VANDERBURGH COUNTY

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

The Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners met in session this 22^nd day of February, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. in room 301 of the Civic Center Complex with President Lloyd Winnecke presiding.

President Winnecke: I would like to call to order the February 22^nd meeting of the Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners. We’ll begin with attendance roll call please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Here.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Here.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Here.

President Winnecke: Would you please stand and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

(The Pledge of Allegiance was given.)

President Winnecke: Thank you. Before we get into the meat of the meeting, I would like each of our students to introduce themselves. I kind of forgot that last time. Just push the button and speak into the microphone. Give your name and the school and what year in school you are.

Anna Loehr: I’m Anna Loehr. I’m from Memorial. I’m a Freshman.

McKenzie Thomas: I’m McKenzie Thomas, and I’m a Junior at Signature School.

Jamie Caldwell: I’m Jamie Caldwell, and I’m a Junior at Central High School.

Rebekah Riedford: I’m Rebekah Riedford, I’m a Senior at Memorial.

President Winnecke: Welcome, ladies. Thanks for your attendance.

President Winnecke: First, we would hear....is Rob Kerney here?

Commissioner Abell: Mr. President, Mr. Kerney is not here. I met with him yesterday. He gave me a report to hand to you about the work progress that the Disability Services Advisory Board has been doing. I have that on my desk. I’ll give it to you this evening.

President Winnecke: Okay, great. Thank you.

President Winnecke: Road race requests, first is the Greater Evansville Runners/Walkers Club, the Hot Dog Race, a fundraiser for Williams Syndrome. Is someone in the audience to speak to that? Come forward please. Good evening.

Marie Roeder: Good evening.

President Winnecke: Could you state your name for the record and describe–

Marie Roeder: My name is Marie Roeder.

President Winnecke: I’m sorry?

Marie Roeder: Marie Roeder. We are having a race at Burdette Park on March 26^th.

President Winnecke: Do we have the paperwork on that one?

Commissioner Melcher: I haven’t seen any.

President Winnecke: It’s in here, yes. This is out on the west side out on Nurrenbern Road?

Marie Roeder: Yes.

President Winnecke: I believe everything, you have your certificate of insurance liability. You expect 100 to 150 participants, then are you....you’ve coordinated everything with the Sheriff’s Department in terms of–

Marie Roeder: Yes, I did.

President Winnecke: –public safety?

Marie Roeder: Yes, I did. I did with, his name is Brian Traylor.

President Winnecke: Okay.

Marie Roeder: He told me he was going to take care of it.

President Winnecke: Okay.

Marie Roeder: I called back today and I’m waiting for them to call back again.

President Winnecke: The date of the event is the 26^th of March, correct?

Marie Roeder: Yes, it is.

President Winnecke: Any questions?

Commissioner Melcher: I just like to make sure we confirm that with the Sheriff. If there’s any financial–

President Winnecke: He’s nodding as–

Commissioner Melcher: Okay.

President Winnecke: –with his approval in the back row. He just gave me an okay sign. Good enough? Okay. I would entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Roll call vote.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Thank you, Marie.

Marie Roeder: Thank you very much.

President Winnecke: Okay.

President Winnecke: Next we have the Southern Indiana Classic Marathon and Half Marathon. Is Jill here? Oh, there she is.

Jill Gehlhausen: Hello, Lee Rudisill joins me tonight, and he is the logistics director for the Southern Indiana Classic Marathon and Half Marathon. This event is scheduled to take place on April 10^th at the Vanderburgh County 4-H Center. We have a kids dash on Saturday, April 9^th at the Vanderburgh County 4-H Center at 2:00 p.m. We’re really excited, because last year was our first year, and we had almost 1,600 registrants for the actual race, and a little over 10,000 attendees to the after party that was associated with it, a spring festival, on the same day at the same time. This year we’re expecting to increase registrants and then also increase the participation at the festival. So, we’re just delighted with the support the county has given us. We have presented one time, and we were asked to bring back the certificate of liability showing the county as additional insured. We have that, and I can pass out copies for each of you. Then, we also were asked to confirm that we definitely were going, that we had everything okayed with the Sheriff’s Office on the financial agreement for the security for the event. We have met with the Sheriff’s Office and we are ready to move forward with that at the same amount as last year, because we did come in much lower than the cap for last year. So, we are ready to sign the contract for that, and have that finalized. We handed a document out at the last meeting, and I brought one more for–

President Winnecke: Great.

Jill Gehlhausen: –you to review.

President Winnecke: If you could present Mr. Ziemer with the liability certificate, real quickly, he can inspect that.

Jill Gehlhausen: In March we’ll have letters sent to every resident that is affected by the event, a little over 600 residents. It will show road closures, it will show, you know, all of the information about that race weekend that they need to be aware of. We are working also with the county on road closure signs, barrels, cones. Last year they helped us a little bit, and this year they’re doing even more so of that.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: The insurance is satisfactory. Have you gotten the agreement signed for us? The agreement with the Sheriff.

Jill Gehlhausen: We have talked about it verbally, and we’re ready to sign it. We 100 percent agree with everything–

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Okay.

Jill Gehlhausen: –that’s within it.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Okay, and then you’ll get that back to me?

Jill Gehlhausen: Uh-huh.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Good. Thank you.

President Winnecke: The Sheriff again has nodded as if they are in agreement. So, I would trust that document would be signed and circulated to us. With that in mind, and I do appreciate the attempt to notify the residents in a timely fashion so they understand the nature of the road closings. I would entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Abell: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Thank you very much.

Jill Gehlhausen: Thank you.

President Winnecke: Next we have the sale of county owned property. I will, if it’s okay I’ll just do these as a group; 800 Bayard Park to the Boom Squad for one dollar; 26 East Blackford to Kerry Postlewaite for $513; 1223 South Governor to Channing and Elizabeth Hayden for $350; 1301 Fountain Avenue to Jerry Kissel for $250, and the second notice to bidders on 2023 South Fares. There were multiple bids that were submitted on this property. This is for a second and final bid. I would entertain a motion to approve those as presented.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Next we have the second and final reading of CO.01-11-002, amending the ordinance regarding smoking in public and work places. I guess, first, this did pass at our last meeting on the first reading. I would entertain a motion and a second to get it to the floor, then we’ll open it for discussion.

Commissioner Abell: So moved.

President Winnecke: Second. Okay, are there folks from the audience that would like to speak to this? Okay, we’ll get to Kenny.

Commissioner Melcher: Mr. President? One thing I forgot to say last time, what I would like to do this time is what we’ve done in every smoking ordinance that I’ve sat in, the people coming up to speak just state their name like normal, but say if they live in the City of Evansville or if they live in the county, or if they live in Henderson, or Indianapolis, just say where you’re from so we know. Thank you.

Marjorie Soyugenc: Hello. My name is Marjorie Soyugenc. I’m a resident of the county. I have had 40 years experience in health care administration in this community, primarily through the Welborn system, and volunteering on many, many not-for-profit organizations, which are looking out for the welfare of the citizens of this community to improve the quality of life. I don’t think there is much more that could be said that has not been already said. One, medical research strongly supports the definitive secondary smoking results are negative to everyone who is involved. We are endangering the health of our community by further having allowed people to have smoking in their immediate vicinity. Secondly, I think we have to look at the economics also. As a health care administrator, we know that there are millions of dollars of financial consequence to the family, to our community, to the entire health care system for the problems of respiratory therapy, respiratory problems that are caused by the many different diseases that smoking does promote. We hope that you will look favorably on the changes in this ordinance, and that you will vote for a stronger resolution of smoking control in this county. Thank you very much.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Marge.

Madelyn Grayson: Marjorie, will you spell your last name for me please?

Marjorie Soyugenc: It’s spelled S-o-y-u-g-e-n-c.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Marge. Kenny, would you like to come up?

Kenny Page: Thank you guys for letting me speak, County Councilmen. I think that if they voted on it in the city and then the county, that you guys shouldn’t vote it. I think that you guys voted for, or they voted for and there is a resolution on it, then you guys don’t need to. That’s what I think. I’m for smoking. I live here in the City of Evansville. I’m Kenny Page.

President Winnecke: Thank you, Kenny.

Kenny Page: Thank you.

President Winnecke: Thank you.

