![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/icons\/t2009_City_Council.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Notes from this evening’s Fort Wayne City Council meeting.<\/p>\n
All Council persons present, except for Mitch Harper.<\/p>\n
Councilman Tim Pape’s presentation on the City-County Space Utilization Task Force meetings.<\/p>\n
County Councilman Paul Moss has just entered the room.<\/p>\n
A new building for the FWPD and a new building for the Allen County\u00c2\u00a0Sheriff\u00c2\u00a0would cost an estimated $24.9 million. \u00c2\u00a0Councilman Pape feels the Renaissance building is the “best deal” at $58 per square foot. \u00c2\u00a0This would be in comparison to $220 per s.f. for a new FWPD building. \u00c2\u00a0The building for the FW-AC Health Department on New Haven is approximately $150 per square foot. \u00c2\u00a0This building had been considered for the Sheriff at one point.<\/p>\n
Combination means FWPD in 200 E Berry, Sheriff in CCB and backfill the rest.<\/p>\n
(I’ll have audio later this evening…)<\/p>\n
Councilman Pape is saying all “we” need to do is sell the six buildings the County wouldn’t need. \u00c2\u00a0He has now asked the other two Council task force members for their comments. \u00c2\u00a0Both Councilmen Smith and Harper said they would defer until they’d heard from some of their colleagues.<\/p>\n
Councilman Tom Didier is stating he’s on board with co-location and the purchase of the building. \u00c2\u00a0Councilman Pape is asking if money should be spent on drilling deeper into the numbers? \u00c2\u00a0Councilman Didier is stating we need to look a the bigger picture and future.<\/p>\n
Councilman Glynn Hines says it makes sense to spend a bit more money to investigate the amounts. \u00c2\u00a0Hines is saying the Council needs to be prepared for either way the decision could go.<\/p>\n
Council President Bender is asking the matter be deferred until after the rest of Council business has been completed so those waiting can work their way through.<\/p>\n
S-10-01-23<\/strong> – going to a new meter. \u00c2\u00a0An existing supplier tripled their costs. \u00c2\u00a0This should lower maintenance costs. \u00c2\u00a0Councilwoman Karen Goldner is asking if an inventory is kept, or ordered as needed – response is small inventory is kept. \u00c2\u00a0Passed, all in favor.<\/p>\n S-10-01-24<\/strong> – Cindy Joyner is in front of Council. \u00c2\u00a0$41 down to $19 on board-ups. \u00c2\u00a0Clean-ups reduced around 50%. \u00c2\u00a0Used to bid two together, now separated. \u00c2\u00a0She is asking to reduce the amount to $125,000 since it would be more reasonable.<\/p>\n Councilman Harper is asking what is recovered from property owners. \u00c2\u00a0Joyner is responding they have to give 30 days for them to pay, then a lien or assessment is placed on the property. \u00c2\u00a0Close to 70% is recovered. \u00c2\u00a0He is now asking where the recovered money goes… \u00c2\u00a0It is not retained by the department. \u00c2\u00a0Joyner is stating they should be moving toward being self-sufficient.<\/p>\n All in favor, 9-0.<\/p>\n S-10-01-25<\/strong> – The original contracts anticipate extending the contracts a year without having to rebid. \u00c2\u00a0They will have to be rebid next year. \u00c2\u00a0Councilman Didier is asking why we’re not rebidding with it being so competitive? \u00c2\u00a0Learning curve, cost in 2009 was less than previous two years. \u00c2\u00a0Price of gas has gone up this year compared to last.<\/p>\n Councilman Hines is asking how we recoup costs from properties cleaned up for the County. \u00c2\u00a0Joyner responded, we don’t. \u00c2\u00a0In 2009, 5-700 properties will be reverting back to the County. \u00c2\u00a0They do not have the money. \u00c2\u00a0The constituents don’t care who owns the properties, they just want it done. \u00c2\u00a0If it doesn’t get done, they look toward the City. \u00c2\u00a0There had been an agreement that the City would pick up the mowing responsibilities in an effort to\u00c2\u00a0stabilize\u00c2\u00a0the community and surrounding neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Councilwoman Goldner is saying this was agreed to in the early 90s. \u00c2\u00a0County only owns the properties because the taxes weren’t paid. \u00c2\u00a0Our responsibility is to our citizens and neighborhoods to take care of it.<\/p>\n Councilwoman Liz Brown is\u00c2\u00a0clarifying\u00c2\u00a0that the County isn’t billed or behind in payments. \u00c2\u00a0Talking about pursuing legislation that adjacent owners could take over ownership of the properties. \u00c2\u00a0State Representative Phil GiaQuinta does have a bill before the Indiana General Assembly to do this.<\/p>\n Passed, all in favor. \u00c2\u00a09-0<\/p>\n S-10-01-26<\/strong> – Continuation of earlier work. \u00c2\u00a0Up for bid in August, 2010. \u00c2\u00a0They will be going under the railroad overpass which will need to be coordinated with Clinton Street projects and railroad. \u00c2\u00a0Letting will be next year. \u00c2\u00a0Starts just north of Ewing and Wayne, runs up to St. Mary’s River near Superior Street for a new outlet.<\/p>\n Councilman Harper is asking this was an RFQ. \u00c2\u00a0Sent to over 100; 24 responded.<\/p>\n Passed, 9-0.<\/p>\n S-10-01-27<\/strong> – four firms submitted proposals. \u00c2\u00a0Councilman Harper voted against, passed 8-1.<\/p>\n End of the Committee Session.<\/p>\n Council President Bender is turning it back over to Pape for 20 minutes.<\/p>\n Councilman John Shoaff is asking about the market for the six buildings Councilman Pape was saying the County could sell. \u00c2\u00a0Pape is responding he doesn’t know. \u00c2\u00a0He thinks the numbers are conservative and could be done. \u00c2\u00a0He is saying there is money available to cover the costs for the County. \u00c2\u00a0Councilman Shoaff is stating the buildings might not sell right away.