Board of Commissioners - Special Meeting

I hear it.

Commissioner Jeff Sanford. Here. Commissioner Sharon Neesmith. Here. Mayor Tom Watson. Here. Commissioner Curtis Maglinger. Here. Mayor Pro Tem Bob Glenn.

Here.

Yes, Mayor. The tax levied last year was 0.2560 and produced revenues in the amount of $12,130,119 from real property. This year's compensating rate is 0.2490 and will produce revenues in the amount of $12,277,783. The city of Owensboro, Kentucky proposes a tax rate of 0.2560. which will produce a total of $12,622,942 in revenues. Revenues that we expect from new property is $137,385. It is also proposed that a personal property rate of 0.2844 be set, yielding estimated revenues of $1,463,000. $793 revenue received in excess of last year's revenue will be used for general expenditures. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to entertain.

Any questions from the public?

Any comments from the public?

Hearing none. Make a motion to approve. Could I have a second, please? Second. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. We are adjourned. welcome everyone to the people's house regular meeting september 15 2026. it's 4 p.m and it's time to get her going could i have the call to order that's me roll call city clerk beth davis

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Glenn.

Here.

Commissioner Curtis Maglinger. Here. Mayor Tom Watson. Here. Commissioner Sharon Neesmith. Here. Commissioner Jeff Sanford.

Here. Thank you. Please rise and remove your hats if you're wearing and if you're able for the invitation and the pledge by Curtis Maglinger.

Thank you. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the privilege of serving this community we all call home. Give us wisdom in our decisions, patience to listen, and courage to do what is right. Remind us behind every decision are people, families, and a community we care deeply about. Please protect our first responders, watch over our military, and bless our city and all who call it home. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

I don't know.

Okay. Next item on the agenda is a retirement recognition. And I've heard he's the most irreplaceable man we have in our entire employment. Not you.

Jim Mattingly. Funny.

Mr. Jim Mattingly, garage manager, effective September 30, 2026.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Commissioner Stephen Franklin, Director of Public Works. I'm honored to be here today to acknowledge and congratulate Mr. Jim Mattingly on his upcoming retirement. Jim began his career with the City of Owensboro Transit Department as a garage mechanic in July 2012, bringing extensive expertise in repairing everything from diesel trucks and heavy equipment to gas-powered vehicles. In March 2014, Jim was promoted to garage manager, where he played a pivotal role in maintaining the reliability and operational readiness of the city fleet. Throughout his tenure, he consistently demonstrated a hands-on approach, stepping in wherever needed to support operations. Beyond routine management, Jim was instrumental in keeping the city's equipment and replacement plans moving forward. His forward-thinking approach ensured that the inventory remained modern, efficient, and fully functional across the entire spectrum, maintaining everything from small tools like weed eaters to critical emergency apparatuses such as fire trucks. Thank you, Jim, for your unwavering dedication, integrity, and strong work ethic during your service to the city of Owensboro. Wishing you the absolute best in your future endeavors.

How you doing?

Better. Better? It's getting better all the time.

Well, let me get you out of here then. This is a certificate of outstanding service, hereby recognized Jim Mattingly. and extends its grateful appreciation for your outstanding service faithfully rendered while employed by the city of Owensboro 2012 to 2026. All those who reside in the city of Owensboro are asked to join in this recognition of appreciation on this 30th day of september and signed by all the commissioners. So let me

I want to thank everybody for the way I've been treated while I've been with the city. It's been a fantastic place to work. Couldn't ask for a better place. Couldn't ask for better people to work with and better people to work for. I wish everybody here well, and I hope everything carries on.

Okay, the next item on the agenda is the Fire Department unveiling a new patch. Captain Brandon Pendergraft. All yours, big boy.

All right. Good afternoon, Mayor and Commissioners. My name is Brandon Pendergraft, Captain with the Owensboro Fire Department. About a year ago, Battalion Chief Jason Pickerel and I began discussing the idea of giving our department patch a fresh, updated look. There were several things happening within our department that led us to this discussion. We were scheduled to receive two new fire engines that we received this year. Operation Firehouse was well underway. Station 3 was quickly taking shape. Station 1 was heavily in the design phase. And finally, our uniforms were coming up for a new bid that would introduce a dark navy dress shirt that will retire the current blue that I'm wearing. With so many changes taking place within the Oldsboro Fire Department, it felt like the right time to look at updating our patch as well. Our current patch has been worn on the shoulders of our uniforms for the last 55 years. Firefighter Roy Crowell designed the patch with the goal of distinguishing Owensboro Fire Department personnel from other fire services. It was the first patch of its kind for the department. It's important to distinguish between a department patch and our department logo. Our logo is the OFD emblem we wear on the front of our chest on our t-shirts, polos, and job shirts. It's the red, white, and blue emblem that you see displayed on the top of the new training tower. A patch is something a little different. A fire department patch can tell a story about the community that the department serves. Many departments incorporate local landmarks, animals, unique symbols, and state identifiers into their patches. We wanted our new patch to do exactly that. Rather than simply creating a new design internally, we decided to give our community an opportunity to collaborate with us and help us bring a new design to life. We opened the submission process to the public and received nearly 100 submissions. A team consisting of Engineer Matt Stoutfield, Battalion Chief Brian Roberts, Battalion Chief Jason Pickerel and myself reviewed all 100 submissions and narrowed them down to two designs that we felt best represented what we were looking for. So as I display your submission, will you please stand for recognition. Our first submission was from John Paul Hartman. A really fun fact I just learned when I met him, his grandfather served here in Owensboro for 31 years, 31 years. Our second submission was from Ms. Samantha Payne. We then took those two designs back to the department and allowed our members to vote and provide feedback. Along with a narrow vote, our firefighters brought forward several thoughtful ideas and suggestions. We took two final submissions, along with the feedback and suggestions, to a local graphic designer, Laser Beam Studio, with the goal of combining those ideas into one final design. So with that, here's the official new patch that will be proudly worn on our new shirts within the next couple of months around November. Our goal was to create something that honored our history, represented our community, and looked forward to the future of the Owensboro Fire Department. We used the bridge and Maltese cross from John Paul Hartman's submission as the focal point of the design, representing Owensboro, our connection to the river, and the community we proudly serve. We incorporated the OFD logo in the state of Kentucky while also bringing in design elements from Samantha Payne's submission. Finally, we carry forward the hook and ladder from our original patch design. The result is a patch that connects our apartment's history with where we are today, while giving us something new that we can proudly wear on our shoulders for many years to come. Thank you all.

