Board of Commissioners Meetings

A Regular October 8, 2013 A regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the City of Henderson, Kentucky, was held on Tuesday, October 08, 2013, at 5:30 p.m., prevailing time, in the third floor Assembly Room located in the Municipal Center Building at 222 First Street, Henderson, Kentucky. INVOCATION was given by Reverend Orbley Ramsey, Lawndale Baptist Church, and then Mayor Austin led the assemblage in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to our American Flag. ________________________ There were present Mayor Steve Austin presiding: PRESENT: Commissioner Jan Hite Commissioner Robert N. Pruitt Commissioner Tom Davis Commissioner Robert M. (Robby) Mills _______________________ ALSO IN ATTENDANCE INCLUDED: Mr. Russell R. Sights, City Manager Mr. Buzzy Newman, Assistant City Manager Mr. H. Randall Redding, Acting City Attorney Mrs. Maree Collins, Acting City Clerk Mr. John Reed, Police Chief Mr. Robert Gunter, Finance Director Mr. Danny Froehlich, Fire Chief Mr. Tom Williams, HWU General Manager Mr. Leason Neel, HWU Chief Financial Officer Mrs. Kay Mulligan Mrs. Susan Bryant Ms. Shirley VanBussum Mrs. Brenda Ramsey Mrs. Diane Shoemaker Mrs. Nancy Horn Mr. John Coomes Mr. Pat Barron Mr. Michael Vickers Mr. Terry Jones Mr. Nibby Priest Mr. Mike Richardson, Police Reserve Officer Mr. Frank Boyett, The Gleaner ____________________________ PRESENTATION: 20-YEAR SERVICE AWARD MAYOR AUSTIN introduced Brenda Ramsey, Account Technician. She started working for the City on October 7, 1993, as an Account Clerk II when we still had parking meters and little “red boxes” scattered around town for payments….it was Brenda’s job to collect the money from the parking meters and those little red boxes. Now, she is responsible for the City’s invoicing, insurance tax collection and preparation of the daily bank deposit. We are happy to have Brenda with us tonight to thank her for her hard work, dedication and loyalty to the City with the presentation of this 20-year service award pin. ________________________________  A Regular October 8, 2013 APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA: MAYOR AUSTIN asked Maree Collins, Acting City Clerk, to read the following items included on the Consent Agenda: Minutes: September 10, 2013, Regular Meeting Resolutions: Resolution No. 85-13 Accepting and Approving Surety Bond in the Amount of $1,000.00 (One Thousand) from Terry Jones to Operate a Pawn Shop Located at 1646 Second Street, Henderson, KY Motion by Commissioner Mills, seconded by Commissioner Davis, to approve the items on the Consent Agenda. The vote was called. On roll call, the vote stood: Commissioner Mills ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Hite ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Pruitt ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Davis ----------------- Aye: Mayor Austin ------------------------- Aye: ____________________________ RESOLUTION NO. 86-13 RESOLUTION GRANTING PROPERTY REASSESSMENT MORATORIUM FOR NIBBY PRIEST FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 234 N. MAIN STREET, HENDERSON, KY Motion by Commissioner Hite, seconded by Commissioner Mills, to adopt a resolution granting property reassessment moratorium for Nibby Priest for property located at 234 N. Main Street, Henderson, Kentucky. The vote was called. On roll call, the vote stood: Commissioner Mills ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Hite ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Pruitt ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Davis ----------------- Aye: Mayor Austin ------------------------- Aye: WHEREUPON Mayor Austin declared the Resolution adopted, affixed his signature, and the date thereto, and ordered that the same be recorded. /s/ Steve Austin Steve Austin, Mayor October 08, 2013 ATTEST: Maree Collins, Acting City Clerk __________________________ RESOLUTION NO. 87-13 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF GRANT APPLICATION TO KENTUCKY TRANSPORTATION CABINET OFFICE OF LOCAL PROGRAMS, IN THE AMOUNT OF $40,000.00 FOR THE WAYFINDING SIGNAGE PROJECT, AND ACCEPTANCE OF GRANT IF AWARDED Motion by Commissioner Pruitt, seconded by Commissioner Mills, to adopt the resolution authorizing the submittal of a grant application in the amount of $40,000.00 to  A Regular October 8, 2013 the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Office of Local Programs for a Wayfinding Signage Project, and acceptance of the grant if it were to be awarded. The vote was called. On roll call, the vote stood: Commissioner Mills ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Hite ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Pruitt ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Davis ----------------- Aye: Mayor Austin ------------------------- Aye: WHEREUPON Mayor Austin declared the Resolution adopted, affixed his signature, and the date thereto, and ordered that the same be recorded. /s/ Steve Austin Steve Austin, Mayor October 08, 2013 ATTEST: Maree Collins, Acting City Clerk __________________________ RESOLUTION NO. 88-13: RESOLUTION AWARDING BID FOR PURCHASE OF A SIXTEEN (16) CUBIC YARD REFUSE PACKER TO FREIGHTLINER OF EVANSVILLE, INDIANA IN THE AMOUNT OF $110,763.00 MOTION by Commissioner Pruitt, seconded by Commissioner Davis, to adopt the resolution authorizing the purchase of a 2014 sixteen cubic yard refuse packer truck from Freightliner of Evansville, Indiana in the amount of $110,763.00. DISCUSSION WAS HELD. VERBATIM DISCUSSION IS ON TAPE OF THIS MEETING. The vote was called. On roll call, the vote stood: Commissioner Mills ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Hite ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Pruitt ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Davis ----------------- Aye: Mayor Austin ------------------------- Aye: WHEREUPON Mayor Austin declared the Resolution adopted, affixed his signature, and the date thereto, and ordered that the same be recorded. /s/ Steve Austin Steve Austin, Mayor October 08, 2013 ATTEST: Maree Collins, Acting City Clerk __________________________ GENERAL DISCUSSION CITY MANAGER’S REPORT: MR. RUSSELL R. SIGHTS, CITY MANAGER, reported that he had two items for discussion, the first regarding our transit system. Many changes have occurred in the federal regulations that effect funding for this activity. Rules are in effect for systems of various sizes. In 2011 Federal Transit changed the reporting requirements for database information on ridership and the various classifications. At that time we did not have the  A Regular October 8, 2013 capability to accumulate the information that was required for that year under the new classification, so the Federal Transit recommended that we seek a waiver. We did not know until recently that that waiver could have an effect on funding. The response letter, found only online in the database, indicates that we could have a reduction in our allocation. In January of this year all transit allocations were published in the Federal Register, however we were not aware until July that we were not in the database. Congressman Whitfield’s office is working on this for us, but at this point we have not received an allocation for this fiscal year. The good news is that we have enough funding left over from previous years that will probably carry us until sometime through the middle or end of March. So we could be in jeopardy in April, May and June without a federal grant. We are doing everything that we can to work through this. The Congressman’s staff has contacted the Federal Transit office on our behalf and now we have the Federal Government shutdown. If necessary, we will go to our regional office in Chicago or possibly to Washington DC. Honestly, I thought that we would have this solved by now, but it is not. So, I’ll keep you informed on any updates, but I wanted to let the Commission know of the problem. On a lighter note, the little monument on the dais was presented by the Kentucky League of Cities for the Enterprise Award for Cities. The Mayor, Tom Davis, Mark Willis, Stantec, and I attended on behalf of the City. I want to mention that Buzzy Newman did nominate us for that award, and thank him for doing that. In conjunction with the award we will receive a $1,000.00 check from Collins and Company, sponsors of the award. I recommend to the Board that we dedicate it to the Wayfinding Signage project and add it to the $20,000.00 in this year’s budget for that project. If there are any questions on the recommendation, I will be glad to address them, or you can discuss alternatives. The Mayor asked if anyone was opposed to using the award monies for the signage project. Commissioner Davis commented that that would be fitting as it tied in with pointing the way to the riverfront and our new Riverwalk, which is the reason we won the money. Mr. Sights indicated that a budget amendment would be brought before the Commission in February during the mid-year budget review to make the change to add the $1,000.00 to the Wayfinding Signage project budget. ____________________________ COMMISSIONER’S REPORTS: COMMISSIONER ROBBY MILLS complimented the Mayor on the first draft of the River City Renaissance study to create a master plan for our community. There were a couple of things that really caught my interest, however, the one issue that I wanted to talk about is making downtown Henderson more livable, and one of the things that was brought up was the need for parking. One of the interesting things about when we encourage residential living downtown, they spend money downtown, they invest in downtown, it is a win-win. One of the things I thought and talked with friends in other Cities about is the need for some type of residential parking pass. It may be a controversial issue, but I really don’t see it as controversial if we are trying to increase residential living in downtown Henderson. I would like to see us discuss the possibility of having a residential parking pass that the City may charge a fee for people that are actually living downtown Henderson to have the privilege of parking closer or close to their residence. If no one else has an objection, I would request to have staff research how many apartments there are in downtown; how many are occupied; and how many have off-street parking so that we can make an intelligent decision about it. I believe that it would be a progressive step in encouraging residential living in downtown Henderson and it would probably open up several other buildings for development in the downtown. Commissioner Pruitt asked if parking for business owners should also be considered. Commissioner Mills indicated that that issue had been discussed for all of his 15 years of involvement with the downtown and that due to the volume of owners and employees it  A Regular October 8, 2013 would be hard to find spaces for the customers, however, he was open to discussing all options. The second issue is that on October 19th the East-end Neighborhood Conversation will be from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to talk about the plans and ideas that have been compiled by B&L that they have been working on for the last six months or so and that the Engage Henderson group has been involved in. Even if you can’t be there for the whole three hours, if you can pop in at the beginning, it would mean a lot for the City leadership to be involved. Mayor commented that Benton Memorial Church