The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About10-09-17 Health and Public Safety Sot Trr ; u ' W PEACE Y Y Y 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER,CITY CLERK HEALTH &PUBLIC SAFETY OCTOBER 9, 2017 3:12 P.M. Committee Members Present: Jo M. Broden, John Voorde, Karen White, Oliver Davis Committee Members Absent: None Other Council Present: Tim Scott, Dr. David Varner, Gavin Ferlic (late), Regina Williams-Preston(late), Randy Kelly (late) Other Council Absent: None Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Graham Sparks, Bob Palmer Presenters: James Mueller, Eric Horvath, Tim Scott Agenda: Bill No. 66-17- Addressing Procedures for Downspout Disconnections Bill No. 17-65- Quiet Zone Resolution Committee Chair Jo M. Broden called to order the Health and Public Safety Committee meeting at 3:12 p.m. She introduced members of the Committee and proceeded to give the floor to the presenters. Bill No. 66-17-Addressingz Procedures for Downspout Disconnections James Mueller, Executive Director of Community Investment with offices on the 141'floor of the County-City Building, stated, I have a summary of what we are attempting to do with this ordinance. He passed around a hand-out to all Committee and Councilmembers (available in the City Clerk's Office). He continued, This is to clarify and simplify the way in which we exempt a building from disconnecting its downspouts. Some buildings have their downspout connections inside walls or under floors. Once these downspouts are disconnected, you would then need to find something to do with the storm water and there is a cost associated with that. The proposed idea is to charge a fee. The fee would incentivize disconnection. There are a couple of other changes we thought would be good. We wanted to line up the residential deadline to disconnect with the commercial deadline. This would also extend the year that Public Works would do the disconnections for free. The other piece we incorporated are discounts for small businesses, non- profits and governmental entities. The calculation of the fee is depicted on the handout. 455 County-City Building•227 W.Jefferson Boulevard•South Bend,Indiana 46601 Phone 574-235-9221 •Fax 574-235-9173•TDD 574-235-5567-www.SouthBend[N.gov JENNIFER M.COFFMAN ALKEYNA M.ALDRIDGE JOSEPH MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK OPERATIONS Councilmember Dr. David Varner asked, What is the rationale behind disconnecting non-profits and government entities? Mr. Mueller replied, If we are imposing a hardship on citizens it is only fair we have everyone do the same. Councilmember Dr. Varner followed up, Does this include schools and libraries? Mr. Mueller confirmed, Yes as this would be a City-wide mandate. Eric Horvath, Director of Public Works with offices on the 13th floor of the County-City Building, stated, Whether the whole plan is $200 million or$700 million,the flows that we calculated in our Long Term Control Plan are without the disconnections made. So any disconnections made will be beneficial. Typically ordinances try to be a one (1) size fits all solution but there are so many unique circumstances for this instance. Councilmember Dr. Varner stated, I understand all of that. But, does this really make sense to pass this expense off onto everyone else? Is that fair? Mr. Mueller replied, Originally these exceptions were only made for small business but we also thought about the governmental and small business entities. The cost would be shared regardless of this mandate. Committee Chair Broden asked, Why just the one (1) time fee? Who decides the criteria? Why the two and a half(2.5) year delay? I would like numbers of the impact of this. Who would we anticipate would sign up for this? Why are we taking out the feasibility study? Mr. Mueller replied, The idea of setting the fee at what we think the benefit would be is that the entities get to decide for themselves. If they think it would be cheaper to disconnect themselves rather than absorbing the fee, then the benefit would be received. If it is more expensive to disconnect,they would just pay the fee one (1)time. It is a clear signal to them that they know what they would have to pay either way and it is up to them to decide whether or not it is worth disconnecting. Committee Chair Broden asked, Then why the one (1)time fee? Mr. Mueller replied, We are spending $200 million over time to reach the compliance for the federal mandate. We are trying to comply with the federal mandate to get there and once we make the initial one (1)time investment,we see the benefits year after year. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, It shows here for the County-City Building that it would cost $21,450.04 for a downspout disconnect. What is their option? How would they disconnect and what would they do? Mr. Horvath replied, Part of the reason we went this route was to get away from having the burden on us to determine what is financially capable for different individuals and entities. We are giving people and the businesses the option. We don't want this overflow on the system and this incentivizes that. We have about 1,500 homes that are still connected. We have had five 2 hundred and thirty (530) applications this year and about four hundred and eighty-one (481) of those are in process right now. Committee Chair Broden opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. There were none. She then turned the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motions. Committeemember Oliver Davis made a motion to send Bill No. 66-17 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation. Committeemember Karen White seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of three (3) ayes and one (1) nay(Committee Chair Broden). Councilmembers Randy Kelly, Gavin Ferlic and Regina Williams-Preston arrived at the meeting at 3:31 p.m. Bill No. 17-65- Quiet Zone Resolution Tim Scott, 711 Forrest Avenue, stated, We met with the Administration and they are in support of this as well. We have quiet zones on the east side of the City and we need quiet zones on the west side of the City. He referenced a picture in the presentation(available in the City Clerk's Office) that showed all the train crossings in the City and denoted which ones were quiet zone compatible. He continued, This is something we need to take care of. There would be a study to determine the cost of creating these quiet zones. Committeemember Davis stated, Many people have come to me with this issue. I hear it at night and my neighbors hear it at night. This will give us a better understanding of what needs to be done. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated,This is the very first thing someone called me about when I became a Councilmember so it is exciting to me we are actually making progress and getting things done. It is a quality of life issue. Committeemember White stated, I hear these horns too and I have recently been made more aware of them. I support this resolution. I think the way this is written is a step forward towards solving this issue. Councilmember Randy Kelly asked, Do we have a pretty good idea of the timeframe and cost of what is needed? Mr. Horvath replied, We would primarily look at the few most busy corridors. We must determine many factors before moving forward with the designation. We are already working with the FRA to see what it would take for these upgrades. Committee Chair Broden opened the floor to members of the public wishing to speak in favor of or in opposition to the legislation. There were none. She then turned the floor back to the Committee for further comment or main motions. Committeemember Davis made a motion to amend the resolution to include an annual review of the crossings. Committeemember White seconded this motion which carried unanimously by a 3 voice vote of four(4) ayes. Committeemember Davis then made a motion to send Bill No. 17-65 to the full Council with a favorable recommendation, as amended. Committeemember White seconded this motion which carried unanimously by a voice vote of four(4) ayes. With no further business Committee Chair Broden adjourned the Health and Public Safety Committee meeting at 3:42 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, ?M. Broden, Committee Chair 4