Linda White: Good evening, I’m Linda White. I’m the President and CEO of Deaconess Health System, and I live in Vanderburgh County. First of all, thank you, Commissioners, for looking after the health and well being of the citizens of our fine county. As we all know, cigarettes cause many, many deaths, many, many different kinds of illnesses, and, in fact, they cause more deaths than cocaine, auto accidents, AIDS, alcohol, heroine, fire, suicide and homicide all combined. So, by passing an ordinance that supports our community and our citizens, we thank you very, very much and we know that this is something that you have thought of for a long period of time. The statistics tell us that 28 percent of the adult population in Vanderburgh County smoke. So, by passing an ordinance, you are helping the 72 percent of the people who do not smoke live a healthier lifestyle, one that is going to be very much supported by a stronger ordinance. Deaconess Health System has been a smokefree community for a long period of time, but it is not without lots of problems and lots of challenges to protect our patients, our staff, our families and all of our visitors. So, on behalf of Deaconess Health System, we thank you for giving very serious consideration for moving forward with a stronger ordinance. Thank you.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Linda.

William Wooten: Good evening. I’m Dr. William Wooten. I’m a retired physician. My area of practice was family practice and also I worked for 20 years at the Addiction Treatment Center at Mulberry Center, formerly known as Welborn Hospital. I want to speak in favor or stronger control of cigarette smoking in Vanderburgh County. I’ve spent a number of years advocating for the reduction of tobacco, alcohol and other drug use among young people in the area, and we’ve made great strides in that regard over the past ten or 15 years. I hope you’ll do the right thing and vote to regulate cigarette smoking in public places more strongly. Thank you for your time.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Bill.

Wanda McCarter: Good evening.

President Winnecke: Good evening.

Wanda McCarter: My name is Wanda McCarter. I’m the Director of the Substance Abuse Council of Vanderburgh County. As Director of the Substance Abuse Council of Vanderburgh County I’m, of course, concerned about the addictive nature of tobacco and tobacco related products, but as a registered nurse I want to speak about the concerns I have on the health impacts of smoking and secondhand smoke. In 2007 the IU School of Medicine published findings from a study that they entitled, Estimating the Economic Impact of Secondhand Smoke on Indiana. Surprisingly the research showed that secondhand smoke costs Hoosiers about $390 million a year in health care costs. To break that down locally, in Vanderburgh County we carry $10.5 million in health care costs annually due to secondhand smoke, and there are 34 deaths on average annually related to secondhand smoke. In Evansville it’s a little over seven million in health care costs with 22 deaths estimated to be attributed to secondhand smoke. Locations that have comprehensive smokefree laws on their books have seen a great reduction in smoking rates. In addition to that, it saves taxpayers money, but most importantly it saves lives. Thank you.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Wanda.

Sally Herron: Good evening, my name is Sally Herron, and I live in Vanderburgh County. I would urge you to vote against this bill because the State, the federal government, the local government controls enough of our lives. I don’t smoke. I’ve never had the habit of smoking. I detest it. I have a granddaughter that her father smokes. I can’t stand it. My father had two bypass surgeries from smoking, but, he’s dead, but he would be the first one to tell you that the government does not have a right to tell a business what they can or cannot do in their business. Next it will be you can’t do, well, my lands Michelle Obama wants us to keep from eating hamburgers. Is that going to be here? I don’t think it’s the government’s place to tell people, in their own business, what to do. If you want to have a no smoking policy in a hospital that’s actually owned and operated by certain people, that’s fine. If you want to run a bar or a restaurant and say no smoking, that’s fine. But, I think that if you don’t want to be around the smoking, then you don’t go to the places that they have smoking. It’s a choice. Everything in life is a choice. It shouldn’t be shoved down our throat. Thank you.

President Winnecke: Thank you.

Martha Crosley: My name is Martha Crosley. I live in the city, but just about by this much. I’m very close to the county line. To some extent what Sally just said is true. It is about choice, but in a different way than she just stated. If you say, if you do what someone suggested, and what Sally kind of implied, that you put smoking or non-smoking on the doors of various establishments around town, and all the smokers can go to the smoking establishments and all the non-smokers can go to the non-smoking establishments, when you think about it that really doesn’t work and it’s not fair. Smokers can go to the non-smoking establishments, because they just would stop, would not smoke there or would go outside and smoke and come back in. Smokers could not go to the smoking establishments, because to do so would be to smoke secondhand smoke. So, to set up something of that nature is again restricting the non-smokers, which are the majority of people here. I own a business, and I know a whole lot about government regulations on businesses. My husband is a dentist, and the OSHA code from the federal government and the State of Indiana is thicker for dentistry than it is for any other industry, manufacturing, bar none. So, we have huge, huge amounts of restrictions. We, at first, found it extraordinarily expensive to do, but we knew it was right. We knew it was appropriate to do. When something is right, you do it, even if you have to suck it up a little bit and scrimp your pennies, you do what is appropriate and right for the health of the citizens of this area. Another factor that plays into this is there’s a lot of talk about the brain drain in this area. There’s a lot of talk about getting young, professional people to move back here, or to stay here once they’re out of college.

Areas which smoking ordinances are in place have a better chance of keeping those people here. We need those people. We need those people to be able to grow this community in the way it needs to be grown. On a personal level, I would like to go, I’m thinking about places in the county now, I would like to go to the Hornet’s Nest. I love the Hornet’s Nest, but if I go in there, I come out with clothes smelling like smoke, and hair smelling like smoke and it’s not pleasant. So, hopefully when this ordinance gets passed and they kind of clean up the nicotine on the walls a little bit and make the place smell a little bit better, I would like to go in there again. So, I would be a person who would go to places that I can’t go now, or am smart enough not to go to now. Thank you.

President Winnecke: Thank you.

Ray Nicholson: I’m Dr. Ray Nicholson, Health Officer for Vanderburgh County, and resident of the city. As Health Officer I feel like I would be remiss in my duty if I did not make a statement for you. Up to February of this year, the number of service men and women who have died in a battle, since the beginning of our nation, all the battles that this country has ever fought, from the Revolutionary War to the present Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has been about six thousand six hundred, 660,000 souls. The number of our population that die each year, not since the beginning, but each year, is approaching that number. That is an astounding number. This has to be treated like an epidemic. If a half a million people in our country died of the H1N1 virus last year, you would all be up in arms, the whole country would. Every health department would be answering questions of why did this happen. So, it has to be treated like an epidemic. It’s not just a small thing. It’s really big. Tobacco use is the biggest public health threat that this world has ever seen. Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death. On average, smokers lose 14 years of their life to premature death. Our veterans fight a war, they fight for our nation, but if we really want to help them, we would make sure that all those different clubs that they belong to have a comprehensive no smoking ban to help their health. Closer to home, I would make a statement about secondhand smoke here in Indiana, in nine years of a war in Iraq, the U.S. has lost 4,400 soldiers. During that same time in Indiana, there are 10,800 Hoosiers that have lost their lives to secondhand smoke alone. The number that have died of smoking related illnesses is much higher. I’m just talking about secondhand smoke. That’s 1,200 people per year that lose their lives in Indiana to secondhand smoke. So, I certainly hope you’ll vote favorably and pass this ordinance. Thank you.

President Winnecke: Thank you, Dr. Nicholson.

