OurWeek The Grant County Record in Grant County · Regular meeting · 2024-12-03 · full transcript https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLKDg6u_hRU Exported Fri, 14 Aug 2026 22:40:45 GMT Source: Machine transcription (Wayin) — this meeting has no YouTube captions. Speaker labels are the tool's, and identify no one by name. Copied into the combined index from the marion-city-council-indexed report; same text, key prefixed by body. These transcripts are machine-generated. They garble proper nouns badly — company and personal names especially. Watch the recording before repeating any name, number, or quotation. The video is the record. ============================================================================== Indexed at https://ourweek.in/grant-county/reports/grant-county-record 0:00 Speaker 1: The screen, as I wrote up there, Randy. I asked Randy to kind of give me some words about Jeremiah. And he said Jeremiah has been a city employee since February 22nd, 2022. Jeremiah has been an outstanding attribute to citywide maintenance. He has always shown up to work with a positive attitude and an outstanding work ethic. He has shown a willingness to learn any new job and piece of equipment thrown his way. He also has shown a huge amount of patience when training a new employee. He works every drop of overtime thrown his way without a single complaint for the hours or the job. 0:33 Speaker 1: Jeremiah is always respectful to the citizens of Merriam and his co-workers. So I thought that was really, really nice for Randy to make those comments. And honestly, you know, I kind of reached out to some department heads and I was like, I really want to feature, you know, somebody that's not inside the box here, right? Inside City Hall because there are so many employees just like you, but today we're spotlighting you that put in so much time and effort and dedication to making our city so much better. 1:05 Speaker 1: And if it wasn't for dedicated employees like you, we wouldn't be able to do anything here. So we just really appreciate you and your dedication to the city. We hope you stick around for a long time and we just thank you for coming in tonight. So would you want to share any words? Yeah, well, thank you so much. And as always, we invite your family on up here. 1:36 Speaker 1: Did you bring any family with you? There you go. Yeah, I recognize one of them from the photo. You guys have a lot of pictures together, I noticed. Yeah, yeah. Well, come on in. Let's get a picture. And if you guys want to come out here, 2:08 Speaker 3: I'm here. 2:16 Speaker 1: Nothing like showing up to recognition and realizing you have a Facebook photo being used. Thank goodness for social media. So all right. I appreciate Bruce and Jeremiah coming in. Your families, you guys are welcome to leave or stick around if you like, but thank you so much for coming in. 2:48 Speaker 1: And we're going to move into the consent agenda that included the minutes, pre-approved claims and claims. Happy to entertain any kind of discussion about any of those. If not, then I would entertain a motion. 3:01 Speaker 4: If there is no discussion, Mr. President, I'd like to make a motion that we pass the consent agenda in its entirety. 3:09 Speaker 1: Second. Motion by Vice President Calgill, a second by Councilman Cain. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 00:03:19 Unknown Cain? 3:20 Speaker 1: Aye. 3:20 Speaker 5: Marshall? 00:03:21 Unknown Aye. 3:22 Speaker 5: Fordyce? 00:03:23 Unknown Aye. 3:23 Speaker 5: Brunner? 3:24 Speaker 6: Aye. 3:25 Speaker 5: Klein? Yes. Devine? Yes. Witten? 3:29 Speaker 6: I need to abstain on minutes because I was not here last week and I am 3:38 Speaker 5: Calgill? 00:03:40 Unknown Yes. 3:41 Speaker 1: McKinley? 00:03:43 Unknown Yes. 3:44 Speaker 1: Okay. And moving into committee reports. Does anyone have anything for committee reports? Councilman Devine. 4:00 Speaker 7: Okay. We had border works on Monday and there was only a couple of things. The city attorney had presented a resolution with procedures determining allowability of costs as far as federal funding and grants went. That was one of the things that our audit had shown that we needed to put into place as a city was some procedures concerning the grants, 4:32 Speaker 7: and so that that resolution was passed by the Board of Works to help button that up and help with the process of allocating what's proper expense and cost within the grant guidelines per the state board of accounts. And then Building Commissioner Jerry Fasnacht gave an update on some of the demolitions and unsafe structures that the Board of Works has been working on this year. 5:03 Speaker 7: There was one particular individual who had I think six structures, and so they set a pretty aggressive timeline to get those boarded up and the yards cleaned up and show some progress in order to continue the stay on them not being demolished. I think there was one that did end up being agreed to go ahead and demolish it and that's finishing up now and then the others before April. 5:34 Speaker 7: He's working his way through them, and hopefully we'll get them further up to par and then have a structural person come in and help them decide whether they can be saved and rehabbed or if they need to be pulled down. So that's good news, that we have a developer that's trying to work that way. The utility board met before Thanksgiving. I had to get my right timeline going. 6:07 Speaker 7: And one of the points of discussion that they had was regarding the lead service lines. I know they talked about that at the last meeting, and I brought that up. Because they did send out notices to various parts of the city saying that there were going to be representatives coming through and inspecting for lead service lines and they wanted to make sure that it was reiterated that it is because the I'm looking for the exact words she said. 6:39 Speaker 7: That Robin mentioned the lead service lines are specifically because we are being told they have to be reviewed and replaced. It's being mandated. So it is not because there's a lead issue within our water or within our water system. It is just now a mandate that those lines have to be replaced. And so it wasn't to draw any concerns to anyone or to think that there was a problem, but they were just trying to resolve that issue and then identify them and get them replaced through this mandate. 7:14 Speaker 7: They also gave an update on the next level trails project on 10th Street. The tank, the second water tank that they're working on is now at a standstill because of the weather. It has gotten too cold for them to continue so that will be held until spring and the same with the replacement of the Nope, the water meters, yeah. And the water meters, those are gonna be held off until spring as well because of the temperature. 7:50 Speaker 7: And those were the main points that they worked on between those two 7:58 Speaker 1: Awesome, thank you so much. Any other council members with committee report? Council Member Runner. 8:07 Speaker 8: Have everybody be sure and stop by the park before the holidays run through because believe it or not, three weeks from tonight's Christmas Eve. And we were talking about it at the park board yesterday. The fact that we have a beautiful, beautiful display out at Motter Park, so be sure and check that out. We want to thank everybody that put that together. And our next meeting will be three weeks into January. 8:40 Speaker 8: That doesn't seem possible, does it? I know. So that's the Park Board report. 8:47 Speaker 1: I appreciate that, thank you. Any other council members? All right, I appreciate those reports. So we're going to go ahead and move into unfinished business. General Ordinance 19-2024, petition to vacate a portion of public right-of-way, third reading. 9:13 Speaker 5: An ordinance to vacate a portion of South John Street from 3906 South John Street to East 41st Street, from Nebraska Street to South Booth Street in the city of Marion, Indiana. Indiana Wesleyan University would like to vacate a portion of a public way of South John Street from 41st Street to the south side of 3906 South John Street and vacation from 41st Street from Booth Street to Nebraska. 9:44 Speaker 5: Speaking Attorney Phil Stevenson. 9:48 Speaker 9: I appreciate again your patience as we work through this process tonight. I think at this point we have consents from all of utilities. Obviously, last week no one showed up to voice any objections to this at the public hearing. So we're just here to respectfully request that you pass this to the fourth reading, third reading, I'm sorry, third reading so that we can uh proceed with the construction of this arena. But if anyone here has any questions, again, there are a number of I.W.U. 10:20 Speaker 9: people here, we'll be happy to answer anything you might have. 10:24 Speaker 1: So I know we've had a lot going on, but this is our third and final reading. So today we can put it behind us. So but yes, any council members have questions? This is the last and final reading for it. I would just give a quick update. So I did get confirmation from AEP and CenterPoint, formerly Vectren, that as of today, they are good to go. And they are okay with the vacation to the streets. So those are the last two holdouts. 