City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I now call to order the April 20th uh city council meeting to order. Please rise for the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

We have no announcements, proclamations, presentations, or council committee reports tonight. Moving on to department reports. Monica Health, the director of the health department, has put together a health department report, and it is available online. On to item number seven, the consent agenda. Motion to approve. All right. Uh the consent agenda consists of the meeting from the March 16th, the minutes from the March 16th meeting, a presentation of the redevelopment commission and a resolution authorizing the city controller to transfer certain funds. There was a meeting to there's a motion to approve by first the first was by Pete second

and second by Zimmerman. All those in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion passes. Next on the agenda is item number eight, ordinance 031626A, a request to approve an amendment to chapter 96 of the Fischer Code of Ordinances. Jordan Alexander will present

there. Can you guys hear me now?

Uh Jordan Alexander, chief of staff. So, I do not have many changes to note since our last meeting, but I did want to clarify a few items in this ordinance and then open it up for questions. So, first and foremost, um, as many of you know, this ordinance amendment is a part of a broader effort by this city to really commit to providing exceptional youth sports experiences to our kids here in Fisers. So, obviously, um, you all know the introduction of Jim Self in this joint role between, um, the city and the schools. We announced uh a little over $10 million of investment into athletic facilities this year and then also have noted our efforts around centralized um scheduling of athletic facilities. So these are all really a recommmitment um by the city to make our youth sports experiences the best that they can be um for our kids here in Fisers. Um, in terms of the ordinance itself, um, and when it comes to Mudsock Youth Athletics specifically, I did just want to note that the amended ordinance still calls out Mudsock as the entity that provides youth sports, um, on behalf of the city and that language is not changing. So, that was from the previous ordinance and will be in this amendment as well. Um, but as the city's provider of Rex Sports, Mudsock and its leagues will be beneficiaries of um, these changes and this investment that we're making in youth sports. And then I also just wanted to note that the city and Jim by extension in his new role um will really continue to prioritize Mudsock in terms of getting field access. Um as I mentioned in our last council meeting uh Mudsock leagues will um all be assigned home bases. Um in many cases uh they will have upgraded facilities and then also will continue to receive these facilities at no charge. So just wanted to reiterate that um from the previous meeting. Um also wanted to note that in terms of scheduling, so Jim will be leading the effort to centralize city and school scheduling of facilities, but I did just want to clarify and I mentioned this at

the um Mudsock board meeting as well, but this will not consist of Jim taking over specific game or practice scheduling. This is much more um related to assigning fields to user groups. So I want to clarify that as well. Um but really the ultimate goal with um centralizing field bookings um and putting that responsibility in Jim's court is to really ensure that um the schools and the city are optimizing the fields that we have. Um so there's really no intent here to be taking away field time from mudsock leagues. Um we're just ensuring that fields aren't sitting empty and again that we're optimizing the fields that we actually have. And then finally, I did just want to reiterate um there was some comments that we are eliminating the nonprofit status requirement um for partner organizations. That is not the case. Um partner organizations will still be required um to maintain that nonprofit status. And then also any partner organization that enters into a field use agreement um with the city will have to maintain that 60% of um Fiser kids as well. And I did Just want to know I know there was um some comments on why um that threshold was lowered from 75 to 60%. So and I'd mentioned to some of the counselors this was really to accommodate some of these emerging sports that don't necessarily have high percentages of um Fiser residents participating. Um but we still have Fiser kids that are interested in those sports. I know Tiffany mentioned cricket being one of those sports um that would like to participate and also get to utilize um Fiser fields as well. Um and then lastly, just before I open it up for questions, I did just want to note um that by opening up our fields and facilities to some of these partner organizations um and non-Muds leagues, uh the city, it is our intent to establish a youth sports fund um to actually collect some of the fees um from these organizations and actually reinvest them or reinvest back into youth sports in some of our facilities

as well. So obviously that doesn't exist today since we rarely book um outside groups. So just wanted to touch on that as well as a change that is upcoming as a part of this broader effort. Um but with that I can answer any questions that anyone might have. Are there any questions from council? I do but go ahead. Okay.

How's the field with Cynthian coming along? coming along. Uh we had to haul 900 truckloads of dirt out and then we have to bring the equivalent back in stone and but they are coming together and I just want to thank Jordan for hard work on this and Jim self. Um I think some of the email traffic going around over the weekend uh and then now is kind of framing this as one or the other and that's that's viewing this whole thing from a perspective of constraint as if we're not going to be able to meet everyone's needs. And I I genuinely believe that with the infra in infrastructure investments that we're making uh and with some strategic scheduling, I honestly think we can bring a lot of our kids home and we can create an opportunity for our community to flourish when it comes to youth sports. And you know, when people view this as a from a position of scarcity, then it becomes this is mine or this is mine versus the collective. How are we all how are we going to leverage our assets for the betterment of all of our kids? And I think this is an opportunity to do that. So, I know there's some fear and some apprehension about anything new, but this was born out of a spirit of really trying to build on what's already great and and continue to evolve like Fischers always does in a variety of other ways. So, uh it's a leap of faith and like I was talking to Council Member Zimmerman today. Um we're not amending the United States Constitution here, folks. If for some reason there's an adjustment that needs to be made at some point, there's there's clearly an opportunity to do that. But I think this is a good start. So, and and what just to kind of piggyback on that, I believe our greatest asset is not the money that we're putting in the fields, the buildings that we're building in Fisers, the as as proud as I am of the things that we've done in our community, our number one asset are our children. And it is our priority to have a safe, great experience for every child of any

ability across any sport. You mentioned cricket. I wouldn't even know how to play cricket, but that's but there's a people that want to do that and love to do that.

