his because I think we're
[35:42]
close enough. What do you think, Tony? I think so, and I would do so for, I don't
[35:47]
think it's allowed on the as far as the user agreement, but what I don't know won't
[35:50]
hurt me. I'm sure they're out on the radius, and for you, I would do that for 50
[35:55]
bucks a month. We'll, we'll talk. We'll talk. OK, we better move on. Thanks, Brian.
[36:03]
Yeah, yeah, thank you. Citywide cleanup, uh, this Saturday, um.
[36:11]
So we'd love to have you. All participate as possible. Um,
[36:19]
so Saturday from 9 to 120 Wyler Plaza. Um, lunch will be provided.
[36:28]
So you'll see a video either tonight or tomorrow morning that Dustin and I, um, helping
[36:33]
promote. So bring your family, bring your neighbors. It's supposed to be nice weather.
[36:40]
Did you see the other item or you decide not to you're not talking about under mayor's
[36:45]
report there was another item. Are you talking about that? OK, I still want you to
[36:49]
forget it. Yeah, no, it's, it's on my, on my list.
[36:54]
Um, we'll just talk about it now. So this is.
[37:01]
Do you think it's, it's in bundles um like that's one it's two papers, yeah. So
[37:08]
705 West Franklin, we had, I think you guys, uh, discussed it last week and decided
[37:16]
not to move on it. This is what the gentleman's proposing to put.
[37:23]
On the property
[37:27]
West Franklin. Blackford Development owns 709. Um, so we're, Michael's working on
[37:34]
hard that to get, uh, Blackford Development to approve. He wants to put a house that's
[37:38]
1200 square feet. It's gonna play the garage. New construction On a lot
[37:48]
2 lots, 1 house. We need housing. Um, he's gonna pay
[37:55]
$500 per lot.
[37:59]
With that
[38:03]
Questions
[38:07]
I support this and I'm going to ask counsel to approve this. Not a question, but
[38:13]
just more of a comment, uh, as you said, uh, the city owns 705 West Franklin, BDC
[38:19]
owns 709 West Franklin. Uh, we have come to an agreement to sell our lot to him for
[38:25]
$500 with the, with the, um, covenant that he has to build a house, a 1200
[38:33]
square foot house within 24 months, so. Again, that will be that's just gonna refresh
[38:39]
my memory so I don't have to dig through my pile of paper down there. What was the,
[38:42]
the selling price on that that he had, what was the bid price? You remember Mike?
[38:49]
It was 5. OK, that's what I was thinking. Yeah, that didn't change. OK, great. Yeah,
[38:54]
it's 500. Thank you. Thank you very much, so.
[38:58]
Is that a motion? I make a motion that we approve. Say all that loud. I, I'll second
[39:03]
that. I'll second that. All right, Michael Wolf, Tracy Wett, Ron Edelson. Tony Skaggs
[39:10]
40.
[39:12]
Thank you.
[39:22]
Agree to sell that or is there going to be a problem? No, we. We don't, Yeah, uh,
[39:28]
Blackford Development Corporation has already come to agreement to sell that and
[39:32]
so that process isn't working. It's kind of we're just doing it together just to
[39:37]
Just for timing sake.
[39:43]
So part of that.
[39:46]
The meters that you approved, um, and I'm not gonna go into this in depth, but,
[39:54]
um, Amy just put some notes. So part of when this thing. When the new
[40:02]
software was that we purchased that will detect leaks, water leaks, if it's a dripping,
[40:09]
whatever it might be, she can detect it instantly, um. We've gotten, we've actually
[40:16]
around 20 customers have been notified of leaks, um, in the first of the month. So
[40:23]
it's already starting to make a, make a, a dent. So I guess I would encourage each
[40:31]
one of you to, when you can, stop up with the see Amy she can show you. It's kind
[40:36]
of neat. Um.
[40:39]
And there again it's got people's addresses and account numbers not gonna go through
[40:43]
it, but it just shows you.
[40:47]
You want me to take that? No, no, no. Just the extent of, you know, it shows by error
[40:51]
by error if somebody has a leak, you know, when it is or whatever it might be. So
[40:58]
it gives details of what it might be. So if someone calls in and say, hey, my bill
[41:02]
seems a little higher, she can actually look to see what's going on. So, um, great
[41:08]
tool. Can I give a thirty-second dissertation on that? A couple of weeks ago, Amy
[41:13]
called me and said, you've got a small leak, minuscule leak, and I mean minuscule,
[41:19]
as if I did the numbers right, like 50 gallon a day leak, it's a seep. And the guys
[41:26]
came down and it, you, you think of a running toilet is kicking on, kicking off.
