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Record of Proceedings

Board of Public Works & Safety Meeting - October 6, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, October 6, 2026
BodyNew Albany, Indiana
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, October 6, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 36:16

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

1:19

Good morning, Carlo 6, 2026 meeting of the board of public works and safety.

1:24

We'll begin with Pledgeable Eagles.

Unassigned speaker

1:34

And

Speaker 1

1:34

to the Republic

Unassigned speaker

1:35

of States.

Speaker 1

2:00

Michael Abner.

Speaker 2

2:12

Good morning.

2:13

My name is Mike Labner.

2:14

I live at 1932 Center Street.

2:17

And I'm here to request the board's permission to have a light shield installed on the light pole in front of our property.

2:22

Well I appreciate the safety and visibility the street light provides.

2:25

The current fixture creates a significant light trespass issue onto my property.

2:29

The unshielded glare grows directly into our bedroom windows on the front of the house, both mine as well as my children's.

Speaker 1

3:16

I'd like to see and

Speaker 2

3:17

feel bad.

Speaker 1

3:20

And it would have to come from the city as if it's a straight light.

3:25

Yeah, it's

Speaker 3

3:26

the street

Speaker 1

3:26

light wall.

Unassigned speaker

3:31

And

Speaker 3

3:31

we're okay, I mean okay, like absorbing the financial impact of it.

3:35

I know like we looked at the typical cost of these, and it seems like a reasonable number to put up, so not even asking the city to prompt the bill.

3:44

If we could just get your guys' approval or work together to get it resolved.

Speaker 4

3:47

It's like daylight at night.

Speaker 3

3:49

It is.

5:00

That's literally down and takes it off this eye line.

5:05

Yep.

5:05

It's a

Speaker 2

5:06

very small

Speaker 3

5:06

shroud to go on there.

5:07

So

Unassigned speaker

5:08

I I

Speaker 3

5:08

don't mind at the same time, so I'm not like contacting my neighbors and speaking with them about them.

5:12

We have to put forward from the neighborhood, so that would be not my finishing as well.

5:16

Awesome.

5:17

I like that

Unassigned speaker

5:18

I don't know if I do all of

Speaker 1

5:19

that, but that's what needs

Unassigned speaker

5:21

to happen.

Unassigned speaker

5:21

We need to know that the rest of the neighborhood is okay.

Unassigned speaker

5:23

We have dealt with the existence before.

Unassigned speaker

5:25

We've had street lights

Speaker 1

5:26

removed.

5:27

Uh but we have the consensus of the neighborhood to say so.

5:31

Uh and then we also have the issue as uh as you say, this was something that the city just uh worked with them to do and replacing those lights with LEDs and some of the places we had uh issues with the LEDs that they put in not having enough light or spots in between the lights.

5:52

So that's possibly why they put a bright or LED in here to try to

Speaker 4

5:56

like I said, we'll just unscrew that when I'll swappy out of this

Speaker 5

6:03

deeper yellow light.

6:05

Is it possible that they just need to switch it up with a different light rather than just do a shield?

Speaker 1

6:10

That's one of the options.

6:10

I need to go look at it and see what what light it what light it is and see if the uh L.

Speaker 4

6:17

Do you want a motion to just table it until you can get a chance to speak to Duke and look at it?

6:21

Or

Speaker 1

6:22

if we want to do make a motion to I would prefer of course over him to get with see what their consensus is, and then we can reach out if the neighborhood is okay with something being done, but somebody doesn't have an issue with it, then we can reach out to Duke and see if the shield and it sounds like given what he's presented us here with the pictures, it may be the lower LED still wouldn't help because of the second story window and it'll proximity to that light bulb.

Speaker 4

6:51

Well, and that shield that shield is the only way.

6:53

Those are directional too, so like you can get the ones that like if it's not affecting his neighbors.

6:59

They've got those ones that you know you can you can turn back behind that thing to where it can keep it off if just hammer your house.

7:10

So you don't like the bat signal hitting your window at night, huh?

Speaker 5

7:14

So if you can just get in writing from your neighbors, their addresses and names um that says you know that they're may approve or they're okay with uh potentially having a shield or potentially going with lower wattage of balt there.

7:30

Um if you can provide that information back to this board in the meantime, Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████████████████████████████42%
Procedural███████████████████19%
Lighting and Visibility██████████10%
Water And Wastewater Management██████████10%
Parks and Recreation██████6%
Arts And Culture█████5%
Neighborhood Disputes████4%
Disability Rights████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Board of Public Works & Safety Meeting - October 6, 2026

The Board of Public Works & Safety met on Tuesday, October 6, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 100 of New Albany City Hall. The board addressed several new business items, heard public testimony, approved special event permits, and reviewed claims and minutes.