And so our goal is what the mayor is saying because we had a we had a discussion about this and like how does this really land in the community? I've been coaching I'm 53 years old. I've been coaching since I was 20 years old. I started coaching varsity basketball when I was 20 years old. I was coaching 18, 17, 18 year olds. So, that was awkward. Okay. I've had I've learned I've watched you sports for three decades. I have been through the things you probably would never want to go through in your life involving you sports. I have been and watched where I sat in my car when gunshots went out in front of me. We threw windshields in a parking lot. I was threatened multiple times after being in championship games that we were going to be shot when we go out in parking lots. Uh, and you know what? Also, I've been through some things that I that I won't share. Um, and I would do it all again. The kids are the most important thing in our community. What we're doing now and what we propose here now is to really evolve as a city. When I moved here in ' 89, we had three police cars. I think if imagine if we didn't evolve, chief, if we had still said, "Oh, you can only have three police cars to for the city, right?" Imagine if we didn't evolve. There are people in this room that have put blood, sweat, and tears into you sports. The people, the emails I got were fantastic, very polite. There was nothing derogatory. Usually when you deal with stuff like this, there's a few people that start taking shots and there was none of that. And I applaud everyone. Maybe there some of those people are sitting here. I think we all want the same thing. And I think if

we'll be willing to work together, we're going to create the an environment that beams a light into youth sports that if we all were honest with ourselves is in deep trouble. You can't find referees because people are so obscene. You can't find coaches because I can't even tell you what coaches go through. I I don't even want to begin to list the things that coaches go through and accusations and all sorts of stuff that happens because you're just trying to help somebody that's disadvantaged, somebody that's hurting, somebody that's in need and I've seen kids get cut from our our schools because our schools are tough with sports and they were down and I remember going through COVID and they were depressed and parents are calling me and I'm on city council and we're, you know, we're dealing with the COVID thing and I have people accusing me of why are you keeping kids inside and then I have people saying you should let them play and and I'm out there just trying to like get them out there. So I'm coaching with a mask on trying to just get get them out there and so we need we're investing millions of dollars back into this. I want to thank Mudsock. I mean you guys have led the way. I used to be part of the sport youth sports before it was mudsock HSC sports and there's once again I know what you go through. I know what you deal with and so I could keep going on I could take hours talking about this because it's a passion of mine. Um but I just want you to know that we're changing lives forever and I think by using our resources together and marshalling all of our collective knowledge we can actually champion this. I encourage and we will continue to do that. Wreck sports should be the number one priority with regard to anything. I'm involved in a lot of travel stuff now. I used to be involved in a lot of wreck. I think wreck sports because it's

every ability level, every kid having a chance to go out there and be part of something bigger than themselves and then the travel comes along and all that stuff. Uh we have facilities though I will tell you we have schools. This is not a blame on anybody. This is a disconnect in communication across over the course of years where we have baseball fields at schools that are not tended to. They're weed. They're infested with weeds. Those could be used as well. And that's what part of this process is all about. And I encourage my counselors, I know you're not out there a lot, but I encourage you like this is what's really going on. And and there's so as we spend the money to do that, we're going to be able to get more kids on there, more Fischer kids on there. Um, I do have a question and I'm gonna stop. Okay. I'm sorry, Jordan. I keep going. Um,

so when we say resident percentages, are we talking about Fisers geographically or are we talking about HSSE schools? Because that's two different things. Yeah. So, for mudsock participation, it includes HSSE schools. Um, for the partner organizations, we did have that confined to Fiser Municipal Boundaries. Um, since those will be on citys. And we are not going to bump wreck off of anything to have some travel team come on and get it.

No. Yes. Like I Yeah. Reiterated Mudsock will still be the priority. And I mean, even Jim in his new role, he's reiterated like he's always had a great relationship with Mudsock and been a huge proponent for Rex Sports. Um, and he intends to continue that in his role. Jim, give give him a chance. like he's I mean foundational to this city and he's he's going to do a fantast. I'm confident every child that wants to play a sport in Fisers will have the opportunity to play a sport on one of our fields and I think there'll be new sports and new opportunities and new things. Jake and I sat through a meeting with some folks who are interested in cricket and they couldn't get on they couldn't even get a field assigned because they were not uh being recognized. So it'll be really great for emerging sports. So that's definitely a wonderful

uh it's a it's a leap of faith by everyone, but I I'm confident everyone has the same values aligned and I think after one or two seasons of this, it'll just be the way that we operate. And wreck kids are going to be having a world-class experience. Travel kids, god forbid, are also going to have an opportunity to practice on their own fields. Like we can have all of these opportunities. And if we have to invest additional dollars in some of these places, if this is a priority for our city, we'll do that. Um, we've shown that in this last year, $10 million investment into these these things because to Todd's point, kids are important and that making sure they have safe worldass uh facilities to do so is important. Um, so again, I think this is full of opportunity, not full of apprehension uh moving forward.

