03-22-10 Common Council Meeting Minutes

Home Browse Search

REGULAR MEETING MARCH 22, 2010 1. The City hereby finds, determines and designates that the entire area within the boundaries of the City is an area having significant unemployment, rate of home foreclosures or general distress, and therefore hereby designates the City as a recovery zone for purposes of the Recovery Zone Act. 2. The Mayor and City Controller of the City are hereby authorized and directed to take all actions as may be required in furtherance of this Resolution and the designation of the recovery zone. 3. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its adoption by the Common Council of the City and approval by the Mayor of the City. s/Derek Dieter Member of the Common Council Councilmember Rouse, Chairperson, Community and Economic Development Committee, reported that this committee held a Public Hearing on this bill this afternoon and voted to send to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. th Mr. Don Inks, Director, Economic Development, 12 Floor County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana, made the presentation for this bill. Mr. Inks advised that this resolution would designate the City of South Bend as a Recovery Zone. The Recovery Zone Act was part of the stimulus program approved by Congress in 2009. Mr. Inks stated that certain types of bonds are available only in Recovery Zones and only available until the end of 2010. He stated that as they review development opportunities this year, having the Recovery Zone designation in place give the city another tool to meet those challenges. He stated that this resolution only designates an area where these bonds can be considered. He noted that any specific bond project would need additional approval by the Common Council. A Public Hearing was held on the Resolution at this time. Councilmember Henry Davis stated that there is poor communication between the City Administration and the Council and therefore he is reluctant to vote in favor of this bill. He stated that the City needs a road map to be able to visualize what projects the money should be used for. He stated that he would not be voting in favor of this bill or the next three bills. A Public Hearing was held on the Resolution at this time. There was no one present wishing to speak in favor of this bill. The following individuals spoke in opposition of this bill. Mr. Jerry Niezgodski, 2930 Bonds Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, stated that he is neither in favor or opposed to the bill, but that he has some questions. First, he wanted to know what the plan is. He stated that you cannot ask for money and not have a plan. He urged the Council to know what the plan is before voting on this bill. Mr. George Lane, CEO & Chairman, Citizens for the Accountability of Government, Inc., 2405 Division Street, Mishawaka, Indiana, spoke in opposition to this bill. He stated that this is just another bonding issue and that is the reason that the taxes are so high in South Bend. He urged the Council not to support this bill. There was no one else present wishing to speak in opposition to this bill. In rebuttal, Mr. Inks stated that these are not typical municipal bonds; they are Industrial Revolving Bonds, Economic Development Bonds and Private Bonds. They do not attach 10