Board of Commissioners Special

MINUTES of SPECIAL MEETING of the BOARD of COMMISSIONERS of the CITY of BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY held MARCH 3, 2011 The Board of Commissioners of the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky met in special session in the Commission Chamber of City Hall, Bowling Green, Kentucky at 9:30 a.m. on March 3, 2011. Mayor Joe W. Denning called the meeting to order. Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Katie Schaller called the roll, and the following members were present: Commissioner Bill Waltrip, Commissioner Bruce Wilkerson, Commissioner Brian “Slim” Nash and Mayor Joe W. Denning. Absent: none. There was a full quorum of the Board of Commissioners. CONSIDERATION OF MUNICIPAL ORDER RELATED TO AN APPOINTMENT TO THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Motion was made by Nash and seconded by Wilkerson to add Municipal Order No. 2011 – 47 to the agenda for consideration. With no discussion, a roll call vote was taken. ROLL CALL: Voting Yea: Waltrip, Wilkerson, Nash and Denning Voting Nay: None Motion to add Municipal Order No. 2011 – 47 to the agenda was approved by unanimous vote. MUNICIPAL ORDER NO. 2011 – 47 MUNICIPAL ORDER APPOINTING MELINDA M. HILL COMMISSIONER OF THE CITY OF BOWLING GREEN TO FILL THE VACANCY CREATED BY THE APPOINTMENT OF JOE W. DENNING TO THE POSITION OF MAYOR Summary of Municipal Order No. 2011 - 47 was read by the Assistant City Manager/City Clerk. Motion was made by Wilkerson and seconded by Nash for consideration of said Municipal Order. Comm. Waltrip stated he would like to explain his position on the issue. In his short tenure as a Commissioner, he specified this was one of the most difficult decisions of such extreme importance for the community that he has had to make. He revealed that he had decided early on, before anyone had applied for the open seat, that the person who came in fifth in the November 2010 election, Robin Baldwin, should be appointed. He outlined his reasons for his decision, including the fact that Ms. Baldwin had previously filed for the Commission seat in November 2009, she campaigned for the position, she received 4,521 votes in the election and she applied for this appointment. Comm. Waltrip further stated that he wanted to make it clear that he has known Ms. Hill for many years and he has great respect for her. He agreed that she would be a very effective Commissioner and he looked forward to working with her. However, he reiterated that he felt strongly in his conviction that the fifth person in the most recent election for Commissioner should be selected, which was why he was going to vote no for this appointment. In closing, Comm. Waltrip acknowledged that it was also a difficult decision for the other members of the Board and he respected their decision to appoint Ms. Hill. On behalf of the Board of Commissioners, Mayor Denning thanked everyone for attending today’s special meeting. He reviewed that the Board was tasked with the challenging job of selecting a fourth Commissioner to serve until a special election could be held in November and they were *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-March 3, 2011) fortunate to receive eighteen applications from residents throughout the City. He explained that after much discussion, the Board was able to narrow the list down to less than half a dozen candidates, who earlier in the week were invited to City Hall for an interview with the Board. Although he acknowledged that all of the candidates would have represented the City well, Mayor Denning reported that the decision was made to select Melinda M. Hill, and he provided a brief biography of Ms. Hill outlining her educational background, specialized skills and work experience. He remarked that the Board of Commissioners was both excited and eager to begin working with Ms. Hill and that her past experience with education, civic responsibilities and business would be a great asset to the Board and the City. Mayor Denning asked for additional discussion, and with none, a roll call vote was taken. ROLL CALL: Voting Yea: Wilkerson, Nash and Denning Voting Nay: Waltrip Municipal Order No. 2011 - 47 was approved by majority vote. Following the vote, Mayor Denning congratulated Ms. Hill and asked her and her family members to come forward to the dais. SWEARING-IN OF COMMISSIONER MELINDA M. HILL Mayor Denning administered the Oath of Office for Commissioner of Bowling Green, Kentucky to Melinda M. Hill. Before she took her seat with the Board of Commissioners, Comm. Hill expressed her appreciation to the Mayor and Commissioners for their vote and to those attending the meeting. She stated she wanted everyone to know that she admired Comm. Waltrip for his vote and appreciated what he stands for as she looks forward to working with him and the other members of the Board, as well as the citizens of Bowling Green. Mayor Denning again extended his appreciation for everyone being there and indicated this was a rare occasion in the City’s history to appoint a Commissioner. He stated they were glad to have Comm. Hill and that she will be an outstanding member on the Board. He further extended appreciation on behalf of the Board of Commissioners for the support of the community. ADJOURNMENT This being a special meeting and with no further business to come before the Board of Commissioners, at approximately 9:45 a.m., Mayor Denning declared this meeting adjourned. ADOPTED: ______________________________________________ APPROVED: ______________________________________________ Mayor, Chairman of Board of Commissioners ATTEST: ______________________________________________ City Clerk Minutes prepared by Assistant City Manager/City Clerk Katie Schaller 2