04-22-19 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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REGULAR MEETING April 22, 2019 Council Members will be listening to the public. Most of the department heads will be there. This is the first (1S`) step in looking at the 2020 budget. I encourage you, if you can block out your schedule for this coming Wednesday, you will be hearing from the Administration and the Council Members how we have prepared for what is called the Fiscal Curb. We have really prepared for addressing the reduction in property taxes and also other areas that will impact our income for the 2020 fiscal year. We invite each and everyone of you to come if you can. We will be there to listen to and to learn from you all, as well. Thank you so much. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, Two (2)things,Therese, I've appreciated the conversations that we've always had. One (1) thing that you all might not know about me is that I drive to Goshen everyday to work for a green company where we literally turn 15 million pounds of plastics and tire rubber into car parts that then, again,when the car wears out, can be turned back into more car parts. I do that for a reason because I'm dedicated to the green side of this world and trying to make an impact. The company is there for that same reason too, to make an impact where we can. We are literally taking water bottle, Tide bottles and all of that and turning them into car parts. And, there are plenty of companies out there doing that. If you want, please Google search St. Louis in the 1930s. I grew up in St. Louis. At one (1) point they burned so much coal, wood and oil in the winter time that, during the winter, the air would not move and during the day the streets were completely dark. They had street lights on and lights on the cars because it was so dark from the soot in the air. We are probably paying for that now with what is going on.And this is the point I brought up in Committee, along with what Councilmember Jake Teshka said, we all need to do our part. At one (1) point, they decided that wasn't good enough and they made conscience effort to make those changes. Those photos are horrifying to see what was going on.They made a change and we can make a change, too. Sometimes we look and say, everything great and cutting-edge is happening on the west coast or somewhere other than here in South Bend. What I love about this Council, we've done it over the eight (8) years I've been on Council, a lot of cutting-edge and substantial ideas taken from other places in the world and doing it first (1St) in South Bend. I'm proud of the fact we've all done this. I appreciate Councilmembers Broden, Teshka and White for their leadership on this. This asks why not? Why can we not do that here? We need to have more courage to say, we don't care if we're in the Midwest or in a Rust Belt City, we are going to make a change and we are going to do it different. I appreciate everybody in this audience for that reason and for being here. When I first (1St) got on Council, I toured the Century Center. I was actually appalled. The lighting system was in a closet, the power was literally open where you open the closet and there was literally three (3)-phase live power with no safety features and no door on it. It was powering the Century Center's light system. Literally, if you touched any of it, you would die. That was how bad it was. It was me and a version of this Council saying, no, that is not good enough and we can do better with the Century Center. You look at what Century Center has become now, it has taken multiple strides in green technology. It was really driven from this Common Council at budget time to say that is not good enough. We've made improvements and you guys are part of it. We are doing it for the younger generation, too. We hear you. We hear the fact that we have to put more into what we are doing, business wise, within the City to include sustainable and renewable energy where we can. We are going to do that. I'm committed to doing that as we go forward. I want to thank everybody for coming out. This is the most clapping we've had at a Council meeting for a long time. So, thank you all. Councilmember Jo M. Broden made a motion to adopt Bill No. 19-33. Councilmember Jake Teshka seconded this motion by a roll call vote of seven(7). BILLS ON FIRST READING There were no bills for first (1St)reading. UNFINISHED BUSINESS There was no unfinished business. 15