Common Council - Regular Meeting

and authorizations of payments. No claims today. No claims today. No.

Okay. Reports of committees. We had the committee of the whole um committee earlier and I gave that um report. Anyone else? Okay. Unfinished business. Unfinished business for proposal number three. Madame clerk, would you please read the title of the ordinance into record? Proposal number 3, 2025, an ordinance of the common council of the city of Lawrence, Indiana, amending title one, article 2, chapter 5 of the code of ordinance of the city of Lawrence, Indiana.

Thank you, Madame Clerk. This proposal was referred to the committee of the hold for consideration and recommendation to the council and it received it was extended for an additional 30 days. Thank you. Any further discussion on that? I can do that.

The next agenda item is proposal number 6, 2025. Madame Clerk, would you please read it into record for proposal number 6, 2025, an ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Lawrence, Indiana, amending title 3, article 3, chapter 13 of the code of ordinance of the city of Lawrence, Indiana, concerning graffiti elimination.

Thank you, Madame Clerk. This proposal was referred to the committee of the whole for consideration and recommendation to the council and received a favorable recommendation. We will now consider a motion to approve proposal six. Thank you councilors. Any further discussion? None. We will proceed to vote. Thank you counselors. It passed. Next we will have new business resolution number eight. Madame clerk, would you please read?

I don't have seven. Madam President, you have seven on your agenda. Yes. Seven is code of ethics. So I think you still take that to committee. Okay. Sorry. Proposal number seven, 2025. Madame clerk, could you please read this as [clears throat] a matter of record? An ordinance of the common council of the city of Lawrence, Indiana, adopting a code of ethics. Thank you, madame clerk. This proposal will be referred to the code of

co committee. Code of enforcement. Code of code of rules. Yeah. Code of code. Madam President, will that be uh the first of the month meeting or I'm sorry that will it be the same day of the first of the month meeting? Uh that would be up to the chairperson. Hopefully. Thank you. Okay. Next will be uh resolution number eight 2025. Madame clerk, would you please read the title of the resolution into record?

Resolution number 8, 2025, a resolution of the Lawrence Common Council [clears throat] approving a designation of Sunnyside to Oakland economic development area and adoption of economic development.

Okay. Is there anyone here to discuss resolution 8? Good evening, Madame President, members of the council. My name is Russell Brown, an attorney with the law firm of Clark Quinn, uh, business address, 320 North Meridian Street, sweet 1100 in Indianapolis. Uh, I have had the pleasure for the last two years of representing the redevelopment commission as their council. This resolution comes before you tonight um as the first step of creating a new economic development area in the city of Lawrence. Uh, so As the title says, this is effectively an area that stretches from the corner of Pendleton Pike and Sunnyside up to the Oaklandon and Pendleton Pike area a little bit north to the tracks uh on Oaklandon. Um and this is the first step in creating potential having potential to create future uh tiff areas within that area for economic development. The creation of an economic development plan is the first step. You have to have an economic development plan before you can create an allocation area. And so the redevelopment commission has been talking about this for most of the last year about creation of a second actually this is we our third economic development area within the city. There are no tiff um no allocation area or tiff districts that are presented tonight or that are part of this consideration. From a process perspective this has typically has four steps in the process. The redevelopment commission uh makes an a declaratory resolution commencing the process. They adopt a plan that and that plan includes a map. Uh they then forward it to in most communities forward it to uh the plan commission who makes a determination that the plan does not interfere with the comprehensive plan for your community. And [clears throat] Lawrence is the one ex one of two excl uh two exceptions to

that. uh it then only comes to you as the council. Um so most communities it goes the development commission uh plan commission council then back to uh the redevelopment commission for confirmatory resolution that requires a public hearing which is scheduled to be heard tomorrow. We have noticed that for a hearing by the redevelopment commission tomorrow. So tonight uh this resolution would be requesting from you that there is no um [clears throat] negative impact uh to the economic to the city's economic development plan economic development activities by the creation of this plan. If and when a tiff area is ever created that comes back to this council for your review and consideration. So it's not something the redevelopment commission can do without any say so by this council. So tonight's request is the uh to approve resolution number eight which designates uh the creation of a new economic development area the Sunnyside to Oakland and economic development area. I'm happy to answer additional questions that the council has.