Bruce Ungenthiem: Good evening. My name is Bruce Ungenthiem. I’m a Vanderburgh County resident. I come here tonight to give you a perspective on secondhand smoke, as an issue from a son, a father, and a grandfather. I have to confess that I am not a smoker, nor have I ever smoked in my life. I owe that in large part to my mother, who challenged myself and my two brothers when we were very young, that if we did not smoke until we were 21 she would give us each $100. I still have that hundred dollars in my pocket. You would rightly ask how does a man who has never smoked a day in his life fully understand this issue. Well, two years ago next month, on March 2, 2009, I held my mother’s hand as she struggled to take her last breath. Her lungs filled from the fluid that cancer had caused by smoking. You see, she grew up in the 40's and 50's when smoking was glamorized by tobacco industries, movie industries, and most teenagers succumbed to the allure of tobacco and the addiction of nicotine. Throughout her life she continued the addiction, but as adult realized the dangers of the habit and did not want her three boys to get involved, thus the $100 bribe. Excuse me, but what my mother did not know at the time, which we now know, is the negative effect secondhand smoke has on the people in close proximity to smokers. My brothers and I, having lived in my mother’s house for the first 18 years of our lives, know this issue first hand. My younger brother and I suffer from chronic sinus issues, nerve related damage to our inner ears, hypertension and a compromised immune system that causes a common cold to hang on for weeks at a time. My older brother had all of these issues, but does not suffer from them any more. You see in May of 1992, at the age of 39, he died of what doctors said was a curable cancer, but because of his compromised immune system could not fight off the disease. Yes, my family and I know first hand the dangers of secondhand smoke. So, I come here tonight as a father of my youngest son, who on January 25, 2011 realized a dream of his and purchased the Hornet’s Nest in northern Vanderburgh County. The previous owner of the Hornet’s Nest was a smoker and thus allowed smoking in the bar. My son, who does not smoke, would like to change that practice, but fears his customer base would simply find another bar that allows smoking and not return to his business. Business, place of business, yes, that’s truly what a tavern is. Just like a bank, or a real estate office, or a government organization, there are some 50 plus taverns in Vanderburgh County and they employ 20 to 40 people who work there, plus the dozens or so delivery and support people who visit the establishment on a daily basis. So, to them it is a place of employment. It is also a public place where people come to bring their families for a break from normal life, to eat dinner and enjoy family and friends. It is my son’s place of business, and I’m very concerned about him, his employees, his support people and his customers who are currently exposed to the secondhand smoke. You see, he’s my youngest son, he was born on March the 2^nd, the day my mother died. I don’t want to see him exposed to the dangers of secondhand smoke. So, I ask you tonight, as a son, as a father, and as a grandfather of his two little girls, to do the right thing and pass this county-wide smoking ban for all work places and public places, that includes over 100 places in Vanderburgh County called a tavern or bar. My son’s life and well being may depend on it. My two sons daughters are my granddaughters, please pass that bill so they don’t have to hold their father’s hand as he tries to take his last breath. Thank you for this resolution, and I hope that you pass that. Oh, by the way, if you pass that this evening, on March the 2^nd of this year, I’ll take that hundred dollars out of my pocket and I’ll donate it on your behalf to the American Cancer Center. Thank you.

(Applause)

President Winnecke: Thanks, Bruce. Who else?

Ryan Rigg: Thank you. My name is Ryan Rigg. I’m the Community Representative for the American Cancer Society for Vanderburgh County. I live in Warrick County, but I am the Community Representative for Vanderburgh County. Scientifically the debate is over, secondhand smoke is more than a mere nuisance, it kills people. The 2006 Surgeon General’s report was unequivocal, there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. The report concluded that the only effective way to protect people from secondhand smoke is to completely eliminate indoor smoking. Restaurant and bar employees are particularly at risk. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association food service workers are 50 percent more likely than the general population to develop lung cancer, largely because many of them are exposed to secondhand smoke on the job. In reality there is only a smoking section and a secondhand smoking section. Comprehensive smokefree policies protect everyone’s right to breathe smokefree air, workers, visitors and patrons alike without harming business. In too many work sites our workers are regularly exposed to hazardous cancer causing chemicals from secondhand smoke. Employees needlessly suffer adverse health effects without any power to stop it. Employers should have to protect their employees from known cancer causing hazards like asbestos and secondhand smoke by making their building smokefree. The public can choose a smokefree establishment, but employees cannot. No one should have to choose between a paycheck and their health. You have a responsibility to make evidence based decisions, smokefree laws protect health, save lives and promote business. Throughout Indiana and the nation localities have demonstrated that smokefree laws are popular, can be implemented with little difficulty, are met with high levels of compliance, and do not have a negative economic impact on restaurants and bars. From a medical or economic standpoint, creating smokefree work places just makes sense. The American Cancer Society supports smokefree work places for all employees, and I urge you to pass a comprehensive smokefree law that makes all work places smokefree. Thank you.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Ryan. Anyone else?

Alaxis Hopkins: Hi, my name is Alaxis Hopkins. I’m a representative for the Boom Squad Voice Group. We are a youth group working with the Smokefree Communities Coalition. Tonight we have heard some testimonials, facts, figures and about the health costs of tobacco and (Inaudible) tobacco is a part. What we are talking about here is regulating a product that is harmful to the human body and removing it from work places and public places so there is no longer harm. If we weigh this problem on a scale, one side there will be a pack of cigarettes and on the other side of the scale there will be one human being. The question you are answering tonight is which one is most important. I think you have made your statement and the representatives of the Smokefree Communities Coalition have made their statement that this product is not worth not one more human life in our community. I thank you for your vote to save lives.

President Winnecke: Thank you, Alaxis.

Bryce Miller: My name is Bryce Miller. I go to Castle High School. I am not a resident of Vanderburgh County, but I am part of the Boom Squad, and I basically have lived my whole life here. As you guys probably know we own the Stanley Hall building on 800 Evans, and I believe that we, our building is smokefree, like you cannot smoke inside of our building, but if you walk out of the doors anybody can grab a cigarette and smoke. I personally don’t enjoy whenever we have functions and there are people that smoke there, they stand outside and just, they smoke away, and I want to go outside and go home and I can’t breath while I’m walking out of the door. I believe if you pass this we will actually have some say in what we can do. I do believe it is a choice whether you go somewhere that is smokefree or you don’t go where you don’t want to be in smoke, but it is also not a choice because I remember a couple of years back my friend he has a serious asthma attack in Golden Corral because he was getting salad at the salad bar and whenever they didn’t have the all no smoking that was where the smoking section was and he couldn’t breath for about a minute to a minute and a half and he just fell flat on his face. The hospital and the doctors just, they knew it was because of secondhand smoke, and it wasn’t an assumption, and nobody questioned it because, I mean, secondhand smoke is such a deadly cause. I mean, it is, it’s a fact that it is more harmful for you to receive secondhand smoke than it is to smoke yourself, because of the tar that is on the end of the cigarette and it gets in the smoke. Other people inhale it and there is a filter on the other end where the person that is smoking is smoking and they have a filter. So, basically they’re healthier smoking than you are not smoking. So, that’s basically it.

Commissioner Melcher: Thank you.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Bryce.

Andrea Hayes: Good evening. My name is Andrea Hayes. I’m the Director of the Movement Initiative at the Welborn Baptist Foundation. I just wanted to share a few facts with you. Smoking is the single greatest avoidable cause of disease and premature death in the nation. Smoking is estimated to be responsible for $167 billion in annual losses to the U.S. economy. Smoking harms every organ in the body, resulting in enormous health consequences, this includes 90 percent of lung cancer deaths in men, and almost 80 percent of lung cancer deaths in women. In 2008 a telephone survey conducted by the Welborn Baptist Foundation found that 25 percent of Vanderburgh County respondents, adult respondents, were smokers. This is higher than the national average of 20 percent. Among those smokers identified in the study, half had made a serious attempt to quit in that current year. Thank you for your time.

President Winnecke: Thank you, Andrea. Anyone else?

Barbara Lord: Good evening.

President Winnecke: Good evening.

Barbara Lord: My name is Barbara Lord. I am not a resident of Vanderburgh County, I’m a resident of Warrick County, but I Relay for Life here in Vanderburgh County, and I also do 95 percent of my shopping here, probably 98 percent of my going out to eat with my husband. My mother lives in Vanderburgh County, and when I take her places here, obviously, there are people out of Vanderburgh County that have a great, I think, what’s, I’ve lost the word I want. We have a great attachment to this issue, because, as I said, when we go out to eat somewhere in Vanderburgh County, this amendment is going to impact the quality of life we have. In 1964 I sat in Gerald Jesse’s civics class out in Reitz High School, and I listened to him preach to us about individual rights. One of the things that has stuck with me all of my life, and he said to me that my rights as a citizen end where your nose begins, but conversely your rights end where my nose begins. When I am in an area where there is secondhand smoke, that secondhand smoke does not end at my nose. It goes in my nose, in my lungs, in my bloodstream. I think the facts of secondhand smoke speak for themselves. Thanks for your time this evening.

President Winnecke: Thank you, Barbara.

