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The Grant County Record
in Grant County · Regular meeting · 2026-03-17 · full transcript
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    0:00  the kindergartener's art. But I really really mean that from my heart. Every single glass piece that a customer has made, it's it's beautiful. You're gonna
    0:09  leave with something that you're proud of, that you want to hang in your home, and you might even want to give it as a gift. So, my hope is that Art Alive with
    0:18  Alicia becomes a place where people in Marian can gather, create, and leave with something that they are truly proud of. If anyone would ever like to pop in
    0:26  the studio, I'm on in the Boston Hill Center on the upper floor. Um, just look for all the bright colors on the windows. You can't miss it. Please come
    0:34  in just to check it out, see what we're all about, and then come in and create. I'm so grateful to call Marian home now.
    0:41  And I am overjoyed to be a part of the city's growing arts and small business community. So follow Art Alive with
    0:48  Alicia on Facebook to see all the amazing work that's already be been created. and uh track upcoming events.
    0:55  Thank you so much for the time.
    1:01  I was going to say, does anybody have any questions or do you want to sh Yeah,
    1:10  that's that's really pretty. I I had no idea because you you talk about not being very artistic, that that's me. So, I would need a lot of help.
    1:19  Dump. Yeah, if you can scoop and dump or use a little spoon, you can do it.
    1:24  If if it'll help me and Councilman Kane, we'll come and do one. You could sell it on eBay.
    1:29  I I think everybody I think we should do a team building for and I'll watch Councilman Kane make sure he don't put the pieces in his mouth. Yeah, we'll auction things off.
    1:36  There you go.
    1:38  Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thanks.
    1:54  Okay, thank you.
    1:56  All right. Uh, we was having a little bit of technical difficulties there.
    1:59  Sorry. Um, okay. Uh, next thing we're going to do is the consent agenda. I uh would take a motion right now to accept.
    2:08  Mr. President, I move that we accept the consent agenda. Second.
    2:14  We got a motion by Councilman Kaine, second by Councilman Brunner. Roll call, please.
    2:20  Kane, I.
    2:21  Reyes, I.
    2:23  For Ice, I.
    2:24  Brunner, I.
    2:26  Klene, yes.
    2:27  Marshall, I. Whitten. Yes. Divine. Yes. Calgill.
    2:32  I. Man, I'm have this chair. I'm going to eventually be down here. I don't What's going on? You switched chairs with me, didn't you? Um, committee
    2:41  reports. I'll take any committee reports at this time. Councilman Port.
    2:46  Yeah, I was uh [clears throat] at the uh March 5th utilities department uh board
    2:54  meeting and um the financials for January 1st through January 31st were presented by Tiffany and the board
    3:04  approved financials for January. Um there was a u February 20th meeting for
    3:11  um water adjustments for leaks. Um they had two adjustments. One was for the city's uh street department which they
    3:20  had a a broken shut off valve that uh they adjusted that rate for the street department and one was for the parks
    3:26  department that they had to replace uh 30 foot of water line and um they adjusted that rate also. and um got that
    3:37  water line fixed for um the parks department. So um and then um they went on to um the city council approved an
    3:46  ordinance um on uh 51985 for sponsorships, promotions, and donations
    3:53  for the water department to uh to give out. And um this year they're sponsoring the Babe Ruth Baseball League and the
    4:01  American Legion Veterans Standdown um [clears throat] which I thought was very important. It helps uh veterans for
    4:09  u emergency housing, utilities, and food. Then on the solid waste division, Mr. Pinkin Mr. Pinkerton reported that
    4:17  uh solid waste had 682 tons went through the transfer station um on that month, which is enormous. I
    4:26  mean, that's fantastic. Um, and it was put out there that, uh, they have notified people in the community that they can bring their solid waste
    4:34  disposal to the transfer station and and they'll accept it. Some of it has got fees on it, but uh, that was phenomenal
    4:42  for the um, transfer station to take in that much. Then Robin Trader said the the rate case was uh ongoing and Crow's
    4:50  financials for 2025 were done and Baker Tilly had got them and received them.
    4:54  And then um they were having another meeting uh later on that week uh with some council people and uh their
    5:02  financial people to uh determine uh what was going to happen there which we'll speak about tonight. And that was it.
    5:13  Thank you Councilman Portise. Anybody else? Mr. climb.
    5:16  Yeah, thank you. Uh, board of aviation commissioners met March 5th. They're completing the final design for the par
    5:23  parallel taxi way. U, it appears that the nearby wetlands are below the threshold for needing any mitigation.
    5:32  They're still determining if that's the case and even if it's necessary, shouldn't really negatively afford uh
    5:40  affect the uh project. And the bid schedule is on track to start in May with bid opening for it in early June.
    5:48  They received the federal grant money for the Jeda fuel system and construction supposed to be underway this month. Project should be completed
    5:57  by mid to late May. Uh same schedule for the 100 octane lowled system and erosion
    6:05  control is scheduled to start uh last week. Actually, uh, the grant pre-application for the new tea hanger has gone to the
    6:14  FAA and it appears the airport has to pay maybe about a third of the cost and the board's working to find out where
    6:21  that money is going to come from. And that bidding schedule is going to be the same as the taxi way. And the and the
    6:28  cool news, Indiana Wesley and Aviation got funding and forgive me, I forget which a which exact agency the money
    6:36  comes from. They have funding for 20 students. Now, may not seem much.
    6:43  Nationwide, there are only 94 of these scholarships for the for these cadetses in the country. And nationwide, they're
    6:52  second only to Purdue. So, that's pretty cool. And thank you. That's very cool. Thank you, Mr. Klein.
    7:00  Anybody else? Go ahead. Councilwoman Klein or Council Council Kyle. Wow. I'm sorry, Mike and Erica. Both Councilwoman
    7:08  Divine, um the Board of Works met yesterday and on their agenda, they um heard about an
    7:17  amendment to the scoping agreement for the Ballard Field project. After doing the phase one um environmental uh
    7:25  review, it was decided they needed to go on to a phase two environmental study, which includes boring and um and
    7:33  double-checking the land for making sure that there's no lingering environmental issues that have to be abated. Um so that was approved and then the
    7:41  transportation department gave um a brief report uh quarterly report and update um which they're going to be
    7:49  giving us a presentation on the agenda as well. So I'll let them discuss that and that was it.
    7:56  Thank you very much. Anybody else?
    8:00  [clears throat]
    8:02  I'll um just um I don't know it wasn't it's not a typical committee thing but just um last Saturday at the old Fitz Pub we had our first annual St.
    8:11  Patrick's Day celebration and it went really well. We had a big showing there.
    8:16  Um congrats to the mayor. We turned the missal river green for the first time which was really cool. That worked out
    8:23  really nice. Um, I would have liked to went to Wall Bash later just to watch their faces like what's going on with the river here all
    8:30  of a sudden. But, uh, it was really good. Um, we'll build on that, but I it was really nice to see the community come out and support it like they did.
