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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-11-12 MINUTES OF COUNCIL NOVEMBER 12, 2019 The Batesville City Council met in regular session on November 12th, at 5:30 pm at the Municipal Building. Mayor Rick Elumbaugh presided over the meeting. Utility Office Manager Nick Baxter gave the invocation. Upon roll call, the following Councilmembers answered present; Tommy Bryant, Scott Fredricks, Julie Hinkle, Paige Hubbard, Fred Krug, Doug Matthews, Pete Musgrave and Chris Poole. Also present were the City Clerk Denise Johnston and City Attorney Tim Meitzen. Councilmember Bryant moved to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and all voted for. Councilmember Bryant moved to approve the prepared agenda and Councilmember Hinkle seconded. All voted for. CITIZENS COMMENTS None UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS A) RECOGNIZE JOHN AND MICHAEL SHETRON FOR EAGLE SCOUT PROJECTS BENEFITING THE CITY OF BATESVILLE Mayor Elumbaugh recognized John and Michael Shetron for their eagle scout projects benefiting the City of Batesville. Both boys raised money for their projects. John donated 3 Wayfinding signs for the Greenway Trails. Michael donated 2 bike racks for the Community Center. The Mayor expressed his thanks to the boys for their donations. B) HEAR A PRESENTATION FROM SCENIC HILL SOLAR REGARDING BENEFITS OF SOLAR POWER Mr. Nick Plastiras with Scenic Hill Solar addressed the council regarding the benefits of solar power. Mr. Plastiras explained how the solar power would work and said from the information he received from the city, he estimated an annual savings for the city of approximately $120,000.00. A PowerPoint was presented and after a few questions from the council, Mr. Plastiras thanked the council for the time. C) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE BATESVILLE ZONING CODE Code Enforcement Officer Chad McClure addressed the council regarding a proposed amendment to the Batesville Zoning Code. Mr. McClure said the requested change is to allow a Manager/Caretaker Residence, where permitted, in any commercial, industrial or planned development zoning district, to serve as a permanent family living quarters in a motel/hotel, business or special area for the purpose of managing the grounds and buildings. Councilmember Bryant introduced the ordinance. Mr. Meitzen read the ordinance in full. Councilmember Hinkle moved to suspend the rules and waive the second and third readings. Councilmember Bryant seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Hinkle seconded. The electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2019-11-01. Mr. Meitzen read the emergency clause. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the emergency clause. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. D) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE BATESVILLE ZONING DISTRICT MAP Councilmember Bryant introduced an ordinance to amend the Batesville Zoning rd District Map for the property located at the intersection of Boswell and 3 Streets from Community Commercial (C-1) to Traditional Business District (T-1). Councilmember Bryant moved to read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Mr. Meitzen read the ordinance by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to further suspend the rules and waive the second and third readings. Councilmember Fredricks seconded and the electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Hinkle seconded. The electronic roll call count was 8 for and 0 against. The ordinance was given #2019-11-02. E) MONTHLY POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT Chief Cockrill was unable to attend the meeting. F) MONTHLY ENGINEER’S REPORT City Engineer Damon Johnson addressed the council with his monthly Engineer’s Report. Mr. Johnson said the final engineering work is almost complete for the Contract Section III job and will soon be going out for bids. The first coat is complete on the Eagle Mountain Water Tank. There was water interruptions for residence and businesses East of Walmart due to two broken water mains. Rockmore Water supplied water while city crews repaired the pipes. G) MANDI CURTWRIGHT WITH FUNDING REQUEST FROM MAIN STREET BATESVILLE Ms. Mandi Curtwright and Ms. Suzanne Magouyrk with Main Street Batesville approached the council with a 2020 funding request for Main Street Batesville. Ms. Curtwright gave a short PowerPoint presentation to show how the City’s funding in the past has been utilized. Mayor Elumbaugh said the request will be considered during the 2020 budget process. H) SELINA WALLIS WITH A FUNDING REQUEST FOR THE INDEPENDENCE COUNTY SENIOR CITIZENS PROGRAM Ms. Selina Wallis with the Independence County Senior Citizens Program addressed the council with a request for assistance for providing valuable services to our senior citizens. Ms. Wallis informed the council of the many services provided by their program and also of the budget cuts over the past several years. Ms. Wallis requested $11,000.00 to help ensure that no services be cut from their program. Mayor Elumbaugh said the request will be considered during the budget process. I) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN ARCHITECTURAL AGREEMENT WITH JACKSON BROWN PALCULICT ARCHITECTS FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BATESVILLE PRESCHOOL CAMPUS Councilmember Hubbard introduced a resolution authorizing the Mayor to enter into an architectural agreement with Jackson Brown Palculict Architects for improvements to the Batesville Preschool Campus. Councilmember Bryant moved to read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Poole seconded and the electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against and one (Fredricks) abstained. Mr. Meitzen read the resolution by title only. Councilmember Bryant moved to adopt the resolution and Councilmember Hubbard seconded. The electronic roll call count was 7 for and 0 against and 1 (Fredricks) abstained. The resolution was given #2019-11-01-R. J) CONSIDER A WATER METER LOCATED OUTSIDE CITY LIMITS AT 21 McMAHAN LANE Batesville Utility Office Manager Nick Baxter addressed the council with a meter request outside the City limits of Batesville. Ruddell Hill Fire Department is requesting the meter at their new facility on 21 McMahan Lane. Mr. Baxter said the department has agreed by signing the appropriate forms to petition for annexation if their property becomes contiguous to the City limits. Councilmember Bryant moved to approve the meter request and Councilmember Hinkle seconded. All voted for. K) PAID BILLS REPORT AND SEPTEMBER FINANCIALS The council was given a copy of the October paid bills report and September financial statements for review. MAYOR COMMENTS Mayor Elumbaugh asked Councilmember Poole to speak on behalf of the Public Safety Committee regarding the residency requirements for employment with the Batesville Fire Department. Mr. Poole said currently all firemen, full-time, part- time, relief drivers or volunteers, are required to live inside the city limits of Batesville. It has been discussed as to whether relaxing the rules and allowing employees to reside outside the city limits would help with the employment “pool”. The department currently has 18 slots available for volunteers with only 12 of those slots filled. Fire Chief Brent Gleghorn addressed the council and said he polled the full-time and volunteers as to their opinion of allowing employees to live outside the city limits. Both responses were approximately 70/30 against relaxing the rule. After a discussion, Councilmember Fredricks moved to leave the rule as is and to revisit the issue at the end of next year. Councilmember Krug seconded and all voted for. Mayor Elumbaugh told the council that the 19 acres of Ramsey Mountain was purchased through an auction by a local business partnership in hopes to preserve the greenspace of the mountain. The intent of the partnership is to sell the property to the City of Batesville, Independence County and the City of Southside. Councilmember Poole moved for the Mayor to negotiate with the partnership on behalf of the City of Batesville. Councilmember Bryant seconded and all voted for. Mayor Elumbaugh said he had a conflict with the next council meeting scheduled th for November 26 and asked for the meeting to be canceled. Councilmember Matthews so moved and Councilmember Bryant seconded. All voted for. LIAISON REPORTS None COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Bryant commended the City workers on their fast response on repairing the major water leak in East Batesville. Councilmember Matthews said the Airport Commission is studying the capital improvements for the next 5 years for the airport which will include lighting improvements. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Councilmember Bryant moved that the meeting be adjourned and Councilmember Hubbard seconded. All voted for. RICK ELUMBAUGH, MAYOR DENISE M. JOHNSTON, CITY CLERK