May I ask any questions? Yes, ma'am. Oh, so this is the corner of Sunnyside and Pendleton Pike where the um paint store is and the Steak and Shake and then there's um wooded area and then it's the uh gardening center and then so how like wide would this be? And so so you you approximated the the boundaries correctly. So it starts at that corner. Um I do have a map. I can I apologize. I didn't bring copies for but this is the area.

Can I see that? So, so it essentially starts not it does not include the Walmart parcel, but includes almost everything else at the corner of Sunnyside and Pendleton Pike, runs uh [clears throat] you mostly only one property deep along Pendleton Pike until you get to the corridor or to the corner of Oakland and Pendleton Pike.

So, it's both sides of the street. It it is for most of that most of that duration. Yes. Except between Paradise Nursery and kind of the Arby's. It does not include the north side of Pendleton Pike because there are no commercial activial.

So, so we tried to emit as much as possible where it was purely residential um because there's no value to add that to a tiff unless you're going to do a housing tiff. Um so we try to try to capture as much uh commercial only areas and the goal being that if you have an economic development area you can perhaps spend uh tiff dollars within that economic development area even if it is not within the same allocation area. And so the goal would be if you had a project that occurred at the corner of Sunnyside and Pendleton Pike, but you had an e a need for investment at Oaklan and Pendleton Pike, if they're in the same economic development area, you could perhaps utilize funds from that tiff district in that same economic development area. The other alternative would be to create two, create a Sunnyside and create a an Oaklandon. And we the commission's determination was that they thought it was best to try to have it all in one so that if there was activity in one side or the other could perhaps utilize those funds uh in in the nearby.

So So it includes like the Kohl's and all of that that the Kroger. That's where the increment's coming from really. There's no increment yet because we're not we're not passing. We're not there yet. But that's that's what the economic I was just develop. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. That's the concept. Yes, that's the concept. But the end goal is the tiff. The end goal would be you know you heard a project for reszoning um you know on Oakland and near the near uh the railroad a few months ago. Mhm. Um

and that would be the type of project that you could perhaps consider tiffing um if and when that occur if and when a development came forward that there was a a need expressed and there was a return on uh investment that was determined to be appropriate that has to go back through the same process uh redevelopment commission to you back to the redevelopment commission. So just one follow-up question. Sorry. I'm sorry. Go ahead. What? Just procedurally, why was the public hearing noticed before this came before the council? Because the next matter is timesensitive. The resolution 9 is timesensitive and needs to be accomplished by the end of the year

and tell me why. I I I would be happy to talk about that when we're talking about resolution 9. Um, but that relates Well, I guess they tie, right?

They don't they don't tie. We're running them together to try to save expenses. Frankly, I'm trying to run them at the same time to save expenses for the redevelopment commission to get them in place so that the matters can move forward. I I communicated with the council president about 45 days ago trying to lay out a process for this matter to come here. Uh and I did uh the redevelopment commission only meets once a month and so it just happened to coordinate that it it happened tomorrow [clears throat] uh for that redevelopment commission meeting. So that's why it was noticed in advance to try to get this done before the end of the year and also accommodate the redevelopment commission which has five volunteer members uh who you know trying to meet with their schedule not add another uh another meeting to their calendar.

May I ask do you have any are there any particular businesses in mind? [clears throat] Have you been approached by anyone?

I I'm counselled to the revolment commission. I am not the executive director. I'm not I don't necessarily see all those. Mr. Goodnight often hears many of those. Um the one at Oakland, the one that came for uh reszoning several months ago is the one that started kind of the discussion [snorts] about creating a second economic development area. Uh the reason then you have obviously undeveloped property that's near the corner of 56th and Sunnyside um that has been long undeveloped. But the idea being that perhaps if there was a tiff area or there were economic development dollars to to allocate towards that that perhaps that could uh start some economic development activity there. The other thing frankly has to do with the age of some of those buildings. Many of those buildings are and they're near 20 or 25 years old which oftent times is the useful life of some of those commercial developments. So you'll think you'll see things like the Taco Bells had a a big refurbishment rate recently. The Burger King is undergoing one currently. The Arby's has in the last several years. Uh you notice the rallies that was out in front of uh Walmart came down. Um so a 20 to 25 year lease in a commercial world, it's pretty typical. Many of those things are nearing the end of that 20 to 25 year uh kind of initial stage. And so we thought if you captured all of those together perhaps there will be refreshing or reinvestment in those areas that could uh create allocate opportunities for increased assessed value.

