CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
JANUARY 5, 2004
The Honorable Council of the City of Evansville held a special meeting at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, January 5, 2004 in the City Council Chambers, Room 301 Civic Center Complex, Evansville, Indiana with President John presiding. The following business was conducted.
These minutes are not intended to be a verbatim transcript. Audiotapes of this meeting are on file in the City Clerk’s Office.
ROLL CALL:
There being nine (9) members present and zero (0) members absent and nine (9) members representing a quorum, the President declared this session of the Common Council officially opened.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Councilman Bagbey led the pledge of allegiance this evening.
President John: Thank you fellow Councilmen and those in the audience, welcome to the January 5th meeting of the Coun…. year 2004 meeting of the Common Council
COUNCIL ATTORNEY
John Hamilton is Council Attorney this evening.
RECOGNITION OF SCHOOLS
SERGEANT AT ARMS
This evening there is no Officer as our Sergeant at Arms.
NOMINATION AND SELECTION OF OFFICERS
President John: At this time I’ll call for the election of officers.
Do we have a nomination for President?
Councilwoman Robinson: Councilman John I’d like to nominate Councilman Bagbey for President.
Councilwoman Robinson moved and Councilman Watts seconded the motion that Councilman Bagbey be elected President.
Are there any other nominations? I’d accept a motion that the nominations be closed.
Councilman Melcher moved and Councilman Watts seconded the motion to close the nominations. Voice vote. So ordered.
President John: With that I will hand the gavel over to our new President.
President Bagbey: Changing of the guard. Now we will open….will entertain a motion for Vice-President.
President John: At this time I’d like to move that Councilman Watts be selected as Vice-President.
Councilman John moved and Councilwoman Robinson seconded the motion to elect Councilman Watts as Vice-President. Voice vote. So ordered.
President Bagbey: Board of Public Works: Councilman Melcher, I’d like for you to Chair that. Other members, outside of myself, will be Councilman Jarboe and Councilman Kniese.
ASD: Councilwoman Robinson, I would like for you to Chair that. The other Members, outside of myself, will be Councilman Kiefer, Councilman Melcher, and Councilman Watts.
Finance Chairman: Councilman John, I call upon you again. I know you are doing it with some reluctance, but I appreciate your helping with your City again. Outside of myself we will have Councilwoman Robinson, Councilman Melcher, and Councilwoman Angela Koehler Walden.
REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
IN YOUR DECEMBER 26TH PACKET:
*Agenda for the January 5, 2004 City Council Meeting.
*Committee Meeting Schedule.
Is there a motion to receive, file and make these reports and communications a part of the minutes of the meeting?
Councilwoman Robinson moved and Councilman Melcher seconded the motion to receive, file and make these reports and communications a part of the minutes of the meeting. Voice vote. So ordered.
CONSENT AGENDA
FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTIONS
Clerk Alberta Matlock: Nothing filed for First Reading, and nothing scheduled for Second Reading, and nothing scheduled for Third Reading. We go to Miscellaneous Business .
Mr. President.
MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS
MISCELLANEOUS BOARD APPOINTMENTS
President Bagbey: We’ve made our appointment. We will go to Miscellaneous Board Appointments. These are for consideration. These appointments that would be discussed, names that will be issued, will have to be voted on by the Council.
Animal Control: We are going to leave that blank until further legal issues are resolved. We have determined that there are some Board appointments that may have been working in the City the last four years without proper authority, and we will continue to have the legal research done on those Boards.
Area Plan Commission: I request Councilman Kniese, if you would agree. If I understand right, you were copied on the e-mail that Councilman Kiefer sent out, so he would agree to take that spot, I would appreciate it for this year. Thank you.
Building Authority: Who’s been asked to nominate. I believe it was Councilman Watts, who would put forth Ralph Kissinger. Is that correct?
Central Dispatch: I would like to see Councilman Jarboe take the City Council appointment there.
The Commission of Social Status of African American Males is inactive at this time. Is that correct Councilwoman Robinson?
Councilwoman Robinson: (INAUDIBLE).
President Bagbey: And we have a new Director there I’m told. Okay.
Commission for Public Art is Nancy Gaunt.
Community Foundation Board is a spot that is going to be further reviewed by Legal Counsel.
Examining Review Board: Construction and Roofing License Examining Review Board, Carl Shepard.
Data Board: I’m very excited to announce that the Director of Technology, for the Evansville County School Corporation, has agreed to come back to the Data Board, and that being Mike Russ. He’s coming back. He will offer new fresh identity to a Board he formally served on and brings a world of expertise to that Board.
Downtown Evansville Inc. would request that Councilman Jarboe sit on that position.
Economic Development Committee is on hold.
Electrical Examiners Board: I will, at this time, consider the three gentlemen that are there. Pursuant also to legal research by Mr. Hamilton.
EUTS: Councilman Melcher, hopefully, you would stay in that position.
Fire Merit Commission: Jim Nunning II has agreed to be in that spot.
Home Inspection Board will also be held until further review.
Housing Trust Fund Board: Names that I will submit to you are Bill Pedke, Debra Lutz and, Jerome Stewart.
Legal Aid: Councilman John, I’d ask for you to return to that spot.