And my last thing is we can always come back here next year and go, hey, we missed the mark on a certain thing. Let's adjust it.

So, all right, that's all I got. Yeah, I have a question. So, Special Olympics, um, their members are countywide. I can't tell you. I mean, Fisers, trust me, I'm tired of driving to Westfield. I'm tired of driving to Caramel. Um, because Fisers typically has not allowed Special Olympics to use it. Now, like with softball, the Special Olympics softball doesn't start until July. They start practice like mid July. So, it's really kind of off calendar from what the wrecks are. But given the fact that Special Olympics, a lot of their members are outside of Fisers. Would we still be able to provide them with a field occasionally like Caramel and Westfield and Nolesville do? Yeah, this was something that was actually brought up in our disability awareness month. Um, so it's something that we passed along to Jim in his new role. Um, because we do believe there would be an opportunity to find facilities.

Jim's got a Jim's got a big job ahead of him. Um, but I think he's going to do a great job. I'll give you a case in point of how his role is already paying off. Uh, we recently had the opportunity to announce that the Big 10 volleyball championship is coming to Fisers, which is incredible opportunity. 15 division one teams will be here this fall and the organizing committee sent an email asking is there anyone that could coordinate court space for all the practices that would have to happen through that five-day period.

Well, that's a that's a huge undertaking. And uh Jim right away said, "Sign me up. I'll take care of this." We would love to have each school adopt one of the teams. So, imagine, you know, a junior high saying, "We're the we're the Purdue school or we're the IU team." and writing letters to these uh young female athletes um because we want to land that tournament again if we can. So having them in that role really opens up a lot of doors for us to to accomplish some pretty great things around youth athletics. Great. And I think the the best part will be in a year from now when we get an email that says, "Thank you for bringing travel sports in. We're having more time at the dinner table." Absolutely. So I think that would be a really great thing. There's nobody you got

we have some questions Bill and I. Um, Jordan, thank you for uh providing all the answers to questions that we were receiving today. Appreciate that. Um, also what Selena said, I think also I I like that, you know, adaptive sports programs to um groups that that are um here that are looking for recreational space that in the past haven't been able to get that opportunity. I had a question on the field rental fee. It didn't really say what that fee is going to be. It didn't see where the Just curious what

Yeah. So that like some of our other fees will actually be approved at Board of Public Works annually. So we will bring that fee schedule um to Board of Public Works. But we are going to try to actually marry that up with the school's fee schedule. So again, as we're centralizing facilities that those are all aligned and there's no confusion when renting a field. The only difference, Councilwoman Cobalt, is when we collect a fee off of our fields, that money is going to a new dedicated fund that will go right back into youth sports.

Um, and some of those programs that Jim is are would be considering is like mental health support for athletes or coaching clinics, funding coaching clinics for that could be wreck parents that are trying to all the way up to high school coaches. So, our dollars are going to be repurposed back into youth athletics. I believe the schools when they charge the fee, it'll just go to paying the back to the general fund of the schools, which is fine. I understand they have some budget constraints there, but um we're excited about being able to turn that money back into youth sports because, you know, this is not a money grab for the city. You know, contrary to to some of the comments out there, this isn't about us trying to go make as much money as we possibly can. This is about turning that money back into funding sources for for furthering youth athletics.

Thank you. Also like to thank you very much for the explanation. It was very educational. Thank you very much Jordan. That really helped. Thank you.

Jordan, could you um expand a little bit on your characterization that mudsock will be priority in the scheduling? What what does priority mean? So, I think like I answered councelor Zimmerman, they're not going to get bumped for a travel team. They're going to have dedicated facilities. Um, it's our goal that I know some of the leagues currently kind of bounce around the city for practice and games. It's our goal that every league has dedicated facilities that they're practicing and having games at the same place night in and night out. Um, so that's the priority essentially that they will have these home bases that are assigned to them for each of their seasons.

So travel team can't come in, pay a fee, and bump them. You're saying there's going to be no bumping. Correct. Okay. Correct. And if there is a conflict that ever comes up, I mean, we've talked with uh Scott Spellelman quite a bit. Like Jim hopes to be working very closely with them. So if there is any compromise that we can work through, we can. But no, the intent is not to be bumping mudsar. And who does the threshold of fiser residents going from 75% to 60%. Who does that apply to? Does that apply to all the rec teams? That apply just the travel teams? So the 75 to 60 that's just these partner organizations

for give me a name. So um Indie Premiere Indie Premiere would be one. Yes. Um there's a handful of others that again have high participation of Fiser's kids. Um like an indie premiere for instance has 2500 kids. So 60% is still a pretty significant number um for them. But yeah, that is an example. And so we're lowering it for Indie Premiere as as as an example from 75 to 60. So as

as an example like I mentioned um an example for lowering it for some of these like emerging sports again 60 is the threshold just for simplicity um but the intent of lowering it from 75 to 60 was for some of these emerging sports it's not going to be consistent like it's not necessarily a one-sizefits-all for instance has a lot more participation I believe indie premier is actually closer to 70 or 75% But the cricket example for instance would probably be closer to 60 or lacrosse example. Yeah. And I appreciate that. You can come at that from the other direction from the bottom up too. Right. My fear is that

you know first of all it used to be 100% had to be from Fisers. When my kids were playing it used to have to be 100%. Now sudden I find out it's 75. We're going to lure it 60. I mean, what's invariably going to happen on some of these travel teams is somebody's going to get cut from Fisers to make room for someone else that isn't paying taxes here. And I have philosophically have a problem with that. So, I think if you if you want to get at these at the other emerging sports, you just come at it from another angle and give have a lower threshold for those specific sports.