Casey Williams: Good evening, Commissioners Winnecke, Abell and Melcher. My name is Casey Williams and I am the Public Relations Coordinator with Smokefree Communities Coalition of Vanderburgh County. On behalf of the hundred plus coalition members I want to thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of this amendment to make all work sites in the county smokefree. I’m here today because we are concerned about the effects of secondhand smoke on workers. I’m also here today because as a group of concerned citizens we want to point out the economic costs of smoking related illnesses is enormous. The savings in reduced health care expenses alone should be enough incentive to pass this legislation. Tobacco use costs us all, it hurts more than just the user. Even if you don’t smoke and aren’t around smokers you are still paying the price for tobacco use. Each Hoosier citizen pays $585 per year for costs related to tobacco use. Smoking costs Indiana nearly $2 billion every year in medical costs, lost productivity, fires, absenteeism, and extra house keeping costs. In addition, employer costs are affected. An employee who smokes costs their employer $1,760 per year in lost productivity. Costs can soar as much as $3,391 per year in medical expenses. There are other benefits to going smokefree beyond employee safety. Those operating retail businesses, especially restaurants, bars, and hotels usually find that their business goes up once customers know they are smokefree. 77 percent of Indiana’s population does not smoke, and generally prefers a smokefree atmosphere. In fact, many smokers do as well. Business owners in communities that choose to go smokefree also realize a smoking cessation benefit. Many smokers choose to use this as an opportunity to quit smoking, multiplying the positive public health effect of such a choice. As you can imagine my office at Smokefree Communities is smokefree, but my second job as a musician is not smokefree. Those of us who work in bars have the lowest level of protection against secondhand smoke. Many jobs such as musicians or wait staff or bartenders do not include health insurance. If we get sick from secondhand smoke, we either go untreated or the treatment we do receive will likely become a public expense. What is the best answer? Protect all employees from the dangers of secondhand smoke. This is going to be an excellent way to protect both the health and pocketbook of all Vanderburgh County residents. The citizens have asked for this for a long time. It’s been five years since the Commissioners have moved to protect the citizens of this community. The coalition would really like to recognize their effort and toil to get this rule clear, correct and right for its citizens. We also recognize that a similar challenge is due for the City of Evansville Council. We also will take steps to ensure that the entire community is protected. Our office is here to support you as you transition to the new smokefree work place ordinance in Vanderburgh County. Again, we thank you. My name is Casey Williams, I live in the City of Evansville.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Casey.

Casey Williams: Thank you.

President Winnecke: Would anyone else like to speak to this issue? Okay, we, in that case, we have a motion and a second on the floor to pass, on final reading, CO.01-11-002. Any comments from my colleagues?

Commissioner Melcher: I would just like to make one. I will try to keep it short. I’ve been working on, like I said at the last meeting, on this for many, many years, and I do know it’s a health issue. I don’t even smoke myself or my family doesn’t. This is only for the county, just so everybody understands that this is not for the City of Evansville. This is only for the Hornet’s Nest, that was brought up tonight, St., let’s see, I think it would be St. Joe, also the American Legion Posts. Some of them have been calling me for the opposite because they know which side I try to be on, especially the veterans. They’re saying that they’re afraid that what the veterans there will end up doing is transferring to a post in Evansville. That’s going to hurt that post and that’s a good ole post out there, if you’ve ever been out to Funkhouser’s. I’m just trying to make sure that everybody’s on the same playing field. When the State was thinking about it, it was in the paper, “Is the smoke ban worth the gamble? Local casino taxes clouds issues.” Well Aztar didn’t want to be included in it, and what the City Council did at the time, they passed one, they left the boat exempt and some stuff in the early beginnings and they were able to create The District and all that economic development down there with it. They said if it was a smoking ban it wouldn’t pass. The State is also looking at it, so the very first one they wanted to eliminate was the casinos. Now they’ve gone bars and taverns. So, at the State it looks like it will pass, the same party has the Governor and the House and the Senate. If it passes, that means Gibson County, and Warrick County, and Posey County, for the first time, will be smokefree, except for the taverns and a few other exceptions. That will put pretty much everybody on a level playing field, except for the those two or three restaurants in our county and that American Legion Post. I was kind of hoping that we would look at this after the State did or did not do what they were going to do, but we don’t know what that’s going to be. But, I just wanted to make sure that everybody understood tonight that this is just for the few out there, and there always is the part about, at the time we were passing these there wasn’t any smokefree bars hardly in Evansville, only a few restaurants. There’s been a lot of new bars open up, a lot of new ones are going smokefree. So, if the Hornet’s Nest does want to go smokefree, they can, but they probably will, if this passes, they probably will lose for a while some of their customers, because they will come in to Evansville or go where they can smoke. Then, when the State passes it that will also create the same thing for the counties. I also know talking to other County Commissioners around us, like we were promised by Smokefree Communities that they were going to pass as soon as the City Council passed, and they didn’t do it. None of the Commissioners right now are thinking about a smoking ordinance that I know of. Henderson even changed theirs to match Evansville because they were losing business to Evansville. So, that’s the statement I wanted to make this evening. Thank you.

Commissioner Abell: I want everyone to know why I feel like I do. Economic development is a charge of the Vanderburgh County Commissioners. If we can do anything to encourage job growth in this county, it is incumbent upon us to do that. It has been proven that health insurance premiums can be reduced for companies that provide health insurance to their employees if they can prove that the community is a healthy community. If a company was looking to come to Vanderburgh County and looked at another county that did have a healthy county and went to them rather than us, I would feel terrible about the jobs that the people in our community would have lost, because if there’s anything that the people of Vanderburgh County need right now, it’s a place to work. My other issue that I want to explain to you is that this country was founded on, and is a country of representative government. I was not elected to vote my own will on the people. I was elected to vote the will of the people that I serve. My phone calls and e-mails are strongly in favor of a strict smoking ordinance in Vanderburgh County. I feel that I have to follow the direction of the people that elected me and vote that way. Democracy, representative form of government, isn’t just a form of government when it’s your way. It’s our way of life, it’s our form of government, and if you disagree with this one, you might not disagree with the next one, and you wouldn’t want the minority to win over something that you were strongly in favor of. Those are the two reasons that I will be voting in favor of this ordinance this evening. Thank you.

President Winnecke: I would just add, excuse me, just personally, in my opinion, a matter of public health, quality of life and economic development. I certainly understand the opposition, but those three tenets, I believe, outweigh the opposing arguments, in my mind. Hearing, seeing no other discussion, I’ll call for a roll call vote please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: No.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 2-1. Commissioner Melcher opposed.)

President Winnecke: The motion passes, and the ordinance becomes effective. Thank you, everyone. Appreciate the attendance tonight.

Commissioner Abell: Thank you.

(Applause)

President Winnecke: If anyone wants to leave, I’ll give you the chance before we continue on. We do have a lengthy agenda.

President Winnecke: Okay, we’ll continue with the contracts, agreements and leases. The first item under the Commissioners, the extension of agreement with MRC. This extends the term of the agreement to 12/31/16, but leaves the 2011 compensation as it is under the present agreement, and it provides for increases in compensation in the years 2012 through 2016 based on three percent annual increases. I would consider, entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Next, we have federal lobbying agreement with Barnes and Thornburg, this is also a state executive lobbying agreement with Barnes and Thornburg. Under these agreements, Barnes and Thornburg would provide federal lobbying for $50,000 for 2011, that is through March through December, and state executive lobbying for $20,000 for that same period of time, for a total charge of $70,000 in this year. I would entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second.

Commissioner Melcher: And, this one also is cheaper, isn’t it? Isn’t the total cheaper?

President Winnecke: It’s, actually it’s a little more, but we’ve eliminated one facet which we felt we didn’t need this year.

Commissioner Melcher: Right.

President Winnecke: Any other discussion? Roll call vote please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Next, an Old Courthouse lease renewal with Phoenix of Evansville for suite B9. This is for one year, from January 1 this year to 12/31 this year. The rent of $8,568 annually, paid at $714 per month, is the same as the lease with Phoenix for 2010. I would entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Abell: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Next, with EMA, Homeland Security grant program sub-grant agreement EDS#C44P-1-234A for $199,000 to the sub-grantee Emergency Management Agency for the acquisition of equipment in support of the District 10 Task Force. This is the purchase of a portable 50 foot communications tower. Is Sherman here?

Commissioner Melcher: I’ll move for approval.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Go ahead.

