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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-11-19 Council Minutes REPORT OF SUB-COMMITTEE ON MINUTES TO THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND: THE SUB-COMMITTEE HAS INSPECTED THE MINUTES OF THE February 11,2019 MEETING OF THE COUNCIL AND FOUND THEM TO BE CORRECT. THEREFORE, WE RECOMMEND THE SAME BE APPROVED: TI a SCOTT TESH APPROVED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL ON: February 25, 2019 ATTEST: /2,ert—)KA ' EEMAH FOLTY CLERK REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Be it remembered that the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana met in the Council Chambers of the County-City Building on Monday, February 11th, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by Council President Tim Scott and the Invocation (Jonathan Anderstrom, Calvary Baptist Church) and Pledge to the Flag were given. ROLL CALL COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Tim Scott Pt District, President Regina Williams-Preston 2nd District Sharon L. McBride PI District Jo M. Broden 4th District Jake Teshka 5th District Oliver J. Davis 6th District John Voorde At-Large, Chairperson Committee of the Whole Gavin Ferlic At-Large Karen L. White At-Large, Vice President OTHERS PRESENT: Kareemah Fowler City Clerk Jennifer Coffman Chief Deputy Clerk Bianca Tirado Deputy Clerk Graham Sparks Clerk Executive Assistant Bob Palmer Council Attorney Elivet Navarro Council Intern REPORT FROM THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON MINUTES Councilmember Gavin Ferlic made a motion that the minutes of the January 28th, 2019 meeting of the Council be accepted and placed on file. Councilmember Jake Teshka seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine(9) ayes. SPECIAL BUSINESS BILL NO. 19-05 A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA HONORING AND THANKING EMIL"LUCKY" REZNIK FOR SEVERAL DECADES OF DEVOTED SERVICE TO TRANSPO Councilmember Oliver Davis, 1801 Nash Street, South Bend, IN, served as a presenter of this bill. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, I have been a member of TRANSPO for fifteen (15) years with Lucky. I'm glad to be here. Councilmember Jake Teshka, 2419 Chesire Drive, South Bend, IN served as a presenter of this bill. Councilmember Jake Teshka stated, I'm a board member of TRANSPO as well. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, What we will do, instead of having Lucky come here at this present time, we would like to read all of this into the record and then when there is time to have comment, then we would like him to come up here. Bill Number 19-05. A Resolution of the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana honoring and thanking Emil `Lucky' Reznik 1 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 for several decades of devoted service to TRANSPO. Whereas, Emil "Lucky" Reznik was first appointed to the South Bend Public Transportation Board of Directors on July 12, 1967; and, Whereas, on October 10, 2016, the South Bend Common Council unanimously passed Resolution No.4604-16,publicly honoring Emil"Lucky"Reznik for approximately fifty(50)years of faithful service as a member of TRANSPO's Board of Directors and for his exemplary dedication to South Bend; and, Whereas, seven (7) of the nine (9) members of the current Common Council signed that Resolution; and, Whereas, Lucky's accomplishments bear repeating upon the occasion of his retirement from the TRANSPO Board of Directors; and, Whereas, during Lucky's time with TRANSPO, it transitioned from private to municipal ownership, expanded service, and added transfer stations in South Bend and Mishawaka; and, Whereas, in October 2010, TRANSPO opened the Emil "Lucky" Reznik Operations, Administration and Maintenance Facility at 1401 South Lafayette Boulevard on the site of the former Studebaker manufacturing plant, where it became the first (1St) transit building in the country to receive a Platinum Certification by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for using a geothermal heating system and solar panels; and, Whereas, the TRANSPO facility named in Lucky's honor was one (1) of the first(1St)buildings to be located in Ignition Park, a part of a former Brownfield site. Councilmember Jake Teshka stated, And, Whereas; under Lucky's leadership, and with the TRANSPO board and staff, TRANSPO continues to reduce fuel usage, improve operating efficiencies, and implement positive service improvements reflecting the very best of innovative ideas; and, Whereas, in 2016, with the assistance of Lucky's leadership, TRANSPO received the 2015 Impact Award from South Shore Clean Cities, for its initiative on a compressed natural gas facility,just one(1) of many awards and honors received by Lucky over the years; and, Whereas, Emil"Lucky" Reznik is a very proud alumnus of Indiana University and for his service with the Indiana University Alumni Association, the IU South Bend Board of Advisors, and past president of the IU South Bend Board, Lucky has been awarded: The Distinguished Alumnus Award; the IUAA President's Award;the Sue H.Talbot Distinguished Hoosiers for Higher Education Member Award; and, Whereas, among Lucky's other awards are: The Outstanding Hoosier Award presented by Governor Mitch Daniels; the Key to the City of South Bend presented by Mayor Stephen H. Luecke; and commendations from many other local and state officials; and Now, Therefore, be it resolved, by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, as follows: Section One (I) The South Bend Common Council proudly honors and thanks Emil "Lucky" Reznik for over five (5) decades of dedicated service to the City of South Bend. Section Two (II) The Common Council recognizes that during those fifty (50) plus years, Lucky's vision and dedication to excellence has enabled TRANSPO to enhance the quality of life for countless individuals. Section Three (III) The Common Council also recognizes and thanks Lucky's wife, Shirley, for graciously tolerating the many nights when Lucky was not at home due to TRANSPO business,together with the times he had to travel. Section Four(IV)The Common Council wishes Lucky and his family the very best during his retirement. Section Five (V) This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from after its adoption by the Common Council and approval by the Mayor. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, It's truly an honor to have served with Lucky Reznik all of my fifteen (15) years on the South Bend Transportation Board and we've traveled a lot. I've traveled with him and his wife Shirley,and we've gone different places. We got stuck in the airport in Cincinnati all day long coming back from D.C. We had lunch together and then the airlines gave us dinner together and then we finally flew out, the last flight out from Cincinnati. As it bounced through the air I was basically holding his hands as we both were coming through. We had to go back and get our luggage. I had a good time talking with him and hearing his many stories. We're talking about John Voorde stories, I'm telling you, Lucky has story after story after story. I kept us throughout the airport all together. It's been an honor to be with him and with Shirley. So, it's just been great. Before you go off into the retirement world, I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for all the lessons you've taught me and us. It's an honor to name my building after you because you have served it. You epitomized transportation here. We were the first (1St) ones here in the State. It was because of you and your buddies back in the old building that did all of that. I just want to say thank you to you. Councilmember Jake Teshka stated, I've only known Lucky for a relatively short amount of time given his fifty-two (52) years of service on the TRANSPO Board and to the City of South Bend. I 2 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 can tell you that his legacy weighs on me as a young buck coming up and I am hoping to make the same kind of impact that Lucky has made. Hearing stories about doing business and having Board meetings up in the old hay loft and how TRANSPO started and where it is at now, thank you for your service and all that you've done. I know that it is a team effort, for sure. Thank you. Emil `Lucky' Reznik, 6241 Chaucer Court, South Bend, IN, stated, It's my pleasure to be here this evening. I thank you all for your attendance and some of the very kind words you've given us. My wife Shirley is a little shy about coming up here. She shouldn't be, though, she's a school teacher you know.Well, I just want to thank everyone that has served with me on the Board and the various organizations. We've gained so much in how we've upgraded everything, and it has been a real pleasure. The Mayor has been a big help. It's been a real joy and I have a great feeling, I look around and I see all these different people from different groups and I recognize them from IUSB. I served on those boards too. Shirley also went to IUSB and got her degree. I just want to say thank you to everybody here. It has been a real joy and thank you to you all. This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, offices located on the 14`h floor of the County-City Building, South Bend, IN, stated, I just quickly would like to add my voice to the chorus of people who appreciate Lucky Reznik and everything he has done. There's not a TRANSPO available to take me to my trip tomorrow but I have relied on it often. When I'm home, I look out my window at the TRANSPO coming by and I think about all the work that has gone into that service in so many other ways, including the passion for IU that Lucky has shown. I would also add that his service to the country as well as the community, we are also appreciative of So, thank you very much Lucky. Jitin Kain, Deputy Director of Public Works with offices located on the 13`h floor of the County- City Building, South Bend, IN, stated, I have the honor of serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors for TRANSPO and I wanted to again say thank you to Lucky Reznik. Over the past couple of years, he has been a great mentor and voice of reason at TRANSPO. We appreciate his service and dedication to the Board. He will truly be missed, and we wish him all the best in whatever he intends to do next. Again, we want to say thank you for his long-standing service to the Board. Elizabeth Bennion, 1507 Sunnymede Avenue, South Bend, IN, stated, I'm a faculty member and Director for the American Democracy Project at IU-South Bend and I just wanted to say how delighted we are to claim Lucky as an alum of IU and thank him for all of his service to IU-South Bend. We are so glad that was part of the resolution because we appreciate, so much, all of the effort he has put into making our university the great place that it is. Also, I want to thank him for the example he sets for our students as a devoted servant-leader. Thank you and congratulations, Lucky. Council President Tim Scott then turned the floor back to the full Council for further comment or main motion. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated, Lucky, I haven't had the pleasure of working with you directly. I do have to ask, are you lucky or are we lucky to have had you here for so long? I mean, fifty (50) years, that is an incredible accomplishment for anything. But to know how you have shaped our transportation system,you will forever be remembered.We appreciate you.Thank you. Councilmember Sharon L. McBride stated, I emulate those same sentiments. Lucky, I always heard over the years about your service to the City and it has been very delightful. I wish you nothing but blessings. Thank you to your wife for putting up with the long time away from home spent to shape the transportation throughout the City of South Bend and throughout the country. Thank you so much and enjoy your retirement. Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, Thank you so much for your many years of public service and, in particular, your leadership. It is one(1)thing to serve on a Board and another thing to step up to that next level of leadership. When asked, you responded and did so enthusiastically. I think back to just placing the facility in its current location, our improved facility. You took an early gamble on that location and now look what it's opened up to, now the Renaissance District. So, 3 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 who knew? I think you knew. Your heart and leadership got that done in a time when it wasn't particularly a well-supported decision. So, thank you for taking that risk and bring the rest of the Board on with that. I think the fruits of that decision, as things are developed there, it will be very exciting for you and the City of South Bend to see what a key decision can open up. So,that is just one (1) thing I wanted to point out tonight as well. And the level of exemplary and outstanding facilities that you have shepparded through and the many upgrades to the service delivery, I think we are overall, in my capacity on the MACOG Commission, we look to the City of South Bend and its leadership in this area,we are the envy of other communities in how we deliver this service. That is in no small part due to your leadership. Pivoting to your wife, thank you for sharing him with us all of these years and for your support of his love of service. That is to be commended as well. Thank you both this evening. Councilmember John Voorde stated, I was fortunate enough to service on Hoosiers for Higher Education with Lucky. Sue Talbot, who became one (1) of the trustees, came to town as an employee of Indiana University. She asked us to get involved in what was to be Hoosiers for Higher Education. Lucky, more than anyone, enthusiastically embraced that role of advocacy for Indiana University,in general, and specifically IUSB. I don't think IUSB would be what it is today without Lucky's input down there in the legislature. The bus trips we took every year on Indiana Day, every year, were a lot of fun. That was one (1) occasion where I listened instead of talked. There was so much to learn from Lucky and how he went about getting something done. It has been a pleasure to know you and work with you. A big thank you is in order to you. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic stated,Thank you so much for your service. Councilmember Karen White stated, Lucky, it is just so wonderful to be in this position this evening to say thank you for all of your hard work and commitment, not only to the City but to IUSB. I can recall also taking those bus trips down to the State House and you were always there. I can't recall a time where I did not hear your name or did not hear someone speak of your benefits to the University, for which I am very grateful. I just discovered this today, your first (1St) name. You've always been Lucky and that is a very exciting name to be called Lucky. I consider it an honor to now know your full name, but you will always be Lucky to me. So, thank you so much and best wishes. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, Thank you so much for your service, not only to the City and the region but also to the country, as our Mayor stated. We appreciate that. You know, I look at all the awards and everything you've gotten, we debated on shooting off fireworks or something to make our humble resolution a little bit better. You are in our history and in the record books for the City. So, thank you so much and thank you to your wife as well. We appreciate your service and it is what we try to emulate up here, trying to do right for the City. Thank you so much. Councilmember Oliver Davis interjected, I would also like to thank my wife and thank the Council Members for picking up Lucky and making sure he was here tonight. They've transported many people, it was an honor to transport them tonight. I want to thank you for that. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic made a motion to adopt Bill No. 19-05 by acclamation. Councilmember Karen White seconded this motion which carried unanimously by a voice vote of nine(9) ayes. 19-14 A SECOND RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, (PREVIOUSLY RESOLUTION 4637- 17)AGAIN STRONGLY ENDORSING AND RECOMMENDING IMPLEMENTATION OF A PILOT EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM TO REDUCE PANHANDLING WITHIN THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND Councilmember John Voorde made a motion to accept the second (2nd) Substitute version of Bill No. 19-14. Councilmember Jake Teshka seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of nine(9) ayes. 4 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Councilmember Oliver Davis, 1801 Nash Street, South Bend, IN, served as a presenter for this bill. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, I'm glad to be presenting this resolution along with my co-presenter. A Resolution of the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana,previously Resolution 4637-17, again strongly endorsing and recommending a study for a pilot employment program to reduce panhandling within the City of South Bend. Whereas, on June 12, 2017, the South Bend Common Council passed Resolution No. 4637-17, strongly endorsing and recommending implementation of a pilot employment program to reduce panhandling within the City of South Bend and requesting funding within the 2018 City of South Bend's Budget for such a pilot program; and, Whereas, the purpose of that Resolution was to reduce the practice of personally soliciting money from others in public places, known as panhandling, which can be uncomfortable, awkward and unpleasant for the person being solicited as well as being a loss of dignity for the solicitor; Councilmember Karen White, 1912 Malvern Way, South Bend, IN, served as a presenter for this bill. Councilmember Karen White stated, Whereas, the Mayor of South Bend approved the resolution on June 19,2017; and, Whereas,the recommended pilot program was not implemented as requested by Resolution 4637-17; and, Whereas,the City Administration of Indianapolis,under Mayor Joe Hogsett, has this year of 2019, seized the opportunity to become a national leader and the first (1St) city in Indiana to have the City Administration propose funding, in the approximate amount of $150,000, to implement a similar program to be paid from funds received from extending parking meter times; and, Whereas, South Bend's prior Resolution acknowledged programs in other cities to curtail panhandling such as installing bright parking style meters where visitors and residents can donate to local non-profits rather than handing cash to panhandlers or providing gift cards and mittens to those in need; and, Whereas, South Bend's prior Resolution also acknowledged programs initiated in Portland, Maine and Albuquerque, New Mexico, the same programs upon which the Indianapolis proposal is based, which offer to pay panhandlers the city's minimum wage plus lunch for a six (6)-hour work day maintaining public parks and spaces, after which social services and job training are made available; and, Whereas; the estimated cost for the Portland Opportunity Crew during its first year in 2017 was $41,000 with an initial appropriation from the City of$25,000 in May 2017, to fund a pilot program for thirty-six (36). weeks; Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, Whereas, during the pilot phase, crews in Portland picked up three-hundred ten (310) bags of trash and collected two-hundred fourteen (214) hypodermic needles; and, Whereas, a similar program in Albuquerque called "There's a Better Way" began with a budget of$50,000 and in its first two (2) years has provided 4,240 day jobs,housed twenty- one (21) homeless residents; connected four-hundred fourteen (414) people with additional work and provided mental health or substance abuse services to three-hundred fifty-five (355) people; and, Whereas,both programs are now being funded in large part through donations; and,Whereas, other cities that have enacted or are considering similar programs include Chicago, Dallas, Lexington, KY, Spokane, Tucson, Portland OR, Denver, Moreno Valley, CA, Austin, Amarillo TX, Ocean Springs, MS and Indianapolis, IN; and, Whereas, it is now past time for the City of South Bend to actively explore and fund a similar pilot program which will give people the opportunity to improve the community for fair compensation instead of incurring the stigma and discomfort of begging for money; provides people with the dignity to be accorded every individual in need; and reduces the frustration and irritation of persons being solicited for funds; and, Whereas, this Resolution is being considered early in 2019 in order to provide the City Administration and the South Bend Common Council a full and fair opportunity to fund a pilot program as soon as possible similar to those identified herein. Now, Therefore, be it resolved, by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana,as follows: Section One(I)The Common Council hereby again expresses its strong endorsement of, and recommendation for, the study in South Bend, Indiana of a program similar to Portland Maine's Opportunity Crew, Albuquerque's "There's a Better Way" and to the efforts which are going on in the City of Indianapolis, Indiana to address constructively and innovatively the social problem of panhandling within the City of South Bend. Councilmember Karen White stated, Section Two (II) The Common Council hereby states that it again requests and encourages the City of South Bend's Administration to commence a study of such a pilot program in cooperation with other entities so South Bend will remain a leader in 5 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 addressing the issues of poverty and homelessness in the state of Indiana and throughout the United • States. Section Three (III) This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from after its adoption by the Common Council and approval by the Mayor. Councilmember Karen White continued, I would just like to add that this Resolution is really asking not only the Common Council but the Administration to start discussions and to look at the best practices that we have within our State. I think that we are in an excellent position to have such a discussion. I do know we reached out to members of the Administration as well as some of the social service providers. We ask for your consideration and approval at this time. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, Prior to that,we would like to hear some comments from our attorney, Bob Palmer. Bob Palmer, Council Attorney with offices located on the 4th floor of the County-City Building, South Bend,IN,stated, I would just like to update you all on the status of the Indianapolis proposal. It was given its first (1St)reading at the end of January, was assigned to the Finance Committee of the County-City Council of Indianapolis. Last week it passed the Finance Committee and it will be heard by the full Council at their meeting next week. The amount earmarked for this pilot program in Indianapolis is $150,000. Councilmember Oliver Davis then showed a short video as a part of the presentation (which is available in the City Clerk's Office). Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, As you can see, that program is based off the one (1) in the City of Albuquerque. The program is called `There Is A Better Way.' He then showed the website for that program (which is available in the City Clerk's Office). He stated, It began in 2015 and what really kicked it off in 2015 is the Supreme Court made a ruling that changed how municipalities throughout the country have handled the issue of panhandling, giving us a ruling that wasn't anything dealing with panhandling or homelessness, it was a ruling about freedom of speech,but it impacted how cities handled anything with speech. Therefore, it impacted how a lot of cities had to change their laws on the books regarding the issue of panhandling. Then the issue comes up, what do we do in place? So, the Mayor there created this program. He said he saw a sign and said we are going to put people to work. Therefore, you see the history of that from 2015 and the City of Albuquerque. They collect a lot of donations. Phase Two (2) was a van in September 2015.They got a van and the initial budget of$50,000 paid nine dollars an hour($9/hr.) and they go around and pick up people to help them out. They do this in conjunction with one (1) of the local agencies there. So, this isn't just the City doing it by itself, it is working along with its local agencies. You'll see right on their City Service website, they have all the information for all of their homeless services right there. That is something that we can look at as we put together all of our homeless areas because we have done a lot here in the City of South Bend. We can tie all of that together that we have been doing, what our City has been doing. We can go through this whole thing, you can see Albuquerque, and they have taken this, and Indianapolis is doing it now. It was good discussion. Indianapolis deals with this a lot because of all the things going on down there and you heard disagreements back and forth because there is not one (1) simple way to address panhandlers. It is a variety of ideas you have to put together. So,there is housing-first(1St) and other techniques, mental health, as a licensed social worker, I can see these kinds of things coming together. So, we are just asking to add another piece. A lot of times people say it won't work for everybody. But like I tell people in baseball, if you can bat thirty percent (30%), which is .300, that means you struck out seventy percent (70%) of the time, you still make the Hall of Fame with a.300 batting average. You're not going to get everybody but if housing-first(1St) gets this person, this person gets this group, this idea gets this, the more we can have better ways, we can bring all of our ways together and make our City a strong city. That is why we are bringing this back to you, to bring us together, to encourage our Administration to work together and take us to the next level here in South Bend. Councilmember Karen White stated, In working with the Administration, there are a number of entities, discussions and recommendations that have come forward. There are a lot of individuals who are beginning and have wrapped their programs and service together to serve not only the homeless but also some of these issues. Our goal is to add this to the mix and say let's look at this as a possibility and another option in addressing some of the critical issues in our community. 