(Source: By Jerod Clapp, The Evening News and The Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.) - NEW ALBANY — With the only ordinance on the agenda tabled again, the New Albany City Council discussed the future of a vacant housing committee at their regular session Thursday, as well as the replacement of invocations with a moment of reflection at the start of meetings.
Diane McCartin-Benedetti, council president, said without the support of the city’s administration, the committee on vacant housing will not meet again, nor will any other committees be formed without the administration’s involvement.
“Evidently, we’ve had a little miscommunication going on,” McCartin-Benedetti said.
Bob Caesar, council member, said though he understood McCartin-Benedetti’s decision, he didn’t want to see the committee fall by the wayside.
He said the number of vacant properties in the city is something that needs to be addressed, one way or another.
“I think this is an extremely important issue on a lot of different levels,” Caesar said. “I respect your decision … but I think this is something that should move forward.”
Dan Coffey, council member, said he thought a large percentage of the vacant properties in the city are the product of bank repossessions. Without any ordinances to maintain those properties, he said banks have no problem letting them deteriorate.
But he said other states have enforced ordinances with fines that have led to banks turning over those kinds of properties. He said the council should look into authoring something similar.
“The simplest thing is it’s in Indiana now in a few other cities,” Coffey said. “It started in California and down in Florida, and they enacted local ordinances that if it’s a bank repo, they have to keep the windows and electric and all that.”
Greg Roberts, president of the East Spring Street Neighborhood Association, said he agreed that properties that have been repossessed need to be addressed further.
“Many of these properties are bank repos and we’ve tried to call banks I don’t know how many times on properties that have fallen down,” Roberts said. “They have washed their hands of them.”
But David Brewer, building commissioner, said with only two code enforcement officers, it didn’t matter how many ordinances were written because his office didn’t have the manpower to enforce them.
“I don’t want to speak out of place because you guys know that I’ve bent over backwards to help you when I can, but it’s time you start putting your money where your mouth is,” Brewer said. “You guys are going to gripe and complain about code enforcement, you can pass every ordinance in the world. If you do not have the staff in place to enforce that, you’re wasting your time.”
He said the city has failed to collect fines on other ordinances, such as grass mowed by the city on vacant properties. He said he’s had some help with an internship program through Ivy Tech, but there are still a lot of resources he needs before they can effectively enforce all the ordinances.
McCartin-Benedetti said if Brewer’s office needed additional resources, someone from the building commission needed to attend the vacant property committee’s meetings.
“If the building commission department doesn’t have the tools and we need to get them the tools, we need to figure this out,” McCartin-Benedetti said.
Brewer said he would make an effort to have a representative at those meetings in the future.
“It’s just strictly a matter of being able to sit down with you guys, and I’m close,” Brewer said. “Just hang in there with me, OK?”
In other news at the meeting, New Albany resident Steve Burks said he didn’t agree with the council’s decision to remove invocations from council meetings and replace them with a moment of reflection.
“This decision goes against, in my opinion and the opinion of others, our first amendment rights,” Burks said. “I understand this can also be debated.”
He said he thought believers of other religions or non-religious people weren’t forced to participate in the prayer, but noted invocations have been a traditional piece of various meetings in American history.
Scott Blair, council member, said he thought it would be a good idea for the council to consider bringing back invocations, but allowing members of other faiths give it in a rotation.
Roberts said he thought a moment of reflection was more appropriate for meetings, regardless of anyone of any religion who attended meetings.
“I strongly support your decision in having a moment of reflection because it allows us to pray in our own way,” Roberts said. “It also reflects the diversity that makes up religion.”
Also at the meeting, David Duggins, director of economic development, gave a communication from the mayor’s office regarding rumors about the Sherman Minton Bridge’s reopening.
“There’s a lot of rumors around, but nothing formal has been announced to him,” Duggins said. “As soon as he hears anything, he’ll direct it to you to address to the rest of the city council.”
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©2012 The Evening News and The Tribune (Jeffersonville, Ind.)
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