City Council - Regular Meeting

the entire game. I really thought it's a lot of stress. I was Okay, good evening everyone. It is 6:00 p.m. on January 21st, 2026, and it's time to call the city council meeting to order. Miss Jones, roll call, please. Mr. Austin, present. Mr. here. Miss McInness here. Miss here. Miss Price here. Mr. Prime here. Mr. Taylor here. Mayor.

Thank you, ma'am. Mr. Brian Ree. Invite you to join me in prayer. Our father, we come before you this evening and we thank you for your love and your kindness. And Lord, we love you and we just pray tonight that as we go through this evening that you would grant this counsel, wisdom, and discernment for the matters uh on the agenda tonight. Thank you for our first responders. Thank you for uh those who are serving our country and uh protecting our country here and abroad and uh and I do pray for this weekend for our street department as uh some weather's coming in. Give them just safety and uh thank you for their hard work in advance. Uh we ask this in your name. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Invite you to join me in standing 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. Is there any announcements or public comments that does not pertain to the agenda? Miss Rosie Chambers.

Thank you. Uh Rosie Chambers, Franklin Chamber. uh wanted to remind everyone that uh the Franklin Chamber and the city of Franklin in partnership are getting ready for Franklin State of the City address on February 11th. So I invite you all to to come. I want to let you know that seats are limited and so if you'd like to come, please let me know very soon. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you, Rosie. I appreciate you coming up front. [laughter] All right. Is there any other announcements or public comments? Hearing none, we will go on to consent agenda. Approve the uh meeting minutes from January 5th city council meeting as presented. Second. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor by saying I. I.

I. Move to read old business by title only. Second. Okay. We [snorts] have a motion to read old business by title only. All those in favor by saying I. I. Any opposed? I didn't think so. All right. Item number one. This will be a public hearing. Approval of the employee handbook revisions. Amending ordinance 24- 11. Uh, clerk treasurer Jan Jones. Yes, this was introduced at the last meeting. The red line version was available last meeting and tonight. So, if you have any questions, I'm available to answer [snorts] concerns you may have.

And it's like I said, it is also a public hearing. Um, so is there anybody in the audience that would like to make a comment or ask a question? Please feel free. And again, this was just a service that came along with our contract with our HR human resource contract with new focus that they update any federal or state regulations and anything we catch throughout the year. Okay. Any public comments? Hearing none, we will close the public comments. Now we're ready for action. Move to approve ordinance 2026-01. Second. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor by saying I. I. Any opposed?

Hearing none, we will go on to the next item, which is also a public hearing item. Approval of the 20 26 2030 park impact fee plan and fee schedule. Director of parks and recreation Chip her which it was introduced last meeting. It was I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you have. No questions up here from Chip. It is open to the public so we will open it up. Is there any questions for Chip or any comments? Other than fact, this is probably overdue.

Okay, hearing no one from the public will move forward. We will close uh public hearing. So now we are ready for action. Move to approve. Sorry. Go right in. Sorry. No, go right in. Second. Okay, we have a Oh, that's cool. We have a motion and a second. All those in favor by saying I. I. Any opposed by saying I. Okay. Hearing none, we will go right into our next item. Uh, it's under new business. Read to move to read new business by title only. Second. We have a motion in a second to read new business by title only. All those in favor? I. Any opposed?

Hearing none, we will go right into the first item. Tax abatement request. Prime Beverage Holding Group Incorporated community development specialist Dana Monson.

Yes. Good evening. Um, on January 13th, the Economic Development Commission heard a request from Prime Beverage Group Holding on request for a personal property abatement for on $56 million worth of personal equipment. Um, they requested and were recommended for approval of a 7-year personal property tax abatement with a 5% economic development fee. Um the company is considering their location uh to locate at 2300 Progress Drive. That is this Sunbeam Spec building um that was built about three years ago, two years started building about two half three years ago. Um right on off of Jim Black Road on the east side of the town or on the east side of the city. Um they are taking the entire they would be they would be taking the entire facility should they choose to come in. They have um proposed 181 new jobs. The average wage is $25 um an hour for those jobs as more almost on a starting wage scale. Um they are new to the city. They have not been involved here before and not in Indiana nor in Franklin. So um John West is here tonight. Um John is with Prime Beverage Group. He has a short presentation to introduce you to the company and let you know a little bit more about what they do. So, John, I would like to ask you to come up, please.