Commissioner Abell: Mr. President, I just wanted to make clear a couple of things that I think were clarified at a meeting that Mr. Gries and I attended with the Homeland Security people that were here last week. This money is a grant and this is a district expenditure. This does not come out of Vanderburgh County tax dollars. So, for anyone who might be concerned if we’re spending money to help one of our fellow counties, while that would certainly be an admirable thing to do, it isn’t what we do. In fact, it’s a district and it’s funded through the Homeland Security money and not through your tax payers.

President Winnecke: Good.

Commissioner Abell: Thanks.

President Winnecke: Roll call vote please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Next, Superior Court agreement with CASA, Incorporated. It runs from January of this year through December of this year. This is identical to the contract signed by the Commissioners in this regard for the year 2010. I would entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Abell: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Next, the Sheriff, lease agreement with the Morton Avenue Warehouse for training purposes. This is for one year, this covers this calendar year at the cost of one dollar. I would entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Next, we have three from the Health Department. The first is an affiliation agreement with the University of Southern Indiana College of Nursing. This is a three year affiliation agreement to allow students from the College of Nursing and Health Professions to intern at the Health Department for clinical learning experience. I would entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Also from the Health Department, a radon gas grant. It’s in the amount of $5,000 to aid the Health Department in increasing its program to detect radon gas in residences. It runs for the period of January 25, 2011 through June 30^th of this year. I would entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Abell: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Finally, from the Health Department, we have a telework feasibility assessment and telework agreement. Under the terms of this Marjorie Logan will perform telework from her residence. A similar arrangement was approved for her at the January 11^th meeting of this body and will expire on February 24^th. This agreement runs from the 24^th through March 24^th. There is an explanation in our packet. I would entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Next, from the County Engineer, is John still here? We have supplemental agreement number one with United Consulting for the First Avenue Bridge over Pigeon Creek. This is that rehabilitation project. The purpose of this supplement is to increase the time period for the inspection due to an increase in construction time from 30 weeks to 35 weeks, resulting in an increase in the contract price by $22,100, bringing the total project price of $169,500. John?

John Stoll: This was all a result of the old concrete footings that we found that we previously didn’t know about there. That delayed the project, which in turn caused the need for the additional construction inspection.

President Winnecke: Any questions of John? I would entertain–

Commissioner Melcher: Move for approval.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, roll call vote.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: John, anything else for us tonight?

John Stoll: I’ve got a couple of things. First, I also have a change order on the construction on the First Avenue Bridge. This is for an increase of $7,304.67. This covers the installation of a traffic signal conduit that was omitted from the plans. That was about $1,900. We put in about $1,200 of temporary striping right before Christmas in order to get all four lanes of the bridge open throughout the winter, that was $1,200. Then, the balance, about $4,200, was to cover the cost of change in the sidewalks and curbs. What was shown on the plans didn’t match exactly with what was out there. So, it had to be altered in the field.

President Winnecke: So, that total is $7,304.67?

John Stoll: Correct.

President Winnecke: I would entertain a motion to approve.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or further discussion on this? Roll call vote.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

John Stoll: Then, I would like to file a travel request for me, Pat Seib and Valerie Harry to attend Purdue Road School on March 8^th.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? Hearing none, all in favor say aye.

All Commissioners: Aye.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Just thought I would throw you off, make sure everybody was paying attention. Anything else, John?

John Stoll: Another travel request, it would be for me to attend the IDEM annual storm water meeting in Indianapolis on May 24^th.

Commissioner Melcher: So moved.

Commissioner Abell: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Questions or discussion? All in favor say aye.

All Commissioners: Aye.

(Motion approved 3-0)

John Stoll: Then, last, I don’t know if it was discussed, I was late for the meeting, but the Evergreen Acres bid was delayed a week because we omitted the MBE/WBE paperwork, and we will have the contractors submit those bids next week, even though we had originally said that it would have been today. We did get the correct paperwork sent out to all of the contractors in an addendum.

President Winnecke: Thank you, John.

John Stoll: That’s all I have.

President Winnecke: Any other department heads that are here that would like to make a comment? Gary or Dr. Ray, anything you would like to offer?

Gary Heck: Gary Heck, Vanderburgh County Health Department. I just wanted to let you know that I e-mailed you the Dental Clinic report and the prescription drug report from the National Association of Counties.

President Winnecke: Great.

Gary Heck: So, you should have those in your alls e-mail accounts.

President Winnecke: Okay, thank you.

Gary Heck: You’re welcome.

Commissioner Melcher: Thank you.

President Winnecke: We have no board appointments tonight.

President Winnecke: Any new business to come before us?

President Winnecke: Public comment? I had, I know of three. Bruce, you’re jumping up here. So, feel free to go first.