Thank you pull that in council Chavis if I might just to go back to your question. I've not done this before before this committee before this council. I've done it in other communities and so it is very typical to kind of just line them up at the next council meeting and try to to move it forward that way. I wasn't trying to be disrespectful of your process. Um but I think now um I know uh how to better maybe the expectations of the council to have these introduced and and considered at committee. Um so I understand that going forward. Thank you. Thank you

Russell. If I may. Um, so th this would actually if [clears throat] we pass this, this would be a sort of a tax reduction and the money would go to the redevelopment. No, it wouldn't go to the general fund of the city as if we do this.

The the action tonight on this does not create it doesn't create a a locked in base AV. It doesn't it doesn't take any of those actions. That would be the creation of an allocation area, which is a separate and distinct step. Some communities run them together. The communities I represent don't run them together because I don't think that's fair to add an economic development plan and an allocation area at the same time. I think it's better to have a more thought, more thorough and thoughtout process. So, there is no allocation area that's proposed here tonight. If and when an allocation area was to be created at that point, yes, you would freeze your AV at the at that base year and perhaps dedicate those funds to an economic development project, but that's not what is proposed for this this economic development area tonight.

Well, I don't know how the rest of the council feels, but to me, this is a pretty big deal, and we're hearing about it right now. I mean, uh, to me it just seems a little irresponsible to to vote on something of this magnitude in just a, you know, a snap of a finger. But I understand that perspective. Your your role is relatively limited. I mean, statutoily, you have a very limited role uh, in this review. Um, but this has been considered and heard at multiple redevelopment commission meetings over the last several months to which you have two appointees.

Counselors, any further questions? Councelor Jennings. Well, I was going to ask a question about uh I was follow up on on Liz's question about uh what businesses are potentially going. I seen you look back at the uh at uh good night. I just wanted to know I I was going to ask but in in because we want to you know in lie of taking our time I want to make sure I just withdraw my question. [clears throat]

Okay. Any further questions, discussions? Thank you. [clears throat] Do we have a motion? Thank you, councilors Jiles and Councelor Jennings to make a motion for approval. Questions? Excuse me. Can we have discussion? I thought we did. After the motion. Oh, yes, ma'am. I I would recommend that it be assigned to committee so that we can digest this. For me personally, um I'm not prepared to to vote right now. I agree.

Just send it to a committee or you going to make a motion out of that, Lisa? So you don't need one.

Yeah. I'd like This is whatever the motion has to submit to committee needs to be motioned and that okay the only reason that I want to make sure that I was put in the motion for approval to make sure I heard this correctly is that it's I know that we're starting the first step to a possible uh tiff is the big thing that we're concerned about but as of today setting it as an economic development zone doesn't change us change anything. It just gets us one step closer. Um yeah, that's my thought.

Well, but we're going to do eight, then we're going to do nine. So, if you're going to do eight, you need to do eight and nine or it does them no good because they're trying to do both. If I understood Russell correctly, they're trying to do both um as a cost-saving measure. So, If Right. So if we do eight and we put nine to committee, what does [clears throat] that do? Yeah. For you motion. I want to make sure I'm not out of line. Right. I think we're in discussion. We're in discussing them. But you can I want I want to answer that question.