10:56 Speaker 1: I know I appreciate the staff at I.W.U. and those two utility companies have been working very hard the last two weeks to get everything squared away for the street vacation. So I really appreciate their patience. And we feel comfortable, or I feel comfortable now moving forward. And I believe both the utility companies do as well. So any other questions, comments? Okay, if not, I would 11:28 Speaker 10: entertain a motion. Mr. Chairman, I move that we pass General Ordinance number 19-2024. 11:40 Speaker 1: Got a motion by Councilman Cain to pass and a second by Councilman Klein. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 00:11:50 Unknown Cain? Aye. 11:52 Speaker 5: Marshall? Aye. Fordyce? 11:55 Speaker 3: Aye. 11:56 Speaker 5: Runner? 00:11:57 Unknown Aye. 11:57 Speaker 5: Klein? Yes. Runner? 00:12:00 Unknown Aye. Klein? Yes. 12:01 Speaker 5: Devine? Yes. Witten. 00:12:02 Unknown Yes. 12:02 Speaker 5: Calgill. Aye. 12:03 Speaker 1: McKinley. Yes, thank you so much and we can't wait to see this new arena. 00:12:08 Multiple Speakers So thank you so much, appreciate it. 12:10 Speaker 9: Thank you. We certainly would advise you out there come out and see it when it's done. 12:13 Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll be there. Thank you. OK, moving into general ordinance 23-2024 re-element Marion LLC project bond second reading and public hearing. 12:26 Speaker 5: An ordinance authorizing the issuance of City of Marion, Indiana taxable economic development solid waste facility revenue bonds re-element Marion LLC project series 2024 and the lending of the proceeds thereof re-element Marion LLC and authorizing and approving other actions with respect thereto. reelement Marion LLC, the company is proposing that the city of Marion issue up to $100 million taxable revenue bonds that will be payable solely from revenues of the company. 13:07 Speaker 5: The city will have no liability on the bonds, even in the event the company defaults on its payments. It is possible that in the future, the company will refinance these bonds as tax exempt bonds. Thus the need to have the city issue its taxable bonds now, that could be refinanced as tax exempt in the future. Speaking city administration. 13:36 Speaker 1: Come on forward. Welcome. 13:41 Speaker 11: Thank you. Excuse me, Richard Starkey with the law firm of Barnes and Thornburg. So these bonds are a little bit different than your normal, if there are normal bonds, normal bonds that the city would issue for like waterworks or sewage works where the city actually issues the bonds and then are liable for the payments on the bonds as it goes forward. So these bonds, if you think about, I think about in terms of like a mortgage on your house. You're gonna go borrow money from a bank and the bank's going to give you a note that goes along with the mortgage. 14:14 Speaker 11: And the note that you sign basically says we're going to make these payments to the bank. And the bank's going to take those payments, some of its principal, some of its interest, and that bank will put the interest in their income column and say, you know, we've just made some money on the interest on this note. Well, these bonds being a little bit different, the company will make payments on those bonds, will make interest payments on those bonds as well as the principal. 14:54 Speaker 11: And those lenders of the bond, they'll take the bond and they'll be the lenders of the bond, will book that interest either as income or in the event if it's tax exempt, they won't have to pay any taxes on that income. The reason for this is that Congress, the United States Congress decided at a point that they wanted to encourage certain projects that would qualify for these kinds of bonds that are being issued, to give incentives to those companies to build facilities. 15:31 Speaker 11: In this case, it's a recycling facility. It's taking things that are worthless and turning them into something that is worth something, and that was encouraged by Congress. So they allowed these kinds of tax exempt bonds to be issued so that when the lenders for the bonds, when they receive the interest, they don't have to pay income tax on that interest. The mortgage that you pay, when the bank gets that interest, they have to pay tax on that because it's income to the bank. 16:04 Speaker 11: So tax-exempt bonds are issued so that the people lending the money don't have to pay taxes on the interest. What that does is that it allows the lender to charge a lower rate of interest on those bonds than they would otherwise, because they're not paying taxes on them, so they can lower the interest rate. And that benefits the company. So Congress, when they decided to do this, said, Hey, we want to give some incentive to companies that are going to do certain projects like a recycling project, and they're going to get a lower rate of interest on the money they borrow. 16:38 Speaker 11: So the lenders for this kind of bond look to the company solely to make payments. They're getting a stream of revenue from the company to make interest payments and the principal payments on the lending of the bond. So, we, in this situation, the reason we have to use the city is that Congress also said the only entity that can issue tax-exempt bonds, that is bonds where people don't have to pay taxes on the interest, 17:11 Speaker 11: is our state municipalities, cities, towns, counties, or the state itself. So these kinds of bonds are issued either by cities, towns, or counties, or the Indiana Finance Authority as the state agency, in order to convey the tax-exempt interest on the bonds to the people that are lending them money. These bonds, because of this, are tax-exempt, and it allows the company to pay a lower rate of interest. 17:45 Speaker 11: And it insulates the city, town, county, or the Indiana Finance Authority from any liability. They're just what we call a conduit. It passes through them in order to get the tax-exempt status. So that's this bond ordinance would permit, at this point, up to $100 million for the company to borrow from investors who are going to invest in the company. This rate of interest that the company's going to get with these kinds of bonds probably will be higher than the rate of interest that, like, a city would pay. 18:20 Speaker 11: Because bondholders look at people lending money to the city, say, The city's probably in a better position to make payments than a company that is a private entity, right? So the rate will be higher because those lenders, the people that are lending monies on this bond for the company, realize their only access to get their money back is the company. They can't come back to the city. So, the city has no liability. The investors know that. The company's going to pay a little bit higher interest rate because of that, but it's still a lower rate of interest than they get if they just went to a bank because of the taxes and nature of it. 18:57 Speaker 11: So if you agree to pass this tonight, the company is in the process of asking investors to look at this project and lend them the money that they need in order to complete the project. So they're in the market right now doing that. They're asking investors to take a look at all this and negotiating interest rates, et cetera. So passage tonight allows the company to go forward with that borrowing as soon as possible. Kurt Taylor is here from the company to talk about the specifics of the project and where it is, if you have any of those questions as well, but I'll stop there in case you have questions about what I just said. 19:37 Speaker 11: I know it's a lot. 19:38 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for coming tonight, Rich. I know we spoke yesterday on the phone and I appreciate all that you shared with me last night. Can you just address about bond ratings and it doesn't affect bond ratings? 19:52 Speaker 11: Yeah, absolutely. So that's a really good question. So in my 40 years of practicing law in this area, I've only had one company that has defaulted on their debt. And that did not affect the city's rating at all. It was up in Fort Wayne. This will have absolutely no effect whatsoever on the city's rating. Nobody even thinks about the fact that the city is involved except as a conduit. And so everybody knows that it's a company that's liable. 20:23 Speaker 11: Company has to make the payments. As the company defaults, the investors know that they're stuck, right? So that's pretty much the end of the story for the investors. 20:34 Speaker 1: Great, thank you so much for explaining that. Yeah, so this is also the public hearing. And so if council members have questions they want to ask now, that's fine. If not, we'll move to the public hearing and then come back with further questions. Does any council members have anything they want to ask right now? Or go ahead, Councilman Devine. 20:58 Speaker 7: Along with the bond rating, how does this affect the city's ability to bond with the maximum amount? 00:21:06 Multiple Speakers Another great question. 21:06 Speaker 11: It has no effect whatsoever. It's completely separate from any kind of debt limit or anything else that cities can do. 21:14 Speaker 1: All right, we're going to go ahead and move it into the public hearing portion. And then we can bring you guys back up. So we'll go ahead and open the public hearing up. If you would like to speak on this, make your way to the microphone. All right, I'm not seeing anyone make their way to the microphone. So we'll close the public hearing. Okay. Public hearing's closed. And any other council members have further questions, or would anyone else from ReElement like to come up and speak? 