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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-09-14 Common Council Meeting MinutesREGULAR MEETING JUNE 09,201 Disclaimer: Undergoing technology updates experienced some loss of video & audio recording for dictation. 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, June 9, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was called to order by Council President Oliver Davis and the Invocation and Pledge to the Flag were given. ROLL CALL COUNCILMEMBERS: Present: Tim Scott Henry Davis, Jr. Valerie Schey Dr. Fred Ferlic Dr. David Varner Oliver J. Davis Derek Dieter Gavin Ferlic Karen L. White OTHERS PRESENT: 1st District 2 nd District 3' District 4 1h District 5 1h District 6 District, President At- Large, Vice President At -Large At- Large, Chairperson Committee of the Whole Kathleen Cekanski- Fairand Council Attorney John Voorde City Clerk Janice I. Talboom Deputy Kareemah Fowler Chief Deputy REPORT FROM THE SUB- COMMITTEE ON MINUTES Our report for the sub- committee on minutes will be done on our next meeting. On June 23, 2014, we will have to two sub - committee minutes. SPECIAL BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENT: REPRESENTING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION WILL BE ASSISTANT DEPUTY OF CHIEF OF STAFF BRIAN PAWLOWSKI At the conclusion of our meeting if you want to meet with any of the council meetings you can come to the floor and meet with any one of us. BILL NO. 14 -54 A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, PUBLICLY COMMENDING JONATHAN BURKE FOR HIS DEDICATED SERVICE AS THE CITY'S 1 sT DIRECTOR OF THE MUNICIPAL ENERGY OFFICE Our resolution of the common council publicly commends Jonathan Burke for his dedicated service as the city's first director of the municipal energy office. We commend him on his dedication to making a positive impact on energy uses by focusing on renewable energy, transportation, efficiency, and innovation. (A", the South Bend Common Council notes that its' Municipal Energy Office is dedicated to "...make a positive impact on energy consumption and usage..." by focusing on the REGULAR MEETING JUNE 09,201 following key components: renewable energy, building efficiency, transportation efficiency & innovation municipal regulations, and recycling and waste management; and �, the Common Council further notes that implementation of such initiatives by the Municipal Energy Office has improved the overall sustainability, health and conscientious design of the city; and 60"„ the City of South Bend is currently transitioning from a Municipal Energy Office to a broader Office of Sustainability, with the foundation of these programs being started and implemented by Jonathan Burke, when he was named as the first Municipal Energy Director in 2010; and 6A I , some of the many initiatives championed by Jonathan Burke included: development of the plan for the 1s hydroelectric turbine advancement of the CNG program to support cleaner burning; promoting cost effective CNG vehicles; implementing numerous energy- saving projects in several municipal buildings; and generating countless collaborations with the South Bend Community School Corporation "IRANSPO, Logan Center, IU South Bend, Greening the Bend —just to name a few. A A_oy6m 6e a msr,/ued, * bie V9i;9r mow W6nedyWo r P� _ _Aaw. a, Section L The Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, publicly thanks and honors Jonathan Burke the city's 1s Municipal Energy Director, who served in this capacity with distinction since 2010. Section II. The Common Council wishes Jonathan Burke the very best as he embarks upon a new career path as a private sector energy consultant. Section III. This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after its adoption by the Council and approval by the Mayor. s /Tim Scott, First District s/Henry Davis, Jr., Second District s /Valerie Schey, Third District s/Dr. Fred Ferlic, Fourth District s/Dr. David Varner, Fifth District s /John Voorde, City Clerk s /Oliver J. Davis, Sixth District s/Derek D. Dieter, At -Large s /Gavin Ferlic, At -Large s /Karen L. White, At -Large s /Kathleen Cekanski - Farrand, Council Attorney s /Mark Neal, Deputy Mayor of South Bend, IN Mr. Burke thanked the members of the council and the Mayor, and many others for giving him the opportunity. It has been a phenomenal 3.5 years. The office was modeled after the Ann Arbor Energy they were able to save $7 million over their first ten (10) year. I didn't do it alone I thank my staff for implementing projects and bench marking our energy. Mr. Burke acknowledge two of his team members and wife for their support and hard work. Energy office- Thanked him for his contributions, and for all of his accomplishments. Councilmember Scott - Thank you Jonathan for all of your service. I work for a green company where thinking outside the box is the norm. Thank you for what you have done and your contribution and I look forward to continue to work with you. Councilmember Davis — Jonathan, you came in and you immediately went to work, we got the PSG project, energy cost program and got on the same playing field. You are a great man and I look forward to working with you in the future. 