Sure. uh and not and not at the top because I think it's going to be I just think it's going to be a nightmare. Oh well, I was just going to say just to clarify the partner organizations who would have a fee and a payment associated with their agreement with the city those like mudstock organizations with 100% obviously they would still receive for free just to clarify. So first and then they would be second understand you're not going to get me there. Yeah, I know you're trying to get me there. You're not going to get me there because I'm philosophically don't agree with, you know, non-residents using our fields for travel programs when Fischer's kids are going to get cut from it.

Yeah. Well, I think what we're attempting to do is create opportunities because right now what we're doing is we're assigning a value to kids that don't play travel to say their parents as taxpayers can use the fields, but if a kid plays travel sports, they're not having the opportunity to use those fields. And I think what we're trying to do here is create an opportunity where where as many possible kids as we can can use these fields. That's what we're really after. And I appreciate your point. Um and I respect your decision on this, but do understand that the intent here is to try to get as many kids home playing on the fields that their families are funding uh here in the city as possible.

And you do that by raising the threshold, not lowering the threshold. Are are there any other questions or comments? I'm going to make a motion to approve. Okay. I have a motion by Pete and a second by Selena. Selena. All in favor say I. I. All those all oppose say. Nay. Okay. Motion passes. Next on the agenda is item nine, ordinance 042026, a request to approve amendments to chapter 50 and chapter 72 of the Fisers Code of Ordinances. Lindsay Bennett to present.

Good evening, council. Lindsay Bennett, Corporation Council. This is just a simple amendment to chapter 50, our garbage trash uh ordinance and the uh chapter 72 parking ordinance to allow code enforcement to actually write uh citations. Uh we have found that they are out and about quite a bit now and they're doing inspections and responding to complaints and they're seeing other violations that uh they could be issuing citations on or looking for corrective action. And so this ordinance simply gives them the ability to actually issue those citations. Okay. Are there any questions? I'll give it a first reading.

Fantastic. Thank you. We'll see you next month for second reading. Next on the ag item uh next on the agenda is item 10, ordinance 042026A, request to approve amendments to chapter 71 and 73 of the Fiser Code of Ordinances. We have the police department here.

Hello, Luke. Assistant Chief of Police. Um, as stated, this is a revamp of chapter 73, primarily operation of motor vehicles, bicycles, and motorized devices on multi-use trails, sidewalks, and roadways. For the public's health and safety is essential to establish clear guidelines for bicycles, e-com, and e scooters. As these devices become more advanced and widely used, updating our ordinances ensure safer, more consistent use across trails, sidewalks, and roadways. Uh, an example that occurred to me as we were writing this is that the previous ordinance um when it was established, the nickel plate trail, the guys green screenway did not exist. So going through this um in addition the e modtos the dirt bikes did not exist either under the old ordinance. So just going through briefly the proposed changes definitions including the ebicycles class one two and three the e-otos e dirt bikes which if you're not familiar with those um are higher speed capable 40 to 70 miles hour in some cases.

They're currently being ridden on sidewalks and multi-use paths in the city which is a danger. Um defining the guys greenway and multi-use trails. So getting into the actual enforcement portion of the ordinance. Um you can see the chart here above me is the ins and outs of where they can and cannot be ridden. Uh there's a legal path to operate any of these devices that was important to us to make sure that they could be ridden somewhere in the city. Uh but that doesn't mean that they can be ridden everywhere. So the chart is a succinct way of demonstrating that. and then behavior. So, operational rules was very important to us because we realized that enforcement um by speed alone or more traditional vehicular enforcement just isn't going to work for uh the guys greenway and multi-use trails. So, under 73B operational rules, it goes through the different things and it's things that you would expect. shall not operate in a reckless manner, shall yield right away to pedestrians, shall pass pedestrians at a safe distance, so on and so forth. Those are the things that the officers are really going to look for in enforcement of this ordinance.

I think that is the highlights of the ordinance changes. Um, take questions. Any questions from council? Can anybody ride these or do you have to have a license?

