Metro Council - Regular Meeting

Overload, fire, electrocution and that systems are properly and safely grounded.

I take this very seriously and I take making sure that everybody and particularly black people feel like they can trust the police. The police are on their side and they're there to take care of them. You know, and I've said this before. I think one of the things that we can all as police officers attempt to appreciate more is how it feels even when an officer is right to have stuff taken out of your pockets and to be searched. Um, it's not a feeling that everyone has had in their civilian life. Um, but I've been on the receiving end of that and no matter how many times the officer told me, um, that it was okay, it's, it's still felt like a violation. And so I think we can do a better job of understanding that feeling and having some sympathy for, uh, being on the receiving end of that. And I also know that I've had friends and family members have been on the receiving end of violent crime as well. And I need officers out there to make sure that there are fewer grieving moms and brothers and sisters and friends that are showing up to funerals and hospital rooms. And so there is a balance that we have to strike. And I expect officers to appreciate that balance and to take it very seriously.

Mildred and Patty Hill wrote the Happy Birthday song, the most sung song in the world. They're in the background of our history. We don't know their names. The Happy Birthday Park is getting ready to fix that. We are going to design a playground here. to replace this playground equipment, just like what Waterfront just opened at Playport at 13th Street, a wonderful playground. And if you see children playing there, you know that it's just right for them. That's what this playground will be, and that's what Patty knew about kindergarten children, that if you find materials that are just right for them, they will learn lots through their play. This playground is 26 or seven years old. It's one of the original playgrounds here at Waterfront Park. Waterfront was looking for a partner to restore this playground and the Happy Birthday Park was looking for a partner to help them find a location. Waterfront said, what about this playground? so now here we are we want to have a spot for all age children and children of all physical abilities big slides where four or five people can go down at once swings that are low to the ground that wheelchairs can roll onto and swing safely we are thrilled to be a part of the waterfront's front door to louisville and so we hope that when people come here that they

Bye.

All right, Metro TV will start in 30 seconds. The regular Louisville Metro Council meeting of September 10th, 2026 will please come to order. The time is currently six minutes after 6 p.m. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. This meeting is being held pursuant to KRS 61.826 and Council Rule 5A. Madam Clerk, call the roll, please.

Council Member Hawkins. Present. Council Member Shanklin.

Present.

Council Member Parrish-Wright. Present. Council Member Herndon.

Present.

Council Member Purvis. Present. Council Member Leninger.

Present.

Council Member McCraney.

Here.

Council Member Reno-Weber. Here. Council Member Owen.

Here.

Council Member Raymond.

Here.

Council Member Kramer. Here. Council Member Joseph. Here. Council Member Syme. Council Member Bast. Here. Council Member Chappell. Here. Council Member Reed. Here. Council Member Winkler. Here. Council Member Parker. Here. Council Member Piacentini. Here. Council Member Benson.

Present.

Council Member Rui. Here. Council Member Bratcher.

Here.

Thank you. Council Member Hudson.

Here.

Council Member Mulvey-Woolridge. Here. Council Member Batshon.

Here.

President Ackerson.

Present.

Mr. President, you have 24 in a quorum.

Please let the record reflect that Council Members Ben Reno-Weber and Dan Syme, Jr. have excused absences. Madam Clerk, are there any addresses to Council? Yes, sir, there are. Please call the speakers.

Gerald Puckett

Good evening. Is this thing on? Good evening, Council President and members of the Metro Council. My name is Gerald Puckett, and I'm a resident of the Pines, 40228. I'm standing before you tonight to shine a light on a deeply disturbing issue quietly impacting some of our most vulnerable residents, the targeted harassment and intimidations of senior citizens by neighbors trying to force them from their homes. While this council rightly celebrates a city-wide drop in overall violent crime, there is an invincible form of neighborhood victimization happening on our blocks. We're seeing instances where elderly residents, many of whom have lived in and anchored their homes for decades, are being subject to ongoing bullying, property intimidation, psychological harassment by individuals seeking to push them out of their properties. Seniors living alone often do not have an immediate support system or the physical capability to fight back against aggressive, hostile neighbors. They are frequently left suffering in silence, feeling completely unsafe in the very homes they spent their life building. Kentucky law strictly mandates that we protect our vulnerable adults from social services and standard police responses are often structured to handling domestic or institutional abuse, not targeted neighborhood displacement and campaign tactics. I am urging this council to take three distinct actions. Direct targeted outreach work with the LMT Crimes Against Senior Squad and Adult Protective Services to ensure neighborhood patrols are actively seeking looking for signs of elderly harassment and displacement tactics. Promote municipal resources, increase public awareness and funding for programs like Louisville Triad Act and the Office of Inspector General to ensure community members know how to report neighbor on senior bullying. Strengthen local... protections, explore local ordinance that penalize targeted harassment aimed at displacing vulnerable or elderly homeowners. Our senior citizens deserve to age in place with dignity, peace, and absolute security. They should never have to feel like targets in their own yards. Thank you for your time and your commitment to protecting all generations in Louisville.

Thank you. Samantha Bayless.

Hello and good evening. My name is Samantha Bayless. I'm a licensed massage therapist, Navy veteran, small business owner, and a founder of Collective Wellness and Spa in District 10. I have worked in the medical and wellness settings for more than 19 years. I want to be clear. I'm not against an ordinance. I want to support reasonable regulations that protect the public. and creates accountability, but regulation also needs to be reflecting what legitimate massage therapists actually look like in our community. We are already seeing unintended consequences. Examples of these are a practitioner that came to us because he was previously practicing independently at Lotus Counseling Wellness Center and a yoga practice. Both wanted to continue including massage within their wellness environments. However, with the new massage ordinance and the fact that massage was separate from their own businesses, they did not want to apply and operate as a massage facility. simply to allow an independent massage therapist to practice there. As a result, Jacob lost two places to practice, income and access to established clients. Another therapist, Wiley, practiced at Louisville Community Acupuncture, a community-based practice where people could access affordable healing services and pay what they could. Massage is no longer offered, there either. There are a large commercial massage establishments. There are counseling, yoga, acupuncture and wellness practices collaborating with licensed massage therapists and professionals. For Katie and I at Collective, we have continued to operate Many additional hours navigating the requirements, changing operations, and communicating with our practitioners. Reassuring clients who have questions about their safety, their privacy, and what these changes mean for a therapeutic environment that they've trusted. Most massage therapists and individual practitioners and small businesses, even when we collaborate with other professionals or have independent contractors or employees, We are licensed professionals providing therapeutic services primarily by appointment only. We aren't asking Metro to eliminate oversight. We are asking you to continue working with us to simplify requirements, clarify definitions, and recognize the difference between legitimate professional practices and businesses or activities these regulations were intended to address. Public safety and small business sustainability do not have to compete. We share the goal of keeping Louisville safe. We simply want to be able to continue serving our community.

