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Record of Proceedings

Columbus Board of Works Meeting Summary - April 14, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, April 14, 2026
BodyColumbus, Indiana
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, April 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 36:27

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Brenda Sullivan.

0:00

Here.

0:01

Eric Fry.

0:02

Here.

0:02

And I am here and we'll serve as chair.

0:05

Um approval of the April 7th meeting minutes.

0:09

Um I will move to approve.

0:11

I'll second.

0:12

So we have a motion and the second to approve the April 7th meeting as proposed.

0:16

Um all in favor signify by saying aye.

0:19

Aye.

0:20

Opposed same sign.

0:21

Motion carries.

0:23

Okay.

0:24

And it looks like uh Deputy Chief Cutsco is going to present the CFD lieutenant job description.

0:37

Why are you looking at the morning?

0:39

Oh fire version.

0:43

No, I gotta call it.

0:46

We don't we don't need to know.

0:47

We don't need to know.

0:49

Don't want to go in there.

0:51

Okay.

0:52

Um like to present a our second in line of job descriptions that we've been working on to get uh all of our job descriptions in line.

1:06

Um this is for the uh job position.

1:10

And we uh have been working with uh uh our web in a contract um personnel to uh approved sheet on our approved it and I'd like to present it to you for signatures to make it official.

1:28

Can you remind us how many lieutenant positions you have?

1:32

Uh you've got six captain eighteen eighteen attendants, okay.

1:40

And did it didn't substantially change, correct?

1:43

No, no, no.

1:44

Uh it's basically the same thing, it's just written down now.

1:47

Okay.

1:49

And this is all part of your getting things ready for accreditation.

1:57

I'll move for approval of the fire department's lieutenant job description.

2:01

I'll second.

2:02

So we have a motion and a second to approve the um Columbus Fire Department lieutenant position job description as presented.

2:08

All in favor, please signify by saying aye.

2:15

Yes, thank you.

2:18

Now that means we got to start paying everybody who's a lieutenant.

2:24

And Beth Ann Knott from Transit is going to present the bus shelter.

2:31

Good morning, Madame Mayor.

2:32

Good morning.

2:33

I am waiting for you today at memorandum of understanding between the city of Columbus and Columbus Transit and Columbus Regional Hospital.

2:41

This memorandum of understanding is allowing us to install a new bus shelter on the west side of the building, so on the medical end, as opposed to where we already have our our shelter, and it is allowing us to do the installation, do all of the maintenance and operate.

2:56

It's an existing pad.

2:58

There's no side work, it's ADA compliant.

3:00

This has been through um local council.

3:04

And we are um the other thing you might want to know is this was uh structure that was donated to us.

3:10

There's a picture of the back of the packet.

3:12

This is the old Cummins smoking shelter.

3:16

Oh, sure.

3:18

And we have a call and they said, Hey, can you use this?

3:20

And I say, hey, hi.

3:22

So there's a picture there.

3:23

How is the adjacent if you want to see that?

3:25

And this is at Nexus Park, right?

3:27

Yes, yes.

3:30

So which so will the bus go to both shelters on both sides?

3:35

Okay.

3:36

Well, I think that's win-win, so I will approve that.

3:39

I'll second.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Downtown Development████████████████████████████28%
Code Enforcement███████████████████████23%
Procedural███████████████████19%
Public Engagement████████████12%
Personnel Matters██████6%
Technology and Innovation█████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure████4%
Parks and Recreation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Columbus Board of Works Meeting - April 14, 2026

The Columbus Board of Works convened on April 14, 2026, to address a range of items including approval of job descriptions, a transit shelter agreement, a major downtown plaza redevelopment RFP, an emergency condemnation order for a motel, and various routine approvals. All votes were unanimous unless noted.

Meeting Minutes Approval

  • The board unanimously approved the minutes from the April 7, 2026 meeting as presented.

Columbus Fire Department Lieutenant Job Description

  • Deputy Chief Cutsco presented the finalized job description for the lieutenant position, part of an ongoing effort to align all job descriptions for accreditation. The department has 6 captains and 18 lieutenants. The description is substantially unchanged from previous practice. The board approved the job description.

Bus Shelter Memorandum of Understanding (Nexus Park)

  • Beth Ann Knott (Transit) presented a Memorandum of Understanding between the city, Columbus Transit, and Columbus Regional Hospital to install a donated, repurposed former Cummins smoking shelter on the west side of Nexus Park. The shelter has been refurbished and repainted. The existing pad is ADA compliant. The board approved the acceptance and placement.

