Evansville City Council on Oct. 24 approved a series of contracts and amendments covering community programs, an event keynote and public-works work intended to extend pavement life.

Council members voted, by voice, to approve a contract with American Program Bureau Inc. to secure a replacement keynote speaker for the 2024 annual dinner and mayor’s celebration of diversity awards. Council discussion identified the speaker as Nontombi, described by staff as “the daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu” and as someone who does “very similar human rights work.” The total contract amount stated in the meeting was $20,000 and the motion passed unanimously.

In a package of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations presented by DMD staff, the council approved contracts with local nonprofits to operate social programs in 2024. Approved items included:

- The Arc Inc.: $32,000 to operate a safe-haven program for highest-risk children.
- Evansville Art Inc.: $7,000 for a communication assessment and training program.
- Carver Community Organization Inc.: $40,530 for after-school youth programming; $67,742 for a PM childcare program focused on later evening hours; $62,037 for an AM childcare program; and $50,000 for an expanded senior services program (staff noted the senior-services contract rose this year because an additional staff position was added).
- Meals on Wheels of Evansville: $29,700 for meal delivery to homebound residents.
- Boys and Girls Club of Evansville: $17,400 for the Fulton Square program and a related girls-focused program for $15,500.
- Community Action Program of Evansville and Vanderburgh County (CAPE): $12,000 for the emergency needs pantry (staff said this was about $5,000 higher than last year because CAPE is expanding the program).

All CDBG items were described by DMD staff as annual allocations previously authorized under a 2024 finance ordinance; council members conducted brief clarification exchanges before approving the package by voice votes.

On public-works items, the council approved an interlocal agreement with Vanderburgh County for shared asphalt preservation work totaling $185,000. City engineers described the agreement as an economy-of-scale arrangement to secure better unit pricing for preventive pavement sealing and said the work lets the city and county cover roughly 400,000 square yards of treatment between them.

The council also approved Amendment No. 1 with Lochmuller Group Inc. for professional services on the Crosspoint Roundabout, increasing the contract by $24,600 for lighting design to a new total of $420,500. City engineering staff said the amendment replaces a private lighting system installed with the original development and will install standard city street lighting; the design effort is timed to align construction with INDOT’s adjacent work.

Council approved bills and payroll and adjourned at 1:46 p.m.

Votes at a glance (as recorded during the meeting): each item listed above passed by voice vote with council members answering “Aye.” No roll-call tallies with member names were recorded in the transcript.