Committee recommends approval of nine ordinances, including lead service work and Cellebrite license

City Council committees reviewed and issued do-pass recommendations for a package of ordinances covering construction and service contracts, professional services agreements and operating contracts. Most measures were approved unanimously in committee; one economic development marketing contract carried a 7-1 recommendation.

Key votes and committee notes (committee recommendations; final full-council action not recorded in this committee transcript):

- S25-0121 — Annual on-call asphalt cut repair services agreement with Robco Incorporated; total not to exceed $750,000. Committee recommendation: do pass, 8-0. Funding: sewer, stormwater and water revenues. (City Utilities)

- S25-0122 — Annual on-call concrete repair services agreement with Robco Incorporated; one-year agreement (amount not specified in committee record). Committee recommendation: do pass, 8-0. Funding: sewer, stormwater and water revenues. (City Utilities)

- S25-0126 — Professional services agreement with Jacobs Engineering Group for Water Pollution Control Plant laboratory improvements (work order 76585); amount not to exceed $380,540. Committee recommendation: do pass, 8-0. Funding: State Revolving Fund. Staff said Jacobs was selected through a competitive sealed proposal process and the services are expected through March 2026. (City Utilities)

- S25-0130 — Construction services agreement (potholing and traffic control) with Burcotte Incorporated for transmission water main condition assessment; total $183,717. Committee recommendation: do pass, 8-0. Funding: Water revenue. Staff said the services support sensor installation and traffic control for a system-wide condition assessment. (City Utilities)

- S25-0131 — On-call lead service replacement construction services agreement with All Seasons Underground Construction, increase to not to exceed $250,000 (additional $150,000 requested). Committee recommendation: do pass, 8-0. Funding: Water revenue. Committee discussion: council members pressed staff on funding sources, the mix of grants and City funds used in targeted areas, homeowner costs and the program’s progress toward replacing thousands of lead service lines; staff estimated the city is roughly a third to halfway through the total universe of lead lines and said the program uses a sliding scale and financing where eligible. Staff noted that some state funding (State Revolving Fund) previously supported targeted areas and that the city is using water revenues to serve one-off requests outside those areas.

- S25-0120 — Purchase order with Kenny Machinery Corporation for repair parts (Toro distributor) used by Parks and Recreation; amount $112,500. Committee recommendation: do pass, 8-0. Funding: Parks Department budget. (Finance)

- S25-0127 — 2025 agreement for economic development services with Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance (Greater Fort Wayne); amount $300,000. Committee recommendation: do pass, 7-1. Discussion: staff and the Alliance reviewed last year’s deal pipeline and economic metrics; council members praised outreach and small-business programming. (Finance)

- S25-0128 — 2025 professional services contract with the Downtown Improvement District (DID); amended in committee from $225,000 to $250,000 to add $25,000 for increased biohazard remediation and other services. Committee amendment and recommendation: amendment approved 8-0; final do pass recommendation 8-0. Staff and DID board members described Clean & Green and a Downtown public-safety committee as ongoing operations funded by the contract. (Finance)

- S25-0129 — Cellebrite software license (Q438261-1) for the Fort Wayne Police Department, special procurement under Indiana Code 5-22-10; total $109,200. Committee recommendation: do pass, 8-0. Police said the tool extracts and analyzes data from mobile devices under proper legal authority (consent or search warrant) and cited its role in homicide and other investigations. Chief Scott Caudell told council: “It’s evidence collected and then a proper search authority, whether it be a consent to search by the owner itself or a search warrant issued by the spirit courts, that gives us the authorization to then conduct an acquisition of data and then the examination as defined by those search parameters.” Sergeant John Helmsing, Forensic Supervisor, described an 18% increase in demand for forensic services over the prior year and said the tool can access many locked or encrypted devices.

A committee chair or clerk moved and seconded each measure in the record; most votes were recorded as “do pass recommendation” with an 8-0 tally. The economic development agreement with the Alliance carried a 7-1 committee recommendation.

Why it matters: the bundle advances immediate city maintenance contracts (asphalt, concrete, water-system condition assessment), public health and safety work (lead-service replacements, police forensic tools), and economic development/marketing and downtown maintenance contracts that affect budget priorities and service delivery. Several items rely on restricted funding streams (water revenue, State Revolving Fund) or are tied to long-running city programs (lead replacement, downtown cleaning and safety).

Next steps: these committee do-pass recommendations advance ordinances to full City Council for final consideration; the transcript ends at committee action and does not record final full-council votes.