Downtown Entrance Plaza (Garden Entrance Plaza) RFPQ

  • Michaela (Redevelopment) presented a notice for an RFPQ for the redevelopment of the downtown entrance plaza (comprising the POW/MIA, law enforcement, public safety, and Robert D. Garden Veterans plazas). Following community input and value engineering, the project budget is approximately $2.9 million, funded through a stack of sources: info tech park funds, $400,000 from TIF, $2 million from railroad overpass funds, and a $30,000 faith-in-place grant. The timeline includes bid release on April 22 and 29, bid deadline June 2, and construction start this fall. The board approved the RFPQ notice.

161 Carriage Lane Condemnation and Legal Action

  • Robert (Code Enforcement) presented a request for an order to vacate, condemn, demolish, and pursue legal action at 161 Carriage Lane, a motel with severe life safety violations (including an electrocution incident), building envelope failures, and years of neglect. The owner (who purchased the property in July 2024) expressed willingness to work with the city. The board approved the order, with the owner allowed to perform repairs but no occupancy. A timeline will be developed with code enforcement.

Police Department In-Car Laptop Replacement

  • Jim Hart (IT) presented a proposal from Dell to replace eight 2018-2019 CPD in-car laptops and docks for $28,300.24, within budget. The board approved the purchase.

Engineering Items

  • Special Use Right-of-Way: Approved a summary of two utility permits.
  • Event Approvals: Approved 14 event applications recommended by the review group.
  • Crack Seal and Mastic Joint Repairs: Approved awarding a contract to Howard Asphalt for $397,929.
  • 2026 Asphalt Overlay Bids: Four bids were opened: All-Star Paving ($2,520,781.55), Milestone Contractors ($2,590,200.10), Dave O'Mara Contractor ($2,688,792.60), and Howard Companies ($3,517,696.00). The bids were taken under advisement.

Claims Approval

  • Six dockets of claims were reviewed and approved unanimously.

Upcoming Events Announcement

  • Heather announced the start of the Food Truck Festival on Thursday, April 16 (17 food trucks, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and Propeller Fest on Saturday, a free music festival at the airport. Spring street sweeping continues through May.

Key Outcomes

  • All actions received unanimous approval with no dissenting votes. Specific votes: approval of April 7 minutes; approval of CFD lieutenant job description; approval of Nexus Park shelter MOU; approval of Garden Entrance Plaza RFPQ notice; approval of condemnation/legal action order for 161 Carriage Lane; approval of CPD laptop replacement; approval of special use right-of-way; approval of 14 event applications; approval of Howard Asphalt crack seal contract; approval of claims; and adjournment.

Meeting Transcript

Brenda Sullivan. Here. Eric Fry. Here. And I am here and we'll serve as chair. Um approval of the April 7th meeting minutes. Um I will move to approve. I'll second. So we have a motion and the second to approve the April 7th meeting as proposed. Um all in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed same sign. Motion carries. Okay. And it looks like uh Deputy Chief Cutsco is going to present the CFD lieutenant job description. Why are you looking at the morning? Oh fire version. No, I gotta call it. We don't we don't need to know. We don't need to know. Don't want to go in there. Okay. Um like to present a our second in line of job descriptions that we've been working on to get uh all of our job descriptions in line. Um this is for the uh job position. And we uh have been working with uh uh our web in a contract um personnel to uh approved sheet on our approved it and I'd like to present it to you for signatures to make it official. Can you remind us how many lieutenant positions you have? Uh you've got six captain eighteen eighteen attendants, okay. And did it didn't substantially change, correct? No, no, no. Uh it's basically the same thing, it's just written down now. Okay. And this is all part of your getting things ready for accreditation. I'll move for approval of the fire department's lieutenant job description. I'll second. So we have a motion and a second to approve the um Columbus Fire Department lieutenant position job description as presented. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Yes, thank you. Now that means we got to start paying everybody who's a lieutenant. And Beth Ann Knott from Transit is going to present the bus shelter. Good morning, Madame Mayor. Good morning. I am waiting for you today at memorandum of understanding between the city of Columbus and Columbus Transit and Columbus Regional Hospital. This memorandum of understanding is allowing us to install a new bus shelter on the west side of the building, so on the medical end, as opposed to where we already have our our shelter, and it is allowing us to do the installation, do all of the maintenance and operate. It's an existing pad. There's no side work, it's ADA compliant. This has been through um local council. And we are um the other thing you might want to know is this was uh structure that was donated to us. There's a picture of the back of the packet. This is the old Cummins smoking shelter. Oh, sure.

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