EMINENCE, KENTUCKY  MAY 11, 2009

The City Council of the City of Eminence, Kentucky met in a regular session on May 11, 2009 at 6:15 p.m. at the Eminence City Hall Council Chambers with Mayor Jim Petitt and the following members present: Danny Meadows, Polly Troxell, Shawn Bright, Drane Stephens, Lee Ann Armstrong, and Leo Mason. Absent was none.

Pledge of allegiance held.

Mayor Petitt reminded everyone to have their cell phones either off or on silent and not to ask to speak unless on the agenda.

Mayor Petitt called the meeting to order at 6:16 p.m.

Subject: Citizen Concern - Wesley & Patricia Morrison, who own the mobile business, Hot Diggity Dawg, were present to discuss a concern they have about the use of lights on their truck. Mr. Morrison stated he was helping out the auction by providing the food with his truck parked in front of the building on last Thursday evening with his amber colored lights on top of his truck turned on when he as advised by Chief Duncan and Officer Hawkins that he must turn the lights off as it was a violation of a Kentucky Revised Statute for him to have the lights on. He complied with the request but was flagged down again on Sunday by Chief Duncan and was told to either remove the light or he would receive a ticket and the light would be confiscated. Mr. Morrison stated he uses the light as a safety precaution and that there is another KRS which states he can use one for safety purposes. Mr. Morrison stated he is only trying to provide something different for the City and feels he was embarrassed by the Police Department over this issue. He also stated he provided food at the City’s Music on Main last year with the lights on with no problems. He feels the light helps traffic to notice the customers who might be standing by his truck. He would like to be allowed to use the lights for safety purposes only. Mrs. Morrison asked if these lights were illegal, what could they use to provide safety for their customers as they are usually close to the road and feel it is important to provide some safety features. She stated they are not trying to break the law. Attorney Brammell advised this is not a city ordinance, but a state law, and the City cannot waive the law or interpret the Kentucky Revised Statutes. Chief Duncan stated it was not his intention to embarrass Mr. Morrison on Thursday, but on Sunday he did feel he had to be stronger on the violation and that the City would have to cite to get this in the proper venue. The Police Department can cite with probable cause and they cannot allow one person to violate the law and make others follow it. Member Meadows questioned the difference in the two laws. Chief Duncan stated he feels the use of the lights is not a safety issue, but are being used to bring in business. Mrs. Morrison stated they will comply with whatever is necessary but do not want to be harassed because of their questioning of this. Mr. Morrison stated he is over this and wants the Police Department to be over this as well. Chief Duncan stated there is nothing to get over as they were only following the law.

Subject: One Call Now - Member Stephens reviewed information he has obtained from a company called One Call Now. The representative was supposed to be present, but apparently has had a problem. The service provided would allow for citizen notification capabilities thru a phone call system. The previous estimate received for this service from another company was $2,100.00 per year. The One Call Now estimate is $1,008.00 per year and would allow up to six phone numbers per person included in the database and can make 2,000 calls per minutes. The company would load the initial database with one number and we would load the additional numbers. We can also do sub-group calls for specific individuals. This would be managed via the internet. No training costs would be associated without the GEO system and it is usually only recommended for really large cities. Member Bright stated he feels this is a great idea and asked if references have been checked. It was asked who the County uses for this service with it being believed to be Community Safe. Member Meadows inquired if we would fall under the County’s system. Consensus to include this on the agenda again next month for additional information and discussion.

Subject: Annexation – Kathryn Way was present to request annexation of approximately six acres of her property located at 811 Elm Street, 819 Elm Street and adjoining lot. They have a sale which is dependent on annexation and a zone change. Attorney Brammell stated we would need additional survey work and a waiver and consent to annex signed should the council determine they want to annex this property. The zone change request would have to go to the County Planning and Zoning first. Member Stephens inquired whether this was for business or residential purposes. Mrs. Way stated it is for a retail business at this time. Doug Bates, who was on the agenda to speak about this item, stated they are on the planning and zoning meeting agenda for Wednesday night of this week and are wanting to get this approved as soon as possible as one business needs to be located there by the end of the year. Consensus of council to authorize Attorney Brammell to proceed with the necessary paperwork to annex this property. Member Stephens asked if this is a new or a moving business. Mr. Bates stated it was for a moved business which would be new and improved.