    8:37  So, that was big. Okay.
    8:41  All right. We'll go ahead and move on and start unfinished business with general ordinance, 120. Go ahead.
    8:50  Amending the monthly water user rates.
    8:53  Second reading and public hearing. An ordinance amending the monthly water user rates and charges for the city of Marin, Indiana. Speaking utility director Robin Schrader.
    9:06  Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to present to you once again. The ordinance before you is a proposal for increasing water rates by 39.21%.
    9:18  This is consistent with what was originally proposed last November and approved by the council in December.
    9:23  Since that time, there have been numerous discussions to confirm the accuracy of the utility's financial analysis and reporting processes
    9:31  involved in arriving at this particular rate. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Uh but my understanding is that Baker Tilly
    9:38  found no errors in the information or the rationale that's been presented to date. Uh the most re recent report you
    9:46  received is a reformatted version of what was originally presented. No data had been changed. It was just an attempt to make things a little easier to understand.
    9:55  To briefly summarize, you can clearly see the revenue requirements for maintaining suitable coverage for the 2024 bond repayment, rebuilding an
   10:04  appropriate operating fund, funding annual depreciation expenses, and [clears throat] rebuilding capital reserves.
   10:12  While we discussed the possibility of asking for a lower amount, there were some significant arguments against this.
   10:18  Namely, that meeting the minimum requirements for the present does not address the debt service increase that will occur in 2029,
   10:26  continuously rising operating costs, or the lack of funding for ongoing capital improvement projects, the same that have been neglected for more than 10 years.
   10:35  Essentially, a lesser amount would mean falling farther behind rather than pursuing financial health and sta and stability.
   10:42  This proposed increase of 39.21% includes the acceleration of remaining phases approved during the 2023 rate
   10:49  case and an additional 20.62% on top of that. Most of our residential customers use between 100 and 400 cubic feet of
   10:59  water each month. For folks in that range, the impact to their bill will be approximately four to eight dollar per month. And even then, our rates will remain well below the state average.
   11:10  Thank you for helping us to continue providing Marian with the best drinking water possible. Take any questions you have.
   11:20  Rob, I just want to make sure that the public and everybody knows that the 39.2% does not mean your water bill is
   11:27  going to go up to 39%. It's strictly Go ahead.
   11:30  It's It's strictly the drinking water portion of the bill. Um right now, most customers are probably paying 25ish to
   11:39  $35 perhaps um in in just for the water portion. And that's where the rate increase is going to impact.
   11:46  And with the 39.2% going in um where even with the the raise, where
   11:54  does that still put us as far as statewide like uh utility or water rates?
   11:59  Yeah, this off the top of my head at least 50% of the state is going to still be much higher than we are. Um, it might actually be closer to 60%.
   12:09  And we do have some of the best quality water in the state of Indiana, too. So, we like to think so.
   12:16  Yeah. Any questions from the rest of the council?
   12:24  No. Okay, Robin, if you want to sit down. This is the second reading public hearing. At this time, I'll open it up to anybody in the public that wants to
   12:33  speak on this and anybody wants to speak. We're speaking strictly on this increase with the water rates uh
   12:40  currently right now. So, uh you'll have three minutes come up, state your name, your address, and uh Mr. Harker, if you
   12:49  would keep track of the time, and that way we'll uh keep this rolling. So, at this time, I would open this up.
   13:05  hit the button up there. Thank you.
   13:09  Good evening, council. My name is Molly Early, 1717 Somefield Drive. I want to speak in regards to this rate increase.
   13:19  Um, I believe that this is what our utilities need currently for the water.
   13:26  I believe that the infrastructure that they currently have does need some upgrades. I believe that um, as a
   13:33  steward of good money, it's important to pay your bills off. And if they're paying a bond off from 2024, they need to get that paid off. Correct. I
   13:42  appreciate those things. My only concern is what happens when and if there is
   13:48  extra development going on and the water rates increase again. That's my only concern and I would like for you guys to speak into that and hopefully um
   13:58  [clears throat] with the utilities commission um and the boards there that they will be able to better handle um moving forward any potential extra
   14:07  development that the city of Marian does especially the potential developments coming to the west side of Marian in regards to potential data centers that
   14:15  we all know or the rumors are but we're not talking about that and I know that and I and I understand that but I'm saying we need to stay strictly on on this.
   14:22  Okay. So, I just uh hope that the the commission and the council look forward
   14:32  more than u maybe in the past that they have. But I do appreciate um those individuals who work for our city, especially um the ladies and gentlemen
   14:41  of the water department, the sewage department, and the waste. Thank you. Thank you.
   14:49  Anybody else?
   14:58  Charles Holly Moon 703 East Street. I understand the the amount of raise would be around six or seven dollars.
   15:07  We have uh had two sta uh businesses places for two locations for a business
   15:16  that sells coffee and I seem like it's a cut rate coffee. It's called Seven Brew.
   15:22  I thought maybe it's like a dollar store. It's all $7. But I decided I'd go really techy and ask uh Siri what was going on and how much they would charge.
   15:33  And they charge up to $9.40 40 cents for a cup of coffee.
   15:39  I think it's one of the most ridiculous things I ever heard of. And it's supposed to be a cut rate place.
   15:43  Mr. Moon, what? We're talking about water. I know. I'm just brew. I'm comparing. All right.
   15:51  People complain about six or seven dollars for extra water. And we do have some of the best water I've ever tasted
   15:58  in my life. I grew up in Fairmont with water. Best tasting water we ever had.
   16:03  And for [clears throat] people to sit here and complain about that, if they would only get $7 a month raise on their income, they would complain about it.
   16:14  Seven dollars really isn't anything.
   16:18  The water bottle of water that you guys are having right there cost you a lot more than $7 a month if you're drinking one bottle a day.
   16:28  So really the amount of income uh increase really doesn't make any difference
   16:35  because we do a lot of things that's going to cost us more than six or seven dollars a month extra. And to me the bottle water don't taste good anyhow.
   16:47  And I wouldn't waste my my time picking up a bottle of water and hauling it off.
   16:53  I did one time and that was three times too many. So, thank you.
   17:00  Anybody else?
   17:09  Going once, twice.
