Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Mayor, can you hear us? Are you ready to go? Ready to go. I'm gonna hit the gavvel then if you're ready. Well, welcome to the board of commissioners regular meeting February the 3rd, 2026. At this time, I'll ask Adrien Carico to please call the role. Commissioner Commissioner Jeff Sanford here. Commissioner Sharon Nesmith here. Mayor Tom Watson here. Commissioner Curtis Mager here. Mayor Pro Tim Bob Glenn here.

Thank you. This time uh we'll have the invocation and the pledge with Commissioner Sharon Nmith. Please stand if you're ready. Bow your heads. Dear Lord, we come before you today with a heart of gratitude. Thank you for your countless blessings and unwavering love. Keep our community safe and guide us to make decisions that help and protect. Amen.

Thank you 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.

Thank you. Next item on the agenda is a two 211 day proclamation. I think pro Tim, you going to handle that? Good evening. Good to see all of you with us. And we'll go ahead and present the proclamation and then have our uh the contingent from United Way come forward and have their photo made and the rest. Whereas 211 is a free confidential service that connects individuals and families to essential health and human services in their community. And whereas 211 provides critical information and referrals for needs such as stable housing, utility payments, food, mental health, health care, disaster recovery, transportation, and other needs. And whereas 211 services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by phone, text, and online, and are staffed by trained specialists who help residents navigate complex systems of care. And recognizing 211 Day increases public awareness of the essential service and encourages residents to seek help when needed and to support organizations that make 211 possible. 211 plays a vital role in strengthening communities by ensuring residents can access resources that promote health, safety, and economic stability. And so therefore, I for the in purpose of the mayor here, Thomas Hart Watson, mayor of the city of Bonesboro, do hereby proclaim February 11th, 2026, we're a little early, uh, as 211 day in the city of Bonesboro. So, come on down and commissioners, come on down. All

[applause]

right. All right. Go ahead and say a few words. Mayor, commissioners, ladies and gentlemen, I'm Paulie and I'm the president and CEO for United Way of the Ohio Valley. on behalf of our staff, our board, our many volunteers, and our many supporters who invest every year to support our nonprofits and the important work of helping everybody in our community thrive. We thank you for this proclamation. We thank you for the partnership that we have with the city. We're very blessed. Not every United Way has that privilege and it means a lot to us that you trust us to make those decisions each year with helping everybody in our community rise to a better place. We want to let you know that we're excited about our next round of impact funding that will be announced next week. And if you're not familiar with that, those funds go to support work in reducing homelessness, increasing affordable housing, and helping people with upward financial mobility. I know that many of these issues are on your minds each day as they are ours. But today, we're here to focus on 211 and the importance of this particular resource in this community and our surrounding communities and why

it is so relevant and so needed in so many different ways. You're very fortunate today that we're getting ready to show you a brand new PSA that has not been seen beyond the United Way office yet. And you'll get to hear from firsthand from people who have used the system, believe in the system, and know the impact that it makes every single day. While we say it's a free source, it is for our community, but it does require resources for us to keep it going every year. And we appreciate those who support that in helping the many who continue to use it over and over, knowing that it's always there 247, 365. So, thank you again and let's watch the new PSA for 211. Thank you.

My name is Sharon Walker and I am the current president of the MLAN County Chamber of Commerce. I was only introduced to 211 probably within the last one to two years when United Way came and spoke to our membership meeting. This year, Mlan County was hit with a disaster, one of the worst ones that we've had within the past 75 years. We had a flood that hit back in April and 60% of the county was underwater. We had people that not only needed help with housing that were completely displaced, but also they needed help with utility bills, they needed help with food, pretty much anything that you can imagine from someone that loses everything. They needed help and 211 was our go-to. I am a family resource coordinator for Davis County Public Schools. I had a single mother reach out and she had got behind on rent and I know for a lot of people it is hard to ask for help. Unfortunately, within our grant that we have with family resource through the state of Kentucky, we can't provide renters support. So 211 was the direction in which I pointed her in order to get that help that she needed. When it comes to people needing resources, especially in a time of crisis, I think that we tend to get kind of scatterrained and 211 has it all. It's just a quick way to say here's 211 and search what you need and their resources are resources that are directly in the community that they're living in.