OLD BUSINESS:

Subject: Minutes – The minutes of the previous regular session held on April 13, 2009 and the special session held on May 5, 2009 were reviewed. Mayor Petitt asked for any additions or changes to the minutes and with none forthcoming, stated they would stand approved as presented.

Subject: Community Center Transfer Status Report – Attorney Brammell reported he has sent a title letter to Superintendent Don Aldridge for forwarding to the Kentucky Department of Education for their approval on the transfer of the community center. Once this is received, a public hearing should be held and if agreeable with the transfer, documents will need to be prepared. Attorney Brammell stated he would like input from the council on any particular concerns for the contract. Member Meadows stated he feels the school wants the same things as we do for the center. Member Stephens asked if Attorney Brammell could proceed with drawing up a tentative agreement for the next meeting. Attorney Brammell stated he would do so, but if there are any particular concerns he would like to know prior to the first draft. Mayor Petitt stated that per a discussion with Superintendent Aldridge the same group would be kept on the board.

Subject: Ordinance Updating Compensation Plan – Attorney Brammell held the second reading of an ordinance updating the compensation plan reiterating that no salaries are being changed with this ordinance, only the pay perimeters based upon the cost of living for the year. Motion made by Member Stephens and seconded by Member Meadows to adopt the ordinance as read. On a call of vote by Clerk Doane, all members present voted “Yea”.

REPORTS:

Subject: Police Department Report – Major Kevin Kemper reviewed the monthly activity report with council which showed total contacts of 264 for April.

Subject: Property Ordinance Enforcement Report – Major Kemper stated there was one property ordinance complaint this month, which is going through foreclosure with him being able to convince the owner to mow one more time. After this there will be no one to cite for non-compliance. Member Stephens stated there are kids playing on the fallen porch on Penn Street at the old King Auto Parts store in the back and that this property needs to be cleaned up. Major Kemper stated he would notify the owner. Member Meadows asked if we would maintain these properties and file a lien on them. Attorney Brammell stated we can file a motion and get an order from the Judge which would allow us to maintain and file a lien. This will be a slow process.

Subject: Budget Line Item Changes – Chief Duncan requested budget line item changes from category 21-740 to categories 21-645, 21-646, 21-650 and 21-622 totaling $16,138.00. Motion made by Member Meadows and seconded by Member Armstrong to approve these line item changes as requested. On a call for vote by Clerk Doane, all members present voted “Yea”.

Subject: Public Works Department Report – Public Works Director William Smith reviewed the monthly activity report with council. Mr. Smith reported he has received four proposals for the GIS/GPS mapping services, all of which are under the budgeted amount of $41,500.00. Mayor Petitt read the quotes as follows:

CDP Engineers, Inc., Lexington, KY - $29,600.00
Strand Associates, Inc., Louisville, KY - $19,500.00
Kerry P. Magan, Shelbyville, KY - $19,600.00
Qk4, Louisville, KY - $17,192.84

None of the bids include GPS equipment or the computer software. The software is estimated to cost between $1,200.00-$1,500.00. Mr. Smith reported that all of the companies have their own GPS locators. Mr. Smith reported he is checking on some other pricing for the GPS locator so we may want to wait on this. Member Mason asked Mr. Smith to explain this system and its purpose to council. Mr. Smith stated that a lot of maps of our water and sewer system do not exist and the ones we do have are getting in bad shape. Putting this on a computer system would allow current and future employees to know the location, size, type pipe, valve locations, and other information on our water and sewer system. Motion made by Member Meadows and seconded by Member Troxell to accept the proposal from Qk4 of Louisville for the total price of $18,695.84. Mr. Smith stated the software would be coming from Map Sync not Qk4. Member Meadows amended his motion to accept the proposal from Qk4 of Louisville in the amount of $17,192.84 and to authorize the purchase of the software from Map Sync for the price not to exceed $1,500.00. Member Troxell seconded the amended motion. On a call for vote by Clerk Doane, all members present voted “Yea”.

