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REGULAR MEETING October 23, 2017
<br /> Commission and heard publicly twice. We do have bond counsel representatives from Barnes &
<br /> Thornburg and Umbaugh, here, to speak on the specifics of that bond financing mechanism.
<br /> Randy Rompola, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, with offices at 100 North Michigan Street, South
<br /> Bend, IN, served as presenter of this bill. Mr. Rompola stated, The resolution before you is the
<br /> concluding action. The Redevelopment Commission has previously held public hearings and
<br /> adopted resolutions determining to issue redevelopment district bonds. As Aaron mentioned,the
<br /> intent is that these bonds be payable from TIF from the River West. We also anticipate having a
<br /> tax backup in place to provide additional security which will allow the bonds to be sold at an
<br /> interest rate, premised upon the City's rating,which is obtainable if the bonds have the tax
<br /> backup in place. These bonds would be issued in the spring of 2018. This money is not needed
<br /> currently,but we undertook the approvable process in line with the series of park bonds. If you
<br /> approve these tonight, nothing further would happen until the spring of 2018.
<br /> Councilmember Regina Williams-Preston stated that she received an email from a resident
<br /> containing several statements that she wanted to forward to Mr. Perri and have him respond to.
<br /> Councilmember Williams-Preston stated, He points out that, according to the most recent Equal
<br /> Opportunity Commission data in 2015, forty-eight(48) of the employees in the City of South
<br /> Bend earn over$43,000 a year in these two (2) specific departments: the Departments of
<br /> Community Investment and Parks. Only four(4) were identified as African-American or
<br /> Hispanic. That may have changed—increased or decreased—but, I think he makes a really good
<br /> point that having a process exclusive of African-American and Hispanic leadership, and
<br /> selecting and developing proposals without explicit utilization of best practices in Parks
<br /> administration has led to deeply inequitable results. One (1) of the things that he said, with
<br /> regards to looking at the proposal here, was that census block groups with parks receiving the
<br /> lion's share of these proposed improvements have a far higher Caucasian representation than the
<br /> City average. He says it's also clear that some of the parks,with little or no proposed funding,
<br /> and some west side neighborhoods with no nearby parks at all,have significantly higher African-
<br /> American or Hispanic representation than the City average. He notes that this disparity is deeply
<br /> disappointing and unjust. That's the first statement that I want you to address.
<br /> Mr. Perri stated that he would like to correspond with the resident in question directly, adding,
<br /> That hasn't been brought to my attention previously. Mr. Perri stated that he is proud to have a
<br /> diverse department, stating that all the municipal departments seek to improve diversity.
<br /> Regarding the planning process, he stated that that has been happening for over a decade,
<br /> beginning with the City Plan 2025 and including the 2014 Parks Master Plan, which won a State
<br /> award at the Indiana Parks and Recreation Association. He stated, Every single thing that showed
<br /> up in the 2014 Master Plan is represented in My SB Parks and Trails. Mr. Perri explained that in
<br /> developing the plan, they looked at issues of racial equity and geographic equity,paying
<br /> attention to areas and populations that have been underserved. He stated, When we talk about
<br /> things like making all of our restroom ADA-compliant or looking at our trail systems becoming
<br /> universally accessible,those are also important things in that realm. So, I think we've got work
<br /> to do,but I think this plan addresses this pretty head-on.
<br /> Councilmember Williams-Preston stated, Just to add to that, I think that there have been
<br /> improvements—I didn't see it in this proposal, but at Kennedy Park, at Fremont Park, and more
<br /> than what was listed here?For Charles Black?
<br /> Mr. Perri responded, Thank you for pointing that out. The largest project we've done to date that
<br /> we see actually coming out of the ground is the Charles Black Center. Fremont Park was a wildly
<br /> inclusive neighborhood program that we worked closely with the neighborhood on the
<br /> development that's happening there. They have the largest splash pad in the city at Fremont
<br /> Park. Kennedy Park saw our first adventure playground go up and a new basketball court, and
<br /> there's more to happen there, yet. If you look at the suite of projects that are yet proposed and
<br /> you add them up, you're going to be looking at more than half of the projects happening outside
<br /> of the downtown area. So,we're proud that this is a geographically diverse investment, as well.
<br /> Councilmember Williams-Preston stated, I just wanted to thank you. I wanted to make sure that
<br /> that was brought and put on the record,because I can see an effort, and I just want to thank you
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