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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.17.25 CC Meeting Minutes 1 City of Carmel CARMEL COMMON COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS/CITY HALL/ONE CIVIC SQUARE MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Council President Adam Aasen, Council Members: Ryan Locke, Teresa Ayers, Matthew Snyder, Rich Taylor, Jeff Worrell, Anita Joshi, Anthony Green and Deputy Clerk Jessica Komp were present. Councilor Shannon Minnaar attended virtually. Council President Aasen called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. AGENDA APPROVAL The agenda was approved 7-0. (Councilor Snyder abstained, as he had just arrived, and Councilor Minnaar’s audio could not be heard.) INVOCATION Reverend Gale Stutz of Carmel Christian Church delivered the invocation. RECOGNITION OF CITY EMPLOYEES AND OUTSTANDING CITIZENS Three new Carmel Police Officers were sworn in by Mayor Sue Finkam. Congratulations to Austin Holtz, Codey Woerdeman, and Julia Arruda. RECOGNITION OF PERSONS WHO WISH TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL Kay Gaither spoke to the Council about the Nominating Committee. Kay expressed her displeasure with the decision to not have a nominating committee for the selection of appointees to city boards/commissions and committees, but to rather have applications accepted through the city website. She stated that she had hoped the nominating committee would bring in a larger pool of applicants from varying backgrounds, but it now seems that nominations will continue to lack openness and transparency, as they have in the past. COUNCIL AND MAYORAL COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS Selina Rodda, 5th grade student at Forest Dale Elementary School, gave the Mayor’s Report to Council. Last week Mayor Finkam went to Washington, D.C., to meet with Indiana’s U.S. Senators and Representatives. They talked about what is working well in our city, what challenges we face, and new ideas to make our city better. The Mayor also recently met with leaders of nearby communities to discuss our growth, our local economy, and bringing new businesses into our area to create more jobs. The Mayor also joined meetings with the national leaders of cities to discuss housing issues and federal changes that might affect Carmel. Currently, two federal grants are on hold, but the Mayor’s team is monitoring them closely. Mayor Finkam is working hard with the city’s leaders to make city services better while keeping costs down for the residents. Docusign Envelope ID: 81EBF5DC-F2ED-4D67-97A9-334CA76A927F 2 Councilor Worrell stated that the At-Large City Councilors are holding a Town Hall meeting at 7:00 p.m. this Thursday, March 20, 2025, at Carmel Middle School. There will be presentations from city directors, and questions will be taken. CONSENT AGENDA Councilor Snyder moved to approve the consent agenda. Councilor Taylor seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. The consent agenda was approved 8-0. (Councilor Minnaar’s audio could not be heard.) a. Approval of Minutes 1. March 3, 2025 Regular Meeting b. Claims 1. Payroll – $4,171,992.93 (3/7/25 payroll), $219,480.95 (uniform allowance), $139,406.96 (CPD sick vacation payout), $196,826.06 (CFD sick vacation payout) 2. General Claims – $2,493,513.70 3. Retirement – $126,308.06 (2/1/25 Payroll) and $126,308.06 (3/1/25 Payroll) 4. Wire Transfer – $1,559,874.46 ACTION ON MAYORAL VETOES There were none. COMMITTEE REPORTS Councilor Taylor reported that the Finance, Utilities and Rules Committee had met on Tuesday, March 11th. Chief Thacker and EMS Chief Young shared how our rates for basic and advanced life-saving services compare to the surrounding cities. They will return to the next Finance Committee meeting with some recommended changes to those rates. Councilor Snyder reported that the Land Use and Special Studies Committee will meet this Wednesday, March 19th, to discuss the UDO, and to begin the discussion on micromobility. OTHER REPORTS – (at the first meeting of the month specified below): Councilor Locke spoke about how the Climate Action Advisory Committee aims to support the city staff in its undertaking of climate friendly initiatives. He also stated that the Climate Action portal is live on the internet for the public to use. Next, Tony Reck gave the quarterly report for the Climate Action Advisory Committee. Mr. Reck shared the key accomplishments of 2024 for the six strategies that the committee chose to focus on. The Carmel Clay Public Library and Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation have both