2 REGULAR MEETING JUNE 09,201 Councilmember Schey — we were lucky to have you in our city. Teaching about conservation and efficiency thank you so much for your service. Councilmember Ferlic— Jonathan educated me on energy, and greening. He educated me a couple weeks ago on an Oliver chilled plow. Jonathan can you share with us the story? Jonathan stated that Oliver developed a process that when you polish the metal it makes a mirror like surface, when you put in the ground the soil will fall away from it, as it was turned. We are innovators, and Oliver was here from South Bend, he changed the face of agriculture world- wide. Councilmember Jonathan, you and your wife are great spokespeople for the city of South Bend, I look forward to consulting with you in the future. Councilmember Dr. Varner — I'm glad you made the point that some people received your ideas well and some others didn't as we need to challenge our thinking. I appreciate you for challenging the conventions on energy. I appreciate your efforts, thank you. Councilmember President Davis — Thank you for all the great work you've done in South Bend. All the conversations, good luck, I appreciate all the time you put in. Councilmember Dieter — thank you so much and thank you for the foundation that you laid for the energy office moving forward. Councilmember White — as the first Director of the Energy Office, we could not have had a better person, you've set the standard high to challenge status -quo. We appreciate you and your wife and wish you God -speed in your next position. Councilmember Schey made a motion to adopt this by acclamation. Councilmember Dr. Varner seconded the motion, which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. REPORTS OF CITY OFFICES Deputy Mayor Mark Neal — I would like to offer my congratulations and thanks to Dr. Burke. I would like to confirm the Jefferson St. projects will begin later this week with an expectation that it will be completed in October of this year. I want to highlight tomorrow at the Public Works meeting they will be opening bids for the conversion of the streets from one -way to two - way as part as 2014 complete streets initiative. Finally, the Mayor highlighted `Bike it to Work" week as part of the Green Initiative of the city. There's a pancake breakfast from 7 -9am. The Mayor will be showing the movie Break Away this week in the theatre, and this Saturday people will have the chance to ride the new US 31 for 25 miles to enjoy the smooth rode. The Mayor thanked the council for their support as they continue to make the complete streets a reality in the city. Thank you. RESOLVE INTO THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE No motion needed to resolve into the committee of the whole as there are no Public Hearings or Third Readings. PUBLIC HEARINGS There was no public hearings to come before the Council at this time. r "IMMMr:utioil1 111110 e� There were no bills for third readings to come before the Council at this time. RESOLUTIONS There were no bills for resolution to come before the Council at this time. REGULAR MEETING BILLS - FIRST READING JUNE 09,201 BILL NO. 34 -14 FIRST READING ON A BILL OF THE AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE FOR PROPERTYLOCATED AT SOUTHEAST CORNER OF MEADOW AND LOMBARDY 64+ OR — ACRE SITE, COUNCILMANIC DISTRICT NO. 6 IN THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA This bill had first reading. Councilmember made a motion to refer this bill to the Area Plan Commission. Councilmember seconded the motion, which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. There was no unfinished business to come before the Council at this time. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business to come before the Council at this time. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR Councilmember Henry Davis, made a motion to raise time limit from three (3) to four (4) minutes, motion seconded by councilmember Schey seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. Theodore Robert— 2617 Fredrickson St. South Bend, Indiana - Requested more time to be allotted to eight (8) minutes as opposed to the four (4) to present all of the information this evening. Councilmember Henry Davis, made a motion to extend Theodore Roberts to eight (8) minutes, motion seconded by councilmember which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. COMMENTS REGARDING CORRUPTION OF THE MAYOR AND CHIEF OF POLICE: Theodore Roberts- We are here today for several reasons on the issues that are occurring in the police department, and would like to inform the citizens of South Bend as they are vital to the welfare of our community. Roberts reported that there has been misconducted by Mayor Pete Buttigieg and the Police Chief. They presented that there was federal and state laws broken by both, which include civil rights violations, racial discrimination, employment discrimination, duty manual violation, creation of hostile work environment, conduct of becoming an officer, abuse of power, and employee harassment. The Mayor allowed the Police Chief to carry on these actions knowingly. The method in which hiring these new policeman were questionable by the Police Chief. There was approval from the Board of Safety for theses position which didn't allow for all eligible to apply. Police Chief has no authority to create new positions or executive privileges or executive orders as outlined in Section 202 of the South Bend Duty manual. This is just one of many examples, there are 9 accusations against the Chief of police, this is the person that Mayor choice as our Police Chief. I am asking that you place the Chief on administration leave until an outside investigation has occurred. Should these accusations prove to be true we ask that the Police Chief and Mayor be held accountable for their misconduct. Samuel Brown- Representing Citizens United for a Better Government - As our city is unraveling, a corrupt police department, and police states not released to the public. When you hide something, eventually it is going to come up, so the duty of the council is to bring this forth. Everything that evolves in this city is your responsibility to represent the citizens of South Bend, as of right now we are not getting our money's worth. 10 REGULAR MEETING JUNE 09,201 Pastor Mario Sims- 608 S Josephs St. South Bend, IN- I'm here representing the Citizens United for a Better Government, we were formed as a citizens watchdog group to ensure people are informed by the works of the government in support of the officers today. We are watching closely so there is no retaliation. It is our duties for our police who risk their jobs. We look towards the leadership of this council to take action. Every citizens should be outraged when police officers are publicly complaining, listen to the cry of our citizens and those who risks their lives every day for us. Nicole Maniche Beater- 1240 Van Buren St, South Bend, IN- I'm taking a stand, a life sacrifice, as the racism that was done towards my 16 year old son and his false accuses for murder. I have been denied my rights to file complaints against the police department. I am asking for justice for my son and the police officers. Melvin Townsend — 330 Manchester Dr. — The problem lies with the City Council, you need to address it. He was appalled that they don't have the decency to look out for residents as they are ruining the city. Jesse Davis — P.O. Box 10205, South Bend, IN — There are a lot of things that are not happening I brought to documents to the police department, they stated it went to the legal department that proved fraud, there was nothing done about it. This man as Chief is not doing his job and I too will be filing a State investigation. He has no business here, send him packing. COMMENTS AGAINST THE SMOKING BAN FOR CITY OF SOUTH BEND: Gary Weston — Representing the Bar & Club Owners of South Bend— We have held meetings that none of us are looking to move on with a smoking ban. If you proceed further with the ordinance, you would be isolating the bars and clubs in South Bend. The Evansville ban was overturned by the United States Supreme Court. This would be an unfair advantage, and we are prepared to take this further, and to the Supreme Court if we have to. The Mayor supports our ordinance as well. We don't want our business to be devalued. Sharon Graham— Manager of City Limits Lounge: 1807 S. Ironwood, South Bend — This business was started 40 years ago, if you pass this ordinance the smokers will not come to our business. We pay our taxes and we will close by the end of the year if you pass this ordinance. Don Kelly — Owner Kelly's Pub: 1150 Mishawaka Ave. — If you do pass this we will go out of business. I'm too old, to do anything else. If we lose 25% of our business do we get anything back for our losses? You are not allowing us to live out our lives. Loretta Burger — Lonnie's 23 Inn Bar: 1989 Prairie Ave — The last meeting I was really upset, because you are acting like you are the only ones that matter. You are taking my life away from me, higher taxes, we will lose revenue. Let us have our right do not take this away from us ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Council, President Oliver Davis adjourned the meeting at 7:51p.m. ATTEST: ATTEST: John Voorde, City Clerk Oliver Davis, President