Samantha, you got anything you'd like to say? No? How about you little knucklehead? No? All right. We'll move on then. Thank you, Brandon. Okay. The next item on the agenda, uh, central dispatch accreditation. Mr. Paul made director. I decided to stay mayor. Okay.

It's all yours. Thank you, sir. So we're one of 15 counties, uh, 911 centers across the Commonwealth that are Kentucky, uh, chiefs of police K a C P certified accreditation. So there's 115 across the Commonwealth that we're only one of 15. We've been certified for nine years. So the question is, what is KACP accreditation? What does it actually mean? The Kentucky Associate Chiefs of Police Accreditation is a dedicated communications accreditation program for public safety communication agencies. The accredited centers are measured against established standards for efficient and effective operations. The processes require policies, training, documentation, and evidence that these standards are actually being followed. KCP describes accreditation as a way to evaluate operations, identify deficiencies, and improve your performance. Why do we keep doing it? It forces us to ask, are our policies current? Are we actually following them? It requires documentation, not just saying we train, we supervise, we test, but we review and being able to prove all of those things. We identify gaps before they become operational problems. It keeps us from becoming comfortable in the way that we've always done it. And that's been a big thing for me. Just because we've always done something doesn't mean it's the right way to do or it's the way we need to do it. With new technology, things can always be improved. Every reaccreditation becomes another opportunity to raise our own standard. The standards others may not be required to meet. Accreditation is a voluntary aspect. It's not required for Kentucky communication centers to operate. That means maintaining it requires an intentional commitment of staff time, management, attention, documentation, training and resources. Non-accredited does not mean it's bad. It just means that they've not met the same standard and verifying those standards is very important. For Owensboro, we choose to measure rather than simply assume we're meeting the standard. What does it mean for Owensboro? more consistent operation across shifts, supervisors and personnel, clear expectations for employees. And I think that's most important is when anyone wants to come to work, you want to know what am I supposed to do? What are my requirements? And we have these expectations that they have to meet in order to be accountable as employees and for supervisors. We have written policies and procedures that can be reviewed, updated, and trained. It's a framework for identifying deficiencies before they become a public safety problem. Greater confidence for the agency and citizens to depend on our communication center. The work behind nine years. Policies must maintain current as technology laws, procedures, and operational needs change. Training employees' competency must be documented and maintained. Records, quality assurance process, supervisory practices, and operational procedures must support the standards. Staff must continue doing the right thing when nobody's watching. That consistency is what makes accreditation meaningful. commitment to the Commission and the community while we believe the work is worth the effort. We are entrusted in the first link in the emergency response chain. We want our employees to know exactly what's expected of them. We want our partner agencies to know that they can depend on our process. We want our community to know that we voluntarily submit ourselves to this professional review, and we want the Commission to know that we will not lower our standards simply because it's difficult to do. The bottom line, creation doesn't mean that we're perfect. It means that we're willing to be measured. It means that we're willing to find our weaknesses. It means we're willing to correct them. And it means that we're committed to doing better tomorrow than we did yesterday. We don't maintain a creation because we have to reach that standard. We maintain it because we refuse to stop pushing towards it, to pursuing it. And that's the certification. So you see the white, yellow, and tan Kentucky symbol. That means this is the third time we've been re-accredited by the Kentucky Chiefs of Police accreditation standard. Any questions?

Roll 10. Yes, first off, Paul, thank you to you and your great team that help people deal with the worst day of their lives. The two questions I've got are, we had the dispute about a year and a half ago over the county wanting their own dispatch center and all of that, and obviously we've worked that out. What are we doing to make sure that the county feels like they're getting treated equitably?

So anytime there's any issues, we address issues as we do every single day. And the way I run things is a little different. Every agency is treated the same. I don't care if you're a firefighter, or you're a sheriff, or you're city police, or you're the EMS, or you're EMA, or you're the school police, or you're the animal control. All those agencies. You're just as important as all the others. So if you need something on the radio, we're there for you. If you need something, call in. We're there for you. So everyone's treated the same and getting the same attention. The only difference is law gets more calls than fire. So you know there's more law calls in the ratio than there is fire calls.

And how are we doing with retention or hiring of dispatchers?

So we're really fortunate right now that I'm fully staffed. I'm not fully trained, but I'm fully staffed. My goal is by December, I don't have any wood to knock on, but if I knock on wood, that I'll be fully trained and staffed by the end of the year.

That's awesome.

And so I'm blessed. I've been praying years for this, and my prayers are being answered, that's for sure.

And last question, does being accredited help apply for grants from the state or federal government that we might be eligible for?

Accreditation does help our standardization so that we can apply for other grants. It just shows that we meet a higher standard for our technology and for our personnel so we have a better opportunity to get grants by having those accreditations. It's not a guarantee, but it does help.

Thank you for all you do. Appreciate it. Mayor? You're welcome.

Anybody else? Thanks, Paul. You're welcome. Appreciate you and all your people. You have a great day. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is e-bikes and scooters. Big D Sergeant Derek Griffith, Police Department.

