Council OKs emergency ordinance regarding transient housing

During council's regular September meeting, Hillsboro City Council approved an emergency ordinance proposed by Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings regarding transient housing in the city.

Hastings said that his office has received "a number of inquiries" from organizations looking to start halfway houses or related establishments in the city of Hillsboro.

Hastings said that he recently toured a nine-bed halfway house facility proposed by a Cincinnati social services organization, located "close to the 100 block of High Street."

Hastings stated that the building was not ADA-compliant. After he asked if the facility was for Hillsboro residents, Hastings said the group told him that they would bring people from Cincinnati to reside there.

"This is something that I've been seeing as a trend in general in small rural towns … I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but I don't want to see [Hillsboro] become a warehouse or a repository for these halfway houses," Hastings said. "I believe that our infrastructure is not suited and funded enough to properly monitor these facilities.

"I think there is a clear and present danger posed by having these facilities in our midst."

Hillsboro Law Director Fred Beery, Safety/Service Director Richard Giroux and Hastings compiled an ordinance based on one from North Dakota "where they have had a large influx of transient population, due to fracking," according to Hastings.

"I think a lot of entities, social services groups within larger cities, know it's cheaper to do these [projects] out in the hinterlands than it is to do them in the cities where they are," Hastings said. "Hence, this is why we brought this to council as quickly as possible."

Hastings presented an emergency ordinance "to adopt a safety code for halfway houses, hostels, group homes and rooming houses."

Outlined in the ordinance are the "City of Hillsboro regulations for halfway houses, hostels, group homes [and] rooming houses," which include: "definitions; standards for administration; staff; recreational activities; maintenance; resident rooms; services area; resident dining and recreation areas; food services; fire safety, zoning and building clearance; mechanical requirements; electrical requirements; submission of building construction plans; standards for administration; implementation; and penalties."

"All this does is give local enforcement to Hillsboro," Beery said. "It doesn't change existing state law… we don't try to take over regulations that the health department has on these facilities. We don't try to take over the fire marshal's job. All we say is 'you will comply and demonstrate that you are doing it so we can monitor it.'"

Beery said that the ordinance is not to dictate how the properties are used, but rather will deal with "common-sense safety issues" for the organizations behind such housing: "You will comply with state law. You will adequately give care to people in your facility … you will adequately supervise, and you will comply with safety codes that the state's already established, and if you don't, the city has some enforcement authority to step in here."

The "authority" includes the implementation of penalties of up to $5,000 for those who fail to meet the city's standards.

Alexander asked Beery if the city would be financially responsible for enforcement of the ordinance.

"If we have to, then they have to pay us back for that cost," Beery said.

Alexander asked who would have to perform inspections, and Beery said that it would depend on the type of the facility and the issue, but "probably an expert" on the particular problem.

Hillsboro council member Shoemaker (who presided over the meeting as council president Lee Koogler was unable to attend due to illness) asked Hastings how quickly the ordinance should be enacted.

"I think time is of the essence," Hastings said.

Beery agreed due to the request the mayor's office has already received regarding building such housing.

"Those folks might well establish a facility that would escape the purview of this legislation, and the people in those facilities [would be] at risk," Beery said.

Council member Mary Brown Turner motioned to suspend the three-reading rule, which was accepted, and council unanimously accepted the legislation.

In other action, council heard from three representatives from the ongoing Hillsboro Wastewater Treatment Plant construction project regarding an emergency resolution "to amend Resolution 2009-54 to provide additional compensation for B.W. Cooper Services, LLC."

Giroux explained that under the 2009 legislation, the contract was set up with "a 5-percent contingency, and the industry standard is a 10-percent contingency."

"We really believed until fairly recently that we were going to be able to finish these jobs within the original bid amount, and everything moved along pretty well until we learned some things we didn't expect," project manager Dean Ramsey said.

Ramsey said that conditions in the old tanks were worse than anticipated, and various parts will have to be replaced, leading to the need for increased funding.

"We don't have a lot of time to kind of sit and ponder a lot because the U.S. EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] is looking at us," Hillsboro Wastewater Treatment plant manager Brandon Leeth said.

"We're at a point now where we're closing in on the end of the project, and we want to make sure we have ample funds so we don't have to come back to council and ask for some more funds."

Giroux clarified that they are not looking for additional funds, but rather to appropriate existing funds in order to proceed with the project.

Beryl Cooper of B.W. Cooper Services reiterated the group's desire to move forward in order to have the project completed by the end of 2012.

Council unanimously agreed to pass the resolution without the three readings. With the passage of the current resolution, the 2009 resolution has been "amended to provide that the maximum amount which may be expended for the services of B.W. Cooper Services, LLC, is $180,000, an increase of $24,000" (from the original $156,000).

In other legislation, Council:

• It was reported by finance committee chair Pete Pence that the finance committee had met prior to the regular council meeting in executive session to discuss proposed fire contracts with Washington and Jackson townships and labor negotiations. In regular session, Alexander motioned "to direct the administration to open the IAFF contract, including the topics of minimum staffing, wages and benefits," which was unanimously accepted.

• As part of his safety/service report, Giroux introduced James Treadway, who wishes to construct a billboard at his property on 806 North West St.

Treadway, who owns Hank and Bill's Automotive, distributed photographs of the location where he wishes to build the billboard. Pence suggested that the issue be put in committee, and Shoemaker agreed that it should be considered by the property maintenance and restoration committee.

• During his monthly report, Hillsboro Auditor Gary Lewis presented a resolution to amend appropriations in the recreation fund, changing from $55,414 to $74,691, to reflect an error in the original legislation.

"The correction does not diminish the amount of the cuts, which were $234,000," Lewis said.

As this resolution was to amend an error in appropriations from the previous month's meeting, the resolution did not require the three-reading rule.

Lewis also reminded council of the need for additional cuts in order to balance the 2013 fiscal year budget.

"Two meetings ago, I advised council that should no changes occur, the city would experience a deficit of over $670,000 by the end of 2013 fiscal year if cuts were not made," Lewis said.

"Last month, as I just mentioned, council approved cuts in this year's budget, in the amount of $234,000. Unfortunately, those cuts were necessary only to get us to that negative-$270,000 deficit at the end of next year. Therefore, more cuts are going to be necessary, as most of you know, to achieve that balanced budget in 2013.

"I bring this up again as a reminder that we are in a very tenuous financial situation, and I want to keep that fresh in everyone's mind."

• Council approved a resolution "accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the budget commission and authoring the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the county auditor."

• Council approved a resolution "to increase appropriations in the indigent driver's alcohol treatment fund," increasing appropriations from $40,250 to $45,250.