CITY COUNCIL AGENDA

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018 MEETING at 5:30 P.M.

9/24/2018 Agenda Attachment:

9/10/2018 Meeting Memo Attachment:

A.	ORDINANCE G-2018-24 An Ordinance Vacating the 12’ Alleys Lying Within Block Three (3) of the McInnerny Enlargement to the City of Evansville, Indiana Sponsor(s): Robinson Discussion Led By: Public Works Chair Mosby 10/8/2018

G-2018-24 Attachment:

B.

ORDINANCE G-2018-25 An Ordinance to Vacate Certain Public Ways Within the City of Evansville, Indiana Part of the Northeast Quarter of the Southeast Quarter of Section 28, Township 6 South, Range 10 West of the 2nd PM lying in Knight Township, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, Part of Lot 1 in Schreeder Place and Part of a 15 Foot Wide Alley Lying South of Lots 1 through 4 and North of Lot 62 in Schreeder Place Sponsor(s): Mosby Discussion Led By: Public Works Chair Mosby 10/8/2018 Notify: Craig Miller, Levere Building Corporation of Evansville, Indiana

G-2018-25 Attachment:

C.

ORDINANCE F-2018-19 An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Evansville Authorizing Transfers of Appropriations, Additional Appropriations and Repeal and Re-Appropriation of Funds for Various City Funds Sponsor(s): Weaver Discussion Led By: Finance Chair Weaver 10/8/2018 Notify: Russ Lloyd, Jr., City Controller

F-2018-19 Attachment:

D.	ORDINANCE F-2018-20 An Ordinance of the Common Council of the City of Evansville, Indiana, Approving Bonds of the Vanderburgh County Redevelopment District Sponsor(s): Weaver Discussion Led By: Finance Chair Weaver 10/8/2018

F-2018-20 Attachment:

E.

ORDINANCE R-2018-24 An Ordinance to Rezone Certain Real Estate in the City of Evansville, State of Indiana, More Commonly Known as 819 W. Franklin Street Petitioner: Red Door Investments, LLC Owner: Red Door Investments, LLC Requested Change: C-4 to C-1 Ward: 6 Brinkmeyer Representative: Scott Buedel, Cash Waggner & Associates

R-2018-24 Attachment:

F.

ORDINANCE R-2018-25 An Ordinance to Rezone Certain Real Estate in the City of Evansville, State of Indiana, More Commonly Known as 4445 Commerce Street Petitioner: Kevin Ferrell Owner: F&P Real Estate Holdings, LLC Requested Change: C2 to C4 Ward: 5 Elpers Representative: Kevin Ferrell, F&P Real Estate Holdings, LLC

R-2018-25 Attachment:

G.

ORDINANCE R-2018-26 An Ordinance to Rezone Certain Real Estate in the City of Evansville, State of Indiana, More Commonly Known as 433 Enlow Avenue Petitioner: Aletheia Properties, LLC Owner: Aletheia Properties, LLC Requested Change: R2 to R3 Ward: 6 Brinkmeyer Representative: Michael Rivas, Kahn Dees Donovan & Kahn

R-2018-26 Attachment:

A.

ORDINANCE G-2018-22 An Ordinance to Vacate a Certain Easement Within the City of Evansville, Indiana, Described as a Portion of Lot One (1) in 28 Jefferson, A Minor Subdivision, as per Plat Thereof, Recorded in Plat Book U, Page 120 in the Office of the Recorder of Vanderburgh County, Indiana Sponsor(s): Robinson Discussion Led By: Public Works Chair Mosby 9/24/2018 Notify: Kelley Coures, Dept. of Metropolitan Development

G-2018-22 Attachment:

B.

ORDINANCE R-2018-15 AMENDED An Ordinance to Rezone Certain Real Estate in the City of Evansville, State of Indiana, More Commonly Known as 100 – 108 E. Louisiana Street Petitioner: Betty J. Hammer Owner: Betty J. Hammer Requested Change: R2 to C4 w/ UDC Ward: 3 Hayden Representative: Krista Lockyear, Lockyear Law

R-2018-15 Amended Attachment:

C.	ORDINANCE R-2018-21 An Ordinance to Rezone Certain Real Estate in the City of Evansville, State of Indiana, More Commonly Known as 4002 Petes Court Petitioner: Daniel Ehmke Owner: Daniel Ehmke Requested Change: R1 to R3 Ward: 6 Brinkmeyer Representative: Daniel Ehmke

R-2018-21 Attachment:

D.

