Common Council - Regular Meeting

Welcome. Uh, I'd like to call the city of Leaport common council meeting to order. It is March 2nd, 2026. It is 6:00 p.m. and we will begin with the pledge of allegiance. Councilman Buchanan to the flag The United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Roll call. Clerk treasurer parthonon. Councilman Frankie here. Councilwoman Huffman here. Councilwoman Ficus present.

Councilman Galloway is absent. Councilwoman Kesnney is absent. Counciloman Buchanan here. Councilwoman West here, five present, two absent. And we hope Mr. or Councilman Galloway feels better and return soon. Uh approval of February 20 or February 17th, 2026 meeting minutes. Do I have a motion? I would like to make a motion to approve the minutes as presented. Second. Motion and a second. Discussion. All in favor? I

opposed. Motion passes. Petitions and comments of citizens. I do have one charity. Please come over. State your name and address for the record. Hi everybody. Charity Lapsa Hotspot Cafe and Leaport Small Business Coalition. I just want to remind everybody this Sunday, March 8th, Cousins Main Lobster visiting Leaport and will be outside the cafe from 11:00 a.m. to 700 p.m. It promises to be pretty chaotic and we're really excited about it. So, um, it's quite the draw. So, just I don't know if anybody has any questions, but just wanted to remind everybody come out and get some lobster. Lobster Fest is almost here, so buckle up.

Rick Ogle, state your name and address for the record, please. A have I received a construction notice update today for Indiana A. It's dated March 2nd, 2025. I think that's just a mistake on their part. But it says homeowners within the work zone described above should be aware that the utility work will temporarily limit access to your driveway at times. Crews will make every effort to minimize and restore access as quickly as possible. However, it may be necessary for you to park vehicles outside the barricades at times during the closure. If you have any access needs or concerns during this time, please contact us for assistance. I talked to the uh project manager a few weeks ago because my wife has a a bad case of neuropathy. So she is using a cart so she cannot get anywhere. He said it will be done. You will be able to get into your house daily. That's not the way this reads. So now I'm concerned. So, I I don't know if I'll have to park on South Avenue, which is right way behind way beyond my means to be able to do that because I'm 210 of a mile away. I have no access to

my house. So, I I'd just like to get some clarification somehow from someone to make sure that I'm able to get into my house daily. So, I'll speak to that. Um, the state of Indiana and they've been very flexible with us and working together. Matt Aino, who is the project manager at FH Passion, right? Uh, we're working on some downtown business things to help some of our businesses. So, I will mention that to him if you would text me tonight because I I'm sure you have my cell phone.

Yes, I and uh text that and I'll get you an answer to make sure that she has access um to indoors every day. And it sounded like he would he would it would be okay that he would be able to do that, but not according to the whis the way this reads. If there are barricades up, that means I cannot get to my house. And they've moved downtown to help a couple businesses and some projects that need to move forward. And I also understand that it's not until May, but Right. But they'll be moving back, I think, towards Kingsbury on the 16th. So, but I'll get you an update uh if you text me this evening. Okay. Thank you. Thanks.

Any other comments publicly? Nothing. Standing committee reports. Council President Frankie Bearwolf Lodge or how was it? Great Wolf. Great Wolf Lodge. It was great. And um for those of you watching online or in person, if you can see the glisten, it's because uh the parents just destroyed my kid's 10-year-old basketball team in dodgeball and um so I had to partake in that. Um, but redevelopment commission has a special meeting tomorrow at 9:30 here in council chambers. Um, that's really all I have.

Councilwoman Huffman, thank you. The Oh, sorry. Didn't didn't hit the button hard enough. The sustainability commission met on February 10th, 2026. The main focus for the commission right now is the absence of upgraded or new EV EV chargers within city limits. Charge Point has been contacted for feedback on costs to upgrade software of the existing chargers and or upgrade the charging stations themselves. The next sustainability commission meeting will be held in city council chambers on March 24th at 4 p.m. Councilwoman Ficus.