Member Stephens stated the work at the park is fantastic with everything coming together. Member Armstrong asked when we would be draining the baby pool. Mr. Smith stated there are some other ideas on this to be discussed by the committee.

Subject: Backhoe – Mr. Smith stated the new backhoe has arrived with the final state pricing being $57,460.00. Council commented purchasing this from the state contract has saved us approximately $12,500.00. Mr. Smith stated he would like to have a motion to declare the old backhoe as surplus for sale. Motion made by Member Bright and seconded by Member Armstrong to declare the 1989 580 Case backhoe, which was originally purchased to assist in the maintenance of city streets and with water/sewer repairs, as surplus property as it is no longer needed since a new one has been purchased. On a call of vote by Clerk Doane, all members present voted “Yea”.

Subject: Surplus Pool Equipment – Mr. Smith reported that we have re-bid the surplus pool equipment and that pictures have been added to the City’s website with one inquiry being received so far. Member Stephens asked where we would stand on disposing of this property if we do not receive any bids. Attorney Brammell stated it would have to come back to council if we did not set a minimum bid in our advertisement.

Subject: Administrative Office Report - City Clerk Sandra Doane reviewed the monthly administrative office report with council. Clerk Doane reported that we have now collected approximately 94.6% of the 2008 property tax billing with liens to be filed in June on all unpaid tax bills.

Clerk Doane reported we received our January-March HB 413 payment in the amount of $3,777.17.

Clerk Doane reported we have received reimbursement from our insurance company for damage to one of the Fire Department vehicles in the amount of $2,997.25.

Subject: Occupational Tax/Net Profits/Business License Review - Clerk Doane reviewed the occupational/net profits/business license tax collection which is now at 77% of the budget. Clerk Doane stated she does feel we will be short in this income category for the fiscal year.

Subject: Fire Department Report – Member Meadows reviewed the monthly Fire Department activity report with council which shows a total of 34.50 manpower hours for the month. Member Meadows stated the fire department will be coming in under budget as others departments have and that the Fire Department will be turning the balance in their account back over to the City with the exception of $2,000.00 for July beginning operating funds.

Member Meadows reported that the Fire Department would like to change their phone service as AT& T has gotten too expensive and asked who needs to authorize this change. They would like to go to Insight. Attorney Brammell stated if no contract is required then the Fire Department can proceed themselves.

Subject: Community Center Report – Member Bright reviewed the monthly Community Center activity report with council which shows a total attendance for April of 1,024. Member Bright reported that the archery team will be participating on the stated level which is great. Member Meadows asked how the attendance compares with last years. Member Bright stated he did not know, but could probably find out. Mayor Petitt reported we have repaired the exercise equipment again.

Subject: Festivals Update – Member Armstrong reported that Eminence Day scheduled for August 8th is progressing with different committees working on different areas. The grand marshals will be Kristy Roberts and Joe VanMeter with the parade to start at 10:00 a.m. The steering committee has had a lot of community involvement.

Member Bright reported that Music on Main will start on the first Friday in June with the Sugarfoot band scheduled to play. Most of the festivities associated with Music on Main will be the same as last year. August will be skipped due to the Eminence Day activities. The final Music on Main will be held in September.

Subject: Parks Committee Update – Member Stephens reported that Phase I of the parks renovation was approved at a maximum expenditures of $12,500.00. Now that we have more details and information, this needs to be increased. The amount of money remaining to complete Phase I was discussed. The remaining projects left to complete Phase I were discussed which included the basketball court in the total amount of $6,526.00 using the lower amount on the gravel and the maximum amount on the concrete; the pavilion in the amount of $3,350.00 (free labor from Mr. Cozine if he receives the bid on the basketball court) up to $5,350.00 from the other proposal; the bathroom valve and leak repair work estimated at $400.00 and the painting of the bathhouses estimated at $1,000.00. The total estimated cost to complete the items listed above is between $11,276.00 and $13,276.00 depending on which person we award the concrete work to. Member Stephens made the motion to approve the Cozine bid for the concrete work, to use our own personnel to pickup the gravel and to purchase the lumber for the pavilion from Perry’s Hardware. No second made as discussion continued.

