OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Marion County Commissioners Special Meeting, Nov 5, 2025

Other Meetings (J-Z) — Wednesday, November 5, 2025
BodyIndianapolis, Indiana
SessionOther Meetings (J-Z)
DateWednesday, November 5, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 25:18

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

No, Carl Drummer.

0:03

Carl Drummer.

0:04

Yes.

0:07

He's the one that's read it.

0:09

He is.

0:10

Yeah.

0:11

Yes.

0:14

They're staggered.

0:15

He'll be this year.

0:16

Okay.

0:17

I find it.

0:19

We're just working at your guys' appointments.

0:22

We think we got it down.

0:25

But my biggest talk about this now is nothing when I go and stay up at a hotel.

0:42

It's not my money, but I just can't.

0:46

That's not gonna move.

0:50

So I think you know, I lost a lot of money at the casino, actually.

1:08

Well that you have putting a casino down to possibly, yeah.

1:12

That's all that we're just waiting for the exit time.

1:20

We're by the rule scene here.

1:23

We were all early.

1:26

Which is so unusual because usually we're like not in NFL.

1:37

It's like we got one minute.

1:41

Actually we have ten seconds.

1:43

Ten seconds.

1:49

For granted to meeting time.

2:00

All right, I'm gonna go ahead and call the meeting to order.

2:03

This is the Marion County uh commissioners meeting.

2:07

My name is Joseph O'Connor.

2:09

I am the president of the county commissioners.

2:11

It is what is the date today?

2:14

November 5th, 2025, and it's three o'clock, and we are in room two sixty of the city county building.

2:23

Um this is a special meeting today.

2:26

Um so we just have one agenda one agenda item, and it looks like uh all of our guests are here.

2:33

So if you want to come on up and we've got this table or the microphone back there for anybody wanting to speak.

2:44

Come on for your I'm sorry, we'll go ahead and do some introductions first too.

2:54

Okay.

2:55

Uh I am turning on my microphone.

2:59

I am Barbara Lawrence, Marin County Commissioner in the Marion County.

3:10

Fine.

3:10

Sorry.

3:11

Good afternoon.

3:12

I am Milo Alders currently serving as uh the Marion County Autor Auditor and um secretary for this great commission.

3:20

Thank you.

3:21

All right, go ahead.

3:23

Well, first of all, uh David Bodwerf, executive director of the Association of Indiana Counties, and thank you for making special time here for this meeting today.

3:30

I very much appreciate that.

3:32

Um last time I was in the room, I think we're giving out a scholarship check to an employee uh this past summer.

3:37

So a little bit about the association.

3:40

Uh very happy that Marion County is a member of the Association of Indiana Counties.

3:44

Um great partnership with uh many of the elected officials here participation in a lot of our committees and coming to our events and uh very much appreciate that.

3:53

And we're here to talk about the National Association of Counties, which also Marion County City of Indianapolis is a member of that, have several uh county elected officials who serve on committees with the National Association of Counties, so appreciate their support as well.

4:08

But wanted to uh talk about uh a great opportunity, I think, for the City of Indianapolis and Marion County is to host the National Association of Counties Conference in July of 2028.

4:19

Um the last time Indianapolis hosted it, uh it was 1987.

4:25

We went back and looked through that and uh we're you know we're a great convention town back then and we're even a better convention town now, and so look forward to uh hopefully having the opportunity to uh have NACO come here in 2028.

4:39

And we're just looking for uh a partner.

4:42

We as the association are gonna sign the memorandum memorandum of understanding to help support the conference.

4:47

We want Marion County um to be the official uh obviously host committee, host conference, host county, and uh that's where we're here today to talk about that.

4:56

I believe we've distributed an MOU to you all.

5:00

But we'll look at this very much as a partnership between Marion County and the AIC and NACO and visit uh Indy as well to um make sure that we can put on a great show for county officials from across the country.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Tourism Management█████████████████████████████████████████████64%
Procedural██████████████20%
Public Engagement███████████16%
Summary of Proceedings

Marion County Commissioners Special Meeting - November 5, 2025

At a special meeting held on November 5, 2025, the Marion County Commissioners convened with representatives from the National Association of Counties (NACO) and the Association of Indiana Counties (AIC) to discuss the potential for Marion County and the City of Indianapolis to host the 2028 NACO annual conference. Commissioners expressed enthusiasm for the economic benefits and the opportunity to showcase the region, though one commissioner voiced concern regarding the fundraising commitment required to secure the event. A motion was unanimously adopted to defer final approval of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) until the next scheduled meeting on November 18, 2025.

