The Noblesville Common Council gathered for a regular meeting at 7 p.m. June 11. All councilors were present. The council will meet again at 7 p.m. June 25 in the City Hall council chambers (second floor), 16 S. 10th St..
What happened: The council was introduced to a preliminary development plan for Cherry Tree Manors, a single-family housing development at 15160 and 15194 Cherry Tree Rd.
What it means: Martin Marietta is proposing 23 single family lots on a nearly 60-acre piece of land which it already owns, adjacent on the west to its current facility at 15168 River Rd. No action was taken by the council.
What happened: The council unanimously approved an ordinance adopting a recreation zone improvement plan through 2028 and amending an the ordinance regarding park impact fees.
What it means: The change to the park impact fee ordinance reflects a change in the rate for a two-family dwelling unit and only applies to new residential construction and is not retroactive. Park impact fees set a rate on new development for the cost of specific infrastructure that is required because of the new development. The city uses these fees to maintain its level of service. A new recreation zone improvement plan was required to reflect these changes in the park impact fee rate.
What happened: The council unanimously approved an ordinance approving additional appropriations from the city’s motor vehicle highway fund for right-of-way acquisition costs associated with the Pleasant Street expansion and extension project.
What it means: City Controller Jeff Spalding presented to ordinance.
“This action does not trigger any activity with regard to right-of-way acquisition,” Spalding said. “It is purely appropriating the funds so the city is prudently financially positioned to be able to execute this type of transaction should those decisions be made in the future. It’s strictly a fiscal action to get the funding in place and budgeted for that purpose.”
“This is really a proactive opportunity to set aside those funds so that as properties become available, we can go out an purchase them,” Councilor Megan Wiles said.
Resident Bruce Richter spoke during the meeting to voice his disapproval of the overall Pleasant Street project.
“I am just here to voice my opinion about this expansion that I am vehemently opposed (to),” Richter said. “I think there are better routes that need to be considered, and I’ve heard all the talk that other routes have been considered but (have been) brushed off. I find it very unfortunate that this is the attitude over this monumental bypass. It was put in the plans 20 years ago, but one thing that’s changed since then is there are people living where there were no houses 20 years ago … It’s really ill thought out, but you’ve already decided what you’re going to do.”
What happened: The council introduced an ordinance amending a past ordinance regarding the encroachment of a parking area into the landscape buffer for the Flats at 146 at 15201 Flats Dr.
What it means: If approved, the ordinance will allow for the placement of 130 additional parking spaces throughout the development, several of which would encroach on a 50-foot landscape buffer along the south property line.
Because the ordinance was only being introduced, the council took no action.
What happened: The council introduced two ordinances that would make changes to the civilian employee personnel handbook and benefits for police and fire employees of the city.
What it means: City of Noblesville Human Resources Director Holly Ramon presented the ordinances. Changes to the civilian employee handbook include providing additional clarification to city policies, namely a change to provide full-time city employees with three vacation days after they complete 90 days on the job. The council suspended rules to unanimously pass the ordinance after the first reading.
The ordinance regarding police and fire employee benefits mirrors that of the ordinances making changes for civilian employees, aside from a section that prevents police officers from having a reduction in holiday hours paid to them. If they were approved to have a day off during that holiday but then later called into work. The council suspended rules to unanimously pass the ordinance after the first reading.
What happened: The council approved an appropriation transfer in the general fund to fund a deferred exterior maintenance project at City Hall.
What it means: City Controller Jeff Spalding presented information on the transfer to the council.
“Essentially, our maintenance department has identified about $260,000 of deferred exterior maintenance work that has accumulated on City Hall since it was expanded, renovated and reopened in 2007,” Spalding said. “The identification of that has happened since the 2019 budget was adopted. So, (this is) a request to transfer (money) from the funding that was included in the budget for contingency and unexpected types of things like this to cover maintenance costs. Based on what they had budgeted, the maintenance department believes that they can absorb about $40,000 of those costs within that existing budget, but for these other added things, they need the additional $220,000.
The council unanimously approved the transfer.
