Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.17.25 CC Meeting Minutes 1 City of Carmel CARMEL COMMON COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2024 – 6:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS/CITY HALL/ONE CIVIC SQUARE MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Council President Adam Aasen, Council Members: Shannon Minnaar, Ryan Locke, Teresa Ayers, Matthew Snyder, Rich Taylor, Jeff Worrell, Anita Joshi, and Deputy Clerk Jessica Komp were present. Councilor Green attended virtually. Council President Aasen called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. AGENDA APPROVAL The agenda was approved unanimously. INVOCATION Chaplain David Choutka of the Carmel Fire Department delivered the invocation. 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 Leena Meng, a 4th grade student at Prairie Trace Elementary School, gave the Mayor’s Report to Council. Mayor Finkam thanked the FOP and the IAFF for getting their contract completed, and the Council for approving it tonight. The first She L.E.A.D.S. Conference will take place on Thursday, February 20th, completely paid for with sponsorship dollars. The Conference is a leadership development event, hosted by the Mayor, that combines professional advancement opportunities for working women, along with career exploration activities for middle school girls. Bovacanti, a coffee shop, and Josephine, a French restaurant, are both open for business in downtown Carmel. The Indiana General Assembly is currently in session. The Mayor is working closely with the Governor and state legislators to find a balance between tax reform that benefits those who need it, and also allows us to offer high quality services to our residents. Councilor Joshi expressed her disappointment that the nominating committee that had previously been announced will not be created. Councilor Joshi, along with Councilors Green and Snyder, had been appointed to this committee, and they had begun to meet as a working group, and gave an informal recommendation to the Council at the last meeting. Going forward, applicants to city boards and commissions will apply through the city website. Councilor Joshi hopes that all Councilors will have a Docusign Envelope ID: 7B4B9A42-C88E-4E49-888B-25C5CE7DABF4 2 chance to review the applications that come in, and that the new process will help broaden our reach into the city’s diverse talent pool. CONSENT AGENDA Councilor Minnaar moved to approve the consent agenda. Councilor Snyder seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. The consent agenda was approved 9-0. a. Approval of Minutes 1. February 3, 2024 Regular Meeting b. Claims 1. Payroll - $4,067,336.44 2. General Claims - $4,997,381.69 and $31,321.08 (Purchase Card) 3. Wire Transfers - $3,960,265.68 ACTION ON MAYORAL VETOES There were none. COMMITTEE REPORTS Councilor Taylor reported that the Finance, Utilities and Rules Committee has not met since the last Council meeting. Councilor Snyder reported that the Land Use and Special Studies Committee had not met since the last Council meeting. The committee will be meeting this Wednesday, February 19th, and will discuss the UDO and begin the conversations on micro-mobility. OTHER REPORTS – (at the first meeting of the month specified below): The Economic Development Commission will not be giving its report tonight, it will be postponed until an upcoming Council meeting. The Library Board gave its annual report to Council. Council’s appointee to the Library Board of Trustees, Xiao Ou Yuan, introduced Bob Swanay, Executive Director of the Carmel Clay Public Library. Bob shared that CCPL was inducted into the OneZone 2024 honors. The library has a working budget of $10 million. Collection Materials comprises about 20% of the budget, which is the gold standard. The library’s 2024 tax rate was 3.14% of the total tax rate, which is pretty great for such an amazing library. The main library had 530,698 visits last year, and the branch library had 52,509. In 2024 there were 195 programs for adults with 5,134 attendees. There were 206 teen programs with 6,824 in attendance. There were 705 programs for children with 24,648 attendees. There were 63 outreach events reaching 5,341 people, and over 50 homebound patrons were served regularly. There were 508 room reservations, generating $12,925 in total revenue. There were 35,737 study room reservations, which can be made through our website. There were 354 checkouts from the new Gadget Library. 