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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

CRC Regular Monthly Meeting - April 20, 2026

Meeting Portal — Monday, April 20, 2026

BodyColumbus, Indiana

SessionMeeting Portal

DateMonday, April 20, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 27:08

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0:09

Hello everyone and welcome to today's regular CRC meeting.

0:12

I'll begin with roll call.

0:14

Cindy Bowl.

0:14

Here.

0:17

Here.

0:18

Jim Linham.

0:20

Scott Lead.

0:21

Trina Carter.

0:22

Here.

0:22

Also with us today.

0:23

We have Heather Pope, Director of Redevelopment.

0:26

Grace Kessler is not here tonight.

0:28

Jason Major is our liaison with the BCSC board.

0:33

Mary Strove, CRC legal counsel.

0:35

Tom Dell, City Council Member is present.

0:39

And this is the regular monthly meeting of the redevelopment commission.

0:45

We have five action items on our agenda today.

0:48

The first action item is a presentation of a riverfront liquor license request for Saharacos Inc.

0:54

located at 329 Washington Street, Columbus, Indiana.

0:58

Heather will introduce the request and Jeff Logston is also present.

1:03

Would you want to come up here to answer any questions that we have?

1:06

Heather?

1:07

Thank you.

1:08

Oh yes, this is a request for the another river liquor license.

1:14

We currently have 15 river licenses.

1:26

We review it against the criteria that was established when the riverfront district was created.

1:32

And then if we find that that criteria has been met, then we, the redevelopment commission, will make a recommendation to the mayor's office and request that the mayor write a letter of support to the ATC.

1:46

And then the next step would be if the mayor finds that all the criteria is met, we have our support, then she will write a letter of support so that Mordach Realty can attach it to their application to the ATC.

2:04

So just as a little bit of background, Zahar Coast has been around, I think everyone knows since 1900, that over the past 20 years, the Morback family has purchased it and put a significant amount of money into the restoration in operation of this century old historic ice cream bar.

2:23

So Herald employees about 40 to 50 employees from management to service roles.

2:37

However, if they get the three-way liquor license, then they will dissolve the two-way liquor license.

2:48

And they would just like to be part of the activation of our downtown, especially now that we have the recently established Dora district.

3:06

And I would make a recommendation that we pass a favorable recommendation on to the mayor.

3:11

And Jeff Logson is here to answer any questions about the application or Zahara hose or really anything you want to ask him.

3:20

Oh, there are any questions?

3:27

Did you want to make a statement?

3:29

Two pieces.

3:30

One at Carol Frische, general manager of Zaharicos is with me here today as well.

3:34

Okay, and a point of clarification.

3:36

So this is the application from Zaharicos.

3:38

Morbeck Realty owns the building, but the application is from Zaharicos specifically.

3:45

Thank you for that clarification.

3:47

Are there any questions?

3:51

Anybody, anybody?

3:53

Okay, no.

3:54

Well, all this all of the request doesn't require a resolution.

3:58

We'll need to act on our recommendation.

4:00

The motion would be to provide a favorable or unfavorable recommendation on the riverfront liquor license.

4:07

Um do I have?

4:09

Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

4:11

That was nice music.

4:12

Do we have a motion?

4:15

To for favorable, I assume.

4:17

Yeah, thank you.

4:18

Thank you, Scott.

4:20

We have a first and a second, Scott and Jim.

4:23

Okay, do I have um we now need to just do a voice vote?

4:27

We're all here.

4:28

Oh wow.

4:28

Okay.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Downtown Development████████████████████████████████████████40%

Parks and Recreation██████████████████████████████30%

Procedural██████████████████████████26%

Engineering And Infrastructure████4%

Summary of Proceedings

CRC Regular Monthly Meeting - April 20, 2026

The Columbus Redevelopment Commission (CRC) held its regular monthly meeting on April 20, 2026. Commissioners present were Cindy Bowl, Jim Linham, Scott Lead, and Trina Carter. Staff and guests included Heather Pope (Director of Redevelopment), Jason Major (BCSC liaison), Mary Strove (legal counsel), and City Council Member Tom Dell. The meeting covered five action items and several project updates, all of which were approved unanimously.

Action Items

Riverfront Liquor License Request for Saharacos Inc. (Zaharicos): Heather Pope presented a request for a three-way riverfront liquor license for Saharacos Inc., located at 329 Washington Street. The restaurant employs 40–50 people and would dissolve its existing two-way license upon approval. The commission voted to provide a favorable recommendation to the mayor, who will then write a letter of support to the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission (ATC). Motion by Scott Lead, second by Jim Linham. Voice vote: all ayes.
Resolution 06-2026 – Millrace Park Master Plan: Nikki Murphy, Parks and Recreation Director, requested approval to engage Next Practice Partners to complete a master plan for Millrace Park at a cost not to exceed $86,710. This plan will be conducted concurrently with a Donner Park master plan and a citywide strategic plan for parks. The contract runs into 2027. Motion by Commissioner Shannon (initiated), second by Cindy Bowl. Voice vote: all ayes.
Resolution 07-2026 – Project Manager for Parks Master Plans: Nikki Murphy requested approval to engage Bonnie Boatright as a project manager for the parks master planning process at a cost not to exceed $25,000. Boatright previously contributed to the Downtown 2030 plan. Motion by Jim Linham, second by Scott Lead. Voice vote: all ayes.
Approval of March 23, 2026 Regular Meeting Minutes: The commission approved the minutes without discussion. Motion by Shannon, second by Cindy Bowl. Voice vote: all ayes.
Review and Approval of Claims: The commission approved the month's claims. Motion by Jim Linham, second by Cindy Bowl. Voice vote: all ayes.