   17:14  Okay, I'll go ahead and close the uh public part of this here tonight. And um anybody on the council? I I will say
   17:22  that um I I want to thank both my fellow councilmen, Robin, Tiff, Misty,
   17:30  everybody from the utilities, the mayor, um you know, Baker Tilly, you know, you guys did a phenomenal job. Um we've been
   17:39  dealing with this for two months. And the reason why we've been doing that is because my fellow councilman that we we want to
   17:47  make sure that the utilities have got to have the money in order to operate. we, you know, um their capital gains, god
   17:55  forbid they would have lines starting to break and the the um lead lines that need to be replaced is I don't even want
   18:03  to bring those figures up, but um they have to have the money to do this because if it something starts going wrong, we're in trouble. So, they have
   18:11  to build that up. And so, we took the two months to bring in an outside source like Baker Tilly. And we have all worked
   18:20  very hard and and I don't even know how many hours we put in to make sure that okay this is a percentage that the utilities you're now good with. You can
   18:29  operate you can start preparing for whatever the the case may be for the you know Murphy's law comes in and but it's
   18:37  also the lowest rate possible to keep for the citizens as well. So I I do appreciate everybody's work on this. Um
   18:45  it's it's it's been a long road so Anybody else have any comments or anything, questions or anything?
   18:55  Okay. If not, I'll entertain a motion at this time.
   18:58  Mr. President, I'd make a motion to suspend the rules on general ordinance one, 2026. Second.
   19:06  Okay. Got a motion to suspend the rules by Councilman Ford Eyes. A second by Councilman Klene. Roll call. Kain. I.
   19:14  Reyes. I. For ice. I.
   19:17  Brunner. I Klein. Yes. Marshall.
   19:21  I Whitten. Yes. Divine. Yes. Calgill. I. I'll now entertain a motion to pass.
   19:30  G.
   19:32  Mr. President, I'd make a motion to pass general ordinance 1, 2026. Second.
   19:41  Okay. I have a motion to pass general ordinance 2026. Um from Councilman Ford Eye, second from Councilman, was it
   19:48  Whitten? Okay. Councilman Whitten. Uh roll call. Kane. I. Reyes. I. For ice.
   19:56  I. Brunner. I. Klene. Yes. Marshall. I. Whitten. Yes. Divine.
   20:04  Yes. Calgill. I. All right. Motion pass.
   20:12  Okay. Okay, we'll go on to new business now. Um, next up on the agenda, um, it's a TIFF
   20:20  management report from Baker Tilly. Uh, Andy Mouser is going to speak on this, uh, report real quick.
   20:29  Welcome. Thank you. Good evening, council members. Um, Andy Mouser with Baker Tilly, Matt Georgees from my team
   20:36  here as well. Um we will try to keep this brief but um this is a presentation um that is required by the state. Um so
   20:43  each year redevelopment commissions in the state of Indiana have to report on their prior year activity. Um so this is a report on um things that happened in 2025.
   20:54  Um and this information has to be uploaded to the state's um gateway portal by April 15th. Um there's also a requirement um that for the first time
   21:02  went into place last year um which is to also present this information um at a public council meeting prior to that April 15th upload. Um so again, this is
   21:11  a really a look back report. Um this looks at activity that happened in 2025.
   21:16  Um I'm going to let Matt go through some of the detail um here in a moment, but just kind of keep that in mind as you go through. This represents what happened throughout 2025. It represents, you
   21:25  know, a snapshot of where things were at the end of 2025. um as we go through fund balances um you know what you ended the year with um was right after you had
   21:34  received your December tiff distribution um and then right before many of your January and February payments were made.
   21:39  So um I think it's good information um at the same time as many of you are aware we do have a lot of look forward um work for the redevelopment commission
   21:47  um kind of looking at where the tiff areas will be um across the coming decades and projects that are um committed in the future. Um so first few
   21:56  slides um just have information on other redevelopment commission requirements throughout the year. Um on page two again this is the um tiff management
   22:05  report um that has to be presented by April 15th. Um a number of other um requirements we help with um include the pass through determination by June 15th.
   22:14  Um the tiff neutralization and certification with the county auditor by August 1st. um a tiff spending plan um that has to be adopted by December 1st
   22:23  by the redevelopment commission for spending in the following year. Um and then each year we do also um do an annual presentation um again which is
   22:31  more of a look forward report on where the tiff areas are headed. On page three just has an illustration of um tiff areas and how they progress throughout
   22:39  their lifespan. Um, as Matt will go through here quickly, um, you have a number of areas that are at the very beginning. Um, things like River Rock
   22:47  Lofts, Jones, um, Heritage, the newer allocation areas are on the left side of that graph where they've just been established and, um, you know, are yet
   22:55  to generate any TIFF. You also have a number of TIFF areas um, that fall towards the right side of the graph. um areas that will expire here in the next
   23:03  5 to 10 years and that assessed value at that point um will be returned to the tax base.
   23:10  Um and then purposes of tiff um on page four, tiff has been um given quite a bit of additional flexibility in recent
   23:17  years, the ability to use tiff for public safety operating costs. Um but traditionally tiff is used for incentives and infrastructure and I
   23:24  think the city has done a good job of um addressing both of those with um you know projects like the downtown fire station and some of the downtown redevelopment we see um occurring
   23:33  currently. So with that I'll let Matt go through some of the detail that's in the report for the year.
   23:37  Thanks Andy. Um again Matt Georges with Baker Tilly. Thank you for having us this evening. Um going on to page five.
   23:46  Um, one of the requirements also is to uh list out the members of the redevelopment commission who were a
   23:53  member at any point in 2025. So, you can see the footnote there that there were two uh members that were there at some
   24:00  point but were uh no longer uh by the end of 2025.
   24:06  And then moving on to pages six and seven, we have a list of all of the individual tiff allocation areas. Um, as
   24:16  Andy was mentioning, there are some that go as far back when they're established in 2003, 2004, 2005. Um, that will be
   24:25  expiring soon, um, in the mid 2030s, those like State Road 18 West, Dunham's,
   24:33  um, I69 and 18 TIFF areas. Um and then with some of the newer projects in their tiff areas that have been established
   24:42  recently like uh Andy mentioned River Rock and Jones Heritage um they will be
   24:48  going out into 2050 and 201 and with perhaps any new projects coming in as
   24:55  well. Um there may be further uh new allocation areas.
   25:02  [clears throat]
   25:03  On uh page eight, uh we start to look into the revenues and expenditures for
   25:10  um all of the TIFF allocation areas. Uh many of the individual TIFF allocation areas are uh part of the larger consolidated economic development area.
   25:22  Um and so their revenues and expenditures are included in that uh single larger line item uh near the bottom of this table.
   25:32  Um, the figures for the consolidated EDA may seem perhaps a little high, but they also do include the fire station bond
   25:41  proceeds that took place in 2025, um, as well as some of the spendown of those bond proceeds.
   25:50  Continuing on to page nine, we begin to break [snorts] down those expenditures uh, into more individualized categories.