6 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Jesse Davis, P.O. Box 10205, South Bend, IN, stated, I'm in favor of this. I know it was brought up before and has been discussed in several places on social media. We get a lot of reviews from other people that say tell them to get a real job, this and that, but I'll tell you what, this would be a huge benefit. When the courts made their ruling, basically, they stated something that honestly is true, you know? A person standing on a corner asking you to give them money and donate money to them is no different than our Mayor when he goes out and rings a bell for the Salvation Army around Christmas time. To me, I'd rather have a guy on a corner with a sign. Those bells, honestly, no offense to the mayor but they are annoying as hell when I go in and out of a store. This will allow a person to come out and make a little bit of money. Are we going to solve the problem completely? No way. Are we going to give somebody money that might go out and buy alcohol or drugs? Yeah, probably. But, you know what? They might not be going into your local store and stealing because they're going to have a little money to spend. They might be able to get a hot meal and might be able to put themselves up in a hotel for couple of nights instead of being on the streets. And they won't be on the corner begging. Years ago, and I don't know if it still happens, but I knew of a couple of local employers from the area that literally would go down to the Center for the Homeless and out in front of Hope every morning. They would go there and literally get out of their company vehicle and say, hey, I'm looking for some laborers. Whether it was someone to throw shingles in a trailer from a roofing job or go out and pick corn, whatever it was, a lot of people used to go and actually hire people from those areas. I don't see as much and hear as much of that anymore, but I do think this will help the issue of seeing those people on the corners, which, everybody complains about. It is pretty scary sometimes when someone comes up and you're sitting there, and they bang on the car window. If you haven't seen it here, it does happen, and if you really want to see it in depth,go to Chicago and drive through town. It's getting really bad there, we were there over the weekend. Jason Banicki, 3822 Ford Street, South Bend, IN, stated,You know,the homeless is one(1) of the things I talk about a lot. Anything we can do to help them out is something we should try to do. As I'm fond to say, don't let the pursuit of perfection be the enemy of progress. This is absolutely an opportunity to make some good progress. Again, even if it's only thirty percent (30%), that is thirty percent (30%) less people on corners. That is thirty percent (30%) more people who are going to have a least one (1) good meal that day. That is thirty percent(30%)of those people who are now going to have some change in their pocket to make a decision for themselves and not be out begging. This is absolutely something we should do, and it is past time to get this moving forward. Thank you. David Parker-Brooks, 1630 Pulaski Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I am totally in favor of this resolution. There is a pilot program I think the Council and Administration may want to look at in Fort Worth, Texas. The people are actually employees, they get benefits and they also earn vacation time. I think any time we can give someone opportunity to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, most people will take it. We need to help our City from the bottom, not only from the top. I totally agree with this program. Anything we can do to help our less fortunate citizens, we should do. I deal with the homeless all the time at my church. We feed them, clothe them and do what we can. Sometimes things get mis-appropriated,but we give out of the kindness of our hearts and I think this Council and the Administration would do this City a great service if we pass this resolution. Thank you. Avery Arbuckle, 121 Tutt Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I'm currently homeless and am living at the Weather Amnesty site on Tutt Street. I just moved up here from Texas and I know the pilot program they're talking about in Fort Worth. I think it is working well. Panhandling is illegal there. If you get caught, you go to jail which is not a good thing. They pay people ten dollars an hour ($10/hr.) to go out and clean up. They do it four(4)hours a day, four(4)days a week. It's helping a lot of people get jobs. They have all the service under one(1) roof and they don't have to go all over the place. It would be a good program here. It's not going to curb it,but it will take a lot of it off the street. It will make the City look a lot better. That's about it. Thank you. Jonathan Anderstrom, 3001 West Cleveland Road, South Bend, IN, stated, I really appreciate this idea. I had two (2) recommendations with it. In our work with the homeless, we found that they REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 do not appreciate getting payments two (2) weeks later. I don't know how that works out with the attorney,but we now have a petty cash fund that we pay them out of immediately when their work is complete. That is very helpful for people in their situation. Also, on one (1) little portion mentioned in the reading, it provides dignity. God gives dignity to all people. This resolution declares dignity. People already have dignity, we don't give it, they already have it. Sharon Banicki, 3822 Ford Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I'm in favor of this. I know there are a lot of people that are going to say it's never going to work. If it helps just five (5) people off the street and gets them back to where they want to be, it's five people we don't have to worry about freezing at night, Weather Amnesty, and feeding them. I hope that when it starts working out that it's expanded a little to not only include the homeless but maybe those unemployed who are down and out and need that extra little boost who aren't employable through traditional methods.Thanks. Rod Goodchild, 837 South 24th Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I'm a landlord in River Park. It started out just one(1)little place, one(1) after another, and I really believe you have to reach out to people. That is the key. Mayor Pete and his whole campaign running for President of the United States, you have to touch people and understand. It's not easy. It's not easy to always be looked down on. It's not easy when you are just trying to get enough to make a meal, living on the street and under the bridge. I know I have lawns that have to get mowed, so they can mow a lawn and have a lot of pride in it. They say hey, I just mowed the lawn, I say great and here's ten(10)bucks. It makes them feel proud. They go out and shovel and I shovel, I'm called a snow bird and I just got back from Fort Lauderdale and I try to be here as little as possible when it's like this, and they'll shovel my walk and just do it. When they see it, we give them a couple of bucks and it makes you feel a lot better to think you're helping and encouraging somebody to do something positive. I've been in Chicago too where you get off at the bus station, you know, and everybody is in your face. You can't walk across the street to get to Millennium Park. I just think we have to reach out to those less fortunate. That's the message I always learned when I went to my Sunday School classes. If you can get them to work and they do a good job, it gives them a little pride and maybe they find a little something and maybe get a kitchen job or something. We only can try, that's all I'm saying. Thank you. Carol Schumacher, 1613 Hildreth Street, South Bend, IN stated, I think even if this program doesn't work, we have to give it a shot. It builds the reputation of our City if they know we are trying to deal with the homeless problem. I think there are people that will participate. I have a friend who works at the homeless center and there are a lot of people there that will pitch in and help, even if they're not getting paid, there are still good-hearted people willing to try. So, I think we have to make the effort. I have a son that lives in New York City and we don't want to become New York City. They have homeless people that live on the subways, there is trash all around and there are rats, you know? It's not as glamorous as you think, and he just walks to work and rides the subway, but, full of homeless and rats. We don't want that. We want to take a shot at trying to make this a more beautiful place. Tanya Burton, 1213 South 35th Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I lived in South Bend for fifteen (15) years before taking time to go work at Boeing in Seattle. I've seen panhandling from a big city and how they've had to address it and coming back here, my first (1St) experience in dealing with the homeless and the houseless has been during the cold weather as I volunteered for Weather Amnesty. Also, I volunteered my time and energy with Saint Pat's and some of the other organizations that give services and administer health to the homeless. I have not been downtown and have been directly affected by panhandling, but I can tell you when people are desperate, people will try anything. I think if you all decide to move forward on this plan as opposed to not implementing a plan, I would like to place my support and also ask that whatever you all are doing, make the details of that plan public because you are going to have an uphill battle against people that feel this is not enough. I can tell you first(1St) hand, every little bit helps. Amanda Govaert-Konrath, 1015 College Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I'm fully in support of this.We have a huge homeless population in our neighborhood that hang out around that Marathon station. They are always out asking for money. When you talk to them, they actually do want to work. They do want to be part of the community and be involved, and I think this is something that is a way for them to feel respected by their community. This is a great way for the City to reach out to them and help them feel that they are respected and a part of the community. 8 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Samuel Brown, 222 East Navarre Street, South Bend, IN, stated, This is a very delicate and sensitive situation. I like the idea of trying. It is very sensitive. I've been to Philadelphia and I've been to Times Square. Right off of Times Square it is horrible. The City glamour and lights are beautiful, but you need to go to the other end of Times Square where I've been. It's really tough down in there with the homeless and it's the same way in Philadelphia. I don't have the answer but anything we can do to try and curb the problem, we should do. I hope we knock it out of the park. Thank you for listening. Council President Tim Scott turned the floor back to the full Council for further comment or main motion. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic stated, Thank you to the sponsors for reengaging the discussion. Thank you. Councilmember John Voorde stated, Same thing, thank you Councilmember White and Davis for raising the awareness of this situation. Councilmember Jake Teshka stated,You guys have said it, and everybody else said it as well,this is not a cure-all,but it is something that goes along with our world-class Homeless Center and our talks of the Gateway Center. They are all pieces to the puzzle and thanks for bringing this up. I think when dealing with these kinds of issues, we have to be innovative. So, thank you to Councilmember Davis and White. Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, I just want to be clear on what I vote on. As long as this is a study and it harkens back to our earlier motion that, in my opinion, and it's more than opinion because it's in the record, but we strongly endorsed and recommended implementation of a pilot employment program. It wasn't delivered on, ok? So, despite our approval and the Mayor's approval. So my question is, and I think it's one (1) that needs to be answered, and quickly, and I think this resolution will spur that discussion and accountability across all of us, and that is inclusive of the community and inclusive of the folks who normally operate in these sectors,social service agencies, etcetera, it has to be collaborative, or frankly it won't work, but I do think the timeliness of this resolution,I can support it as long as words in it like actively explore and actively look at are used. I am hesitant when we encroach into the area of funding. I would like to reserve that vote of mine, relative to funding, within the context of the budget process. But, I do acknowledge that we need to reengage in this and have a thoughtful discussion about employment opportunities for individuals who are panhandling. I do recognize that we have few low-barrier employment options available in our community. One (1) of the speakers mentioned that as well. Not much has changed, really, in two (2) or three (3) years, frankly, during my tenure on the Council with regard to creating more opportunities for low-barrier day-working opportunities. So, I think that is important. But, in the discussion going forward,though, I want to make sure that we keep our eye on what I consider some really key goals on this. That is the advocacy, first(1St) and foremost, across our community for the whole concept of housing-first (1St). That is inclusive of the permanent supportive housing and inclusive of the wrap-around services that would support those individuals within those scattered housing locations. I also, first (1st) and foremost, want to make sure that we are tracking and that we are on top of and pursing the Gateway and coordinated entry concept. I'm not a huge fan of narrowing that to a Center but I do think the coordinated entry and programming that goes with it is important. And then of course, always and continuing to deliver in a timely manner on our Weather Amnesty program. So, to me, being able to hit our capacity and keep driving those things forward is important. This as a piece in our portfolio of things to consider, I have no problem with adding it given what I know of the state of the day- labor opportunities etcetera. I do know it's awfully tough to show up at a job and to continue showing up at that job if you don't have the housing supports that are there. So, I want to make sure that as we pursue our strategies with regard to the homeless that we not lose sight of those and we consider the capacity of local government to deliver those things or at least to coordinate that strategy. So, I will vote in favor of this,but my vote is, again,wanting us to continue pursuing what I consider some lead things. That is not to detract from what we thought was a good idea in 2017 and what I think many of us think is a great idea to pursue tonight. It's just that we have an opportunity to educate and an opportunity to point to some really specific strategies that are best practices. I don't want to lose focus on that and I don't want to lose the funding potential on that and I want to make sure we get our highest return in terms of the monies we are to allocate toward 9 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 this issue and the benefit for the intended individuals in our community as a whole. So, thank you very much for your work on this. Councilmember Oliver Davis interrupted, I would like to thank you for your comments, Councilmember Broden. Go ahead, finish. Councilmember Jo M. Broden continued, In the context of the Health and Public Safety Committee, I think, I share a particular responsibility, along with the members of that Committee, to help advance this conversation along the goals that I mentioned but then also the accountability and the due diligence with regard to this proposal tonight and the one(1)previous. I want to make sure that I'm not kicking the burden elsewhere. I think there is a real specific area that the responsibility of the Council could be held. Councilmember Sharon L. McBride stated, I think as we continue with the collaborative efforts with homelessness,the Gateway and now with this Resolution,that is heading in the right direction for this community. I think not only would it increase the taxes of having employment but the income stability of the individuals. So, I'm in support of the Resolution. I would also like to echo that now it is time to finally have some teeth. Now is the time. I think what you are proposing is for us to make sure that we all work together with service providers and continue working with the Administration to get it done. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated, I had the great fortune to be at a listening session the other night on homelessness and the concept was to actually hear from people who are experiencing homelessness about the issue. One (1) of those gentlemen spoke tonight and I was really touched by him and by many people there. I think that while we are having this discussion, I recommend we do not forget to bring and make sure that people who are experiencing the homelessness are at the center of that conversation, they are a part of that conversation and even driving it. All of the solutions are there. They understand the barriers. So, as we create programming, we can eliminate all the things we didn't think of when we include them in the conversation. So, I would encourage that as well. Also, what I learned was I was deeply affected by one (1) gentleman who got up there and put us on the spot. He said, you know what, we've been talking about this too long. We talk and talk and talk and yet, people are still on the streets. I would also encourage that while we need to have good discussion and engage those experiencing homelessness, we need to go ahead and set a date to start the pilot because there is also a way in which when we pilot a program we can learn more and move and at the same time we are helping people. That is the message that I got from people who are in these desperate situations. I want to thank Councilmember Davis and Councilmember White for bringing this back to the table. Again, as Council Members we can make recommendations, but we have to have our City's Administration put this in action. There are many things. We just recently said we are going to raise water rates without having some of the plans or ideas on what other things we can do to help relieve the burden, but we said nope we need to start this now so let's put this on the table. If we could put a date on something like that, I think that when we have people who are really hurting and are in need, we need a date when we get something started. That is my recommendation and again, thank you all for moving this forward. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, Finally, going last as President you get your thunder stolen. I first(1St)would like to thank all the Council Members for their words. Thank you Councilmember White and Councilmember Davis for bringing this back and resetting this. I completely agree with just about everybody up here. I agree with Councilmember Williams-Preston, a plan is nothing without action. Now it is time to take action. Collaboration was said Councilmember McBride and Broden, and it is true. It is a true collaborative effort. So many people think that the City needs to do it all and make the world better. No, it is a collaboration. People on the street and the responsibility of all the stakeholders. It is us Council Members,the Administration and citizens all working together. That is what we need to do. There is a reset here. Those who have sponsored this one (1) and those who sponsored the one (1) in the past, please be that leader and drive this forward. Councilmember Karen White replied, In response to all the comments, it is going to take each and every one of us collectively working with our social service providers and our Administration. Work is currently being done when we talk about the Gateway information. We have to pull all 10 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 the pieces together to make sure that those who need to be at the table are at the table and are being heard. It is going to take the community as a whole working collaboratively together to address this issue. There are different pieces to it. This is just one(1)area that we are encouraging not only the Council but also the Administration to look at. When we put all these pieces together,then we can move forward. It is not to say the discussion should stop. They are occurring, but we have to make sure they are moving in the right direction as well. Councilmember Oliver Davis interjected, One (1) of the things that I've appreciated about our Mayor as he talked about in his book The Shortest Way Home, he's emphasizing the strength of a midsized City and what a midsized City can do across this country. One(1) of the things you have to look at when you talk about homeless as we look at all these cities, a lot of them are big cities like the Chicago's, L.A.'s and Albuquerque's and the 800,000, 1 million, one(1)thing we can do is how do we address this kind of issue in a midsized city? That is key. That is key for us to look at.Now,where do we do that? I'm working on this at University of Southern California as I talked to my colleagues as they are working on the doctorate. L.A. of course has Skid Row. When they ask me the same questions that Councilmember Broden has asked, they've asked me those questions when I go to meet in our seminars about the financial plans all these other things and they ask what makes you different in South Bend? The key thing I tell them is that we are a midsized City. A lot of times a midsized city, as Lucky would tell you about transit, we go to our national meetings we go to a different size. You have the big cities and then the smaller processes here because fighting for transit in a smaller city is a different ballgame. L.A. and Chicago and D.C.,millionaires ride transit,so,it's easy to sell transit. In a midsized city it's a different ballgame. Midsized cities are almost a way of shutting it out. We look at Mishawaka and with all due respect to my colleagues over there, it is easy in midsized cities to say we don't have an issue. Everybody knows big sized cities have it. So,how do you fight for these kinds of things and how do you have these kinds of things in midsized cities as we look at that and that is where we want to continue being that leader. We want to have Indianapolis look at us and learn from us,too,and not us always looking at the big sized cities for that. That is one(1)reason we wanted to energize that back again to say we are in South Bend and we can be the leader of the State. Let's work on the financial piece. Let's work on all of that. We didn't put all that in detail right now because then people say now is not the time,but we want to kick it off again for that. If you'say in the Better Way program, they have highly integrated social services. I believe in that. I'm a licensed social worker so I understand that. So,therefore, I am glad that Councilmember White is co-sponsoring this because this is the time for us to kick this off now, at the beginning of the year. We have all year to discuss it along with our Weather Amnesty and things that we just did back in December so that when we get to the summertime, early summer,we have a plan in place, so we don't have to be in this place in the fall trying to deal with all that. So, I'm grateful for the comments and I'm grateful for the people that came up to present tonight. Thank you. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic made a motion to adopt Substitute Bill No. 19-14 by acclamation. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston seconded this motion which carried unanimously by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. At 8:10 p.m. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic made a motion to take a five (5) minute recess. Councilmember Jo M. Broden seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of nine(9)ayes. Be it remembered that the Common Council of the City of South Bend reconvened in the Council Chambers on the fourth(4th) floor of the County-City building at 8:15 p.m. Council President Tim Scott presided with nine(9)members present. MAYOR'S ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE COMMON COUNCIL ON FINANCES AND THE GENERAL CONDITION OF THE CITY PURSUANT TO § 2-3.1 OF THE SOUTH BEND MUNICIPAL CODE Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of the City of South Bend with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, South Bend, IN, stated, As a quick reminder, the statute requires annually that the Mayor provide an address to Council on the finances and general condition of the City. In prior administrations,this was typically the occasion for the State of the City Address. Beginning in 2012,we adopted the practice of making this statutorily required address to be a little more specifically focused on finances, creating room to have the State of the City Address take 11 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 place a little bit later in the spring at a more convenient time for more people to attend. With that being said, my goal is to give you an overview of the financial and overall position of the City. I want to thank our new City Controller Dan Parker and his team for helping us gather some of this information. I also reserve the right to phone a friend if a question comes along that I don't know the answer to.We will try to address that either right away here or will come back with information. Mayor Pete continued (referencing a presentation which is available in the City Clerk's Office), The overall headline is that numbers are trending in the right direction for our City. There is a caveat on these (referencing a slide of the presentation) numbers as they are sourced from the US Census Bureau. The authoritative numbers they give are every ten (10) years, so, some of these are based on estimates or community surveys that don't have quite the same fidelity as the decennial Census and, may actually be revised retroactively. Still, they tell a consistent story and we are very heartened by that. First (1St) of all, the population growth, even having a positive number is good news for a city that lost a quarter of its population in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. We see that we continue to have the very consistent pace in growth of estimates over the last few years. Newer in the last couple years are these indications of growth in income, too. We remain, candidly, overall what would be considered a low-income city. There are many residents in many neighborhoods that are substantially below the US median income. But, we see it now growing at a rate faster than what we see nationally. I also want to point to this poverty rate (referencing the slide in the presentation), again, preliminary estimated numbers but seeing those reductions, we are talking about a reduction over the last two (2) years from twenty-eight-point-three percent (28.3%) to twenty-five-point-four percent (25.4%). The math is pretty easy for a City of 100,000 people. Basically, any time something changes by a percent,that is 1,000 people. If these numbers hold, that means something around 3,000 people have been lifted out of poverty in the last few years.And asterisk on that,too,just because you're out of the federal definition of poverty doesn't mean you're living comfortably and we're trying to have a more expansive view of people who are asset limited income constrained in our community. Mayor Pete went on, A quick recap of some of the agenda items we will go through, we'll talk through in a glance of what we did in 2018, we'll give a financial overview, that will lead us to 2019 and I will also take a moment to talk about what we are doing to be ready for 2020 and the fiscal curb that comes with that. The main focus in 2018 was to make sure we were making the right kinds of investments for our City to meet goals laid out in the Priority Based Budgeting process. Members of this Council authorized and encouraged initiatives with a particular focus on benefitting neighborhoods including increased investments in our streets and sidewalks, the Light Up South Bend Program that has really benefitted us all by adding to street lights for a sense of safety in neighborhoods. Development projects throughout our City as well as an effort to make sure that we not only saw more growth but that our growth was more inclusive. The My SB Parks and Trails Program is now in full swing and we will talk more about that in a moment and we are also really trying to meet those goals of being an employer of choice including cleaning up our policies enabling our employees to donate their vacation to one another, time off in a way that encourages volunteerism, and upgrading the consistency and professionalism of performance evaluations for City employees. Mayor Pete continued, I want to pause just for a moment to talk about road funding because we greeted, with enthusiasm, the decision a couple of years ago made by the State Legislature in Indianapolis to invest in a gas tax adjustment that gave us more to work with on road funding. Good news is you see a real increase in the amount of road funding made available. Each year, largely because of the conservatism in our budget and also the desire to build up cash balances, we've seen revenue come in ahead of expenses. Last year we were able to pave twenty-nine (29) lane miles of road which is great because the norm had been closer to twenty(20). I know we are getting into that peak pot hole season with that freeze/thaw cycle and I wanted to draw attention to the number of potholes that we've dealt with last year. Of course, something we hear loud and clear from the Council every year, making sure we get as many curbs and sidewalks done as we can. That's the good news. Mayor Pete went on, Here (referencing a slide in the presentation) is the concern. The State has adjusted the formula for how these Motor Vehicle Highway Fund dollars are received. Just as we were jumping for joy as they were increasing, we are seeing in 2019 actually a step down. It has 12 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 something to do with the way they are allocating those funds. Now would be a great time to ask members of the General Assembly in the State Legislature whether they are sure that is the best way to go. I know there are a lot of competing priorities in Indianapolis, but cities and town were really counting on those road funding mechanisms. We are hoping that will be adjusted in a direction that helps us pave more and not less streets. We are continuing to work with the State to understand the impact that some of these distribution changes are going to have. Basically what we are seeing is,the good news is we are looking at 2019 probably higher than it was two(2)years ago and higher than the base line, but that bump we saw last year which we took to be great news for the future may have been more of a one (1) time gift from our friends in Indianapolis versus something we can count on every year. Mayor Pete continued, Again,just revisiting Light Up South Bend, this is a program that has led to seventy(70)lights most recently installed in the Near Northwest and River Park Neighborhoods. There were some delays due to disaster recovery on Indiana Michigan Power's crew's ability to complete their installation. However, lights have been added and so have lamp posts. The great thing is, thanks to technology, we no longer need to invest in wiring a lamp post all the way back to the house because these solar lamp posts don't have to be wired to anything at all. Based on the number of applications we got, mostly a target area where the City offered a higher subsidy, it seems to be a popular program and one (1)we will continue to see grow. Mayor Pete went on, I won't take you through the eye chart on the right(referencing a slide in the presentation) but this is just to say that development projects in the City have been very encouraging. Once again, they've taken place in every corner of the City of South Bend. When we talk about TIF, the majority of that is infrastructure. So, about fifty-seven percent (57%) of the money released through TIF, so, about $11.7 million went to projects that were essentially infrastructure and character. The balance went to what we would call economic development projects like the Wharf Site spec building and the JC Lauber building that have gotten some good looks for the City as well. For tax abatements, six (6)were offered in 2018. Those are expected to add$4.2 million a year to the tax rolls when the projects they supported come fully online. And at the end of the day,just out of deals that the City had a roll in, we saw over$100 million in private investment. Following that general guideline, we really want to see only one (1) out of every five dollars($5)in those development opportunities coming from the public. Four hundred and eighty- nine(489)jobs were announced in our City. Mayor Pete continued, I also want to highlight our effort on inclusion including the work of the Office of Diversity Inclusion and our Diversity Inclusion Officer, Christina Brooks, who really has been focusing on a number of ways to make sure that more City workers are able to participate as well as supporting the development of businesses owned by people who have had a historic disadvantage. Also, a reminder, the My SB Parks & Trails Plan, I would like to give a big thank you to the Council for authorizing this. In addition to the Park Bond and the TIF commitment, about a third (1/3) of the funding has come through outside sources such as the Regional Cities grant as well as federal matches on things like The Coal Line Trail and the Bowman Trail projects. In 2018, all those projects you saw from the dog park to the trail completion out by Pinhook Park, that amounts to just about ten percent (10%). By the end of calendar year 2019 you'll see eighty- five percent(85%). So,these(referencing a slide in the presentation)represent all the projects that are completed or underway this year. You've probably already seen some of the dirt moving around the City. By far, the bulk of that will happen this year and then, of course, the balance of that will be in 2020 and beyond. Mayor Pete went on, So,to the fiscal position of the City of South Bend.This is something, I think, that is important to understand and is sometimes misunderstood because of its complexity. Let's start with liquidity,which is to say the cash position,of the City. Cash on hand has really benefitted the City. You could argue we are on the conservative side in terms of building up cash reserves but that benefits us because when we are on the credit markets trying to get a good interest rate on your debt, one(1)of the things they look at is how wealthy the community is and the other is how much cash you have. So,if you are a very wealthy community,you can,so to speak,get away with having less cash in the bank at any given time. If you're less wealthy and more low-income, as we are, it really helps to have a strong cash balance to demonstrate the credit worthiness of the City. So, this brings us to current cash holdings which are at $288 million. So, what does that mean? 13 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 One(1)way to look at it is how much you have on-hand as a percentage of your expenditures. We are at about eighty-five percent(85%) of the total amount of money that flows through the City at any given year. We have about eighty-five percent(85%)of that amount sitting on-hand.As you'll see (referencing a table in a slide of the presentation), from communities like Terre Haute and Carmel that are less than a third (1/3) to a handful of communities that, for their own reasons, maintain more cash than one(1) years' worth of cash flow. You don't want to have too much cash because then you're missing opportunities to invest in the City. We definitely needed to have enough that we're confident of our liquidity even if there is a surprise, shock or problem. Mayor Pete continued, Now, the other side of our financial position, of course, is the debt held by the City. I won't take you through every corner of this chart(referencing a slide in the presentation) but this gives you a sense of the two (2) main sorts of debt. When we say business-type, we are talking about City operations. So, that is where the debt is secured by charges for services. Think of something like the utilities. So, financially, the debt is secured because there is the knowledge there will be future revenue sources for charges. There is also governmental debt which can be secured with revenue sources that are tax-based as opposed to charge-based. So, the Parks Bond would tend to fall into that governmental category. Where do they go? Half of our debt has to do with economic development when it comes to the governmental style. The vast majority of what we would call our business-type debt, which comes to about $100 million in total, is waste water. Again, this is connected to the LTCP, the CSO project and the fact that we are doing generational investments, but you have to fund them all at once. So, you take out a bond, make the investment, and we'll be paying that for many years. Mayor Pete went on, In Per Capita terms, that means we are at about $2,500 in debt, per resident. Again, it is a little hard to gauge what that means without comparing it to our peers. Basically, it puts us smack in the middle or a little bit on the low end compared to peer cities. This can be a bit misleading, too. So, Terre Haute has virtually no debt per capita and that is largely a consequence of the fact that they've had some very serious financial problems and I think have been less able to get finance for projects where it wouldn't make financial sense. Basically, you don't want to be too low on this list because that means you're missing opportunities to take advantage of the low interest rates today. And you also don't want to be too high on this list because that means you are building up more debt than you might be able to service. We are comfortable being right among our peers and we're, again, a little bit on the low end. In terms of what that does in our budget, I think the best way to look at this is to think about the percentage of our yearly expenditures that have to go with debt service. Right now, it is basically hovering around ten percent (10%) and actually a little lower.Again,if you look our peers,this is a common place to be.We do have some communities that have a remarkably high percentage. For reference, I believe the Federal Government is somewhere in the neighborhood of one hundred percent (100%) but we do not structure our debt like the Federal Government. Mayor Pete continued, If you want to look at where that will take you in the future, that is what the chart on the right is about. Basically, what it's saying is if we didn't add any more bonds or debt load, you would see that go down year by year as various commitments mature. That also gives you a sense of the head room we have to add because it is probably prudent to remain somewhere in that ten percent (10%) neighborhood as time goes on. Onto my favorite slide, for the eighth (8t") time out of eight (8), we have great news on this front. Once again, the City of South Bend has a double A (AA) bond rating. Among second (2nd) class cities in Indiana, there are only three (3) others that have an equivalent or higher bond rating, all of them are comparatively wealthy suburbs of Indianapolis. So, I think this is really a tribute to the discipline and difficult decisions made by the members of this Council and by this Administration and those going before us. The single best way to understand our fiscal position as a City are those two (2) letters because that tells you what outside agencies independently see when they look at our books, our finance, our revenue, debt, expenditures and economy. Again, it is very unusual for a community with relatively low-income to have such a high bond rating. I want to thank the Council for your help in that. It has allowed us to do things like get a three percent (3%) rate on the most recent Parks Bond which saves a lot of tax payer dollars compared to servicing what the bond payments would be if we had a triple B (BBB) or double B (BB) bond rating. 