21:53 Speaker 1: We do have at least one question from Vice President Calgo. Her comment. OK. 21:58 Speaker 12: Yeah? Sure. Thank you again for your time. We're again, really, really excited to be doing this here in Marion. I think our country is excited to be doing it here. Our state is certainly excited. And I don't really want to take up much of your time. But just this morning, I think we had a good example of what this can do for the community. So one of my colleagues had several hour meeting with, and look at my notes, with IV Tech, which is a great partner, as well as Kentucky Community College and technical school in Hazard, Kentucky. 22:44 Speaker 12: That represents from that college came up, visited our Noblesville facility this morning, then travel up to Marion to visit the site. And then spent two hours with IV Tech Marion to discuss a collaborative effort to cross-train employee potential employees from Marion, as well as from our potential other side of Eastern, Kentucky. And I think that it's a very thoughtful way of going about how we're gonna scale up for the reshoring of next level production in the United States, right? 23:19 Speaker 12: So not only are we looking at technical skills, but we also have onboarding skills. And what are these? Basic OSHA training, CPR, first aid, PPE, fire response training. Just basic training that anyone in an industry needs to have, right? Not just for our business, but for any. Business etiquette and workplace communication, right? I have three young children and they're on these things a lot, right? They don't get face-to-face interaction that we grew up getting. 23:50 Speaker 12: So I think that's very important. Cultural training, as we look at how communities are constructed today, they're different than they were 30, 40 years ago. with different community members. And basic Microsoft training, because we do need to be able to put our thoughts down on paper, or not paper but computer. How to do that in a meaningful way. That's just basic training to get into our apprenticeship program. Then we're looking at smart manufacturing, PLC training, forklift, pallet jack, equipment training, right? 24:26 Speaker 12: Inventory and supply chain training, quality control. I think it's just a really good way of showing how we can collaborate to not just skill for our potential employees, but maybe they start in one position with us and then move on to another facility, but they have the prerequisite skills to continue to grow. So again, just a small snippet, but things that we're really excited to do, you know, here with the community. And you guys have been great supporters, really thoughtful supporters. 24:58 Speaker 12: And I appreciate some of the members who came down to our facility this morning. And yeah, just again, just appreciate your support and your time. So I will. 25:10 Speaker 1: I appreciate so much, just for the record, four minutes. Can you state your 00:25:14 Multiple Speakers name and your position? Sorry. 25:15 Speaker 12: Kurt Taylor, CFO of Realment Technologies. 25:19 Speaker 1: Thank you. Just, well, with just for the minutes, we got to record that. So great. Any council members with questions? Councilman Fordyce. 25:28 Speaker 13: Yeah, Kurt, thanks for being here and thanks for your investment in our community. I really think that it's going to make a big difference in this community once you get up and going. I just have a couple questions on the, on the first ordinance authorizing issuance of the taxable bonds. You are right now asking for $100 million on non-taxable bonds. Is that correct? And then you were going to come back and refinance them as non-taxable bonds? 25:58 Speaker 12: So we want to give ourselves as much optionality in the marketplace as possible. The worst thing we can do is try to put a mechanism out in the marketplace that gets denied. The interest rate, like credit markets are really challenging right now. We went from a period of zero interest rates, you know, three years ago, to super high interest rates that were drastically started to be cut, just, you know, two cycles ago. 26:33 Speaker 12: And so our underwriters want to make sure that we have a lot of optionality out there. And so we don't want to. We wanted to go through this approval now, so that way we have optionality in the marketplace. If we have an investor that says, we want to deploy tax-exempt money today, we didn't need to come back and go through and wait your guys's council time again for another approval. 27:04 Speaker 12: That's why we wanted to get all of the approvals done upfront so that our investment bankers had maximum optionality to get the money out there as soon as possible. 27:18 Speaker 13: It was going to be $100 million of, up to $100 million of taxable bonds. And then you were going to come back 00:27:25 Multiple Speakers at a later time and try to 27:28 Speaker 13: do a tax-exempt bond, which is a series A and series B, believe potentially. Yes, on those taxable bonds. Okay. And then I just have a few other. What, what's your start date in the Marion facility? Because I'm a little confused on a couple, on your stockholders calls, which I've been following on NASDAQ and stuff, you've certified that you've got a certificate of occupancy in the Marion facility. Yep. To me, I've been a contractor for 48 years. 27:58 Speaker 13: A certificate of occupancy means that you're up and running and going 00:28:00 Multiple Speakers To me, I've 28:01 Speaker 13: been a contractor for 48 years. A certificate of occupancy means that you're up and running and going. 28:08 Speaker 12: So I believe, and I'm not an engineer, and so maybe I misspeak, but I believe we needed to have certain temporary occupancy to start moving equipment in. And we issue that so that way we can move equipment in and start storing raw material in there to be ready to process when the full boat of equipment gets delivered. 28:31 Speaker 13: So you have a full certificate of occupancy with the city of Marion to operate? 28:36 Speaker 12: I believe we have a temporary certificate of occupancy. 28:38 Speaker 13: I don't know what a temporary is. 28:39 Speaker 14: It's with variances. Pardon me? It's with variances, so we're allowed to do certain activities, not all activities. 28:46 Speaker 13: Okay. So you've got all utilities up and running and everything's going right? Yes. You do, you have water and sewage and discharge permits through IDM and EPA already? 28:56 Speaker 14: For what we need to do right now, yes. You do? Yes. 28:59 Speaker 13: Okay. I've just talked with Mary at IDM and she has nothing from you. 29:06 Speaker 14: We don't have to do anything with IDM. 29:08 Speaker 13: You have to do a certificate of application for discharge? 29:12 Speaker 14: Not what our business currently now. In Noblesville, we currently We're within the city limits of discharging within the state of city water. Our system's enclosed and contained, so we don't have to 00:29:23 Multiple Speakers discharge So within 29:23 Speaker 13: Marion Utilities, you don't have to supply a plan and a discharge application for the city waterworks? 29:30 Speaker 14: At this time, no. 29:31 Speaker 13: You don't? 00:29:31 Unknown No. 29:32 Speaker 13: That's conflicting. 29:33 Speaker 14: With who? 29:35 Speaker 13: With the director of the Marion Utilities. 29:42 Speaker 14: We can be operating there right now without any item discharging. 29:45 Speaker 13: But you don't have any water or sewer? 29:48 Speaker 14: We have water connected, yes. 29:49 Speaker 13: The only service that she told me you had was just stormwater? That was December 2nd. I'm just curious. I'm just asking from the Marion Utilities, she said you have no service except stormwater. 30:05 Speaker 14: So if you drive by South Adams Street, do you see that hole? 30:09 Speaker 13: I see the gas main. 00:30:11 Multiple Speakers Is that what you're talking about? 30:12 Speaker 14: There's a hole that has the reconnected water to the building, and inside the building, there's the main going into the building. I can point it out to you. 30:21 Speaker 13: I just asked the director of the Marion waterworks. I'm just trying to figure out what your start date is, because I thought you were up and running with a certificate of occupancy in utilities. 30:31 Speaker 14: It's a certificate of occupancy with variances that allows us to continue construction work within the building. 00:30:37 Unknown OK. 30:37 Speaker 13: So you do say you've got all utilities, you're up and running with utilities? 30:42 Speaker 14: Yes. 30:42 Speaker 13: Water, sewer? 00:30:43 Unknown Yes. Okay. Thank you. 30:46 Speaker 13: That's all the questions I have. 30:50 Speaker 1: All right, thank you. Any other council members? Vice President Calgo. 30:56 Speaker 4: Myself and Nick and Eric and I, we used to three that come down today and toured your facility and I've been a big supporter of you guys from the beginning, but after touring your facility and seeing how you do your products and the system that it goes through, I'm 10 times more excited for not only you guys but for Marion than I was before. I was very impressed with today. You guys, you got it going on. You got the market kind of, you know, it's you guys and you can beat China, which really excites me even more that we're doing it here in our own country. 31:37 Speaker 4: I'm 100% behind you guys. I mean, I don't know what else to say. I was very impressed today. I mean, the other ones, they can speak, but pretty impressive. 