Common Council - Regular Meeting

Good afternoon. I'd like to call the order to the City of Lawrence Common Council meeting. Today is July 6, 2026. The time is 634. I'd like to do prayer to allegiance and prayer.

Good afternoon.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands,

under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Dear Heavenly Father, we take this time, we ask for your wisdom, your discernment. We want to thank you for all the prayers and for all the great blessings that you put upon our great city. We ask that you keep our public safety workers, our public police and fire safe. We ask that you have a special prayer for our city workers and for our council as we come upon doing the work of the citizens of the city. We ask all these things in your most high name, amen. Amen. Amen.

Okay. So we can have a quorum.

All right, roll call of members. We do have a quorum. There are six counselors in attendance. This meeting has been properly noticed in accordance with the Indiana Open Door Law. Copies of the agenda are located at the back of the meeting room. Also, for any citizens wishing to speak on the citizens' comments later in the agenda, please sign using the sign-in sheet located at the back of the meeting room. comment to the council members and special recognitions or resolutions council of Missouri

I'm sorry, I have three things to say. First off is a shout out to the McAloons who live in the Oakland neighborhood for forming the Geist Valley Estates Neighborhood Improvement Initiative. So these are members of the community who are actively trying to make a positive difference. So kudos to them. And then a shout out to the July 4th celebration at Community Park. I admit I was cutting fish for the Kiwanis so I didn't see much of it but there were lots of people at the fish fry and everyone seemed very happy and also the parking lot looks great.

It does.

So and then the third thing is this is an announcement and this relates to Live Longer in Lawrence. I'm the liaison for the council and the Friends of Fort Benjamin Harrison. And the Friends of Fort Bend on Thursday, July 9th at 7 p.m. will have a program. Native plants are the best, and natives are better for environment and health and pocketbook than exotics. So if anyone's interested, 7 o'clock Thursday at Fort Bend.

thank you any other comments i'd like to add a comment i'd like to give a uh shout out to priority trash uh this morning when i left the neighborhood of course with having um the holiday there were lots of extra cans you know folks using you know the recycle bins i know i had to and i was concerned that uh maybe all that stuff would be I was so thankful and pleasantly surprised that my neighborhood was so clean. I feel like I wasn't out there, but I feel like the priority folks must have taken the extra effort to get all that done. And so I know we were kind of stretching the rules, but we had a great Fourth of July celebrating America's 250. And I just think that our neighborhood is clean, and I assume that the rest of the neighborhoods in the city are as well. And so nice shout out to them.

Thank you I would also like to give a quick shout out to DPW when my husband and I got back in town Saturday we were able to drive right through 75th and Oakland and I was like oh and when I woke up this morning all the trucks were parked up on our street so there they were down there today so that's getting the roundabout is getting started Also, I spoke with the HOA members in Admiral's Landing. They had been in touch with me in 23 following up on a conversation they had with DPW in 22 about fixing the roads in the neighborhood. And I told them that I will get with DPW either tonight or tomorrow and follow up on that for them. I also had a constituent email me right after I left the hospital before I came here when I was snarfing down some dinner. I don't have her name. She lives at 86th and Carroll, and she wants to have a pothole filled, but she said it's on the north side, and I'm thinking that's that. That might be Indianapolis. Indianapolis. So, yeah, I've got to get with DPW again. So, DPW, if you're listening, I'm going to talk to you tomorrow.

All right. Thank you, Christy. Great job. Anyone else? All right. Moving right along here. Approval of minutes of regular, the rescheduled mid-month meeting on June 24th. Are there any questions or corrections to the minutes of the regular rescheduled meeting? Okay. Do we have a motion to approve those minutes of the regular meeting in the mid-month meeting on June 24th? Oh, I'm sorry, I gotta get used to that board up there to do that. Okay, so we have motion by Carlos, second by Sherron. Is there any further discussion? If not, we'll proceed with a vote.

Good evening, this is Tracy Boyd. Can I be marked as present and...

Absolutely. I'm sorry. Tracy, can you say what you said? I'm sorry.

She has to show her face.

She has to show her face. Okay. Do we have to get the board down then? Give us one moment, Tracy.

It should be in here.

The IT guy, can he give us some assistance?

I have all four cameras on. I don't know why. Oh, okay.