Madam.

Yes.

Thank you. Your time is expired.

Sorry. Thank you. Sean Spencer.

And Madam Clerk, let the record reflect that Danarina Weber has joined us.

I got it. Thank you.

Good evening, I'm Shawn Spencer with the West Louis Dream Team, and I'm not here to ask for money. Not this time, anyway. I want to thank, first, Councilman Herndon. Councilman Herndon met with myself and one of our economic advisors for the Nia Center to discuss the purchase and the deferred maintenance. That conversation sparked us thinking and doing a little bit more of research. And we are not here and we do not think that the city partnered with TARC to get the building and had planned on not maintaining the building. And we know based on your own council that in 2020, you asked for a 10-year deferred maintenance plan so we know we intended to have the building taken care of so i am here today to respectfully request that this council authorize the government oversight and audit committee to conduct a financial reconciliation of the nia center at 2900 west broadway The NEA Center was developed with significant public investment, including federal transportation funding and community development block grant funds. We also now have the copy of the MetroTARC a leasing agreement where Metro is leasing the facility for $1 and assuming all responsibility for utilities, maintenance, upkeep, and repair. It is also contemplated that sub-tenants would contribute their pro rata share of operating expenses. In reviewing the available budget information, there appear to be NEA Center operational accounts, balances that were carried forward identified for NIA maintenance and repairs. There are also references to interdepartmental transfers. We have LMPD in our building. However, there's no record of LMPD paying anything while they're there. I'm not saying that there's any type of improprieties. This is not about accountability at this point, and it's not about fraud, waste, and abuse of funds. It's tracking the money. Where did the money go? If Metro Department occupied space without an occupancy charge, who ultimately absorbed that space cost? Where did those funds go? We are asking for the committee to review the NEA Center operations, appropriations, and carry forward balances, the interdepartmental transfers and journal entries, the departmental occupancy, tenant and subtenant payments, maintenance, repair, and utility expenditures. capital improvements, federal, state, local, and private funding, and any restricted, unspent, and otherwise unencumbered funds. Specifically, what funds did Metro receive, spend, transfer, allocate, restrict, and retain in connection to the NEA Center? Thank you for your time. Thank you. Paul Wesleyan.

Yes, sir.

Let the record reflect that we've been joined by Councilman Sinema also.

So noted.

My name is Paul Westland. I live in District 16, zip code 40241. I'm a member of the Renewable Energy Alliance of Louisville. When I called here to put my name on this list to make a statement about data centers, I was asked if I was for or against them. I had trouble answering because I am neither. I know we're going to have data centers. What I am for is that they be strongly regulated. Data centers make up an enormous new industry, bringing enormous consequences to everyday people all across the country. It's a $400 billion industry, and it's universally unpopular among Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Why? Because of the costs. In two years, data centers will be using 12% of the nation's electricity, putting further pressure on already increasing electric rates. Data centers are coming to Louisville. One is under construction. More will surely follow. Your planning commission has developed regulations that I hope you will strengthen. Here are a few concerns. One, Louisvillians should be completely protected from rate increases for electricity as well as the enormous amount of water that data centers use for cooling. Residents should be protected from health issues related to the unrelenting noise from the data centers, as well as waste heat that would contribute to heat island effects that already challenge our city. Three, the current proposed rules differ depending on the size of the data center. That makes no sense. The same rules should apply to all data centers, no matter the size. Four, regulation should be strong and without loopholes. We hope data centers will be good neighbors, but just in case, we need to require that they meet our conditions. Five, in 2020, you passed a resolution calling for Louisville to be powered by 100% renewable energy by 2040. Data centers should be required to support that by powering themselves with renewable energy. Six, a new zoning classification should be created just for data centers. And finally, seven, The Kentucky Resources Council has drafted an excellent model for what data center regulation should look like. Please adopt those regulations for Louisville. Data centers can easily afford to follow strong common sense regulations. Please take the time to craft rules that will preserve Louisville's quality of life. Thank you.

Thank you. Daniel Cobble.

Council Members, in February 26, uh, 2026, the U.S. Postal Commission announced suspending the pension payments of postal workers in Louisville reduced library hours from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m. In August 2026, Louisville reduced the TARC bus routes from 25 to 15 routes. I hate to say I told you so, but I've been warning that it will come to this point. Upon ending the three antitrust violations causing the transfer of wealth to Wall Street corporations, Price until ending these antitrust violations, prices and tax hikes will continue along with cutting programs. But since taxpayers are now balking at 50% of the paychecks taken in taxes as shown, the only option are to cut programs. isn't anyone going to ask what's causing this contradiction of reducing taxes while cutting programs? Here again, the three antitrust violations are detailed in this local court pleading addressing this problem. Case 25CI-400-384. For we do not owe the $40 trillion national debt, and Americans are fools again of the global elites for paying it. But I have not emphasized what happens when ending this theft, summarized on page two, paragraph four in this court pleading. We will experience a windfall in tax revenues in the many billions, if not trillions of dollars. How? Because when ending the transfer, all the local, state, and federal taxes that you're still paying since 1999 will hit the brick wall of no longer being transferred. And hence, these revenues can only go into government coffers. It will require, doesn't that make sense? It will require significant reductions in taxation, other adjustments, and end the pressures on prices. See online my February 2, 2026 letter to New York City Mayor Mamdani with restitution for repaying Americans. We will return to affordability when the trillions in stolen property since 1999 is returned to the open market. Jefferson County is foolish for not uniting to put me in office despite my faults. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Catherine Sims.