31:50 Speaker 12: Yeah, thankfully it's not me doing the hard work. So yeah, we have good scientists and a great team, so appreciate that. 31:57 Speaker 4: That you know, we met some of the people in Marion that live here in Marion, that have been driving down to Noblesville every day, working, training, ready for the Marion plant with your certificate of occupancy that you can now work with, that are ready to start in and get on it. So, I mean, you already got Marion people 00:32:18 Multiple Speakers down here, 32:18 Speaker 14: so they're really excited about going back to 00:32:20 Multiple Speakers Marion. I'm sure they're ready 32:21 Speaker 4: to stop driving. 00:32:22 Unknown Yeah. 32:26 Speaker 1: Thank you, Vice President Caldwell. Any other council members? I'm just going to add a few things. Everyone to understand kind of what's taking place. Let me get these photos. So I had asked, I went to the facility yesterday and it was very last minute and just kinda wanted to see the space at which they're gonna occupy. 32:56 Speaker 1: It's obviously not the entire building, it's a huge building and so they let me into kind of a carved out section near the back that basically that's where the operations are going to start. But I had never been in that building, not being from here. I didn't know what it looked like before, nor had I been in the building before they cleaned it up. And so I'd asked them to send me some before and after photos. So, um, you know, if you go into the building now, you would think, what's going on here? 33:31 Speaker 1: It's empty. Well, there was a lot of work to get it empty. A lot. Not only the cleaning, but you know, the ceiling is mostly all been repaired. It's a few minor leaks, but you don't know until it rains. And so they've had a contractor replacing most of the really bad areas, just a few spots that they've caught, but you can see the new ceiling in there or the roof. But I really just want to show kind of like a at least to the council members and anyone else in here, the before and after. 34:07 Speaker 1: And those of you that maybe worked in the building, you might reminisce a little. But the picture on the left here is what it used to look like when they took over. And this is the picture on the right. So they had to clear all of that out, those walls and you could even see like junk at the end. And not to mention there's just stuff in the ceiling that needed cleared out. So there was a lot of work that I have learned through this process that went into just getting the building ready to occupy. 34:37 Speaker 1: Which made more sense to me of why things have taken this long. So the photo on the right, before photo, left, after. And I can't remember, you guys had told me like how many loads and tons of debris? Don't know, 30, 40? Maybe more than that. 130. I don't remember how many loads of 00:34:56 Multiple Speakers debris because they 34:59 Speaker 14: Republic Services did really well last year in terms of trash haul. 35:03 Speaker 1: So a lot. I mean, so these are just snapshots that they had already had. I actually said, hey, show me some photos. And said, well, go through and take a photo of the area in that building, what it is now. And so I appreciate you sending those to me. I just wanted everyone to understand kind of what they took over. They kind of took over a beast in this building. So a lot of work has gone into just getting this building bare and ready to bring equipment in. And then here's the last one, I believe. 00:35:40 Unknown No. 35:41 Speaker 1: Oh, these were before. Either way, I can tell you these two areas right here are just cleared, right? There's stuff hanging from the ceilings, old duct work. So it was a lot of work and I appreciate you guys clearing that building. I mean, literally, you can walk through the whole building and see right across. They have a brand new, huge industrial heater installed, nice and shiny. 36:18 Speaker 1: So I appreciate them letting me go into the building yesterday, and then going down to the facility in Noblesville today. You know, going into that, I had no idea. I mean, I kind of had an idea what they did, but I was extremely impressed with their operations and probably spent two hours down there at least, just talking with their COO, other members there, and some of the Marion people that work in that facility. And really understanding the scale of which they want, and understanding their request of this up to $100 million really allows. 36:53 Speaker 1: I mean, they're ready to pull the trigger to get this equipment ordered, take it to Marion, and get it up and running. They do actually have equipment in the building that did show me some of the equipment needed, but a lot of the equipment that they need has to be custom ordered and brought in from certain vendors. But they have some of the smaller equipment that they need, the auxiliary equipment, is already in that building, ready to hook up and start getting their Marion employees working. 37:27 Speaker 1: So then I asked about scalability, number of employees, and I could be misquoted here. There's a lot of information shared, but I believe it was in the 50 to 80 employees spectrum for phase one, kind of going in phases here, with 401ks, health insurance, full benefits. Good paying jobs, you know, averaging, you know, $30, $50, $70,000 jobs. 37:57 Speaker 1: So I appreciate them answering the questions. I was a bit skeptical before because they just didn't know. And after yesterday and today, speaking with Rich on the phone, looking at both facilities, I think we have a lot to win with this, and I don't think we have anything to lose with this as a community. And I speak, you know, as a taxpayer and like, okay, what's going on over there? I will admit, you know, there's times I drive by and go, I don't really see anything going on over there. 38:28 Speaker 1: Well, now I understand why. They need to be able to purchase the equipment to really scale it up. And now that this building is cleared out, they did have some hurdles to get through. That's why there was some area dug up out in front of the building because they had like a backflow. I mean, they were complying with a request from utilities to just put everything in place. So they are ready. I think that's why they came to us now because this building is ready, their employees are trained up for the last six to nine months, and they're ready to start pulling the trigger. 39:04 Speaker 1: If we pass this or even pass it today, there's still a delay. I mean, they're wanting to get going, but there's a lot of work on the back end that they still have to do to get this money in the financing. So we're just that passer entity. That's all I would like to share. So I don't have a problem passing this today. We have zero to lose. We have everything to gain, and I would love to see this facility get fully utilized for re-employment. 39:37 Speaker 1: Any other council members with questions? Okay. I would entertain a motion. 39:46 Speaker 4: Mr. President, I would like to suspend the rules on general ordinance 23 2024. 39:55 Speaker 1: Second. A motion by Vice President Calgo, a second by Councilman Kane. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. Kane, aye. 40:07 Speaker 5: Marshall, aye. Fordyce, aye. 00:40:10 Unknown Brunner, aye. 40:12 Speaker 5: Klein, yes. Devine, yes. 00:40:15 Unknown Whitten, yes. 40:17 Speaker 5: Calgill, aye. McKinley, yes. 40:20 Speaker 1: The rules have been suspended. I would entertain another motion. 40:24 Speaker 4: Mr. President, I would now like to make a motion that we pass general ordinance 23-2024. Second. 40:32 Speaker 1: Motion by Vice President Calgill, second by Councilman Brunner. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 00:40:41 Unknown Cain, aye. 40:42 Speaker 5: Marshall, aye. Fordyce, aye. 40:46 Speaker 3: Brunner, aye. 40:48 Speaker 5: Klein, yes. Devine, yes. Witten, yes. Calgill, aye. 40:54 Speaker 1: McKinley, yes. General ordinance 23-2024 has passed. And thank you so much for investment in marrying. Looking forward to it. Congratulations. Okay, moving on to General Ordinance 24-2024, amending the maximum salary of appointed officers and employees. Second reading and public hearing. 41:23 Speaker 5: An ordinance fixing the maximum salary of appointed officers and employees, adding the position of civilian IT specialist. The Marion Police Department's goal is to improve on their internet and technology to maintain their records and processes. The Marion Police Department can benefit from having their own IT specialist to meet all of their internal needs. This position would allow this specialist to focus primarily on the Marion Police Department, to continue to move them forward with technology as the top law enforcement agency in the county. 41:59 Speaker 5: Speaking, Police Chief David Gilbert. 42:02 Speaker 15: I like that last part. Top agency in the county. Thank you, Mr. President, members of the Council, Mayor Morrell. This is a second reading of the next two ordinances in review. The first of the two, 24-2024, is to modify the salary ordinance in order that we might pay for the remainder of the year, the person we would hire as an MPD civilian IT manager. The two things that I'd I want you to remember or recall, one is that we need the position. 