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Frankfort - page 22

City of Frankfort Cancels Major Events Through June 30th

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During the Monday, April 13, 2020, Redevelopment Authority meeting while discussing the status of Prairie Creek Park and when the grand opening would be held, Frankfort City Councilman and Chairman of the Redevelopment Authority Joe Palmer stated: “We have currently canceled everything up to July 1st as of right now.”

The full meeting can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzEEvGjYdQk

City Council Votes 7-0 To Delay Aquatic Center, “In The Best Interest Of The Citizens Of Frankfort”

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The Frankfort City Council conducted its Monday, April 13, 2020, meeting remotely from the council chamber as well as members of the council conferenced in via telephone due to COVID-19 precautions.

The Council addressed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the City finances by offering a resolution for “delaying TPA Aquatic Center project.” The resolution cited a number of items for the need to delay, ranging from cost estimates to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Frankfort Mayor Judith Sheets asked the council if there was a motion to read Resolution 20-07 in its entirety, the council did vote in favor of this request.

An excerpt of the resolution here:

“All bids exceeded the estimated and budgeted amount for the project.”

“The project as budgeted is based upon projected tax revenues the amount in timeliness of which may be impacted by emergency orders of the state of Indiana as a result of the current COVID-19 declared emergency and by the state of the economy in the state of Indiana in the near future as a result of a COVID-19 emergency”

“That it is in the best interest of the citizens of Frankfort that the project not be undertaken at this time, but reimplemented in the near future.”

Prior to voting on the measure, Mayor Sheets asked Carol Bartley, City Clerk-Treasurer, and Eric Woods, City Councilman and member of City Finance committee, to provide background on the decision for this resolution.

Bartley addressed the impact of local income tax and property tax on the city revenue in the future.

“The local income tax revenue will be impactful on the city’s finances in the year 2022, These funds are on a three-year cycle. The city and county may expect to see a loss of those funds due to current unemployment situations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“The full impact, of course, is unknown at this time, but with the high levels of unemployment it may lead to a significant decrease in funds.”

“Property tax revenues will likely be down with the 60-day extension of late fees that the state has implemented. Current projections are estimated at around 70% of the collections may arrive in a timely manner for June draw.”

Woods spoke of the “tough” decision.

“This was a tough one. We have a lot of projects going on. We have dealt with an awful lot that are a benefit for the city. No one could have anticipated the hardships that I think we are going to see over the next several months with reduction in income and delay in property tax.”

“So again, this was a tough decision that the finance committee took up with the Mayor and the Redevelopment Commission.”

“It was one that we felt was absolutely necessary because although financially, we could have made the payments in the best circumstances, we simply had no assurance. And when we went to Reedy Financial for guidance on this, they were not able to provide us with a positive suggestion on how to move forward.”

“So, when your Finance organization can’t give you the go-ahead from their professional viewpoint, the finance committee recommends that we take that as an understanding that we should not enter into something that could possibly cause us to default on bond payment and have to basically get into other property taxes for other services. And, maybe, salaries on down the road.”

“So, the diligent smart thing to do here is to wait a little while. We will definitely readdress this. The resolution clearly states we’re going to have an aquatic center. We just need to do this smartly, that the decisions we make today are best for the council in the community of Frankfort.

Councilman Steve Beardsley, also a member of the City Finance committee, addressed the council.

“We are in unprecedented time. Nobody can predict what’s going to happen financially in the near future. It just seemed to me irresponsible if we were to go ahead and with this not knowing for sure whether the money would be available in the near future for it.”

The City Council meeting can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie64Nc6RKvg

Board Of Works Votes 3-0 To Terminate Parks Consultant Contract With Travis Sheets

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During the Monday, April 13, 2020, Board of Works (BOW) meeting, Frankfort Mayor Judith Sheets brought forward the termination of an agreement under new business.

Mayor Sheets asked BOW member Megan Sheets to talk about the decision to terminate the contract with parks consultant, Travis Sheets.

“The former administration executed a contractual agreement that originally extended to June 2021 specifically for Travis to be the owner representative for both the Prairie Creek Park and the TPA pool projects,” said Megan Sheets.