Yeah. So So part of it was just professional fees, you know, doing that all at one time instead of splitting them up or doing that. the the fees that would be lost is we we have about a $500 public notice advertising that's occurred for a public hearing tomorrow that would have to be redone if you table this and the and the public hearing doesn't move forward tomorrow. So that's and and it's for each they were each individually advertised. It's about $500 that you're losing that the three not you're losing the redevelopment commission is burned and we have to re respend. Um the other cost have been you know they are what they are. They've already been spent. Um but that would be a cost that would be have to be eaten and redone uh because you can't you have to have a 10-day public notice for a public hearing for the consideration of this by the redevelopment commission.

So did you notice the public hearing for eight and nine? Yeah. Yes. And you in that notice $500 is the total for both. No, it's per. Yes. So, it's only a savings or not a detriment if we do both. Because if we do one, if we don't do either, it's $1,000. If we do one versus the other, it's $500. Correct. Okay. I just want to make sure I understood that [cough] [clears throat]

um committee as a whole. Okay. Okay. We're going to I have one other question. This has to be a unanimous vote for it to resolution. It's a resolution. It's a resolution motion for on first reading. Okay. Okay. I didn't pull my motion with that. Any other questions, discussion? Well, oh, okay. I was looking at the board. I didn't know if it was still the motion on the floor or was it I got a little confused.

I think what happened is you had made a motion for approval. Then there was a discussion possible motion regarding uh to submit it to a committee. So then I think it was just cleared off. So I think we're just status quote nothing has happened at this point. Okay. Someone would like to make a motion either adopt or to move it to a committee. That is the time now. But we all just need to know what you're actually Okay. I'd like to make a motion to assign it to committee. I'd like [clears throat] to second it. Can you? Yeah. Motion. Make a motion. I am.

It needs to be seconded. Okay. Thank you, counselors. This is going to be assigned to Got a vote. Get a vote.

Vote to assign to a committee. Thank you counselors. assigned to a committee as a whole. [clears throat] Okay. Next on the agenda is resolution number 9, 2025. Madame clerk, would you please read the title of resolution 9, 2025 into the record? Resolution number 9, 2025, a resolution of the Lawrence Common Council approving a second amending declaratory resolution of the redevelopment commission for punive pike allocation area. Would someone please come forward? Thank you.

Resolution 9 has went through the same process that I described for resolution 8 to get to you tonight. Um, this also is scheduled for a public hearing tomorrow. This is how however more timesensitive. Uh this is a re resolution that requests to amend the current Pendleton Pike economic development area by removing two parcels. Um the the part of what we have done as we've utilized Baker Tilly uh as the financial consultant for the redevelopment commission is to review uh allocate that allocation area and how current assessed values relate to base assessed values. So very basically when you create a tiff area, this was created in approximately 2007. Those base values were locked in in 2007. The redevelopment commission gets tiff revenue off of increment. However, if you have parcels that have decreased in value, uh they that increment doesn't exist. So you actually are losing uh income to the redevelopment commission uh by those ne by the negative growth of those parcels. Uh we have two parcels uh in the Pendleton Pike redevelopment commission redevelopment area that have had dramatic negative growth um during that time. And so the request of this uh declaratory resolution is to remove those two from both the plan which we talked about for and also from the allocation area. In doing so that would have a positive impact on the income coming into the uh redevelopment commission to the tune of I believe it's approximately $100,000 per year. So, it is a sizable amount of money that the redevelopment commission is missing out on um by by these parcels continuing to be included. It doesn't create a donut hole. It's not two parcels in the middle

that we're picking out. There's two parcels kind of on the edge uh of of that allocation area. They're frankly the discussion we had is that they are parcels that do not appear to be ready for economic development. and and that is whether that's by choice of the owners, whether that's by some other outside forces, they they do not appear to be primed for redevelopment and there's no redevelopment opportunities that the redevelopment commission could participate in on those parcels. So that is the request tonight. The the reason that this is timesensitive is that this needs to be completed before years end because this will impact for assess 25 pay 26. everything goes back to January 1st of this year. And so by doing this uh considering and approving this resolution, then the redevelopment commission can take that act uh and uh and make this effective before the end of this calendar year. Additionally, um very technical reading of the statute is on those parcels that are subject to that uh the we have to give notice to the taxing districts of of that uh pending action. Um a very strict reading of the statute says that no permits can be issued in that area while this is pending. Um so that does create a little more time sensitivity as it relates to this resolution versus the previous um one. Um, so with that, I would ask for your approval of this so that a public hearing can be held tomorrow on this matter and appropriate uh notification can made be made to the Department of Local Government Finance for effective for the assess 25 pay 26 cycle.