So I had a clicker. It was going to make it a little easier on me. All right. Good afternoon, everyone. Sergeant Griffith, for the record, Owensboro Police Department. I currently run the traffic unit for OPD. Brought this back. It's been a couple of months. Just wanted to update everybody with where we were at. We've been working on the recommendation side of things, kind of what OPD is looking for, mostly as we progress into finding the solution that we need here. So First and foremost, kind of what we talked about in the beginning, this definition and classification system for these electric vehicles of some capacity. We often see the e-bikes, the e-scooters and things, but there are a vast amount of these vehicles that need to be fit under some type of classification. So we want to look at that while we also want to take into consideration advancement of technology. So the current, what we see right now, but where is this technology going to be in two, three, four, five years? And how can we measure for that parameter as well? We want to look for the restrictions and the clear expectations of these systems. And really from that, we're looking reckless operation, ensuring that people are operating on what do care for the pedestrians, the vehicles that are on the road around them. Other e-bike riders, other e-scooter riders, things like that. The age of use, where we end up drawing that line of people on the roadways, people on the sidewalks, and if we're going to have helmet requirements on these types of vehicles while they're being operated on the streets and the sidewalk. Uh, we are currently, I will say, uh, we are still working with the parks department. So the guidelines and stuff that we've put in here are just OPD things, uh, that we're looking at maybe pushing over to the parks department, um, while we progress to kind of create where, where that's going to be for the enforcement side. So, uh, That's not the one that we were looking for. So we will move to. Okay. So that PowerPoint is not the correct one, I'm just going to tell you. So we're going to talk about it blindly. So like I said, the big thing for us was going to be the operation and stuff as far as the roadways are concerned, the sidewalks are concerned, and things like that. We've tossed around ideas for things like speed limits on the sidewalk being upwards of 15 miles an hour, things like that that we need to consider. And while working with the Parks Department on what we're going to do for that, um looking at what the accessibility is for like the green belt and operation for those types of vehicles on the green belt as well as uh rudy mines trails so we're looking at helmet requirements for things like that if the parks department is going to have any speed limit requirements for the green belt where we find that safety parameter really is going to come into play of how fast these people are moving around pedestrians, what is the appropriate procedures for passing pedestrians, passing other e-bike riders, or passing a standard human-propelled bicycle and things like that that we're looking for as we progress. So that's the update that we have currently from OPD as we kind of dig down into this. Do you all have any questions for me?

Commissioner Sanford? Thank you, Mayor. So have we determined an age limit to be on these things, like scooters? I mean, I've literally seen kids this tall flying down Ford Avenue. And my concern is it's not a big deal until it's somebody's child that gets hit and killed. Correct.

So as far as that goes, there has been no, because the ordinance doesn't exist yet for us to have an age parameter that we can put into this. And that's really why we're coming to the commission in hopes that we can find where that line is going to be and where that progression is going to go to create that boundary for us to enforce the safety for everybody that's out there.

So you're asking this body to come up with the age or work with you?

To at least work with us. I am more than happy to present what I can and where I can. I've done mountains of research between other areas, just whatever I can do to assist. I'm just requesting, just like this, that you all assist me with the process where we can. I leave the expert side of this to you all as a legislative body, but I will offer what I can to help.

Have you seen any other cities' age limits on who can be on the road and who can't?

I have, but realistically the biggest concern that you're going to find is every city is different. So for example, we'll look at Louisville. So Louisville doesn't allow anybody over the age of 10, even on their sidewalk. So, you know, the city ordinance currently for us being 12 and under for a standard bicycle. So taking those kinds of things into consideration, but where, where we really need to create that line is going to be on the classification system itself. between you know the e-bikes the e-scooters the monos the self-balancing devices hoverboards and all this laundry list they may each have a different requirement they may all have the same requirement and we may need to address that as it comes so it's hard to create a solid line that says you can do this at this point but here's where that changes okay thank you yes sir is this what you're looking for uh no sir I believe this was still one of the drafts that we had discussed previously. I don't want to get it too confusing with some of the things as we progressed through here from our recommendation side. That one more or less was talking about some of the things that we discussed about operation on the road. What are the requirements going to be? Is it going to be during daylight hours? We've seen that in other communities. Some communities allow you to operate at nighttime so long as you have headlights and taillights properly equipped, utilizing hand signals and things like that.

Eric, what about electric wheelchairs?

So electric wheelchairs fall under their own category, sir. And they're typically reserved entirely back with the Americans with Disabilities Act and things like that that tend to govern operational use of wheelchairs. But again, one of those phenomenal points that we take into consideration based on the width of a wheelchair and a sidewalk. um another another good point to bring up when we start talking about like speed limits and operations and stuff on a sidewalk and being able to properly pass and safely pass somebody that may be traveling in the same direction okie dokie commissioner smith this is just a observation question are you all seeing a lot of

I mean, we're getting responses where we're all seeing things, different age groups and vehicles and that type thing. Are you getting an increase in accidents and reports or injuries or anything that you would see would significantly have changed in the last six months since they've become so prevalent in the community?

we are seeing an increase yes ma'am so you know collisions involving these types of vehicles and stuff so as i stated in the previous meeting i'm going to go in and apologize we are still working out how with our current software to be able to narrow down exactly what was involved in the collision forms and stuff the wording is just not there yet uh... and the for the portal that we use through the kentucky state police does not have a drop-down box that specifically says what type of vehicle it is for these newer aged uh... technological advances so we're going through them one at a time reading narratives and reading different things to try to layer down but so far uh... just in the last uh... few months we've seen nine and seven of which involved injuries at least one of those children had to be airlifted because of the injuries. So we are seeing the increase, and my office is getting a significant increase in complaints of the same thing. You know, school zones, kids walking to and from school, and then the kids that are riding these vehicles or whatever, weaving in and out of cars, and I'm consistently on almost a daily basis through the week receiving complaints from our community on what they're doing. And that's really led the push for where we can go from here. Yes, ma'am.

Go ahead.

Yes, I've done a tiny bit of research on this, and you had a slide up that seemed to reflect what I had come across, the tier one, tier two, tier three slide you had up. Correct. But you're telling me that's not part of your discussions.