So, specifically to the the dirt bikes. If you're going to ride them on the street, you have to be 15 years of age, wear a helmet, and have a valid identification. We took that from um a guidepost that is the moped statute. So it replicates moped statue and that's been applied to emoto's bike lanes roadways and the class three the highest speed ebikes uh in bike lanes roadways also and violations is a ticket yes or violations

one uh point of clarification on the graphic I think and Luke correct me if I'm wrong here Lindsay and I were just talking about this first state code the roadways section under E scooter would that would be a no would it not to be able to operate on the roadway on that should be okay so just yeah so just up here on the e scooters they they do not have the legal right to travel in the on the road they can be in the bike lane correct Lindsay on the road but not okay roadways

so the the ones that you can rent the e scooter That's the ones you rent with that you see on campuses, the little bitty things that I wouldn't get caught dead on. Yeah. Because they're kind of dangerous. Those are allowed on the nickel plate. But the bigger bikes that go really fast that the kids have been racing up and down on, that's what we're after. That's what the Emoto is. Yes. Okay. Thank you. This is This is great. Thank you for bringing this.

Yeah, it's definitely needed. I I get confused just because I don't know all these like you know I don't have kids that are running around with this. So are we is there any way I guess what are we finding with juveniles that we're you're dealing with and you're talking to their parents? Do they even know the classification of these that they're getting their kids or is there you know what I mean? Like I wouldn't even know and I that sounds terrible but I just wouldn't know what they should be you know. Right. So the manufactured intent of the EMO dirt bike is offro and it is marketed as such.

When you buy one, it tells you what the top end speed is because it has an electric motor that is built for a top end speed. Um I don't know if I couldn't speak for purchasers to know if they're looking at that or not. Yeah. But what I can say is that they're not intended for sitting multi-use paths. They're not intended for sidewalks. We feel like they are off-road vehicles. However, the state legislature has not got there yet. And for us to tell them to go use it at a state off-road riding facility isn't going to help them because they have to have a registration for that. They have to register as an off-road vehicle. The BMD won't do that.

I wonder if there's something with this if we pass this right now that maybe communicate with the schools. Maybe the schools can help communicate that. I was I was just going to say uh dovetailing into the ordinance is a whole communications plan because I actually think believe it or not police men and women did not get into the job to go try to they don't want to go chase down seven-year-olds on motorcycles. If they have to, they will. Yeah. But um our goal here is to educate the public as send Pete after them. Yeah. Send Pete after them. Um, we really want to do a public ad campaign and really get out there and communicate to parents and everyone that these things are uh, you know, there are dangers associated with them and we are very worried that some kids going to get really hurt.

Well, on 116th Street, I was driving home the other day and there are three going down the sidewalk right up like one the tire looked like it was going to hit the lip of the sidewalk and fall right in front of me. I mean, I can't even I would never be able to surv I wouldn't mentally be able to survive running over a kid, you know, that falls in the way of that. And so, it's it's extremely dangerous. We've got concerns. And then obviously, we also have concerns about those kids going 20 miles an hour down the nickel plate trail and maybe someone has their toddler out, they're walking and or a stroller and they hit that, right? So, um, but the I honestly think the enforal is to curtail this through public education more so than high-speed pursuits between Luke and

some nine-year-old on a scooter. Chips go around. I'll give I'll give it a first rating. Thank you. And my concern is around a lot of the walkers. That's those are the people reached out to me when they see the kids coming at them like three or four breasts and then you've got people got to dump out of the walking trails because the the kids don't know the rules rules of the road. So, I'm I'm really concerned about somebody possibly getting maimed. So, but thank you so much and we'll see you next month for second reading.

All right. Next on the agenda agenda is item number 11, ordinance number 031626B, consideration of a text amendment to chapter 12, chapter 2, and chapter 11 of the unified development ordinance. Hello, Ross.

Uh, good evening. Uh, thank you. For the record, Ross Hillary, Community Economic Development. Um, before you is ordinance 031626B. Um, this is a UDO update uh that brings attention and efforts to our non-conforming design standards across the city. So, um what this entails is those uh first six applications if someone was to apply for a commercial building permit, change of use permit, an improvement location permit, a subdivision improvement permit or variance or special exception. Um they would be required to bring mechanical utility equipment, trash receptacles, exterior lighting, landscaping and wall and fit standards uh into compliance. Um we've seen this over the past couple years uh the best way to do this and So, this is what we brought forward. Um, this received a six to zero plan commission recommendation at the April 1st uh plan commission meeting. Happy to answer any questions.

Any questions from council? Motion to approve. I have a motion by Pete and a second by Todd. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed say nay. Motion passes. Next on the agenda is item number 12, ordinance 031626c, consideration of a text amendment to chapter 5, chapter 6 and chapter 12 of the unified development ordinance.

Uh yes, Ross Hillary, community economic development. For the record, uh this is ordinance number 031626C. Uh we expect this to bring forward to you by annual UDIO update. Uh this is our first pass of that this year. So, as mentioned, um, we had updates to chapter 3, uh, chapter 5, um, chapter 6, and chapter 12. I'm happy to answer any questions on those. This received a 6 recommendation from PL Commission on April 1st. Any questions from council? Motion to approve. Motion by Pete and second by Cecilia. All those in favor say I.

Any oppose say nay. Motion passes. Next on the agenda is item number 13, ordinance number 042026c, request to approve a voluntary annexation of 3.08 acres, known as the 100075 East 121st Street property.

Uh Ros Hillary, community and economic development. Uh before you is ordinance 04202C. Um this is a request an annexation of three acres along 121st Street. Background on this is they are proposing some new uh single family construction and would like to connect to our sewer district. This is part of that process. Um this is first reading and does require public hearing. Happy to answer any questions.