14 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Mayor Pete went on, One(1)thing that I appreciate having foregrounded that our new Controller, Dan Parker,thought was important for the Council to see is our capital asset profile. So,basically, this is everything the City owns. It has depreciated into a Net Book Value. So, if we were to, I guess, go on eBay and offer to sell every pipe,lane mile of street, every snowplow, everything that has been capitalized by the City, it comes to approximately $468 million in value. A really important number to balance that against is the average use of the life because,of course,the longer the life of our infrastructure, the less we have to spend in order to replace the amount of that Net Book Value. That has varied over the years and this isn't as wild a fluctuation as it looks like because the access is not zero (0) but this is just to give you a sense of teasing out those ups and downs. But,basically,it has been increasing and we think that's a good thing. This is basically the payoff when you make investments. The downside to it is you have to spend money on it to pay- off as you increase the useful life of the capital you do have. Mayor Pete continued, Onto the revenue and expenditures, from an operational perspective, again, sorry this(referencing a table in a slide of the presentation) is such an eye chart. Let me invite you to concentrate on a couple of things. One (1) would be the total revenue and total expenditures numbers. These will fluctuate to some extent based on the addition or subtraction of a bond. So, sometimes it looks like we are spending a whole bunch and we have this huge amount of revenue but it really just means a bond came in, leading to a lot of cash, or, because we are doing cash accounting, a capital investment that may be designed to last thirty (30) years, shows up on our books just that one (1) particular year. The one (1) thing, of course, we always do keep an eye on is this General Fund level. The General Fund, by law, has to be balanced every year and as you can see, the expenditures are trending upward but upward at a level that is not that far out of line with inflation. Revenue exceeded expenditures in all major funds last year which is a sign of conservative budgeting and healthy revenue. When it comes to property tax collections, again, generally we've seen it on the rise. You do see for 2019 it looks a little lower than 2018, we are hoping this is just a matter of budget conservatism because 2018 is actual and 2019 is budgeted. The DLGF,the State department that gives us these estimates,they are always pretty conservative. The good news is we saw quite a bump, if you look at 2018 versus 2017, more than we expected between$3 million and $4 million in additional property tax revenue. For those of us who believe that the total asset base of the City may be a little bit undervalued in terms of its assessment, we would hope to see that shore up over time. So, hopefully the actuals come in a little bit ahead of that. Mayor Pete went on, Income tax, I would like to caution here. It's been great to see this increase. That is definitely part of how we've made the books add up over the last few years. I just want to caution that you can't count on this the way you count on property tax revenue. Property values are pretty stable. This really depends on how the economy is doing. So, as long as we're in recovery, as we've been for the better part of this decade,we can expect this to continue growing. The moment there is a downturn,this will soften up and we need to remember that in our financial planning.As a quick reminder of the employment of City personnel,we are officially at 1,098 full- time employees. Fully half of our full-time employees are in public safety:Police and Fire.Another quarter is Public Works and the balance is pretty much everything else. Venues, Parks & Arts swells to be one (1) of the very largest departments in the City but that is because of the part-time and seasonal workers in the summer months. The full-time number is quite a bit lower. The last eighth of the pie is the rest of us. We as a City have quite a bit fewer full-time employees than we did,and we will never, I suspect,have the number that we did prior to the property tax caps kicking in during Mayor Luecke's Administration during that 2008 and 2009 period. I will say that these numbers can sometimes be a tad misleading. When, for example, the Potawatomi Zoo goes from being City owned and operated to having public private partnership taking them off the City's books, we are still sometimes funding those employees. Bottom line is, with that being said, we are holding the line on City workforce. It is in line with the American economy that, because of technology, an individual worker is more productive than before. So, we can do the same job with fewer people. Mayor Pete continued, I'm very pleased to show you this slide(referencing the presentation). One (1) of the biggest things that was a concern for us, and I think is a concern for any organization where your biggest expense is personnel is the dramatic increase in health care costs over the years. Just between 2010 and 2014 it went up about fifty percent(50%)in terms of a per employee basis. 15 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 The good news is over the last four (4) or five (5) years, there were actually some years where it actually went down from the previous year. The overall trend across that trend is one (1) of pretty modest growth and is almost in line with inflation which is extraordinary when you consider how much faster healthcare grows than the inflation rate normally. How did that happen? Certainly, a big part of it has to do with the work that the City has done to reduce claim liability through things like the wellness program, the clinic and continuing to have really good work with our partners who help manage our claims process to really be sure we are making the most to prevent expensive plans. Now, we are self-insured, so, a single and very complicated medical case by one (1) employee would be something you might notice on the budget the next year, but the overall trend was bent, and we will need to bend it further to help beat that fiscal curb we are all worried about. Mayor Pete went on, I don't want to prolong the address by reciting everything, but I wanted to enter into the record a sense of the things that are really commanding a lot of our resources in 2019. I also would like to point to how a lot of these are investments that pay off in the long run. The Paramedicine Program deals with extremely expensive cases where we are making hospital runs where a simple visit to someone before it became an emergency might have headed that off. The investment in lead and the return on investment on a child not being lead poisoned is financially as well as morally very compelling. You will continue to see a number of different efforts and initiatives. Some have bigger dollar signs than others but all of them are investments in the quality of life and I look forward to describing them further in the State of the City. Mayor Pete continued, So,how are we doing against the fiscal curb? The fact is that there will be a sunset in 2020 on South Bend, St. Joseph County's status as an exception to the rule that allowed us to have fifty(50) extra basis points on our property tax caps. The latest numbers suggest we are at about a$2 million drop expected in revenue from property tax levies in 2020 compared to 2019. Again, these are only estimates, but that is what we think we are seeing. It is a substantial number but not a terrifying number because we've been getting ready for it for the last couple of years. Having said that, it will necessitate more tough choices in the 2020 budget that we are already beginning to picture that we will be bringing before the Council this fall. This (referencing a table in the presentation) is what happens if nothing changes. So, we try to create our best estimate of what we call business as usual. So, if everything grew the way it's growing, and we didn't do any belt tightening and didn't take any unusual measures, by definition we estimate that the 2019 budget will perfectly balance. Obviously,that won't quite happen. If we are conservative enough, expenditures will actually be lower but that's what we put into the book. Then you see the costs grow where the deficit is. $6 million next year, it grows to $8 million, then swells closer to $10 million before contracting due partly to debt beginning to roll offline. Mayor Pete went on, So, there are some issues with operations that need to be funded in a more sustainable way. In particular, we've really relied on Medicaid reimbursements to fund some of our EMS Operations and we are not sure that those will be as reliable as they have been in the past. Again, the biggest thing we spend on is personnel. So, wages, insurance and health care costs do continue to drive that. What are we going to do about it so that we don't see that big gap? First (1St),again, we will continue to really focus on keeping those healthcare costs low. That will allow us to continue beating the nationwide trend. Secondly, it continues to be the position of this Administration that our tax assessments need to be more accurate. We've seen some work and some movement on the part of the County Assessor that we think is addressing that, at least partially. This is not about everybody being higher or lower. This is about the fact that our bottom line gets better when the assessments are more accurate for the simple reason that is you're over assessed,you appeal and if you're under assessed,you keep it to yourself and we never even knew there was more money. I'm a little reluctant to use the terminology freeze, but we are looking at a soft hiring freeze. What I mean by this is that any time somebody leaves a position, we are going to take a hard look at that position and it will be required to come all the way up to the Mayor's Office before we sign off on replacing that person. If we see the need is there, we will continue filling that position because that position's intent was in the budget and the idea of us asking you to authorize that budget for us, it's obvious that position matters, but we aren't going to replace a position just because. If we realize there is another way to cover down on that position during this belt tightening period, we are going to pause and see if that work can be handled in another way. 16 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Mayor Pete continued, Fourth (4th), we are going to continue working on anything we can do to just be a more efficient operation. The business analytics team, in particular,has given us a whole new level of visibility on City operations. We found all kinds of ways to tweak, refine, improve and adjust. If we could find even just one percent (1%) efficiency savings in our General Fund, that takes more than $500,000 off the bottom line. We have a lot going on in purchasing. We are refining our purchasing process.We are using our purchasing power better. Also,capital budgeting is something we've never really done, to be honest, at a whole Administration level. We've done capital budgets at a department level but have never arrayed the entire thing and this is something we would invite the Council to partner with us on doing. At a three(3) year or five(5) year budget level, how do we balance the needs of capital upgrades? We really want to start looking at capital budgets the same way we do operational budgets, City-wide. We are always looking at new possibilities for revenue and will continue looking for public-private partnerships that are responsible and if they will benefit the City's fiscal position. I am confident that if we're willing to make challenging but fair choices, without dramatic cuts to services,we will be able to get to a very good fiscal position in 2020. I welcome the Council's partnership in that. That is the end of my presentation and I am happy to field questions. Again, if I don't know the answer I will call on one (1) of my colleague or take it down for response at a later time. Council President Tim Scott stated,Thank you, Mayor. I encourage Council Members to get with you and your Administration if they want to go in depth on anything just presented. I will entertain two (2) concise questions to the Mayor, per Council Members, on the information here, in lieu of time. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated, Comment and a question. I want to thank your Administration as well as Councilmember Karen White. Having this briefing today reinforces the tremendous job you all have done in keeping us all abreast of what's happening throughout the year and throughout that whole budgeting process. We continue to engage around issues like debt and the fiscal curb. Those have been big concerns for our constituents. One (1) question I have regards one (1) of those first (1St) slides talking about the poverty rate. You can answer it later or whatever,maybe it's an easy answer. It's exciting to see it going down. One(1)question that came to mind was is that a reflection of the increase in annual income or displacement because we don't have affordable housing and those folks leave? I don't know how to calculate that or if you've thought about that. Mayor Pete replied, That's a good question. We are trying to get more fidelity on the data. We do think it is driven by a real increase to that median but, at the same time,we don't have individual- level tracking. So, while we don't see strong levels of displacement,part of what we are seeing is some people move into the City who add to the median income but some people who have been here the whole time have not seen their incomes improve yet. Councilmember Sharon L. McBride stated, I would like to thank you, Mayor, and the Administration, for the engagement you've had with the Council this year. I think the information has been very transparent and informative and any questions we've had you have always addressed them. Thank you and I look forward to continuing partnering with you all moving forward. Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, Thank you for your great leadership and that of your staff. The benchmark of the double A (AA) rating is terrific. I will need some refreshment and follow up from your staff on that Medicaid reimbursement piece. I know that we've had some conversations about that but I'm not so certain about the actual dollar impact we are anticipating on that. And then my understanding is that it's pretty likely that we won't receive that but if I'm wrong on that, please help correct me. And then with regard to the road funding, some update on that in terms of that percentage and what we are actually looking for in messages to communicate downstate, I would be happy to help on that. I appreciate the consideration, well first (1St) of all, the cash benchmarking relative to other cities that Mr. Parker brought to this presentation. I also really appreciate the capital budget and looking at that City-wide as well as multi-year. I know the process of this past financial year was multi-year and I really do appreciate that. I think as a community we benefit from those longer views and the engagement of the discussion on that. So, thank you very much. 17 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Mayor Pete replied,Thank you. We will be sure to get you more information both on the Medicaid picture and the road funding. Councilmember Jake Teshka stated, I echo a little bit what Councilmember Broden said on the road funding piece. I would also like to help advocate for that as much as possible. Any additional information your office could provide would be great. Thank you for, what I think was, a very comprehensive and great presentation. I would like to have a copy of it. I think a lot of time there is some misunderstanding of the City's financial position and I think there were some very clear and concise charts in this presentation that would help us as we go out and talk to folks about exactly where we are sitting. So, thank you. Mayor Pete replied, Great, we will circulate it with the Council and maybe we can also put it on the Open Data Portal in case residents are interested too. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler clarified, We have already sent it to all Council Members and it is in your email inbox. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated,Thank you Mayor for your presentation tonight. A couple of things. Number one (1), you had talked about how the State is changing our road and highway funding and you said that we probably need to get ahold of State Legislators since we are in the middle of that time now. What's the plan for our Council to assist you in doing that? What are the efforts we need to have? Testimony from us individually? Do we need letters? What is your strategy to help deal with that? That is a critical issue you brought up because we all did think it was going to be a lot more money when we were jumping up and down on that and then to get this curb with the other curb coming up, it makes you a little queasy on stuff like that. Then the second (2"d) thing is it was interesting that Mishawaka wasn't rated with any of the ratings. Mishawaka, Gary and those others,do you know why they choose not to be rated?You may get to that question first (1St) and then we'll come back with the strategy in how we can engage our Legislature, both the Democratic side and Republican side. And really with all the cities like us who are depending on that across the State. Mayor Pete replied, I will have to have Dan's help for the question of other cities and their bond ratings. Dan Parker, City Controller for the City of South Bend with offices located on the 12th floor of the County-City Building, South Bend, IN, stated, Mishawaka, Gary, Muncie, and I think there are a few others, they are not rated by S&P. They may be rated by other agencies, but the rating displayed in the presentation were S&P. Those are generally the ones we share. Or, it could be possible they don't have General Obligation Debt and those are General Obligation Debt ratings. Councilmember Oliver Davis interjected, So, we're not aware of what rates they might get when they go and do their loans? Like, when they have to do the bonds that we have, we got a discount on ours because of our great rating. What do they use as their assessment? Are you aware of anything? Mr. Parker replied, So, as bonds are issued, they are rated by the bond rating agency. So, if Mishawaka were to issue General Obligation Debt,that debt they want to issue would get rated by the bond agency on that basis of their fiscal position. This is just the same as South Bend. But, currently, they don't have public rating available. As of 2016, which is the latest data we had up until we refreshed it for this presentation, Mishawaka was rated a double A minus (AA-) but, currently today, they don't have a rating available. Councilmember Oliver Davis interjected, That's interesting. Thank you for the tidbit of information. Sometimes you hear our sister City is ahead of us. As a person who has sisters, you know, I have sibling rivalry. Mayor Pete replied, We don't want to be too competitive there, but we love the idea that South Bend is the best in the region.To the other question of the road funding,we will continue to engage with AIM, formally known as IACT, on anything that may come up legislatively. But, if I understand it correctly, the adjustment that happened in terms of where those funds went was actually administrative and not legislative. So, the legislature acted to increase and adjust the gas tax so that there was more funding available total but then it went through the State Department of 18 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Revenue and DLGF and there was some formula that decided how much of that would actually find its way to communities like ours, to things like the Community Crossings Grant which we benefitted from, and how much just went right into INDOT and to the State Roads. Of course, we have some preferences, even if it is going to State Roads, over which ones those would be. So, we will reach back out to you once we have a better sense of how that administrative process will play for the subsequent year. We really appreciate and welcome your eagerness to weigh in from a Council perspective because we really want our voices to be united. Councilmember Oliver Davis interjected, Yeah,just keep us posted on that. I would be grateful to work along with you to advocate because we need it. Councilmember John Voorde stated, Thank you for this presentation. I think for you and the Controller's staff last year I said you seemed to be getting the hang of it.This one(1)is even better. It helps us,working with you,not only to establish our own priorities by separating our wants from needs but we have to establish realistic goals and priorities. Like Councilmember Teshka, I hope we can find more money somewhere to do roads because that is really an investment. The more we put off the more it will cost later. Thank you very much. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic stated, Thanks for the presentation and thank you to the City staff for not only being here tonight but for all your good work. Thank you. Councilmember Karen White stated, I just have one(1)question. That one(1) slide you presented, I think it was in response to the curb coming in 2020, you stated business as usual, that was only being used as an example, correct? Mayor Pete replied(referencing the slide in the presentation), Yes, so this is a projection that says if we took no action at all. Councilmember Karen White followed up, But that is not the direction we are moving towards? Mayor Pete replied, Correct. Councilmember Karen White continued, Based on some of those areas you indicated, we are responding in preparation for it in 2020. On March 4th, 2019, we will have a more in-depth discussion regarding the fiscal curb. We will be talking about how the City has prepared for that and will be talking about the different types of strategies we will have.The public is invited to that in-depth discussion. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, I'll catch up with you. Thank you for the presentation. REPORTS OF CITY OFFICES Representing the City Administration: Laura O'Sullivan, Chief of Staff RESOLUTIONS BILL NO. 19-03 A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE SOUTHEAST NEIGHBORHOOD MASTER PLAN Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston, vice-chair of the Community Investment Committee, reported that they met this afternoon and send this bill forward with a favorable recommendation. Liz Maradik, Principal Planner for the Department of Community Investment with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, South Bend, IN, served as the presenter for this bill. Ms. Maradik stated, The Department of Community Investment engaged with area residents, property owners, businesses and other community partners in the development of the Southeast 19 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Neighborhood Master Plan. It was completed in 2015 and provides a framework for long and short- term improvements as well as a land-use plan for the southeast neighborhood. Though the plan was not formally adopted, the City and its community partners including SOAR, 466Works, and Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem have been actively implementing the plan. Some achievements to date include infrastructure improvements along Fellows Street, Bowman Creek as well as Ravina Park, improved lighting through Light Up South Bend and a pilot Lamp Post Program. 466Works also constructed two (2) new homes using federal funds. All these projects have been consistent with the community's vision developed through the Master Plan process. We ask the Council to approve the adoption of the Southeast Neighborhood Master Plan. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Council President Tim Scott opened the floor to questions from Council Members. There were none. This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Charlotte Pfeifer, 1013 West Washington Street, South Bend, IN, stated, I'm a member of the 466 Inc. Board. As Liz mentioned, 466Works has been together for about five (5) or six (6) years. What we wanted to do is help revitalize that neighborhood that borders Sample Street, Michigan Street, Ewing Street and Miami Street. That is a big area,of course, so we've cut it into quadrants. We work in one (1) quadrant at a time. We've been working with the neighbors and their neighborhood associations, the City, the City Council, Ivy Tech and all of those assets in that wonderful neighborhood. I say that on purpose because one (1) of the things we want to do is all over the community and nation, people do silly and inappropriate things, but unfortunately with that neighborhood, all you hear about are bad things. We want to make sure there is a balance. Just like when bad things happen in Granger, Mishawaka, Indianapolis, they aren't reluctant to live there because they know the balance. What you don't hear about on the southeast side is the balance. Literally,because we have been working there we've built a couple homes and one(1)of them sold within the first (1St) three (3) months. Actually three (3) different families tried to buy the second (211d) one (1) but were over the revenue threshold. We hope the next homes we build and revitalize will be more open to people's incomes. The thing I wanted to say the most that maybe others won't say is that because we've been working in that neighborhood, other investors are interested. So, we foresee in the next three (3) years that a person can be born in the southeast side, go to preschool, elementary school, graduate from Riley High School, go to Ivy Tech to get an associates degree, go down the road to get a bachelor's from IUSB and then go further down the road to get a PhD, then buy a house and stay here in South Bend. I hope you pass this tonight and I want to thank the City and everyone who contributed to this plan we've been working on and waiting for. Conrad Damian, 718 East Broadway Street, South Bend, IN, stated, It is my neighborhood the plan has been made for. Our neighborhood `organization, SOAR, has been engaged with the other partners like 466Works, Bowman Creek and the City to improve the neighborhood. Many wonderful things are going on. We hope they continue. Ms. Maradik mentioned a few of those things. There are other things currently going on that we hope we will be about to announce and celebrate soon. We look forward to really making the Master Plan the future of our neighborhood. The future of our neighborhood, we think, is bright. With this Master Plan, you are helping us create a good and solid neighborhood for working-class families in South Bend.That is what South Bend needs. Thank you. Gary Gilot, 1904 Lilac Trails Court, South Bend, IN, stated, I am with the Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem. The Bowman Creek Education Ecosystem is more than Notre Dame. It is about fifteen(15)different universities and secondary education institutions all partnering together to do community engagement projects. We do projects with the neighborhood, not for them or to them. So, with that collaborative spirit and working with Venues, Parks &Arts, Public Works,the Department of Innovation and Technology, our Council Member, the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indians, there have been a number of improvements. We don't just do the creek. The Bowman Creek Educational Ecosystem is about talent meeting purpose and adding capacity to all the non-profits and stakeholder who work in our neighborhoods to improve the quality of life. Thank you. 20 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Council President Tim Scott turned the floor back to Council Members for comment or main motion. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated, I simply want to say that it is so encouraging to see the collaboration, the connection and communication that is happening for the southeast side. Even though this plan was not formally adopted, it takes this kind of initiative and commitment from all community partners,public and private, and it is exciting to see you kept the ball rolling. Thank you to Councilmember McBride for making sure of this. She kind of jumped in,didn't she? She really connected with the community and I've heard several of you mention her level of engagement. I think that is part of the inspiration for keeping this glued together and this ball rolling. Thank you, Councilmember McBride, and thank you, all of the community. That is really what it's going to take to make this City great. Councilmember Sharon L.McBride stated, I am the proud representative of a portion of the Master Plan. I am pleased to have been a part of the SOAR Board, prior to me being elected into this position. So,I am very proud to have worked with you all and I am now a member of the 466Works Board. We've been working and engaging with Bowman Creek for a long time. I am very excited to see this plan come to the floor and thank you to the City for the meetings you all attend. Thank you to SOAR, 466Works and Bowman Creek for everything you've put your efforts into. Without it being officially adopted, working the plan has been second (2'') to none. You didn't have to follow the plan if there was no official vision. So, I commend you all to work hard and to continue working hard. I'm excited about tonight and hope that it passes. Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, I have just a couple comments. I thank all of those who have been consistently showing up and have contributed to the vision. Communicating and collaborating,it really is no small undertaking to bring a plan forward and with this level of detail. So, there is a lot that is backloaded to actually get it to the point where it is actually on paper. As I said,it is no small undertaking either on Administration and staff side, Council Member side and particularly the Council Members from within the district,but as I said the various partners and all the way down to the individual citizen who has participated in the process this far. In terms of the next steps forward, this formalizes that shared vision in a way, I take it and I think other Council Members take it as, to give direction but then also an opportunity to build on and make sure, the word evergreen comes to mind,it gives us overall direction. It's not a stale document and is not to sit on a shelf. Certainly, its pathway thus far in terms of the funding we have already dedicated to it, it speaks to that. But, in terms of speeding up that funding and keeping that momentum going, I look forward to doing that for the balance of this year. I do think whether it's this plan, and I shared this earlier in Committee, or any plan that is a shared vision from our neighborhoods, that regular pace of reviewing and evaluating it will make sure we are meeting some of the implementation timeframes. We can adjust that as needed and that is all a really important part of the discussion. I value the plan and its vision. I'm very excited, these many years out, to finally give it our seal of approval and I look forward to opportunities to work with the Administration and hear the priorities of the neighborhood in terms of additional funding going forward. Councilmember Jake Teshka stated,Thank you for bringing this forward. I met with the planning team a couple weeks ago and they do amazing work. Thank you for this and I'm happy to finally get this thing approved. Councilmember Oliver Davis stated, Thank you so much. It is going to make life a lot easier on Area Plan that we actually have a plan we are talking about that has been approved. It is a good plan and thank you to all of you who have come to advocate for it. I'm very glad you are doing that, and I look forward to supporting it especially since you're my next-door neighbor. I'm the sixth (6th) district you're on my east side. So, the stronger the southeast gets, the southwest gets. There is a section of the southeast that is in my district. So, we are very happy to have the south side get stronger. Alright! Councilmember John Voorde stated, Fifty(50) years ago, this area was burning down. Arson was rampant, especially on the very near southeast side where Ivy Tech and some other things now exist. I just want to compliment people like Conrad Damian and the residents there who have kept the faith and who have continued to advocate for improvements over the years. It is because of their dedication and hard work that, I think, from one (1) Administration to another and one (1) 21 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Council to another, we are able to say we can see some improvement and some potential return of a real quality neighborhood. Forty-five (45) years ago when I worked for the Streets Department, we would call this place the Twilight Zone because anything was liable to happen. I worked the midnight shift for a while over there and it was. I found a bullet hole in my street sweeper one (1) time. I could tell stories, but this is not the time for it. So, thank you for all that has been done and thank you, Conrad, and all the folks in your area. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic stated, Thank you to everyone involved. Councilmember Karen White stated, I would like to add my words of thank you. Not only to the Administration and the Planners but also to the community stakeholders, the citizens and the various neighborhood associations. Coming together and making a commitment for their neighborhood really illustrates sticking to it and we see what is before us. This is not just a plan or document that will go on the shelves, as I said in Committee, this is a living document that will guide future discussion, priorities and funding. I can see the change now within that particular area. Again, when individuals come together, and they work collaboratively, they think beyond the box and we have this type of plan we are taking action on tonight.Thank you to all the partners, the citizens, the neighborhood association and everyone making the statement of not moving out of the neighborhood. They are staying and making it better. This is what we have now. Thank you very much. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic made a motion to adopt Bill No. 19-03. Councilmember Karen White seconded this motion which carried by a roll call vote of nine(9) ayes. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic then made a motion to, for purposes of public hearing,hear together Bill Nos. 19-08, 19-10 and 19-12. Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston seconded this motion which carried by a voice vote of nine(9) ayes. 19-08 A RESOLUTION CONFIRMING THE ADOPTION OF A DECLARATORY RESOLUTION DESIGNATING CERTAIN AREAS WITHIN THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, COMMONLY KNOWN AS 2920 W SAMPLE STREET, SOUTH BEND, IN 46619 AS AN ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION AREA FOR PURPOSES OF A SIX (6)YEAR VACANT BUILDING TAX ABATEMENT FOR SWGS PROPERTIES, LLC 19-10 A RESOLUTION CONFIRMING THE ADOPTION OF A DECLARATORY RESOLUTION DESIGNATING CERTAIN AREAS WITHIN THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, COMMONLY KNOWN AS 2920 W SAMPLE STREET, SOUTH BEND, IN 46619 AS AN ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION AREA FOR PURPOSES OF A SIX (6)YEAR REAL PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT FOR SWGS PROPERTIES, LLC 19-12 A RESOLUTION CONFIRMING THE ADOPTION OF A DECLARATORY RESOLUTION DESIGNATING CERTAIN AREAS WITHIN THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, COMMONLY KNOWN AS 2920 W SAMPLE STREET, SOUTH BEND, INDIANA 46619 AS AN ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION AREA FOR PURPOSES OF A FIVE (5)YEAR PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT FOR SWGS PROPERTIES, LLC 22 REGULAR MEETING February 11, 2019 Dan Buckenmeyer, Director of Business Development for the Department of Community � p p Investment for the City of South Bend with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building, South Bend, IN, served as the presenter for this bill. Mr. Buckenmeyer stated, SWGS Properties is by name Grace Steel. They are a small startup steel fabricator with a great and sustainable model. They are currently operating out of a very small shop in Mishawaka but are looking to move to South Bend to expand significantly.The petitioners are here. I will skip through a lot of this (referencing a presentation which is available in the City Clerk's Office). Again, as you recall from the last meeting we are doing a stack of tax abatements and I will get into where they go but we are combining vacant,real and personal to assist them the best way we can, so they can take this eight and a half(8.5)acre plot and 70,000 square foot building on West Sample Street. The property is crumbling infrastructure and they are going to revitalize it and make it into a steel production facility. We have some pictures (referencing the presentation) that show the current state and some future state. In short, their full investment into this project will be well over $2 million. They will bring in sixteen (16) new full-time jobs with solid pay, both hourly and salary. They are also retaining four (4) full-time jobs. The full amount of abatement, across the stack of all three(3) abatements,is about$213,000. They will still pay, at least, about$55,000 or$56,000, over the course of two (2), six (6) and one (1) five (5) year abatement. The key is in this slide (referencing the presentation). I think the important thing, simply, as the red numbers show, with no action and if we didn't provide this support and they didn't come in to revitalize this building, that property would provide an estimate of$200,000 over the next ten(10)years. That would be a crumbling piece of infrastructure and would probably decline from there. And this was an early estimate and we actually added about $20,000 so it's actually going be about $264,000 through the course of the abatement and into the ten (10) year window. So, it's a true win-win for the City and company. Council President Tim Scott asked, Has anything changed in the petition from the last time you presented? Mr. Buckenmeyer replied, No. David and Pam Andre, 21601 Durham Way, Bristol, IN, served as the petitioners for this bill. Mr. Andre stated, As you may recall from our last presentation, Grace Steel was founded three (3) years ago by Pam. It has grown very rapidly. It takes steel that often times otherwise would end up as scrap or secondary material,processes it into good steel and parts,supplies the RV and trailer industry, and ships as far away as Arkansas and Missouri right now. It is growing, and we would not be able to be in this facility and pay for the renovations if it weren't for the abatements and the support of the City. So, we appreciate that. This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. Jason Banicki-Critchlow, 3822 Ford Street, South Bend, IN, stated, As I said, I guess about four (4) weeks ago at the Committee meeting, I'm very excited for this. This is definitely something we need on that side of town. I like the way we are doing it in a much more phased-in way as opposed to other ones that are one hundred percent(100%). This allows us to get some of that tax revenue a little bit sooner. Again,this is in an area where we need these kinds of jobs. I'm excited to see it there and we need to make this happen. Council President Tim Scott turned the floor back to Council Members for further comment or main motion. Councilmember Gavin Ferlic stated, Thank you for your investment and thank you for your patience tonight. I know it has been a bit longer than usual. Councilmember Jo M. Broden stated, Yes, thank you. After the last presentation, local workforce recruitment and training was something we had brought up. Were there any additional conversations with our department or staff on those objectives? Or, do you anticipate that? Mr. Buckenmeyer replied, We anticipate it. We haven't had those yet, but we did talk about working with the Urban Enterprise Zone and resources like that, too. They have voiced a commitment to seeking local employees first(lst). 23