THURSDAY'S COUNCIL MEETING

There was a packed house Thursday night for the city council meeting. There were even three former council members in attendance.

The meeting started off with comments from the public of which there were several. It started off with Mark Cassidy who surprised everyone, including himself, by supporting Mr. Price in the resolution to rescind health insurance benefits for council members. I echoed his words when my turn came, all to no avail as we all know. Thankfully I heard that the cost of living bonuses will be given to the non-bargaining employees of the city. That was my other topic.

Richard Berryman was next and was happy to report that the city cleaned up the mess they made in front of his house when a garbage truck leaked. His main topic was FEMA's decision to deny the flood victim's claims. Mr. Coffey explained that New Albany was included with the rest of the county which did not have as much damage. Doesn't seem fair.

Next up was Vicki Denhart who used her five minutes wisely and covered several different items. She stated that the nearly $44,000 fee for health care should not be given to a select few but rather spread among the rest of the council. She also said that Mr. Malysz and Mr. Rosenbarger had written grants in the past and with their large salaries should be required to do so in the future and thus eliminate the need for a grant writer. She also went on to speak about the lack of accountability and lack of leadership in the city, she ended with the words "We're in trouble".

Jason Hublar also spoke about the Tort claims being denied. He said the reason given was that the city was unaware of the flood problems before the big flood according to the insurance company, Midwest. He added that he and others had made the city aware of these problems two years ago.

Scott Thomas and Bob Lind spoke against the moratorium on building permits. Mr. Gonder changed the agenda to include just the first reading so the Ordinance can be changed again.

Ray Ballew spoke out about the healthcare rescinding resolution. He said the three part time employees are all business people who should be able to afford their own insurance, he also thanked Mr. Price for writing the resolution.

The last citizen was Debbie Pellman (sp?) who wants our tax dollars to help the flood victims. She asked that citizens be put first for once.

Mr. Malysz handed out a memo from the Mayor to the council (I just happen to have a copy).
It is regarding recent England Administration accomplishments. They include:

ARRA Stimulus Funding $1,515,000

• Spring St. signals
• Market St. signals
• Hausfeld Lane/CSX RR crossing
• State St. pavement (Green Valley Rd to I-265)

McDonald Lane design $630,000 contract 80% Federal - from Charlestown Rd To Grant Line Rd.

Mt. Tabor Road Design $482,750 contract 80% Federal also C-town to G-Line Rds.

Ohio River Greenway City $350,000 (from TIF) the Corps of Engineers $350,000
Additonal $3.2 million ARRA Stimulus funding from Corps of Engineers, New Albany will need to match this funding by June 2010 or the Corps will lose it.

The SEJ/East Spring Neighborhoods NSP Project - the $6.7 million grant to improve 40 properties, an additional 10-12 houses will be constructed.

The city is also in the process of selling the Baptist Tabernacle and Shrader Stables.

All of this happened between 7:30 and 9:00 Thursday night. There is so much good news but still so much bad news also. There is a light at the end of this tunnel but we have a long way to go to get there. I just wish someone could wave magic wand and create good jobs for our citizens so we could pay our bills and not worry about losing our homes. Those 40 houses will be sold to people with lower to moderate incomes but people need to have an income to buy them. Let's hope and pray that something happens soon.

BELT TIGHTENING

As you know, I was unable to attend the budget hearing but someone called and gave me the details.

It seems that we need 1.5 million for next year's budget. No small amount to be sure. But the council seems ready to make whatever cuts are necessary whether they are popular or not. With elections looming in 2011 they should be commended for doing what is right.

From what I was told, Mr. Coffey wants to eliminate health care coverage for the council members. I agree with him on that issue since the council members are part time employees. To my knowledge no other employer gives this benefit to part time employees.

Mr. Messer mentioned the large cell phone bills and apparently wants to limit their use. Again, I think this is a good move. City officials should use their own cell phones. If they want a separate phone for work they need to purchase another one. Everyone knows that times are not good and these are small sacrifices.

I know if these cuts are made we still have a long way to go to balance the budget but every bit helps. And I don't buy the line that elected officials make less than they would in the private sector. People in middle management are losing their jobs every day. At least elected officials know they have a job for four years.

Additionally I'm always hearing people on the campaign trail talk about why the want this particular office, and it never has anything to do with money. Maybe some of our higher paid city employees and elected officials could give up a few of their perks to help the city.

Yes, the article is harsh but again, these are hard times.

HR3962

The Health Care Plan HR 3962 passed the House last night. As John Gonder said, "Saturday's vote was just the beginning of the process but it's a good beginning".

I was so supportive of HR676 that I was severely disappointed when it was taken off of the table, even though everyone, including myself, knew that the country was not ready for such a change. Even though everyone would have benefited from this plan.