Good evening, council members and guests. Thank you for allowing me to speak this evening. My name is Catherine Sims, and I am a 28-year resident of District 16, where Scott Reed is my councilman. I want to talk to you about the plant-based treaty, what it means to me and what it could mean to so many others if they only knew what it was. In 2005, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I went through surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments. I thought I was cured. But in 2018, 13 years later, I learned that the cancer had come back and was now in my bones and liver. Metastatic or stage four breast cancer was my new diagnosis, incurable. I was given an estimated life expectancy of three to five years. Well, it's been eight years and I'm going strong. I have completed several mini marathons and I participate regularly in the Live Strong at the YMCA program. So now let me tell you what has made this possible. Not long after that devastating diagnosis, I saw a gentleman on the Today Show who had just released a cookbook, the Blue Zones Cookbook. For those of you not familiar with Blue Zones, they are five areas identified around the world where people have been known to often live beyond 100 years. Having been told I only had three to five years, I wondered if these recipes would be helpful to me. I bought the cookbook. Then I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives. I was enamored. I immediately started following a plant-based diet. After all, what could I possibly lose? So while I still have stage four cancer, and probably will always have it, I'm healthy, I'm tolerating my treatments better than most cancer patients, and my CT scans continue to say no tumor progression. And my tumor markers from a blood test they run about every 12 weeks continue to show results in the normal range as opposed to the range for active cancer. I firmly believe that the reason I have done so well is because of my plant-based diet complementing standard medical treatments. I would like for other Louisvillians to have the same benefits. And not only have I benefited as an active cancer patient, research has shown that a plant-based diet can help prevent cancer in those who have not been diagnosed. So please support the plant-based treaty.

Thank you. Leslie Ryan.

Hello. My name is Leslie Ryan. Thank you all for your time. I'm from District 14. I've never been here before, so I might get a little nervous. I'm probably going to go away from my page here, because yesterday morning I was very upset. My house boxed up to Sun Valley Park. I grew up in Pleasure Ridge, been in Valley Station for 14 years. I walk to the park every day, and I just got to the point where I got home, called City Hall, and things have just been going so fast. And every day I see what happens in the park, in my area, and I just got so upset, I had to come here and say something. They just, they take whoever, whether it's kids, adults, the way they've just destroyed things. There's no respect anymore. I don't care like this gentleman said here, whether it's senior citizens, the trash, They cut the park the way they want to, football teams, soccer teams. I don't know if we need to start talking to coaches, the programs, the schools. Go back to the basics. Tell these kids, pick up after yourselves. Tell the parents to tell the kids. Tell the coaches to tell them, whoever it is. And I know it probably happens in all the other parks wherever. Maybe the council members need to have some meetings with people. I think you all are great. Whoever volunteers, I volunteer a lot. I support Habitat for Humanity. I've volunteered at the fire department. All of us are good people, I assume. I mean, I don't know. But I just think we all need to talk more, help out more. If you see something, say something. I love flock cameras. I wish they'd put some cameras up in Sun Valley. I've heard about it for years. I've heard about a lot of stuff throughout in the South End for years. I agree with this gentleman on the data centers. We all know where the first, or not the first data center is gonna be, but here, drive down Campground Road. You know, it always seems to me in the south end. I love the south end. It seems like 40258, 40272, Chemical Town, Rubber Town. We don't ever hear about it until it's there. Like I say, drive down Campground Road. Lee's Lane, the greenbelt is a very dangerous road. It never was put in properly, safely. There's so many buildings that continue to go up out there, and there's so many that are sitting empty. I don't know why we can't use what we have. It just, you know, they keep taking and taking and taking the green space, and we need it for erosion, for drainage, for the animals, for the people. I mean, I know we still have more and more people, but it doesn't matter. Upper Hunters, Lee's Lane, Lower Hunters, Mormon Road. There's apartments, apartments, apartments everywhere. And I know we have a lot of space out there, but not anymore. I just thank you all, and I just love the South End. Thank you.

Mr. President, that concludes the address of the council.

Next we have approval of the council minutes of the regular meeting of August 27th, 2026. Are there any corrections or deletions? Is there a motion for approval?

Motion. Second. Second.

The minutes have been properly moved and seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye.

In opposition? The minutes are approved as written.

Next we have the approval of the following committee minutes.

All in 2026.

The regular Committee of the Whole, August 27th. The regular Planning and Zoning, September 1st. Regular Government Oversight, Audit and Appointments, September 1st. The regular Appropriations, September 2nd. The regular Parks and Sustainability, September 3rd. And the regular Budget, September 3rd. Are there any corrections or deletions? It's probably before us, all in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposition? Those minutes are approved as written. Madam Clerk, do you have any communications to the council?

Yes, sir, we do.

Please read those in the record.

Dear President Ackerson, in accordance with the TARC ordinance, I'm reappointing the following to the board. Stephen Miller, a reappointment term expires June 30th, 2029. Abby Gilbert, a reappointment term expires June 30th, 2029. Your prompt action on these reappointments is most appreciated. Sincerely, Craig Greenberg, Mayor. Dear President Ackerson, in accordance with the KRS chapters 273 on nonprofit corporations, I am reappointing the following to the Brightside Board of Directors. Tiffany Cardwell, a reappointment term expires December 31st, 2029. Deborah Haca, a reappointment term expires December 31st, 2029. This to be read into record only. Metro Council approval of these appointments is not required. Sincerely, Craig Greenberg, Mayor. Dear President Ackerson, in accordance with the Civil Service Board Ordinance, I'm reappointing the following. Jessica Piasta, a reappointment term expires June 30th, 2030. Albert Tronzo, a reappointment term expires June 30th, 2030. Daryl Messer, a reappointment term expires June 30, 2013. This will be read in the record only. Metro Council approval of these reappointments is not required. Sincerely, Craig Greenberg, Mayor. Read in full.

Those appointments needing Council approval will be forwarded to the Government Oversight Audits and Appointments Committee. The next order of business will be the Consent Calendar. The Consent Calendar comprises of items 12 through 22. Are there any additions or deletions? Madam Clerk, a second reading of those items.

The following legislation was forwarded from the Budget Committee. Item 12, a resolution authorizing the mayor to accept up to $1,882,400 from the Kentucky Heritage Council, State of Kentucky, for the sale of Kentucky Historic Preservation and IRA tax credits to support the main library renovations project to be administered by the Louisville Free Public Library. The following legislation was forwarded from the Government Oversight Audit and Appointments Committee. Item 13, appointment of John Neese to the Greater Louisville Lodging Management District Board. Term expires May 1st, 2029. Item 14, appointment of Meredith Benz to the Landmarks and Preservation District Board. Term expires November 30th, 2028. Item 15, appointment of Elizabeth Piper to the Landmarks and Preservation Districts Board. Term expires November 30th, 2028. Item 16, a reappointment of Jeff Mosley to the Metropolitan Sewer District Board. Term expires July 31st, 2029. Item 17, a reappointment of Christopher Burkle to the Metropolitan Sewer District Board. Term expires July 31st, 2029. Item 18, reappointment of Lonnie Wright to the Metropolitan Sewer District Board. Term expires July 31st, 2029. Item 19, reappointment of Amy Brooks to the Newloo Review Overlay District Board. Term expires February 26th, 2029. Item 20, reappointment of Vadim Kaplan to the Newloo Review Overlay District Board. Term expires February 26th, 2029. item 21 reappointment of douglas owen to the new loo review overlay district board term expires february 26 2029 the following legislation was forwarded from the planning and zoning committee and ordinance relating to the closure of a portion of east saint catherine street between logan street and steve margaret alley containing approximately nine thousand square feet and being in louisville metro case number 26 street closure zero zero one two right in full

That is properly moved and seconded. Madam Clerk, this requires a roll call vote.