Bruce Ungenthiem: Again, my name is Bruce Ungenthiem. I’m a Vanderburgh County resident. I’m here tonight to talk to you about the consolidation report which was submitted to the Commissioners on January the 11^th. I am the representative of We the People of Vanderburgh County. There are many of us who have been meeting for a month or so, talking about the consolidation issue and going through the consolidation report, trying to understand it, trying to understand the pros and the cons and how it affects the people. We chose tonight not to make this a big public meeting, so there are a few people in the audience, but we chose not to bring a large crowd at this point in time because we knew your time was valuable. We feel that the committee did not accurately reflect some of the issues the people of Vanderburgh County have about this consolidation plan. So, we reviewed the report and we came up with the following ten issues, top ten, it’s not David Letterman’s top ten, but it’s pretty close, the top ten issues that we have with the plan. The first issue is the voter threshold issue. The introduction indicates a voter threshold of 50 percent of all Vanderburgh County residents, but because this is a change in the constitution of the local government, by eliminating two governments and forming one government, and reducing the representation of the citizens, we feel very strongly that the voter threshold needs to be set at 2/3, not 50 percent. The reason is, if you change the United States Constitution, the United States Constitution requires a 2/3 vote. In fact, if you read in this plan itself, under Article 11.1.1, any legislative action that changes the plan requires a 2/3 majority vote of the new Council to approve. So, it should require a 2/3 vote from the people to change this form of government. The second issue is the lack of financial information. The plan preamble states that efficiency, simplicity and clarity, however, in the plan there’s no claim of any cost savings, and I would suspect if you’re more efficient, simpler and more clear, you would have some cost savings. There’s no ROI on this project, there’s no ten year financial analysis for this plan, there’s no mention of how much money has been spent to date, which we think is $108,000, or how much will be needed to complete the plan. The taxpayers deserve to know what this plan, how this plan affects them, and their property taxes before they vote on it. Item number three has to do with representation. The current plan now changes the representation of the people in Vanderburgh County from 19 representatives down to 11. This is a 43 percent reduction in representatives in our county government. In addition, all representation is based on population and none on area. The recommendation that we would have would be to increase these Council members to 15, have eight Councilmembers by area, one from each township, seven Councilmembers by population, say every 25,000 people, and no at-large members, because at-large members are not as accountable to the voters as people who are in the districts. The fourth issue is too much Mayoral power. The Mayor has too many appointments, and the appointments do not require approval of the consolidated Council. In addition, one legal counsel, the plan indicates one legal counsel appointed by the Mayor for the entire government, and that puts too much power into that Councilman’s or into that lawyer’s lap. The recommendation is the Councilmember’s should lead the various boards. If we’re going to have 15, each Councilmember would take on two boards and lead that so they have some responsibility, that the board has some responsibility to the voters. The second issue, the second recommendation is that the legal counsel should be separate for the Mayor and the consolidated Council, and both should be awarded based on bid. Issue number five is election. The plan indicates that all elections are at the same time. We recommend that the elections should be staggered to minimize transition issues. Think about this, if you have an election where every Councilmember changes at the same time, what kind of chaos that would be to the government. Nobody would know who had the keys to open the door. It also indicates there are no term limits on offices. We have term limits on the President, we have term limits on the Governor, we should have term limits on the Mayor. We’re recommending eight years for the Mayor, and the Council should have term limits of 12 years. Issue number six is the unfair tax proposal. The financial analysis that was done as a part of this plan indicates that non-urban property taxes will go up 28 cents per 100 net assessed value. This means an additional $280 for a $100,000 house outside the urban district in Vanderburgh County. However, there’s no indication that there will be any additional services provided with this increase, and I also think that based on the cap on how much you can increase property taxes in a given period of time, that this far exceeds that one percent property tax. So, this is unacceptable. Issue number seven is the Darmstadt issue. Section 1.4 indicates that Darmstadt is not included in the plan, however, Darmstadt will pay general services taxes in this plan, will vote for Councilmembers in this plan, will vote for Mayor in this plan, and can even run for Council or Mayor in this plan. So, it’s hard for me to understand how Darmstadt cannot be included in the plan, if you get to pay taxes and vote for the Mayor. So, if Darmstadt is in fact included, then by State law, all groups included in the plan must approve this plan independently. I believe that’s Indiana Code IC36-1.5-4-32. Item number eight, new plan annexation rules, section 7.4.1 indicates that any area can be annexed, and I use the term annexed, it does not say that in the plan, but that’s essentially what it is, can be moved from the general services area to the urban services area with a simple request of either the Mayor or the Council, no vote of the affected people is required. This is simply unacceptable, and must be changed. Item number nine has to do with partisan elections. Section 1.5 of the plan calls for partisan elections. This is not in the best interest of the community, and the recommendation is to go to a non-partisan election. Now, this is not necessarily our idea. When George Washington wrote his four fail where....that’s easy for me to say, farewell address, after eight years as President of the United States, he warned us about the evils of separating into parties, and he actually made the recommendation that we should stay non-partisan. Mayor Abramson, who was invited to speak here about and for consolidation, at the Rotary Club, I believe, when asked what was the biggest mistake that Louisville made in its consolidation effort, indicated that allowing partisan elections was the biggest mistake that they made. You know, it’s difficult enough to get two parties to agree on an issue, I don’t have to tell you folks this, you’ve been through that scenario before, what will happen when there’s three? It’s on its way. Item number ten, elected officials, elected State officials that are retained. The plan indicates that there are nine elected county officials that will be retained. The plan indicates that the Sheriff will assume all law enforcement duties in the county. How and who do these nine elected county officials report to in the new government? It’s not clear in the plan. The question then becomes, does the Mayor set the budget for all of these offices, including the Sheriff’s Office? The conclusion is that the plan has a lot of unanswered questions. There is no clear reason why we should continue this effort. I think we got so caught up in whether we could consolidate that we’ve not stopped to consider whether we should consolidate. We the People strongly request that you reconsider why we should consolidate, and is it really in the best interest of all the residents or just a select few? This last slide was one that I added, and it came as a result of the census information that came out in the past week or so. If you look at the blue line, at the top is Vanderburgh County. Over the last 50 years, Vanderburgh County has continued to grow in population, although its area has been fixed. The second line shows the City of Evansville, and although the area of the City of Evansville continues to grow, its population continues to decline. I think that’s the real reason for this consolidation, is that the City of Evansville is in a state of decline. So, I would like for you to think about this, as all the hubbub is done for the day, you lay down on your pillow and you’re staring up at the ceiling, think about this piece of information right here. If you were a small business, what line would you like to tie your business to? If you were a real estate company, would you be interested in investing in the City of Evansville line or the Vanderburgh County line? If you were a banker, would you invest in the City of Evansville line or the Vanderburgh County line? The reality of it is, is we understand the City of Evansville is in trouble. We understand that the population continues to decline, but adding the entire Vanderburgh County community into the City of Evansville’s troubles doesn’t solve the problem. It didn’t solve the problem in Indianapolis. Indianapolis still has a lot of budget issues. It didn’t solve the problem in Louisville. Louisville’s going through a lot of budget issues right now. So, we just ask that as you consider this proposal, and as you talk to your fellow Councilmembers in the City Council, that you think about these issues. As we go forward through this, I’m sure we’ll have more time and more opportunities to discuss this. Thank you.

President Winnecke: Just, before the next, I know I have at least two more speakers that I’ve been notified would like to address this issue, let me just remind everyone where we are. I have exchanged e-mails as late as this morning with City Council President, B.J. Watts. We are, I think, that close to agreeing on a couple of joint meetings, and we hope to announce the dates in the next few days, but they would be in March sometime, with plenty of advance notice. The idea, and we’ve kicked this around in this meeting, in this body before, the idea is that the first meeting would be a joint meeting of the County Commissioners and the City Council where we could ask as many questions of the reorganization committee as possible in a public forum. A couple of weeks later we would reconvene in a joint fashion and have a public hearing to address issues much like Bruce has brought before us tonight. So, we hope to announce those dates very, very shortly. It’s just been a matter of trying to coordinate schedules at this point. So, having said that, I’ll call our next speaker, Mike Sandefur. Do you want to come up?

Mike Sandefur: My name is Mike Sandefur, I’m a Vanderburgh County resident. I want to say that I appreciate the opportunity to talk. This issue is difficult. State law mandated that you guys move forward with this, so now you’ve been given lemons and hope to make lemonade. So, going from there we appreciate that we can make something good from this. Our republic form of government was not designed for political expediency. It wasn’t designed after a business model for efficiency. It was designed for sustainability, accountability, and representation. I think we would all agree that we probably don’t have a lot of influence over our President, Barack Obama, or for that matter any President before that, but we do have influence at the local levels. That is how our republic government was set up, so that the people could be in touch with their representatives. As we dissolve long standing governments of this, we lose that. Even the fact that we may, if you agree to increase the number of representatives, we have still lost a branch of government, which means its less opportunity for the people to have their voice and say. I think we would recognize that we can influence local elections. We see that, just recently, that if someone is not performing the way they should, they’re not here anymore. Those are the types of things, as we consolidate government and consolidate more government, we lose those. The simplest, you know, the simplest type of government is a monarchy. A single ruler. Very efficient, but it doesn’t represent any, any representation of the people. I think long standing governments should not be casually discarded. I think if there were announced in the federal government in the morning that we’re going to have a consolidation with China or Mexico and it was going to be done on a simple vote, by the people, on a 50 percent vote, we would all be up in arms. We would say that’s ridiculous. You’re not going to just, you know, you’re not going to just dissolve a long standing government on that kind of pretense. Well, that’s what we’re doing right here in Vanderburgh County. We’re proposing, this board has proposed to do a simple vote and dissolve a long standing government. I think that is an issue that you need to correct. I think if you’re going to dissolve a long standing government that it needs to be on a super majority, a 2/3 vote. Like I say, even within this plan, any changes have to be done at a 2/3 vote. Every, virtually everything of major impact is designed so that it has a lot of thought and it has a decent majority, except for this plan here today, which is a 50 percent. So, I would encourage you to make that change, and, I think it’s for the benefit of the county and the city, and it represents the voice of the people better. Thank you.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Mike. David Christmas?

David Christmas: Yeah, good evening. My name is Dave Christmas. I do live here in Evansville. I’m on the west side. I’m on, right near the city-county line. So, I’m kind of right there in the middle, but I would like to echo the sentiments of Mike. What we’re doing in our society today is we’re throwing away the best thing that was given to us by our fore fathers, which was our representative form of government, a Constitutional Republic with democratic elections. It’s the best thing in the world. Consolidation, as Mike has pointed out, and Bruce has also pointed out, is counterproductive to that. I read the Shepard-Kernan report. I would encourage each of you to do the same. When you read that report, which is where all ot these ideas stem from, you’ll find a lot of statements that aren’t backed up by anything. Now, when I read something like that, I call it propaganda. Okay? Somebody is trying to convince me, but they’re not giving me any evidence of why their way is better. So, I resent it wholeheartedly. You know, we have a really good form of checks and balances, we’re going to throw those away, by and large with the way you’re proposal goes to the representation. It’s unnecessary. If we have redundancies, or efficiencies, we can do those without consolidating, I really believe that. I believe that we’ve got some professional people here, and I think that the electorate can elect their people. I like the ability to elect you three folks. I like for you to have the ability to have some autonomy from the city. That’s a check and balance. I would like my law enforcement officials to have some autonomy from each other, that’s a check and balance on law enforcement. So, with that said, again, the, my final point would be the fact that it appears the way this ballot referendum is set up, it’s kind of a done deal. You consolidated the election before the people had a chance to say no. I don’t understand how the county has the ability to say no, because with the 50 percent it’s basically taken away. I think that the probability is that it would go towards consolidation. So, that’s, I appreciate your time. Thank you for letting me speak. That’s all I have to say.