42:37 Speaker 15: Everything we do after our human resources, everything else we do is tied to technology in some way, shape, or form. So it's a critical function right now. A police officer is doing that function, which takes that position off the street, puts it in a desk, puts that person in a desk job. That's not ideal considering our staffing right now. So the second component that I'd ask you to consider is the value of this is we'll free up a police officer position for conventional police duties as opposed to a desk job. 43:07 Speaker 15: So it serves a purpose. It's valuable. It's needed. And I'd ask you to modify the salary ordinance, and I would add, if you wouldn't mind, suspending the rules and passing it a second reading. 43:22 Speaker 1: Thank you, Chief. Appreciate that. 43:23 Speaker 15: I'll entertain any questions. 43:25 Speaker 1: Any council members with questions before we go to the public hearing? Thank you, Chief. We're going to go and open up the public hearing for general ordinance twenty four dash 2024. All right, I don't see anyone going to the microphone. We'll go ahead and close the public hearing. Any council members with any last questions? 44:01 Speaker 1: All right, I would entertain a motion. 44:04 Speaker 10: Mr. Chairman, I move that we suspend the rules on ordinance number 24-2024. 00:44:13 Unknown Second. 44:14 Speaker 1: Motion by Councilman Kane, seconded by Vice President Calgill. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 00:44:23 Unknown Kane? Aye. 44:24 Speaker 5: Marshall? 00:44:25 Unknown Aye. 44:26 Speaker 5: Fordyce? 00:44:27 Unknown No. Brunner? 44:28 Speaker 3: Aye. Klein? 00:44:30 Unknown Yes. 44:30 Speaker 5: Devine? Yes. Whitten? Yes. Caldwell? Aye. McKinley? Yes. 44:36 Speaker 1: Rules have been suspended. I would entertain another motion. 44:40 Speaker 10: Mr. Chairman. I move that we pass general ordinance number 24, 2024 which will enhance the top law enforcement agency of this county. 44:55 Speaker 1: We've got a motion by Councilman Kane, a second by Councilman Klein. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 00:45:07 Unknown Kane? Aye. 45:08 Speaker 5: Marshall? 00:45:09 Unknown Aye. 45:10 Speaker 5: Fordyce? 00:45:11 Unknown Aye. 00:45:11 Multiple Speakers Brunner? 00:45:12 Unknown Aye. 45:13 Speaker 5: Klein? Yes. Devine? Yes. Whitten? 00:45:17 Unknown Yes. 45:17 Speaker 5: Calgill? Aye. McKinley? 45:21 Speaker 1: Yes. General ordinance 24-2024 has passed. And moving into general ordinance 25-2024 amending the maximum salary of appointed officers and employees, second reading and public hearing. 45:36 Speaker 5: An ordinance fixing the maximum salary of appointed officers and employees and the annual payment of flex dollars $250 to non-contractual full-time employees of the City of Marion, Indiana for the year 2025, adding the position of civilian IT specialist. The Marion Police Department's goal is to improve on their internet and technology to maintain their records and processes. The Marion Police Department can benefit from having their own IT specialist to meet all their internal needs. 46:10 Speaker 5: This position would allow this specialist to focus primarily on the Marion Police Department to continue to move them forward with technology as the top law enforcement agency in the county. Speaking, Police Chief David Gilbert. 46:25 Speaker 15: Again, everything I said stands. The only thing I would add is that this is the modification for the entirety of next year to fund the position in terms of salary ordinance. The other thing, Danny has given me permission to serve as his proxy to endorse this, Danny Robinson. He's the expert in this field. He runs the city's IT. He endorses that we would have someone at the police department. There would be overlap. Our guy would assist his guy and vice versa and create some redundancy. 46:58 Speaker 15: If Danny were not available, our person would be able to serve some of the city's functions and if our person isn't available, Danny would help us take care of our needs. So he endorses it. He had to leave. So that's what I'd add. I'll entertain any questions. 47:17 Speaker 1: Thank you, Chief. I have a quick question. So this civilian position, would this person be on call? Are there situations that they would need overtime or have to come in in the middle of the night if there's an issue with technology? 47:30 Speaker 15: Yes, of course. We try to minimize overtime. It's a tight budget, but yeah, that's the nature of the job. We're 24/7, we don't take any time off and of course, if the need is there, the person will have to address those needs. So yes, they'd be available. 00:47:45 Unknown Excellent. 47:46 Speaker 1: Sounds great. I fully support this. You know, being, having an IT background and a police background, pretty much the job is all technology anymore. I don't think there's such thing as writing a report anymore. It's typing reports and your body cams. And people don't realize those body cams, that footage has to go to a server. Somebody has to administer it. If that footage gets, you know, requested from the prosecutor's office, somebody has got to go get it, recover it, send it over. 48:19 Speaker 1: And so I think this position is going to be fantastic. So appreciate you taking initiative on it. 48:24 Speaker 15: If we don't have your vote, we don't have a vote. With your background, I agree. Absolutely agree with everything you just said. 48:31 Speaker 1: Any questions before we go to the public hearing? Great. We're gonna go ahead and open the public hearing up for this general ordinance. Not seeing anyone make their way to the microphone, so we'll go ahead and close the public hearing. Any last questions, comments from council members? All right, I would 48:59 Speaker 10: entertain a motion. Mr. Chairman? I move that we suspend the rules on General Ordinance Number 25, 2024. Second. 49:09 Speaker 1: Motion by Councilman Kane, second by Councilman Brunner. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 00:49:18 Unknown Cain? Aye. 49:19 Speaker 5: Marshall? 00:49:20 Unknown Aye. 49:20 Speaker 5: Fordyce? 00:49:21 Unknown No. 49:22 Speaker 5: Brunner? 49:23 Speaker 3: Aye. 00:49:23 Unknown Klein? Yes. 49:25 Speaker 5: Devine? Yes. Whitten? Yes. Calgill? Aye. McKinley? 49:30 Speaker 10: Yes. Rules have been suspended. I'd entertain another motion. Mr. Chairman, I move that we pass General Ordinance Number 25-2024. Second. 49:40 Speaker 1: Motion by Councilman Cain, seconded by Councilman Brunner. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 00:49:49 Unknown Cain? Aye. 49:50 Speaker 5: Marshall? 00:49:51 Unknown Aye. 49:52 Speaker 5: Fordyce? 00:49:53 Unknown Aye. 00:49:53 Multiple Speakers Brunner? 00:49:54 Unknown Aye. Klein? Yes. 49:56 Speaker 5: Devine? Yes. Whitten? 00:49:59 Unknown Yes. 49:59 Speaker 5: Calgill? Aye. McKinley? 50:03 Speaker 1: Yes. General Ordinance 25, 2024 is passed. Thank you so much, Chief. Thank you. Shave. Moving on to additional appropriation ordinance 36-2024, appropriating $125,000 to Board of Works, second reading and public hearing. 50:19 Speaker 5: An ordinance of the City of Marion, appropriating certain funds for the City of Marion, Indiana, and providing for the effective date thereof. $125,000 to Board of Works for animal care and control. The Animal Care and Control maintains the entire Grant County. They began the year $29,000. August 31st, they were in the negative $74,978. They are still in the need of an alarm system and their backflow system repaired. 50:54 Speaker 5: Payroll and expenses estimating for November and December total $46,000. They are asking for an additional appropriation of $125,000. This would allow Animal Care and Control to get the work done needed, complete payroll for the year, and begin 2025 in the positive. Speaking, Mayor Ronald Morrell Jr. 51:21 Speaker 16: Good evening, council. So what this is, you know, our animal care control has been for years now running in the negative. And I think I've found out why. I'm coming with a solution now. So we've been charging the same prices to the surrounding cities in the county since 2008. So I don't want to misquote it, but I think it was $75. I think it's $75 per call, and that's been since'08. So now this year, we raised it up to 150. 51:54 Speaker 16: So going in the next year, we should be able to suffice. So why this is an issue, let's say if somebody calls us to go to a Matthews, we have to load our people up in the safest. One o'clock in the morning, our people get up. Now we're paying overtime, getting our trucks, driving our trucks with our gas, we pay the salaries. All this stuff stacks up, and everyone knows the same fee from 2008 is not the same in 2024. So that's one of the reasons why we've been struggling and running in the negative. So what we're asking for today is to help us get corrected. And next year, we should be in a position where this doesn't, we don't get in this situation anymore. 52:27 Speaker 16: One more exciting thing, news that's hot off the press. I got an email today that the county commissioners and county council gave us a million dollars. And half a million goes to the animal care and control to be able to remodel for next year. Another half a million dollars goes to downtown remodels. So people are paying attention to this, and we want to make sure that we get this straightened out. So I'll ask that you guys help us move forward on this to get this set for this year. And next year, we should be in a lot better position. 