MUNCIE, Ind. — At the July City Council meeting Sara Gullion made three appointments for the Opioid Fund Advisory Committee. The appointments were Cory Matters (a clinical therapist working in the Muncie community), Abby Gluvna (Executive Director of Recovery Cafe), and Neil Kring (best known for his work with Muncie Folk Collective, Delaware County Addictions Coalition, and helping Gullion establish the committee). Currently there are still three appointments that can be made by Mayor Dan Ridenour and eventually one by the new committee members itself. It should be noted that while appointments in other commissions are usually along party lines, the Opioid Fund Advisory Committee does not require partisan appointments.

Gullion originally established the committee in response to an ordinance introduced putting $526,000 into police/fire pay raises, hoping that the remaining funds could be utilized with guidance from community activists and experts. While council-members voted 5-4 to pass it, the ordinance will be coming up again after Deputy Controller Matt Wagley admitted that council had not appropriated the funds beforehand.

Multiple individuals including Mayor Dan Ridenour cited that the last comprehensive zoning act was created in 1973. A 10-month process to create a new one took place between the Metropolitan Plan Commission, Stephen Brand being one of their members, as well as individuals such as Dan Ridenour and Jim Lowe. The ordinance was received positively, however there was skepticism when it was proposed that council-members adopt the ordinance instead of only voting to introduce it. Council-members Ro Selvey and Brandon Garrett pushed for the ordinance to be adopted, though it wasn’t clear if it was a time sensitive decision. While council voted 9-0 to introduce the ordinance, the vote to suspend the rules for adoption didn’t get the unanimous vote required.

During last month’s meeting there was a vote allowing a PILOT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes) agreement for Ball State’s Village Revitalization Plan, and establishing the area of the Cantio Hotel as an Economic Revitalization Area. The decision allowed the new hotel to seek tax abatements, however still was dependent on a public hearing last night. The Tax Abatement Committee, comprised of three council-members, showed concern over whether the new hotel would guarantee local as well as union labor, along with guarantees of employment benefits, however there were no answers at the time of the hearing.