Proposed fire station No. 6 passed on to incoming council after debate

MUNCIE, Ind. − As a solidly Democratic Muncie City Council prepares to take office next month, a more closely divided council had its final meeting and wrestled with financing plans for construction of a new No. 6 firehouse.

The meeting, held Dec. 4, was a last chance for a majority of members to directly impact city policy as five members are leaving council at the end of their terms this month. The council moves for a 5-4 Republican majority to a 6-3 Democratic majority following the November election.

Aaron Clark, a Republican who lost his re-election bid, succeeded in having a resolultion providing for a build, operate and transfer agreement between the city and GM Development for a new No. 6 Fire Station at McCulloch Park. But eventually the fire station wound up back on the table and now waits for the next council to consider the plans by Republican Mayor Dan Ridenour for the station.

Ridenour, who was returned to the mayor's office by voters in November, initially had proposed replacing three stations but said costs rose throughout the planning stages that resulted in reducing the intial plans from three to one -- No. 6, which has been identified of the station most in need of replacement. The mayor planned to pay for the construction with a proposed $8 million bond issue.

In October, council members tabled the plan, with Democrat council members complaining Ridenour hadn't included them in the planning and saying they need to further look inot the issue.

"We aren't going to have another public works meeting about this?" asked Council Member Troy Ingram after the matter was returned to consideration.

"I guess not," replied Council President Jeff Robinson.

"I would like to say, if I could, since the two-month tabling of this (resolution) I've not received any questions or reccomendations from any member of the council that voted to table it. So I'm assuming that in that two months there has been no interest or questions from any member of the council," Clark explained

"You're the only person we get to email or talk to about it," Ingram shot back.

Robinson called a point of order giving Clark the floor.

"Put on the boxing gloves," Ingram said

Clark said that as a member of the council committee who had been working on the fire station replacement issue since it's begininng, he would answer questions.

Ingram said he had asked the Ridenour administration for information that he had not entirely received. But he had received bid packages from eight companies other than GM.

"I assumed we were having another public works meeting," he added.

A build, operate and transfer agreement — or BOT — allows a chosen company to create a project without the bidding process. It also alows for more control of the project, including assuring the contractor uses local labor. GM, based in Henry County, has completed similar projects across the state.

Ingram, a Republican who often votes with Democrats on the council, said that without the information he had asked the administration to give him, if asked to vote on the matter, he would vote no.

Democrat Council Member Roger Overbey said there had been another council committee meeting planned for the subject after the election but that meeting never happened.

Overbey, who lost re-election in the Democratic primary in the spring, also said he didn't want to use the BOT method to organize construction of the project and would advise the new city council to not use that method and instead open up to project to bids.

"I think it's deceptive to ask questions behind the scenes when we can ask them at a public meetig for all to hear," Robinson said of private discussions among officials before a vote on the matter.

He said he would also have to vote no if he was made to vote that night.

Clark made a motion to approve the resolution. Robinson said is would be a disservice to constituents to abruptly vote on the matter without further public discussion.

Clark said that the council wasn't voting to go ahead and build the station but was just voting on the BOT agreement with GM Development. He said it would be up to the next council to do the due dilligence and work on the financing.

"I think it's misleading to say we are trying to usurp the public or trying not to get public input when this has been sitting two months and I have had zero public questions" Clark said.

Overbey said the BOT agreement as it stands would not give the city expressed oversignt of the project.

Clark said GM Development has done much work already on the issues related to the new station but it has boit chaged anything to taxpayer in the city. Greg Martz, managing partner with GM Development, is a cousin of Clark.

GM has already announced it would use a contractor, Hagerman Group, which is local to Indiana. Clark said if the project were open to public bidding, the general contractor could come from out of state.

Public comment on the matter included Democrat Nora Powell, council member-elect from the 2nd District, who said that as an incoming council member she was ignorant of the issues surrounding the project. Powell asked the council to show "professional courtesy" to the new six council members by not entering into an agreement the new members do not yet fully understand.

Clark told Robinson and other members of the council that he appreciated the council having the discussion about the agreement that he said was cut short in October, and he was again willing to place the matter back on the table for the next council to take up.

Overbey made the motion to table the resolution, which was passsed. Robinson said the next council has six months to take it from the table for consideration or it will lapse.

David Penticuff is a reporter with The Star Press. He can be contacted at dpenticuff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Proposed fire station No. 6 passed on to incoming council after debate