Board of Commissioners - Special Meeting

Commissioner Jeff Sanford here Commissioner Sharon Neesmith here Mayor Tom Watson Commissioner Curtis Maglinger here Mayor Pro Tem Bob Glenn here Thank you at this time.

I'll have the implication in the pledge if you're able to stand

Dear Heavenly Father, we come together tonight to do the people's business in this chamber. We thank each and every person who's here, whether they're here just to listen, to celebrate a personal or team accomplishment, or just to celebrate our city, or to indicate areas where we can get better. We want to lift up our brothers and sisters in the states of Indiana and Hawaii who have been ravaged by floods and extreme weather, Lord. Thank you for the protection you have provided our community over the last month. Lord, we'd ask that you give us insights tonight to make decisions pleasing unto you and that we protect our first responders, our police department, our fire department, our emergency responders, and protect all of our city employees from harm. And thank you for making this a beautiful city on a river that we can live in thanks to the blessings and gifts you provide us. In Jesus' name, amen. And now the pledge. with liberty and justice for all.

Could I have my wonderful softball team up here, please? Is that like a distraction for the hitter? I'd like to read something, please. Davis County Little League 12U Softball All-Stars. The city proudly congratulates the Davis County Little League 12U Softball All-Stars for an unforgettable summer of achievement. In just the league's second year, these remarkable young athletes captured the Kentucky State Championship. On their way, all the way to the Little League World Series championship game. Finishing as World Series runner-up with a 4-1 record, they became the first team in Kentucky history to reach the Little League Softball World Series finals, representing both Davis County and the Commonwealth of Kentucky with incredible talent and determination. Are we all good sports? And sportsmanship. Mayor's Award for Distinction. Y'all fight over it. This is the third vibe. Davis County Little League, love you, softball, sorry, has been awarded a certificate of recognition of standing achievement. Obviously, thank you for the decision signed by all of the elected officials. So who do you want me to give this to?

Don't we have a couple more to join us? Thank you.

That's all I'm making an entrance.

Okay. That's all for her.

Get your pictures. Get your pictures. Get your pictures.

Name an address for the record, please. Like my address?

Yeah. 7721 Kurzweil, Delaware Road. That's my address, so you can just put it on that. My name's Avery O'Brien. I was number two and I played second base.

Were you the one that had to wreck out there at second base? Yeah. I used to coach a lot. Really? Played a lot and did a lot of state tournaments.

Yeah.

Tell us something else.

Um, it was a really good experience. We all had fun. We met people from all over the world and, like, people from Texas, like, all different states. We made so many new friends, and it was a lot of fun. Like, I loved it. Did you do it again?

Yes. Yes. Let's do it. Okay. Y'all want to take pictures? I'll get out of the way, and you can take pictures of these little yard aces going about a bit. Do you want a hat? I gave you the mic. What else do you want?

You want to put it on? All right, let's put it on.

Please put it on the front way.

This is a picture here of all that air flying around.

Put it on in there.

I'm proud of you. Thank you all.

I'm glad you just told me to spell it.

Alright, we'll wait for the manager to get back. Okay. Who cares about pickleball? Pickleball facility update Amanda Rogers, Parks and Recreation Director.

Yeah, for a few more months, Mayor. Thank you, Mayor and Board of Commissioners. Thank you all for the opportunity to give you an update on the pickleball complex. If you'll remember This is a project that we began discussions, um, back in the middle of 2024. At that time, we went through the design process and came up with an 18 court facility with multiple shaded areas and some player congregation areas. We're also setting it up with a food truck area instead of running our own concession stand or, or any kind of operation in house or internally, we've set it up with a food truck area for events and tournaments. Um, so that was kind of where we started. So we began construction. Um, in October of 2025, and I'm getting ready to hit that, which is a drone video of the site as it stands today. Um, and we'll cover a few things that, uh, are ongoing. So you can see there, um, we're at a point now where the asphalt for the courts has been laid down. Uh, we had a review of that asphalt today from tennis technologies, our trusted partner in court, uh, repair and renovation. They're out of Louisville, Kentucky. They came in and gave the asphalt a review for playability to make sure there was no dips or errors in the surfacing so that we have quality quartz before we move any further. A lot of the concrete work is done. The majority of the electrical is done. A lot of the shade cell bases are in, the foundations and footers are in. We've got a couple left to do in the middle run there where you can see it's still dirt. Um, obviously with asphalt equipment coming in and out, we couldn't finish any concrete and do any footers in that section. So now that the asphalt equipment will be out of there and done, we'll get in and finish those items at this time. Um, I will tell you, we're hoping for a late fall opening. That's our goal to have an opening event followed by a weekend tournament. soon after that opening event that the River City Pickleball, our partners in this venture, will put on and host. At this time, I'd like to give John Schaum, the current president of River City Pickleball, an opportunity to share a little about the fundraising efforts and some of their primary sponsors, and he will make a big announcement as well.

