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Home My WebLink About12.06.23 CC Meeting Minutes1 COMMON COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2023 – 5:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS/CITY HALL/ONE CIVIC SQUARE MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Council President Jeff Worrell; Council Members: Laura Campbell, Timothy Hannon, Anthony Green, Kevin D. Rider, Miles Nelson, Adam Aasen, Teresa Ayers and Deputy Clerk Jessica Komp were present. Councilor Sue Finkam was not present. Council President Worrell called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. AGENDA APPROVAL The agenda was approved unanimously. INVOCATION Councilor Rider delivered the Invocation Boy Scout Nick Schriver led the Pledge of Allegiance. RECOGNITION OF CITY EMPLOYEES AND OUTSTANDING CITIZENS There were none. RECOGNITION OF PERSONS WHO WISH TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL There were none. COUNCIL AND MAYORAL COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS Councilor Hannon announced on December 11th the Christkindlmarkt would be honoring military and veterans. Council President Worrell announce a free event aimed at fostering a culture of civility at the Carmel Clay Public Library on January 10th. Councilor Nelson announced that the Christkindlmarkt will have the eighth night of the lighting of the Menorah on December 14th. CONSENT AGENDA DocuSign Envelope ID: 03AC7ADE-99B6-42B1-817F-20C55B345F55 2 Councilor Rider moved to approve the consent agenda. Councilor Nelson seconded. There was no Council discussion. Council President Worrell called for the vote. The motion was approved 8-0. a. Approval of Minutes 1. November 20, 2023 Regular Meeting b. Claims 1. Payroll $3,452,609.07 2. General Claims $3,576,170.74 ACTION ON MAYORAL VETOES There were none. COMMITTEE REPORTS Council President Worrell reported that the Finance, Utilities and Rules Committee had not met but would be meeting on December 14th at 5:30. Councilor Campbell reported that the Land Use and Special Studies had not met but would be meeting on December 11th at 5:30 OTHER REPORTS – (at the first meeting of the month specified below): Henry Mestetsky, Executive Director of the Carmel Redevelopment Commission, presented the monthly Redevelopment Commission report. Council President Worrell asked that the CRC and City take extra care of the project and provide updates and timelines to neighbors. Michael Klitzing, Director of Parks and Recreation/CEO, gave the quarterly Parks Department report. OLD BUSINESS Council President Worrell announced the Second Reading of Ordinance Z-684-23; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Rezoning 154 W. Carmel Drive to the C1/City Center District; Sponsor: Councilor Aasen. Item remains in the Land Use and Special Studies Committee. Council President Worrell announced the Second Reading of Ordinance Z-685-23; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Rezoning 988 3rd Avenue SW to the C1/City Center District; Sponsor: Councilor Aasen. Item remains in the Land Use and Special Studies Committee. Council President Worrell announced the Second Reading of Ordinance D-2688-23; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Authorizing the Issuance of Economic Development Tax Increment Revenue Bonds to Support the Gramercy Project, and Authorizing and Approving Other Actions in Respect Thereto; Sponsor: Councilor Worrell. Item remains Tabled Until January 8, 2024. DocuSign Envelope ID: 03AC7ADE-99B6-42B1-817F-20C55B345F55 3 Council President Worrell announced the Second Reading of Ordinance D-2690-23; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Authorizing the Issuance of Economic Development Tax Increment Revenue Bonds to Support the Valentina Project, and Authorizing and Approving Other Actions in Respect Thereto; Sponsor: Councilor Worrell. Item remains Tabled Until January 8, 2024 Council President Worrell announced the Second Reading of Ordinance D-2691-23; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Designating the Caperton-Carter House Historic District Located at 35 and 39 Maplecrest Drive; Sponsor: Councilor Aasen. Item remains in the Land Use and Special Studies Committee. Council President Worrell announced the Second Reading of Ordinance D-2696-23; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Adding Chapter 8, Article 4, Section 8-44 to the Carmel City Code; Sponsor(s): Councilor(s) Worrell, Aasen, Rider and Hannon. Item remains in the Finance, Utilities and Rules Committee. PUBLIC HEARINGS NEW BUSINESS Council President Worrell announced the First Reading of Ordinance D-2692-23; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Amending Chapter 9, Article 2, Division IV, Section 9- 55 and Restating the Schedule of Rates and Charges Collected by the Water Utility. Councilor Rider moved to introduce the item into business. Councilor Aasen seconded. Councilor Nelson introduced the item to Council. John Duffy, Director of Utilities, presented the item to Council. Scott Miller, Baker Tilly presented to Council. The financing done in 2005 to bring the customers on was done in a way to extended the repayment structure out over a long period of time to allow those customers to get connected and allow for additional customer growth so the cost could be spread over a long customer base. This means we now have an accelerating debt service. If the increase is approved by Council, rates will be adjusted and debt will be restructured so we are at about $12M in debt over a longer period of time which gives more flexibility in terms of how we finance and operate the utility and pay for future improvements. Rate increases would be about $5 per month in the residential base charge and $1.14 per 1,000 gallons based on the amount of water you use. This increase would take place in 2024 and then in 2025, 2026, 2027, etc it would go back to the normal inflation based CPI adjustment. There hasn’t been any payments on the interest or debt yet. At the time, $150M of upgrades that needed to be made to provide service for customers were taken over and to account for future growth. The thought process was to delay the payments so we could spread the repayment out over a large group of users instead of smaller group of residents paying upfront for future growth. John Duffy stated at the time in 2005, with annexation, the Mayor and Council didn’t want 3 water utilities serving residents so a large amount of customers were taken over at once by the City. Council President Worrell referred the item to the Finance, Utilities and Rules Committee. Council President Worrell announced the First Reading of Ordinance D-2693-23; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Amending Chapter 9, Article 2, Division II, Section 9- 44, Chapter 9 Article 2, Division III Sections 9-45, 9-51 and 9-52 and Chapter 9 Article 2, Division IV, Sections 9-58, 9-62, and 9-75 of the Carmel City Code. Councilor Rider moved to introduce the item into business. Councilor Campbell seconded. Councilor Rider introduced the item to Council. John Duffy presented the item to Council. These fees are generally paid by builders and developers. Council President Worrell referred the item to the Finance, Utilities and Rules Committee. DocuSign Envelope ID: 03AC7ADE-99B6-42B1-817F-20C55B345F55 4 Council President Worrell announced the First Reading of Ordinance D-2694-23; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Amending Chapter 9, Article 3, Division IV, Section 9- 171 of the Carmel City Code. Councilor Rider moved to introduce the item into business. Councilor Nelson seconded. Councilor Aasen introduced the item to Council. John Duffy presented the item to Council. Many of the pipes will need to be increased size in the future. Scott Miller presented to Council. Currently, collection system issues are what need to be addressed. The Carmel plant treats Trico and Westfield waste. $2.02 increase per month for the base charge and $1.01 per 1,000 gallons based on the flow to the system for residents. That will go into place in January of 2024 and then 2025, 2026, 2027, etc we go back to the normal inflation based CPI adjustment. If pipes aren’t upgraded, waste could come up in basements or manholes. ADJOURNMENT Council President Worrell adjourned the meeting at 7:18 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ____________________________________ Sue Wolfgang, Clerk Approved, ____________________________________ Jeff Worrell, Council President ATTEST: __________________________________ Sue Wolfgang, Clerk DocuSign Envelope ID: 03AC7ADE-99B6-42B1-817F-20C55B345F55