President Winnecke: Thanks, David. Anyone else on public comment on any other issue?

Bill Jeffers: Bill Jeffers, Vanderburgh County Surveyor. I’ve been impressed twice tonight by Bruce Ungenthiem. I’m sure you have been too. He did a great job on, this Power Point he had is very impressive, but I believe even though it encompassed ten points, I believe there are still some critical issues missing from that Power Point. Now, I wrote an article that was published in the Courier & Press, I believe last Thursday, and there’s no need to rehash that now, I plan on presenting a summarized version of that when you have your public hearing after you have your joint meeting to discuss the issues between your Councils and the committee, but I’ll wait until that second meeting when you ask for public comment. But, I would like to touch on just a couple of things that Bruce’s Power Point, Bruce Ungenthiem’s Power Point did bring out. On the Darmstadt issue, it was strange to me also that Darmstadt was not included. I think Bruce pointed, Bruce Ungenthiem pointed that out clearly why it should have been included. It is obviously an integral part of the merger, for reasons he points out. I believe it wasn’t, although I may be wrong, was a legal move to keep the merged, the merging entities to number two. If there were three entities merging, you would have automatically had the rejection threshold, I believe. Is that correct or not correct? Does anybody know that at this time?

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: That’s not correct that you would automatically have a change in the rejection threshold.

Bill Jeffers: Okay.

Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.: Since you asked for a comment, let me just straighten one other thing up for the record. At the Commissioners January 5^th meeting to discuss these issues, the President of the Town Council of Darmstadt appeared before the Commissioners, Mr. Bob Stobbs, and said that the Town of Darmstadt did not want to be a part of the reorganization process. In addition to that, I spoke to the attorney for the Town Council of the Town of Darmstadt, and he told me that it had been determined that they did want to be a part of it. Had they wanted to, it would have been a very simple matter to have three units of government involved in this instead of two, but they indicated they did not want to be included, and therefore they were not.

Bill Jeffers: Yes, I was at that meeting, and I recall that exactly the way you describe it. I’ve had conversations since that time, and more recently with people from Darmstadt who are privy to Town Board sentiment at this time, and they indicate they may have been sorry they did that, or it was their impression that if they had been included the rejection threshold would have kicked in, but apparently that’s not correct. Another point that I would like to emphasize with regard to Bruce Ungenthiem’s presentation, I believe the Mayor would have direct authority over the Constitutional office holders budgets, because our budgets would have to be submitted through the Mayor’s appointed Budget Director. Then, after his or her review, and recommendation to the Common Council, only a super majority of the Common Council could overturn the Budget Director’s recommendation regarding a Constitutional office holder’s submitted budget. That’s totally different than the way that the County Council operates with elected office holders at this time. That’s something that you might want to take a close look at. I’ll let it go at that, because, basically, like I said, I have more to say on it, but I’ll, I am still working on a couple of more issues that I either want to present through the Courier & Press or directly to you at your second hearing.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Bill.

Bill Jeffers: If there’s no other comment on–

President Winnecke: Oh, Marsha’s going to ask you a question.

Bill Jeffers: – consolidation–

Commissioner Abell: I have a question.

President Winnecke: She’s going to ask you a question.

Commissioner Abell: I have a question for you, Mr. Jeffers?

Bill Jeffers: Yes, Ma’am?

Commissioner Abell: You drew the map that set out the number of representatives from each different area?

Bill Jeffers: I drew–

Commissioner Abell: I mean, I knew you were asked to. I don’t mean, I’m not insinuating–

Bill Jeffers: –a map for the reorganization committee at their request–

Commissioner Abell: Yeah.

Bill Jeffers: –and at their direction. Their specific direction to keep the city wards, which are the six City Council voting districts, to keep those boundaries as close as possible to the same as they are today, recognizing there would have to be some shifting done because you have a portion of Knight Township that is separated from the rest of the county out and is not contiguous, so it would automatically have to go into the first or second ward, and thereby cause some shifting as you moved across the city, some minor shifting. They also specifically directed me, after creating those six districts, as close as possible to the existing lines, to take the county portion, the unconsolidated area of Vanderburgh County and divide it into two equally populated areas. That was done based on census 2000 population data. I told them at that time, and I think I made that statement also in public, that census data 2010 would totally change those lines.

Commissioner Abell: That was–

Bill Jeffers: I believe I pointed that out in the article to the Courier.

Commissioner Abell: That was my question, is because I think that the numbers are going to be, would be drastically changed if we used the 2011, 2010 census numbers that just became available recently. I point that out because I don’t think there’s proper representation in the county. If we don’t anticipate that our population is going to move north, we’ve just invested an awful lot of money on a high school that shouldn’t be built. So, I would think that if everyone’s anticipating the county’s going to move that way, and we know that the numbers have changed at that point, from what I’ve seen, then maybe we need to think about redrawing these lines. I’m not asking you to do that, or insinuating that you should. I know that the committee asked you to do a job and you did it as Surveyor, but I have some problems with the map and I just wanted to clarify those.

Bill Jeffers: Well, 12,000 people already have moved that way.

Commissioner Abell: Right, I know that. Thank you.

Bill Jeffers: Yes, the map needs to be redrawn. The point I made Thursday in my article was simply that if you went ahead with the districts as drawn, you would be asking the voters of Vanderburgh County to vote on a plan that has no correct redistricting laid out for them.

President Winnecke: Right.

Commissioner Abell: I agree with you.

Bill Jeffers: Believe me, when I tried to redraw those districts anticipating where people moved, the lines went all to hell. That’s all I can tell you. They just, it was a total mess. There’s no way you can keep the six city districts anywhere near what they are today when you take the fifth district, the fifth ward and the adjacent third ward, and the adjacent first ward and go out there into Center Township and try to take back enough people out of the 10,000 people that moved into Center Township in the last ten years and take them back into the urban areas, there was absolutely no way to keep the other ward lines from shifting all over the place. So, nobody knows right now how it’s going to look when they’re asked to vote on it. They’ll be voting from an area where they live that’s lopsided compared to an area where they left. See what I’m saying? You would not have a one man-one vote, pardon me for using that term, but that’s the old term that comes out of the Supreme Court ruling, one person-one vote mandate from the Supreme Court, you would be voting, the people out there in the eighth, district eight would be overwhelmed, have a totally watered down by 12,000 disadvantage.

Commissioner Abell: Yeah.

Bill Jeffers: Okay. Well, enough of that.

President Winnecke: Actually–

Bill Jeffers: If there are no other comments on–

President Winnecke: –I think Mike wants to come back and offer one more, I think.

Mike Sandefur: If you can stand, move right quick to the left and I’ll make this real quick.

Bill Jeffers: I’m a Surveyor, is that a foot?

Mike Sandefur: That looks about right.

President Winnecke: There’s probably a joke there, but we won’t go there. Go ahead.

Mike Sandefur: I think, in regards to the discussion on Darmstadt, and I hate to put intent in somebody’s comments, but I think Darmstadt’s intent was they don’t want to be subject to it. It’s not necessarily that they didn’t want to be part of it, if they had been told that you’re going to be subject to it, they probably would have stepped forward and said if we’re going to be subject to it, then we want to be a part of it. So, I think there should require some clarification on what Darmstadt was actually requesting, because there’s a very relevant and probably legal difference between subject to and part of. Thank you.

Commissioner Melcher: I will say, I’m the one that asked them to come to the meeting, because we knew there might be some problems, and we wanted on the record what they were doing. They knew they were going to be part of it, they knew it was going to be all of Vanderburgh County. We wanted to get something from them, from their board or something saying they were going to be part of it or they weren’t going to be part of it, and they insisted they weren’t. I said, then good, come to the meeting and state that for the record so that we have it in our minutes, so this wouldn’t come up that’s come up today.

Mike Sandefur: Well, and–

Commissioner Melcher: We wanted to make sure that that part was covered.

Mike Sandefur: Okay, well, and perhaps they may support that, but that may be, they may come back and say, well, that obviously there was some miscommunication, but thank you.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Mike. Bill, you can take your step back to the right and proceed.

Bill Jeffers: Yes, with regard to the smoking ban ordinance that you passed today. I missed the reading of it, and I have not had the opportunity to read it closely, when does that take effect?

