Common Council - Regular Meeting

Oh, you got that. I will now call the meeting to order. Let's stand for the pledge of allegiance and prayer. 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.

Uh please bow your heads. Uh dear father, we come to you uh so humbly and graciously today. We uh ask that you continue, we thank you that you continue to bless us and look over us. We ask the special prayer that you keep our city workers uh safe as we have uh many of our DPW workers out on the roads, keeping the roads clear. Uh Lord, we ask that you continue to to watch over our our public safety workers. Lord, we ask that you uh give each one of these council people the discernment and the wisdom uh to uh make great decisions and uh lead with purpose and dedication. We ask all these things in your in your most holy name. Amen.

Amen. Thank you.

Okay, we do have a quorum. We have seven present. Do we have any comments from the counselors on spec special recognitions or resolutions? Okay. None. We would take uh next will be the approval of the minutes of the regular meeting of November the 19th, 2025. Are there any questions or corrections? Okay. None. Do we have a motion to approve the minutes? Thank you counselors. Do we have um a discussion? Okay. Now we will take a vote. Thank you. Okay, passed. Next, we will have the signing of the vouchers, approve of the claims, and authorization of payments. Do we have um a motion to approve? Second. Thank you, counselors. Any discussions? Now we will have a vote. It passed. Thank you, counselors. Report of committees. The committee of a whole met this evening and the committee considered proposal number three 2025

and resolution number 8 2025. Proposal number three was tabled that was the recommendation and resolution number eight was because of time was moved to the council meeting at 6:30 by the president. Do we have any other reports from committees? Okay. Next is the unfinished business proposal. Well, not that one was table proposal number seven and ordinance or unfinished business proposal number 725. This is proposal. Three.

That's the one that was table. I need to make sure that that shows that it's not a vote so I can go to the next. Okay, hold on one second. We have to remove proposal number three off the board.

Okay. Okay. Proposal number seven. Madame clerk, would you please read the title of the ordinance into record? Proposal number 7, 2025, 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 brought to the coun council's consideration and recommendation and it will be referred to the committee as a whole. Okay. Next will be under unfinished business. Resolution number 8, 2025. Madame clerk, would you please read the title of the resolution 8 into the record? Resolution number 8, 2025, a resolution of the Lawrence Common Council approving a destination of Sunnyside to Oakland economic development area and adoption of an economic development.

Okay. Is there someone here would like to talk about resolution number eight?

Good evening. For the record, Russell Brown, attorney with Clark Quinn, business address 320 North Meridian Street, Sweet 1100, represent the redevelopment commission. As you know, this uh resolution was before you at your uh November 19th meeting was tabled. Um I uh provided to the clerk and I believe she provided to all of you copies of the resolution and the plan that had been considered and reviewed uh by the by the redevelopment commission. Happy to answer questions. I can tell you structurally the plan includes uh required findings and facts uh that are required by state statute in order to designate an economic development area that also includes a variety of goals uh that are permissible goals of the redevelopment commission. They're intended to be broadly drafted uh so that uh the commission has uh the ability to consider projects and invest in projects if and when they come before the redevelopment commission. Uh they track statutory authority things that the commission may do. Does not require the commission to take any of those actions but allows the commission to do that. Um if if this is ultimately approved, if you send a favorable re uh recommendation of this resolution back to the commission, they ultimately adopt this plan in this area. The plan itself can be modified by the commission without coming back to the council. The area cannot the area that is approved must if there's going to be any additions or subtractions to that would have to come back to this council through the same uh process. And then as a reminder, there is no TIFF uh area proposed with this. This is an economic development area. If and when an allocation area, a project that justifies an allocation area is proposed, that would be back before you following the same process. So there would be uh at that time we would have a project, we would have project impact, we would have financials associated with this specific project. that would be more detailed and more much more

specific presentation than this kind of intending to be very broad broad strokes of this plan. So I'm happy to answer questions um if you if when you approve this then we will advertise for the public hearing of the redevelopment commission uh at that time and then take reevelopment commission will take that action. Um thank you. Any questions? I do. Oh, question. Sorry, Madam Chair. Um, councelor, can you I thought I um can you just explain number four in the goals? Yes.

Yeah. So, so redevelopment commissions effective about four years ago or so could engage in participate in housing projects generally. Um before you had to have uh had to show that there was a depression of housing needs or it had to make some findings that some commissions weren't comfortable doing. So the legislature in 2019 I believe gave authority to redevelopment commissions to participate in housing and redevelopment or residential development tips. Um you have to uh that has some additional requirements. Um sometimes you have to get count the school to part to participate in it. You have to hold up a neighborhood meeting. So there are some requirements before you implement a residential tiff. Uh but this goal the goal here was to lay out activities that the commission might consider in pursuit of residential tiff. Um, so those uh tools include that you can acquire property, that you can make property ready for development, you can demolish property. Those are all statutoily provided opportunities for the the redevelopment commission. Um, it's not saying that they're going to do that or or plan to do that, but those are uh kind of broadstroke authorization that the commission could have so long as it's included in the plan. So that's why it's included in the plan if and when there were an opportunity to do that. Um has to go through the the general kind of acquisition pro project or process. So uh have to get appraisals or the property has to be you know conveyed to the redevelopment commission. So you can't kind of short circuit any of those just because it's included here. But that is a a permissible activity of the redevelopment commission so long as it's

included in the plan. That's why it's included there. Um, again, no specific projects that are contemplated at this time. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions? This question is not for you, Mr. Brown. I also I don't mean to be rude, but I was hoping that Michael Townsen, who is um on the committee, if he could give us his um thoughts on this as a member.