   25:59  Um at the top with about 3.8 million we have professional services. And so that
   26:07  can include um legal fees, uh financial advisory fees, engineering fees, um
   26:14  things along those lines. Um moving down to the other item with the lion share uh is the other capital outlays of about
   26:24  6.5 million. Um that is generally uh
   26:29  construction and um machinery perhaps uh acquisitions
   26:36  um for things like Ballard Fields, Next Level Trails, things like that. Uh the fire station for example um projects
   26:45  like that. And then also uh wanted to note the debt service of the uh tax increment financing bonds. uh we have
   26:54  the principal of about roughly 5 million and then interest at about 660,000.
   27:06  On to page 10. Unless there's any questions, feel free to stop us at any point while we run through this.
   27:14  Um, as Andy mentioned, um, this is at the top here, the ending balance of the TIFF allocation fund of about 8.8
   27:24  million. And this is prior to, uh, some of the, uh, bond debt service payments
   27:30  um, as well that take place in January and February of 2026. But still a healthy figure. um that leaves it for uh
   27:40  future bond debt service payments as well as um any future projects that the
   27:46  RDC wants to uh go after. Um moving on down, we also have some of the debt
   27:54  service reserve funds for the various um Cafe Valley bonds. um those uh stay in
   28:03  place until the uh maturity of the bonds. Um so those grow with interest
   28:10  year-over-year but um will stay roughly where they are at this time. Um and then
   28:18  the final line item there for the fire station project those bonds uh there are still roughly about 3.9 million available for that for that project.
   28:29  [snorts]
   28:30  Going on to page 11. Um, and I believe, yes, believe page 12 are the, uh, debt
   28:38  service payments in a little bit more detail that took place in 2025 for all of the, uh, tax increment financing
   28:46  bonds. Um, many of these are paid out of either project specific tiff allocation
   28:54  areas or they are paid out of the consolidated EDA fund.
   29:01  And unless Andy has anything to add.
   29:04  Nope, I think that was perfect. Answer any questions.
   29:11  Any questions? Thank you guys very much.
   29:18  Appreciate the time. Thank you.
   29:24  Okay, we'll move on to additional appropriation 2206.
   29:29  Motor Vehicle Equipment. First reading, an ordinance appropriating $240,000 from motor equipment. Speaking police chief David Gilbert.
   29:42  Welcome, Chief Mayor. Um, Mr. President, members of the council, thanks for hearing us out today. I'm going to ask uh Deputy Chief Mark Stefanis to come up
   29:50  and uh carry the water tonight. Stand tall before the council and explain the details. get into the weeds if you want us to, but I'll I'll intro this by just
   29:59  telling you this is the next phase of what we uh told you we were going to do when we met uh over two years ago. Uh
   30:07  the mayor's been wonderful about supporting us in our effort to bring the fleet of vehicles, which is critical to what we do, services we provide, most
   30:16  importantly to the safety of our officers and citizens. When we took over, uh I don't like talking about the past except for what it means today. But
   30:24  the fact is when we took over the fleet was decrepit, uh much more than I believe half of the I know that half the fleet, at least half the fleet, more
   30:32  than half the fleet was uh well over 10 years old. And we had some cars that was old as 2008s and even a 2006 or two. Um
   30:42  we've remedied that to some to some degree. Deputy Chief Stephan Natus has done a wonderful job uh bringing us uh
   30:49  to the point we are now. I think we're on the precipice of being where I'd like to be, which is uh I guess to say I've
   30:56  said it before, maybe like the airlines run their business with their airplanes like UPS runs their business with their brown trucks. Uh where they've
   31:04  identified the useful life of a a vehicle or a piece of equipment. uh they've they've done a calculation how how long they can squeeze the useful
   31:12  life out of those uh pieces of equipment and they replace those on a uh with a capital plan and a and a way to do that and uh that's what we intend to do. I
   31:20  think we should run this business like any other business would do to to stay in business and uh this is representative of that effort. So with
   31:29  that I'll turn it over to Deputy Chief Stephanis but I'm gonna stick around. So I appreciate your time. Thank you.
   31:39  Thank you. Um, what's that? [laughter]
   31:45  U, I'm Mark Stefanis, as he said. Um, this is a a new little adventure. Well,
   31:53  seems like every time I come back here, it's a new adventure. So, I appreciate you hearing us out. Um, I submitted a
   32:00  paper. Did everybody get my paper? Uh I don't want to go back over that and spend a bunch of time. Um however, I just want to hit some highlights of it.
   32:10  Um again, what we sat here and talked about a few years ago was the the need for us to go to a rotating basis on
   32:19  vehicles uh to try to get more life out of our vehicles and at the end of that life to have some life left. Um, I I
   32:27  always use this quote. Uh, the Marian Police Department is where we buy cars to go to die. Uh, usually when we when we're done with our cars, they they go
   32:36  to the scrapyard. And with a regular rotation, we could be more apt to uh maybe have some value in those cars at
   32:43  the end, maybe pass them on to other other uh entities within the city. or we did do the school thing that I I hate to
   32:52  report back on the school thing, but a lot of those cars lasted six, eight months and we're we're done. So, um we
   32:59  we really uh got the most use we could get out of the old vehicles, but uh we should not be driving vehicles that are
   33:07  of that uh um that that many miles uh repairs needed and and that kind of shape when we're expecting our officers
   33:16  to go out here uh respond to maybe one of your houses for an emergency and they can't make it there because the vehicle doesn't isn't capable of getting there
   33:25  or we uh god forbid a high-speed pursuit where an officer gets hurt. We've been very lucky uh to not have any of that
   33:34  happen to us. But uh when you get in a high-speed pursuit, um I'd say probably myself and the chief are the only ones that can could say we've been in in one
   33:43  of those uh the speeds get crazy, the driving gets crazy, and you have to have a reliable vehicle, especially if it's a a guy who's wanted for something uh
   33:52  major, murder, uh rape, uh child molesting, stuff like that. So, we have to have a dependable vehicle. And we're
   33:59  getting to the point where we're um we have vehicles that we're driving or we're getting back to where we were two
   34:06  years ago when we came and asked started asking for cars. Uh we have several vehicles that need to be taken off the
   34:13  street. Um that that I think they need to be replaced right now. um that regular rotation. I want you guys to all
   34:21  just really think about this and maybe I don't know how you guys do your little meetings or something, but something that should be thought of after my time,
   34:29  his time is to have that regular rotation of those vehicles. You know, the cost is going to be there. Um and
   34:37  you know, but you know, you're going to also have safe vehicles out here on the street for these officers to ride in and drive in and patrol your neighborhoods
   34:45  in and respond if uh the splash house someone, Lord forbid, something happens there, we can get there quick, have them
   34:52  equipped with the stuff we need to be ready to jump out. U, we always clash with the firemen, but we all know that
   35:01  we're out moving around. Uh, we're out patrolling the streets every day. The firemen are are usually uh at the fire station waiting for a call because they
   35:10  never know where that next call is going to be. we can usually get there before them and to have those cars equipped with some of the stuff that we plan on