Open the roll, please. Let's see here. Council Member Parrish-Wright. Yes. Council Member McCraney.

Yes.

Council Member Reno-Weber.

Aye.

Council Member Sime.

Yes.

Oh, wait a minute. I'm sorry. So we would have to see you, sir, before I could accept your votes. Yes. Thank you, sir. Council Member Chappell.

Yes.

Council Member Betshon. Yes, please. Mr. President, you have 25 yes votes.

The consent handler is approved. The next item of business will be old business. Madam Clerk, ready for item number 23.

In ordinance relating to the closure of a portion of East Jacob Street between Southbrook Street and South First Street containing approximately 0.261 acres and being a local metro, case number 26 Street closure 0008. Right in full.

That item is brought before us. Let's see here. Councilman Owen, this came out of your committee. You have the floor, sir.

Thank you, President. Actually, I can't remember why we have this on old business instead of on consent. We had another one very recently. Sorry, Councilman Benson. So this was a closure of the underpass underneath I-65 that KYTC requested between Brook and First. It is a permanent closure for those of you who are interested. It's in Councilman Herndon's District 4. Would you like to speak to it, Councilman?

Jacob runs into Brook. intersects with Brooke at the very bottom of the I-65 ramp is very dangerous. People come flying off of that. There's another alternative down a block away on College where locals can use it, but in that particular area, it's all either industrial or institutional or other uses. It's not residential use, really, and it's just a very dangerous intersection, so I think it's wise to close that section.

I've got no other speakers in the queue. This ordinance requires a roll call vote. Madam Clerk, open the roll.

Council Member Parrish-Wright. I'll be present on this one. Yes, ma'am. Council Member McCraney.

Yes.

Council Member Reno-Weber. Aye. Council Member Sime.

Yes.

Council Member Chappell. Aye. Mr. President, you have 22 yes votes, one no vote, and two present votes. The ordinance is adopted. Madam Clerk, read item number 24. And ordinance amending section 50.24 of the Louisville Metro Code of Ordinances, LMCO, to amend the debt service adjustment. Amendment by substitution, right in full.

I'm stopping the force. Councilman Purvis, this came out of your committee. You have the floor, madam. Hold on a second. Somebody better mute their mic. And there we are again. Thank you. Councilman, you've got the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President. I'm going to pass this over to Councilman Reed. This was his amendment.

Thank you, Mr. President, Madam Chair. So many of you may remember the amendment to the MSD ordinance that we introduced. a couple of months ago that basically said any changes, any rate increases would be capped at CPI plus 1%. We asked Director Tony Parrott to come in and speak to that, and he did, at the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee. And I thought he made a very persuasive presentation with regard to the federal consent decree and how important the 6.9% threshold is to that agreement that the consent decree entered into the city of Louisville and MSD many years ago. And I don't understand everything with regard to the consent decree, but what I did note from what he said was that much of the bond ratings that they use, the bond ratings are contingent upon that consent decree. So my feeling is that we should go back or should have gone back and rewrite the ordinance. So now it reads that any rate increase, they come to the Metro Council and make a presentation as to the nature of the rate increase, the projects that the rate increases will be funding. And as I said in the hearing, one of the things that our constituents want is they want to know really why the rates go up every year, and I will agree wholeheartedly that MSD does a very poor job of communicating, and I think their PR could be a whole lot better, but this gives us the opportunity to ask pointed questions to them. I will also note that the state will be releasing, hopefully soon, an audit of MSD that some of us have pushed very hard for, so this simply changes the ordinance to say that before they rate, before they increase anything, they come to the Metro Council Government Accounting and Oversight Committee and make a presentation and explain exactly why they're raising rates. So I hope to have your support. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. First of all, I want to compliment and thank my colleague, Councilman Reed, for sponsoring this, for bringing this to the table. I was a co-sponsor here in support of this. I'd be the first person to say I would love to have reduced this threshold to have us have more direct oversight of these rate increases. But after learning about the way that this current ordinance is dictated in the consent decree, It's very clear to me that if we were to move forward on the original language, not the amended language, that we would be putting the city at significant risk related to a breach of a federal judge mandated consent decree with the Department of Justice and the EPA. I do not like the consent decree. I wish we had more local control and we were able to comply with these standards through us working with MSD to get this done. But that is a ship that sailed many, many years ago, in many cases before a lot of us were on this council. So we must work within the confines and the legal constraints that we have in front of us. But I appreciate the adjustment that was made. I think this is the best solution. In the meantime and and I think I'm looking I appreciate I will say though I appreciate MSD's leadership coming here to answer questions They were forthcoming they answered some pretty tough questions in that committee. I'm sure it won't be an easy Q&A the next time they come with the rate increase but you know, if this job were easy, everybody would be doing it, right? We were elected here to ask the tough questions, to have tough conversations, and ultimately, I think having a more public display and explanation about what is going on in MSD will at least answer questions that the public needs answered as to why they're paying the bills they're paying. So thank you very much, Councilman Reed, for all his work on this. Thank you.

Thank you, President. I want to just kind of echo what my colleagues have said. I think it's a really good compromise where we ended up. And I think just by asking the question and having MSD come over and explain it to us, it was really interesting. Most of the people in the room said, when we were talking about the presentation that MSD made to us to explain why they had such an issue with the ordinance the way it was originally written, everybody in the room said, wow, that was really informative. And so the byproduct of what we've done here is, yes, we're requiring MSD to come over and give us that presentation every year, because frankly, they're gonna have to ask for increases almost every year. But it's also an opportunity for them, right? to speak to us, explain it to us, and at the same time, explain it to our constituents. So I think it's an important thing that, yes, they don't do a great job with their public relations and communications, and this gives them an opportunity to do that both here at Metro Council, but then broadly with our constituents. So I appreciate where we ended up, and thanks for the leadership, Councilman Reed.

