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REGULAR MEETING MAY 26, 2026 117 <br />PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR <br />Attorney Michael Schmidt stated there will be an item added to the Agenda for Tuesday, <br />May 26th. The South Bend Fire Department reached an agreement with the Elkhart Fire <br />Department to purchase a fire truck for approximately $544,000. Due to conflicting <br />guidance in the city’s purchasing policy about whether board approval was required, <br />officials chose to bring the purchase before the board as a precaution. Attorney Schmidt <br />noted the truck is being acquired under an Indiana code allowing special purchases that <br />provide substantial savings to government entities. Central Services and the Fire <br />Department researched the vehicle’s mileage, age, market value, and comparable used <br />vehicles and determined that the agreed price represented a good value. <br />Attorney Schmidt also offered special recognition and thanks to Gemma Stanton from the <br />Engineering Department, noting that it was believed to be her final day with the city, and <br />expressed appreciation for her contributions and efforts over the past three and a half <br />years. <br />Rebecca Plantz, Director of Engineering Services announced a staff update introducing <br />Jenny Guard as the city’s new senior engineer. Jenny joins the team after approximately 10 <br />years with INDOT and brings additional experience that will help strengthen the <br />department’s work. Rebecca noted is expected to assist with development projects, capital <br />work in the right way, utility coordination, and improving overall team efficiency. The <br />department expressed excitement about having her join the team. <br />Acting Board Clerk Candy Bermudez introduced Derek Brubaker, the new Engineering <br />Administrative Assistant, to the Board. The Board members welcomed Mr. Brubaker and <br />expressed their enthusiasm for having him join the team. <br />Leslie Biek, Assistant City Engineer, announced that an additional agenda item would be <br />added regarding an INDOT Local Public Agency (LPA) agreement for Phase 3 construction <br />of the Coal Line Trail. The agreement had only been received that morning, and Cailtin <br />Wyant, Project Engineer, apologized on behalf of both her and Leslie, explaining that <br />neither their records nor emails showed that the document had been received earlier. <br />ADJOURNMENT <br />There being no further business to come before the Board, President Maradik adjourned <br />the meeting at 10:44 a.m.. <br />June 9, 2026