Thank you, Amanda. I'm John Schaun, Owensboro, Kentucky. I'm proud to be the president of River City Pickleball Club. I would like to thank the mayor and the commission for having us here tonight. And before I get started on the project, the city's losing a really good employee, and Amanda Rogers has gone above and beyond to see this project through, and we would like to thank her for that. As a full-time watch commander out there, I also have to give a thanks to Mr. Cardenas, city engineer. The city engineers watch all his projects be built. They're not sitting in an office drinking coffee, so he's out there every day watching things. Also, a special thanks. When I talk to Amanda a lot of things, she says, I've got to talk to Nate Pagan. Nate's on top of this, too. Mr. Pagan, we appreciate your support. I'd like to talk a little bit about the fundraising that's going on with our project. There's 18 courts out there, and we sold 16 courts at one cost and two courts at a higher cost, and we actually have 19 sponsors for the courts. Those were sold in Some of our sponsors are local individuals. You'll see their names listed here. A lot of them, you know their names. I'm not going to go through all of them. And then we hit corporate Owensboro, corporations such as Atmos Energy, Independence Bank, Mid-South Rentals. There's a full list of those on the slideshow here, and we would like to thank them. At the time, we have three what we're calling premier sponsors. These three sponsors have given us a total of $50,000 each. William Young and Marilyn Young found it. William Young. William and Marilyn Young Foundation, Owensboro Health, and this next group has been a big sponsor of ours from day one, as far as I know, Visit Owensboro. Mark Colitre and Lucas Danhire really support Pickleball in this town, and we appreciate their help with that. Our fundraising, we're sitting at about $480,000 raised right now between members and sponsors as listed above. And we've set that up on five-year pledge agreements. Somebody can sponsor us, give us, for example, they could give us $1,000 and they can make monthly payments or year-end payments. We firmly believe once the... complex is open, that open, that we will draw our new interest. I know our club membership is already starting to rise, and we think when people see the finished project out there that we will meet our goal pretty handily. We have a design team that is chaired by Mr. Rick Lancaster and Amy Hartz, and the design team has been working through this process the whole time to make sure that everything is first class. We are really particular on signage. We're not going to put a sign on every fence. We are going to keep this the nicest, cleanest, neatest pickleball park anywhere around. And trust me, Mr. Durham is here who travels a lot and goes to different parks. I'm fortunate to travel a lot. We're not building 18 pickleball courts out there, ladies and gentlemen. We're building Owensville's newest and brightest city park. It is going to be something that this community is really going to be proud of. I also have a... Grand opening team working on a grand opening ceremony. Shara Rhodes and Laura Zevi are the chairs of that. And right now, it looks like we might be opening around October 17. But we want to have a big celebration, not a one-hour event. We want to have a grand opening celebration for the whole community, followed by the next week, probably, our big tournament, which will draw over 400 people. Probably, we've gone as many as six to eight states in the past. So we fully expect, with this complex, we will beat expectations on that. That's about all I have to say about that. But at this time, it gives me, Mr. Mayor and Commissioners, a great honor to announce what our design committee and our board of directors voted on. The name of our new facility is going to be called the Pickleplex at Ben Halls Park. Thank you again, and thanks to Amanda for all she's done for us.

If anyone has any interest in the River City Pickleball Club or membership or activities, events, and leagues that they sponsor and programs that they will soon be offering at our location, their website is listed there on the screen. So we encourage people that have interest in pickleball to join that community here in Owensboro. Mayor and commissioners, I'm here to answer any questions you may have.