Councilman Murray. Thank you very much. First of all, Councilman Reed, thank you for your leadership in working with MSD. And I hope this is just one more step in an ongoing conversation. As noted, we got a lot out of having MSD come. And one of the things that really put to us was the difficulty that they have with trying to follow the consent decree. and that it will be many years before they're able to even start climbing out of this. I would like to see an ongoing conversations where we are able to work with MSD and see if they can come up with a plan that they can demonstrate to us that they have a way out instead of just continuing to ask for rate increases without us being able to see the surface so thank you very much for this i look forward to voting for it and i look forward to continuing the conversations thank you i've got no one else in my queue i see no one else ergo madam clerk open the rules

Council Member Parrish-Wright? Yes. Council Member McCraney?

Yes.

Council Member Reno-Weber?

Aye.

Council Member Syme?

Yes.

Council Member Chappell? Yes. Council Member Bet-Shan?

Yes.

Mr. President, you have 26 yes votes.

Okay, the ordinance is adopted. Madam Clerk, a reading of item number 25, please.

Appointment of Brunhilde Williams-Currington to the Landmarks and Preservation District Board term expires November 30th, 2028. Right in full.

I was propped up for us. Councilwoman Purvis, this came out of your committee. You have the floor, madam.

Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. President. I am going to pass this to Councilwoman McCraney to explain her abstention. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chairman. Thank you, Mr. President. I abstain because Brunhilde was employed with my office in District 7, and I just did not want any conflict of interest. So I did what I felt was most appropriate. Thank you.

I've got no one else in my queue. Looking around. And as such, Madam Clerk, open the roll.

council member one second uh parish right yes council member mccraney abstain council member reno weber hi council member sime yes council member chapel yes council member bet sean yes Mr. President, you have 25 yes votes and one abstention.

Including the buccaneer from District 8, this ordinance is adopted. Aye. All right, Madam Clerk. Out of reading of item number 26, please.

An ordinance appropriating $6,000 from neighborhood development funds in the following manner. $2,000 from District 4, $1,000 each from Districts 9, 15, and 24, and $500 each from Districts 10 and 13 through the Office of Management and Budget to the Coalition for the Homeless, Inc., for costs associated with this project, Stand Down Project Homeless Connect, to be held on October 7, 2026, as amended, read in full.

Items brought before us. Councilman Joseph, this came out of your committee. Give the floor, sir.

Appreciate you, Mr. President. This is the primary sponsor of District 4 and Councilman Herndon. So I'll pass it to him. Thank you, sir.

The Coalition for the Homeless, we all know, does fantastic work and has for years. They touch our most vulnerable citizens in every one of our districts and We have $6,000. I'd love to be able to hit 10 as we did last year or more, in particular in honor of Natalie Harris, who has been a longtime director and is leaving us at the end of the year. So if you could give a little more generously, we'd appreciate it in her honor and also in honor and compassion of the folks that need the help everywhere all over our community. Thank you. Councilman Rui.

I'll get you $1,000 closer.

Councilman Hawkins.

$1,000, District 1.

Councilman Winkler.

$517.

Councilman Leninger.

$2,000 from District 6, please.

I've got no one else in my queue. Mr.

Chair. Yes, Madam. Thank you, sir. I would like $1,300 for District 3.

I think I saw our buccaneer there raising his hand.

500 from District 8.

What's that? Councilman Shanklin. 500 from District 2, please. Okay. I'm looking around. I've got no one else in my queue. I'm looking around. Ken, you wanna?

No, I think we're at the 10, aren't we? Well, I'd like to get that. We had 10 last year.

Oh, no, no. So you're over 10. I'm sorry. So the request is for 15 from them. They've asked for 15. You're at 12,800. Okay. So it's not been tapped out yet. Okay. So we can keep going. If you want to stop at 10, we can.

No, we can. No, let's go. Let's go. Anybody else?

The reality is I don't think we're going anywhere else because I've got no one else in my queue. I'm looking around on the floor. All right, so now we have the potential amended ordinance before us.

Is there a motion for the amended?

All right, so now we have the amendments to the ordinance before us. All those in favor say aye. Aye.

Any opposition?

We now have the amended ordinance before us, which will require a roll call vote. Madam Clerk, open the roll.

Council Member Parrish-Wright?

Yes.

I'm sorry, Council Member McCraney. I don't know how I turned that off.

Yes.

Council Member Reno Weber.

Aye.

Council Member Syme.

Yes.

Council Member Chappell.

Yes.

Council Member Batshon. Yes. Mr. President, you have 25 yes votes.

The ordinance is adopted. Madam Clerk, I have number 27, please.

In order, it's appropriating $30,000 from District 26 Neighborhood Development Funds to the Louisville Metro Police Department 6th Division to fund overtime costs for increased traffic enforcement in District 26. Right in full.

The item is now properly before us. Councilman Joseph, this came from your committee. You have the floor, sir.

Yes, this was brought to old business because of a present vote and it's sponsored by the gentleman of District 26. I don't know if you would like to speak to it or not.

Well, this is what I'm going to do because I'm going to have to relieve the chair. First, I'm going to tender it to the person who wants the present vote. Do you have any desire to speak to this?

Just to say that I largely feel that what you all do with your discretionary spending is your business, but I made him a commitment not to extend what we spend on policing, and so I voted present.

I understand. I'm going to relieve myself of the chair, ask the President Pro Tem to take the chair, and I will speak to this very quickly. Do I have the floor?

All right. President Esselstyn, you have the floor.

Colleagues, the most important thing in all of our districts is public safety. Most important. Infrastructure, second. But public safety is most important. And I'm very proud of the fact that District 26 regularly spends a great portion of its money on police overtime in the district. This money, last year we spent $53,000. No one else spent any money. This year we're spending $60,000. We had 30 before, this is another 30. This money all goes towards officers that will be writing traffic violations, looking for speeders, people that are breaking the traffic laws, but there's also a secondary benefit that comes from this, and that is a greater police presence in District 26. That greater police presence is meant also to deter crime. uh i hope that you will support me in my continued endeavors uh on this support this expenditure and i encourage you also to consider the fact of what district 26 has been doing for years now and that is extending the police presence in your districts that will absolutely affect traffic situations and will give a greater police presence to deter crime. So, thank you.

All right, I'll relinquish the chair back.

Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to, District $24,000 is also a person or a district that has Division VI in this? Are you not looking?

No, this is not an ordinance where we're asking for extra money.

Got it.

