Greensburg City Council met on Monday.
There was a discussion on tax abatement 2018-13. There have been 3 resolution proposals submitted to the council. The proposal were numbered 1-3 to help keep them in order. Resolution 1, 2021-12, states that it is substantial compliance as it is a construction headquarters next to the liquor store. Resolution 2, 2021-13, stated that there is not substantial compliance due to influences outside of Whittaker’s control, but efforts show compliance and they will allow the abatement. Resolution 3, 2021-14, stated that they are not in compliance and the abatement would be terminated. The recommendation was to go with resolution 3, to terminate, due to interpretation of Indiana code. There was a motion made for Councilman Polling to look at resolution 1, 2021-12, as it was submitted earlier in that afternoon and they hadn’t had a chance to look at it. This was tabled.
Street Commissioner Mark Klosterkemper presented ordinance 2021-18 for additional appropriation. This is for insurance settlements that were received. This was approved.
Mayor Joshua Marsh presented ordinance 2021-19 for 2022 utilities salary. This was approved. Ordinance 2021-20 for 2022 city employee salary was approved. Ordinance 2021-21 for the 2022 elected officials salary was approved.
Greensburg/Decatur County EDC Director Bryan Robbins presented resolution 2021-11 for Xperience Ag tax abatement. This represents the first of 4 construction phases out on Veterans Way. They requested a 10 year abatement. They have 3-4 acres they are building on and have purchased 20 acres for growth later on. They have 5 employees and will be adding 2 more. They are an ag technology company that is trying to help farmers become more profitable by adding tech to their equipment. They want to build a nice facility with a show room and shop. They would also like to put up an ag museum and events center eventually. The abatement committee recommended a 4 year abatement. The 4 year abatement was approved.
Police Chief Mike McNealy presented resolution 2021-8 for transfer of funds. This is a transfer from the 300 series to the 100 series to cover overtime expenditures in 2021. This was approved.
Fire Chief Nathan Stoermer presented the facility survey. A few months ago the board allowed them to go ahead with a facility survey of the fire station. They put up a bid and rewarded it to RQAW who has now finished their survey and written a report. They have 3 options. Option A is to renovate the existing station, option B is to demolish and build on the same site, and option C is to build a new station on a new site. The architectural evaluation found that they would need to separate the apparatus bay from the living and administration quarters more so than they currently are. There is currently only 1 set of doors separating these areas and they have no separate area for gear storage. There is also no privacy in the bunk room and the door goes right to the apparatus bay. They are also at capacity. The Fire protection and plumbing evaluation stated that the apparatus bay requires a meter and back flow prevention device. The gas meter should be replaced and the restrooms are out of service and have clogging issues. The mechanical evaluation showed that their newest fan unit was 10 years old, meaning that all units have less than 5 years of life left. They have also capped off the outside air ventilation louvres. From the Electrical evaluation they recommended they have a dedicated IT room and update light fixtures to LED to conserve energy. Option A would significantly decrease the amount of parking and have a 2 story add on. Option B would have a 2 story apparatus bay and separate living and administrative quarters. Option C could be a single story which would be a bit cheaper and administration would be in the front and living quarters in the back. Option A would be $6,413,000, option B would be $8,389,000, and option C would be $7,672,000. Any of the options would take roughly 14-18 months. RQAW recommends option C. Kevin Fleetwood askers if the new site costs were included in option C. They are not.
Utilities Manager Donna Lecher presented ordinance 2021-23 for the water rate. This was approved on the first reading. Ordinance 2021-24 for the sewer rate was approved on the first reading.
Mayor Joshua Marsh presented his items. Ordinance 2021-25 for the City of Greensburg employee handbook updates was presented. These are updates that they have been working on for a long time. This was 3 handbooks which were all around 108 pages. They have now been condensed to around 83 pages. This was approved. Resolution 2021-10 for the ARP Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund was approved. The 2022 public meeting calendar was approved. This is trying to condense the meeting schedule into the first 2 weeks of the month. The 2022 Public Holiday Calendar was approved. The ribbon cutting for the fitness park is Saturday November 13 at 10 am.
The UTV registration is back open.
The city and the board recognized the retirement of Jeff Smith. They are very thankful and proud to have had him.
Morgan Schofield
WTRE News
All Rights Reserved