I've got one. So I go out to that complex area, seeing the construction, and really want to compliment all of you on your hard work to raise the money to match what the city's doing. But my question for Amanda is, so we want to have tournaments out there in addition to public access. do you anticipate if all those courts were being used, where would we go to add four more courts or five more courts if we had a bigger tournament than the 18 courts would accommodate?

So right now, the club is doing tournaments indoors at Merchant Center Court. So I would imagine we could use that as an overflow location. We also have York. We probably wouldn't want to use necessarily York as anything but a warm-up location if needed. But worst-case scenario, I believe we could use that to add. And I hope that that is a problem we have in the future.

Yeah, I hope you do, too. I'm sure you will. I'm confident you will. So you all have done a great job. Thank you. You're welcome. And thank you, Mayor.

Just real quick, Mayor. Amanda, I was just looking at the photo. As far as aesthetics and landscape, will there be any kind of landscape on the outside, like bushes, flower, any kind of –

There will. Right now, there's a little drainage work still to do with a couple of the basins. We went ahead and planted a row of trees about a year ago to the front near Medley Road there to try to help decrease some of that noise flow out across the street to the neighbors there. But there is landscaping that will be added around that, and we'll have some landscaping around the primary signage and in the areas there around that social side. So when you first walk in, if you'll notice the parking lot there, And the walk that goes up as you walk that towards the facility there to the right will be the primary location sign. That bed will be landscaped to the left is kind of an entrance area, a setup area, if you please, for tournaments. And there'll be some landscaping in that area as well.

It looks like it's going to be just be terrific. I think y'all have done a great job. All of y'all. Thank you.

I remember the first time I heard somebody playing pickleball. I was at, uh, Health Park, riding the Airdyne, it makes a lot of noise.

Especially indoors.

Yeah. And I heard this bang, boom, and giggling and all this stuff. I didn't know what in the hell was going on down there. And I went down there, and I saw happy people. I mean, they were ecstatic. They were stomping their daggone feet when you get a point or something. I tried to play, and I played a lot of racquetball in my day, so the first time it got by me, I tried to hit it off a back wall, and that didn't work very well. But I'm happy for you. I'm glad the city of Orangeboro is playing a part in this, and we look for more to come. Thank you very much.

Thank you all for your support. We appreciate it. One quick thing I forgot to mention.

You've got to go to the mic, man. The people at home can't hear you.

I did fail to mention this sport. Most people, I think it was designed for the 15-over crowd. That is quickly changing, and I don't know if you're aware, the KSJSAA has sanctioned pickleball as a high school sport. It is eligible this year. Next year will be a full sanctioned state tournament sport, and trust me, with y'all's support and our support, we will push to host the Kentucky High School State Pickleball Tournament here in Orangeville, Kentucky, because we do have the premier facility.

I have a real good friend that's kind of big on pickleball, Altoff Merchant. You heard of him? He sends me pictures every time he and his buddy win. They got a big medal on there. So we're happy for you guys. Glad to be a participant. Thank you all very much. OK, next item on the agenda, a little boring air show.