ORDINANCE R-2018-22 An Ordinance to Rezone Certain Real Estate in the City of Evansville, State of Indiana, More Commonly Known as 1150 SE Second, 15, 17, 23, 27 Jefferson Petitioner: Evansville Brownfields Corp. Owner: Evansville Brownfields Corp. Requested Change: C4 & R2 to C2 Ward: 4 Robinson Representative: Carolyn Rusk, Evansville Brownfields Corp.

R-2018-22 Attachment:

A.	RESOLUTION C-2018-25 A Resolution Encouraging Certain Additions to the Proposed 2019 City of Evansville Budget Sponsor(s): Adams Discussion Led By: Finance Chair Weaver 9/24/2018

C-2018-25 Attachment:

B.	RESOLUTION C-2018-26 A Preliminary Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Evansville Declaring an Economic Revitalization Area for Property Tax Phase-In for the Construction of Real Property at 6818 Interchange North Road Sponsor(s): Weaver Discussion Led By: Finance Chair Weaver 9/24/2018

C-2018-26 Attachment:

C.	RESOLUTION C-2018-27 A Resolution Encouraging Certain Additions to the Proposed 2019 City of Evansville Budget Sponsor(s): Hayden/Elpers Discussion Led By: Finance Chair Weaver 9/24/2018 Notify: Joshua Claybourn, City Council Attorney

C-2018-27 Attachment:

D.	RESOLUTION C-2018-28 A Resolution Concerning the Lloyd Expressway Corridor Management Plan Sponsor(s): Weaver Discussion Led By: Public Works Chair Mosby 9/24/2018 Notify: Joshua Claybourn, City Council Attorney

C-2018-28 Attachment:

E.	RESOLUTION C-2018-29 A Resolution of the Common Council of the City of Evansville, Indiana, Approving the Issuance of Bonds of the City of Evansville Redevelopment District, and Related Matters Sponsor(s): Weaver Discussion Led By: Finance Chair Weaver 9/24/2018 Notify: Nick Cirignano, ZSWS

C-2018-29 Attachment:

F.	RESOLUTION C-2018-30 A Resolution of the Common Council of Evansville, Indiana, Authorizing Affordable Housing Funds For Aurora, Inc. Housing Vouchers in the City of Evansville, Indiana in an Amount Not To Exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) Sponsor(s): Weaver

C-2018-30 Attachment:

A.	THE NEXT MEETING of the Common Council will be Monday, October 8, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.

B.	TAX PHASE-IN COMPLIANCE REPORTS:  Andrea Lendy, Growth Alliance

C.	DISCUSSION ON ORDINANCE F-2018-03 (An Ordinance Regarding City of Evansville Funds Allocated To Echo Housing Corp.)

D.	ADDITIONAL MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS

Abuse And Neglect Claimed The Lives Of 59 Children In Indiana

By Dionte Coleman
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS—Fifty-nine children, some as young as one month old, died as the result of abuse or neglect in 2016, the Indiana Department of Child Services reported Wednesday.

The annual Child Fatality Report, which covers July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016, records the stories of children, many of whom died at the hands of people responsible for their care. The numbers are down from 77 children who died in the previous fiscal year.

Of the fatalities chronicled in the report, 24 children died as a result of abuse, most under age 3, and 35 youngsters died as the result of neglect. Page after page of the report describes the circumstances that claimed the lives of the children

Of the deaths, 25 were determined to be accidents, 24 were declared homicides, four died of natural causes and six causes of death were undetermined.

The reports show that parents were most likely to be held responsible, whether through abuse or neglect, though there were several cases where a babysitter or caregiver caused the child’s death.

And many of the children died as a result of head trauma, like the case of a 3-year-old child who was being watched by the father’s live-in girlfriend. The child became unresponsive and the girlfriend told doctors that injury resulted from the youngster hitting his head on a fish tank.

Investigators determined the toddler was the victim of chronic abuse and was malnourished. The girlfriend was charged with murder, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 67 years in prison.

As the report was being released, officials of DCS appeared before the Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary at the Statehouse to discuss how the agency will implement changes recommended by an outside agency earlier this year.