So it is a part of the discussion to an extent. It is something that's being taken into consideration. The conversation that we've had as early as this morning, to tell you the truth, is we're trying to figure out the best way to appropriately create those classification systems without confusing the population and what they need to understand uh... what you see right now the current classification system if you google this you know the current classification system of e-bikes like it will give you the class one class two class three and the parameters that follow what it doesn't continue to explain is the scooters the hoverboards, the monorail, the self-balancing devices, all of these different other vehicles that go along with it. So we're looking at a way to be able to bring all of that information together using the classification system that's being marketed to the individuals who are buying this and then being able to turn that into an ordinance for us. Currently, we've been exploring the opportunity of using speed as that enforcement, similar that we would a car. We don't check the horsepower of a motor vehicle before we determine its capability of a speed while it's on the roadway or wherever it's at. So we've really been narrowing down that classification using what we can from an enforcement effort.

Yeah, because other cities already have these ordinances, and a couple of them, cities in Central and Eastern Kentucky use the Tier 1. It's based on speed. It's based on the size of the engine. That's the difference in each of the tiers. Yes, sir. The faster it can go, the more restrictions you have, and the more or less likely a 12-year-old is going to be able to ride a Tier 3 vehicle because it's too fast, too much speed, and not controllable. So I guess the other question is how can we help you? You you're talking about us giving you input and all and I'm I mean, I don't know about the rest of commission I've got people boxing my ears in about this issue. They want regulations now Well, you know We can't wait six months is what the average person on the street is saying and we just had a kid in cloverport get killed They've been to cloverport. Nothing happens at cloverport kentucky except the grass grows. Okay. Yes, sir It's a tiny town. And so when they're having those issues, I can magnify that as you're saying 20 times in our community. So what do we need to do to help you and what's the timeframe to get some regulations generated? What do you need from us? And then what's the timeframe? How quickly can we do this?

So realistically for us, we are a law enforcement body, so I cannot draft and create city ordinance to say this is what we need to do. So that's where I would like being able to have these events bring my opinions and those of the Owensboro Police Department to you all as a commission to take into consideration because we're not the only ones i understand the city parks department and and all of these other individuals are going to have different points of views for different things being able to bring those to you all and using the legislative process being able to create something that works for for us the citizens and and everybody else that that would be involved in something like this

Okay, last question. So what's the most important thing you need in a regulation we would draft to make it enforceable? Because it doesn't do us any good to have a code on the books that you all either don't feel comfortable enforcing or you literally, your officers who are busy and have lots of irons in the fire don't have time to enforce.

I think the most important thing for us at this point is going to be creating that classification system so that we can identify the reckless operation. Creating those age requirements, the helmet requirements and things like that do fall to public safety, but when you're talking about these various classifications of vehicles who are on the sidewalks and they're blowing through crosswalks and individual driveways and alleyways and things where motor vehicles are attempting to travel, creating that boundary of you have to follow traffic laws or at this point, this age, this vehicle, whatever that may be, can no longer be on the sidewalk. I mean, we take, me personally taking into consideration like the average speed of a person running, an adult running, It was around that 15 to 18 miles an hour unless you're an Olympic athlete or something of the sort, right? So we still see collisions involving things like that, somebody trying to pull out of their driveway into the sidewalk, looking around a car that's parked on the street. What is their reaction time? So now you're talking about adding an electric or electric-assisted vehicle into that same parameter that is capable of sustained speeds at that point. So we want to create where that boundary is so we have an enforceable action to be able to look at that and say, yes, that is reckless behavior, that is not safe operation of this vehicle, and being able to educate them on what the proper procedures and protocols would be.

Thank you very much. Appreciate it, Sergeant Griffith.

Anybody else? Okay. Thank you all so much.

Thank you. Next item on the agenda, Hunter Reagan, favorite time of the year, leaf season.

Good evening, Mayor, Commissioners. My name is Hunter Reagan. I'm the sanitation manager with Owensboro Public Works, located at 1410. West 5th Street, and tonight I'll be discussing the upcoming leaf collection season. It's going to be starting Monday, October the 26th through Monday, February the 15th. So this year we're going to start in Zone 4A. That's from Predica to Triplet and then 9th Street to 18th Street. We rotate the starting zone each year for fairness. Last year we began in Zone 3A. This year we'll be beginning in Zone 4A. During the lease season will complete three passes for the which consists of the ten zones per pass Our target dates are with the first pass October the 26th to November the 28th The second pass would be November the 30th third December the 26th and then the third pass December the 28th through the February the 15th This will include all the call-ins at the conclusion of the third pass. Our third pass historically ended around the second or third week of January. Our three methods of disposal, the first being the six trucks that everyone sees around town with the vacuums attached. Each truck, they'll have assigned with three employees. You'll have your driver, and then there will be two people with the driver. One person will be operating the vacuum. The second person will be raking the leaves to the vacuum to assist with that. the trucks will operate in the same zone until they complete and then they'll proceed to the next zone. So we'll go from zone two, zone three, zone four, etc. The second option is bag leaf collection. Residents can place those bag leafs at the back of the curb and the two trucks running with two employees per truck will then collect those bagged leaves on their scheduled trash day. And then our third final option is bag leaf drop-off. We have the six orange dumpsters that are going to be located at the Owensboro Sports Center parking lot for residents to drop off 24 hours, seven days a week at their convenience. So for community awareness, some of the ways we bring awareness include posting daily updates on the city's website at owensboro.org. The information is also shared through our Facebook, Messenger Inquirer, Owensboro Times, WBKR, WBIO. Residents can also sign up for text notifications by visiting owensboro.org. and selecting the city text alert options, which should be updated daily. So how can residents help? First of all, by not blocking the piles with parked cars. Keeping 10 feet clearance from the fixed objects, not mixing brush or foreign objects with leaves, not wetting the leaves, not covering water meter jar lids, as the machines, they're very powerful and will remove those lids. And in addition, we ask the residents to rake the leaves curbside in the yard, within six feet of the curb. not in the street or on the sidewalk. For information, residents can check our future OMU mail inserts, leaf season press releases, newspaper updates, and our city website. The hours of operation will be Monday through Friday, 6 to 2.30, and as a needed basis, Saturdays from 6 to 12. And occasionally, we'll extend those hours as needed. So a recap of last year's leaf season. We collected 2,255,582 pounds. or 1,128 tons of leaves. The first pass was completed November the 13th, the second pass was completed December the 24th, and the third pass was completed January the 15th. And this was with all call-ins completed by February the 15th. So in conclusion, moving forward, we're currently exploring a later start date for our leaf season to better align with when the leaves are actually falling. As the current ordinance states, the leaf collection shall begin late September or early October. Does anybody have any questions?