taken steps to reduce their carbon footprint. They’ve installed solar panels, and created energy efficiencies within their buildings. The Parks department also went through a guaranteed energy savings program. The Carmel Wastewater Treatment Plant has installed solar panels on both the east and west sides, as well as a forced air energy recovery system and lighting upgrades. We don’t have the funds or manpower to complete a climate vulnerability assessment at this time. We did one back in 2018,which gave us the benchmark. A new assessment needs to be done for comparison. The education subcommittee that we formed met in December and chose topics to focus on in terms of how they are going to deliver educational opportunities and information to the general public. We had a Fellow from IU that worked for the Climate Action group to design our webpage, which was a tremendous help. Carmel Utilities is in the position now to start monitoring Docusign Envelope ID: 81EBF5DC-F2ED-4D67-97A9-334CA76A927F 3 irrigation. This means that we can show HOA’s, which often have minimum lawn watering requirements, that overwatering is not needed. The electricity used to move water from point A to point B is the largest source of our carbon emissions. Mo McReynolds, the head of the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability, came to the last meeting of the Climate Action Advisory Committee. She shared how they look at their energy use in built environments, and that they now require every Indy building larger than 50,000 square feet to report its carbon footprint, due to a passed ordinance. Councilor Aasen thanked Mr. Reck for explaining the dashboard. Councilor Taylor noted that the Parks’ guaranteed energy savings program not only created efficiencies and savings from reduced energy costs, but those savings enabled the funding of improvements, which in turn, did not have to be funded by the taxpayers. OLD BUSINESS Council President Aasen announced the fourth 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 in 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 in the Land Use and Special Studies Committee. Council President Aasen announced the second reading of Ordinance D-2767-25; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana, Amending Chapter 2, Article 4, Section 2-96 of the Carmel City Code; Sponsor(s): Councilor(s) Taylor and Snyder. This remains in the Finance, Utilities and Rules Committee. PUBLIC HEARINGS Council President Aasen announced the first reading of Ordinance D-2766-25; An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana Authorizing and Approving an Additional Appropriation of $17,600.00 from the General Fund (#101) to the 2025 Marketing and Community Relations Budget (#1203); Sponsor(s): Councilors Taylor and Minnaar. Councilor Taylor moved to introduce the item into business. Councilor Green seconded. Councilor Taylor presented the item to Council. Zac Jackson, City CFO, explained that this will cover the expense of a part-time employee while another employee is taking Family Medical Leave. Councilor Snyder asked about the recent update to the city’s FMLA policy to include paid new parent leave, and stated that he supports this. Council President Aasen asked about the $17,600.00, and how many hours per week this represents, for how long. Kelly Douglas, Director of Marketing and Community Relations, stated that this amount represents $20.00 per hour, for up to 20 hours per week. This amount also includes the benefits needed for part-time work. The period of time is from now up until the end of the year, although that much time might not be needed. Councilor Minnaar asked when this part-time position would end. Ms. Douglas responded that we do anticipate that the employee taking FMLA will return, but they might need additional assistance initially. Councilor Snyder asked if $20.00 per hour is enough to hire a person with the right credentials to fill this role. Ms. Douglas answered that the core competencies of events planning will be handled by existing team members, and that this role will fill the hours needed to work at events on weekends and other times when they will be short-staffed without the regular employee. Council President Aasen then opened up the public hearing at 6:44 p.m. Seeing no one who wished to speak, the public hearing was closed at 6:44 p.m. Councilor Green moved to suspend the rules Docusign Envelope ID: 81EBF5DC-F2ED-4D67-97A9-334CA76A927F 4 and act on this tonight. Councilor Snyder seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Motion to Suspend the Rules approved, 9-0. Councilor Green moved to approve