Um, park board met on February 18th. Once the substantial amendment to the CDBG comprehensive plan is approved downstate, the civic will be able to use grant funds that are available and get the civic auditorium lift project out for bid. I know a lot of people have been concerned about the elevator and they're working on it. Uh the 2025 annual report was accepted um by the board and in the fall of 2024, the park department submitted a proposal and subsequently received a $4,000 grant through the Kuanis Spark Starter program. The park department then spoke with Kowanas's Key Club, which is a teen initiative group, to get ideas on what additions they would like to see in the parks. They came up with the idea of hammocks andor raise planners. Possible locations are west of the boat launch having two to three hammocks and two or three more in Fox Park by the amphitheater. Um, park board will have their next meeting on Wednesday, March 18th, 400 p.m. at the park office. And since we were on the topic of Indiana A, do you want me to kind of

explain? Okay. So, I had to write it down just so I got it right. Indiana A is closed as everybody knows from Lincoln Way to Maple A. you will not have any access to Indiana A heading south off of Lincolnway. This means if you're heading west on Lincolnway, the left turn lane will be closed. And if you are heading east on Lincolnway, you will not be able to turn right onto Indiana. Jefferson A on each side of Indiana will temporarily become two-way so that there is access to both Horizon and PNC Bank drive-throughs. Some parking will be restricted along these two blocks, so just be mindful of the no parking signs. Also, you will not be able to cross Indiana from Jefferson A. You will need to walk down Indiana to Maple, then cross over. Your best bet for parking through this construction will be on Madison Street, Michigan A, or Maple A.

INDOT will also be installing new traffic lights at the bottom of the overpass. There will be no closures on the overpass or on Lincoln Way, but there will be lane restrictions. Please be careful when driving through the area, and just remember to follow the directional signs. The city in INDOT appreciates everyone's patience through this construction. One of the biggest citizen concerns is our road. So, let's all do our part to make this go smoothly. This project will be wonderful in the end and it's going to be absolutely worth it. Thank you. And back to the elevator. We've overcome the bureaucracy of the federal government and we've patiently waited and we can say the elevator is finally moving. It is. It is.

Great work by you, Carol. Councilwoman West. Bid board met in February and a quote request was submitted for the bid improvement district for summer maintenance. A scope of work was put together by the city with those requirements. If anyone would like to submit a quote, you can contact the city at 2193622327 for more information. The the bid also received a quote from perennials galore for flowers for the planters this spring and some of the planters are in need of some extra soil. So that will add to the cost. And I know there has been some concerns brought up over the winter with snow removal and the extra amount of snow and the ice that we've had. Um and it's been quite an issue. Um so I just wanted to make sure that everybody understands that um the sidewalk snow removal is a is contracted through the bid district and the city is then responsible for removing the snow. So between the bid and the city, they are addressing some of the issues that came up over this winter and are finding solutions to address those concerns um for next year. And the next meeting will be March 9th in city chambers at 5:00. Um the next fire merit commission meeting will be Wednesday, March 4th at 6:30 at the fire station number one on 18th Street. And I just wanted to share with everyone um some updates from the uh Leaport UEA um and their grants that were awarded to local businesses and residents residing within the zone. Um in 2025, the UEA awarded eight business grants totaling more than $131,000. And these gr grants help to fund exterior renovations for downtown businesses, commercial kitchen upgrades, landscaping projects in the Newport Landing, and interior rehabs for both commercial and residential projects. They also awarded over 577,000 in special grants last year. And these monies were used for a uh range of purposes with a special focus on rehab

projects and vacant buildings. They also awarded 38,000 to support community events happening throughout Leaport such as our farmed and formed for forged market on Sundays, Friday night live events, movies in the park, the Fourth of July parade and Lakefest and more. Uh the bo board also helped finance the creation of two murals in our downtown area to to the tune of about 28,000. And these artworks were developed in collaboration with the Lebnik Center for the Arts and bring obviously a lot of beauty to our city. Uh, a couple more things. The UA assisted with the rehabilitation cost of the gateway monument at the entrance of Fox Park. They provided $20,000 to support improved staffing and help drive code enforcement within the Enterprise Zone. and they invested more than $75 thousand dollars to allow for the removal of large unwanted trash items from May to September. All at no co cost to the city residents. And um for anyone that wants to seek more information um with the UEA, you can contact Maryanne Richards at 219 3628260 and their next meeting will be Wednesday, March 18th at four o'clock.