   35:18  putting on in some of these cars will help speed up that process. Now, we can't do what the firemen do. They show up with their little machines and and
   35:25  and can save the day and everybody loves the firemen, but we can get there and start the lifesaving efforts that that
   35:33  we need to do. And uh that's just about the first thing they teach you in law enforcement is getting to the scene. So,
   35:41  uh, and making sure you get there to to start what you need to do. And that's where our vehicles start. Uh, we've been very lucky, and you guys have been very
   35:48  great to us the last couple years, uh, supplying us with those vehicles. But we took vehicles off the street that were 10, 15 years old that we were still
   35:56  driving. And I hoped, um, I hope that, um, as a as a as a member of the Marian Police Department and a guy who's put 30
   36:04  years in here, we never go back. We never go back to that. Um, when I first started, we had eight cars, uh, eight
   36:11  93s and eight 94s, and they rotated. Uh, as soon as you got in, you took the car from the guy who was getting off the
   36:19  shift. We don't ever want to go back there. Um, our take-home car program has made our cars last much longer. Um, when
   36:26  I got here in 1995 at 94 had 78,000 miles on it. In one year, 78,000 because it was just driven, driven, driven. So,
   36:35  um, our take-home car program has has helped, uh, get better life out of our vehicles, and that's what we're asking
   36:43  for. We're asking to start, uh, we we've got a very good fleet right now, but, we have about 12 cars that in the next
   36:51  year, we have five right now that should should be take we need to take off the street. And by the end of this year, the
   36:58  other cars that are on the street right now are going to be pushing that 100,000 mile mark. And last year, uh, this
   37:05  doesn't break it down. I I kind of put in that thing, but we paid a lot of money for repairs. And you get a car with a 100,000 miles on it, you have to
   37:13  start replacing ball joints. The front end goes bad. And I mean, that's very expensive to do. About 2,000 to $3,000 a
   37:21  car to that's now. Costs just keep going up everywhere across the the nation. So,
   37:28  um, to cut down on some of that stuff, new cars would help. Uh, we'd have warranty on those cars, uh, that we don't have on the cars that we're getting ready to take off the street.
   37:39  And [clears throat] I always say the, uh, I've got some quotes here. We were just started a
   37:45  quote process. Um, so, um, there's different vehicles you can buy. Right now, the police package vehicles are the
   37:54  Dodge Durango because they're not making the Chargers anymore, the Ford Explorers and the Chevy Taho. So, those range anywhere from $40,000 to $52,000.
   38:05  So, what we've done in the past instead of uh we've I wouldn't say we settled, but we were trying to be uh responsible
   38:13  about how we spent the money of the taxpayers and go with the best priced vehicle that we could get. um not that
   38:20  maybe fit us the best but was the best vehicle that we could get the most vehicle out vehicles out of the amount of money that we're allotted to have. So
   38:28  that's what we've tried to do, try to be responsible for that. So the Dodge Durango right now um is the cheapest
   38:36  vehicle we can buy and that's why we've stuck with that Dodge Durango. Uh I do have we do have a an ad out right now to
   38:43  put uh to take bids in uh just so we can know where we're at in a ballpark figure. some of those bids haven't come
   38:49  in. It then takes about anywhere from 12 to $16,000 to upfit those vehicles. And when I talk about upfitting, I talk
   38:58  about lights, uh, lights, sirens, opticons, radar units, uh, cages, uh,
   39:08  uh, consoles, uh, computer stands because now this is a guy's office. So, we have
   39:16  to set it up like you'd want your office set up if you were working in a building because he spends he or she spends 12
   39:23  hours a day in that vehicle and that's their office to have everything they need at their hand. Because if we have officers on station having to get this
   39:32  or that because they can't they can't keep it in their car, then they're not out on the street patrolling, which is what what we wanted to do be is out on
   39:40  the streets. So, uh, when you equip a vehicle, major cost is that. And those those, um, things are like anything
   39:48  else. They're like your your I had a guy tell me a story yesterday about buying a uh, a washing machine. The new washing machines are are made to last about two
   39:57  years. But you can buy this one company still makes the old school with the dial and not all the electronics. Now, you pay a little more money for it, but it's
   40:05  going to last you a lot more than two years. So, the same with electronics. uh LEDs, the lights will last, but the
   40:13  components change, the the way they talk to each other changes. So, all those things have to be taken into consideration. We can't take the lights
   40:20  off a say a n 2019 and expect them to be completely compatible with the 2026 20 uh 2026 the new stuff that's come out.
   40:32  So, uh when we can, we do. We we really do. We try to uh do as much as we can to cut the cost down on the vehicles. So,
   40:41  I've rambled on enough. I I would ask if you guys would have any questions of me or anything I could provide for you. I would be willing to provide um some more
   40:49  information once the bid process things some of the things come in. I didn't do this saying, "Oh, I know I'm going to get the money." But I kind of did it
   40:57  because I want to get a ballpark figure because everything's going up with the tariffs and the and all the other stuff going on in the country. The prices are
   41:04  starting to rise up a little bit. So, um, Chief, do you got you say you're like eight of them? Like, do you get a
   41:12  discounted price because you're buying eight at a time compared to if you was just going out and buying individual vehicle?
   41:19  They're they're basically we just put in for a bid. There's no there's a state bid, which is a state minimum and a and
   41:26  a maximum kind of thing. Uh, most uh we we go through a local. Last year, the last cars we bought, we bought locally because they came in at the best price.
   41:36  So, it doesn't matter if I buy eight.
   41:39  I'd really love you to prove 12, but I'm only asking for eight. U So, uh I thought I'd get a chuckle out of that.
   41:46  So, [laughter] Mr. Ford and I've had that conversation several times. So, uh uh but the bids
   41:54  the bid. So we have to put the bid out comes in and then whatever that price is is what we buy. However, we are on the
   42:02  verge of u like the police package cars sometimes they make so many and then they're bought then after that they
   42:10  start taking like us if we ordered them now it may be three or four, five, six months before we get them because of the
   42:17  fact that they'll have to build those if we're if there's none left over at the factory. The last couple years we've had to wait for them to be built. So, if we
   42:26  order two, it's the same price as if we ordered 12. So, if you want to approve 12, I will shake your hand. [laughter]
   42:38  Go ahead, Captain Ba.
   42:39  Mark, how many uh cars do we have and how many are generally on the street 24 hours a day?
   42:46  Well, we have um we have 49 cars in the patrol division. And then you have the detective division and the
   42:54  administrative division. So we're right around probably right at about 60 60 cars. Now when you ask me that question,
   43:04  uh our our days rotate because our officers work 12-hour shifts. So at any time you could have nine cars on like a
   43:11  like a day shift for 12 hours from six to six and then you'd have that many on the night shift depending on vacations,
   43:19  trainings, days off. But our days rotate. So our officers um we have two we have a a and b shift and two shifts.