I hear Senator Sanders will revive "single payer" in the Senate and possible bring it up for a vote. Maybe real reform is not dead. We can only hope.

THE MASTER PLAN REVISITED

The City Council meeting was not quite as long as I predicted. They adjourned a little after 9:00. But it certainly was entertaining, complete with presentations on color coded boards.

The first order of business was Resolution R-09-24 (The Master Plan) Maury Goldberg and Greg Sekula spoke in favor of it's passage. (I had done the same at a previous meeting and should have again tonight).

Jameson Bledsoe expressed concerns about the lack of information given out beforehand. As a developer he was afraid he might be passed over for consideration in favor of developers with deeper pockets. He said that small business people are at a disadvantage when planning "green" buildings because of the cost involved. Scott Wood addressed this issue a little later saying that no developers were pushed aside although some did drop out when the market took a dive.

After MUCH discussion the Resolution passed 7 aye's 1 abstain (Mr. Price) and 1 no (Mr. Coffey).

The rest of the agenda consisted mostly of Appropriation Resolutions, which basically means moving money from one fund to another.

The last item was an Ordinance to rezone 2 1/2 acres on State St. near Target from R2, residential to C2, general business, no problem.

The meeting got pretty lively during the time for city officials to speak. And speak they did. Mr. Price asked Mrs. Garry about several items in the budget including over payments, mileage logs, and cell phones. She replied that the over payments resulted when department heads turn in two claims for the same expense but that has been resolved. She went on to explain that she has no control over the mileage logs or cell phone usage. But that a police officer did repay a cell phone bill a few years ago due to personal use.

Just about everyone expressed their opinion on the audit. Mr. Coffey said it was incomplete, Mr. Price's concerns are mentioned above. Mr. Zurschmeide said he contacted Charlie Pride, the head of the State Board of Accounts. Mr. Pride explained that the audit was not politically motivated and the city cannot pay another accounting firm to duplicate this audit. Mr. Coffey said there was a disclaimer on the audit stating that it was not complete. Mr. Zurschmeide suggested that someone from the State Board of Accounts, preferably Mr. Pride come and meet with the council.

Mr. Coffey wants to meet the the council next Tuesday and Wednesday to go over the 2009 and 2010 budgets to see where cuts can be made. Mr. Gahan asked if this meant the budget would be rescinded. Mr. Coffey replied that the council is allowed to make changes.

Mayor England was visibly upset when he took the podium. He compared the discussions to a witch hunt. He also mentioned Mr. Pride and his quote in the Tribune where he stated that there was no money missing but New Albany needs a better computer system and the Controllers Office needs more employees.

He went on to say that the budget for 2010 will be 1.5 million short due to a decrease in property taxes and that the Governor told him that the cities need the LOIT tax to make up the difference. He urged the City Council to work with the County Council and the Commissioners to pass the LOIT tax, and added that that was the solution for Clark Co. Personally, from what I have seen the LOIT tax is about as popular as H1N1. He also added that the problem was not overspending but under funding.

There was more discussion but these are the main points. Stay tuned.

THE MASTER PLAN

The Master Plan outlined in the Tribune looks beautiful and we need to make this happen. However, I wonder what the city plans to do about our horrendous sewer system. There was talk of new and rehabbed buildings and everything sounds beautiful, new, and shiny. But no one seems to mention what's under the streets.

I know human waste is not a pleasant subject but it IS necessary. Has anyone heard what the plans are for fixing our sewers?

LET'S NOT LET THIS OPPORTUNITY PASS US BY, NEW ALBANY

Dan Chandler posted a comment on NAC last month about mixed use housing for people with low incomes. It was very well written and informational, so with his permission, this is a reprint of his comments.

"Smoketown and Clarksdale both used federal HOPE VI grants. HOPE VI began i 1992 as a New Urbanist way replace barrack -style "projects" with New Urbanist, mixed-use, mixed income neighborhoods. At its inception, HOPE VI required one-to-one replacement of low-income units. However, this one-to-one requirement was repealed by Congress in 1998.

While HOPE VI is still on the books, Congress has not funded it in several years. Therefore, if new low income housing happens in New Albany, it likely will be from a funding source other than HOPE VI. New Albany has never applied for HOPE VI and I doubt we'll ever get the chance.

Today except for specialty programs aimed at assisted living, etc., Congress mainly looks to the Section 42 Low Income Housing Tax Credit for affordable housing development. As part of the stimulus package, Indiana's annual LIHTC allotment for 2009 is triple what is normally allotted in other years. Under LIHTC, developers only receive credits for those units set side for families making no more than 60% or 50% (depending on their particular application) of the area median income. LIHTC has been used in New Albany at St. Edwards Court, various old-house-to-4-plex conversions along E. Spring and some apartments by IUS.