the ordinance. Councilor Joshi seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Ordinance D-2766-25 approved, 9-0. NEW BUSINESS Council President Aasen announced Resolution CC-03-17-25-01; A Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana Approving a Transfer of Funds Between the Grant Fund (#900) and the Ambulance Capital Fund (#102); Sponsor(s): Councilor(s) Taylor, Joshi and Minnaar. Councilor Joshi moved to introduce the item into business. Councilor Taylor seconded. Councilor Joshi presented the item to Council. Fire Chief Joel Thacker explained that the $5,000.00 is a grant from the county to help reimburse for the purchase of a Lucas device, which is a mechanical aid for CPR. We currently have one that we’ve purchased and one on loan. We are looking to buy one for each of the Fire Department’s ambulances. These devices are game changers, it’s like having an extra person at an emergency scene. In the first half of 2022, our ROSC rate (Return of Spontaneous Circulation) was 28%, which is around the national average. After the introduction of the Lucas device, that increased to 43%. In the second half of 2024, with two Lucas devices in use, our ROSC rate increased to 59%. Councilor Joshi spoke in support of these devices, stating that they are incredible for delivering high quality CPR. Councilor Snyder moved to approve the resolution. Councilor Taylor seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Resolution CC-03-17-25-01 approved, 9-0. Council President Aasen announced Resolution CC-03-17-25-02; A Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Carmel, Indiana Approving a Transfer of Funds Between the Grant Fund (#900) and the General Fund (#101); Sponsor(s): Councilor(s) Taylor, Joshi and Minnaar. Councilor Taylor moved to introduce the item into business. Councilor Green seconded. Councilor Joshi presented the item to Council. Chief Thacker explained that we requested grant funds from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security for mobile integrated health programs. Carmel submitted a program called Steady Steps: A Journey to Fall-Free Living. This program aims to reduce the number of Senior falls. (1,100 of our annual 6,000 EMS calls are for falls.) This transfer amount is a draw-down of the original $32,875.00 grant. This pays for Bruce Frost’s time in putting this program together and the delivery of this program. We have to expend all of these funds by June 30th of this year, and we are on track to do so. Councilors Snyder and Locke spoke in support of this program, stating that it is incredibly important. Councilor Tayor moved to approve the resolution. Councilor Green seconded. There was no discussion. Council President Aasen called for the vote. Resolution CC-03- 17-25-02 approved, 9-0. AGENDA ADD-ON ITEMS There were none. OTHER BUSINESS There was none. ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilor Snyder asked about reimbursing a gentleman for his donation to the Carmel Fund. Zac Jackson clarified that this donation was for a peony garden. He stated that this $50,000.00 donation was placed in the Promote Carmel checking account. $10,000.00 was sent to Newfields, per the donator’s request. We have the liability of the remaining $40,000.00 still sitting in the Promote Carmel checking account. We have about $15,000.00 of cash right now to apply towards that liability. Right now it looks like we might have to put in Docusign Envelope ID: 81EBF5DC-F2ED-4D67-97A9-334CA76A927F 5 about $25,000.00 - $30,000.00 to restore that. Mayor Finkam stated that since there was a tax benefit when the money was donated, it is not so simple as just returning the money. Councilor Snyder then spoke about the ambulance fund as it pertains to paying for things such as decontamination units at the fire stations. As we go through the stations and retrofit them, these are the critical needs that this fund should be paying for. It’s also much more cost effective to pay for these decontamination units than to pay for cancer treatment later. Councilor Joshi wished everyone a happy St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Holi, and acknowledged that there are so many celebrations happening throughout our community and we recognize that and we join you in your celebrations. ADJOURNMENT Council President Aasen adjourned the meeting at 7:02 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, _______________________________ Jacob Quinn, Clerk Approved, ATTEST: _______________________________ Adam Aasen, Council President _______________________________ Jacob Quinn, Clerk Docusign Envelope ID: 81EBF5DC-F2ED-4D67-97A9-334CA76A927F