Well, thank you for that detailed report. Well, I thought I thought everybody needed to know because they've done some really great things. So, thank you to the UEA Councilman Buchanan. Plan Commission is scheduled to meet Tuesday, March 10th at 6 PM here in Council Chambers. That's all I have. Well, I just made up for not having a really long report. Councilwoman Fus, we do have some special guests with us this evening. I would like to call up Jen Carpenter. She is the adult leader for uh Boy Scout Troop 350 and they are attending our meeting tonight. So she can come up and introduce all her scouts if she likes.

Good morning and welcome or good evening. Good evening. You know, one of those. It's fine. Good evening. So, we are troop 350. We are a new troop. Um, our members are in Rolling Prairie and in Leaport. We are co-ed and we are very excited to be working on our citizenship in the community and we're learning about what the city has to offer, important buildings and important roles and we thank you for allowing us to come this evening. So if y'all want to say your names because I know I will screw up. Please do. You want to say your name? Carla Carpenter. Elijah M staff, Connor Collins, Jeremiah to Mercy,

Oliver Escaro, Dominic Traxler, Everett Steep, Landon Holderin, Lucas Haldderin. All right, thank y'all so much, ladies. We have a couple more. You want to go? I'm sorry. Scout master for the troop Daisy King. Committee Chair Elellanar Terski. Adult leader Alex Malaf. Thank you again for being here and we certainly appreciate it. Thank you.

And then lastly, Anaka Spece, would she like to represent our friends from South Central? Come forward, please. We welcome all our future leaders and Anakah was excited to be the speaker for the group. Hi, [laughter] I don't really have much to say but yeah, we're here from South Central for Jill Taholski and our government class and we have our council report that we have due in April. So, we wanted to get in early and get it done.

And would you like to introduce your friends? Um, Tamara Paris, Addison Swingo. She's She doesn't want to say hi. And then Gracie Thomas, and her mother, Heather, and myself. We're glad to have you. We'll be around after if you need signatures. And like I said, you got the short meeting. This is only three and a half hours, so we'll get you in and out. Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. In other news, by the way, if you haven't had the chance to see Miss Parton, she is flashing the new national championship Indiana University uh license plate every day when you park behind it.

And she has that there. And I will tell you, it doesn't you can't take it off and try to turn it around in reverse and hide it. Uh as I tried earlier today, and it it does not work. So enjoy that. I am. Thank you. Second and final reading. Councilwoman West for the second time by title only. Second motion and a second. Discussion. All in favor? I. Opposed. Councilwoman West. An ordinance amending ordinance number 1743, fire prevention and protection.

Mr. Mr. Otis, would you like to share more information on this or Miss West? Yep. Uh again, going back to the last meeting, this is just there's a minimal cost of that that is being charged to applicants and the reason for that is there is many people that that sign up and then don't follow through at all. And we the city has a cost to that. And so, uh, we, you know, don't want to make it cost prohibitive, but at least want to, uh, make it a cost that encourages people who are only kind of serious about going through with the process. Further comments? I believe that's live today. I believe there did go live today. Uh the fee is $20. So

it's not um a big fee, but I think it's it's important that people have a little skin in the game because the fire departments had so many applicants to offer not go through with it and then we lose,

especially when they don't show up and the fire uh department has to still pay for that fee. Um, I I do want to say until the application um has been updated um on the city site, do not apply because you will end up applying uh with an application that was from the past. So, I talked to Chief Snyder tonight about that. So, they're going to get that taken care of and then people can start applying that way through online through the fire department or this through the city or the fire department. And could we also acknowledge Grandpa Chief Snyder and congratulations on the new addition to the family, River. So, we're excited for him. Further comments? Do I have a motion to approve?

