Board of Commissioners

WORK SESSION August 12, 2024 FRANKFORT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 3:00 P.M. (EDT) PRESENT: Commissioner Kyle Thompson Commissioner Leesa Unger Commissioner Katrisha Waldridge Commissioner Kelly May Mayor Layne Wilkerson (5) ABSENT: None (0) Following roll call, Mayor Wilkerson called the Work Session to order. Citizen Comments Dawn Welch, representing Life House for Animals, which is a non-profit shelter staffed with volunteers, requested that the City not welcome pet stores that sell dogs and cats. She encouraged the Board of Commissioners to consider the ordinance. Ethan Branscum told a story about his dog Molly and said that the ordinance will remove puppy mills. Margaret O’Donnell spoke about her concerns regarding short-term rentals. Liam O’Donnell expressed his concerns regarding short-term rentals. Ruth Lorenzen spoke about her concerns regarding short-term rentals. Frank Smith spoke about not having a pool in Frankfort and speeding along Langford Avenue. Reba Rye expressed her concerns regarding short-term rentals. Jeff Hancock spoke about the impact of short-term rentals on businesses, visitors spending money at local restaurants, going shopping, etc. which will help our tourism dollars. Staff Reports Eric Cockley, Director of Planning & Community Development and Sara Anderson, Director of Public Works, gave an update on the Transit Center Parking Garage. The City of Frankfort had a walk thru on August 8th and a walk thru with the State will happen on August 15th. Based on a Certificate of Occupancy from the State the Transit Center should be open to the public on August 27th. Ray Kinney, Director of Emergency Management, gave an update on the Broadway Bridge. There has been a partial collapse of the bridge on the Farmers Market side. Safety fencing has been placed to keep citizens safe. Since this is a State bridge any further information from the State will be shared with the Board of Commissioners. Discussion Items Short Term Rentals – Eric Cockley Eric Cockley, Director of Planning & Community Development, spoke about short-term rentals which have exploded in the last few years. Planning is looking at methods of housekeeping and cleaning up the regulations, with amended regulations approved by the Planning Commission. At this time, there are a total of 98 short-term rental units. Discussion followed with the Board of Commissioners. Sports Associations – Shawn Pickens Shawn Pickens, Director of Parks & Recreation, gave a PowerPoint presentation of the benefits and cost saving measures of utilizing a Sports Association. Ordinance Regarding the Selling of Dogs & Cats Laura Milam, City Attorney, spoke about a draft ordinance regarding the selling of dogs and cats in pet stores. The ordinance will clearly accept reputable breeders. After a brief discussion the Board of Commissioners would like to move forward with the ordinance. Action Items 2024 NEA Our Town Grant Staff requests permission to submit a 2024 National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) Our Town Grant Project in the amount of $100,000.00 for a community concert featuring the Lexington Philharmonic on or about July 4, 2026, at Ward Oates and Liberty Hall in conjunction with the United States of America’s Semi quincentennial or 250th Anniversary to help in the activation of the Frankfort Arts and Cultural Master Plan and the Strategic Plan. This item is on the work session agenda due to the quick turnaround for this grant application. Deadline for the final application is August 15, 2024. The National Endowment for the Arts has grant funds available under their Our Town Arts Program for various projects related to arts communities. The City was awarded an Our Town Grant in 2019 to create the Arts and Cultural Master Plan and adopted the plan in early 2021. The City would now like to apply for funding to initiate a concert honoring the nation’s Semi quincentennial. The project will have multiple programming opportunities for Liberty Hall and the City of Frankfort leading up to the concert. The Our Town Program does require a 1/1 match, making the local contribution $50,000.00, however, the match can be partially in-kind, and Liberty Hall does have sponsors for the event. Staff anticipates the cash match required for this project, if fully funded, would be approximately $20,000.00 budgeted over the FY2026 and FY2027 Fiscal year budgets. If fully funded that would be $10,000.00 per budget cycle. Staff recommends approval and for the Mayor to sign any related documents. It was moved by Commissioner Thompson, seconded by Commissioner Unger, to approve the application. The question was put upon the motion and the roll called. Those voting in favor of the motion were Commissioners Thompson, Unger, Waldridge, May and Mayor Wilkerson (5). Those voting against the motion were none (0). The motion was thereupon adopted. Approval of Contract with ConsultEcon for Consulting Services Related to the Procurement of a Convention/Conference Staff requests approval of a professional services contract with ConsultEcon to update a previous study of convention and meeting space and provide consulting services in connection with the drafting and award of an RFP. The City desires to procure a new Convention/Conference center. As part of the RFP process, the scope of the project must be carefully defined. In 2018, ConsultEcon conducted a study of the market opportunity for meeting and event spaces in Frankfort. The City desires to have ConsultEcon update the study and provide other consultation services in connection with the RFP drafting and award. Staff recommends approving the professional services contract with ConsultEcon and for the Mayor to sign all related documents. It was moved by Commissioner Thompson, seconded by Commissioner Waldridge, to accept staff recommendation and use the insurance premium tax revenues if needed. The question was put upon the motion and the roll called. Those voting in favor of the motion were Commissioners Thompson, Unger, Waldridge, May and Mayor Wilkerson (5). Those voting against the motion were none (0). The motion was thereupon adopted. First Reading “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CITY OF FRANKFORT CODE OF ORDINANCES SECTION 37.32 RELATED TO SALARY SCHEDULES AND PAY GRADE STRUCTURE” was presented, read, and sponsored by Commissioner May. Summary: This ordinance amends City of Frankfort Code of Ordinances Section 37.32 to update "COF Salary Schedule" to 1) reflect the recently adopted 3.5% cost of living increase 2) add the following new job titles for budgeted positions: Stormwater Inspector, Tax Compliance Officer, Building Maintenance Tech, EMS Training Officer and 3) correct the pay band assigned to the position of Detective to align with that of Police Officer and 4) adjust the pay band assigned to Arts and Culture Coordinator to align with the budgeted amount. Discussion of Tentative Agenda The Board of Commissioners requested that the following items be on the August Regular Meeting agenda; ordinance regarding dogs & cats, Sports Association model, Waste Management truck maintenance. Unfinished/New Business It was moved by Commissioner Thompson, seconded by Commissioner Waldridge, that Steve Watson attend the Thursday, August 15, 2024, State inspection of the Transit Center & Parking Garage. The question was put upon the motion and the roll called. Those voting in favor of the motion were Commissioners Thompson, Unger, Waldridge, May and Mayor Wilkerson (5). Those voting against the motion were none (0). The motion was thereupon adopted. Commissioner Waldridge spoke about the speeding issues on Douglas and Langford and possibly speed humps being installed. Public Works staff will take a look. Commissioner Waldridge said that the JASK event was a huge success with a great turnout. Thank you to City staff, Police, Parks and Transit. It was moved by Commissioner May, seconded by Commissioner Waldridge, to go into Executive Session pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(c) litigation “discussions related to pending litigation involving the Old Y”. Action may be taken in open session. The motion was adopted by voice vote. The meeting went into closed session at 5:37 p.m. Note: The Mayor left prior to the Executive Session starting. It was moved by Commissioner Thompson, seconded by Commissioner Unger, that the meeting return to open session. The motion was adopted by voice vote. The meeting returned to open session at 5:58 p.m. It was moved by Commissioner Thompson, seconded by Commissioner Waldridge, that the meeting adjourn. The question was put upon the motion and was adopted by voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 5:58 p.m. _____________________________ Mayor Attest: _____________________________ City Clerk