Evansville City Council Brief
Evansville City Council moved through the agenda quickly at their last meeting, adopting a resolution to collaborate with EWSU on a solar project and recognizing June as Pride Month.
All members were present at Monday, May 18th’s City Council Meeting: Ben Trockman, Rita Taylor, Zac Heronemus, Kendra Hatfield, Angela Lindsey, Jim Brinkmeyer, Mary Allen, Paul Green, and Courtney Johnson. All items on the regular agenda were passed except for one rezoning that was tabled until the June 22 meeting.
Ordinance R-2026-09 was a rezoning of 6600 Old Boonville Highway, with the owner planning to turn the vacant space into an apartment community. Many neighbors showed up in opposition to the ordinance. Fortunately, the council members understood their concerns, resulting in the postponement.
Resolutions
A resolution was proposed for the city to recognize their support for an agreement between the Evansville Water and Sewer Utility and the Climate Collaborative to add solar panels to 17 city properties. The city expects that switching to solar will help save money long-term, so they can eventually redirect those funds to other projects. Sarah Pritchett, the Climate Action Coordinator, says that their goal has been “to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 and improve our community sustainability and resiliency… 77% of emissions come from powering our homes, buildings, and facilities with grid supplied electricity, [so,] we must give significant weight to reducing emissions from energy use to achieve that goal.” The resolution was unanimously adopted.
Another positive resolution was unanimously passed with the city recognizing the month of June as Pride Month. “This is another opportunity for us as counselors to show just that E is for everyone.” says Rita Taylor, Ward 2. The president of River City Pride, Jacob Delk, came to encourage citizens to join in on the Pride Month festivities. The River City Pride Parade will be held on June 6 from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Downtown Evansville on Main St.
The next City Council meeting will be on Monday, June 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the Civic Center.
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