Shelbyville City Council held its regular meeting Thursday evening. All items on the consent agenda were considered non-controversial and passed unanimously.  

Council held a “panhandling workshop” prior to the regular meeting. Read the Times-Gazette Tuesday for more information on why general panhandling cannot be outlawed.  

Other City business  

A resolution of the mayor was passed to establish HOPE (Help Our People Engage) Committee to study homelessness in Shelbyville.  

Council also ratified the appointment of the new Tourism and Marketing Board. Members include:

• Sylvia Pinson, local director Partnership-Bedford  
• Marilyn Ewing, City Council member, Ward 2
• Lacey Deeds, Chamber of Commerce Director
• Dennis Young, insurance agency owner
• JoeMarchesoni, business account executive for United Communications 
• Rodney Simmons, local media buyer and realtor
• Thomas McClain, local business operator

Also, equipment purchases totaling over $106,000 were authorized. This will include: new trash carts for the solid waste department; a Ford Explorer for the codes department; and two mowers for the city airport.  

A public hearing was held for the rezoning of about 4 acres in the southeast intersection of the 437-bypass. It will be moving from an agricultural zone to a general business district.  

The consideration of a motion to approve the appropriation of $35,000 to the Shelbyville-Bedford Partnership to “engage the services of Buxton for a market analysis of local retail and economic development” was approved by Council.  

Buxton is a company that helps with retail analytics and solutions. In the words of Council member Henry Feldhaus, they’re “retail gurus.”  

Buxton will conduct analyses to match which retail services will best match the city of Shelbyville by looking at other similarly sized cities with similar demographics, Feldhaus said during the meeting. Funding will come out of the hotel/ motel tax fund.  

“Shelbyville is kind of like the central business and retail district for the county... We’ve got some exciting retail opportunities coming with the Buxton piece of the equation,” said Feldhaus.