It's the utility assistance. We have so so many seniors that are out there that need help with assistance. Domestic violence, I was able to have someone reach out through 211 and be able to find placement that was, you know, in an abusive relationship. It's every aspect out there that you don't think of. And if they're not able to help, you know, to find help that way, they they always know they can come back to us, but usually they're able to get that taken care of. We never know when we're going to have a struggle. We're never going to know when we're in a hard time. And just knowing that there are resources out there for you is kind of just a refreshing reminder that even in the hardest of times, there's still going to be somebody there for you. And that's what 211 is. Paula, thank you for all you and United Way do. We greatly appreciate the impact you and your staff and all the volunteers who work for United Way uh make. Thank you again.

Were you going to do the next one? Okay, next item on the agenda is Black History Month and we'll have a proclamation for that as well. Do we have a representative here for that?

Well, we are. You're welcome to come up when I get done if you like and collect it if you want.

All right. We're here to celebrate Black History Month. Of course, February is Black History Month, and last week we had the NAACP event, and I know that both uh Larry uh and also Richard Brown were honored. So, let's keep them in in our our prayers and support because I know he can't be here tonight. All right. Proclamation for Black History Month is a time to honor and celebrate the history, culture, and contributions of African-Americans to the US and to the world. And whereas Black History Month serves as a reminder of the importance of learning, reflecting, and embracing the diversity that has shaped our shared history and strengthened our communities. And whereas the observance of Black History Month was established to recognize the invaluable contributions of a African-Americans in fields such as education, science, politics, business, arts, and civil rights. We recognize the struggles, resilience, and accomplishments of countless African-American individuals who have paved the way for future generations and whose efforts have helped move our society closer to achieving equality, justice, and freedom for all. And whereas the city of Owensboro is committed to fostering inclusivity, understanding, and mutual respect among all its citizens and recognizes the importance of learning from the experiences and wisdom of the African-American community. It is my pleasure uh according to the mayor. Therefore, I Thomas Hart Watson, mayor of the city of Ownsburg, do hereby proclaim February 2026 as Black History Month. So feel free to come on down and accept this. [applause] and commissioners, come on down and we'll take a photo. Good to see you.

later.

Okay. All right. That's fine. That'll work. Well, thank you all. Next item on the agenda is economic development corporation update. Jafl Bacon, president and CEO. Okay, thank you uh all so much for allowing us some time here this evening. You know, I've been uh in this role now for about two and a half years. And during that time, I've been fortunate to build a talented staff, most of which are with me tonight. Brad Davis uh is traveling out of the area tonight and couldn't be with us. But uh over that time building this talented staff and developing a strategy focused on one goal and that goal is making greater Owensboro even greater. Tonight you're here you tonight you'll hear directly from members of our team with me tonight and share the positive results that they've helped achieve. Both reflecting on where we've been and outlining where we're headed. A strong support of board of directors has been central to this progress over the last two and a half years. Their leadership and commitment have helped move this organization forward and without question have positioned us for continued success. I also want to recognize the city of Owensboro. Your support has gone far beyond the financial contributions and investment that you've made in greater Owensboroough economic development. Your partnership has been instrumental in helping us deliver these results. So, on behalf of our board and all of our staff, thank you for your support. We've now been fully staffed for one year. Summer with us tonight uh just recently