2024 circulation totaled 2,166,059. The Holds Pickup Locker had a 37% increase in usage. There were 36,868 visits to the Digital Media Lab. The new Exploration Lab offers STEAM activities for children ages 7 and up. The library has 552 rooftop solar modules, each generating 445 watts of energy, enough to supply 20-30% of the library’s energy needs. The Library would also like to bring solar panels to the West Branch, as well as a Holds Pickup Locker. The Library After Dark event will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2025. The Guilded Leaf Book & Author Events will be an October Docusign Envelope ID: 7B4B9A42-C88E-4E49-888B-25C5CE7DABF4 3 evening event and luncheon featuring six New York Times bestselling authors. CCPL would like Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program to be brought to Hamilton County and is talking with potential key partners to find a way to implement this program, as Hamilton County is the only county in the state with no coverage. Councilor Taylor asked about the reciprocal library program. Mr. Swanay explained that we have a reciprocal program within Hamilton County. This means that someone with a Westfield Library card can bring it to the desk at CCPL to register it and then use it to check out books here in Carmel. Likewise, any Carmel resident can take their CCPL card to the Westfield Library and register it to use there. Sergey Grechukhin, Corporation Counsel, gave the annual report from the Ethics Board. As the Ethics Board is a reactionary body, it has no reason to meet unless there is a complaint about an elected official or a city employee. In 2024, the Ethics Board received only one complaint and responded to it. The findings on that item are not yet finalized, so Mr. Grechukhin was unable to present those findings. The Ethics Board also collects statements of economic interest. In 2024, the Ethics Board received 209 statements of economic interest. OLD BUSINESS Council President Aasen announced the second reading of Ordinance D-2762-25; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Amending Chapter 8, Article 5, Sections 8-37, 8-47, and 8- 48 of the Carmel City Code; Sponsor: Councilor Aasen. This item remains the Land Use and Special Studies Committee. Council President Aasen announced Resolution CC-02-03-25-07; A Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Recommending Consideration of an Amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance for the City and Referring the Same to the Carmel Plan Commission for Recommendation; Sponsor(s): Councilor(s) Aasen, Snyder and Taylor. This item remains the Land Use and Special Studies Committee. Council President Aasen announced Resolution CC-02-03-25-08; A Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Approving the 2025-2026 Contract with the Carmel Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 185; Sponsor: Councilor Aasen. President Aasen pulled this item out of the Finance, Utilities and Rules Committee. Mayor Finkam stated that the Fire and Police Contracts have 4 common objectives. The first is to provide pay and benefits that are competitive to improve recruitment and retention. Second, to maintain parity between the two contracts. Third, to address a long-standing disincentive preventing promotion by adjusting the pay matrices. Last, to untie the sworn pay from the civilian step and grade system. The Mayor also asked that the Police contract be amended to match the Fire contract, stating that the City will no longer have sole discretion to make changes to insurance benefits, and that an insurance advisory committee will be formed, including two members of FOP Lodge 185. Councilor Taylor made a motion to amend the resolution. Councilor Minnaar seconded. Councilor Locke asked the Mayor to explain what this amendment means and does. Mayor Finkam responded that the City works with our broker to regularly review our insurance plan and the costs associated with it, and to discuss opportunities for improvement. This change will invite members of the FOP and the IAFF into that conversation. Councilor Taylor then summarized what this change would look like. There was no further discussion on the amendment. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Motion to Amend approved, 9-0. Councilor Worrell then asked what the staffing levels are at this time for Fire and Police. Police Chief, Drake Sterling, responded that we currently have 13 vacancies for sworn officers. Blake Lytle, President of FOP Lodge 185, spoke in favor of this contract, and its ability to help with recruitment. Another positive for recruitment is the lateral program. Councilor Minnaar expressed her support for this contract. Councilor Taylor made a motion Docusign Envelope ID: 7B4B9A42-C88E-4E49-888B-25C5CE7DABF4 4 to approve the resolution as amended. Councilor Joshi seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Resolution CC-02-03-25-08 approved as amended, 9-0. PUBLIC HEARINGS There were none. NEW BUSINESS Council President Aasen announced