[41:33]
This was so minute, minute. That it, it was in a 50, well, my, my house was built
[41:40]
in 65, so the, the, the, the ah unit was put in in 65, very, very small, very, very
[41:47]
small, very, very accurate. I was stunned how accurate it was.
[41:53]
So it's gonna save customers a lot of money and it's gonna save our residents headaches.
[41:58]
Um, we're 2 months behind on utility bills, so having to wait a month and a half
[42:03]
months, you obviously get a utility bill and you look at it and say it's a little
[42:05]
bit higher than next month you get you think, oh my goodness, so this is gonna help
[42:10]
solve it, so. Um, great to have it.
[42:16]
Couple of final things. We, um, actually got a housing preservation grant for $40,000.
[42:24]
So we will be in Hartford City. I just, we just got a word of this. So what'll happen
[42:30]
is, it's there, it's $40,000 so it's gonna be, obviously, it's gonna be a small amount
[42:35]
of, of customers, but, uh, of residents. That will be there to repair or
[42:43]
replace foundations, roof, um, house wiring. Heating systems. Um,
[42:52]
and part of the water process. So, it's kind of like the OR, but this is more of
[42:56]
a federal thing that we got through USDA, um, and we just got a word this last week.
[43:02]
So, More details to come. We'll have something out there, so we'll be able to help
[43:08]
out a couple um of residents with roofing, wiring, whatever it might be. So, um,
[43:16]
A 40,000 to help other, help other residents, so. Excited to have that.
[43:25]
This is it, and I'll be done. Um, we got a letter. Um, and we don't want you a lot
[43:31]
of, it's nice to get thank you letters, you know, it really, somebody takes the time
[43:35]
to do this, means a lot. So part of this is, and I'll just read it. Thank you, sewer
[43:41]
crew, crew, if I can read it. Attention, Travis. Um, I wanted to thank Travis and
[43:46]
his crew for his kind help. They were so helpful, went, went above and beyond to
[43:53]
help with our sewer. Thank you. You guys are the best, um. Somebody on South Cherry.
[43:59]
I didn't get permission to say the names I won't. But anyways, some kudos and um
[44:07]
We all do good work, but it's nice to get a pat on the back from, from our customers.
[44:12]
So, um, good job.
[44:18]
OK.
[44:22]
So you wanna go first? Well, she's first, and then is she on the agenda first? She
[44:28]
is. Community development. I was gonna come back to you then. He's going out of order.
[44:35]
Well, he's just mixing it up a little bit, making it exciting, right? He's making
[44:39]
me OK, so mayor kind of referred to some grant money we already received for some
[44:45]
housing upgrades, and this is another opportunity that we are applying for. Y'all
[44:52]
approved this last month, but um. I'm gonna invite you to take this survey are the
[45:00]
OOR or owner-occupied rehab grant, um, we're working on now. We've got it, the partnership
[45:07]
and I believe we talked about this last month through the county Hartford City Mark,
[45:13]
um, economic development.
[45:17]
They have all pooled their money to apply for this up to, well, it would, would be
[45:21]
a $500,000 investment in the community if we're awarded. So part of the award or
[45:27]
the application process is that we need community input. So these survey, that's
[45:31]
what the survey is for. So we ask you all to fill out a very quick and people will
[45:35]
find this online. It's a very, very quick survey here with 6 questions that a 7th
[45:41]
of you choose to um identify some information about what your house might need. They're
[45:46]
all uh anonymous, so there's no information collected about who's answering what,
[45:51]
but this just, this helps us with our application so that we can be more competitive
[45:56]
in the process. And I think we went into this in-depth last month. So thoughts, ideas,
[46:01]
questions. And this is the part that you guys approved last month to be a part of,
[46:09]
so, um. It's gonna, it's gonna help out a handful of people again, so that need help,
[46:17]
um, that are. Um Income-based, um, you know, there's restrictions there, so, um.
[46:25]
It's not a good thing to help out our community that people need help.
[46:30]
OK. Thank you. Thank you, Sherry.
[46:37]
OK, you want me to, OK. Um, I gave you guys at the very beginning of the meeting,
[46:42]
uh, an INM, uh, right of way project they wanna do sometime the week of the 16th,
[46:49]
I think, 16th to the 20th, and it came very late today, so I just wanted to get approval
[46:54]
for that if it's possible. Make motion we approve. One second. Thank you.
[47:02]
Michael Wolf, Tracy Witt, Ron Duddelson, Tony Skaggs, well, thank you. I will let
[47:09]
them know.
[47:15]
OK.
[47:19]
One This is more of a question for this um owner-occupied rehabilitation survey.