Because all this money has been allocated solely for District 26, and it's money that we've set aside. However, if you want to follow suit in the future, I think that, in my opinion,

My humble opinion is that your districts will benefit from this.

I agree. Both the traffic control, riding with speeding tickets, controlling traffic, and a greater police presence.

I appreciate you doing this. Thank you.

Absolutely. I've got no one else in my queue. What's that?

Stuart, anything?

Okay. This is an order to decry as I roll call vote. Madam Clerk, open the roll.

Council Member Parrish-Wright. Present. Hold on, I keep doing that. Council Member Leninger, no, I'm sorry. Council Member McCraney?

Yes.

Council Member Reno-Weber?

Aye.

Council Member Syme?

Yes.

Council Member Chappell? Present. Council Member Batshon?

Yes.

Did I miss anyone? Mr. President, you have 22 yes votes and three present votes.

The ordinance is adopted. Madam Clerk, a reading of item number 28, please.

A resolution urging the implementation of the Urban Forest Master Plan Strategies Actions to ensure Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government tree canopy is resilient, protected, and sustainable. As amended, Randall.

The item's probably before us. I don't see Councilman Batshon on our screen, and therefore I will defer to Councilman, what's that? He's back on it. Councilman Batshon, you have the floor.

Yes, thank you, Mr. President. This came before us from Trees Louisville. It was a resolution to upgrade the Urban Forest Master Plan. There was an amendment on the floor made by our good friend, Councilmember Anthony Piagentini, and I will just tender to him, if that's okay with you, to explain the amendment and... get my support on this, thank you.

Well, hold on, before we tender the floor to someone for an amendment, I believe this is sponsored by Councilwoman Chappell, and I wanna give her the deference. Councilwoman Chappell, you are next in my queue.

Thank you so much, and I really appreciate all of the support that this got in committee. I'm really looking to growing, maintaining, and protecting our tree canopy with this council and the community, and it will require us to take some bold steps in the future, but I think that we are, as we learned, well on our way to making an impact, and so I'm excited to see the changes that are being made suggested in the, sorry, I hope that you all can still see me. I cannot see myself. Got 5G, of course, when I started talking. Okay, can you all see me now? Now?

Now we can.

um and so i just want to keep my comment short and sweet and i look forward to learning more about our tree canopy uh with you all but i appreciate councilman piagentini's amendment that he made i'm fully supportive of it and i asked for all of my colleagues support on this today thank you

Councilman Piccinini, with your ultimate wisdom, you now have the floor.

Thank you. And to be clear, I'm not offering a new amendment, but I made an amendment that was approved in committee. I wanted to explain it real quick. First of all, I want to thank Cindy Sullivan and Trees Louisville. I think everybody, I know we were talking in caucus, everybody appreciates her passion and the organization's passion for expanding the tree canopy and preserving uh important sort of natural infrastructure within the city uh i think everybody agrees with that to be super clear this master plan has i don't know it's like 30 recommendations a lot of recommendations summarized on one page the vast majority of which there was no significant concern with much of which is already in flight either the city is doing it or other organizations are doing it in partnership so really great stuff There's one in particular, and there is an attached, which was debated extensively in committee, there is an attached fiscal impact statement, that's why this was held for so long to be super clear, on one of the recommendations, or at least a recommendation that had most of the impact to the fiscal impact statement. And that is the recommendation being that Metro takes over the maintenance of trees on roadside public right of way. We did this years ago related to sidewalks. It used to be sidewalks were maintained by the local property owner. That wasn't going very well, the city took it over. But what I think we can all agree to in our experience with that is that we did it with no real budget backing to it, with no real solid plan on how to do it, and to this day, many years after that was originally done, we are still playing catch up. with budgeting for sidewalk repair and maintenance, with a plan on how to do it, and with getting creative on how we do it in a cost-effective manner that gets to the quality result we want. And I want to prevent that same thing from happening here, particularly around this one this one portion of the overall plan, which the fiscal impact statement indicated would cost several million dollars. There'd be several million dollars of capital that would have to be procured in terms of equipment, as well as personnel and labor. To be clear, The fiscal impact statement, just in case anybody else sees it because it's all public record, assumes one way of doing it that may not be the way we implement this plan. And actually even in caucus, several council members in my caucus came up with ideas that would be more efficient and help achieve the goals. So I think there's a lot of consensus around we want to get there, we may have to get creative. this is a resolution, this is not a budget ordinance, this is not a plan on exactly how to implement this within each of the departments, but these are goals we're trying to achieve. And so the amendment I made in section three of the resolution I think very much spells out and is clear that we will need to take future action on this. Right, and what it says is, we just amended some language into it, the original language, the council requests the administration follow the Louisville tree plan strategies, and I added, in its planning, with implementation contingent on future approval through a Metro Council budget or operating plan. Right, again, the resolution and the master plan does not exactly say how to implement this from the administration's point of view. It does not allocate budget dollars, because again, you don't have an operating plan yet. We do want the mayor's office to move toward implementing all of this, but we're also acknowledging and clear to the public that this is probably gonna be some tiered implementation strategy that we have to take, and as always with public dollars, there are competing interests, right? We are always doing gives and takes and trying to figure out what we need to budget every year. I am sure we will make progress on this. I am committed to making progress on this, but I also wanted to be transparent to the public that just adopting the resolution doesn't magically mean that tomorrow we're implementing things. This will take some time, including the mayor coming with a specific implementation plan, particularly around that area, with budget allocations that will have to be voted on by this Metro Council. But otherwise, I'm glad to be a part of this and looking forward to, glad to answer any other questions, but I'm in support of this and hope everybody else is as well. Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Thank you, sir. Councilman Hawkins. Nope.

Councilman Hernan. Thank you, sir. I just want to make a point. I agree that we need to have a tiered plan, but a sidewalk once poured is pretty much done for a very long time. A tree once planted needs ongoing care, especially in the first three years. So as we put together that plan, we need to make sure that we do take care of them once we put them in the ground and not walk away. And I would also like to be added as a co-sponsor, please.

Councilman Leninger.