What do you do with the leaves?

They get mulched up in the machines, and then we take them to the transfer station. Transfer station. And then I think they turn that into compost for people to use in the springtime on their gardens.

Just a quick question. Hey, Hunter, do we put anything on social media showing people how to stack their leaves? Because I see them all over town, all over the place.

Yes, Commissioner. Shaylee, I think she does a video, and we kind of go through that. I believe last year she posted one, and it explains it. Okay. Yeah, it's just one of those things.

I know, I know. You guys do a great job. It's just I see people just, they're just everywhere. It seems like it would be a lot easier for you guys if people kind of used common sense. We appreciate what you do.

Thank you, Commissioner. Common sense is not a vegetable grown in everybody's garden, but you know that.

City Manager. Thank you, Mayor. I've never heard that phrase. Hunter references at the end of the presentation there, but right now the leaf collection ordinance is relatively prescribed about a start date. It's really earlier than we typically start anyway, because really by this ordinance, we would be starting in the next two to three weeks. Obviously, there's very little leaf fall at this point. So if you're okay, we'd like to come back at the next meeting with an ordinance change to give a little bit more flexibility for when we start leaf collection based on weather patterns or conditions in a given year. Often, Hunter, we get very little information Leaves collecting the first pass right the first pass very little second pass to be quite heavy third pass is kind of a cleanup So we could probably do a better job of starting in a more opportune time to where we could space that out a little bit better So if you're okay with that, we'd like to come back with an ordinance change Just giving a little bit more flexibility to adapt that first pass or the start of that first pass based on weather in a given year.

I Think that makes sense

Are you voting for it? Probably so. Okay. Me too. Anybody else? Thank you, Hunter. Thank you. Appreciate you. Appreciate you. Next item on the agenda is a city project list, City Manager Nate Pagan.

Thank you, Mayor. I know the list has been disseminated for your review. Nothing in particular I'll highlight this month. It's just the usual update, so happy to answer any questions if you have any.

Any questions from the dais?

I just have one. Indoor sports facility. What are we looking at for a possible opening date?

Yeah, that's a good question. I know it was that. probably Leland is not here. Normally I would refer that to Leland. I'm picking out somebody that's in. And then even Kevin Coyne is not here today either. Kevin would know that date. So it is reflected in the report. Let me. Oh, you are over there. Okay.

Which mic is he going to pick?

My recollection of the latest schedule that was presented, it was mid-October for substantial completion.

So before Halloween?

I don't want to be that specific. It was mid-October is my recollection of the last schedule that was presented.

And that's the date from the contractor, not necessarily our expected date, correct?

That is correct, yes.

Okay. And I don't know if you can answer this, Kevin, or not, so I'm not trying to be unfair to you. The issue we had was you put those floors in and you've got to get rid of all the humidity. Are we past that process or are we still undergoing the dehumidification, I don't know how to call it, but process so that the playing – you know, the boards, the basketball courts, whatever, don't rot or get damaged.

It's currently ongoing. The units are currently operating to get climate control, uniform temperature, humidity in the building. So the units are running, the HVAC units I'm referring to, to get that climate control. Exactly when it will be ready, I don't know, but it's being monitored, evaluated, and it's in the works. So we're still in that process. Yes, sir.

Thank you for trying to give us some updates. I appreciate you. Thank you.

All right. At this time of 6A, consider the approval of minutes September 1, 2026. I'll make a motion to approve. Could I have a second, please? Second. Thank you. Any further discussion, additions, or deletions? Hearing none, all in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. 6B, consider board appointments. Warrensboro-Davis County Regional Airport. I'd like to appoint Tim Ross to a four-year term effective October the 3rd, 2026. I'll make a motion to approve. Could I have a second, please? Second. Any further discussion? I thought with him running that air show, what better person than to stick him on that airport board show? He was good with that, so... All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed motion carries. Thank you. Item seven ordinance roll call vote. Ms. Davis.

Ordinance 18 dash 2026 and ordinance living ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027 at the rate of 25.6 year old cents per $100 of assessed valuation of real property. 28.44 cents per $100 of assessed valuation of personal property.

and thirty point thirty cents per one hundred dollars of assist valuation of vehicles and providing for the collection and apportionment of same read for approval on second reading this fifteen today of september twenty twenty six thank you city manager anything you want to add a camera just a little bit more detail this is second reading of an ordinance setting three different property tax rates for this year the largest by revenue most well known is the tax on a real property or or what you think of real estate The ordinance has no change to the rate that we adopted last year. So the rate remains 25.6 cents per $100 evaluation. And with this rate, a property assessed at $100,000 would pay $256 in property tax to the city. We propose no change to the vehicle rate as well, so that would remain at 30.3 cents per $100, and has been that rate, I believe, Angela, for many, many years. On personal property, the ordinance includes a rate of 28.44 cents, which is down from 30.91 cents last year. So personal property rate is calculated based on a formula after setting the real estate rate. So to summarize, this ordinance adopts three property tax rates. The rate on real estate remains the same. The rate on vehicles remains the same. And the rate on personal property actually decreases compared to the rate adopted in 2025.

Thank you.

As Commissioner Sanford pointed out at the last meeting, if you get a city tax bill, about 80% of that revenue goes to the school system. So very little of that revenue actually comes to the city. People often... Tell me. Oh, okay. So the bulk of the revenue actually goes to the school system. So we get complaints sometimes about the property tax bill. Just know that the majority of that goes to the school system, not to your city government. Angela, more to add?