Welcome, John. Thanks, Mayor.

Good evening. I'm John West uh from Prime Beverage Group. I know all of y'all have done your due diligence already. Uh so I'll try to keep this brief. Um uh but we are Prime Beverage Group. We were founded in 2020 in the uh greater Canapapolis, North Carolina area. Uh we started with 300,000 foot building roughly about 181 employees which is what we would be starting with here. We've since grown to 1.2 million square feet over four different campuses. We have over 600 employees right now. Uh and uh what we do is we are just a one-stop shop for our clients in beverage manufacturing. So they'll send us all their raw materials, all their ingredients and packaging materials. We make the liquid in-house. We put it into a can. We put that into a package, whether it's a tray, a carton, palletize it, and then we provide logistical support for our clients. Um, we store their their uh finished goods for them until they're ready to be shipped out to a retailer or distributor. Um, here in Franklin, we're very excited to uh to move into our building to grow our business with you. Uh we're excited to engage with the community. Uh we do have a lot of um a lot of things that we do with our local community colleges. I know we've got IvyTech, we've got Franklin College, uh we've done a lot of direct hiring, we've done a lot of internship programs, we've done a lot of work with our local uh fire and EMS communities. Um so we're really really looking forward to coming to Franklin. It made perfect sense for us. As you can see on the map here, uh this is just a little bit out of our reach uh on the eastern seabboard. We're in the crossroads of America. It made perfect sense for us from a logistical point of view. It also makes great sense for our clients as far as their distribution networks are concerned. Um we do have a couple of challenges as Dana had mentioned. Um we are looking at about a $3 million project to uh to increase uh extend and increase our

natural gas line. Uh and because of that and the $56 million initial investment, uh that is why we're here asking for the tax abatement. And I'm very happy to answer any questions you may have. I just got one and I've asked you this already, but with the gas line, how long is it going to take to get you up and running with the gas line? It has to be engineered through the gas company and then get a contractor bid it out, install it.

So, we've already been in talks with uh the gas company and as you can see, here's our timeline. So, uh if everything's approved, we are hoping to begin construction in February. Uh and that should be done by March. Um it won't take very long. Uh we'll have u equipment beginning arriving in June. We'll begin hiring uh we'll be hiring our leadership team before August, probably in the July time, start hiring hourly employees in August. Uh be up and running by November. And then we of course have expansion plans like we did in Charlotte. uh hopefully add a second line by uh 2028 and two to three more lines by 2029.

With that line, I know you talked about it in our meeting. Um how many people could you possibly employ at that time? Uh it would it would be very similar to what we're employing right now. So I would say in the six to 700 employees, you three shifts. Uh we run uh we run four we run four shifts. Uh but it's uh two 12-h hour shifts and then they rotate every two days and three days. We are starting to see bigger companies like yourself are starting to go to the 12-h hour shifts.

You know, our our employees really love it. It's a 223 schedule. So, if you're not familiar with that, you work two days, you're off two days, then you work three days, then the next week you're off two days, you work three days, and then you're off three days. And so, every other week you get a three-day weekend. And if you want to use if you if you time it right, you can use two vacation days and you get seven days off in a row. Um, so our employees really really enjoy it and and with that schedule. You also have eight hours built in overtime, so everybody gets paid a little extra. Thank you. Any any questions?

I don't think so. Um it seems the names of the of your uh companies that you fill for and and that work with you is is not stated. Is that for a reason or Yes, we do have we do have NDAs. So we can't say specific companies, but they are if you walk into a 7-Eleven, a convenience store, a grocery store, the number one prebiotic soda that you might see there or number one energy drinks that you might see there, we're making for Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Taylor is your representative on the EDC. Mr. Taylor, do you have anything further from

No, I just I like the fact that, you know, ultimately they're looking at the starting with, you know, about 180 jobs, then could ramp up to 600. And it's not that they're just not packaging stuff. They're actually making and, you know, moving things forward where it's, you know, it's not just a warehouse. So, I think it you get some more skilled labor and some more things, you know, more robotics. If you look on their website, they have some pretty cool things in their North Carolina plants where they're moving things around. So, that'll take some skilled guys and, you know, engineers and things like that running the robotics to go through. So, I think it'll be a good partner for the city.