Member Meadows asked about the park sign. Member Stephens reported that he has not received any proofs from Chad Heightchew with Extreme Graphics so he is looking at other options. The sign was discussed with tentative plans for the sign to be at the four way stop and to be a 4’ X 8’ in the same colors as the playground equipment. The football team will be doing the planting around the sign. It was asked if a sign permit would have to be obtained. Attorney Brammell stated we would need to get one, but are probably exempt from any fees. Member Meadows asked Member Stephens to check on the sign at the Foree Animal Clinic as it appears to be what we might be looking for. Member Stephens stated we probably will not get the sign until the new budget year.

Member Meadows asked about the opening day for the park. Member Stephens stated his goal is June 1st, but we have to at least get the bathrooms working and all safety issues resolved. Mayor Petitt stated he believes we need to leave the doors locked on the restrooms unless the pavilion has been rented out. Member Armstrong stated she feels they must be open during the day. Chief Duncan stated he does anticipate some mischief with the doors being on the inside away from Hillcrest Drive. Consensus of council was to leave the doors open at first and if too much mischief happens we will need to re-evaluate this. Consensus of council to proceed as soon as possible with taking down the fence and working on the safety issues as the kids are really anxious. Some have already been there at night even though the park is not officially open.

Motion by Member Stephens and second by Member Bright to approve all the expenditures for the park as discussed above; to accept the bid from Jeff Cozine for the concrete work at both locations in the amount of $2,000.00; to accept the bid from Tim Holland in the amount of $2,000.00 for construction of the pavilion; and to authorize the City employees to haul the gravel needed; all in the not to exceed amount of $16,000.00. On a call of vote by Clerk Doane, all members present voted “Yea”.

It was suggested to use kids who need service hours for the painting. Member Bright stated he would like to have the fence taken down as soon as possible. Public Works Director Smith stated there are still four huge bags of mulch stored in this area. He suggested putting the pavilion on top of the baby pool area which would cut down on the cost for this and to put the extra mulch around the current swings. Consensus was for Mr. Smith to proceed with installing the mulch around the swings and to take the old slide down.

NEW BUSINESS:

Subject: Warrants - The warrants presented for payment were reviewed. Motion made by Member Meadows and seconded by Member Troxell to approve the warrants for payment as presented. On a call of vote by Clerk Doane, all members present voted “Yea”.

Subject: New Business/Council – Mayor Petitt asked if any council member had anything they wanted to discuss.

Member Meadows stated that the repair work to City Hall is looking good and inquired who inspects the work. Mayor Petitt stated he has given this job to Public Works Director Smith.

Member Meadows referenced an after action report on the recent storms from Bruce Owens which discussed the purchase of five generators and asked who would be receiving them. Mayor Petitt stated he was verbally told that the Eminence Fire Department would receive one of them.

Member Mason stated he has been asked by a citizen if special meeting notices could be put on a sign in front of City Hall rather than individuals having to check inside City Hall or at Cook’s Pharmacy. Attorney Brammell stated that posting at City Hall, a notice to the local newspaper and to council members is all that is required to meet the legal requirements. Mayor Petitt stated we also put the notice at the post office and feels we provide good notification. Member Meadows asked if we can put this on the website. Discussion held.

Subject: Mayor’s Update – Mayor Petitt reported we are still waiting on paperwork for the sidewalk grant.

Mayor Petitt reported the budget for the new fiscal year is still being finalized with a special meeting being necessary prior to May 31, 2009 for its presentation to council. Possible dates were discussed. Tentative dates are May 26th-May 28th with decision to be made prior to that time and council notified.

With no further business to be discussed, motion made by Member Troxell and seconded by Member Bright to adjourn. All members present voted “Yea”. Meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.

JIM PETITT, MAYOR
CITY OF EMINENCE, KENTUCKY

ATTEST:
SANDRA A. DOANE, CITY CLERK
CITY OF EMINENCE, KENTUCKY

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