Yeah, I think it's worth noting. In fact, we've added instructions to the back of the payment information on the tax bill. Mail does not get processed in Owensboro anymore. So if you wait until the very last day to meet the deadline before the penalty, you're going to get a penalty. Because you drop it in your Owensboro mailbox, it's not going to get postmarked until approximately one to two weeks later. And we had that issue last year, and we had several, very many issues with that, people claiming to have paid on time, which typically, not typically, the tax bill is due November 1, okay? And people, but we don't apply penalty till December 1, so people wanna wait till November 30th to drop it in the mail. And I highly encourage people to, anyone that's listening, to get that tax bill in the mail at least two weeks before the penalty deadline, or ideally by the due date, which is November 1. But that's a big issue.

We do take payment in person, downstairs?

Oh, we take payment.

And we take payment online?

So very many ways. We take it online. You can call. Anyone can call in and use their credit card. We have a drop box over on the St. Ann side of the building. It's secure. You may feel odd dropping a check in there, but it's secure. Never had a problem with that. So say it's November 30th and you have not paid your taxes. You can come down here. As long as you put it in that drop box before 8 a.m. December 1st, you're on time. So when we open that drop box the morning of December 1st, if that's a Monday, whatever's in there is considered timely. But I did just want to take advantage of this opportunity to mention that two-week time frame.

Thank you. Commissioner Sanford. A quick comment. Can we put that out to the public somehow about the two-week delay? Yes, we will. The two-week delay because, yeah, a lot of people who may not see this meeting tonight probably need to know that. Thank you.

Okay, we'll have a roll call vote now. I'll make a motion to approve. Could I have a second, please?

Second.

Thank you. Any further discussion? Okay, Ms. Davis. Lead us.

Commissioner Sanford? Yes. Commissioner Neesmith? Yes. Mayor Watson? Yes. Commissioner Maglinger? Yes. Mayor Pro Tem Glenn?

Yes. Thank you. OK, we'll move to municipal orders. 8A, please.

Municipal order 30 dash 2026 and municipal order authorizing and directing the mayor to execute an application for a local assistance road program grant through the Kentucky transportation cabinet department of rural and municipal aid. And the approximate amount of 1.4, 8 million, the proceeds of which will be utilized by the city of Owensboro to resurface city streets, a 20% match of $296,000 is required by the city. Read for approval on one reading this 15th day of September, 2026.

I'll make a motion to approve. Could I have a second, please? Second. Thank you. City Manager, do you have anything?

Just to briefly expand, we did apply for this program last year, and we're successful. We got about $1.2 million, so we're happy to apply again for $1.48 million. It does require a 20% match, which is $296,000. However, we have money in our paving budget to satisfy that match, so no additional funding would be required.

Thank you. Any other discussion from the dais? Hearing none, all in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Ms. Davis, 8B.

Municipal Order 31-2026, a municipal order authorizing and directing the mayor to execute an application for a local records program grant through the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives in the amount of $19,682, the proceeds of which will be utilized by the City of Owensboro Police Department to secure additional software storage for police records. No match required from the city read for approval on one reading this 15th day of September, 2026. Thank you.

I'll make a motion to approve. Could I have a second please? Second. Thank you. City manager.

Uh, really just to say, mayors, you might imagine with, we were, we produce a considerable amount of documentation and data. So data storage is always an issue for us. So we're pursuing a grant to do that. It has no match.

Good deal. Any other discussion? Hearing none, all in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. City Manager Items?

First Mayor Angela Waninger will present the July financial report.

Okay, Ms. Waninger. Yes, Mayor, thank you. Put all your little lines on there again.

This is gonna be a very short presentation because we are ending the first month of our fiscal year. So the month and the year to date are the same, this one time. And so with that, we'll start the presentation. For the month of July, our actual revenues of $5,524,299 were less than budgeted revenues of $5,788,123, resulting in a variance of $263,824. This variance is primarily due to timing and transfer from ARPA Fund, which you won't see that next month. We're on board with getting that transfer made monthly now. Net profits and insurance licenses. For the next slide, we've got for the month of and the year to date actual expenditures of $6,903,777, which were less than budgeted expenditures of $7,511,078 for a variance of $607,301. This variance is primarily due to timing in maintenance, supplies, and capital. It is offset by insurance activity. If you notice also in the packet, you'll notice the budget items, the budget amounts reflect the POs that automatically rolled over. So you'll see those appropriations a little higher than what was approved in the original budget. But you will not see the individual items that you approved in August for second read, the additional items. And you'll see those in the August financials You all approved those. So if you see that difference, then that's why it was a little different. If anyone has any questions, I'm happy to answer.

Any questions? No, I guess not. Okay. I'll make a motion to file the report for audit. Could I have a second, please? Second. No further discussion. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. 9B, sit a minute.

Thank you, Mayor. We have three personal appointments for your consideration this evening. The probationary full-time non-civil service promotional appointments of Stephen Mattingly to road worker with the street department effective September 20th. Ron Roberts is the garage manager with the garage department effective September 20th. And then the regular full-time non-civil service appointment of Michael Ruth as maintenance equipment operator with the street department effective October 20th.

Thank you. I'll make a motion to approve these appointments. Could I have a second, please? Any further discussion? All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. Item 9C, city manager comments.

Just one comment. Tim will do an after action report about the air show at our next meeting with more data and information plans going forward. But just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge our staff. That is a huge event. It requires a considerable amount of resources from our staff. So please fire Public Works, of course, Tim and Eric and the Public Events Department. Then Shaylee and Maddie in communications as well. So it really touches across the whole organization requires a lot of work I think it was quite well received Tim will give more information our next meeting.

We just wanted to acknowledge the staff in their efforts Okay communication from elected officials pro tem I

Just want to commend all of our city departments and working with the air show. One thing I noted, I know they have to practice and I know they've got to do their runs, but it didn't seem nearly as loud in the past or consistent. So that was good. And I didn't have a single complaint from a constituent, at least not directly to me about noise, but I do understand how it disturbs some people. If you have PTSD or an animal that's nervous, I get that. The second is that I participated in the 9-11 walk along with probably about 50 other people and along with three ROTC groups. I want to commend Davis County High School, Owensboro High School, and Apollo High School for allowing their young people to participate in it because they weren't around when 9-11 happened. So at a minimum, they got a history lesson, uh, on the, one of the darkest days in American history when over 3000 of our fellow Americans died all in one 24 hour period, um, thought it was a very well done program. Uh, uh, Nick Hetman was our keynote speaker, uh, and, uh, just thought the event went really well and also want to extend thanks to Pam Smith, right? For her role in it as well. So, uh, I think it's great we have a walk. I talk to a lot of people from other cities, and they don't do anything. They don't do anything. So I'm gratified that we do something to commemorate that awful day so that we will never be condemned to repeat the mistakes that led to that day.