Motion to approve. Second. Discussion. All in favor? Opposed? Motion passes. Councilwoman Huffman. Introduction of an ordinance. Yes. I would like to make a motion to introduce an ordinance read for the first time in its entirety. Second motion and a second. Discussion. All in favor? I. Opposed? Councilwoman Huffman.

Thank you. an ordinance establishing security camera requirements for retailer alcohol permit holders open for business after 11 o'clock p.m. Whereas the city council finds that theft and violent crimes occur at a significant rate at establishments with retailer alcohol permits who are open for business after 11 p.m. The purpose of this section is to protect public health, safety, and welfare by increasing security for patrons and employees of these businesses by the use of surveillance cameras. Surveillance cameras will assist in deterring crime in and adjacent to such businesses and can provide information to assist the police in investigating crimes that do occur. Now therefore, be it and it is hereby ordained by the common council of the city of Leaport, Indiana, that a security requirements, any establishment that furnishes or sells alcohol after 11:00 p.m. shall install a recording security camera of a type, number, and placement approved by the chief of police of the city of Leaport or the chief's designate. B. Maintenance of equipment and recording media required. The chief of police or the chief's designate shall have the authority to formulate reasonable rules to fully implement this chapter. Number one, type of camera required. The camera must be capable of producing a retrievable image on a commercially viable digital media that can be made a permanent record and which can be enlarged through projection or other means. Existing systems shall have date and timestamp on the recorded video and shall be maintained in proper working order at all times during all hours of operation of the business. Any new or replacement equipment shall consist of a digital camera and a digital video

recorder. Two, signage required. Set establishments shall post a conspicuous sign which states that the property is under video surveillance. Three, minimum standards. Cameras shall be subject to periodic inspections by the chief of chief of police or his or her design. The security camera shall record all entry points, all exit points, and a full view of the public areas inside the retailer. Four, management of digital media. said establishments shall maintain and make available the digital media in any commercially usable format to the Leaport Police Department for a period of no less than 30 days before reusing or destruction of media. The digital media shall be marked with the day of the month the material was used. Digital materials shall be marked with the time and date. All recording media shall be replaced upon failure or at the manufacturer's recommended replacement schedule, whichever occurs first. Five, knowledge of equipment required. All businesses subject to this ordinance are required to have present on the licensed premises or immediately available via telephonic contact at all times during business hours a person having operational knowledge of and access to any surveillance equipment installed on the licensed premises. Such knowledge will include but not be limited to setup, use and operation, viewing, retrieval, and transfer of video to removable storage media, including passwords required to access protected electronic video surveillance files. Failure to provide access to any surveillance footage within 24 hours after the request by a member of the city of Leaport Police Department during business hours for any reason shall

constitute a violation of this section. Six fines. Failure to maintain a working surveillance system shall result in a fine of $250 per day and may result in the business being closed by the police chief or the chief's designate. End of ordinance.

I'd also like to thank Councilwoman Huffman for leading the charge on this. Uh we have a establishment that's not here uh and have individuals that are attending this establishment that aren't trying to live their best life. They're putting our community in danger. We're a law and order community and we will not tolerate it. And uh it's unacceptable. And when we have people coming from South Chicago uh by chance to uh a tavern here in Leaport, uh it's not accidental and we will not tolerate it. Our police will be on it. Uh we have the state alcohol board uh support and now that the council's doing this um put every option possible to keep Leaport safe and for those that can't run a business, shut the doors. So, anything you'd like to add?

No, I think you got it. Attorney Otis, just um Councilwoman Huffman did look at we looked at some other communities and and what they did. You you certainly don't want to overburden businesses with regulations and other things, but I this is kind of a uh this this type of requirement, security camera requirements you can find in a lot of communities. And it seems like some of the crimes that end up in the newspaper and the news are happening at I know you you singled out an establishment, but there's been multiple establishments often late at night shootings and other things that I I think nobody here wants. So,

further comments? And also I I so many of us have cameras at home now that are so inexpensive. I mean it it's not a significant financial burden uh for anybody to have. By the way, one question we've also seen where some of the cameras uh the lack of clarity is that something that uh if the lack of clarity is not there to see the view. Is that something that can lead to the fine as well?