Thank you, Mr. President. I met with Metro United Way earlier this week, I think several offices did, and we talked about requests that we had in our office for utility assistance, for rental assistance, how the needs grow all the time. We have a lot of needs, especially in some of our districts, and they highlighted that mine was one of the neediest. And they asked me, what other sort of requests do you get outside of these? Because we're always looking, what other ways can we be serving the community? I said, and my legislative assistant absolutely agreed, that one of the most common requests that we get are from elderly constituents trying to age in place in their homes, who have trouble maintaining trees, especially trees that are on the street and that this is a major burden for these elderly homeowners uh and for other homeowners that we get these calls from we have a tree canopy that is frankly under attack from climate change we've lost a lot of mature trees especially in the center of the city where our urban heat island is worse You see it going down the parkways a lot. We're losing a lot of trees. And homeowners who are concerned about the health of their trees, damage to trees, they know the trees need maintenance, but they don't have a lot of options. Something that is happening in our community is they are deciding, well, the only way I can get any help from the city is if I make sure it falls in the street. We're going to be paying one way or another. We've got to, I agree, we should be smart about it. I want to have a plan, but I think that we do need to be realistic that this is a problem for us and that we need to be doing more to take care of the urban tree canopy, especially close to the roads. And so I'm absolutely in favor and I urge everyone's support.

Council Member Marie. Thank you very much. First of all, I'm very grateful to see this finally coming before Metro Council and seeing that we have good support for it. I often think about a story where I went to visit a business on East Broadway and I'm like, why do you have that dead tree out there on the sidewalk? And he said, the city planted it and told us to water it. We didn't want it, so we let it die. There you go. That's why we need to have a maintenance plan in place. There's no tree within 100 yards of this particular location. It was hot, it was barren, and the one chance that we had, and we just stuck it there and told them to deal with it. So I am fully in support of this, and I would also like to be added as a co-sponsor.

Any objections to being a co-sponsor? Co-sponsor away. Councilwoman Parker, you're next in my queue. You have the floor, madam.

Yes, thank you. I will just say that I am a Republican, but in that, I am also a tree hugger. But I have a couple of concerns with this, and that is Metro government taking over full care and management of the trees, and how far that we take that. I would be fine if it is property owner initiated, and I would be more comfortable if, because we know the government never does anything timely or effectively, If we offered perhaps some kind of stipend to the property owner in financial assistance with them taking care of removing the tree, leave the stump, they can make a planter out of it and it looks beautiful and that saves money. I'm a little bit concerned about home rural cities being forced to take over full care and management of the trees because some of our small suburban cities just may not be able to afford that. I live in Linden. That's Mayor Hagan. I know that he, as long as he is in office, will do a beautiful job of taking care of everything because he does. My other concern is Trees Louisville. Making sure that if a tree goes out, if the property owner does not want another tree there, just like Councilwoman Rui spoke about, that a tree gets planted without the approval of the property owner and then they don't take care of it because it requires a lot of work for two years to keep a tree healthy and maintain it, that that doesn't create a scenario where we go through expense and effort and then the tree dies and then we start a vicious cycle. So those are my thoughts on the subject. I'm kind of in a quandary about what to do with this, so I guess I'll decide how I'm going to vote in just a minute.

Madam, you've had a number of concerns. You've referenced a quandary. Are you making any amendments or proposed amendments? Because if not, I'll move on.

No, not at this point.

Councilman Peter, your team.

Thank you. But, I mean, I think my colleague brings up a good point. There's many ways to possibly attack this, right? And so, and that's the point of my amendment. With that said, I would like to be added as a co-sponsor as well. Thank you, Mr. President.

An objection to be him being added. You're a co-sponsor. I've got no one else in my queue. I'm looking around. Madam Clerk, open the roll. Okay. Let's do a voice vote. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Any in opposition? Aye.

Yes, because I think there may be some people that want to vote. I'm going to vote present.

We are going to vote via roll call.

Thank you. Sorry, ma'am. Councilwoman Parrish-Wright? Yes. Councilmember McCraney?

Yes.

Councilmember Reno-Weber? Yes. aye council member sime yes council member chapel yes i'm getting there sir sorry council member bad sean did i miss anyone Mr. President, you have, I've got you, sir. Thank you. Mr. President, you have 18 yes and six present votes. The ordinance is adopted. Madam Clerk, a reading of item number 29. It's too late. Don't worry about it.

18 to 6.

An ordinance concerning the levy of taxes within the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government and the Louisville Urban Services District for fiscal year ending June the 30th, 2027. Reddenpool. Motion.

The item is property forest. Councilman Cramer, this came out of your committee. You have the floor, sir.

Thank you, Mr. President. I would say this is one of those items that is fairly simple and straightforward, but the computation of it makes it a little bit more complex, so I'll explain that. State law allows that we only raise property taxes, or that we only generate revenue from property taxes up to 4% increase. um so in a year when properties are evaluated at above that four percent we have to readjust the rate to keep it at four percent um the mayor calculated that four percent into the budget this summer so when we passed the budget we passed it with a four percent increase um in order to get to that four percent we had to lower the rate for uh folks outside the urban service district We lowered their rate to get it to 4% because the housing inside the Urban Services District didn't go up as much as it did outside. Their rate went up just a little bit, but it's really a function of getting us to that 4%. So the ordinance that's before us tonight, a yes vote is in support of the fact that we've spent the 4% in the budget. A no vote on this tonight would require us then to go back and rehash the budget and try to figure out how to pay for whatever shortage there would be. So I'm asking for a yes vote. Again, it's pretty perfunctory. We do this pretty much every year. It's based on what the calculated value of houses are in Metro Louisville.

Councilman Winkler, as our equal super mind on these budget issues, do you have anything to say?

Absolutely. Please explain it better than I did.

I would say I concur with Councilman Cramer. The only thing that I would add, just for anybody watching at home, just so there's no confusion, we take the countywide average assessment, and then that countywide average with the rate has to be less than 4%. So I don't want anybody to think that their individual home their rate could be more or less than a 4% change because it's not everybody, it is the collective property value within Jefferson County that's assessed. So just wanna offer that clarification that individual rates may vary.

All right, Councilman Reed. Thank you, Mr. President. Just very quickly, the metro percentage of the overall tax bill is the lowest, as I understand it, since merger. Is that correct, Councilman Kramer?

Yeah, I believe that's true. If you look back over the last X number of years, we have traditionally lowered the rate in order to get to that 4% because our housing values have traditionally exceeded 4%. I think in my time in leadership on budget, we may have twice, once or twice, adjusted the rate up. Normally, we're adjusting the rate down. So yes, the rates are probably as low as they've ever been.

Councilman Owen. Yeah, I think it's, I get the question all the time actually.

People reach out to me and say, why are my property taxes going up? And what they are paying is going up because the value of their house is going up. And so I know that that doesn't make it any easier to pay a higher property tax bill, but it is not that your rate is going up. Your rate has gone down every single year that I've been on council, that percentage that you're paying is going down. It's just that everybody's property's values are going up which is a good thing in a way, but overall you pay more property taxes. But I think it's important. I have tried hard to explain this to my constituents. I think it's important that we try to communicate that message because people are paying a higher bill, but their rate is going down. So same thing everybody else said. I just think it's an important message that we try to explain to people. Thanks.