I'd like to see the problem of replacing New Albany's barrack-style "projects" unit for unit, with something less concentrated. Unfortunately, no one locally is pushing for good LIHTC development, or any LIHTC development at all. LIHTC housing can take just about any form you want. They've been used on a LEED certified high-rise in San Diego. They've been used on scattered site developments in Louisville by groups like New Directions and The Housing Partnership.

Since there's so much LIHTC money floating around this year, and since Indiana Housing has said that this year they are giving preference to historic rehabilitation in their LIHTC allocations,I'm disappointed that no one (to my knowledge) is putting together a LIHTC application for New Albany. To get sufficient economies of scale, you need at least 24 units to do a LIHTC project. With combined LIHTC and Historic Tax Credits, a developer would need to put virtually no money into a deal; they only would have to show sufficient financial strength to backstop the deal if something unexpected happened.

A New Albany project could be 30 new units at the Moser Tannery, it could be 24 rehabbed shotguns scattered around town, or it could be six 4-plexes. When you take LIHTC, HUD watches the property very closely for 15 to 30 years (again depending on the project). It's much better rental housing that one typically finds in New Albany; all HUD guidelines for construction, lead paint, etc., must be met. Groups like New Directions and Housing Partnership consult on putting these applications together. Someone just has to roll up their sleeves and make it happen.

As a side note, in our New Markets Tax Credit application, which is aimed at mixed use development, I specified that we would set aside 20% of new housing units for those making no more than 60% of the area median income. Therefore if we receive the NMTC's and all the credits are used on new development along the Main St., you'll see new affordable housing in places where there is no affordable housing today."

I have seen the Smoketown and Clarksdale areas Dan mentioned. They look beautiful. There are single family homes, duplexes and 4 plexes all on well maintained streets. As Dan mentioned, this could happen on our Main St. Perhaps this could be incorporated in the "Master Plan" suggested for the area.

Things are really picking up in downtown New Albany, let's not stop now. Developers, are you reading this?

LET'S JUST TABLE EVERYTHING AND GO HOME

I don't know if that was the plan but that is basically how last night's city council meeting went. The handful of speakers including myself expressed concern over issues which were mainly tabled until a later meeting. This is the run down:

• R-09-23 Resolution Confirming the Establishment of an Economic Revitalization Area for Matt Chalfant d/b/a/ Chalfant Industries, Inc. by the Common Council of the City of New Albany. 8-1 Mr. Gahan was the no vote.
• R09-24 Resolution of the Common Council of the city of New Albany Amending the "New Albany-Fringe area Comprehensive Plan 2020". Mr. Price tabled until he could form a committee with Mr. Gahan and Mr. McLaughlin.
• A-09-12 Ordinance for Appropriations and Tax Rates. Mrs. Garry wanted a yes vote on the first reading until she goes to Indy to find out more about the 2009 budget. (votes) Ceasar-yes, Price-no, McLaughlin-no,Benedetti-no, Gahan-no,Gonder-no-Messer-yes,Zurschmeide-no,Coffey-no.
• A-09-13 An Ordinance to Fix the Non-Reverting Budgets For the Year 2010. (votes) Ceasar-yes,Price-no,McLaughlin-no,Benedetti-abstain,Gahan-no,Gonder-yes,Messer-yes,Zurschmeide-no,Coffey-no.
• A-09-14 An Ordinance Setting Salaries for the Year 2010 for Non Bargaining Unit Employees,. the vote was the same as above except Mrs. Benedetti voted no on this one.
• G-09-20 Ordinance To Replace A Tabled Ordinance Seeking A Moratorium on Building Permits (Mr. Gonder tabled this Ordinance before so he could consult with the attorney for the council) (votes) Ceasar-yes,Price-yes,McLaughlin-yes,Benedetti-yes,Gahan-no,Gonder-yes,Messer-yes,Zurschmeide-no,Coffey-no.
• A-09-11 Ordinance Appropriating Funds for One Time Cost Of Living Recognition Payment and Setting Amount Of Payments. Mr. Ceasar tabled this before the 3rd reading despite my argument that the amount is insignificant considering the size of the budget and should be passed.
• G-09-19 An Ordinance to Reflect Technical Changes Necessary As A Result of An Agreement With the Town of Georgetown. (vote) Ceasar-yes,Price-no,McLaughlin-no,Benedetti-yes,Gahan-no,Gonder-yes,Messer-yes,Zurschmeide-no,Coffey-no. Even after Mr. Stewart's comments the vote failed 5-4.

This was one of the fastest moving meetings on record, even with a full agenda the meeting adjourned before 9:00. Apparently everyone had their mind made up in advance because there was little discussion.

I guess those New Albany High School students will have to come back another time if they want to be entertained.