It has to be approved by the chief of police or his designate. So if he doesn't see it as being appropriate, then he can deny I think. Excellent. Any other comments? Hearing none, this will now move to the March 16, 2026 meeting. Introduction of a resolution. Council President Frankie. Your honor, I move to introduce a resolution read in its entirety for the first and only time. Second. Motion and a second. Discussion. All in favor?

Opposed? Council President Frankie. A resolution of the common council of the city of Leaport, Indiana, approving the recision of a taxpayer agreement, including the termination of tax abatement authorized therein and addressing other matters related there too. Whereas the city of Leaport, Indiana, the common council of the city, the Leaport redevelopment commission and Microsoft Corporation entered into a taxpayer agreement dated June 3rd, 2024. And whereas the common council approved the city's and common council's entry into the taxpayer agreement by its resolution number R-13-2024 adopted by the common council on June 3rd, 2024. Whereas in the taxpayer agreement, the city and the common council provided certain development incentives to the company to support the company's investment and employment in the project area by granting pursuant to the terms of the taxpayer agreement a 100% personal property tax exemption for a term of 40 years for all personal property of the company in the project area that qualified as enterprise information technology equipment under Indiana code section 6-1.1-10-44C and whereas the parties proposed to resend the taxpayer agreement including terminating the tax abatement and to repeal the approval resolution. Now therefore be it resolved by the common council of the city of Leaport Indiana as follows. Section one approval of recision of taxpayer agreement and termination of taxpayer abatement. The common council hereby approves the recision of the taxpayer agreement including the termination of the tax payment. Section two, repeal of approval resolution. The common council hereby repeals the approval resolution. Section three, authorization of other actions.

Each of the mayor and the clerk treasure. The city individually is hereby authorized and directed for and on behalf of the city to execute and deliver any contract agreement, certificate, instrument, or other document and to take any action as such person determines to be necessary or appropriate to accomplish the purposes of this resolution. such determination to be conclusively evidenced by such person's execution of such contract agreement certificate instrument or other document or such person's taking of such action. Section four effective date this resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after it passage by the common council as required by law. End of resolution.

Bert Cook, welcome.

Thank you, Mayor. Uh good evening to council Bert Cook, executive director of the Leaport Economic Advancement Partnership. So I think as Councilman Frankie uh read, uh this resolution is in regards to the taxpayer agreement which you may remember signing in June of 2024 uh with Microsoft that govern their project here in the city of Leaport. You may or may not have noticed uh in January of this year, Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, pledged that the company would no longer seek local tax breaks or utility deals. So that brings up the question of what happens to projects such as ours that had already had an agreement in place. Now, credit to the mayor and to Microsoft for uh working together to find the best possible outcome uh for both the city of Leaport and Microsoft in regards to their project uh here. So, tonight we're asking you to pass the the resolution that you have in front of you that will effectively in its simplest form uh do away with their incentives here locally. Um we have some subsequent meetings scheduled for tomorrow. The board of public works meets uh in the morning, the redevelopment commission, and there is also a special schoolboard meeting following that where we will um with the blessing of each of those bodies announce a new agreement between the redevelopment commission and the Leaport Community School Corporation that I think will bring uh historic new uh benefit to both entities. Um on on behalf of this uh project, we do have u Microsoft representatives with us tonight. uh Meredith Liza, the senior community affairs manager, and Mike Stockwell, who is the land development and permitting project manager, are with us. They'll be with us uh most of the day tomorrow as well. And then I did see in the back um school board president Ryan Seabourg and uh Dr. Sandra Wood from the uh Leaport Community School Corporation, Superintendent of Leaport

Community School Corporation, who are here in support as well. So, be happy to answer any any questions that that you might have uh in regards to this action. Um would ask that you pass this resolution tonight and then as I mentioned, we'll have a series of other actions beginning tomorrow morning that will finalize the the remaining aspects of this um initiative.