Okay, any questions from council? I will now open ordinance 042026c for a public hearing. If you wish to speak, you may come to the podium and address the council. Please state your name and address for the record and you will be given three minutes. Seeing no one come forward. I will now close a public hearing. First reading. Thank you, Ross. Next on the agenda is item number 14, ordinance number 111725E, request to approve a voluntary annexation of 77.064 064 acres known as Lynwood Hills subdivision.

Good evening, council. Lindsay Bennett again, Corporation Council. This is the final reading for Lynwood Hills annexation. We started this process back in November with three public meetings and had first reading in November. We held the public hearing two months ago and now we are here uh for the final reading and adoption of this ordinance tonight. Tonight, we'll publish the ordinance and send out public notice to all of the property owners and publish notice of the remmonstrance period which will take place as soon as publication is made and it will run for 90 days. After that, uh there is uh quite a few people that we have to notify and the ordinance should be uh in effect by the end of the year.

Fantastic. Any questions from council? I'll make a motion to approve. Okay, have a motion by Pete and a second by Todd. All those in favor say I. I. I.

Any opposed say nay. Motion passes. Moving on. Do we have any new or unfinished business? I will now open it up for community comment. Any member of the public wishing to speak may come to the podium and address the council. Please state your name and address for the record and you will be given three minutes. Hi, council. My name is Linda Pendleton. I live at 8750 Harrison Parkway and uh so that's Harrison Lakes and I live half a mile from my Airbnb. I'm here today to request your support as I pursue a variance to the ordinance in order that I could be allowed to rent my property in Harrison Green as a short-term rental. My mom bought the property 13962 Wakefield Place in 2000 and lived there until she moved in assisted living. Since November 2022, my husband and I have managed this property with a single goal to keep this house in model home condition while generating the necessary funds for my mom's healthcare. Many people ask why we don't simply find a long-term tenant. For my husband and I and my sister and brother-in-law, the answer has been accountability. With a short-term model, we and our cleaning team are inside the house every few days. We don't wait six months to find a hole in the wall or stained floor. We see it immediately and that allows us to keep our property in a much better condition than a typical long-term rental. We take personal responsibility for our yard. We've all seen rentals with overgrown grass or trash cans left at the curb to blow in the wind. Because we live so close, we ensure that our

property remains an asset to the street's curb appeal and is not a detraction. Safety is our highest priority, not just for our guests, but for our neighbors, and to be honest, even our house. Unlike a long-term lease where you're stuck with a tenant regardless of their behavior, the Airbnb platform allows us to vet every single guest, we have a no party policy that we strictly pursue. We have proactively declined requests that felt suspicious or like a potential gathering. And because we live 2 minutes away, we can do frequent drivebys and spot checks to ensure that our house rules are being followed. We didn't start this behind closed doors. In 2022, we went door todoor. We handed out letters of explanation. We met the HOA president and held an open house for all of our neighbors. The results, our closest neighbors are now our neighborhood watch. They have our cell phone numbers. They support what we're doing. And several have even utilized our Airbnb for their visiting family members. We have a three and a half year track record of safe, quiet, and positive experiences. I'm actually one of more than a thousand hosts of nonowner occupied Airbnbs and fisers, but we are unique in that we are a local neighbor with a vested interest in Harrison Green, in Harrison Lakes, and in Fisers. We are hands-on, we're highly motivated, and we are committed to maintaining the highest standards. I would request that uh I would request your support in grant in as we pursue a variance and um perhaps even open a bigger conversation uh in the city for short-term rentals.

Thank you so much, Scott. Correct me if I'm wrong. We have an ordinance against this, correct? So, this would go before go before the BCA BCA, which is a quad judicial body, which we are prohibited from lobbying on that behalf. Correct. Correct. Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah, I wanted to make sure you guys understood that. I did. And yeah, for us to give a recommendation against the city ordinance and go talk to the BCA, that's that's a big no no. Well, I understand. And I just wanted to make sure you understood. I did. I do. We have an appointment on Wednesday and as we move forward with I get it. I see the long-term rentals. I don't want bad guests for I get it. And so, but we just would appreciate the opportunity to continue to discuss the options.

Yeah. Absolutely. Staff looks forward to chatting with you and they'll guide you through that process with BZA. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Anody. would like to Oh, is there anybody else who'd like to come forward?

Justin Bertner, Fishers res, president Budsaki Soccer. Um, happy to be here before you um today to discuss the ordinance change to the access to Fischer Parks. U I've shared a very long detailed explanation with all nine council members today ex explaining why the ordinance change that you just approved should not have been approved. um deeply disappointed that we don't stand up for our youth kids. I heard from the mayor's office today that they still prioritize youth kids. The question is why did we remove that from the ordinance? Everything else in that ordinance could have stayed the same. You could still show the public that you prioritize the youth recreational athletes of this community unequivocally. And you guys decided to approve. The mayor decided to push this through as quickly as he could to avoid having the community conversation about sports. I 100% agree. Let's get more sports in this community, right? But that doesn't mean that we have to punish the lowest level players because we don't have the funds to lobby the the mayor's office to lobby the city to get exactly what we want. When the mayor's office talks about five weeks ago, the excuse for needing the ordinance change was, I quote, "Mudsock controls access to the parks." Five weeks later, that's a different story. The ordinance change is so that we can get more kids playing sports in the Fischer community. That's a drastic change from five weeks ago. My problem is not opening the community up to other sports organizations and people to come in. My problem is it's done behind closed doors. The community is not involved to ask questions of what does the community want. The mayor's office gets up and says, "We will give Mudsock a field." The question is, are they going to have the same