This does greatly diversify um our sectors that we have. We really don't have a lot in the food and beverage industry and um they really are pretty advanced for what they're doing. So, this is really a good opportunity for our residents and we can uh pass this tonight. Yes, Miss Gray, this is already in an EA. Yes, ma'am. And Irene, you could add from the plan were or maybe you weren't on the board, they already got the approvals through the planning department because they needed Yes, this was a special exception um because of the zoning that is there. So, they were required to get that and and as you stated, they did receive that already through unanimously without any objections. the [snorts] board of zoning appeals.

Yeah, it was. I I looked at Irene, but it was the board zoning appeals. You may have been there anyway with plate with with your husband being there. But yeah, you were there. That's what matters. [laughter] I'm always sitting right here. [clears throat] And and I will say too, just just to say and you know Ann and I we've had conversation about Aspire. What does Aspire do for us? This is a company that did originally go through Aspire and Aspire brought them here. Just so you Good. So you know that. Thank you. Sean, we're ready for a motion. Motion. Yep. Motion to approve council resolution 2601. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor by saying I. I.

Any opposed by saying I hearing? None. Motion carries. Congratulations. Yep. Looking forward to working with you. Thank you. Welcome to Franklin. Yes.

Okay. Next item. Request approval of encumbrances carried over to 2026. uh clerk treasurer Jan Jones. Jan, if you don't mind, I'll just every year we have uh contracts, so like 2025 contracts that did not get uh paid out uh last year's like paving projects or concrete projects or just any kind of projects that we needed uh to pay out of last year's budget, we encumbered that money. So that's exactly what it is to fulfill the contracts that we uh did last year. So with that being said, is there any questions on that? Hearing none, we're ready for action.

Move to approve. Second. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. All those in favor by saying I opposed. Hearing none, we'll go on to item number three. Uh request to declare stale dated checks canled. Clerk treasure Jan Jones. Uh this is every year just pursuant to Indiana code 5-11-10.5. All checks outstanding unpaid for a period of two years as of December 31st of each year shall be cancelled. You can see we still have a few that total around $650. Is there a statement on the check that says that it expires after a certain date? Uh, right. Like

I don't believe so. Okay. Some checks have that the disclaimer on there that says expired after two years or 60 or 90 day like it's it's a maybe 60 days or how the code [clears throat] reads. Okay. Yeah. So, there's no nothing no disclaimer on the check that says that it expires after a certain date. [snorts] Okay. I'll double check that for you. No, no, I'm fine with it. I'll move to approve, but Okay, I think Jennifer made a motion. Second. Okay, we have a a motion and a second. All those in favor? Any opposed?

Hearing none, we will go on to other business. Uh this isformational regarding the Franklin Mayor's Youth Leadership Council 2026 project, Dog Bowls Along the Trail. Uh we have President Ben Warland. Marne Moore was president last year. Um just for Prime, who's a new business here in town, this is what we do in Franklin. We support our youth and part of the youth council. uh they get projects every year that they may come knocking on your door for help sometimes. So [laughter] listen, giving you a notice. Love to help. All right. Thank you. Thanks, Ben.

So this year the council voted on and decided doing pet water fountains, which are, as you can see in the picture, like add-ons to ones that we already have. Um so just an overview, the goal would be to do about two or three of these, depending on how much money we raise. Um they're pet accessible. They basically just provide clean water for the pets of Franklin. And then the goal would be to locate these along trails. That way when um them and their owners are on walks um they can get some water. Um the budget is $6 to $10,000. I'll kind of get into that a little later, but for now hand it over to Marne to Yeah. So one day our council members went along the beautiful trails of Franklin and we decided that these were some of our best potential locations. So, as you can see, um, we decided near the amphitheater, there's already a water fountain set up, and then same with BEM Elementary, there's already a water fountain set up, so we could use those and then just add on to them from there.