is hosting this and it is really good to have them taking such an active role in the community. ________________________ COMMISSIONER ROBERT N. PRUITT commented that the White on Main event was a great success. The more events like this you can bring downtown the better. ________________________ COMMISSIONER TOM DAVIS remarked on the KLC conference in Covington and how nice it was to bring home the award and thanked Buzzy for nominating us and nice to see Louisville finish second to Henderson. With all the hard work and years getting this project off the ground and to fruition that was a nice way to cap it off. ________________________ MAYOR STEVE AUSTIN stated that Henderson has received two major top awards in the state this year. The Kentucky League of Cities Enterprise Award for the Riverwalk and the Spirit of Kentucky Award given at the Governor’s Local Issues Conference in Louisville for the Tri-County Recycling Center and the cooperative efforts on that recycling center. Further the Kentucky Chapter of the American Public Works Association named the Henderson Riverwalk as the Project of the Year. So we are very pleased with the recognition for these projects and the progress we have made. ________________________ BOARD APPOINTMENTS: REAPPOINTMENT: PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD BILL STEVENS – TERM TO EXPIRE SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 APPOINTMENT: PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD RHONDA RICHARD – TERM TO EXPIRE SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 APPOINTMENT: PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD DR. MELANIE LEE TO FILL UNEXPIRED TERM OF HOLLY VINCENT– TERM TO EXPIRE SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 REAPPOINTMENT: PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD REV. ANTHONY ANGUISH – TERM TO EXPIRE SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 REAPPOINTMENT: PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MICHELLE HOPE – TERM TO EXPIRE SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 Motion by Commission Pruitt, seconded by Commissioner Hite, to adopt the board appointments for the newly restructure Parks and Recreation Board. The vote was called. On roll call, the vote stood: Commissioner Mills ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Hite ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Pruitt ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Davis ----------------- Aye:  A Regular October 8, 2013 Mayor Austin ------------------------- Aye: __________________________ EXECUTIVE SESSION: LITIGATION, REAL ESTATE AND PERSONNEL Motion by Commissioner Pruitt, seconded by Commissioner Mills, that the Board of Commissioners go into Executive Session pursuant to provisions of KRS 61.810(1)(c) for the purpose of discussions of proposed or pending litigation against or on behalf of the City; for the purpose of future purchase of real estate located on Highway 60 West and Ohio Drive and Highway 351 and Audubon Parkway, and property on Letcher Street, and the proposed sale of a cell tower lease which may affect the price of the property pursuant to provisions of KRS 61.810(1)(b) and for the purpose of discussion which might lead to the appointment, discipline, or dismissal of an individual employee pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(f). The vote was called. On roll call, the vote stood: Commissioner Mills ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Hite ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Pruitt ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Davis ----------------- Aye: Mayor Austin ------------------------- Aye: MEETING RECONVENE: Motion by Commissioner Pruitt, seconded by Commissioner Hite, the Board of Commissioners reconvened in regular session. The vote was called. On roll call, the vote stood: Commissioner Mills ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Hite ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Pruitt ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Davis ----------------- Aye: Mayor Austin ------------------------- Aye: _______________________________ RESOLUTION NO. 89-13 RESOLUTION INCREASING SALARY OF ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER EFFECTIVE AS OF OCTOBER 1, 2013 Motion by Commissioner Hite seconded by Commissioner Mills, to adopt the resolution increasing the salary of the Assistant City Manager at the same level as other city employees receiving a like review, which is the maximum amount of 1.5%. The vote was called. On roll call, the vote stood: Commissioner Mills ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Hite ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Pruitt ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Davis ----------------- Aye: Mayor Austin ------------------------- Aye: WHEREUPON Mayor Austin declared the Resolution adopted, affixed his signature, and the date thereto, and ordered that the same be recorded. /s/ Steve Austin Steve Austin, Mayor October 08, 2013  A Regular October 8, 2013 ATTEST: Maree Collins, Acting City Clerk __________________________ MEETING ADJOURN: MOTION by Commissioner Hite, seconded by Commissioner Mills, for the meeting to adjourn. The vote was called. On roll call, the vote stood: Commissioner Mills ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Hite ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Pruitt ----------------- Aye: Commissioner Davis ----------------- Aye: Mayor Austin ------------------------- Aye: WHEREUPON: Mayor Austin declared the meeting adjourned at approximately 6:40 p.m. ___________________________ Steve Austin, Mayor October 22, 2013 __________________________________ Maree Collins, Acting City Clerk