infrastructure as where they're at today? We heard today that the question was asked, "Will Mudsock be bumped in favor of travel programs?" The answer was no. And then it was quickly changed to we don't intend to bump Mudsock athletics because of travel sports. That's a big difference. No to an intent is a big difference. Okay. I also heard the comment that we won't change or sorry that Mudsock will still have access to the parks and that they won't be bumped from where they are. Come this fall, I really hope that Mudsock youth soccer is able to be at its home at Cynthian Park again where they have been for countless years. I hope that in the spring lacrosse and rugby are able to be at Cynthia Park again where they have been for countless years. If we're not going to bump Mudsockox soccer, I would ask for the mayor to publicly state that we will still have a home in the fall for mudsock soccer at Cynthian and for lacrosse and rugby. That's an easy ask, right? We don't have fears allowing other programs in the community to play. We have fears of our kids being pushed to fields that don't have the infrastructure that our parents deserve to have as taxpayers in this community.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Appreciate. Is there anybody else?

Hi, my name is Latricia Skoolie and um thank you council members and mayor Fagnes. I am coming here as a concerned citizen and parent about the school that you are considering approving on Cumberland Road between the intersections of 106 and 116. Um my main concern with that is the traffic area there is already very very busy. Um anyone who lives in the area which I do right off of Pine Bluff and 106 in Cumberland already knows logistically how hard it would be to add additional traffic. Also they're building new neighborhoods there. We have kids catching buses. We have a fire station right there. It's it would be a logistical nightmare for one. And as as council members, I ask that you consider your citizens, your students, as well as other businesses in their area for safety and congestion. And thank you for your time.

Thank you so much. I believe the next hearing on that is uh Megan Monday. So next council meeting we'll be we'll be bringing that back. Thank you folks. I have I have those same concerns. So thank you. Fantastic. Hello Ross. Hello. I'm Ross Reinhardt 7704 Kickside Court and I just wanted to share some initial thoughts on sort of the the ebike regulations that we're considering. Um yes,

yeah, and I I just wanted to say, you know, I think uh kind of we're starting from a place where we all have shared goals. We want to be people to be able to travel safely around uh pictures comfortably. Um and but I would urge us just also think of the big picture that you know like we just heard concerned about traffic. Um, and so we need to have these other alternative ways of getting around. And uh, so you're not going to often, you know, it's easy to look at it through the lens of the egregious people you see like a kid on a bike and think, oh, it's a toy. Um, but also I see these often out back behind our restaurants. It's how somebody got to work. Um, some of these vehicles. So, I think we should be careful about, you know, overreacting to some of this. Um, and I think as we saw tonight, some of the pro proposed legislation, I think, gets a little too confusing. a little too complex. Uh, in my opinion, it's going to be hard to enforce. You know, you're um, you know, for example, my parents ride class 3 ebike all over the around Hamilton County on the trails. Um, so, you know, we're going to be getting our officers in the position of stopping retirees on class 3 bikes to, you know, do a speed test and see what their top speed is. Um, and we also saw how like our graphic, you know, we even confused it ourselves. The graphic didn't agree with the the actual um law that we were considering. Um, and I think I'm also concerned that in that confusing patchwork that it's creating, it's going to kind of suppress the people that are going to choose these forms of transportation. Um, right now, you know, I see kids enjoying their mobility to and from parks on some of those e- scooters that they have. Um, well, if this passes, um, our neighborhood roads, which form kind of the background of how they can get around, are now no longer going to be places they can either be forced in the sidewalk where you know, you're now a foot away from somebody on the sidewalk riding your e scooter. Um, and so that's not going to be comfortable. It's it's going to force them in position where they're going to have to do something that's going to break the regulation or just not go at all because it's a confusing patchwork of where can I ride,

where can I not. So, I would propose that we think about it more from the perspective as was mentioned when the reg when it was being presented of behavior. Um, so, you know, we're talking about we don't want people speeding around. So, let's look at something like assisted bikes. You know, if an assist of some sort. Um have a top speed of about 20 miles an hour or something. Um you know and unassisted can remain unrestricted because you don't have a way to know how fast you're going anyway generally. Um and you know right in there they should have due regards for pedestrians. You know we were talking about being concerned about how they're treating pedestrians on the trail. So, I think we can address it um through the behavior better and it's going to be a lot easier for our officers to enforce that because they can clearly see if it's assisted, unassisted and address the behaviors instead of policing individuals.

Are you going to plug your bike ride? What's that? Are you going to plug your bike ride?

