Board of Commissioners

MINUTES of REGULAR MEETING of the BOARD of COMMISSIONERS of the CITY of BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY held MAY 4, 2010 The Board of Commissioners of the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky met in regular session in the Commission Chamber of City Hall, Bowling Green, Kentucky at 7:00 p.m. on May 4, 2010. Mayor Elaine N. Walker called the meeting to order. An invocation was given by Deacon Russell Bryan of Burton Memorial Baptist Church, and all present recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Katie Schaller called the roll, and the following members were present: Commissioner Brian “Slim” Nash, Commissioner Bruce Wilkerson, Commissioner Joe W. Denning, Commissioner Catherine Hamilton and Mayor Elaine N. Walker. Absent: none. There was a full quorum of the Board of Commissioners. AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS Mayor Walker announced that Anne Grubbs, spouse to Citizen Information and Assistance Director J. Michael Grubbs, was a recipient of the 2010 Jefferson Awards. Mayor Walker also announced the recipients of the 2009 Officer and Citizen of the Year awards in the Police Department, which were Officer Alex Wright and Evidence Technician Bonnie Abney, respectively. City Manager Kevin D. DeFebbo recognized Assistant City Clerk Ashley Jackson for recently being appointed to a two-year term as the Barren River Municipal Clerks Association President, a local regional chapter of the Kentucky Municipal Clerks Association. CITY MANAGER City Manager Kevin D. DeFebbo requested the addition of an emergency late-file to the agenda related to the rain and flooding event which took place over the past weekend. Motion was made by Denning and seconded by Hamilton to add Municipal Order No. 2010 – 85 to the agenda. With no discussion, a roll call vote was taken. ROLL CALL: Voting Yea: Nash, Wilkerson, Denning, Hamilton and Walker Voting Nay: None Motion to add late-filed item Municipal Order No. 2010 – 85 to the agenda was approved by unanimous vote. Mayor Walker stated the item would be considered at the end of the regular agenda and before the work session. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of Regular Meeting April 20, 2010 Minutes of the above-referenced meeting were distributed to the Board of Commissioners with the Agenda for their review. Motion was made by Wilkerson and seconded by Hamilton to approve said minutes as written. Mayor Walker asked for discussion, and with none, a roll call vote was taken. ROLL CALL: Voting Yea: Nash, Wilkerson, Denning, Hamilton and Walker Voting Nay: None Motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of April 20, 2010 was approved by unanimous vote. *Note: Minutes are a summary of the discussions; a video recording of this entire meeting is maintained by the Office of City Clerk. (Minutes-Board of Commissioners-May 4, 2010) PUBLIC COMMENTS Butch Hutcherson, a businessman from Hendersonville, Tennessee and potential subdeveloper in the Downtown TIF District, commented about the progress being made with the Heritage Green Project (a development reported to locate in Block 4 of TIF District). He said he has been working with various civic groups, such as the Downtown Merchants Association, Chapter 58 Corporation (also known as Warren County Downtown Economic Development Authority), Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Redevelopment Association (DRA), and making key contacts regarding his interest in developing downtown. Mr. Hutcherson expressed his appreciation that all of these organizations worked in complement to one another and believed each had its specific roles that did not overlap. Michael Barron, owner of Morris Jewelry located at 408 E. Main Avenue, stated it was important to keep DRA funded to maintain a full-time staff person. He remarked about the “return on investment” the City received from participation in the Renaissance on Main Program which DRA managed and the benefits of continuing that program. Susan Hechner, associated with Barbara Stewart Interiors and Corner Studio both located on E. Main Avenue and member of the Downtown Merchants Association and DRA Board of Directors, also stressed the importance of DRA. She commented about the grass roots approach that DRA provides to the community, in addition to the grant writing, project management and marketing performed by DRA staff. MUNICIPAL ORDER NO. 2010 – 82 MUNICIPAL ORDER AUTHORIZING AND ACCEPTING BID #2010-40 FOR THE SLOAN CONVENTION CENTER 250 TON CHILLER FROM JOHNSON CONTROLS OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY IN THE AMOUNT OF $79,775 Summary of Municipal Order No. 2010 - 82 was read by the Assistant City Manager/City Clerk. Motion was made by Nash and seconded by Denning for consideration of said Municipal Order. DeFebbo indicated that this item was approved at the Convention Center Corporation Board of Directors special meeting held just prior to this meeting. Mayor Walker asked for additional discussion, and with none, a roll call vote was taken. ROLL CALL: Voting Yea: Nash, Wilkerson, Denning, Hamilton and Walker Voting Nay: None Municipal Order No. 2010 - 82 was approved by unanimous vote. MUNICIPAL ORDER NO. 2010 – 83 MUNICIPAL ORDER APPROVING THE YEAR 7 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN OF THE CONSOLIDATED PLAN FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) ENTITLEMENT FUNDING AND AUTHORIZING ITS SUBMISSION TO THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 2 (Minutes-Board of Commissioners-May 4, 2010) Summary of Municipal Order No. 2010 - 83 was read by the Assistant City Manager/City