06-11-12 Common Council Meeting Minutes

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REGULAR MEETING JUNE 11, 2012 Councilmember Dieter made a motion to continue this bill until the June 25,2012 meeting of the Council, due to the last meeting being scheduled on Tuesday in observance of the Memorial Day Holiday there was insufficient advertising time. Councilmember Henry Davis, Jr., seconded the motion which carried by voice vote of nine (9) ayes. RESOLUTIONS BILL NO.12-47 RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, DETERMINING, AFTER INVESTIGATION, THAT THE LEASE OF PROPERTY AT 319 NILES AVENUE, SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, IS NECESSARY FOR USE AS GENERAL OFFICE SPACE Councilmember Varner made a motion to accept the substitute version of this bill. Councilmember Henry Davis, Jr., seconded the motion which carried by a voice vote of nine (9) ayes. Councilmember White, Chairperson, Personnel & Finance Committee, reported that this committee held a Public Hearing on this bill this afternoon and voted to send it to the full Council with no recommendation. th Aladean DeRose, Interim-City Attorney, 14 Floor County-City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd., South Bend, Indiana, made the presentation for this bill. She also advised that she is the Attorney for the South Bend Human Rights Commission. Ms. DeRose advised that rarely with her history with the City Attorney’s Office has the administration come before the Council regarding an outside lease. But the statute in Indiana Law permits an outside lease that is a property that is not owned by the City if it is necessary and if the rent is reasonable. This is a situation in which both of these are true and which is a particularly important matter to the City. The South Bend Human Rights Commission investigates claims of discrimination by those who are aggrieved in employment and in housing on the basis of race, sex, religion, disability, color, national origin and recently sexual orientation and sexual identity. She stated that it functions as a quasi-legal agency and as such requires confidentiality for those who come to discuss their claims. It should be fully ADA accessible recalling that we administer the ADA for the City of South Bend. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) She stated that it should be convenient to low-income persons because those are primarily the persons that come before the commission with their complaints. By convenient she means located near a bus line/route. She stated that the commission has over 1,000 inquiries a year and investigates 150 cases a year a probably has that many claimants coming within its building. It holds meetings, it holds public hearings, and it holds reconsideration hearings, all of a quasi-judicial nature. At this time the space in which the Human Rights Commission is housed is inadequate totally. The City became aware of this about two (2) years ago when members of the Commission themselves contacting the Engineering Department with their observation that the carpeting was torn in many places creating hazards for tripping. There were many wires and devices such as power strips showing indicating inadequate electricity. The City Engineering Department and the Safety & Risk Officer came and did an inspection and an evaluation and determined that not only were these a problem, but there were severe structural problems. Including that the electrical system was inadequate, the basement was not safe for egress due to the difficult operation of the garage door, the heating system was inadequate, the air conditioning was not in working order, insulation was needed in the roof and the roof was leaking in several areas. She stated that they did a study and concluded that the cost of this refurbishment would be in excess of $50,000 and perhaps up to $250,000. $50,000 was the low end just to bring the building to the point where people could walk in it safely, not included in that would be the cost of the heating and cooling and roof repair, major 4