celebrated her one-year anniversary with us. Having a complete team in place has allowed us to become even more strategic and proactive as our economic development efforts continue to evolve. When we look at results, few speak louder than the dual designation Greater Owensboroough received in 2024 from Site Selector Magazine. Never before in the history of Greater Owensboro has our community received two top 10 designations in total projects and projects per capita. That achievement was driven by the incredible companies that we already have in our community that expanded here and also the new ones that chose to locate here. We're pr and we were proud to play a supporting role in those decisions. In 2025, the community is experiencing the fruit from many of these projects of which I'll update you on a few of those just shortly. And that work continues. Our approach is becoming increasingly aggressive, intentional, and forward-looking as our strategy unfolds. As you know, much of what we do must remain confidential, which can make it challenging to share details in such a competitive environment. However, tonight we are excited to present meaningful progress and momentum through this report. So, thank you all for allowing us to be here tonight. Uh, normally at this point I would have introduced Brad Davis, our VP of business development. Again, Brad's on the road tonight, so I'm going to make his presentation next. And here we'll start with a an overview of the Massie property, which uh certainly don't need to educate uh the folks uh in front of me on that, the purchase of that property, but that was completed uh by the city in September of 2025. The

total property purchased was 121 acres. And as you can see from the rendering provided by the engineers, there's a possibility of putting three or more facilities on that property. This of course would vary by the type and size of the project. Uh and you can see a half million square foot building on this site, a 250,000 foot building, and I think a 100,000 square foot uh facility. So three very large significant projects could be there. Uh and we are already marketing the site and currently have an active request for information submitted to the economic development cabinet on the Massie site as it is. We also moving forward forward with the potential development of the site. Currently there's a Kentucky product development initiative grant application in review at the state. We are cautiously optimistic that that grant will be will be successful and these funds will assist with some additional studies and the start of development on the site. This would include an entrance way into the site off Parish Avenue and creating one build ready site on the property. We are hoping to hear about the funding in the very near future uh on the air park site. Moving to the next location. The next slide shows the tracks for the remaining property in the Mid America Air Park. The city has uh the city is a partner in the economic development properties along with the county and the industrial foundation. Four of the tracks have options or options pending on them. You'll see those marked as track one, two, three, four, five, and six. There's six tracks available. We have options on four of those there now leaving only two tracks 25 acres and approximately 10 acres

available at the air park and that would close out that property. So again talking about only 35 acres left available puts us in position with Massie to be the next site. So that's uh exciting as we move closer towards closing out at the airport. Next, I'll move to just some of the companies uh and some of the uh announcements that were made in 2024 and that progress. RNL Transportation is one of those. They began operations and opened in late October, early November at their facility at the airport. They are continuing to operate and grow their business there. As you'll recall, that was a $25 million investment with 63 jobs. MSCON was the next project to update you on. They are scheduled to begin their near $156 million expansion this spring resulting in 44 new jobs. This project will sit on their existing footprint at the Ragu Drive facility. So it has required additional engineering in order to accommodate the ongoing operations along with the expansion. Unif has nearly completed their uh nearly completed their $28 million expansion adding a new inventory conso control system on their site. We're looking at a spring completion on the unif project. Next would be again another project no secret to anyone here is the Maui's indoor theme park. $18 million investment with 125 new jobs. And I might also add that there's potential for more investment and expansion in that project in the future. And it's been great to work with TS Entertainment and the Hatton family on that project. Uh and finally, all of this has been summarized in the news articles, giving

the community a consistent spotlight on the many projects and progress that's happening in the community. Now, let me introduce Jamie Johnson, vice president of workforce development, small business, and entrepreneurship for her report.