Well, we are a little less than a month away now from the Owensboro Air Show. We're very excited. Of course, the Thunderbirds are returning this year, so we are expecting big crowds. So I just wanted to run through what you all can expect air show weekend. First up, it's going to look very similar to years in the past, but this year we're calling the Friday night show the Friday night flight. So that's going to kick off all the excitement at the Owensboro Davis County Regional Airport 4 to 8 PM there at the airport. That's where people can come and get close to the Thunderbirds. They can do a meet and greet with them. Kids love this. It's like a static air show or like a static display for them to hop up in the aircraft and meet pilots. We'll also do a twilight show and then end the night with fireworks. It's $5 per person for people to get in out there unless you're 12 and under, veteran, first responder, military, they get in for free. Then Saturday, we're kicking off the action early in the morning for those who like to walk. We're bringing back the bridge walk. So that is from 7.30 in the morning until noon on the Blue Bridge. And then the air show will begin at 1 to 4 p.m. downtown. And then Sunday, same deal, 1 to 4 p.m. This is where you'll see the Thunderbirds perform and all of the many different performers. It is something that we do note to people, the Thunderbirds do not perform at the Friday night show, but you will catch them on the riverfront Saturday and Sunday. We have a lot of cool performers this year. There's a lot of hype, obviously, around the Thunderbirds, but you also have the Red Bull Air Force. A lot of people are really excited about them. You have military aircraft. Of course, you also have teams like Team Titan, Northern Stars Aero Team, and just several of those stunt planes that do all sorts of cool tricks in the air that make you sick just watching it, but they do a good job. And this year we have a couple different paid experiences. First of all would be the Precision Exotics. This is actually new this year. And now you might be thinking sports cars, that's not aviation. Well, this group actually travels to different air shows and they offer this paid experience for people to drive on the tarmac out there at the airport in a supercar. I'm not a car person, but I do know that they are very cool cars. McLaren, Lamborghini. If you're a car person, you can pay to hop in one of those and take a ride. And then the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation will also be out there for a ride in a Huey or Cobra. I do want to note that these are tickets sold by these companies and they are in charge of the prices. And then like with Army Aviation Heritage Foundation, when people pay to fly in those, they actually get to keep the money and it supports their program. And a lot of people are always asking, well, when does the bridge close and when does the river close? So, of course, we have to close the river or the bridge anytime that the aircraft are out there practicing for safety. So Friday, September 11th, that'll be from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. And then Saturday and Sunday. Well, Saturday, it'll be 7 a.m. to 5. Obviously, with the bridge walk, it'll be a little earlier. And then Sunday, that'll be from 12 until 5 p.m. And then a lot of people ask, well, can I bring my boat to the air show? And the answer is yes and no. Yes, you can, but you have to stay outside a box. And we will close the river down from Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. again while they're out there practicing. And then Saturday and Sunday from 12 until 5. And one of the things we love to remind people of this is a free air show. As you all know, you've been down there plenty of space to spread out and find your place out there on the riverfront. Bring your chair, bring your blanket on our riverfront where you can head down to English Park where we set up speakers. But for those who maybe don't want to get there early and stake out their spot, they can go to the Owensboro Convention Center website and purchase tickets. They can get a table. There's all sorts of different options and ticket packages that they can do there. Some include food, some include shaded areas. And so plenty of options there for those who want to do that. So we're very excited for the air show this year. Again, it's just fun to be able to offer such a fun, free community event. I know I was back home in Indianapolis a few weeks ago, and I saw the Blue Angels were coming, and I asked my family if they were going, and they said, no, it costed $150 to go to that air show. And I was like, oh, well, you should come to our free show. And so we're excited to have that opportunity just for families to bring their kids and enjoy and get close to aviation. So if you have any questions, I'm here to answer them.

Well, the only question I have, on the air, you may not know this, Shelly, how much is the car ride and how much would the flight be or does it vary?

It does vary. I know with Precision Exotics, I believe it is $2.99, but if you use the discount code FREEDOM, that brings it down to, I think, $1.99. You get $100 off right now. So if you want to purchase that opportunity, do it now. As for the Huey and the Cobra, they're a little more pricey, and it differs on the Huey and the Cobra. So if you head to our Facebook page, I had a post go up this weekend. You can click that link and see how much those rides are, and those happen out at the airport.

Mm-hmm. Thank you. And thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Okay. Item 4D, City Project List and City Manager Nate Pagan.

Thank you, Mayor. Mayor, Commissioners, the project list is in your packet. I know you have a hard copy there as well, so it's just the typical monthly updates. Generally, things are going quite well. Leland and I, this afternoon, were discussing the Senior Center. He says that project is going well, and hopefully we'll have a ribbon-cutting out there, probably looking like an early October date to be determined, but the project is overall going well. You might remember last month we talked about how we added a new project to the list, and that was an air park drive extension, which opens up the remaining 88 or so acres in the southern end of the air park for development. So it was good to see that progressing. This month we've added an additional project, and that's the Massey site. As you know, we purchased that site. There's a lot of engineering and site work that's about to start out there, and so we added that to the project list as well. Again, just getting started, but over the next few months, you'll see some substantial updates as we prepare that site for future economic growth. Other than that, Mayor, we're happy to answer any questions, should you have any.

