City Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, good evening everyone. It is November 3rd, 2025 and it's 6 pm and it's time to call the city council meeting to order. Miss Jones, roll call, please. Mr. Austin, Mr. Shuck, here. Miss McInness here. Miss N here. Miss Price here. Mr. Prime here. Mr. Taylor here. There you have form. Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Brian Reese. All right. Invite you to join me in prayer. Our father, we come before you this evening and we thank you for the privilege of being here in city hall tonight. Thank you for the items on the agenda as we uh have an officer take the oath of office. We pray that you'd bless him and his family as he commits to serve and protect us here in the city. and uh and help us to learn from the example of these others officers showing up to uh to be there and and support their brother. If we all showed up for and supported our people the way these guys support their brother, our city would be a better place. Thank you for it. Be with the old and new business. Give wisdom and discernment to make the right decisions uh that are both wise for today and forward- facing for the future of our city. Thank you for it. It's in your name we pray. Amen. Invite you to join me for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge 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. Thank you. You may be seated. Thank you, Brian. So, tonight under announcements and public comment, we are going to swear in a new officer. Welcome aboard, Mr. Compton. Um Sean Compton. So we can do that now. If you're ready, Chief

Raise your right hand. Repeat after me. Ian I Sean Compton a member of the Franklin Indiana Police Department a member of the Franklin Indiana Police Department that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitution of the State of Indiana and that I will faithfully discharge all my official duties. Welcome aboard, sir. Thank you. [applause] I think I think we need to start before this. Just let it flop around. [applause] You just can't take him anywhere. [laughter]

Thank you for coming. [applause] Okay, this is usually the time. If you want to leave, you're more than welcome to stay, but if you want to leave, this is probably the time. So, [clears throat] all right. Oh, [laughter] don't have to ask twice. Mayor, you can leave. [snorts] I'm just glad council's not getting up and going. [laughter] Well, I just noticed in the crowd we have uh Representative Michelle Davis here. Thank you, Michelle, for coming tonight. Okay. Is there any other announcements or public comment that does not contain to the agenda? Hearing none, we will move on. Uh we're ready for the consent agenda. Moved to approve the meeting minutes from October 20th, 2025. Second. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor? I. Okay. We'll uh go into We do have some old business tonight. So move to read old business by title only. Second. We have a motion in a second to read old business by title only. All those in favor? I. Okay. We [snorts] will go on to the first item, approval to vacate drainage easement, the no wood drainage easement vacation. Uh this is for a public hearing and official action can be taken tonight. Uh Miss Joanna Tennel, planning director. Uh good evening. As the mayor had noted, it is a public hearing and official action this evening. Um staff does recommend that should the board uh move to approve the ordinance that it be placed a condition upon it that it not

be recorded um currently. But when the plat is being recorded that is taken at that particular time and recorded immediately preceding the plat and the Kings uh bridge developer David Marks is here and understands the request that's being asked. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, we will we'll record the this um immediately prior to the plat. It'll happen at the same time at the recorder's office. Okay. and the plat will have the cross reference um that they'll be able to write in when they report it. Okay. Thank you. This ease, the new easement will much better serve the area and address the issues now with the more development. Correct. Okay. So, this is a public [clears throat] hearing. So, we'll open it up for public hearing. If anybody has any questions or comments, now's the time to do that. It was introduced at our last meeting. So, seeing nobody moving to the mic, we will close the public hearing. And now we're ready for official action. I can't believe there's no interest in drainage easements. Come [laughter] on. It's good stuff. Move to approve ordinance 2511. Second. Hey, we have a motion, a second. All those in favor? I. Anyone opposed? The same sign? Hearing none. It passes. Thank you, Mr. Marks. Appreciate it. Yeah, appreciate it. Okay, no more old business. We'll go right into new business, which we don't have a whole lot there tonight, but uh we're ready for new business. Move to approve new business or read new business title only. Second. We have a motion to second to read new business by title only. All those in favor? I. Okay. Under new business, this is introduction only tonight. The public hearing uh will be November the 17th.