At the end of the day, it's this. People need to recognize their property values are going up, but the percentage they're paying on taxes has gone down. Government, in this case, this case, has worked for them.

Councilman Hudson, you're in my queue. Thank you, Mr. President. As we're recognizing the importance of rates, I think it's also important that we recognize where those taxes are going. 11 cents of every one of those dollars is coming to Metro Louisville. The majority of it is going to JCPS. And they still can't make ends meet. We are good stewards of the taxpayer's dollar, and I think that needs to be recognized. Thank you, sir.

I've got no one else in my queue. I'll give a look around. I see no one. Madam Clerk, this is an ordinance, so let's open the roll call.

Council Member Parrish-Wright? Yes. Council Member McCraney?

Yes.

Council Member Reno-Weber?

Aye.

Council Member Sime.

Buccaneer. Yeah.

Council Member Chappell. Present. Oh, I keep doing that. Council Member Batshon. Oh, sorry, he's not there, sorry. Mr. President, you have 24 yes votes and one present vote.

The ordinance is adopted. The next item of business is new business. If you leave the chambers, please do so quietly so the clerks can read new business into the record. New business comprises of item 30 through 49. Madam Clerk, a reading of those items.

The following legislation was assigned to Appropriations Committee. Item 30, an ordinance appropriating $10,000 from District 26 Neighborhood Development Funds to the Office of Arts and Creative Industries to fund a public mural project within District 26. Item 31, an ordinance appropriating $28,500 from Neighborhood Development Funds in the following manner, $10,000 each from Districts 22 and 24, $5,000 from District 20, and $3,500 from District 10 through the Office of Management and Budget to the Fern Creek Fire Protection District for costs associated with the purchase of hazardous materials response equipment. item 32 an ordinance appropriating fifty thousand dollars from district one neighborhood development funds to louisville parks and recreation to fund the district one park activities account for the following community events to be held between september and december 2026 algonquin music festival parkland day pumpkins in the park turkey day giveaway juice bowl parade and community event light up park duval and christmas over district one Item 33, an ordinance appropriating $8,000 from neighborhood development funds in the following manner. $5,000 from District 21, $1,000 each from Districts 10 and 15, and $500 each from Districts 9 and 13 through the Office of Management and Budget to the Americana Community Center, Inc. for operational costs for fiscal year 27. Item 34, an ordinance appropriating $5,500 from neighborhood development funds in the following manner. $5,000 from District 24 and $500 from District 13 to the Louisville Free Public Library for the Artist in Residence Collider Program at the South Central Regional Library. Item 35, an ordinance appropriating $14,668.54 from neighborhood development funds in the following manner. $7,334.27 each from districts two and five to the Office of Social Services for costs associated with credit to Louisville Gas and Electric on behalf of Elder Serve Inc. The following legislation was assigned to the Budget Committee. Item 36, an ordinance amending ordinance number 080, series 2023, relating to the fiscal year 2023-2024 capital budget, and ordinance number 101, series 2024, relating to the fiscal year 2024-2025 capital budget by transferring $75,761.68. between D18 capital projects. Item 37, an ordinance amending ordinance number 115 series 2017 relating to the fiscal year 2017-2018 capital budget. Ordinance number 109 series 2018 relating to the fiscal year 2018-2019 capital budget. Ordinance number 084 series 2022 relating to the fiscal year 2022-2023 capital budget. Ordinance number 092 series 2025 relating to fiscal year 2025-2026 capital budget and ordinance number 111 series 2026 relating to fiscal year 2026-2027 capital budget by transferring $39,274.59 between various capital projects. Item 38, an ordinance amending ordinance number 111 series 2026 and ordinance number 110 series 2026 relating to the fiscal year 2026, 2027 capital budget and the fiscal year 2026, 2027 operating budget respectively by transferring $50,000 from the district one capital infrastructure fund to the district one neighborhood development fund. Item 39, an ordinance amending ordinance number 110 series 2026 and ordinance number 111 series 2026 relating to the fiscal year 2026-2027 operating budget and the fiscal year 2026-2027 capital budget, respectively by transferring $21,100 from the District 14 Neighborhood Development Fund to the District 14 Capital Infrastructure Fund. Item 40, an ordinance amending ordinance number 110 series 2026 relating to the fiscal year 2026-2027 operating budget by adding language pertaining to the school bus stop lighting study assistance funding. Item 41, an ordinance amending ordinance number 215 series 20, 25 by reallocating the funding within the west end improvement fund capital project from the center for neighborhoods to 724 inc the following legislation was assigned a government oversight audit and appointments committee item 42 an ordinance amending the louisville metro code of ordinances lmco 32.062 relating to the juneteenth jubilee commission the phone legislation was assigned to the labor and economic development committee item 43 resolution pursuant to the capital operating budget ordinances approving the appropriation to fund the following non-competitively negotiated professional service contract for louisville metro police department concerning a coordinator for the sexual assault forensic examiner program and requiring reporting thereon as herein set forth university medical center inc doing business as university of louisville hospital james graham brown cancer center one hundred thousand dollars Item 44, a resolution approving the budget and economic improvement plan for the Louisville Downtown Management District for the period January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2027. The following legislation was assigned to Planning and Zoning Committee. Item 45, an ordinance meeting the Louisville Metro Land Development Code regarding data centers. Case number 25, LDC0014. Item 46, an ordinance relating to the closure of an unnamed and unimproved alley between North Peterson Avenue and Frankfurt Avenue containing approximately 32,383 square feet and being in Louisville Metro. Case number 26, street closure 0023. Item 47, a resolution requesting that Office of Planning conduct data gathering and analysis in Metro Council District 22. The final legislation was assigned to Public Safety Committee. Item 48, a resolution authorizing the Mayor to accept $38,000 from the the Kentucky Fire Commission through the Training Facility Grant Program to be administered by the Louisville Fire Department. The following legislation was assigned to Public Works Committee. Item 49, a resolution authorizing the Mayor to accept up to $971,943 from the Commonwealth of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for the Goldsmith Lane Bridge Replacement Project to be administered by the Department of Public Works and Assets, read in full.

Does anyone have any announcements? Nope? All right. This concludes our meeting. Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 24th, 2026 at 6 p.m. With no further business, we are adjourned.