Happy to answer sorry to go sit down. I'm happy to answer questions. Any questions? You got a quick motion and second? Yes. No, I even before I was done talking Can we note specifically what the areas are? I'm happy to they are part of the um resolution that's before the RDC. I I don't I don't feel like it's appropriate to talk negatively um from the podium about two parcels or their ownership. They're un they're undeveloped. They're they're under

property underdeveloped properties that are losing tax increment for the redevelopment commission in in very dramatic ways in in over 18 years. Correct. I'd like to know. That one's easy. I would I'm happy to share that information with you. I again prefer to not right do it from the podium. Thank you, Russell. Appreciate this. No, that's professional. [clears throat] Okay, counselors, we have a motion to and a second to approve. A motion to approve. Okay.

Thank you, counselors. Any further discussion before we vote? We can take a vote. Thank you counselors. It passed. Next we will have comments from the administration.

No comments. You have a question. No comments. Question. No no no. Uh Jamie, would you like to share anything that's coming up?

Thank you, Madam President. Jamie Wire at Georgia uh City Events. We today actually had our Thanksgiving gathering. We served about 70 veterans and seniors today a full Thanksgiving meal. They had some entertainment. They played some games. So, it was a great turnout and a good time. Then next Saturday, November the 29th, we have our Lawrence Christmas. We have a variety show. We have a parade. Um, and we'll light the tree. So that is from 6:00 to 7:00. The parade will actually kick off at 5:30 um and make its way from the government center down to Loop over um Lotus or Lotus Otis over specific plaza um and then the the um variety show will start. That's all we have right now.

Okay. And we will be um having [clears throat] police department is doing a food drive on the 24th from 4 to 6 at the community center. And then we are hopeful to be partnering with Mosel Sanders to give away some dinners on Thanksgiving as well in the Lawrence community either here and doing a drive-thru or uh possibly delivering as well. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Jamie. Has the fire department uh come up with a date for the Christmas? They have, but I do not have them at the top of my mind right now. I can find those out for you and send you an email. Can we find out by the first of the month meeting? Yep. Sure.

Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Next, we have citizens comments and you shall limit yourself to three minutes. And we have Joyce Irvin. Good evening. Good evening.

Thank you for hearing me. I am Joyce Irvin. I am a long time city uh resident of the city of Lawrence. I reside in the Winfield subdivision. You can hear me. Off of 56 Street. Uh the Indian Creek Common Strip Mall is in very close proximity to the homes on Sedg Grass Drive. And just to give you a visual, if that was my backyard, uh that wall was my backyard. This is about how close that strip mall is to my to our homes. Uh there's a sixfoot fence that's about 30 years old that is between our properties and the back of this strip mall. Um over the past several years uh Buffalo Wild Wings occupied uh a space in that strip mall and while they were there they were the root of numerous problems that spilled over into our neighborhood um such as noise violations, numerous employee fights in the rear of the building, trash and deb debris being dumped in our yards, police chasing criminals through the alley, and there were property damages uh when an employee drove his vehicle through one of our neighbors yards through our fence and through the yard. Uh just to name a few, it is rumored that another bar restaurant type of business is going into that building. Um, I'm going to use the word we because I expected four other residents to be here with me. We are seeking information about the business that will be occupying that uh that where Buffalo Wild Wings was uh and wondering how could we proactively work with the city of Lawrence to prevent

prevent similar issues spilling over into our neighborhood. Okay. Thank you. Whose district is that? It's mine. Okay, I do have some information for you. Uh, we can talk afterwards. Oh, great. Thank you. Thank you for hearing. Thank you. Thank you. We are ajourned.

Oh, no, no, no, no. It's okay. Yeah, he'll be happy. One of the uh one of the food truck Really? Yeah. Yeah. That's one. I sign anything. One down. What? 30 to go.