I've got one for Abby. So, Monarch. How are we coming with the Monarch development projects? Sorry. I can't get up.

Abby Shelton, Community Development Director, City of Owensboro. We've got study applications coming in. I'm sure legal is sick of seeing our contracts come up daily, so we've got a lot of exterior renovations going on, and you'll see contractors out there. We do have a few single-family rehabs going on, some rental rehabs, and new construction, so we're in it. Awesome. Sounds good.

Thank you.

Appreciate it. Thank you, Mark. You're welcome. Any other questions about the project list? Okay, we'll move to 5A, consider approval of minutes dated August the 4th, 2026. I'll make a motion to approve. Could I have a second, please?

Second.

Any further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Item 5B, consider board appointments. Property Maintenance Code Enforcement Board reappoint Lisa Fulkerson to a three-year term effective August the 16th, 2026. Dogwood Azalea Neighborhood Alliance reappoint Zach Hale, H-E-I-L, sorry if I put that up, to a two-year term effective August the 20th, 2026. Senior Community Center of Owensboro slash Davis County Board reappoint Patty Taylor to a three-year term effective September the 5th. Once we're a river port authority to board of directors, we appoint Leland Hancock and Jacob Reed to a four year term effective separate September the 10th, 2026 on board of health appoint Charles buzz Baxstrom to a three-year term effective November the 1st, 2026. I'll make a motion to approve these appointments. Could I have a second please? Thank you. Any further discussion, deletion or addition? Hearing none, all in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Item six, ordinance, second reading, roll call vote. Ms. Stead.

Ordinance 16-2026, an ordinance approving and adopting text amendments to the Owensboro Metropolitan Zoning Ordinance for the cities of Owensboro and Whitesville and Davis County regarding revisions to Article 8, Schedule of Zones, specifically regarding accessory dwelling units. Read for approval on second reading this 18th day of August 2026. Thank you.

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

This is second reading of an ordinance adopting regulations for accessory dwelling units, which are small secondary housing units on the same property or lot as a single family home. Based on your feedback at a meeting several months ago, the planning commission staff created regulations under which those ADUs can be built. Melissa Evans from OMPC presented an overview of those regulations at our last meeting. And she is here again, in case you have questions about them.

Any questions? Did a good job last time I listened. Got them all covered. Okay. Further discussion? Hearing none, we'll have a roll call, please.

Mayor Pro Tem Glenn?

Yes.

Commissioner Maglinger? Yes. Mayor Watson? Yes. Commissioner Neesmith? Yes. Commissioner Sanford?

Yes. Thank you. We'll go to item seven, first reading, no vote. Mr. Davis?

Ordinance 17 dash 2026 and ordinance amending the annual budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027 and amending ordinance 10 dash 2026 to revise beginning fund balances, carry over appropriations for all outstanding encumbrances, capital projects, and rebudget funds introduced to publicly read on first reading this 18th day of August, 2026.

Thank you. City manager, please.

So, Mayor, this is first reading of the first budget amendment for our current fiscal year, which began on July 1st. We do a budget amendment like this every year early in the fiscal year, primarily for a couple of reasons. One is to update the budget based on actual ending year balances for our various funds. And that updates them based on the estimates that we compiled several months ago back in the spring when we were drafting the budget. So just to reflect the actual numbers. Second is to reapprove various appropriations that expired on June 30th, but the purchase or project wasn't completed by that date. Some of these would be larger items like the indoor sports facilities, so reapproving the remaining funds for that. Others are more typical items like OFD uniforms that have been ordered but not yet arrived. So things like that don't necessarily follow our fiscal year calendar. So those appropriations that you approved expire June 30th. We have to come back and have those reapproved because they're in process. So again, from that perspective, you're largely reapproving items you've already approved, but that approval expired when the previous budget ended on June 30th.

Thank you. Any further discussion?

Thank you. Item eight, city manager items. Yes, we'll have several tonight. First will be the June financial report, Mayor, so if you would acknowledge Angela Waninger to present that to you.

Ms. Waninger, please.

