Carmel City Council Recap

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Carmel City Council met on Feb. 2.

What Happened: The City Council voted to approve the CRC’s contract to fix the reflecting pool.

What it Means: The Council previously voted down a proposal to take more than $600,000 from the city’s rainy day fund to fix the damaged concrete. Councilors said it was because the Carmel Redevelopment Commission could use its own money to pay for repairs to the memorial. After settling a lawsuit, the CRC decided to use its money to approve $460,500 with the Smock Fansler Corporation. The Council immediately approved the contract unanimously without any concern.

What’s Next: CRC Director Corrie Meyer said work could start soon. She said winter is a great time to start because the pool is already drained and ready for repairs.

 

What Happened: A bill that would change agenda posting dates failed to pass with a 3-4 vote.

What it Means: Councilor Sue Finkam was advocating changing the rules to make sure all City Council meeting notices and agendas would be posted earlier to allow more time for affected businesses and concerned citizens to rearrange their schedules so they can attend meetings. Councilor Eric Seidensticker said he felt the bill was unnecessary because there’s already plenty of time, especially since most bills are sent to committee. Finkam said the “house is not on fire” and the changes didn’t need to be made immediately, but she thought it would be the right thing to do.

What’s Next: The bill is dead.

 

What Happened: The City Council is considering $40,000 in funding for the Hamilton County Public Safety Training Facility

What it Means: A new facility in Westfield has been in the works for some time. County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt spoke about the need for the project and how the money is meant to show a pledge of support, which some other cities in Hamilton County have done. The council sent the proposal to committee because councilors would like to see more concrete details to help determine any ongoing operational costs to expect year to year.

What’s Next: The bill was sent to the Finance, Rules and Administration Committee which meets on Feb. 19.

 

What Happened: The Council dealt with new contracts with police and firefighters unions

What it Means: A new contract with the Carmel Fraternal Order of Police (Lodge 185) was adopted without much discussion, but the Carmel Professional Firefighters Association (Local 4444) saw their new contract sent to committee because some councilors had questions about funding some new changes, such as tuition reimbursement.

What’s Next: The finance committee meets on Feb. 19, but a special meeting might be scheduled to discuss the contract since the agenda is already looking quite busy.

 

What Happened: Various bills were sent to or remain in committee.

What it Means: Several bills remain in committee and will be voted on at later meetings. In the finance committee, there’s a bill to approve $698,050 for arts funding and a bill to make sure various local boards, such as the Carmel Historic Preservation Commission, give regular presentations to the City Council. In the Land Use, Annexation and Economic Development Committee, there’s a proposal for a multimillion-dollar transformation of the city’s Midtown area by Justin Moffett’s Old Town Design Group.

What’s Next: The finance committee meets on Feb. 19 and the land use committee meets on Feb. 24.


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