   43:29  Uh we went to 12 hour shifts which means uh the there's an a shift for days there's an a shift for nights and they
   43:37  work the same days and those are usually like say if they work Monday Tuesday they're off Wednesday Thursday then they
   43:43  work Friday Saturday Sunday. So, um, those cars get a little bit of a resting period, but there at any point we could
   43:52  the we have an hour overlap. So, there's there is times where we could have maybe 12 cars on the street at one time.
   43:58  And and how much uh what is the average uh usage of a vehicle? In other words,
   44:06  how long do you keep a police car in your fleet?
   44:11  Well, if you want to know the truth, we keep them until they don't run anymore or until we say, "Hey, I'm not uh Here's
   44:18  a for instance. I have one right now that I just brought back from the repair shop because it was going to be like uh
   44:25  $4,500 to repair it. Well, it's a two 2017 with 140ome,000 miles on it. I
   44:33  that's not being responsible with money to throw $4,500 at a car that in a year is probably going to do the same thing
   44:40  or or more problems are going to exist over the last three months and I do the the normal driving that most people do.
   44:49  It just seems like I see a lot of police cars out. Are you putting more vehicles on on the road right now? Well, here's another difference that we've been very
   44:57  lucky to. Um, when we started this venture in 2024, we were 12 or 14 maybe
   45:04  up even up to officers down. And now we're back up to our number where we're at. So, you're going to see more officers because we've got we have two
   45:13  at the academy and we have one that we just hired. So, we we're you're seeing more officers because uh number one, the
   45:22  guys are going out and doing what they're supposed to do. Be that's be visible, not parked somewhere. They're supposed to be out patrolling the streets, keeping them safer. And we have
   45:30  more officers on the street than we had three years ago. So, that that could be it. Uh maybe maybe you've been doing things wrong and they're watching you.
   45:39  [laughter]
   45:40  No, I but we've really stressed on u we're we're we're uh and and this is from the chief. Um we're we're
   45:49  proactive. We're not going to we're not sitting back and and and waiting. We're trying to prevent crime by being more visible.
   45:57  Thank you, sir.
   46:01  I just I just go ahead and like to make some comments. Me and Mark has spent time together on this and I'm a big
   46:07  proponent of rotation on these vehicles because we we were literally at a point to where some of them just wouldn't run
   46:15  and they weren't even worth fixing. Some of these [clears throat] police officers were driving they'd go out and the battery wouldn't even start or you know
   46:23  the the car die. And so you know in the last two years we have tried to bring this fleet up. We've we've got about 20
   46:31  cars in the last two years, but it's like he said, we've got 60 cars and some of them, the 2017s have got over 140,000
   46:40  miles. These cars have driven very, very hard. If you've ever seen them day in and day out on what they have to do, these cars go through a lot of abuse.
   46:50  The other point I want to make on keeping them on rotation is the warranty. when when you have the the warranty on these newer vehicles that
   46:58  are are in service, it's a lot easier on the repairs and the cost to us as a city that we don't have to put out the money
   47:07  on the repairs when they're under warranty. And I think that's a big part of it, too. Also, Mark has taken me down to their new garage that they have built
   47:15  down there. And a lot of these police officers do the work themselves. They take the K9 cages out of the older
   47:22  vehicles and try to get them into the newer vehicles. The only problem that we run into on some of that with the K9
   47:29  vehicles is that the models change and the vehicles are different on the the configuration. So they they try to
   47:38  retrofit the K9 cages, but the officers are actually down there doing it themselves, which I think is very admirable. and a lot of the the stuff
   47:46  that they need down in their garage, the police officers are actually down there doing the welding and building this stuff on their own to try to convert
   47:53  these cars and change them over. So, I'm a very big proponent on this and I think that u I I know it's broke down into two
   48:02  separate ordinances and the specificity on that is that the one is coming from the opio opioid money which is meant for
   48:10  law enforcement and cracking down on drug use and stuff like that and the police officers can use that the opioid money. The rest of it comes out of the
   48:18  general fund. But on the rotation, and most police departments spend between 50 and 60,000 a car. I've done the research
   48:26  on it. I've checked with other uh departments. And that's that's a minimal amount to get them by on a quality police interceptor engine and equipment
   48:36  that they need. But there is a lot of retrofitting that they have to do to convert one of these. So that's that's not that big a deal on on changing them
   48:44  over and getting the lights and everything. But the warranty is is a is a very big thing on these vehicles. Like he said, I think last year you spent
   48:52  about 85,000 on repairs. And some of them that they had to put 4,000 $5,000 into the vehicle is only worth 12,000.
   49:02  But it's just because they need the car to keep it running and these police officers need to have safe equipment. So that's the point that we're getting to
   49:10  and I think that if we get them caught up to snuff on these vehicles and it was in bad shape when we came on. It was in
   49:18  horrible shape. But if we could just every year stay consistent and keep rotating on these cars, we won't get in
   49:26  a situation where we have to replace 20 or or 30 cars at a time. If we could just keep on the rotation every year and
   49:34  make sure that we put the money back for that. But I commend you guys on what you do and the work that you do on your own
   49:41  to [clears throat] try and make those work. And I will I will just say for one example, at one time I was down at Max Ace Hardware because I'm down there
   49:48  about every day. But anyhow, back with the older fleets, there was a police officer in there with his patrol vehicle and he was buying some bolts to fix his seat because it wouldn't stay in place.
   50:01  And I was like, "Oh my god." I said, "Are you kidding me?" He said, "No." He said, "But I'm a rookie and this is the one they gave me. So, I'm going to make
   50:08  it work." So, but I don't want to get to that point to where they have to start doing that and they need to be safe for our community and our police officers.
   50:17  So, I appreciate the work that you do and you bringing this to us, Mark. Thank you.
   50:21  Thank you. Can I can I make a comment on what he just said? Um, it would be wrong
   50:27  for him and I to leave this place to where would a new chief of police has to
   50:34  come back in five or six years, 10 years, however long he's going to stay and and ask you for 20 cars. We
   50:42  shouldn't have been there in the first place. And and if we uh so your comment is spot on.
   50:52  Question on that? Just talking about the warranty and things like that. 48 marked police units right now. You're asking for eight.
   51:02  Is will that warranty cover that if we're only replacing eight a year for how much you're driving and how much usage it is? I mean, we're asking for
   51:10  eight right now, but is that realistic to keep your keep the fleet up to where it needs to be each year? or and I know
   51:18  we all laughed about the 12, but in the future, is it does it make more sense and better stewards of that that money
   51:27  to to use more knowing how much you're spending on repairs and things like that where, you know, to keep it in warranty and things like that, we may want to
   51:36  look at something more than just the eight.