Thank you, Mayor. My PowerPoint presentation will be on the general fund only activity for the month of, as well as the 12 months ended June, 2026. You may refer to page three of the financial packet for more detail. For our first slide, the month of June, actual revenues of 4.5 million were less than budgeted revenues of 4.8 million, resulting in a variance of $297,762, which is primarily due to lower net profits for the month. The next slide represents 12 months ended June. Total actual revenues of $79.9 million exceeded budgeted revenues of $76.8 million by $3,118,822. This variance is primarily due to higher net profits, property tax, and occupational withholding, and it's partially offset by lower municipal road aid. The next slide shows expenditures for the month of June. Actual expenditures were $9.4 million, which were more than budgeted expenditures of $8.9 million for a variance of $468,588. This variance is primarily due to the transfer to Blue Grass Fieldhouse and capital improvement project funds and personnel and maintenance. This is partially offset by other, the category other, which represents miscellaneous expense and OMU services, also timing and developer incentives. The next slide represents 12 months of expenditures into June. Actual expenditures were 81 million, which were less than budgeted expenditures of 87.8 million for a variance of $6,802,041. This variance is primarily due to timing. There's timing and transfer to transit and the category other The primary categories in the other section includes miscellaneous administration and expenses and OMU services. And finally, represents savings and personnel services. The next slide demonstrates the cyclical nature of the city's monthly revenues and expenditures. The red bar represents expenses and the green bar represents revenues. Our budget is set to anticipate these fluctuations. If anyone has any questions, I'm happy to answer.

Any questions? Hearing none, I'll make a motion to file the report for audit. Could I have a second?

Second.

Any further discussion, deletions or additions? Hearing none, all in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed, motion carries. Item 8B, please.

We have our usual assortment of personnel appointments. So for probationary full-time non-civil service appointments of William Glenn, bus driver with Transit Department, effective August 24th, contingent upon successful completion of all post-offer pre-employment requirements. Daniel Long, police officer with OPD, effective September 13th, contingent upon successful completion of all post-offer pre-employment requirements. And then we have the following promotional probationary appointments of Joshua Bennett as Lieutenant with the Police Department, effective August 23rd. Alexander Simmons, Sergeant with OPD, effective August 23rd. Jared Gray, Maintenance Equipment Operator with the Street Department, effective August 24th. And then one regular appointment this evening, and that is Miranda Zunin as Lead Telecommunicator with Owensboro Davis County Central Dispatch, which is a part of OPD, and that's effective August 10th.

I'll make a motion to approve these appointments. Would I have a second, please? Second. Any further discussion? Hearing none, all in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. City Manager, comments?

Yes, Mayor, I would have another item here that I'll refer to our wonderful Finance Director, Angela Hamrick. As you know, every year we do an OBKY budget, and so that is completed, and Angela will make a presentation to you about that.

Ms. Warniger.

Thank you. Pleased to present the city's eighth OBKY budget report. This is a user-friendly 11-page summary of the city's comprehensive 300-page budget document. This report was launched in 2018 following recommendations from the OBKY study and is designed to be easily accessible and understandable, providing a clear snapshot of the city's annual budget. things that you can anticipate reading in this report include communication from the city manager composition of the elected officials serving in office at the time the budget was prepared the city's organization chart reflecting departmental structure and reporting relationships across the organization There's also a financial overview outlining the total revenues and total expenditures for each of the city's funds. There's also other pages which focus on the activity of the general fund. You will find a detailed breakdown of general fund revenue sources by type and expenditures by department. You will also find strategic goals as set by the Board of Commissioners. The OBKY budget report is available on the finance page of the city's website at ownsborough.org. Hard copies are also available in the lobby of City Hall. I want to thank everyone for their interest in the city's financial stewardship. That's all I have.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Any questions, additions?

Just a comment. Go ahead. I think that's great that this was done back in 18 because most people are not going to go through all those pages. And taking it from a big document down to 11 pages is great because most people can sit there and understand that. It's well done.

Thank you. 300 pages is a lot to have to sift through.

Yeah, most people are not going to do that, but 11 pages you can go quickly through and see what's going on.

Certainly. Thank you so much. And we're certainly receptive to any suggestions on if there's any other information that the board would like to see added to this small report.

I just think it's really good. Good job.

Thank you.

Thank you. Communication from elected officials.