So, introduction of ordinance number 25-09 and ordinance amending ordinance 2016-06 to regulate traffic, vehicles, golf carts, streets, sidewalks, trails, pave recreational or multi-use pass paths and public places. City attorney Ling Gray. Thank you. Um, mayor, for members of the council as well as members of the public, let me give you a little bit [clears throat] of background, uh, as to why this is being submitted to you. Um, if you'll recall, uh, some of you were, I don't know if any of you were on council at that time, but in 2016, uh, we followed many of the state statutes and adopted, uh, a an ordinance which permitted, uh, the use of golf carts within our city pursuant to some restrictions that the legislature has placed on them in terms of where those golf carts can be utilized. That was the ordinance of 2016. Um, since everyone is aware that US31 is being uh rebuilt um and INDOT has um changing some of the traffic patterns, I believe that the mayor's office and I think some council members uh have also been contacted by uh persons who live in Franklin Lakes, live over by the Blue Heron Park area, uh who were concerned that they have golf carts and they have no way to get those golf carts into town because you cannot uh under both our statute in our existing ordinance uh use US31 to access those with golf carts for obvious reasons for safety reasons. Um, so as a result, uh, the mayor asked that I, um, work with both Matt Maroy as well as Chip Orner and and bring you an option of that would allow those golf carts to utilize a very small part of

the trail that goes under the bridge on 31 to allow those folks to come here. Um whether or not you decide to do it, of course, that is your decision, but that's why we want to get it out on the uh on the agenda for people to discuss. Currently, use of golf carts is not permitted on our on our paths, our walking trails, our park trails. It's they're not used. um under the proposed amendments to this ordinance uh for a very limited space starting in Blue Heron Park under the bridge and coming up to the entrance. I'm sorry, coming up to the cemetery. It's an area I walk frequently. You would then pick up the uh cemetery road and then go and use your golf cart there. So, it would be a very small part of our park trail that would be accessed. Obviously, there are public safety questions um that would arise. Uh and so the mayor directed Mr. Mroy to go and look at things such as beacons, such as sign markings. Uh it will raise questions about enforcement for our police department. So, those are things that may be discussed at your next public hearing when you actually have the public hearing on that uh matter. I do have before you um and I noticed that someone from the press is here. I'd be happy to give them a copy of the red line version because I think if you you know need to eat this elephant one bite at a time. If you look at the large ordinance, most of it's already what our ordinance is. Um what we're what we're amending is the very small part that confirms that you can't write use them on trails except for in this particular area. So that's why you have a redline version in front of you um so that you can look at it and see what is really being considered with this amendment. So um with that I don't think I have anything more. Matt, do you have anything more? That that's basically the

question. I will say as a practical matter um our prior city engineer Mark Richards uh worked with INDOT to keep that bridge open. Uh that is not something they like to do. Uh and it was one of the first things was they were going to actually stop it. They don't usually allow uh walking paths under uh their bridges, but Mark worked very hard to keep that open uh for pedestrian traffic or whatever traffic we wanted to do. Um so it will remain there when the project is done, but um this would allow for um the use of golf carts on that limited area if you decide to amend the ordinance accordingly. If not, uh then they're still prohibited. Thank you for putting that up there. Is that you, Jan, doing that? Yeah. Uh who whoever thank Thank you Tara. You can see there the signage requirements. That's part of the exhibit. That would be the area that golf carts would be allowed on. And then at this the bottom of that exhibit. Then they would pick up the cemetery road and be off of our our paths because they're also a a p a path that goes along um the north side of our cemetery which is a walking path and is not intended to be used. So that is what is before you for your action at the next meeting after a public hearing. Happy to answer any questions of you. So if the council doesn't have any questions at this time, it's been duly introduced and like I said, we'll have a public hearing uh on the 17th and then you can have a make your decision at that time. So, okay, we'll move on to other business, which there isn't any other business and gets us to uh council member comments. And Taylor, we'll start with you. Um, yes. So, basically the mayor's youth council is just working on fundraising for our um next upcoming project which