   51:38  Yes, that's I would I would suggest that'll do a lot of things for the city of Marian. It also helps us bring in applicants when we get down on numbers
   51:47  because they uh we it's embarrassing. We show up and we they a few years ago they're like you guys still have a
   51:54  palace. Yeah, we do. So yeah, I mean it makes complete sense. The warranties are usually a threeyear 36,000 and then the
   52:03  100,000 milei uh drivetrain if we upgrade otherwise it's like 60,000. Um,
   52:11  so yeah, because when you get in, like we had to replace a transmission on a car that was still under warranty and it was $7,500 is what the bill came, but
   52:19  the warranty covered it. So, uh, if we wouldn't have had that, we'd we'd have been in in deep trouble. So, now I know you mentioned obviously back
   52:27  in the day rotating, always on the streets. Are we in a spot right now with this that obvious you mentioned take-home program or whatever that looks
   52:35  like? Do we have enough cars for as many officers that we have on on the force?
   52:40  Well, I I'm picking up what you're putting down. So, again, I I could change and ask if we could modify right in the middle of this meeting for 12,
   52:47  [laughter]
   52:48  but but I but we'll be eight will do us.
   52:50  We we'll find a way to make eight work and u it will help us get closer to where we need to be. Yes.
   53:00  Perfect. Thank you, Council.
   53:04  Yeah. This is a procedural question. I was going to ask it later, but Councilman Ford kind of opened the door.
   53:12  Are appropriations number two and number three? Is number three pretty much a ditto of number two? And if it is, can
   53:21  we consider these together and just in a matter of time?
   53:28  Right. But we they're two different funds, but we can pass them both simultaneously.
   53:34  with one vote, I presume, right?
   53:39  We're just No, we're not for good. We're just moving it along.
   53:42  Yeah. Councilman Harker, is that could we pass these in one motion or because it being in two funds, do we have to do two different motions?
   53:51  It's not a final action.
   53:54  I can I I'd actually prefer that you take the extra couple of minutes to Okay. I I don't want to have any trouble
   54:02  u some procedure later on. I don't foresee that but I think we should fair enough. Check those box. Just a question.
   54:09  There are two separate accounts.
   54:20  I'll buy that. Anybody else?
   54:29  I'll uh kind of end it up with uh coming from public safety as well. Um I've worked with police officers my whole
   54:37  career. Um and what people's got to understand is you know these guys in these cars they go from 0 to 60 constantly. That's what they're
   54:45  constantly doing. And so these aren't like our normal cars that we drive around. And um you know and when you're
   54:53  in high-speed pursuits actually there's three of us. I have been in high-speed pursuits. You guys was right on my tail.
   54:59  No, that wasn't me. But um actually I remember that. That's [laughter] right.
   55:04  Actually, um he's unfortunately passed away. He went way too young. But Officer DJ DJ Jeff, I know you both worked with him.
   55:11  I've done a couple ride alongs in the past and I was with DJ one night and we got into a high-speed pursuit and I had a little different. I felt a lot safer
   55:19  in that big truck than I did in them cars, let me tell you, man. But uh and we got to keep the um our officers safe
   55:26  because if if they're if they can't get there safely, then they're not helping us anyway. I mean, we got to get them there in order to help us out. And so I
   55:35  I don't want just our citizens to be protected and taken care of. I want our officers to be um taken care of and protected as well. So um this is a great
   55:45  thing, Chief, that you guys have come up with with this rotation. Um it it's it's a must. It's not a matter of if, it's we
   55:52  have to stay on this. We got to keep our fleet up and our officers safe. So, okay. With that, I will entertain a motion.
   56:02  Mr. President, I move that we pass additional appropriation number two, 2026 to a second reading and public hearing.
   56:11  Second.
   56:13  Okay, we got a motion by Councilman Kaine and a second by Councilman Ford. Roll call.
   56:19  Kane. Hi Reyes.
   56:21  I Fordise.
   56:22  Hi Brunner.
   56:24  I Klene.
   56:25  Yes, Marshall.
   56:27  I Whitten.
   56:29  Yes, Divine. Yes, Calgill.
   56:32  I um Okay, we'll move on to additional appropriation 32026.
   56:39  Um I think everybody kind of knows the situation that we've talked about both, unless there's something you guys would like to add.
   56:48  I think we need to do the two separate.
   56:50  Yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's what we we just did two. So, now we're on to three. Yeah, I just the same be the same fact.
   56:58  So, uh what I just said. I don't want we don't need to go back over that.
   57:04  Anything from any of the motion? Well, council for us, I I'd just like to make one more comment real quick and and and u Mark brought
   57:12  [snorts] this this point up, not only with it it being a lot safer for the officers on the rotation, but he also emphasized the fact that we do pass down
   57:22  some of the used police officer vehicles like we did park security and he does high school um which was is going to be
   57:30  a lot better for those and utilizing those vehicles for those departments which will save us money if the car will last longer than three or four months.
   57:39  So, I mean, I think that's important, too. And that factor plays into us not having to buy, you know, cars for park security and high school also. So,
   57:48  that's the only other point. Thank you, Chief. I'd also like to say that when you come to us for these appropriations
   57:55  and everything, you always put together the most professional packet and have it sent to us in plenty of time so we can digest it. And thank you guys for that.
   58:05  That means a lot. So, I appreciate you guys when you do those things.
   58:09  I'm I'm going to say one thing about that Mark did in I don't know, page and a half what usually takes me 10 pages.
   58:15  So, I you can thank him for that. I know you guys enjoy reading my work, but uh great job.
   58:22  We appreciate your consideration as always. Thanks for supporting the police department.
   58:27  Okay, I'll take uh a motion at this time. What's that?
   58:33  Uh okay. Okay. Yeah. Go ahead and do the formal reading of it.
   58:38  An ordinance appropriating $240,000 for equipment.
   58:43  Okay. I'll take a motion on this now on appropriation additional appropriation 32026.
   58:49  Mr. President, I move that we pass addition additional appropriation number three 2026 to a second reading public hearing.
   58:59  Second.
   59:00  Okay. Okay, I got a motion by Councilman Kaine, a second by Councilman Klene. Roll call, please.
   59:05  Kane, I.
   59:07  Reyes, I.
   59:09  For Ice, I.
   59:10  Brunner, I.
   59:12  Klein, yes.
   59:13  Marshall, I Whitten. Yes. Divine. Yes. Calgill.
   59:19  I thank you, gentlemen. Good job, Chief. Appreciate it.
   59:27  Next on the agenda be the uh conflict of interest disclosure.
   59:33  Acceptance of the uniform conflict of interest disclosure statement. Speaking Councilman Dr. Jeffrey Reyes.
   59:42  You can just do it from there.
   59:46  Well, good evening council. Again, just I want to obviously, you know, getting caucused into this position. I've I've
   59:55  worked, you know, side by side as a uh contractor for the mayor during his time here as mayor for the city of Marian, as the grant writer for the for the city.
