Board of Public Works and Safety Meeting - May 26, 2026
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Board of Public Works and Safety Meeting - May 26, 2026
The Board of Public Works and Safety met on May 26, 2026, with members Melanie Henderson, John Pickett, and Eric Fry (chair) present. Brenda Sullivan was absent. The meeting opened with roll call and approval of the May 19, 2026 meeting minutes. Several routine items were approved, followed by a discussion on a property condemnation and a farewell to a retiring code enforcement officer.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of May 19, 2026 minutes – Moved and seconded, unanimously approved.
- Service weapon award to retiree Greg Ross – Chief Steve Norman presented the request to award a duty weapon to Greg Ross, who retired after 20 years of service. Approved unanimously.
- Mill Race Marathon banner request – Laura presented the annual banner request for the September marathon (14th year). Eight banners will be placed, with some changes (removing "Finish on Fourth") as the event transitions to Odd. Approved unanimously.
- Temporary DORA event permit – Three Fingers Groups LLC (The Garage) – Jody presented a request for a temporary Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) permit for the "Six Pack Summer Series" event on Saturday, May 30, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The event will take place in the Ovation parking lot with a beer trailer on Fourth Street (closed from Washington to Franklin). Approved unanimously.
- Change Order No. 25-17 – Hiker Trace ADA ramps – Engineering presented a $4,279.78 increase (4%) for the project. Approved unanimously.
- Special use of right-of-way requests – Several requests for the week were approved unanimously.
- Claims dockets – Four dockets of claims were reviewed and approved unanimously.
- Conflict of interest disclosure – Drake Maddox – A uniform conflict of interest disclosure statement from new police officer Drake Maddox for consulting work was accepted unanimously.
Discussion Items
- 2052 McKinley Avenue – Vacate and condemn – Robin presented a request to pre-approve vacating and condemning the property at 2052 McKinley Avenue. The owner was notified, and the tenant may be leaving. The property is unsafe due to water in the basement and other issues. The board approved the vacate and condemn order and authorized legal action if necessary.
- Retirement remarks – Fred (Code Enforcement Officer) – Fred, retiring after 12 years, thanked the board for their support. He highlighted the creation of written procedures and a code enforcement handbook. The board acknowledged his contributions and invited members to a retirement celebration on Friday at 1:00 p.m. at City Hall.
Key Outcomes
- All votes were unanimous on consent calendar items, the property condemnation, and the conflict disclosure.
- The board directed that legal action be taken as necessary on the McKinley property if the owner does not comply.
- Announcements included: trash services delayed by one day due to the holiday (Friday service on Saturday), the Bartholomew County Public Libraries concert series starting Friday (7:00–8:00 p.m., Columbus City Band), and the farmers market on Saturday (9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.). The meeting adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
I got here at some interesting. Right. Well, yeah. Those were big ones. Good morning. Welcome to what's it today's May 26th Board of Public Works and Safety. I hope you all have a great weekend. And we will start with roll call. Melanie Henderson. Present. John Pickett. I'm here. Eric Fry. And I am here and will serve as chair and Brenda Sullivan is out. First up is approval of the May 19th meeting minutes. I move to approve the May 19th meeting minutes. I will second. So we have a motion of second to approve the meeting minutes. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye, aye. Opposed, same sign. Motion carries. Okay. Thank you. Um, so we have Chief Steve Norman presenting an awarding a service weapon to a retiree, I suspect. Good morning. Good morning. Greg Ross retired Friday for 20 years, and we want to give him his duty weapon and need your approval. I move that we uh approve the award of the service weapon as suggested to Greg Ross. I second so we have a motion of a second to approve the service weapon to retire Greg Ross as presented. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye, aye, opposed, same sign, motion carries, and we missed him already. We do. How many years was he with the course? 20, right after 20. Okay. Wow. So now you got John. Yeah, okay. Yeah, but we just we filled, remember we approve Colton Ross, not no relation, but yeah, we're we're we're actively looking for an additional officer. We'll get real close to hiring that. So we'll be we'll be okay. Thank you. Thank you. It is that time again. Mill race marathon banner request. I see Laura's sitting out here. That's right. Good morning, board. Um, as mayor said, we have the uh banner request for the mill race marathon.
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