is about um I think it's going to happen in this spring more likely and it's like we're working with um like dog water fountain like dog bowls downtown. So um we're fundraising that and we're also currently beating um the Interact Club at our like inner church food pantry food drive where we're trying to fight over who donates more peanut butter and jelly and we're winning. So I [laughter] say that that's pretty important. So, yeah. And then I'm here with, if you guys want to introduce yourselves, and I'm Taylor. So, that's all I've got. All right. Well, thank thank you all for coming and it's been a short meeting. You got lucky tonight. So, [laughter] all right, Jennifer. Good. Thank [clears throat] you, Irene. No, nothing for me. I would like to announce, I know most of you know that I am very involved with raising spirits and our fundraiser uh just completed a week ago Friday and we raised over $31,000 in one night. Wow. It is amazing. I truly give uh thanks to all of you who participated and help out make that such a huge event and uh we are on the books for next October 23rd. So go ahead and put it on there because we will sell out with of tickets again as we were sold out this year as well. That's great. Todd, do you mind while we have a little bit of time here telling us what you do with the $300,000? I'm going to take a long vacation. [laughter] Uh we are uh set to present checks to the Boys and Girls Club, uh Humane Society, Senior Services, Franklin Education, and Bridges Allianc as the five beneficiaries that were last year and remain this year. And uh they're going to we haven't told them how much they're getting, but you can kind of do the math after we take away our expenses and keep a little bit back to prepare

for next year. uh they're going to get very large checks uh in the next two weeks. So that's great. Thank you for doing that in our community. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. [applause] Sean, can you top that one? Nope. Can't do it. Nothing tonight, sir. All right. Thank you. And I don't have anything. Thank you, Josh. Well, I can't top that, but I would like to add to that. Um, everybody knows I'm involved in the Elks. And we just had our annual charity auction uh that benefits local charities in the county such as Girls Inc., Boys and Girls Club, Kick It, Food Pantry, the Johnson County Senior S Center. Um, and we uh we raised over 30 grand um Saturday night that we'll be passing out in the near future, too. That's awesome. [applause] And Chip, [clears throat] while you're still here, can you talk about while we have a little time? That's very good. Sure. So, if you missed the border of works meeting, I did announce at the uh border works meeting that the uh active adult center uh received a $1 million gift from a local uh resident that had recently passed away. Um Paul Jocelyn is his name, World War II veteran. He was a hundred years old. Um a former member of the old active adult center and um was very worried about the new one being built cuz let's face it, when you're 99 or 100, you got to be careful. So he wanted to see it. So we I think eight times we give him a tour before it was open. Um he did pass away, ironically, on the same day that it opened on July 1st. So, he did at least get to see a completed version of it. Um, he did pass away, donated a million dollars to the active adult center. If you weren't at

the border works meeting tonight, one of the first things we're going to do with that money is purchase two uh new buses for the active adult center uh that will um allow them to go different trips and those kind of things. And then the remainder of the money uh we'll use for active adult center programming. And it's the money is at the community foundation. So, it's actually bequest and we'll um spit off interest money every year uh in the tune of 30 to $36,000 and then that money will go toward free programming at the active adult center for infinitity um because that money will be there forever. So, and they are they are so good with their money. They do so much with so little. Yeah. They're those senior those seniors know how to Yeah. count their pennies. So, they're they're they're good. They're good. So, if you have nothing else to do, uh, two weeks from today, November 17th at 11:00 a.m., we'll do a celebration and a ribbon cutting because we're going to name the games game room after Paul Jocelyn. So, it' be the Paul Joselyn memorial game room. So, very cool. Pretty cool. Yeah, [applause] that that just tells you what kind of community we have. Listen, these great things that has been done in our community in in just the last few days here. So, thank everyone for that. Um, Tara, do you have anything to add? Chan, do you okay? Nothing, sir. And I have nothing but just to thank all of our employees for the hard work they do and thank everyone for coming. So, with that, we need a motion to adjurnn. Move to or to adjourn. Said move to approve. [laughter] Second. So, we have a motion to second. All those in favor? I. Thank you. I'm like,