“We are nearing completion of Prairie Creek Park and with action going to be taken at today’s council meeting, there is proposed suspension of the pool project.”

“There is also the fact we now have a parks superintendent on staff, fulltime. Travis does remain instrumental in remaining Prairie Creek Park details such as landscaping.”

“And, upon joint conversation with Travis and all of us as Board of Works members, it’s been agreed that an appropriate end date for his contract will be May 31st of this year.”

City of Frankfort Offers Emergency Relief Forgivable Loans for Small Businesses

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Frankfort Redevelopment Commission and the City of Frankfort have developed a forgivable loan program to provide financial relief for small businesses with a direct financial impact resulting from the COVID-19 crisis. Eligible businesses must be located within the Frankfort TIF District and have five employees or less. Other criteria include having no current property tax liens or legal judgments. Eligible businesses cannot be a part of a national chain or franchise.

The maximum forgivable loan amount is $2,000. These loans have no-payment and no-interest and are 100 percent forgivable after 12-months if the business continues to operate and does not relocate outside of the Frankfort TIF district. Applications will be accepted beginning Wednesday, April 15, 2020, and will close on July 1, 2020.

Frankfort Redevelopment Commission president Joe Palmer recognizes the struggle downtown businesses are facing saying, “We want to help our small businesses and show them we haven’t forgotten about them. This forgivable loan program is a step in the right direction.”

Application processing and loan administration is being managed through Frankfort Main Street. Online applications can be found at www.frankforthotdogfestival.com. Each application will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Any business with questions about the application process can call Kim Stevens with Frankfort Main Street at (765) 654-4081.

Virtual Tip Jar Program Created To Benefit Service Industry Employees

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Clinton County Today has created a virtual tip jar program to benefit service industry employees in Clinton County who have been laid off, furloughed or seen a reduction in their work hours due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Service industry employees are encouraged to sign-up by sharing their Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App accounts at http://www.clintoncountytoday.com/virtualtipjar

Individuals can visit this webpage and search listings to find their favorite server, barber, bartender or stylist and gift them money, referred to as a “tip,” directly to the respective individual’s account.

New Frankfort Aquatic Center To Be Placed On Hold

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The City of Frankfort is facing tough financial decisions as a result of the COVID-19 economic downturn. One project to be discussed on Monday, April 13, 2020, City Council meeting is the planned aquatic center at the T.P.A. park.

When bids were opened in February 2020, the lowest bid was some $1.6 million over projected cost. The aquatic center timeline has been that work would begin in 2020 with an opening in 2021.

A work session in March 2020 consisting of the Parks Councilmatic committee and Kyle Lueken of HWC Engineering found nearly a million dollars of cuts through the removal of the concession stand and having the street department work on doing paving in-house.

The current Monday night agenda calls for “a resolution delaying TPA Aquatic Center Project”.

The economic impact of COVID-19 facing the City is multifold. The City is facing a delayed property tax draw, normally in the month of June, it has been pushed to July. This is a result of a March 19, 2020, executive order issued by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb stating non-escrowed property tax payments set for May 11 are still due, but counties are to waive all penalties on payments made after May 11, 2020, for a period of 60-days.

The Department of Local Government Finance issued a memo stating spring 2019, pay 2020 tax bill for non-escrowed property owners “may be paid up to and including July 10, 2020, without penalty.”

The City is also looking at how best to address underfunded carryovers from 2019. These are projects/programs that have carried over into 2020 but lack the necessary funding.

Also, the City will face a changing local income tax revenue target as a result of a 90-day extension in the filing of state tax returns to July 15, this was done by the executive order of Governor Holcomb on March 19, 2020.

Local income tax is also impacted by an unknown unemployment rate. Fewer workers in the labor market working yield less revenue for the City via local income tax collected.

Those are just a few of the issues impacting the City’s finances and one of several projects that will face scrutiny in the coming months.

Clinton County Today will report the outcome of the City Council meeting as well as monitor the City’s response to the fiscal challenge in future articles.