So that's it. Thank you. Mr. Maglinger.

thank you mayor you know we've had some amazing events here the past couple weeks and first i want to thank our citizens for allowing us to be able to have some amazing amazing events that you know, grooving on the green Northwest Alliance, uh, had an amazing event. We thank you to all of our public works. I mean, there again in 30, 45 minutes, you can't even tell that anything's happened. Uh, our, uh, first responders getting the traffic, uh, our air show, same thing. I mean, public works, special events, community team. It's amazing. And then, uh, last but not least, I got to attend the Kentucky special Olympics and congratulations to all the athletes. Uh, that's, That's something special, and excited for that for next year. So thank you so much, Mayor.

Thank you. Commissioner Neesmith?

I'll just echo what both Bob and Curtis have said. The air show was significantly impressive. It always is every year. I'm fortunate that most of the pilots and ground crew A lot of them stay at the Hampton Inn downtown. And they are wonderful to interface with not only the public, but the employees. And again, unbelievable what happens behind the scenes to make this all come here and make everybody feel as welcome and also to be safe. One interesting tidbit I haven't shared with Shaylee and Tim, but I'll do it now. I purchased T-shirts, but they have T-shirts from the Owensboro staff that just said Owensboro and the air show 2026, and we could have sold every one of them for $100 if we would have sold our own shirts. I said that was amazing, and it was even the, I felt really guilty. In fact, I felt so guilty. One of our, a person that had rented three rooms from us for all weekend stopped me at, sometime in the middle of the night and said you know i really want one of those t-shirts and i said well i tell you what i said it's on me now but in the morning when you check out it'll be in a bag it will not be washed it will be dirty and hot and sweaty but you may have the t-shirt with it so i just thought it was pretty good it came from indiana from terry hall but this it's just such a great feeling of community even no matter how young you are or how old you are so again it's It's great to live in a place where we can do things like that and meet all of our citizens regardless of where you come from or what you're looking for. You can't help but appreciate it and have a good time and interact with the people of Owensboro. So thank you all so much.

Ditto.

Commissioner Sanford. thanks for just a few things uh... first of all i want to thank the police department for the dare golf tournament that you guys put on i think i mentioned this to the day chief you guys do always do a fantastic job even though it was a hundred and fourteen degrees out there y'all y'all always do uh... like i said you do a great job and so well attended that uh that's it's really impressive you know i played with the fireman one also and that that was great so you guys the way you're involved with the community is is it's pretty impressive it really is everything y'all do so for the police department, fire department. So thanks for everything you do, because you guys are the guys that run into danger while everybody else is dependent on you, and we appreciate that. I did have a couple questions, and maybe this should have come up during the project list. People have been asking me about the driving range at Ben Halls, the new driving range. Is there anybody from the Parks Department or anybody here that could give me any kind of information?

New Director Carey is on her way to the podium. New Director.

We're watching you now.

Yes. Good evening. Carrie Bodenheimer, Director of Parks and Recreation. The bid is in process. We have not been reviewed. Those bids have not come in yet fully. We just had the pre-bid meeting last week on site. Some questions have come in through the portal app. And Whitney McFarland with our purchasing department has been responding to those. And we're moving forward.

Okay. We're moving forward. Okay. That's all they asked me. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Appreciate that. Absolutely.

Okay. That it, Jeffrey?

I did have one more for the police department. Someone asked me the other day if you were allowed to park on a curve in a neighborhood, which I have no idea because they said it's kind of dangerous. And I drew a really rough diagram if I can find it. I don't know what the...

The boss is gonna come up. The boss is gonna come up.

Basically, Chief, it looks like this. It's like a curve. Instead of parking in front of a house where it's straight, it turns and these cars are parked on it so whoever's coming the other way can't really see around it. Are you allowed to just park On curves like that?

Yes, you can, unless it's marked. Unless it's marked. So people park like that in cul-de-sacs all over the city.

Okay. All right. Yeah, they were just asking me, and I was like, I don't know, but I can ask and find out. Thank you. Thank you. That was an easy answer.

So get out there with your orange thing and paint it. Okay. Good comments. It was a great weekend for Orangeboro, and an opportunity to meet quite a few people from out of town, and they just shake their head. I can't understand how we do so much here. And I just keep telling them, we've got great people. I mean, that's the best part of Owensboro is the people we have. So item 11, open public forum. Members of the audience may address the Board of Commissioners on any matter of public concern that was not on the agenda. Comments are limited to issues within the scope and responsibility of the commission. Commission meetings are held to conduct city business for the benefit of Owensboro citizens and taxpayers. This time, anyone who wishes to address the city commission, please make their way to the podium to be recognized. Speakers must state their name and address for the clerk's record and limit the remarks to three minutes or less. Since the item is not on the agenda, no response is required from the staff or the board of commissioners. Go for it, big boy.

Jamie Souders, Hayden Bridge Road, 42301. Quick comment about the field house job over here. Most of you know from hearing me speak at all these things, that's kind of my focus, you know, the workload and the jobs in the area. I'm really curious. coming from a construction background. This thing was scheduled to open in June, August, September, October. Now it's November. Exactly when do the liquidated damages start coming into effect for this contractor? I mean, we're running behind schedule. The best I can tell, it cost us money when the doors are not open. So just curious if somebody would be willing to comment on the... Liquidated damages that we should be collecting a couple of months ago probably but It's all I got.