Resolution CC-02-17-25-01; A Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Expressing Interest in the Purchase of Certain Properties Valued at Over $25,000.00 and Associated with City Improvement Projects; Sponsor: Councilor Taylor. Councilor Taylor made a motion to introduce the item into business. Councilor Minnaar seconded. Councilor Taylor presented the item to Council. Brad Pease, Director of Engineering, explained that this resolution is a requirement of state code. This resolution casts a broad net, we may not need to acquire all of the properties listed. Councilor Snyder asked if there is a timestamp on these resolutions, because it seems that this is an open- ended document, and the city can keep acquiring properties without having to come back to Council. Sergey Grechukhin stated that properties can only be required with the bond related to the resolution, and once the bond is spent, acquisitions stop. Councilor Snyder stated that the resolution does not specify that. Council President Aasen sent Resolution CC-02-17-25-01 to the Land Use and Special Studies Committee for further review. Councilor Snyder stated that this item will be reviewed this Wednesday, February 19th. AGENDA ADD-ON ITEMS Councilor Taylor moved to add Resolution CC-02-17-25-03 to the agenda. Councilor Worrell seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Adding Item to the Agenda approved, 9-0. Councilor Taylor moved to introduce the item into business. Councilor Joshi seconded. Councilor Taylor presented the item to Council. Sean Sutton, President of the Carmel Firefighters Union, spoke in support of this resolution, which approves the Fire Department contract for 2025-2026. Councilor Taylor moved to approve the resolution. Council President Aasen seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Resolution CC-02-17-25-03 approved, 9-0. Councilor Worrell moved to add Resolution CC-02-17-25-02 to the agenda. Councilor Snyder seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Adding Item to the Agenda approved, 9-0. Councilor Worrell moved to introduce the item into business. Councilor Minnaar seconded. Councilor Worrell presented the item to Council, explaining that this resolution lists the dates that will be exempt from the short-term rental requirements for 2025. Mayor Finkam explained that this came to Council a little later because they have been waiting to find out if an economic development opportunity would be coming in October, which would require 3500 hotel rooms. That deal has not been inked yet, so the Mayor may be coming back to Council next month to amend this resolution to add those October dates and remove November dates which would be in less demand. Councilor Minnaar stated that she will vote in favor of this, although she is generally opposed to short-term rentals. Councilor Locke asked if this applies to homes located in HOA’s which prohibit short-term rentals. The Mayor replied that it does not. If your HOA prohibits short-term rentals, then your home may never be used as one, even on these exempt dates. Councilor Worrell moved to approve the resolution. Councilor Taylor seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Resolution CC-02-17-25-02 approved, 9-0. Docusign Envelope ID: 7B4B9A42-C88E-4E49-888B-25C5CE7DABF4 5 OTHER BUSINESS Council President Aasen announced Notice of Cancellation of Outstanding Checks for Fiscal Year 2022 - $1,157.21. This is a request for acknowledgement by the Council. Mayor Finkam explained that these are checks which have not been cashed, we have waited the required two years. From here they will go to Indiana Unclaimed for one last chance to be cashed. Councilor Taylor moved to acknowledge the receipt. Councilor Joshi seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Notice of Cancellation of Outstanding Checks for Fiscal Year 2022 acknowledged, 9-0. ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilor Snyder asked the Finance Department to include a staffing status report showing open jobs per department in their quarterly report. Councilor Snyder also stated that he has been in conversation with Fire Chief Thacker regarding the need to amend the Ambulance Fund ordinance. Our legal department has spoken with the Township about removing language regarding their involvement. The Land Use and Special Studies Committee will discuss this issue in the meeting after this Wednesday’s. ADJOURNMENT Council President Aasen adjourned the meeting at 7:23 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, _______________________________ Jacob Quinn, Clerk Approved, ATTEST: _______________________________ Adam Aasen, Council President _______________________________ Jacob Quinn, Clerk Docusign Envelope ID: 7B4B9A42-C88E-4E49-888B-25C5CE7DABF4