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REGULAR MEETING August 8, 2016 Britney Lyn, Goshen resident, thanked the Council for taking the time to consider a way of taking care of the geese without resorting to lethal methods. We have a responsibility and moral obligation to take care of those who are weaker than us. The root of all evil is that some lives matter less than other lives and Mishawaka took four hundred (400) lives with what they did. If those had been dogs or cats the community would be in an outrage. We have to speak for these animals when they cannot speak for themselves. Rama Ganesan, Granger Indiana, stated she is a humane educator with the Ethical Choices program. She expressed her joy that South Bend is looking to manage our geese population in a humane way. There are so many different options besides euthanizing such as amino- contraception or methods recommended by the Humane Society. She also expressed reservations about the sentence that was stricken from the bill brought up by Ms. Howard and asked why it was taken out. No one from the public spoke in opposition to the bill. Councilmember Oliver Davis responded that the language was stricken because in order for any euthanizing to happen it would have already been budgeted and nothing has been budgeted for euthanizing wild animals in this budget. If the Parks Department wanted to euthanize the geese or another animal population in a systematic way it would have to come to the Council for an additional appropriation and have public hearing. Therefore the language was stricken because it was redundant and not needed. Mr. Perri reiterated that the Parks Department has nothing budgeted nor any pending plans to use lethal methods to deal with any of our wildlife issues. Park Board meetings where issues like this are discussed regularly are open to the public, they meet on the third Monday of every month at 5:00 p.m. at the O'Brien Center. Also, the proposed ecological advocacy committee will also operate under the open door laws and be open to the public. Councilmember Dr. David Varner made a motion to adopt Substitute Bill 16 -60 as amended. Councilmember Regina Williams- Preston seconded the motion which carried by a roll call vote of seven (7) ayes. Council Vice President Oliver Davis resumed as Chair of the meeting. 16 -61 A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND DESIGNATING CERTAIN AREAS WITHIN THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, COMMONLY KNOWN AS 5448 DYLAN DRIVE, SOUTH BEND, IN 46628 AN ECONOMIC REVITALIZATION AREA FOR PURPOSES OF A (5) FIVE -YEAR PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX ABATEMENT FOR: AM GENERAL, LLC Councilmember Gavin Ferlic, Chairperson of the Community Investment Committee, reported that they met and send this bill forward with a favorable recommendation. Sarah Heintzelman, Community Investment with offices on the 14th Floor of the County -City Building, .served as the presenter for this bill. This is a move for AM General into a spec building which is currently on Dylan Drive. This is a total investment of $3.2 million. The total taxes on the new equipment is $94,366 and estimated taxes to be abated over the five (5) year period is $43,483. David Whitby, Vice President of Military Operations for AM General, served as the petitioner for this bill. AM General Service Parts and Logistics operation is a significant part of their business largely due to the hundreds of thousands of Humvees they support around the world with service parts, training, and other technical support. They are moving the business to South Bend in order to become more efficient and reduce costs which will lead to the company being more competitive. This move was the business case that made the most sense for AM General.