10 December 2024 Dearborn County Redevelopment Meeting Notes

 10 December 2024 Dearborn County Redevelopment Meeting Notes

Present: Jim Deaton, Chairman, Dave Deddens, Jim Mansfield, Mark Dole, and Daryl Cutter (non- voting school board member)

ABSENT: Jim Helms (see resignation info below) and Daryl Cutter, School Board member.

Also present:Sue Hayden, county administrator and minute taker, Connie Fromhold, Auditor and DCRC treasurer, and Anthony Smart, attorney. In audience- Commissioner Jim Thatcher and Senator Randy Maxwell, Marc Emral, Register, Kendall Eberhardt, Bright Fire Chief, Pat Little, Miller Township trustee, Denise Bowling, Harrison Township Trustee, June Tucker, Jim Kinker -Tri Township Water Co, Regina Pennington, Owner of 1 More Bar in Bright (with a verifiable petition opposing the TIF)  [NOTE:  Why did all these people from Bright take time to come to a morning DCRC meeting? There was no public comment period on the agenda.]

Title VI statement read as legally required.

EXECUTIVE SESSION @ 8:30 a.m. preceded this meeting

IC §5-14-1.5-6.1(b) (2) (D) which pertains to discussing strategy with the respect to the purchase or lease of real property by the governing body up to the time a contract or option to purchase or lease is executed by the parties;

IC § 5-14-1.5-6.1(b) (4) (A) to discuss interviews and negotiations with industrial or commercial prospects or agents of industrial or commercial prospects by the Indiana economic development corporation, the office of tourism development, the Indiana finance authority, an economic development commission, a local economic development organization (as defined in IC 5-28-11-2(3)), or a governing body of a political subdivision

Memorandum for Executive Session- Board certified they only discussed what was advertised.

Action from Executive Session: Unclear what these motions below are about so far.

Board motion- Accept the non binding Memorandum of Understanding from executive Session - Approved

Board motion- Accept the land donation and conditions for ROW improvements- Approved. 

Approval of Minutes for November 12, 2024 Meeting- Approved with Mark Dole saying he only heard about half of them via telephone attendance. Deaton suggested maybe he shouldn’t vote. It was not clear if Dole abstained or not. 

Housekeeping

Claims: Drake Lawn $840.00 for mowing properties in Bright, Harrison and Aurora; 

Seitz Agency $100.00 for DCRC Blanket Crime Bond;

 Jeffrey D. Thomas $700.00 for appraisal of property in Bright

 and Bayer Becker $2093.75 for Task #7, attending meeting and call to Nicole Daily. 

and One Dearborn $12,000 for community development corporation establishment [NOTE: What exactly is this?]

Total: $15,733.75- Claims approved

Financials – Review- no questions

Resignation of Board Member Jim Helms- Deaton said Helms had been ill when absent from the November meeting. Deaton also said Helms has been a long time member of the group from way back when they were meeting in the Chamber of Commerce - We will miss him.  

Old Business 

Bayer Becker Update - Mark Rosenberger - agreement with the Ohio RailRoad company to address the $43,942 NTE (not to exceed) - and the crossing over they tracks on Moore Lane in West Harrison TIF.$43,942 is the working cost for this.The RR will not meet with DCRC (Rosenberger)unless they agree to the $43,942 NTE fee.  Authority signed is to agree with the reimbursement costs for engineering due to Rail Road. Rosenberger is looking for a crossing like it is on Kilby Rd. So it should NOT cost this much for engineering from teh Rail road. Discussion is that he will negotiate that cost to get it down.  They need to do this or they won’t meet with DCRC (via Rosenberger) [NOTE: Does a DCRC member go to this meeting with Rosenberger? (from Bayer Becker)]

Confirmatory Resolution 2024-DCRC-004-for the Bright Allocation Area. Mark Dole said he has had discussions with them - Fire dept  and 3 township trustees. He thinks they can work through their complaints and issues. Met with a couple other ( unspecified) people. Thinks this is good for Bright. Dole -  Motioned to sign this confirmatory resolution for the Bright TIF. Jim Mansfield 2nded. [NOTE: Both these board members live in Bright area.]

Dave Deddens said he had met with Mark Dole? and June (Tucker)- and they want to incorporate. [Note: I wonder who else was at that private meeting?]

Discussion of board is that they (Bright) can still incorporate later and then help decide what to do with this TIF money. [NOTE: So how is that going to work? There has been a strategy here to do what supposedly no one else can do besides DCRC.  The “But/For argument” for using TIFs fails to address the fact that many things TIFs do CAN and probably SHOULD be done BY private companies and not using public $$s FOR private enterprise. Instead we  appear to have “pay to play.”]  

Deaton said he has appreciated all his discussions with the public. 

No public was asked to speak.  

DCRC Board (4 present) voted to approve the confirmatory resolution. Approved.  

New Business-:

Non-Voting School Board Member Commissioner’s Appointment - Board had not asked if Daryl Cutter ( South Dearborn) would like to continue to serve. Commissioners want a recommendation from the board on the school board member to serve 2 year term. Deaton said that Cutter was a farmer and so in the early morning he gets out the field and he might not be able to make the meetings. [NOTE: Cutter has been in attendance at nearly all of the DCRC meetings I have attended. He was missing at this one.] 

The board brought up Jamie Graf from Sunman- Dearborn to see if he will accept the spot. Or would rotate school districts for representation.[Note: Graf’s attendance was spotty in the past, when he was on the DCRC board.]

One Dearborn Report- none

Attorney’s Report- none

Other Business- none

Adjourned at  9:25 AM while 2 hands were raised from the audience.

Jim Kinker- asked to speak- There was a back and forth with Deaton and Smart about being adjourned so they could speak after meeting. He said he wanted to speak now so the people could hear. He runs Tri Township Water- How did we get to the point where  Ordinance 25-76- was not followed? The utilities etc were not notified of the TIF process.  Deaton said he did not know what this Ordinance 25-76  was. Kinker said- We were not notified for our knowledge of  the water capacity to serve this TIF area. [NOTE: Apparently there are not enough taps available in the area serving the proposed townhouses. They have 3 available and the homes need 12.]

Deaton- Advertising requirements were done???

Deaton- Money for the county is to be diverted to Bright to fix deficiencies there. 

Meeting was essentially over. Board dispersed.

Christine Brauer Mueller

Lawrenceburg Township