Project Updates

Heather Pope provided updates on several ongoing initiatives:

Downtown Entrance Plaza: The Board of Works approved a notice to proceed with an RFPQ for a contractor via a build-operate-transfer (BOT) process. Publications will appear April 22 and 29, with proposals due June 2, 2026. A public-private agreement is anticipated July 28, and demolition is expected to start in October 2026.
Second Street Water Project: Utility work continues with intersection closures at Franklin and Washington. The corridor project (bump-outs, crosswalks, on-street parking) is expected to be complete by July 2026, with landscaping installed in November.
Riverfront Project: Amphitheater walls have been poured; ramps and steps installation is underway. A ribbon cutting is scheduled for Friday, October 23, 2026. The project is on budget and on time.
Arcadia Drive (DPW Facility): Final punch list walk-through is tomorrow; full occupancy expected in early May. A ribbon cutting will be held May 20, 2026, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM.
Staffing: Casey is transferring from Community Development to Redevelopment full-time, following City Council approval of additional appropriation and salary ordinance amendment.
Office of Downtown Developments: The downtown improvement grant program (two $250,000 grants totaling $500,000) has spurred $1.8 million in total downtown investments. Nearly 100% of funds have been deployed; a request for additional funds may come later in 2026.
Columbus Downtown 2030 Update: The city has engaged JS Hell as consultant for a Master Developer RFQ for the "Four Pack Plus" (Sears Building, Sears parking lot, Hotel Indigo, post office property, plus Irwin block). The RFQ is expected to be released by the end of April 2026. The Sears parking lot hosted a touch-a-truck event, food truck festivals (third Thursday through October), and a Toyota car show scheduled for May 2, 2026.

Key Outcomes

All five action items were approved unanimously by voice vote.
The commission provided a favorable recommendation for the liquor license, which will proceed to the mayor and ATC.
The parks master plan and project manager contracts were authorized.
The meeting adjourned with a motion by Shannon and second by Cindy Bowl.

Meeting Transcript

Hello everyone and welcome to today's regular CRC meeting. I'll begin with roll call. Cindy Bowl. Here. Here. Jim Linham. Scott Lead. Trina Carter. Here. Also with us today. We have Heather Pope, Director of Redevelopment. Grace Kessler is not here tonight. Jason Major is our liaison with the BCSC board. Mary Strove, CRC legal counsel. Tom Dell, City Council Member is present. And this is the regular monthly meeting of the redevelopment commission. We have five action items on our agenda today. The first action item is a presentation of a riverfront liquor license request for Saharacos Inc. located at 329 Washington Street, Columbus, Indiana. Heather will introduce the request and Jeff Logston is also present. Would you want to come up here to answer any questions that we have? Heather? Thank you. Oh yes, this is a request for the another river liquor license. We currently have 15 river licenses. We review it against the criteria that was established when the riverfront district was created. And then if we find that that criteria has been met, then we, the redevelopment commission, will make a recommendation to the mayor's office and request that the mayor write a letter of support to the ATC. And then the next step would be if the mayor finds that all the criteria is met, we have our support, then she will write a letter of support so that Mordach Realty can attach it to their application to the ATC. So just as a little bit of background, Zahar Coast has been around, I think everyone knows since 1900, that over the past 20 years, the Morback family has purchased it and put a significant amount of money into the restoration in operation of this century old historic ice cream bar. So Herald employees about 40 to 50 employees from management to service roles. However, if they get the three-way liquor license, then they will dissolve the two-way liquor license. And they would just like to be part of the activation of our downtown, especially now that we have the recently established Dora district. And I would make a recommendation that we pass a favorable recommendation on to the mayor. And Jeff Logson is here to answer any questions about the application or Zahara hose or really anything you want to ask him. Oh, there are any questions? Did you want to make a statement? Two pieces. One at Carol Frische, general manager of Zaharicos is with me here today as well. Okay, and a point of clarification. So this is the application from Zaharicos. Morbeck Realty owns the building, but the application is from Zaharicos specifically. Thank you for that clarification. Are there any questions? Anybody, anybody? Okay, no. Well, all this all of the request doesn't require a resolution. We'll need to act on our recommendation. The motion would be to provide a favorable or unfavorable recommendation on the riverfront liquor license. Um do I have? Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

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