So, yeah, on to everyone's favorite part, talking about money. [laughter] Um, so we already have these quoted by the most dependable fountains. Um, they originally installed the pre-existing ones. And so as Marty was saying, we can add on and then in then just um $1 to $2,000 per add-on as opposed to building a new water fountain which would cost $6,000. So that's where we get the budget from. Um and then fundraising. We've already done a few fundraisers. Um the biggest one on here is the walk-athon which is coming up late April. We're already working with the Rex department to get that done. Um we've also worked on concession stands. I saw a few of you at the winter market. Um, we're hoping to get a D to donate somewhere. Um, we're looking at Greeks right now, but we'll see when they give back to us. Um, we also have another one coming up at the Elks Lodge. Um, and it was actually last year at the Elks Lodge when we did our Chili Supper, which is again what we're doing this year, that we actually got the idea for the water fountains. So, we just really try to engage with the community and get ideas and then of course then we voted on it. So, a lot of people in the community have really liked this idea and I think it's a really good one. So, um just to share some information and this one is information only. Do you have any questions for the mayor's youth council group?

Um what uh Wednesday night is your uh yes your fundraiser at the Elks. And what time is that? At six o'clock. Six o'clock. So, thank you. Okay. Do you have any estimates on how many pets are going to be using this? [laughter] Oh dear. I I'm I'm just kidding you. I'm just kidding. Yeah. [laughter] Hopefully. Yeah. If I remember, there was a question asked to Ben like that a year or two ago and you come back in about an hour later and you had an answer. He did. What's the date? You said Wednesday, but is it next this coming Wednesday? Yes. So, the 28th. Yes. Thank you.

Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Um, next item. That's actually the last item. Uh, gets us to council member comments. And we'll start Josh with you again if you don't mind. I have uh nothing tonight. And how about them? Who's yours? Hey, what? [laughter] You stole my You stole my comment, Ann. I'm not putting that in the minute. Oh, come on. [laughter] I was just getting ready to say thank you to those Purdue fans that we know and love. You jumped on the bandwagon. You jumped on the bandwagon for us. Jumped on it. Pot potentially we could do that for you in Caa. Potentially.

Probably not. Well, that'd be it'd be a good day to be hooer and a boiler [laughter] maker. Yes, it would. You can do them both if you win them both. That's true. That's right. And I tell you, we want to beat North Carolina every time we play them. Just so you know that. [laughter] [laughter] Okay. All right. Okay. All right. Good deal. Um, sorry about that, Ken. No, I I said it in the board of works meeting, you know, who hooers, right? It's just incredible. So, just doesn't sound very good when you say it like that. [laughter] I've said it a lot here of late. So, yeah, just exciting time.

Yeah. Uh just so everybody knows it, just uh make sure we're paying attention here coming up cuz uh there's a lot of big things going on on the east side. Uh about 400 acres of land that are looking to uh could change the future of Franklin residents, housing industry. So um there's just a lot of things going on on the east side. We just need to make sure we're making the right decisions for, you know, it's probably for the next 20 years. Okay. I'm hoping I'm around 20 more years to see it. Uh, prime, I'm assuming non-alcoholic beverages. It's about 80 80% Oh, really? Okay. All right. 80 80% non-alcoholic about 20.

Okay, cool. All right, you're in then. [laughter] Okay. Um, I stayed up and watched the IU game. I rooted it for him. I enjoyed it thoroughly the whole run. Uh, so that was a late night. Last night, the Boiler Makers were on the West Coast at 10:00 p.m. start time. I stayed up and watched all of that and then went to bed upset. And uh so it's been a long week or short week, so I'm hoping to get some sleep tonight. Thank you, Irene. No, nothing for me tonight. Thank you, Jennifer.

No, thank you. Um, Ben and Marne already covered this, but we are still working on the walk-athon to raise money for the dog water fountains. And then also again, next Wednesday at 6:00, which is January 28th at the Elks Lodge, we are having a chili cookoff. And that is all. Okay. And you need to state your name. Oh yeah. Um, I'm Levi Martin. Um, and what's the date? You guys can stand up and say your name. I don't know what that means.

I want to thank all of you on the mayor's Oh, [laughter] we know we know Ben and Yeah. I want to thank all of you for being here tonight and uh listen to some of the good stuff that goes on in city council meeting. So, thank you. Jan, you have nothing. Terra Glenn, I just want to say, Mr. Shuck, I left Miami this morning at 3:30 and a happy tire. It's better than an angry tire. [laughter] That's for sure. All right. Well, hopefully we don't have as bad a weekend as what we're starting to hear that we may. So, with that being said, we need a motion to So move. Second.