Good evening. So, I have some statistics from 2025 for Owensboro and Davis County. Our average annual wages rose from $52,126 to $53,489. That is a 2.6% gain or $1,363. Um, our cost of living is 7.9% lower than that of the nation. Um, Davis County added roughly 335 workers to its labor force in 2025 alongside a small but meaningful increase in labor force participation from 61.6% to 61.9% signaling greater workforce engagement rather than stagnation. Um, the Kentucky labor force participation rate is 59.5%. So, we are doing better than the state there. Um for workforce development, we have a lot of different programs that we work with. One of those is the Greater Owensboroough Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education. That is a program that we run with OCTC um and local manufacturing facilities. We have the Elevate Owensboro mentorship program that pairs new business owners with um successful entrepreneurs in the community and the re-entry success program with the Davis County Detention Center. and thank you all for your investment in that program. Um, for business retention in 2025, we have visits with Kentron, Matulsa, Kimberly Clark, Glenmore Distillery, Green River Distillery, Southern Star, and more. We're planning for more visits in 2026 to help in identifying risk risk and opportunities early and strengthen relationships with the manufacturers and distributors that anchor our economy. This program is built around consistent visits, structured data collection, and intentional followup. For small business, we've been working with the city on the small business

subsidy program and in 2025, five businesses were approved for subsidies amounting almost $100,000. Um, we had six training events that were held such as the balance your business training with Bold Venture Bookkeeping and Fearless Posting with Kate Hickden about social media. Um, all in all, we helped train 198 individuals and those people were with 130 different small businesses in the Owensboro and Davis County area. We are also the host for the small business development center. Jody Holsey is the um business coach there. He works out of our office. He does an outstanding job. Um, so far since October, that's when his fiscal year starts. He's coached 73 people. 15 different funding transactions helped businesses in Davis County um achieve over $1.2 million in capital funding. Um for entrepreneurship, we do have a proposal for the landing entrepreneurship hub um to turn that into a co-working space and office space for tech startups and other different startups in the area. Um we do have a proposal for that that has been turned into the state legislature. Um so hopefully we will hear from them on that um in the next few months. Um we really do want to focus on innovation right now. Um that's going to help our existing employers grow. It's going to support higher paying jobs and it's going to protect our tax base in a market where it's harder to get that largescale growth. And now I'll pass it off to Summer. Good evening. [clears throat] Um, so my role at GoDC is a little bit split. Um, I spend probably half of my time focusing on marketing. Um, since I arrived last year, we've introduced an annual report. Um, that hadn't been done the last several years. Um, that first

edition gave us some framework. We're already building on that for 2020 um 6, the 2025 annual report um that we plan to announce or release to the public in April. It's going to be beefier and have lots of numbers and data to share with the community. Um my role includes a lot of basic PR and communication. We do several digital and print ads for economic development publications that many of you all probably don't see, but they're going nation and worldwide sometimes. Um, and then a lot of presentations and funding proposals like the one for the landing that Jamie mentioned. And then we do a lot on social media. Hopefully you've seen that by now. We've had um some really great growth on our social media channels. These year-to- date changes are higher than organizations similar to ours um in comparison. So, we were really proud of those numbers. And then the other part of my time I split kind of ha between handling our day-to-day administrative needs and then focusing on specific economic development um industries. So one of those that's newer to our area is the film industry. And so we've done a lot of assistance and um promoting with that. We organized the announcement for Kentucky Sound Stage at the former Malco. um helped with the promotions and premieres for Bachelor Santa, which was um a movie filmed entirely in Owensboro, as well as supporting our local filmmakers who've been here and been doing it for a long time, like um Blood Moon Pictures. Their new Fears Eve movie um went on to Prime Video and Scream Box in late 2025. So, it was exciting to celebrate that. As film becomes a bigger part of economic development in the state of Kentucky, we're modeling our film office, if you will, off of how the state is organizing theirs, which is housed in economic development in partnership with tourism. And so we're doing that as well, um, with Visit Owensboro and developing things like a filmmaker tour, which would be the equivalent of what you'd think of for

um, a site selector tour or other industries. We're treating them the same way, like their prospects. We're going to show them what they need to see and um you know give them that Owensboro hospitality that we're used to giving manufacturers and things like that. Another industry that I'm focused on is bourbon and specifically supporting Green River Distillery. Um we were able to celebrate their best overall bourbon in the world award and some new ad campaigns they had going out as well as um their Louisville tasting room that opened last year. And then I also um work very closely with Downtown Owensboro, Inc. So, I attend their meetings when I can. Um, we helped organize the small biz crawl last year in May during small business month. We can help with their um print ads and things like that. And then I also serve as kind of the liaison between um local downtown business owners within that downtown overlay district and local government officials. So, that's kind of what I do in a nutshell. I guess I'll turn it back over to Clyde. Thank you. Well, at this time, I'd field any questions or uh comments relative to our proposal uh report tonight.