Comments from the council. This is a moot point now if this passes, but I've over the past year and a half since that agreement was made continuously heard misinformation regarding it that the abatement was full property tax abatement and stuff. And even though it's being restructured uh um to everybody's benefit, the they were always going to pay full property tax and stuff. There was nothing abaded for property tax. There was some personal property.

Personal property. Yeah. Unfortunately, you know, and we see this often, you all on the council see it often, that uh misinformation is incredibly difficult to to try and manage and many people, you know, frankly, and I don't mean this in an insulting way, I think the way taxes are collected in Indiana in some ways are complicated and people don't always understand exactly how that process plays out. But exactly what you're referring to is correct. So, the real property here that Microsoft was never given any incentive on the real property. They were paying the full boat on that from the start. it was the personal property which is a tool that's given to us by the state of Indiana uh in order to facilitate development like this but but even with the personal property right the part that I think conveniently was left out in a lot of narratives was the pilot arrangement the payment in lie of taxes arrangement which was up to 30% of the savings up to $2.5 million a year for that exact same term of 40 years that is uh to Microsoft's credit that was a I think an incredible asset to our community if if they would have moved forward in that way and uh the deal just gets better for us at this point with the um rescending of this taxpayer agreement. But yes, Councilman Buchanan, you are correct. Unfortunately, misinformation uh is was was fairly prevalent on this deal from the start.

How much better? A lot a lot better. I would just encourage patience. We uh we want to do everything in the correct uh time frame, in the correct order, and uh and give good information that people can use uh that's factual moving forward. So, um it will be, as you can imagine, this is a uh I use the word historic. I think you'll hear that numerous times tomorrow as well or maybe unprecedented as well. Um but this is a an incredible opportunity for our community, for the redevelopment commission, and for the Leaport Community School Corporation. I wish I could say more tonight, but we're doing we're taking these steps as quickly as we possibly can so that we're uh we're not teasing it for too long. I just wanted to throw you curveball and I think you you hit it. So, good job. Excellent.

But I I will add and I've said this before uh and I stand by it. Microsoft's a fantastic community partner. I feel lucky to have you guys uh coming into our city and can't wait for the future. says the guy with the Apple laptop.

Well, I'll tell you what. Um, and Mr. Cook has done a fantastic job. Um, the key to a successful community is having a thriving school corporation. Uh, we have a leader in Dr. Wood that's moving our school system forward. And with our partnership with Microsoft and what's going to happen tomorrow, uh I think Leaport is going to be the place to be uh from many aspects especially education and Microsoft through our time here has shown they're a true partner and uh they care about the community. They've met with uh just groups and groups of people and we're fortunate to have them. Bird Cook gets calls weekly from companies, tech companies, data center companies. Um, we've said no. We continue to say no. We were looking for a special partnership. Uh, and I think we're there and we're excited about what the future holds. Uh, from the perspective though, there still seems to be a lot of questions about the electric and I know the tech companies will be uh with President Trump, I believe, uh, on the 4th this week. Um, can you just have the clarity to make sure everybody's educated that their electric bills will not be uh increased based on this partnership?

Yeah, the the mayor's referencing and and appreciate the opportunity. Uh, as you all know, uh, the mayor is tireless in his uh, willingness to share time and and communicate with the public. So, we've been having a number of meetings uh with different groups within the community and uh and going through those those items that I think are of front of mind or most concerning to to to people and electric I think is one of those that comes up over and over again. So, a couple points that I would stress that I think become incredibly important. Um so Genko is the subsidiary of NIPCO that has been formed to house all large load um electric users which includes data center projects and that's the first and foremost way that they're segregating those costs from the existing rateayers. On top of that, uh, President Trump in in conjunction with Microsoft um, announced, uh, that, you know, across the nation, Microsoft would be paying for those the costs associated with the electricity that they would ultimately use both on the generation and the transmission side. And so, I think those are the two main bullet points the mayor is referencing. Um, we share those concerns and I think NIPCO is has been uh, willing to have those conversations and a part of this project as well. um making sure that that those costs don't get passed on to existing rate payers. And on top of that, the investments that Microsoft is making in our utility grid and in our network will ultimately uh result in better reliability for uh for our community as a whole as well. Further comments? This is a resolution can pass this evening. Do I have a motion?