MBE/WBE Utilization Board: Miss Susan Helfrich, and the Reverend Gerald Arnold.
Museum Board: Councilman Kniese, we have talked into going back.
Pigeon Creek Greenway: Jack Corn. We have another appointment there right now is Gail Reiken, and her term is indefinite, but we will have to see whether or not there is a conflict with her being the Park Director.
Police Merit Commission: Reverend Adrian Brooks has agreed to go back to that Board.
Redevelopment Commission: I am going to ask that Katie Nimnicht actually Katherine Nimnicht, an Evansville resident, single parent, graduate of Butler University, and hopefully she’s going to be here tonight, and she is here. Katie is right there. Give you all an opportunity, if you are in agreement, to meet with Katie after the meeting. Councilwoman Robinson do you want to tell us about Mr. John Walker, who’s name I have here.
Councilwoman Robinson: Our other appointment is Mr. John Walker. He’s been a resident of Evansville since 1989, and with the New Hope Baptist Church. He’s a manager at Bristol Meyer’s. Before that he was manager at Alcoa, and Environmental Safety Manager of Bristol Meyer’s. I’m sorry I failed to invite him tonight but he will be in attendance this (INAUDIBLE).
President Bagbey: Thank you. Refrigeration and Steamfitters Board Jack McNeely has asked to go back on that Board, at least for a year, because of some changes in the training and education that is going on with that particular Board.
Tree Advisory Board will stay the same.
Urban Enterprise Zone will stay the same
WNIN Board: We will ask Councilwoman Walden to go back to that.
Youth Leadership Grant Chairman: Councilman Watts, I’d like for you to be the Chairperson again.
Subcommittee will consist of Councilman Jarboe, Councilwoman Walden, Councilman Kiefer, and Councilman John.
Youth Sports Grant Chairman: Brother Melcher I’d like for you to come back again, and I will also be part of your subcommittee with Councilman Watts, Councilman Kiefer, and Councilwoman Robinson.
President Bagbey: At this time I would ask for approval. I’m sorry go ahead.
Councilman Melcher: You’ve got one more with Jack Corn. (INAUDIBLE) as our representative on the committee.
President Bagbey: Is Jack going to stay on, do you know?
Councilman Melcher: Yeah, he came in the other day and I asked him. He’s been on it for a while.
President Bagbey: Show that correction, as well as Councilman Melcher, Jack Corn.
Councilman Melcher: There are two of us. I’ll make a motion to accept these nominations.
Councilman Melcher moved and Councilwoman Robinson second the motion to accept the nomination. Voice vote. So ordered.
President Bagbey: I appreciate everybody’s help. For some reason the Board appointments this time were a little more difficult than in the past, and it’s because we have some T’s and I’s that, I believe, weren’t crossed and dotted, but we will continue to evolve on that. I do have Ms. Nimnicht’s resume here with me this evening for everyone on Council. Katie at the end of the meeting I’d like for you to come up. You’re going to be sworn in tonight by the Clerk and……
Councilman Kiefer: Mr. President, I was just wanting Madam Clerk to note that I made it to the meeting. I’m in attendance. Thank you.
President Bagbey: Before we wrap this up there are a few comments that I’d like to make. We’ve all endured what I thought was a very difficult, and sometimes a very nasty, vile campaign. The people that we serve made a decision for us to be sitting up here this evening, and I welcome Councilman Jarboe here tonight. I hope that we can put back, or put away, some of those feelings. And in my own case I have to work extremely hard, and I make no apologies for that. But, I will work very, very hard to put back…put away some of those bitter feelings, and try to concentrate on the one thing, that’s the betterment of this City I truly love. I want to thank Councilman John for his outstanding leadership, in Finances, and in President. Curt I think that you answered your City’s call on more than one occasion. And I deeply, and personally, appreciate you taking the Finance Chairmanship one more time. You are a credit to your family, and you are a credit to this community, and I mean that.
Councilman John: Just the way I wrote it. (laughter)
President Bagbey: Thank you. What’s the vision? The vision is to move Evansville into the twenty-second century. There are going to be some things that I’ve had our Counselor, Mr. Hamilton, look at from the legal point. We will be sharing those with you. Before we go forward on some ideas dealing in some zoning issues, that I think that we need to be working with our neighborhood groups with, to answer some problems. Economic development, job retention, job creation, those old buzz words. Those folks that I represent on the Second Ward. and continue to battle, the First, and Second Ward, the Fourth Ward, the Fifth Ward, and Sixth Ward, and the City as a whole, when it come to infrastructure needs. I can not do this job by myself. I do not know all the answers. If you got a complaint, and you got a heartburn, the only way we can resolve it is by communication. Let me know. And I hope from now on that once we enter into this chamber it’s working for the City of Evansville, not for the Republicans, and not for the Democrats, but this great City. Other than that I don’t have anything else to say. Anybody else got any comments under Miscellaneous Business? If not the Chair would entertain a motion to recess.
ADJOURNMENT:
Councilwoman Robinson moved and Councilman Watts seconded the motion to adjourn. Voice Vote. So Ordered. Meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
PRESIDING OFFICER
CITY CLERK