Yes, thank you. Um Mike Townson, um the uh council appointment to the RDC and vice president. And as I read this uh and and becoming familiar with it, it seems like it's a good thing for us. It enables us to designate this area for uh redevelopment activities and although there's not anything specifically planned in that now, it gives us the vehicle to do that in the future. I think that's it's a positive thing and a good way to move forward in that area. Thank you.

Okay. Any further discussion? Thank you, Mr. Townson. Okay, we will now consider Oh, we have a motion and we have a second. Thank you, counselors. Thank you. Any further discussions? Okay, we will now take a vote. You need to vote. I did. What happened? I did vote.

Okay. It's not showing that you did. Okay. We need to go back. Yay. The green one. Okay. There we go. I did vote. Thank you, counselors. It's passed. We have no new business. Next, we've had comments from the administration. We do, don't we? Yeah. We got approval 26 meeting schedule. 26. The meeting schedule. Okay. It wasn't on this one.

I didn't have it. If you read it right, we have the approval of the 2026 meeting schedule.

Thank you. Motion made. Thank you, counselors. And now we will proceed to vote. I still can't vote. You can vote for me. Yeah, I'm going have to just trying to figure out what you just machines. So that's Yay.

Mhm. Yes. Okay, it passed. Oh, here it is. Next, we will have the new business is under new business will be the resolution number 10, 2025. Madame clerk, would you please read the full title of the resolution into record?

Resolution number 10, 2025 and reg I'm sorry, a resolution of the common council of the city of Lawrence, Indiana, amending the the common council rules and procedures. Thank you, Madame Clerk. On behalf of the common council, I am I am referring resolution number 10, 2025 to the committee of committee of the hold for consideration. Next, we will have comments from the administration. Good evening, councelors. Jamie Wy, director of city events. I just wanted to say first, last week we did um a food drive with Lawrence Police Department and we did um distribute meals throughout for Mel Sanders here in our Lawrence community. And so um those both went well. We originally planned on only um 300 um families being served with the Lawrence Police Department and it ended up being well over that that were served. And then we ended up with over 200 meals from Moselle Sanders that we were able to distribute. So, Council Giles, I thank you for your help with both of those.

Thank you. Um, second, we had to reschedu our Christmas last Saturday. So, weather was calling for 3 to 5 ines and then when it did snow, it snowed sideways and everything would have been icy. So, we made the decision to reschedule that to this Saturday. We will still have the full program. So, we will still do vendors from 3:00 to 7:00. We will still have ice skating. We will still do a parade. We will still also have programs. And then we of course will light the tree. And I would love for all of you to come out if you please join us if you like. Bundle up and come see us. Okay. That's it from me. Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Anyone else from the administration? Okay. Next, we will have comments from citizens. And please keep your comments to 3 minutes. You can see the timing on the board.

Okay. Put the comment up there for him. Okay. Okay.

Daniel Rap, 5718 Waldenwood Drive. Topic is the uh Sunnyside to Oakland Economic Development Area. Uh, I'm sorry talking in the dark tonight because about two weeks ago I request I filled out the form requesting documentation from the city of Lawrence and I have yet to get anything back from the city of Lawrence. I filled out the form. I think I got a reply back on an email saying that the attorneys were looking at it or something, but I didn't get anything back. So, I don't know. the story behind this economic development plan. I was at the economic development meeting last month and I saw the benefits that the city was going to get. basically property tax valuations for the property owners were going to increase and there would be more tax dollars coming back to the city of Lawrence which it would be good. My question was while the information what about the property owners what benefits are they getting? Have they been informed? I still don't know what they're going to get. That area is not a slum area. It's pretty well all new buildings. Now, with that, since I'm addressing this to the common council, to the administration, that's not all that's here tonight, and to YouTube viewers that there is or

will be on the 18th of December a public hearing on this topic. I encourage the property owners between Sunnyside and Oaklandon to come and speak at the public hearing if they have items that will benefit them to inform the council so they can vote for it. If they are thinking that it is negative impact on them, they should also come. As I said, there will be a public hearing on the 18th of December at the next redevelopment uh meeting. And I'm still waiting. I will continue to wait for that reply back from the city from the city of Lawrence about documentation on this because I got the feeling there were more information provided tonight because they talked about goals and I'm just about out of time. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I want to make a clarification regarding proposal number seven that this proposal will be referred to the committee as a whole when the proposal is ready. Thank you. This meeting is over.