52:54 Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Mayor. Appreciate the hot off the press update. We're going to have many discussions about that, but definitely not the time or place. We can probably talk about that another time, but that's very exciting. So appreciate the county for that. Before if any council members have questions, go ahead. If not, I'll go ahead and go to the public hearing and then come back. Great. Let's go ahead and move into the public hearing. So if you'd like to speak on this, make your way to the microphone. 53:28 Speaker 1: You can just state your name, address, and you have three minutes. 53:34 Speaker 17: My name is Karen Creech, and I live in Arnwood Drive. I'm all for helping animal control, but I'm just confused on a couple issues. If you could clarify for me, didn't we just give animal care control the ARPA money? And is that, this is in addition to the ARPA money? I don't mean to act silly, but this is the first word of it. I'm for helping them, but I just want to clarify, how much did we give them ARPA money on top of it? And will this, will this get them on the right road with the price increases? The mayor mentioned the price increases, and this additional money, will that get them in the positive going forward that they won't have to be bailed out as much anymore? 54:16 Speaker 17: If you could clarify that, I'd appreciate it. Thank you. 54:19 Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Appreciate that. Public hearing is still open. If anyone else would like to speak. All right, I'm not seeing anyone else make their way to the microphone. So we'll go ahead and close the public hearing. I'll answer one question. The ARPA funds were just strictly for remodeling or putting in the concrete walls. We got rid of the chain link fence that were a safety hazard. 54:53 Speaker 1: So the ARPA money was designated for just strictly remodel. And as this states, this is more operational, payroll, and expense, which is different than a capital improvement project that the ARPA covered. So Mayor, would like to, anything else? 55:12 Speaker 16: I think you covered that on that. And the hope is that we will now, going forward, be able to function in the positive in this department. I mean, it's quite frankly, every time we go out, we're losing money. And with this adjusted pricing, that will take us out of running negative every single year. 55:46 Speaker 1: Great. Thank you. Any council members' questions? 00:55:55 Unknown All right. 55:57 Speaker 10: I would entertain a motion. Mr. Chairman, I move that we suspend the rules on additional appropriation ordinance number 36-2024. 00:56:12 Unknown Second. 56:13 Speaker 1: Motion by Councilman Kane, a second by Vice President Calgill. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 00:56:21 Unknown Kane? Aye. 56:23 Speaker 5: Marshall? 00:56:24 Unknown Aye. 56:25 Speaker 5: Fordyce? 00:56:26 Unknown No. Brunner? Aye. 56:28 Speaker 3: Klein? 00:56:29 Unknown Yes. Devine? 56:31 Speaker 5: Yes. Whitten? 00:56:33 Unknown Yes. 56:33 Speaker 5: Calgill? Aye. McKinley? 56:37 Speaker 1: Yes. Rules have been suspended, and I would entertain another motion. 56:41 Speaker 10: Mr. Chairman, I move that we pass additional appropriation ordinance number 36-2024. 00:56:50 Unknown Second. 56:52 Speaker 1: Motion by Councilman Kane, second by Vice President Calgill. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 00:57:00 Unknown Kane? Aye. 57:01 Speaker 5: Marshall? Aye. Fordyce? Aye. Brunner? 00:57:06 Unknown Aye. Klein? Yes. 57:07 Speaker 5: Devine? Yes. Whitten? Yes. Calgill? Aye. McKinley? Yes. 57:13 Speaker 1: Additional appropriation ordinance 36-2024 has passed. Moving into General Ordinance 26-2024, amending Common Council Rules General Ordinance 6-2013, second reading and public hearing. 57:30 Speaker 5: An ordinance amending and restating ordinance 6-2013. The purpose of this amendment is to move up the time for electing a council president and vice president from 6:45 p.m. to 6 o'clock p.m. This allows more time for discussion and a break before the regular council meeting begins. The added language also clarifies that the previous year's council president and vice president will continue to serve in those roles in the event one is not selected at the first meeting of the year. 58:04 Speaker 5: Speaking, Councilman David Kane. 58:07 Speaker 10: Thank you, Mrs. Goodman. And this is pretty self-explanatory of what she read. I think the main change that we're trying to make here is to move the voting time from 6:45 p.m. That only gives us 15 minutes to vote in officers, and then the new meeting, new new organization starts at 7 p.m. Moves it to 6 p.m. 58:38 Speaker 10: and then it addresses the issue that we actually had last election where there was a tie vote, where one of our council members was absent and not in place at the time to vote. And so we had a tight vote on several occasions. This addresses that issue to where actually some council person can make a motion to suspend the voting at that time. 59:14 Speaker 10: The existing president and vice president will then proceed over the meeting, and at the next regular meeting, we'll have another vote. Am I describing that situation correctly, Mr. President? 00:59:26 Unknown I think you nailed it. Okay, all right. 59:31 Speaker 10: I will answer any questions if there's any other questions. 59:37 Speaker 1: If not, we're going to go ahead and move into the public hearing. And we can come back with more questions afterward. We'll go and open the public hearing for General Ordinance 26-2024. I'm not seeing anyone make their way to the microphone, so we will go ahead and close the public hearing. Any other questions from council members? 1:00:12 Speaker 1: If not, I would entertain a motion. 1:00:17 Speaker 4: Mr. President, I would like to suspend the rules on General Ordinance 2026. Yeah, 26 2024. 01:00:28 Unknown Second. 1:00:30 Speaker 1: All right, so just for clarity, you're making a motion to suspend the rules? Yeah. OK. I didn't hear the motion. I just want to make sure clarity. I'll tell you later. I'll tell you why. Yeah. So we had a motion on the floor by Vice President Calgill, a second by Councilman Cain. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 01:00:59 Unknown Cain? 1:01:00 Speaker 5: Aye. Marshall? Aye. Fordyce? 01:01:03 Unknown No. 1:01:03 Speaker 5: Brunner? 1:01:05 Speaker 3: Aye. 1:01:05 Speaker 5: Klein? 01:01:06 Unknown Yes. 1:01:06 Speaker 5: Devine? Yes. Witten? Yes. Calgill? Aye. McKinley? 1:01:13 Speaker 1: Yes. Rules have been suspended. I would entertain another motion. 1:01:17 Speaker 4: Mr. President, I would like to now make a motion that we pass General Ordinance 26 2024. 1:01:25 Speaker 1: Second. Motion by Council or Vice President Caldwell, a second by Councilman Brunner. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 1:01:35 Speaker 5: Cain? Aye. Marshall? 01:01:38 Unknown Aye. 1:01:39 Speaker 5: Fordyce? 01:01:40 Unknown Aye. 1:01:40 Speaker 3: Brunner? Aye. 1:01:42 Speaker 5: Klein? 01:01:43 Unknown Yes. 1:01:43 Speaker 5: Devine? Yes. Witten? 01:01:46 Unknown Yes. 1:01:46 Speaker 5: Calgill? Aye. McKinley? 1:01:50 Speaker 1: Yes. General Ordinance 26-2024 has passed. Moving into new business. Additional appropriation 37 2024, appropriating $103,357 to the Marion Fire Department from ARPA. First reading. 1:02:08 Speaker 5: An ordinance appropriating $103,357 from ARPA funds to the Marion Fire Department. The Marion Fire Department is welcoming a new fire engine and will need to be fully equipped and ready for work. Having the right type of equipment impacts Marion Fire Department's readiness to respond to emergencies. This equipment cost is $103,357, which would allow the fire department latitude in order to order everything they need. 1:02:43 Speaker 5: The current equipment is aging along with the old fire engine. Speaking fire chief Curtis Gar. 1:02:51 Speaker 1: Welcome, Chief. I'm sorry, you turned the microphone on. 1:02:55 Speaker 18: That's on. 01:02:55 Multiple Speakers But all there's all six inches taller than a month. 1:03:00 Speaker 18: I can we make them kind of make a motion get a taller. Yeah. With the much anticipated new engine six coming within the next 30 days, I'm hoping I can't wait for that to happen. Along with, like I said, along with the age of truck, equipment is aged as well. And along, just to expand on a little bit, but from the email I sent you that, you know, over the years, understandably, this city has not been in a position to get new equipment for the fire department. So we've made do. We bought what we can buy. 1:03:31 Speaker 18: The city's just gotten what we were able to get. And so the trucks have gotten kind of a hodgepodge of different manufacturers of different tools, same tool, different manufacturer. My goal and vision for the department is that any firefighter can go to any truck and pick up what tool they need and automatically know how to use it because the same equipment is on their truck. And so the, like I said, the list you have is exactly what's on Fire Engine 5 that was purchased a few years ago. Want to continue that trend and, you know, figures from now, we get another fire truck, new equipment will be the same, just a newer model of that equipment. 1:04:08 Speaker 18: So any questions you may have, I'm happy to answer. I'm just really excited about the truck and it's much needed. 1:04:17 Speaker 1: Appreciate it, Chief, and appreciate all the detail and the list that you gave us. Any council members with questions? Councilman Fordyce? 