So moved. Second. Motion and a second. Further comment? All in favor? I I opposed. Motion passes. Thank you, sir. Thank you. And thank you to Microsoft. Thank you to our school school system. Introduction of a resolution. Councilwoman Huffman. I would like to introduce a resolution read for the first and only time in its entirety. Second. Motion and a second. Discussion. All in favor? I. Opposed? Councilwoman Huffman.

Thank you. resolution to transfer funds within the 2026 budgets. Whereas, there are additional monies needed in certain line items in the 2026 budgets in order to pay for essential services and obligations. Now, therefore, be it and it is hereby resolved by the common council of the city of Leaport, Indiana, that the following transfers be made within the following budgets for the year 2026. Seed information technology 2209-015 from 111 salaries to 391 other services $4,500 and a resolution. This is a resolution can pass this evening and again this is just normal business.

Yep. That was a request from our IT director Rosco Hoffman. So we just got it in front of council when he turned it in. Motion to approve. Second discussion. All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes. Also, uh, and I'll have the clerk treasurer comment. We do have a question about debt. Um, because clearly when I say it, I'm or say it. I'm not making the point. So, property tax debt in our first five years going into the sixth year, how much debt have we incurred uh as from our administration?

No. No new property taxbased debt. We refunded the 2012 GO bond, which is now called the 2020 refunding bond. Saved approximately $250,000 in interest. The only debt that we have um accumulated since since 2020 has been in user rates and tiff tiff back debt.

And so user rates go into the ground, go into infrastructure, water, sewer, and the user rates which were still under the state average pay for the water and sewer. So we don't have backups that we all saw when we took over in 2020 uh and infrastructure that's in the ground a 100red years old. So understand and then the tiff developments that means the only the businesses in the tiff will pay for it not the entire city. So again, we have not increased debt citywide uh in property tax bills. Um and thanks to the great work of the clerk treasurer and our team, uh we've been able to redu reduce old debt before this administration uh by $250,000. So great work. We encourage anybody to come forward and ask those type of questions uh so we can clarify it. But great job Also, USA Today has nominated Leaport as one of the 20 communities as the best small town in the Midwest. Uh that's something you don't pay for, you don't ask for. And uh it's great information. Uh we were included last year, we ended up number number two. Uh this year, we know we're number one. So, uh, now that we're one of the 20, you can go on and you'll see, uh, on my Facebook page or the city Facebook, uh, that you can vote, put your vote in. You can put it in every day and we'll see what happens at the end of the March at end of March to make Leaport the number one best small town in the Midwest. Are you excited about that, Julie?

All right. every day. Mayor, before you move on, I'd like to motion uh to untoning for your term for one appointment. Second. Motion in a second. Discussion. All in favor? I opposed. Councilman Frankie. I'd like to make a motion to appoint Brian Kaiser uh back to the board of zoning for four years. Brian, we appreciate your service. Second. motion and a second discussion. Any thoughts? Brian, thank you for your work. You in favor?

You've led some tough votes uh that move Leaport forward. So, thank you. Any other comments? I do have a motion and a second. All in favor? I opposed. Motion passes. Reminder, 8:30 tomorrow will be the uh board of works. 9:30 will be redevelopment. Uh the school board will host a special um school board meeting at 10 and look forward to seeing everybody there. And 10 10:15 will be the meeting

10:15 will be the school board meeting and at 10:30 we'll have a press conference. With that, do I have a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Second discussion. All in favor? I opposed. We are adjourned. Please welcome our friends from Microsoft if you have a chance to say hello. uh they are a part of our community and we'll