New Business

  • Michael Abner – Light Shield Request (Pole 403-820): Mr. Abner, a resident at 1932 Center Street, requested permission to install a light shield on the street light in front of his property at his own cost to mitigate light trespass into his and his children’s bedroom windows. He stated the unshielded glare is like “daylight at night.” The board tabled the request, asking Mr. Abner to obtain written consent from at least two neighbors on each side and across the street. Board President Michael Thompson will also investigate the fixture. Motion to take under advisement carried.
  • Pat Hauersperger (Dave O’Mara Construction) for IAWC – Encroachment Permit: Mr. Hauersperger requested approval for no-parking signs for approximately four weeks during installation of a new water main on E. 15th Street, Grant Street, and E. 14th Street. Work is expected to start Friday, October 9 or Monday, October 12. The project runs from Market Street on 14th to Grant and then to 15th Street. The board approved the no-parking request for both sides of the affected streets. Motion carried.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Sam Reed (CenterPoint Energy) – Leak Repair on Cherokee Drive: Mr. Reed reported a gas leak (classified as a B leak, requiring repair within a year) at the intersection of Cherokee Drive and Grantline Road. He requested a detour and closure of Cherokee Drive for one day to safely excavate the crosswalk. The board approved the maintenance of traffic plan, contingent on notification to the two directly affected residents. Motion carried.
  • Additional Cut Requests: Mr. Reed also requested a sidewalk cut at 1702 Grey Brook (retired service at former country club) and a street cut at 524 Culbertson (customer request). The board approved both cuts. Motion carried.

Communications – City Officials

  • Krystina Jarboe – Special Event Permits:
    1. All Hallows Eve Celebration (City of New Albany): Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the amphitheater. Requests include use of restrooms, closure of the old boat ramp, closure of Water Street from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., use of east parking lot for inflatables (closed 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.), and west parking lot for accessible parking. Rain location: parking garage (redevelopment). Approved.
    2. Schmitt Furniture Birthday Bash (HB Productions): Friday, October 23, 2026, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the amphitheater. Use of amphitheater from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for setup. Includes portable toilets, fencing, and a dumpster along the old boat ramp, all to be removed by 8:00 a.m. the next morning due to Trunk Retreat. Approved.
  • Vicki Glotzbach for Sammy Oskin – Removal of Handicap Parking: Request to remove the handicap parking space at 1106 Beeler Street. Property owner submitted a letter. Approved.
  • Mr. Silvers – Paving and Trail Updates:
    • Paving: Concrete work on Wellington Drive; striping following paved areas; mill and pave North Pearl Street.
    • Trail: Work north of Culbertson; curb pour between Elm and Oak scheduled for Thursday morning before Harvest; landscaping under warranty.
    • Oak Street project: continuing storm/sanitary work on Bank Street north of Oak.
    • Charlestown Slate Run Road: signal crew on fall break, work resuming next week; completion deadline of October 17 reiterated. Board noted.

Claims and Minutes

  • Claims: Presented claims from September 22 to October 5, 2026, totaling $2,490,501.85. Approved.
  • Minutes: Regular meeting minutes for September 29, 2026, approved.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion to table Michael Abner’s light shield request pending neighborhood input and further review.
  • No-parking approval for water main project on 14th, 15th, and Grant streets for up to four weeks starting Oct 9/12.
  • Traffic control approved for Cherokee Drive closure for one-day leak repair, with resident notification.
  • Two cut permits approved for CenterPoint Energy retirements.
  • Two special event permits approved (All Hallows Eve and Schmitt Furniture Birthday Bash).
  • Handicap parking space removed at 1106 Beeler Street.
  • Claims and minutes approved.
  • Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning, Carlo 6, 2026 meeting of the board of public works and safety. We'll begin with Pledgeable Eagles. And to the Republic of States. Michael Abner. Good morning. My name is Mike Labner. I live at 1932 Center Street. And I'm here to request the board's permission to have a light shield installed on the light pole in front of our property. Well I appreciate the safety and visibility the street light provides. The current fixture creates a significant light trespass issue onto my property. The unshielded glare grows directly into our bedroom windows on the front of the house, both mine as well as my children's. I'd like to see and feel bad. And it would have to come from the city as if it's a straight light. Yeah, it's the street light wall. And we're okay, I mean okay, like absorbing the financial impact of it. I know like we looked at the typical cost of these, and it seems like a reasonable number to put up, so not even asking the city to prompt the bill. If we could just get your guys' approval or work together to get it resolved. It's like daylight at night. It is. That's literally down and takes it off this eye line. Yep. It's a very small shroud to go on there. So I I don't mind at the same time, so I'm not like contacting my neighbors and speaking with them about them. We have to put forward from the neighborhood, so that would be not my finishing as well. Awesome. I like that I don't know if I do all of that, but that's what needs to happen. We need to know that the rest of the neighborhood is okay. We have dealt with the existence before. We've had street lights removed. Uh but we have the consensus of the neighborhood to say so. Uh and then we also have the issue as uh as you say, this was something that the city just uh worked with them to do and replacing those lights with LEDs and some of the places we had uh issues with the LEDs that they put in not having enough light or spots in between the lights. So that's possibly why they put a bright or LED in here to try to like I said, we'll just unscrew that when I'll swappy out of this deeper yellow light. Is it possible that they just need to switch it up with a different light rather than just do a shield? That's one of the options.

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