Part of the discussion with DCS Director Terry Stigdon and Associate Director Todd Meyer centered on how much time caseworkers should have to respond to a report that a child might be in danger.

“Whether it’s four minutes or one hour, we want to make sure that the situation is solved,” Stigdon told the panel of lawmakers, judges, and others.

Currently, the DCS must respond to a report that a child is being abused and is in danger within 24 hours. However, DCS recommended that they shorten that window, Meyer said.

Under the new regulation proposed by DCS, the caseworker would have to call law enforcement immediately if the child is in a dangerous situation. However, the caseworker would then have up to four hours to file an administrative report for the DCS to come up with a resolution.

That does not mean that if a parent is unable to financially support for the child at the time that the child is in imminent danger, Meyer noted.

“We believe that as an agency what we are trying to highlight to the people of Indiana, for you all the General Assembly to consider is that, parents should not have to live in fear of losing their children solely because they are poor,” Meyer said.

Committee members expressed their support for Stigdon, who has been on the job for eight months.

“I appreciate so much, your willingness to step in this role and come over from Riley to take this on,” said state Rep. Thomas Washburne, R-Darmstadt. “And I think everyone in this legislature wants you to succeed, and we want to help you.”

FOOTNOTE: Dionte Coleman is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College.

Jean Webb Candidate For EVSC SCHOOL BOARD

My name is Jean Webb, and I’m running for Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation (EVSC) School Board.  I’m a long-time Evansville resident, a former EVSC student, former EVSC mom, and current EVSC grandmother. The Evansville Teacher’s Association has endorsed my candidacy.

 I’m retired from 30+ years in Pharmaceutical Operations. I was employed by Bristol-Myers Squibb in Evansville (27 years), and then I worked on a contract basis at Johnson & Johnson in Pennsylvania, and both Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca in Mount Vernon, IN. I hold a B.S. from the University of Evansville, cum laude, 1991 with a major in Chemistry/Business Administration.

The initial desire to run was a result of my family being negatively impacted by changes in EVSC.   My granddaughter enrolled in Hebron in 2013 as a kindergartner. The school had an “A “grade from the state when she enrolled, and it was the same school her mother had attended. By the time she was a third grader in 2017, that grade had fallen to a “D”. Grades might not define a school, and I really like her teacher this year, but this was a wake-up call for me.

After checking out Hebron’s grades, I looked at the grades and student test scores of all our schools. I was struck by how other schools near me, schools that were once great schools, are struggling. Allowing the decline of these schools is almost begging parents to take a voucher and go elsewhere, but we’re not going anywhere. We ‘re going to stay put and work to get a public school system that works for everyone regardless of their zip code.

The disparity between schools within EVSC is too great, not only in achievement gaps, but in supplies, amenities, building maintenance, and even curriculum. 

I’d like to see our resources used in reducing those disparities, and that will require a change in priority in how our money is spent.

In the past few years, EVSC has failed to operate within its available funds. They have had to issue General Obligation (GO) bonds, reducing the funds available for future students. This concerns me. 

• $5 million GO bond issued 2015, retire 1/15/2020. 
• $6 million GO bond issued 2016, retired 1/15/2021. 
• $6 million GO bond issued 2017, retired 1/15/2022.

On August 13^th the EVSC School Board approved a preliminary bond hearing for a $5 million GO Bond to be issued in 2018. This worries me a great deal. Especially since these 2018 bonds are authorized to have a 7-year duration instead of 5 years. Continuing to run a school corporation by borrowing each year is not sustainable. Is there a plan for running EVSC without snowballing debt?

EVSC is also obligated to make escalating payments on a $6.4 million Energy Savings Contract with Vectren’s ESG subsidiary. The $6.4 million was spent on energy-efficient equipment, construction management, and commissioning at the McCutchanville School. There has been heavy press coverage about how the McCutchanville School was built without debt or a tax increase.  I find that claim perhaps truthful, but misleading.

In light of this inability to go a year without adding debt, should EVSC have bought a 135-acre golf course for $3.37 million?  This land is right near the three newest schools that were built with only 80 acres. Disparity. That’s the issue.

These are the questions I want to ask if elected to the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation School Board. Please vote for me so I can help bring our schools closer to meeting the EVSC motto: Equality and Excellence for All Students.