Thank you Okay, thank you anybody else

Hello, my name is Mara Brown and I live at 1424 West 11th Street. I'm here to ask for your help. I'm trying to get a speed hump installed on my street. My son Ramsey is six years old. He's nonverbal and autistic level two. He is at risk of eloping or wandering away from home. If he gets outside unexpectedly or is even just playing in our yard, he doesn't understand the danger of running into the street. For years, there's been an issue of speeding on my road. Daily, you can see cars, delivery trucks, even school buses speed down my street, causing a dangerous situation. I was fortunate enough to have Commissioner Sanford assist me in getting a speed monitor placed near my home for a week in hopes of reducing the speed. Now I'm looking for a more long-term solution to help slow down drivers and keep my son and neighbors safe. And I feel a speed hump will do just that. I don't want us to wait until the unthinkable happens and a child such as mine gets hurt before we do something. My son as well as the other children in my neighborhood deserve to feel safe where they live. Please consider helping me with this and help me to keep my son and neighbors safe. Thank you.

Thank you.

You need to identify yourself first.

Okay. Well, I just wanted to get this out before my time's up.

Go ahead, and then we'll start it after you hand it out. Okay, cool.

All right.

Well, hello, my name is Tori. I live here in Owensboro. I live on the west side. I don't feel comfortable giving out my address, if that's okay.

Do you have a last name?

Yes, my last name is Paige. All right, thanks. Okay, now can I go ahead and approach you guys? Okay. All right, I am here. Is there anybody that would like to see one of these?

We don't know what it is.

Oh, it's still important to look at, especially you, Mr. Mayor. All right. I've been here before. I don't come here very often because I think talking to you guys whenever you don't agree with something appears to be a waste of time. We have been lied to directly to our faces. It seems like you guys vote in your interests. But I'm actually here on behalf of Renee Kugel today. I hope I pronounced her last name correctly. She is somebody that really does care about everyone in this community and not just a select group of folks. What I've presented in front of you guys is Renee's research on establishing buffer zones in concern to the proposed power plant slash potential data center being built at the former Elmer Smith station. Renee has done a lot of research, and she wanted me to give this info to you guys. We keep hearing the, we're on informed cards, so there you go, it's right in front of you. I keep hearing that we can't ban business, but to me, that's a cop-out because there's plenty of towns across America that have barred data centers from being built. I want to ask, does Owensboro prioritize corporations and profit over community? Now, these next words are my own. I'm not speaking on behalf of Renee here. I have showed up here before. A reason that I don't feel welcome is because I've said it once and I'll say it again. I think it's highly inappropriate that you guys start these meetings with Christian prayer. During a wave of Christian nationalism that is actively removing the rights of vulnerable demographics that are seen as subhuman or unworthy, you have the opportunity to make everyone feel welcome and you do not. I am not a Christian and none of you are better than me because you are. It's disrespectful, it's disrespectful to everyone in this room that is not Christian, but it's not like you guys care. because your religion emboldens you with some strange superiority complex. Remember the whole separation of church and state thing? There is a space for you guys to be about God, but it is not in this room. It is in your church. Respect is earned. I don't feel like you guys have earned my respect. You guys talked about the air show earlier. It was nice to hear you admit that this air show is problematic for people. I love that there are children and people that get enjoyment out of this. But as I heard these planes flying over my home, all I could think about... are the people in countries such as Gaza. There is a genocide happening in Gaza. These people hear the sounds of these planes, bombs, and drones every day in their communities. It makes me more grateful for the life I have here. But while you guys enjoy your air show, you should have a moment for the people that are suffering from a genocide at the hands of their own government. Thank you.

Hello. I don't feel comfortable stating my name and address.

You need to give us a name.

I've stated before that requiring civilians to do that on public and on a live stream is dangerous.

You're not required to be here, ma'am. You're not required to be here, but if you want to speak, you need to identify yourself.

Do I use a name that is on my birth certificate or the name that I go by? I don't want to be committing fraud, but also you don't deserve to know that other name of mine.

You're not required to speak, okay?

All right, and you're not required to respond to me during public comment.

You're not required to speak, so if you're not going to identify yourself, please sit down.

But I'm choosing to speak. This is public property. Ma'am.

This is public comment, and I'm speaking on something that was... You have no right to speak if you don't identify yourself. It's a reasonable requirement.

My name is Grace Dean Gray. Thank you. Okay?

Thank you.

My address... is not important to you because this is not a safe space for queer and trans people. Western Kentucky, there has been so many murders. How am I supposed to feel safe telling you my name and address when somebody could track me down and murder me easily? Why would I feel comfortable telling you my name during a time and a place where it's currently being highlighted for its violence against queer and trans people? That's what this area is known for. In a city that does not even acknowledge Pride or the LGBTQ community as a whole at all. There's no fairness ordinance here. You guys can light up the bridge rainbow and you don't during June. I noticed, I monitored, you did not during June specifically. We don't feel safe here and you can change that. It's up to you. I'm sure you're aware that demanding this information before a citizen addresses you is keeping people from wanting to come to you with their concerns. That's the intimidation tactic at work. I'm mainly here to say that your community is against having a data center or a power plant built in the city or county, specifically because it would affect our health and wellbeing in so many ways. You have the facts in front of you. Any more claiming you don't know from now on is willful ignorance, and people in your position as elected public officials should not be so loudly, willfully ignorant. We do not think you're stupid, and we aren't either. If you expect the younger community, AKA the future of your city to vote for you or even show up to these to speak, you need to listen to us and not talk down to us. Every single one of these meetings, you're all up there. Like you can't wait to get out of here while we're here begging for a better quality of life so that we may have a future. I am not here just to support Renee, but to make my voice heard because we are fighting the same fight because the fight is so simple. We want to protect our community and our resources. Renee is our community member and sees us as peers. She listens when someone who is not a straight white man over the age of 50 is speaking. Please keep that in mind. And please listen to us. We will not stop until you do. Because we care about this land and the people living in it. Because this is our community. Thank you.

Anyone else? Okay. I'll make a motion to adjourn. Could I have a second, please? Second. All in favor indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

All opposed? We are adjourned.