The City Council meeting can be viewed on the City’s YouTube channel. That information and the full city council agenda can be found here:

City Council Agenda – 4/13/2020

Frankfort Awarded $221,240 In Community Crossings Matching Grant Funds

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Frankfort City officials are planning a variety of road improvement projects that will be funded in part through the state’s Next Level Roads: Community Crossings matching grant. Frankfort was awarded $221,240 from the Indiana Department of Transportation, which will allow for pavement work on eleven city streets.

According to Mayor Judith Sheets, these funds are a dollar for dollar matching grant from INDOT, meaning the City will need to match these funds equally, with the local dollars coming from city resources budgeted for road repairs.

Street Superintendent, Jason Forsythe, said that paving and project-related work will happen in 2020, with the projects going up for bid soon adding, “We have to have our contractor secured by May 31 in order to start work in June.”

The Community Crossings Matching Grant Program provides funding to cities, towns, and counties across Indiana to make improvements to local roads and bridges. This program is a partnership between the Indiana Department of Transportation and Indiana communities to invest in infrastructure projects that advance economic development, job creation, and local transportation.

Three Communities Plus County Combine To Receive Over $1.7 Million In Community Crossings Grant Awards

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The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announced today, Tuesday, April 7, 2020, the 2020-1 Community Crossings Matching Grant award recipients.

Frankfort, Kirklin, Mulberry, and Clinton County combined will receive $1,702,010.85 in Community Crossings matching grants from INDOT for local projects through the Next Level Roads program.

Frankfort, Kirklin, Mulberry, and Clinton County are among 217 cities, towns, and counties that received a combined $126,560,741 in matching state dollars.

A breakdown of the grant money:

Clinton County $947,984.94
Frankfort $221,240.50
Kirklin $216,685.20
Mulberry $316,100.21

Clinton County Could Be On The Same COVID-19 Curve As Italy & New York City

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A message from the Clinton Couty Health Officer

April 6, 2020

Yesterday was Palm Sunday.

Yesterday was also the day we had 4 people in Clinton County with COVID-19. This does not sound like a lot, but in 4 days we have gone from one to four. That makes our doubling time about 2 days. If this calculation is correct, we are on the same curve as Italy and New York City. That means in 2 more days we will have 8 cases and in 2 days after that 16 cases in Clinton County. By Easter we will expect somewhere around 80 cases, many of them requiring hospital care. Now is the time we can change the outlook for our community. The only tool we have is our behavior!

Please take to heart the lessons painfully learned in the past few weeks:

Wash your hands with soap and water at least 4 times a day and anytime you touch anything outside your home.

Cover a cough or sneeze with a tissue or your elbow sleeve and wash your hands afterwards.
STAY HOME!!! Do not leave your home unless you absolutely must! Every time you pass by someone else you risk infection. If you just want to talk to your friends, use your phone!!!
Playing in the park, on the basketball court, or on the golf course puts you and your family and friends at risk of infection.

If you must go out for essential reasons, do not go inside a store or place of business any longer than absolutely necessary. Do not touch anything you do not have to touch. If there is a line, stay outside until it is your turn and keep away from anyone else at least 6 feet (10 feet is better). Consider having items delivered rather than shopping in person.

Wearing a cloth mask or even a scarf, over your nose and mouth outside your home will also help stop the spread of COVID-19. A paper surgical mask may be a little better and is needed by our medical professionals. Please use a re-usable fabric mask instead.
Remember- by following these measures you just might save a life!

Sincerely,

Stephen D. Tharp, MD
Clinton County Health Officer

4th COVID-19 Case in Clinton County

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There are now 4 cases of COVID-19 in Clinton County as of April 5, 2020, 104 Residents of Clinton County have been tested as reported by the Indiana State Department of Health.

The ISDH today, Sunday, April 5, 2020, announced that 458 additional Hoosiers have been diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at ISDH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and private laboratories. That brings to 4,411 the total number of Indiana residents known to have the novel coronavirus following corrections to the previous day’s total.

A total of 127 Hoosiers have died to date. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by ISDH and occurred over multiple days.

To date, 22,652 tests have been reported to ISDH, up from 19,800 on Saturday.

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