Thank you very much, Cloud. Appreciate you. Yes, sir. Mayor, thank you and your whole team. Good job. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you all tonight. All right. appreciate the opportunity. Okay, next item on the agenda is consider approval of the minutes dated January the 20th, 2026. I'll make the motion to approve these minutes. Could I have a second, please? Second. Thank you. Any further discussion, deletions, or additions? Hearing none. All in favor indicate by saying I. I.

All oppose. Mr. Gar. Thank you. I'd like for you to consider these board appointments. Westland Shauny Neighborhood Alliance appoint Ashley Edge to two-year term effective February the 3rd, 2026. And Ambulance Contracting Authority appoint, I guess I should say Chief James Howard to fill the remainder of an unexpired term ending December the 31st, 2029, replacing Ted Johnston. I'll make a motion to approve this. Could I have a second, please? Second. Thank you. Any other discussion, additions, deletions? Hearing none. All in favor indicate by saying I. I.

Opposed? None. Motion carries. Thank you. We'll go to item six, ordinances. There'll be no vote. This is first reading. Miss Carico,

Ordinance 1-2026, an ordinance annexing to the city of Owensboro certain unincorporated territory in the county of Davis adjoining the present boundary line of the city being property located at 3500 to 4,300 block of West Parish Avenue, State Highway 81, containing a total of 121.605 605 acres more or less at the request of the city of Owensboro, Kentucky. Introduced and publicly read on first reading this third day of February, 2026. Thank you, city manager. Could you give us some more information, please?

I'm happy to, mayor. This is first reading of an ordinance annexing into the city approximately 121 acres on West Parish Avenue just west or outside of the bypass. This is what we refer to as the Massie property, which we acquired a few months ago to serve as an industrial park. And this is actually what Claude Bacon just referenced and showed an exhibit for in his presentation. And as [snorts] Claude referenced, we continue planning development of the property such as entrances, utilities, and things of that nature to get the pad ready for development. This annexation is just part of that process.

Thank you. Any other discussion, please? Hearing none. Thank you. for item 6B, ordinance, ordinance two, sorry, ordinance 2-2026, an ordinance annexing to the city of Owensboro certain unincorporated territory in the county of Davis adjoining the present boundary line of the city being property located at 2300 to 2500 block of Pleasant Valley Road containing a total of 34.798 acres more or less at the request of the city of Owensboro introduced and publicly read on first reading this third day of February 2026. Thank you. City manager, please.

Like the last item, this is first reading of an annexation of a city-owned property as we prepare it for future development. This is the annexation of the panel property which we also purchased back in the fall. No other comments. It just is part of the ongoing development of the site. Thank you. Any other discussion from the gas? Okay. Thank you. We go to item 6 C, please.

Ordinance 3-2026, an ordinance annexing to the city of Owensboro certain unincorporated territory in the county of Davis adjoining the present boundary line of the city being property located at 3230 Warehouse Road containing a total of 1.014 acres more or less at the request of Addison Miles LLC. introduced and publicly read on first reading this third day of February, 2026. Thank you, city manager.

Yes, this is yet another first reading of an annexation ordinance. This time just over an acre on warehouse road. The owner intends to develop smaller industrial units for rent and reached out in and inquired about annexation. We were happy to partner with him to do so. Uh and as usual for uh other properties not owned by the city that we annex at our next meeting, we will consider a standard annexation incentive for this property when we have second reading on this annexation ordinance.