Oh, yeah. And come join us next Sunday at 2 p.m. We're doing a celebration ride for a nice week bridge starting right after city hall. Well, and I I appreciate your comments. I think I think one thing that you'll find and you know this with our with our police like they do an amazing job of especially with these new emerging risks or whatever, right? How whatever we want to call it uh technologies of education. That's what we're talking about with the schools. Like they don't want to go out and arrest. That's not what you know they want to educate, educate. And I think with that then we'll find those gaps of hey we got you know these these people that are responsible with it maybe there's an adjustment down the road that looks you know what I'm saying so that I think your your points are well taken but also be reassured that um they're not you know chasing after people necessarily all the time it's more about education and yeah

yep thank hi

good evening Thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Christa Howard and I live at 10654 Pineluff uh Drive in Pineluff Overlook subdivision and I'm here to talk about the proposal as my neighbor did as well the school that's being proposed at 10601 Cumberland. I understand that it's not we're not talking about that here today specifically, but I did want to make u some of my concerns um heard. Um, not only did Latricia mention the traffic being an issue with the roundabout there, the additional um, subdivision that's being built, uh, this the traffic that would be coming in with that school um would just exacerbate that problem. Um, it is already difficult enough for us to get in and out of our neighborhoods in the morning and the evening with traffic. Um, with adding a school, it's just going to be uh, unimaginable. I'm also concerned uh that you would please consider adding the the idea of adding a charter school um and how much money it would take away from the school district from Hamilton Southeastern School District. As we've seen in a lot of different places that have added or allowed charter schools to come into their neighborhoods, it detracts money from the current or the existing school district. Um, in addition to that, there is a lift station at that corner that seems to have a difficult time um with controlling the smell that emits from that that lift station. And I don't know how things work, but adding more traffic, people, cars can't make that job easy, any more easy than it than it already is. So, I would ask that you would consider these things when you're

considering that proposal. Thank you. Thank you so much. Uh, is there anybody else who'd like to Oh, yes, sir. No, no, no. I saw him coming. I'm so sorry. Hello. Hi.

Uh, Chris Gerald, 14466 Harrison Parkway, Mudog Soccer Volunteer. Um, I just want to first echo Justin Burkner's comments. Um, and I also, um, as a as a 10-year, uh, volunteer, I want to kind of take exception with, I think, um, how Budock's been painted here with asking some of these questions. I think there's some comments that have been made here that have tried to paint Justin and our organization in a light where it's an us versus them type of thing and it is not. Um Justin specifically has spent an ungodly amount of time working with uh organizations like Indie Premiere uh to host their tournaments in the park Halloween classic every year. um working on getting fields set up um partnering with them on many different things. Um this is not an us versus them thing. This is not a hey Cynthian Park is our park, Cumberland Park is our park thing. Okay, that is not the case. So um I just want people to know that because I think it's an unfair characterization. I I also think it's absurd to suggest that uh travel soccer Fiser's kids who play travel soccer are shut out of Fiser facilities. That is not true. Um and no one should take that. Okay. Um, I also would say that, you know, one of the things we're very concerned about is the

infrastructure of these parks. And we serve 1,800 kids a season. That's a lot of families. We need public restrooms. We need safe parking. We need large facilities, okay, to operate the way we should, okay? And if we're broken up into other that is going to be a problem. And I'll leave you with this. The last thing I'd like you to consider is and to ask is, has there been loting going on by these partner organizations to get access to specific fields? And um I'd like to to see that explored and ask more questions. So, thank you for your time.

I quick question. Thank you. Sorry. Quick question. Um, when you Chris, yeah, the when you say the broken up and because I agree with you, enhance our fields. Okay. We need to do that across the board. Um, when you say broken up, what? Explain that just so I understand. I'm taking notes. Bases have been Cumberland Road Park primarily because those places are big enough to be a home base for us. Okay. Okay. And that is critical in how we operate. Just real real quick. Yeah, real quick. That's that's I'm sorry. Okay.

All right. Thank you so much for Thank you, Chris. I appreciate that. Uh is there anybody else who'd like to come forward and speak during the public comments?

Hi. My name is Matt G10 report in the P overlook neighborhood. I just want to echo my neighbor's concern for the charter school proposal for 106 in Cumberland. My concern is a safety issue in traffic backup road during the government drop off times would propose 170 students there. If each family averages two students, that's 85 additional cars going through there at those times. If you look at the lot size, it's not so we can spin the school and accommodate all those cars that don't see as possible. My concern is with traffic backing up on Cumberland Road and impeding the fire department's ability to respond to calls causing delays in responding to emergencies. We had it fired down today around 3:00 and so it's right when pickup time will be. So that's my concern that time gets that school going there.

Thank you so much for sharing. Thank you, Tiffany. Council President Deltson, I do I do want to share that at the by the next uh meeting, we will have a memo from our traffic consultant engineering team to to because there are concerns there are serious concerns about traffic, but I think a lot of council members have shared with us and we're doing a deep dive on that right now and we'll have more information uh by the next council meeting.

Fantastic. Is there anybody else who'd like to come forward and speak? All right. Any comments submitted by residents have been received and distributed among the council uh those that were submitted on the email. Those comments will be placed on the record of this month's meeting as if the members presented those comments during the community comment section. Do I have a motion to by second by Selena? We are adjourned. Thank you.