Consent Calendar

  • No routine consent calendar items were presented or discussed during this special meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Commissioner (Unidentified): Expressed full support for hosting the conference, noting it would be "awesome" for the state and county and highlighting the region's potential. However, the commissioner stated a "pre-mature" concern regarding the financial commitment, specifically the obligation to raise a specific sum (referenced as potentially "475,000 dollars or whatever that number may be"), describing it as a "red flag" due to the high dollar amount, though affirming confidence in the county's ability to meet the goal.

Discussion Items

  • Host Committee Opportunity: David Bodwerf (Executive Director, AIC) and Jack Peterson (Managing Director, NACO) presented the proposal for Marion County to serve as the official host committee for the NACO conference. They noted the event dates are tentatively set for Friday, July 21 through Monday, July 24, 2028, with pre-conference events extending the timeline to five or six days. This would be the first time Indianapolis has hosted the event since 1987.
  • Conference Details & Economic Impact: Jack Peterson outlined that the conference typically attracts over 3,000 attendees, including over 2,000 county elected and appointed officials. Visit Indy's initial economic impact estimate is approximately $4.1 million with $800,000 in tax revenue, though the final figure is expected to reach between $6 million and $7 million when accounting for affiliate organizations and additional spending.
  • Host Commitments: Peterson detailed that NACO handles the primary logistics and contracting, while the host committee is expected to contribute through "promotion" (serving as general session speakers, hosting mobile workshops, and organizing social events) and "thought leadership" (providing speakers for finance and policy committees). Joes O'Connor noted that contributed services and venue discounts can help reduce the financial burden.
  • Financial Concerns & Solutions: Commissioner addressed concerns about the fundraising requirement, to which Mr. Peterson responded that NACO's fundraising team provides a sponsorship menu and often facilitates conversations to revise targets downward, noting that in-kind services and venue discounts can bridge funding gaps. Commissioner David Bodwerf added that the AIC is committed to staff support, financial support, and assisting with fundraising through corporate partners and contributed services.
  • Regional Context: The discussion included the regional rotation of NACO conferences, with 2026 in New Orleans and 2027 in Savannah, Georgia, placing Marion County as a candidate for the Midwest rotation. Other Midwestern competitors mentioned include Chicago, Milwaukee, and Kansas City.
  • Next Steps Motion: Commissioner proposed reviewing the revised MOU and voting at the upcoming meeting on November 18 rather than immediately.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion Adopted: The commissioners voted unanimously ("all in favor") to defer the execution of the Memorandum of Understanding to the next scheduled meeting.
  • Final Vote Date: The vote on the MOU is scheduled for November 18, 2025, at 2:00 PM in Room 260.
  • Partnership Status: The meeting established the framework for a partnership between Marion County, the City of Indianapolis, AIC, and NACO to pursue hosting the 2028 conference, contingent upon a successful vote in November.

Meeting Transcript

No, Carl Drummer. Carl Drummer. Yes. He's the one that's read it. He is. Yeah. Yes. They're staggered. He'll be this year. Okay. I find it. We're just working at your guys' appointments. We think we got it down. But my biggest talk about this now is nothing when I go and stay up at a hotel. It's not my money, but I just can't. That's not gonna move. So I think you know, I lost a lot of money at the casino, actually. Well that you have putting a casino down to possibly, yeah. That's all that we're just waiting for the exit time. We're by the rule scene here. We were all early. Which is so unusual because usually we're like not in NFL. It's like we got one minute. Actually we have ten seconds. Ten seconds. For granted to meeting time. All right, I'm gonna go ahead and call the meeting to order. This is the Marion County uh commissioners meeting. My name is Joseph O'Connor. I am the president of the county commissioners. It is what is the date today? November 5th, 2025, and it's three o'clock, and we are in room two sixty of the city county building. Um this is a special meeting today. Um so we just have one agenda one agenda item, and it looks like uh all of our guests are here. So if you want to come on up and we've got this table or the microphone back there for anybody wanting to speak. Come on for your I'm sorry, we'll go ahead and do some introductions first too. Okay. Uh I am turning on my microphone. I am Barbara Lawrence, Marin County Commissioner in the Marion County. Fine. Sorry. Good afternoon. I am Milo Alders currently serving as uh the Marion County Autor Auditor and um secretary for this great commission. Thank you. All right, go ahead. Well, first of all, uh David Bodwerf, executive director of the Association of Indiana Counties, and thank you for making special time here for this meeting today. I very much appreciate that. Um last time I was in the room, I think we're giving out a scholarship check to an employee uh this past summer. So a little bit about the association. Uh very happy that Marion County is a member of the Association of Indiana Counties.

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