Thank you. Any further discussion from the D? None. Thank you. Item 7A, municipal order. Municipal Order 2-2026, a municipal order authorizing and directing the mayor to execute an application for a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Office of Highway Safety Grant through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the amount of $50,000, the proceeds of which will enable the Owensboro Police Department to provide overtime traffic enforcement during specific mobilizations within the city of Owensboro to enhance public safety, no cash match being required by the city read for approval on one reading this third day of February 2026.

Thank you. I'll make a motion to approve. Could I have a second, please? Second. Thank you, city manager. Yes. This municipal order approves a grant application for $50,000 to be used for overtime for Owensboro Police Department and their traffic enforcement programs specifically such as the click it or ticket speed weeks and the drive sober or get pulled over mobilizations that we do annually. Accordingly, we participate in this grant program every year. As Adrian read, there is no match required for this grant. Thank you. Any further discussion? Hearing none. All in favor indicate by saying I. I. All

oppose. Motion carries. Thank you. Item 7B. Municipal Order 3-2026, a municipal order authorizing and directing the mayor to execute a real estate purchase agreement for the acquisition of property containing 0.093 acres, more or less, located at 2745 West Parish Avenue, read for approval on one reading this 3rd day of February, 2026. Thank you. I'll make a motion to approve. Could I have a second, please? Thank you, city manager.

Uh, yes, Mayor. With the various projects in the area such as the new Publix, it's become apparent that the intersection of West Parish Avenue and Carter Road needs additional capacity. So Carter Road north of Parish is a city street while Carter Road south of Parish is a state route. So we're responsible for Carter north of the Parish Avenue intersection. Uh, this municipal order approves a small property purchase which will serve as an additional lane on southbound Carter Road immediately north of Parish. I know that's kind of hard to follow. So, if you look at the exhibit uh on the screens there, you can see the area that's in shaded or hatched in red is what we're purchasing. So, if you look on the right hand side of your screen, you can see Carter Road there. And so, we are basically acquiring a small piece of property. It's less than a tenth of an acre. Uh, but it's a good project that we'll use to widen the road. It additional lane to Carter Road there between Old Henderson Road up to the intersection of West Parish. That's really needed now. So, we're happy to be able to deliver that project and add capacity. If you drive that way, you know that that road stacks or cues back not only past Old Henderson, but up to McFarland and that traffic signal. So it' be a good project to add traffic capacity to that in that uh location as well.

So this explorer authorizes the purchase of that small onetenth of an acre parcel. Purchase price is $25,000. Uh I will say we'll have some related transactions to this. This is just the first of two or three documents that we'll consider to cause this project to go forward, but we have to start with the property acquisition and that that's what's for your consideration this evening. Thank you. Any further discussion? I have a question. City manager, when do you plan on doing starting this project and when's the possible completion?

That's a good question. I'm I'm looking at Leland or Kevin. I know the design is essentially finished at this point. Uh I think OMU will begin re relocating the utilities relatively soon and then hopefully we do expect it to be complete this construction season. Thank you. That's what I was asking. I was hoping it might be done that way. So it should be done before the public's opens, I guess, is one of our primary goals to get additional traffic capacity before that that location opens. Exactly. Any further discussion? Hearing that all in favor indicate by saying I I oppose. Motion carries. Thank you. City manager items.

Yes. First we have personnel appointments and tonight all of our appointments are regular regular status which means they have completed their uh their probationary period. So we have Christopher Collins, Lucas Hardy, Anthony Williams as lieutenants with the police department effective February 9th. Caleb Brader, Benjamin Flurry, Derek Griffith, and Joseph Jones, sergeant with the police department effective February 9th. Tiffany Cruz, telecommunicator with the OPD dispatch effective February 10th. And Ethan Bour as a fire driver engineer with the fire department effective February 17th. Thank you, sir. I'll make a motion to approve. Could I have a second, please? Second. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor indicate by saying I.