1:04:28 Speaker 13: Yeah, Chief, thanks a lot for the detailed list. I really appreciate it. Well, I just have a comment. Sure. And the comment is, I really appreciate you going through the trials and tribulations to find hoses and equipment that are made in the USA for the fire trucks. I really appreciate that. I noticed you stipulated that in your list, and I think that's very important, and I appreciate that due diligence. 1:04:54 Speaker 18: Yes. Donnelly Safety, which you see there from that company, that's where we get all our equipment. We're probably 90% of it, and they've done well by us at Triswell. They give us fair prices, and we just want to continue using them and just continue getting that equipment that's desperately needed. Thank you. I appreciate it too. 1:05:12 Speaker 1: Any other council members? I just have one question. I'm sorry, I didn't have a chance to speak with you beforehand, but just moving forward if we're looking at a truck. More of a question, it's not criticism whatsoever, but why wasn't this added in the original request? 1:05:36 Speaker 18: Why are we doing this now? The original I'm sorry. The original request was because there were time constraints, restraints on the truck because of the price was going to go up. I wasn't immediately. I wasn't prepared with the equipment list at the time, and so my main focus was getting the truck. Was at the time that was what the exact need was. The equipment we could get by with that, but the truck was what I desperately needed. 1:06:04 Speaker 1: Okay. I appreciate you answering that. It's a learning process as well of how 01:06:08 Multiple Speakers we equip our fire truck. 1:06:10 Speaker 18: Learning how to be a fire chief so it's. And all the processes that go along with it. 1:06:15 Speaker 1: Yeah, you're doing a great job of just yeah. Thank you. Learning I mean, didn't realize there was so much equipment extra that goes on after you purchase it, so Yes, it's a lot, as you see. Great. I appreciate it. Any other council members? 1:06:33 Speaker 13: Go ahead. I think the other thing that I wanted to add that the chief made very adamant is that we can use the other truck as a backup. Correct. Retain the equipment on that truck instead of taking it off of that truck and putting it on the new truck, so we'll have a fully equipped backup truck plus a fully equipped new truck. 1:06:54 Speaker 18: Yes, the vision is for the new engine to have new equipment. The old engine that is being replaced, the equipment that's on it stays on it, and that will be our secondary spare. So in the event then routine maintenance or something breaks on one of our trucks while it's getting prepared, the firefighters only need to take their personal items. It may be five to 10% more equipment. That's not on the Thank you, Chief. I appreciate that clarification. 1:07:21 Speaker 7: And we're not going to rob equipment from one truck and put it on another. We're trying to get to where we're replacing and maintaining versus causing a hole on another vehicle or another station or Correct. 1:07:38 Speaker 18: We are replacing. We're now we're just Equipment that's on the truck now will stay with that truck. And then the new truck when it comes in, we'll get that equipment put on there. Now, because of the time restraints and whether or not some of them may take a couple months to come in, we may utilize some of the older equipment at first, but as soon as a new equipment comes in, it will be taken off and the new 1:08:01 Speaker 7: And where was the new truck gonna be stationed, to remind me? 1:08:05 Speaker 18: Six is South American 33rd Adams. 1:08:08 Speaker 7: OK. And then where do you keep the backup trucks? 01:08:11 Multiple Speakers What station? 1:08:12 Speaker 18: Both of our spare trucks would be at Lincoln Boulevard Station. It's our warehouse. OK. It's formerly a fire station, but it's just a warehouse now. 01:08:20 Unknown OK. 1:08:21 Speaker 1: I just wanted to provide some clarity for the public that might be watching or listening, especially when we get to a second reading if this passes today, but it says it's coming from ARPA funds. I want to provide clarity so our ARPA funds have been appropriated and this is the interest we gained off of ARPA funds. There are no restrictions to the interest, so the money that has been sitting in the bank from the ARPA funds have been collecting that interest and the rules and regulations that the government provided. 1:08:52 Speaker 1: Really, there aren't any. We can use the money as we see fit. It's not the same requirements that we have for the actual ARPA funds, so I just wanted to provide that clarity for the public. This is a, I hate to say the word bonus money. It's just interest that's been gained on the money that's been sitting in the bank account. So there is more interest left in there and we're continuing to gain interest until the money is actually spent and out of the account. We are continuing to gain interest on that. So I appreciate the mayor and the fire chief for thinking outside the box and requesting this from that interest gained instead of other budgets. 1:09:34 Speaker 1: Appreciate it. Any other council members? Turn your mic on. 1:09:41 Speaker 4: I appreciate the fact that equipment it completely. So I remember the days of Robin Peter, paid Paul from truck to truck, truck, and then we would lose it. It was terrible. So I appreciate the fact that you're doing this the right way, chief. 1:09:56 Speaker 18: It is a nightmare because equipment gets left on a truck and taken to another truck. It's just a bad idea. That's the time that the truck is down. The time that equipment is down. The time that the firefighters have to take to go from one truck to the other can be as much as an hour or more. And that's an hour or more that that truck is not in service. That's an hour more that that part of the city is not being protected by us. 1:10:23 Speaker 1: All right, thank you. Any other council members? 1:10:28 Speaker 7: And then has, sorry, go ahead. 1:10:31 Speaker 1: Council Member Runner. 01:10:32 Unknown Go ahead. 1:10:33 Speaker 7: Just kind of to tie into that, has this helped you identify what other equipment may need to be replaced in the future on your other vehicles? 1:10:42 Speaker 18: Yes. If you just got your touchstone there, part of the equipment is also for replacing the Knox boxes on all of the trucks. You'll see, I think there's seven of them we'll have to replace. If you're not familiar with what a Knox box is, most businesses here in Marion have a box that's probably three inches square. It's a metal box placed on the outside of the building. We are the only public service entity that has a key to that box. That box inside has a key to that business, so in the 2 in the morning, if we see a light haze, the business owners would much rather for us to have a key to the building, unlock it. 1:11:22 Speaker 18: Because if we see a haze, we're going in and we're just gonna do what we do. So we'd rather not break a door, rather not break a window if we have a key. That's the whole purpose for the Knox box. In the trucks, we have another box that has the key, and that key is only released by a special code that we all have. Unfortunately, those boxes are now some of them 15, 20 years old and they work part of the time, most of the time, but not when we need them all the time. So, currently the truck that we just have, the 2019 Rosenbauer, it has a 2002 Knox box in it from one of the older trucks. 1:12:00 Speaker 18: That's part of the thing we're going to replace for all those trucks and also adding one of those into the command vehicle, into our fire prevention chief's vehicle, just so sometimes we get a call for a business needs to change a key. Well, I don't want to send an entire fire truck with four members on it to go and do that. I can send one assistant chief or one fire prevention chief to go and do that. So that's part of what's in that package you have. 1:12:27 Speaker 1: Thank you, Councilman Brunner. 1:12:31 Speaker 8: Chief, how many operating stations do you have now and what's the latest on the downtown? The station we all know is the downtown Fire station. What's the latest on that currently? 1:12:47 Speaker 18: We have four operating stations. I'm not sure how much. We're in a motion now to. I just had a meeting today to finalize what type of doors are going to be on the station, what type of locks are going to be on the station. We did some interior design concepts both Councilmember Cowgill yesterday on color schemes, what's going to be here, what's gonna be there. So I think we're still on track to hopefully break ground next spring, March or April. 1:13:19 Speaker 18: And hopefully we'll be occupying it by July or August of'26. That's my hope. It could be maybe fall of'26, but it depends on. 1:13:30 Speaker 8: Thank you, sir. I really appreciate the job you do and I think we all do. So thank you. Yeah. 1:13:37 Speaker 1: Thank you. Any other council members? All right. If nothing else, I would entertain a motion. 1:13:46 Speaker 10: Mr. Chairman? I move that we pass additional appropriation number 37-2024 to a second reading and public hearing. 01:14:00 Unknown Second. 1:14:01 Speaker 1: Motion by Councilman Kane, a second by Councilman Brunner. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 01:14:09 Unknown Kane? Aye. 1:14:10 Speaker 5: Marshall? 01:14:11 Unknown Aye. 1:14:12 Speaker 5: Fordyce? 01:14:13 Unknown Aye. 01:14:13 Multiple Speakers Brunner? 1:14:14 Speaker 3: Aye. 1:14:15 Speaker 5: Klein? Divine yes. Witten? 