Clerk. Motion was made by Wilkerson and seconded by Hamilton for consideration of said Municipal Order. DeFebbo recommended the approval of the Annual Action Plan for Fiscal Year 2011. He noted that an appointed citizen group reviewed and recommended the applicants selected for funding. Mr. DeFebbo also stated this was the first year that the City would be taking an administrative fee and the Plan included funding for infrastructure improvements for designated Census tracts. Mayor Walker commented about Housing and Grants Manager Brent Childers’ ability to hit the ground running and get up to speed with the City’s CDBG program in just a matter of weeks. She asked for additional discussion, and with none, a roll call vote was taken. ROLL CALL: Voting Yea: Nash, Wilkerson, Denning, Hamilton and Walker Voting Nay: None Municipal Order No. 2010 - 83 was approved by unanimous vote. ORDINANCE NO. BG2010 – 13 (First Reading) ORDINANCE RELATING TO BUDGET AMENDMENT ORDINANCE APPROVING AMENDMENT NUMBER FOUR TO THE CITY OF BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010 Title and summary of Ordinance No. BG2010 - 13 was read by the Assistant City Manager/City Clerk. Motion was made by Nash and seconded by Wilkerson for first reading of said Ordinance. DeFebbo explained the necessity to amend the City’s annual budget, which also included the appropriation of fund reserves for the firefighters’ overtime payout as determined by the Kentucky Department of Labor. Mayor Walker asked for additional discussion, and with none, a roll call vote was taken. ROLL CALL: Voting Yea: Nash, Wilkerson, Denning, Hamilton and Walker Voting Nay: None First reading of Ordinance No. BG2010 - 13 was approved by unanimous vote. MUNICIPAL ORDER NO. 2010 – 84 MUNICIPAL ORDER APPROVING AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE KENTUCKY TRANSPORTATION CABINET AND THE CITY OF BOWLING GREEN ON BEHALF OF THE FRIENDS OF L&N DEPOT, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $189,500, AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS Summary of Municipal Order No. 2010 - 84 was read by the Assistant City Manager/City Clerk. Motion was made by Wilkerson and seconded by Denning for consideration of said Municipal Order. DeFebbo indicated that a request was made sometime ago to apply for Transportation Enhancement funds to rehabilitate the historic Jim Crow Railcar for The Historic Rail Park and Train Museum located at the L&N Deport. Friends of L&N Depot, Inc. Executive Director Sharon Tabor provided an overview of the project and use of funds. Mayor Walker asked for additional discussion, and with none, a roll call vote was taken. 3 (Minutes-Board of Commissioners-May 4, 2010) ROLL CALL: Voting Yea: Nash, Wilkerson, Denning, Hamilton and Walker Voting Nay: None Municipal Order No. 2010 - 84 was approved by unanimous vote. MUNICIPAL ORDER NO. 2010 – 85 MUNICIPAL ORDER RATIFYING EXECUTION OF DECLARATION OF A LOCAL STATE OF EMERGENCY RELATED TO THE MAY 1-2, 2010 RAIN STORM AND FLOODING EVENT Summary of Municipal Order No. 2010 - 85 was read by the Assistant City Manager/City Clerk. Motion was made by Nash and seconded by Hamilton for consideration of said Municipal Order. Mayor Walker reviewed the declaration of emergency for the City and noted that a similar declaration was also made for Warren County. She explained that this declaration provided an ability for residents to seek federal assistance related to damages from the flooding. She urged residents to contact Bowling Green/Warren County Emergency Management for additional information. Mr. DeFebbo thanked the staff of the Public Works, Fire and Police departments who worked over the weekend during the storm. He also thanked the Citizen Information and Assistance Department staff for fielding over 150 calls on Monday morning. Mayor Walker asked for additional discussion, and with none, a roll call vote was taken. ROLL CALL: Voting Yea: Nash, Wilkerson, Denning, Hamilton and Walker Voting Nay: None Municipal Order No. 2010 - 85 was approved by unanimous vote. WORK SESSION Following the regular meeting agenda and with no action taken at approximately 7:25 p.m., the Board of Commissioners conducted a work session to discuss a quarterly report regarding downtown TIF activities presented by the Warren County Downtown Economic Development Authority, Inc. (Authority). Authority Chairperson Mary Cohron reported the TIF activities to date totaling $66 million and progress toward reaching the $150 million threshold by 2014 for Signature TIF status. Ms. Cohron and Authority Attorney Kevin Brooks responded to questions about the number of new jobs to be created, the ability to ensure a commitment from a prospective hotel developer, the membership and purpose of a second Single Purpose Entity, Inc. (SPE II) that was recently formed, and the use of the ballpark as collateral for New Market Tax Credits. Ms. Cohron also provided an overview of the draft site plan dated April 15, 2010 for development of Blocks 12 and 14, as well as efforts to begin marketing the downtown with funding provided by TVA and BGMU. ADJOURNMENT Once all discussion concluded in the work session and there being no further business to come before the Board of Commissioners, at approximately 8:10 p.m., Mayor Walker declared this meeting adjourned. 4 (Minutes-Board of Commissioners-May 4, 2010) ADOPTED: ______________________________________________ APPROVED: ______________________________________________ Mayor, Chairman of Board of Commissioners ATTEST: ______________________________________________ City Clerk Minutes prepared by Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Katie Schaller 5