I. I. All oppose. Motion carries. Thank you. City manager comments. No comments for me tonight, Mayor. Thank you.

You're welcome. Communication from elected officials. I'd like to go first tonight if I could. I wanted to tell you all that Senator McConnell was able to uh secure funding for the whole Commonwealth. $17 million of federal funding. And what he did with us was um got us a a grant, I guess you could say that, for the local YMCA for child care, and the totals were $6.6 million. It's going to be a big big help for funding for some folks that need it and and and level off some of the stress of trying to get their children someplace and and job issues. and no exceptions. This thing is really going to be powerful. So, I just wanted to let y'all know that he's been a friend again. And uh that's all I have. Okay. Commissioner Glenn,

uh yes, just two things. Uh wanted to congratulate the NAACP on an excellent freedom uh fund dinner. I thought it was an excellent event and it was great to see people being recognized who are longtime civil rights pioneers like Richard Brown and and Larry as well. Uh and then finally, I want to thank our police, our fire, and our public works uh team that have literally moved mountains of snow over the last few weeks or 11 days. you guys have done an incredible job and and then the calls where police and fire have gone out in these weather conditions and and brave the elements to keep our city safe. I just want to say we knew you're the best and you just proved it again. So, thank you all very much for all the hard work you and your team do.

That's it. Commissioner Maglinger.

Thank you, Mayor. I want to echo Commissioner Glenn's uh thanks. really appreciate all the hard work and on our first responders and public works. Uh I did get some calls and and you know I know we don't handle op commission doesn't handle operations but just wanted to recommend maybe re-evaluating our our uh uh policy for snow removal. I uh I know that it happens about every three to five years. Um did a wonderful job on on priority one and two. I just had several calls from from people talking about some of the secondary roads and things. So, just like to recommend reevaluating that. Thank you, Mayor.

You're welcome. Commissioner N. I would mirror what uh Curtis said is that obviously um this was a big difference and one of the first things I I thought of is because in the past uh we've bro has always done a great job so I was a little questionable so when I called uh Leland and then discussed it with Nate one thing that happens is we never know the backgrounds of what's going on. So, I thought it was interesting because my concern was some of the secondary streets that weren't plowed and then it was pointed out that if we if we plow everything when all of that snow fell with the ice, then we're going to go down these roads and if you're a person that parks your car on the street and stuff, you probably still can't get it out. So, there are rationes for things are happening. Definitely, we want to look and review it again to make sure if there's anything else we could make it better. Uh but I just want to say that uh sometimes you think well how come this happens and then when you get a few more facts you understand it. We may not like it but we understand it. So I do want to say thank you Leland for educating me and and Nate as we learn things. And then the other only other thing I want to say is to be on a positive note. Uh, tonight I'm wearing my uh barbecue and barrels uh board shirt and I just want to let y'all know that I promise the sun will come out tomorrow. Okay.

Okay. Thank you, Commissioner Sanford.

Thanks, Mayor. Uh, I think that was really good uh news about what Senator McConnell has doing for the YMCA and all the families that are going to be able to benefit from that. [clears throat] That's number one. Number two, really quickly, you know, tonight we sat up here and we've mentioned the west side of Owensboro several times about things that are going on on the west side. For years and years, a lot of people would say, well, you know, it's it's everything's happening on the east. But if you start to look, even through Claude's report, you're seeing stuff to the south, you're seeing stuff to the west, which really uh is pleasing to hear that we're starting to grow in different directions. And I think that's really exciting because A lot of people on the west side sometimes say, "Well, we're kind of forgotten." But I I don't think anymore. I think that's going to be the next hub of growth is probably to our west side, which is which was needed. And uh I want to congratulate the mayor and everybody up here and the staff for making all this stuff happen because I think we're on the very beginning of it and I think it's only going to increase. So, good job everybody. And that's all I have, mayor. Thank you.