<\/p>\n Councilman Shoaff is stating some sort of contingency planning is needed in case the buildings wouldn’t sell. \u00c2\u00a0Couldn’t money be saved by banking 20,000 square feet, which would save over $1 million? \u00c2\u00a0Councilman Pape is asking if it would be a better alignment to sell the six buildings? \u00c2\u00a0Shoaff is reminding of the costs of the bonding and interest. \u00c2\u00a0Councilman Pape is bringing up the County’s rainy day fund of over $14 million.<\/p>\n Councilwoman Karen Goldner is talking about the Court House’s construction. \u00c2\u00a0It was built for the long term. \u00c2\u00a0She is saying let’s do the study now. \u00c2\u00a0Spending money on Paul Moss’ plan would be a waste of money. \u00c2\u00a0Why would you go to this trouble only to have the Sheriff and Police on opposite sides of the street? \u00c2\u00a0If we’re going to do that, then we should just move into 200 East Berry and be done with it.<\/p>\n Councilman Harper is pointing out we really don’t know what the costs will be. \u00c2\u00a0This is necessary information. \u00c2\u00a0Two concerns – how we ultimately finance the project. \u00c2\u00a0He proposed the beverage tax from the Capital Improvements Board. \u00c2\u00a0Changes may occur in government and how services will be delivered. \u00c2\u00a0These changes can not be anticipated. \u00c2\u00a0A mechanism needs to be in place so that there is a way to solve shifting space needs in the future. \u00c2\u00a0Possibly a building authority, although he doesn’t think that is needed. \u00c2\u00a0How they are resolved, however, needs to be addressed right now. He also feels all members of the task force have done their due\u00c2\u00a0diligence.<\/p>\n Councilman Smith is saying he hopes we need less space in the future. \u00c2\u00a0Hopefully Friday, a direction will be arrived at and numbers can be drilled down a bit further. \u00c2\u00a0It will cost more than originally anticipated. \u00c2\u00a0Goal is to keep it as low as possible. \u00c2\u00a0Real work will begin after Friday.<\/p>\n Councilwoman Brown – the co-location we have now is not great. \u00c2\u00a0Councilwoman is talking about the County’s awareness of the City’s needs. \u00c2\u00a0She’d like to see what the County’s plans are. \u00c2\u00a0She wants to know exactly what they will be charged to do. \u00c2\u00a0I cannot believe how much more square footage the County has than the City. \u00c2\u00a0The numbers for the City to move out have not changed. \u00c2\u00a0She is advocating for co-location of the development teams. \u00c2\u00a0Having to go back and forth between buildings now is symptomatic of the larger picture. \u00c2\u00a0If we’re going to do it, it has to be a great system – the County has to pony up.<\/p>\n Councilman Pape – haven’t been able to get to the point of what goes where. \u00c2\u00a0Councilwoman Hughes said the other day she’d be willing to consider up to additional $1.5 million more. \u00c2\u00a0The public wonders why we’re spending $20 million now? \u00c2\u00a0Because it’s a cost the community is facing now or down the road at some point.<\/p>\n It is fair to report to the task force there is a consensus to move ahead with further exploration of the costs.<\/p>\n Notes from this evening’s Fort Wayne City Council meeting. Related Images:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[1086,1397,519,15,21751,130,20,21755,133,127,128,332],"class_list":{"0":"post-10091","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-fort-wayne-city-council","7":"tag-allen-county-councilman-paul-moss","8":"tag-cindy-joyner","9":"tag-city-of-fort-wayne-neighborhood-code-enforcement","10":"tag-fort-wayne-city-council-2","11":"tag-fort-wayne-city-councilman-glynn-hines","12":"tag-fort-wayne-city-councilman-mitch-harper","13":"tag-fort-wayne-city-councilman-tim-pape","14":"tag-fort-wayne-city-councilman-tom-didier","15":"tag-fort-wayne-city-councilman-tom-smith","16":"tag-fort-wayne-city-councilwoman-karen-goldner","18":"tag-indiana-state-representative-phil-giaquinta"},"yoast_head":"\nRelated Images:<\/h3>
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/71709.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"Mayor "\\"2009\/02\/27:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/71710.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"Mayor "\\"2009\/02\/27:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/71712.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"Fort "\\"2009\/02\/27:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/71714.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"City "\\"2009\/02\/27:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/71715.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"Allen "\\"2009\/02\/27:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/92352.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"Mayor "\\"2009\/06\/02:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/92359.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"City "\\"2009\/06\/02:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/92360.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"City "\\"2009\/06\/02:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/92362.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"City "\\"2009\/06\/02:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/92363.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"City "\\"2009\/06\/02:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/20090525\/90590.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"Councilpersons "\\"Councilpersons")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/2005-germanfest\/7974.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"City "\\"2005:")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/cityoffw\/88101.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"First "\\"Public")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/2009-trf-parade\/99901.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"The "\\"The")
![](\"https:\/\/aroundfortwayne.com\/news\/wp-content\/gallery\/blog-headers\/2009_07_14_header.jpg\"\n\t\t\ttitle=\"City "\\"2009\/07\/14")