 1:00:07  And this is just me asking you as a council to continue to allow me to do that and continue the momentum moving
 1:00:15  forward on the things that we've already made progress on and written grants for, which included River. Uh again uh things
 1:00:24  for for parks department, police department, fire and other departments across the city. You know this funding
 1:00:31  is a necessity and you know continuing to do that work alleviates some of the things that we have to fund out of you
 1:00:38  know out of the general fund or other things that we have.
 1:00:47  Any questions from anybody?
 1:00:54  We uh we don't have to vote on this. We just have to accept it after after the reading. So
 1:01:03  everybody in favor of accepting it I guess so that's it. So um thank you you know doctor for uh doing that as well
 1:01:12  and I appreciate the help that you're giving to Mary and in the form of the grants as well.
 1:01:20  Okay. Resolution 2, 2026, Marian Transit 2027, grant application
 1:01:28  to INDOT, a resolution authorizing the filing of an application with the Indiana Department of Transportation for
 1:01:36  a grant under sections 5311 and 5339 of the Federal Transit Act as
 1:01:43  amended. Speaking Andrea Wart, administrator. Welcome.
 1:01:52  Good evening.
 1:01:55  So, we will be applying for the 2027 fiscal year um grant application. We
 1:02:03  apply for it every year. Um the city um receives funds from the state and from
 1:02:10  INDOT to help support the transportation department. Um the 26 fiscal year we
 1:02:17  applied for about $1.7 million. This year um I imagine it will
 1:02:23  be a little higher, probably 50 to $55,000 more in the application. Um we
 1:02:31  get back about 70% um of what we spend out every year. It's
 1:02:39  a reimbursement. Um, we'll also be applying to purchase new buses. Two of those. Um, last time we
 1:02:48  purchased buses, the uh the state paid about 85% of the invoice. Uh, the
 1:02:55  remaining money came from um the transportation's advertising contract which we've received funds for
 1:03:02  advertising on the buses and that covers the remaining amount. So we don't pay anything out of general fund for the purchase of those buses.
 1:03:13  Um I imagine the increase for the budget would be salaries and fuel where biggest expenses.
 1:03:25  Thank you. I know that's always the you guys with the money you get from your grants every year is a huge help to the city and we appreciate all the hard work that you guys do as well.
 1:03:35  Thank you. have any questions from any council members?
 1:03:43  No. Okay. I'll take a uh motion for the resolution number two, 2026.
 1:03:48  Mr. President, I move that we pass resolution number two, 2026 in its entirety.
 1:03:56  Second.
 1:03:58  Have a motion by Councilman Kaine, second by Councilman Ford Ice. Roll call, please.
 1:04:03  Kane, I. Reyes. Hi. For ice.
 1:04:07  I Brunner.
 1:04:08  I Klene. Yes. Marshall. Hi. Whitten. Yes. Divine. Yes. Calgill.
 1:04:17  I. Thank you guys very much. Thank you. Andrea. Thank you guys. Thank you guys.
 1:04:24  Okay. Additional appropriation number four, 2026.
 1:04:28  Park maintenance. First reading. an additional appropriation appropriating $85,148 for m maintenance at Friendship Corner.
 1:04:40  Speaking Rose Kadina, director of Marian Parks and Recreation. Welcome, Rose.
 1:04:47  Good evening.
 1:04:51  So, what you have before you um last spring, um I sent all of you guys an email per the mayor um letting you know
 1:05:00  of um an ADA um issue at Friendship Corner. Um, as Jeff and I were, um,
 1:05:07  walking around from a lady from AWS, as we were looking for a grant opportunity, um, she had brought it to our attention
 1:05:14  while we were at Friendship Corner that, um, with ADA changes, um, our playground is no longer ADA compliant. We, um,
 1:05:24  advertise our playground. We build it as an ADA accessible playground. Um, so there are two small areas inside
 1:05:33  Friendship Corner that is still mulch and dirt, pretty much dirt now because the mulch is pretty much blown out and
 1:05:40  gone. Um, that require us to put down um, PIP servicing, the port in place servicing that is there now. Um, at a cost of $85,000.
 1:05:52  Um, I tried to come before you guys last year. um we had uh passed the um food and beverage tax um but by the time we
 1:06:00  actually started collecting that for one it was too late for us to even contract and do that project and two in order to
 1:06:08  fund the project um I would have had to come before you like I am now to appropriate those funds because those were unappropriated funds. So, I am
 1:06:17  before you now asking for those funds to be appropriated from the food and beverage tax to fund the um port and place surface for Friendship Corner.
 1:06:30  Any questions?
 1:06:35  It's kind of a no-brainer. We have to be ADA compliant. So, if there's no questions, I will take a motion at this time.
 1:06:43  M Mr. President, I move that we pass additional appropriation number 4, 2026 to a second reading public hearing.
 1:06:52  Second.
 1:06:53  You have a motion by Councilman Kaine. A second by Councilman Klene. Roll call, please.
 1:06:59  Kane, I.
 1:07:00  Reyes, I. Ford Eyes. I. Brunner. I. Klein. Yes. Marshall. I.
 1:07:08  Whitten. Yes. Divine. Yes. Calgill. Hi. Thank you. Thank you, Rose.
 1:07:17  Okay. Um I did the only announcement that I have tonight is uh my glasses on so I can read it. Um on election day
 1:07:26  coming up in May, we'll have to move our meeting from Tuesday, May the 5th to Wednesday, May the 6th because Tuesday
 1:07:35  being an election day. So just remember that um we will not be meeting on May the 5th. will be May the 6th, Wednesday,
 1:07:44  and I'll I'll give you some reminders coming up, but I just kind of wanted to put it out so the public knows it as well. So, does anybody else have any announcements?
 1:07:52  Mr. President, I might mentioned uh our Marian Easter pageant coming up on
 1:07:59  Monday, March the 30th and Tuesday, March 31st. If if you've never if the audience has has never been to the
 1:08:07  Easter pageant, you need to go. It's an amazing performance. Uh you won't leave
 1:08:14  there the same. So I I would highly recommend attending. Thank you.
 1:08:21  Thank you, Councilman Kaine. Anybody else? If not, I will take a motion to adjourn. I so moved.
 1:08:30  Okay, I got a motion by Councilman Kaine, second by Councilman Ford. point real quickly. Just a reminder to everyone that we now have three weeks off rather than two.
 1:08:41  Yeah. Yeah. True. Okay. Roll call. Kane. Hi. Reyes. Hi. For ice.
 1:08:49  No. Brunner. Hi. Klene. Yes. Marshall. Hi. Whitten. Yes. Divine.
 1:08:56  Yes. Cowgill. Hi.
 1:09:04  Meeting journed.