Thank you. And I'd just like to say listening to all those comments, it's a little different out here or wherever I am. Uh we represent our community very very well. We have downtown rep, we've got business reps, we got real estate, you know, we've got an educator that's probably got a PhD or something, I guess. And I think I think we we represent our community very well. Okay, next item is the 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 pract responsibility of the commission. Commission meetings are held to conduct city business for the benefit of citizens of Orangeboro and Pat. At this time, anyone that wishes to address the city commission, please make their way to the podium to recognize. The 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. Who's up?

I will go ahead and start my timer.

Hi, my name is Glenda Wright, Commissioner Wright, and I am with the Owns Human Relations Commission um 7-Eleven Jed Place. I gave that last well two weeks ago. So, three minutes goes quick. So, I'm going to try to be quick. So, as promised, I am back. None of our city officials took me up on my um olive branch to handle some of these issues privately, so we're going to do it in the public. So, what I have in my hands right here is the local ordinance that establishes my commission. And in addition to that, I hold a jurist doctorate. So, I'd like to think that um I'm pretty good about reading the law. At least I graduated with honors. So, I would really assume so. So, our law right here says that my commission should receive complaints. It should investigate those complaints. It should hold hearings for the allegations and we should act as mediator. That's not open for discussion. That's our current law. So, is my commission following the law? I'm here to tell you all it is not. And I have said that to this body for over three months. So, I have our inquiries in our hand and I'm happy to publish this for the public so that they can also look at what we're not doing. So, let me just go to at least three. There's lots of them, but I'll just read three. Our executive director asked one community member to, and I quote, sign a cons a consent to reveal information form between their attorney and her. That is not appropriate. Attorney client privilege is sacred. And for her to say that she needs that signed before she's able to investigate, mediate, receive the complaint, or hold a hearing is illegal, and factually wrong. So, that's a problem because we're paying her $60,000 to give people incorrect information. Taxpayer funded money, of course. Right here is our local guide book. What does it say from the Kentucky level that local commission should be receiving complaints and mediating if that's what our ordinance says? And that's exactly what it says. So my question is is are we going to continue to pay someone six

figures over a h 100,000 in benefits and in salary to not do her job? And if so then I would ask that you all just nyx her position and you all receive the taxpayer funds directly and you all do something different with it. Because at this point we're paying $500 a table to go to the NAACP event. But I'm the only one attending trainings. I'm the one that just wrapped up a community conversation so people in the community can come and meet with me. I'm the one doing that. I'm the one holding virtual monthly trainings, not my commission. I'm doing that for free. Our executive director should be doing that. I had over 10 plus people show up today and I planned this event three weeks ago. So, I would say that the community is looking for this type of work from our commission and I ask you all to have our commission do the work that we're supposed to do, especially during Black History Month. Thank you. to speak.

Do I have any takers? I can't see. One of the persons on the way. Pardon me. There's somebody else coming. Okay.

Uh, Mayor Watson, this is Jim Grace, 2335 Pleasant Valley Road, right across from the new development, new property you guys just bought, right across from Kroger. Uh, we welcome you to the neighborhood. When my parents bought the property in 1962, where I live, right across from all this development, I don't think we ever expected that the city would be coming this close to our existing homes. And and my wife and I when I retired, we've uh we've invested a lot of money in our property uh for a place to retire. And uh we now are the interface so to speak between uh the new city purchased property and our home right across the county road there on Pleasant Valley Road. And all I really have at this point is request that the city take us into consideration as you develop across the road there. We know you'll be developing that property. Uh we've known Mr. Panel forever. We don't uh don't begrudge him selling his property for $3.5 million. We don't have a problem with that, but we would like some consideration for our existing properties. We own six acres and then there's other uh residents in the county. They're right across the road from this development and we we would like for you to take that in consideration and think of us as you develop. I think that's important and uh it's important to us. Uh we've been there, you know, like I say, since ' 62 is when we bought the property. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Anyone else? I guess not. So, I'll make a motion to adjurnn. Could I have a second, please? Second. Thank you. All in favor indicate by saying I. I. All oppose. Motion carries. Thank you. See you in two weeks.