[47:26]
Is it just limited to the items on #3? Uh, this one will be limited to HVAC and roofing
[47:33]
and Um, exterior endgame ramps. So for this round. OK. Cause I'd like to get, uh,
[47:41]
I don't know if there's anything out there. I mean, just to help with kind of the
[47:46]
aesthetics of the house and the look of the house. Some people need new siding, some
[47:50]
people just need paint that can't do it. Is there anything available kind of on that
[47:55]
end? Not that I'm aware of. A lot of times if those are available, that might be
[48:00]
like a local match or something that uh the city would come up with. Suggesting that
[48:06]
we necessarily do at this point, but sometimes, uh, communities will, will do that.
[48:12]
Or even this one is a overactive grant, so it's got very specific parameters and
[48:18]
criteria and no windows on this one. No windows on this one.
[48:27]
It'd be a good project for you to do in District one. Definitely, you know, there's
[48:32]
a house in District 1 that needs District 2. Do you have, do you have a big time.
[48:38]
I'm cutting him off.
[48:43]
At large.
[48:46]
Yeah, I do have a couple of items, Mayor. Thank you. Um, Without going into a lot
[48:52]
of detail, the ready grant money has been approved. We are going to be doing work
[48:57]
on the Newberry. Um, continuing work on the Newberry, and with that, I need approval
[49:04]
from common counsel for, I'll call for a fiduciary Committee, would that be a correct
[49:10]
term for that, the outlay of the money, um, and all we need is just a simple up-down
[49:17]
vote on this, and that committee as it stands would be Mayor Eckstein, Commissioner
[49:22]
Borgenheimer, um, myself, um. Commissioner or uh yeah, Councilman
[49:30]
Aspe, those would be the voting members and then an advisory member would be Mr.
[49:35]
Warren Brown from Economic Development. That would be the committee that the bot
[49:40]
would go through and we would be dispersing the funds or approving the dispersing
[49:45]
of funds. So with that, um, I'll, I'll accept any questions. If there's no questions,
[49:51]
I would ask for a motion to approve that committee. I'll go ahead and make a motion
[49:55]
to approve that committee. Thank you. 2nd. Thank you. All right, Michael Wolf, Tracy
[50:02]
Witt, Ron Edelson, Tony Skaggs, and if the minutes would please reflect that, Dana,
[50:09]
reflect that committee. So it's Dan Eckstein, Ron Edelson, Dan Morgenheimer, Bill
[50:14]
Asby, Warren Brown as advisor. Yes, nobody else, OK, OK, um.
[50:22]
Secondly, this is minor. I kind of fell into it. I had a constituent ask me about
[50:27]
some street lighting, and Jeff had already taken care of it, but in my Roundabout,
[50:32]
I found a couple of lights that were out, and I would advise counsel to drive through
[50:38]
at night, and I would advise our constituents that if you see a light that's out,
[50:43]
every pole has got an INM number, please write that INM number down, and you can
[50:49]
either call AEP or INM or you can contact one of us and we will make that call or
[50:54]
contact the mayor's office. That way, we can get those lighting things fixed. Um
[51:03]
A shameless plug for the fire department. October 17th is the fish fry at the fire
[51:10]
department. Be there, be square. It's a great time and funding helps out. And what
[51:16]
is it $13 adults, Ronnie, I think what it is. Tickets are available at the, at the
[51:21]
firehouse. What was the date again? Um, the 17th, 17th. The what? 4 to
[51:29]
7. Thank you. Uh, can I ask a question about the light poles? Where is that plan?
[51:36]
Are you, it's about eye level on all the poles. It's a big yellow. It says I've got
[51:41]
one in my car I wrote down, but remember, Jerry, it says INM da da da da, yeah, is
[51:49]
it BLL or I forget. It's got some, yeah, it's, it's eye level. You can see them.
[51:55]
Just write them down and get with one of us and we'll call them in as a group because
[52:00]
we pay for those. Thank you. Jeff, was it you that we talked about the um
[52:08]
Franklin and Jefferson? That there's a light out or was that dust and OK, so yeah,
[52:16]
so I called um. Electric company, they're gonna come look at it because it's, it's
[52:21]
something in ground so I was gonna tell you about that. I've got every other one
[52:27]
fixed except yeah anyway it's underground somewhere. So it's not like October. We've
[52:34]
got, uh, we've got citywide cleanup and then we've got fish fry, trick or treat,
[52:40]
and we got Halloween and we got the bike thing on the bike thing on the 18th and
[52:45]
the Jeep, Jeep, the Jeep, the Jeep thing, yes. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. That's
[52:49]
the day before the bike so um. Yes. Busy month, so.
[52:57]
OK. Is all that gonna be on the Harperidia? Yes, I think some of it's already on
[53:04]
there, right? Yeah, I'll have to double check. We have any public.
[53:11]
OK, now we turn the motion. OK, adjourned.
[53:19]
It's amazing.
[53:23]
That's the scat that is that should.
[53:29]
I don't say