I apologize, Tracy, too. That is Counselor Tracy Boyd is in attendance via Zoom.

Thank you. I vote yay for the minutes also.

Okay.

Okay, yeah.

It should be called small recess.

Yeah. Let's go ahead and pause for a five-minute recess before we can get the technology up.

Okay, I've done that.

Okay, but we can't see Council Boyd. You can't see me? It's on Teams.

It's on Teams? Yes. Yes. see i see her i know you watching on youtube right yeah you can see it everybody on youtube can see it but we can't see it so what does the tv show you uh it shows us the voting system yes right so you need to press teams on the button on the left I mean, I can do this all day. But now we're not on YouTube.

Hold on, what's that? We done blocked out.

Are we on YouTube?

I did. There she is. All right, so how do we get teams back?

May I make a recommendation?

Yeah, I'm listening to you, Tracy. She's on the phone, though, with the IT guy.

Just to go forward with the meeting, and when the minutes are released, that we amend them and state that I was present and my voting can be rejected. The only ones that are highlighted is side TVs and teams.

I'm sorry, Tracy. I couldn't clearly hear you because I got two conversations going on right now.

Check your taxes.

Okay. Thank you.

Uh-huh.

So if...

We see her now, but how do we get back to YouTube? We could do a roll call. Okay, so what do you see right now on YouTube? Okay, so we're good then.

The live stream controller affects YouTube. You're trying to affect the local room. It has nothing to do with YouTube.

Okay, well, I just want to make sure, Jared, calm down, okay?

I know you're getting frustrated.

Hold on, Jared. It's so in my mind, okay? And we're trying to do this together, okay? All right? It's going to be okay, all right? I kind of hear some frustration in your voice, and I just want you to know this.

Can you turn down the mic? Turn down the mic.

Alright, let's get this thing going. Alright.

I read my text messages.

Okay, so we'll open the meeting back up and we'll make the official amendment. Yes. Okay? All right. I'm down for that. So I think we're good. We're good? Go ahead. Yeah. Okay. All right. Meeting is back in session. I'd like to make an amendment to the minutes to include Counselor Tracy Boyd into the minutes and also count her attendance. Are you with Counselor Boyd? Let me ask, make sure this is proper. Yes.

To ask her to state what her vote was.

yeah for the record can you go ahead and state what your vote was for the minutes approval of the minutes yes thank you my vote was yes yes okay thank you okay we're all good all right all right let's keep moving forward here yes all right thank you okay let's get back on track here all right Okay. The next agenda item is reports of committees. Do we have any reports from any committees this evening? Okay, seeing none, next agenda item is unfinished business proposal.

Signing of vouchers.

Thank you. All right. We need to go back to the next item is assigning the vouchers approval of claims and authorizations of minutes. I mean, authorizations of payments. Do I have a motion for, do I have a motion for approval?

Okay, because it looks like Sharon and Betty.

Okay, so I have a motion by Sharon, second by, motion by Councilor Freeman, second by Councilor Robinson. Do I have any further discussion? Seeing no further discussion, I'm going to call for a vote. Because we have Councillor Boyd on the minutes, we'll do a roll call vote. And we will start with you, Councillor Boyd. Yes. Yes. Counselor Robinson.

Yes.

Counselor Giles. Yes. Counselor Jennings. Aye. Counselor Freeman.

Yes.

Counselor Crone. Yes. Counselor Mazura.

Yes.

All right. Your vote is unanimous.

Counselor Giles.

I vote yes.

All right. Getting back on track here to agendas, I apologize for a little bit of moving around there. The next agenda item is unfinished business, proposal number one. Madam Clerk, would you please read the title of the ordinance into the record?

proposal number one twenty twenty six and ordinance of the common council of the city of lawrence indiana amending title one article one chapter two section twelve of the municipal code regarding common council approval on expenditures of professional service contracts thank you madam clerk this proposal remains before the committee of a whole for consideration and recommendation to the council it will be brought to the council uh... with appropriate

new business. The next agenda item is new business. There's no matter of new business to be considered this evening. Comments of the administration? Do we have any comments from the administration?

Really, no comments. Just wanted to thank all those who participated this weekend. We had a recap this morning and thought it was a successful July event, so thank you all.

It was very successful, so thank you. The next agenda item is any citizen comments? Seeing none, seeing no Senate comments, meeting adjourned.