01:14:19 Unknown Yes. 1:14:19 Speaker 5: Calgill? Aye. McKinley? 1:14:22 Speaker 1: Yes. Additional appropriation thirty seven twenty twenty four will go to a second reading. Thank you. Public hearing at the next council meeting. Thank you, Chief. Thanks, Chief. And moving into general ordinance twenty seven twenty twenty four, petition to vacate a public right of way, first reading. 1:14:42 Speaker 5: An ordinance to vacate a portion of First Street from Branson to Adams Street and the East West Alley from Branson to Adams Street and the North South Alley from Second to First Street. The City of Marion is requesting the vacation of First Street from Adams and Branson and the alleys running east and west between Adams and Branson and the north and south between Second and First Street for the purpose of providing a location for the new River Rock project. 1:15:17 Speaker 5: Speaking, Mayor Ronald Morrell Jr. 1:15:21 Speaker 16: Where the River Rocks lot will go. So in preparation for that, we need to vacate those streets because that's where the building. We'll vacate that street and those alleys because that's where the building will now be sitting. 1:15:36 Speaker 1: Thank you, Mayor. We kind of expected this to come our way. Any council members with questions? Council Member Brunner. 1:15:45 Speaker 8: Mayor, if everything goes the way you would like it to go, what's the earliest date that this whole project could be finished? 1:15:53 Speaker 16: I think their projected finish time is 2026 summer. And hopefully they're going to start the construction in the spring of next year. So obviously February, March, April. It's about a year and a half? Yeah. 01:16:11 Unknown Thank you. 1:16:14 Speaker 1: Any other council members? I did blow it up on the screen behind me. If you're not sure exactly, basically it's I don't know if you can see my arrow First street right here. This alleyway and then this alleyway, am I correct? Am I missing anything? You're okay. 01:16:44 Unknown Okay. 1:16:45 Speaker 1: So that's the area. I mean, we already expected all of it. I just want everyone to have a visual of it so. 01:16:50 Unknown Okay. 1:16:52 Speaker 1: I don't have any other questions. Any other council members? If not, I'd entertain a motion. 1:16:59 Speaker 13: Mr. President, I'd make a motion to pass General Ordinance 27-2024 to second reading public hearing. 01:17:07 Unknown Second. 1:17:09 Speaker 1: I have a motion by Councilman Fordyce, second by Councilman Brunner. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call? 1:17:20 Speaker 5: Cain? Aye. Marshall? Aye. Fordyce? 01:17:24 Unknown Aye. 1:17:24 Speaker 3: Brunner? 01:17:25 Unknown Aye. 1:17:26 Speaker 5: Klein? Yes. Devine? Yes. Witten? 01:17:30 Unknown Yes. 1:17:30 Speaker 5: Calgill? Aye. McKinley? 1:17:33 Speaker 1: Yes. General Ordinance 27-2024 will move to second reading public hearing at the next meeting. Thank you, Mayor. For that and moving on to our last. Well, not that's second from last, we'll say that. Resolution 15-2024, Los Amores Riverfront Application. 1:17:54 Speaker 5: A resolution approving a formal written commitment and use agreement by and between the City of Marion, Indiana, Grant County, Indiana, and Los Amores LLC. Riverfront district permit to operate in the designated riverfront area. This initiative aims to revitalize the waterfront by fostering economic growth, increasing tourism, and enhancing community engagement. Los Amores LLC will contribute to these goals by offering a unique dining experience, creating jobs, and attracting visitors. 1:18:34 Speaker 5: The resolution aligns with the city's vision of developing the riverfront district into a vibrant commercial and cultural hub, promoting local business growth, and improving the overall quality of life for residents and visitors alike. Speaking, Mayor Ronald Morrell Jr. 1:18:53 Speaker 16: So this is our process for restaurants to be able to obtain the license in the Riverfront District. So Los Amores has been open now for a while in our downtown. They're looking to expand and this will really help them be able to really get bigger than what they even are and also really help our downtown. So this is step two in this process. Oh, my office approved it. The Mayor's office approved it. And then it goes to the City Council and then we send the packet off to the state for them to approve. 1:19:25 Speaker 1: Thank you, Mayor. Any council members with questions? 1:19:30 Speaker 7: This is similar to what we did with Obies. 1:19:32 Speaker 1: Yes, the same thing. 1:19:36 Speaker 6: Any other council members? So are they staying at the same location? 1:19:50 Speaker 2: Yeah. 1:19:52 Speaker 16: Yeah, they're at the bottom of the Boston Hill Center. 01:19:56 Unknown Yep. 1:19:56 Speaker 2: If they have any questions, I'll be glad to answer your question. 1:20:06 Speaker 1: Any other council members? And just as a reminder, so in order to keep this license, you know, they have to stay within that riverfront. So if they were to ever move out of the riverfront, then that license is gone. So just some clarity for the public on that. It's not like a normal liquor license. You can't take it. You can't sell it. So if I don't have any other questions, I would entertain a motion. 1:20:33 Speaker 10: Mr. Chairman? I move that we pass resolution number 15 2024 in its entirety. 1:20:41 Speaker 1: Motion by Councilman Kane, a second by Councilman Klein. Any other discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 01:20:50 Unknown Cain? Aye. 1:20:51 Speaker 5: Marshall? 01:20:53 Unknown Aye. 1:20:53 Speaker 5: Fordyce? Aye. Brunner? 01:20:56 Unknown Aye. 1:20:56 Speaker 5: Kline? Yes. Devine? Yes. Whitten? Yes. Calgill? Aye. McKinley? 1:21:04 Speaker 1: Yes, resolution 15 2024 has passed. Thank you for your investment downtown. Thank you in the riverfront. Thank you, Mayor. And moving on to the last agenda item, the Marion City Council Attorney. I'll just read this one. Review of the mayor and city council attorney resume. Speaking me so everyone knows that, you know, the council attorney position is an annual position that we look at every year. 1:21:35 Speaker 1: We only had one resume. The deadline was November 22nd, 3 p.m. And the only resume I received was Mr. Marty Harker, who is our current council attorney. He was the only one who received. We did post it in the newspaper and on the city website, so we tried the best we could to get the word out. And so at this point, we only have one applicant. I am happy to entertain any kind of discussion on that, but if not, then I know this last time we, since we had more than one candidate, we voted differently. 1:22:11 Speaker 1: But I think this time, since when we have one, I think we can suffice with just the motion and the vote, if you guys are okay with that? But I'm also happy to answer any questions or have a discussion if anyone would like that. One other thing I'll add too is I think it would be fair to just use the same contract as we had before, of course, update it with the proper dates for next year, January 1st to December 31st. 1:22:41 Speaker 1: But other than that, everything else would pretty much stay the same on that, unless anyone else has an objection or input on that. You know, if we approve and pass today, then by the next meeting, I will email out a copy to every council member to take a look and check for any errors, mistakes, or whatever. And then by the next council meeting, we could sign that. Last contract, it was Vice President Cavanaugh and I that signed, and we could do that again. 1:23:12 Speaker 1: So anybody want to have a discussion about it? If not, then I would entertain a motion. 1:23:19 Speaker 4: Mr. President, I'd like to make a motion that we retain Mr. Harker for 2025. 1:23:33 Speaker 1: Motion by Vice President Calgill, seconded by Councilman Cain. Any other discussion? Councilman Brunner. 1:23:43 Speaker 8: I would just like to thank Marty for the job he does do for our community. Always here, always has a welcome ear if you have questions. Marty, just thanks for what you do for us, okay? 1:23:55 Speaker 1: Go ahead and add onto that and, you know, had the pleasure of working with Marty all year and I think he's done a great job. He does a lot of stuff behind the scenes. We met today. I've been very, very happy with his services, so no complaints. All right, Madam Clerk, roll call. 01:24:19 Unknown Cain? Aye. 1:24:20 Speaker 5: Marshall? 01:24:22 Unknown Aye. 1:24:22 Speaker 5: Fortyce? Aye. 01:24:24 Multiple Speakers Brunner? 1:24:25 Speaker 3: Aye. 1:24:25 Speaker 5: Klein? Devine? Yes. Whitten? 01:24:30 Unknown Yes. 1:24:31 Speaker 5: Calgill? Aye. Kinley? 1:24:34 Speaker 1: Yes. Looking forward to having you for another year, Mr. Harker, and we'll work on that contract before now and in the next meeting. And that's all I have. I have no announcements. Any council members with announcements? If not, I would take a motion to adjourn. 01:24:51 Unknown So moved. 1:24:53 Speaker 1: All right, we've got a motion by Councilman Cain, seconded by Vice President Calgill. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, roll call. 01:25:03 Unknown Cain? Aye. 1:25:04 Speaker 5: Marshall? 01:25:05 Unknown Aye. 1:25:05 Speaker 5: Fordyce? Aye. Brunner? 01:25:07 Unknown Aye. 1:25:08 Speaker 5: Klein? Devine? 01:25:10 Unknown Yes. 1:25:10 Speaker 5: Whitten? 01:25:11 Unknown Yes. 1:25:12 Speaker 5: Calgill? Aye. 1:25:14 Speaker 1: McKinley? Yes. Meeting adjourned. Thank you everyone for coming tonight.