President Winnecke: July 1^st.

Bill Jeffers: July 1^st? Okay. That gives you plenty of time then to address a comment that I have. Very briefly, does it exclude, specifically exclude the casino?

President Winnecke: The casino, since it’s in the City of Evansville–

Bill Jeffers: The boarding platform and the, whatever they call that area that you go in there and eat and stuff, that’s in the city. The boat itself, I’m not sure. The boat itself I believe is probably floating in the county jurisdiction.

Commissioner Abell: I think when they docked the boat it became part of the city. I think that was the, and I think there’s documentation of that in the city–

Bill Jeffers: Did they annex?

Commissioner Abell: I think when they attached their boat and no longer made it a mobile, no longer had to go up and down the river, and there was something in the City Council minutes about this, it became a part of the rest of the structure, the rest of the structure is considered city property.

Bill Jeffers: Because for a long time, until 1988, well, no, until 2006, the city-county line went right through Gordman’s and Panera Bread Company is in the city, and these other shops down there, that battery shop’s in the county. The same building.

President Winnecke: Well, we can, I do not know the answer. I bet you we can ask our County Attorney to research that–

Bill Jeffers: Okay, just a–

President Winnecke: –and we can report back.

Bill Jeffers: –I mean, I’m fairly sure it’s floating outside the low water mark of 18 whatever that’s the city boundary.

President Winnecke: Thanks. Any other public comment before we proceed with our agenda? Bob?

Bob Stobbs: My name is Bob Stobbs. I’m the President of the Darmstadt Town Council. Yes, I was at the meeting, originally it was asked if Darmstadt wanted to participate in this thing, and at that time with the discussion with the other board members and our attorney, we decided that, at that point, because we didn’t know exactly what was taking place with it, we did not want to be a part of it. But, since that time, we have reviewed everything, especially with the proposal that was put forth before you on January the 11^th of this year, and we have done a lot of work on it. As you can see, we’ve highlighted an awful lot of things in this proposal, and one of the things that comes up in here in, on section 7.3.3 regarding town services district. It points out in here that the Town of Darmstadt will be subject to the special services taxing districts just like everyone else has. The question that we have, and we’ve been discussing this, if we’re going to be a part of this special services district and be taxed for it, does that mean that whenever the consolidation goes through that the consolidation then will take over the running of our sewer system that we have in the Town of Darmstadt? Is it going to take over all of the streets and roads, as far as maintenance of them within the Town of Darmstadt, and any other thing? Right now we pay the Sheriff for police patrol in the Town of Darmstadt, and is this going to take care of that for us as well? These are some of the things that have been brought up. After that first initial meeting we were never re-approached by anyone. Have you changed your mind, or do you want to discuss this any further or anything else? At this point, these are some of the things that in meeting with Bruce Ungenthiem, we’ve discussed a lot of this thing. We just feel like that, you know, we’re being included in it, but we’re not being included in it. At this point we would like to have some answers. I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

President Winnecke: Thanks, Bob. As I mentioned earlier, we’ll, this body and the City Council will, in a joint meeting, sometime in the month of March, probably around the middle of the month, will ask these questions and many, many more. Then, a couple of weeks after that, probably toward the end of March, we’ll have another joint session where anyone who would like to come before the two bodies and ask questions or make a point will be welcome to do so, and we’ll publicize those meetings well in advance. We’ll move on, if it’s okay. Anything else from the public before we move on with our agenda? I appreciate everyone’s patience tonight. It’s been a long evening.

President Winnecke: At this time I would consider a motion to approve the consent agenda.

Commissioner Abell: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. Madelyn, would you do your dramatic reading for us please?

Madelyn Grayson: The consent items for the February 22^nd meeting are as follows; approval of the February 8, 2011 Commission meeting minutes; employment changes for the Commissioners approval, there are two for the Health Department; the County Engineer has pay request number 122 for TIF projects in the amount of $53,047.66; request for waiver of Centre fees/not overtime, there’s one for the exhibit hall for Indiana Minority Supplier Development Council Southern District Business Opportunity Fair on September 20^th and 21^st of 2011, and for a meeting room for the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office for the recognition/swearing in ceremony on March 20, 2011; there are surplus requests from Circuit Court Adult Probation, the County Assessor and the Health Department for various office furniture and equipment; the Commissioners have a request for late redemption of 3306 Coker Avenue, and the letter does state no later than March 1, 2011; Commissioners have a citizen, have citizen letters regarding proposed amendments to smoking ordinance; Burdette Park has the yearly comparison from 2010 to 2011 through January 31^st, and the 2010 year end report and cost analysis; Legal Aid has the January 2011 statistics and the non city/county United Way funds report of December 31, 2010; Weights and Measures monthly report of January 16^th through February 15, 2011; the IBAP Gatekeeper report; the County Clerk has the January 2011 monthly report; the County Treasurer has the January 2011 monthly report and the January 31, 2011 year-to-date report; there’s 2011 poor relief standards for all eight Township Trustees in Vanderburgh County, the Commissioners have a late redemption of 605 Jackson Avenue, and Department Head reports from the County Engineer and Burdette Park.

President Winnecke: Thank you, Madelyn. Any questions of the consent agenda? Hearing none, roll call vote please.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Abell?

Commissioner Abell: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: Commissioner Melcher?

Commissioner Melcher: Yes.

Madelyn Grayson: President Winnecke?

President Winnecke: Yes.

(Motion approved 3-0)

President Winnecke: Is there any other business to come before this body? I would entertain a motion to adjourn.

Commissioner Abell: So moved.

Commissioner Melcher: Second.

President Winnecke: A motion and a second. We stand adjourned.

(The meeting was adjourned at 6:41 p.m.)

CONSENT ITEMS:

Commissioners:

Approval of the February 8, 2011 Commission Meeting Minutes.

Request for Late Redemption: 3306 Coker Avenue.

Citizen Letters Regarding Proposed Amendments to Smoking Ordinance.

IBAP Gatekeeper Report.

2011 Township Trustee Poor Relief Standards: All 8 Townships.

Late Redemption of 605 Jackson Avenue.

Employment Changes:

Health Dept (2)                         Auditor (3)                       Superior Court (1)

County Clerk (1)                       Sheriff (8)                        VCCC (1)

County Assessor (3)                 Superior Court (1)

County Engineer: Pay Request No. 122: Green River-Burkhardt TIF Projects.

Requests for Waiver of Centre Fees/Not OT:

Indiana Minority Supplier Development Council Southern District Business Opportunity Fair: September 20-21, 2011

Sheriff’s Office: Recognition/Swearing In Ceremony: March 20, 2011

Surplus Requests:

Circuit Court/Adult Probation: 1 computer monitor, I HP printer, 1 Nortel phone.

County Assessor: Various office furniture and equipment.

Health Dept: Various office equipment.

Burdette Park:

Yearly Comparison: 2010-2011 through January 31^st.

2010 Year End Report and Cost Analysis.

Legal Aid:

January 2011 Statistics.

Non-city/county United Way Funds Report of December 31, 2010.

Weights and Measures: Monthly Report of January 16-February 15, 2011.

County Treasurer:

January 2011 Monthly Report.

January 31, 2011 Year-to-Date Report.

Department Head Reports:    County Engineer             Burdette Park

Those in Attendance:

Lloyd Winnecke                        Marsha Abell                  Stephen Melcher

Joe Gries                                  Ted C. Ziemer, Jr.          Marissa Nichoalds

Madelyn Grayson                     Anna Loehr                     McKenzie Thomas

Rebekah Riedford                    Jamie Caldwell               Marjorie Soyugenc

Kenny Page                              Linda White                    William Wooten

Wanda McCarter                      Sally Herron                    Martha Crosley

Ray Nicholson                          Bruce Ungenthiem          Ryan Rigg

Alaxis Hopkins                          Bryce Miller                     Andrea Hayes

Barbara Lord                            Casey Williams               Marie Roeder

Jill Gelhausen                           John Stoll                        Gary Heck

Mike Sandefur                          David Christmas             Bob Stobbs

Bill Jeffers                                 Others Unidentified                   Members of Media

VANDERBURGH COUNTY

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Lloyd Winnecke, President

Marsha Abell, Vice President

Stephen Melcher, Member

(Recorded and transcribed by Madelyn Grayson.)