Actually, Mayor, I'm not quite done. One or two more. I know, it's a lot tonight. We're still on city manager comments. So the city attorney was telling me about a phone call he had with the media today, so I asked him to give all of you, I guess both you and the public, a quick update. We keep getting asked about data centers and moratoriums, and so Mark's done legal research in that regard, and so I thought if we'd share it with the media, we'd share it with the public today as well.

Yeah, as you all know, I think a couple months ago, Davis County passed a moratorium on data centers. That moratorium applies in the city as well. The city is part of the county. So unless the city were to enact an ordinance allowing data centers or regulating data centers, City properties are subject to the moratorium in the same way that properties outside the city but located in Davis County are. So absent some new ordinance from the city, we are subject to that same moratorium.

Any questions? And the moratorium's a year long, have I got it right?

That's my understanding.

Anything else?

Okay. I didn't think I'd have to hear those two words again, but we did. I have a few comments. We've got a lot of land in the city that's been sitting there for a while. We've got Tjago Riverfront Property, J.D. Meyer Riverfront Property, Tim Allen Riverfront Property, Audubon Riverfront Property, Shirley Bell Riverfront Property, Elizabeth Mundy Center, Roberts Brothers Lot, Anderson's Building. We talked about the Massey. panel farm remnant and 76 acres in the air park. That totals around $24 million worth of property. Are we sending out those, what is it, RFPs? Are we doing anything to try and get these things back on the tax rolls?

uh... yeah mayor we do and our our partners at the economic development corporation work on that quite quite often uh... so i'm certainly happy to to check in with claude so a lot of that as you references in in development you know the massey i think is the biggest biggest bulk of that so that's in progress and there'll be some slight work over the next couple of years so that'll be be available uh... again uh... the air park property is is that road is being done to make those acres available and really there's only a handful of acres that remain there that road is being done to serve those projects that have have uh already already been announced uh and then i do know the the downtown things are sort of in progress so stay tuned on one of those hopefully there'll be an announcement within the next month or so so moving on on really all of them okay i just don't recall the rfps that went out so i was just trying to get a handle on it and i hate to be hammered on it when i don't know anything about it so thank you very much

Next item, well, we've got communication from elected officials. We did that yet? Commissioner Glenn, mayor of Pearl Town, PhD.

Thank you. Just a couple of things. We lost a pillar of the community in Joe Caslin last week, a tremendous leader in the judicial realm, but also out in the community. It was obvious that Joe loved our community, did a lot of things. and was just an approachable person, which I think is important for all of us, but really approachable as a judge as well as a citizen. So I want to extend sincere condolences to the Caslin family, to Kay and their family and their time of loss, because it was certainly unexpected, and basically recognize his incredible accomplishments throughout the time he was a judge. literally a pillar of our community. Fairly quiet week except for the heat. I did go to Morning Joe at Nebelitz Center and I was very, I just want to praise what they do. They handed out probably a thousand bottles of water at that event. And you might say, well, who's going to drink 1,000 bottles of water? Well, one older gentleman that was on a walker said, drink it. When it's 95 degrees in my house with no air conditioning, I'm pouring it over my head. This is my air conditioning. And that kind of took me back a little bit. So I just want to say that. If you know people in the community, we're apparently cycling down a little bit, but if you know people and we get another heat wave like this and you can provide them with a place to cool off or you can provide them with resources like water, please try to do so, whether you do it through your church or do it individually, because the heat will kill you. And without proper air conditioning in your home or the place you live, that can be deadly. So those are my comments.

Good comments on Judge Caslin. He kind of set the standard for Caslins in our community, and a swell guy. Commissioner Magdalene.

Thank you, Mayor. I had the honor to attend the fourth class of our OPD training. We're so proud of that. It just proved that public safety is a first priority for us. So that's all I have, Mayor. Thank you.

I mean, do we have chief eight? Do we have eight in it? Five. Five. I just was hoping, I guess we had eight. Commissioner Neesmith.

I'd just like to reiterate.

Thank you.

Sorry. On and off. I'd just like to say there is so much going on in Owensboro for anybody who is interested in anything type of activities. for all ages and that happens not only because of just local organizations and individual nonprofits but also because of your city in your county and i get to see a lot of that because fortunately those folks will cycle through the hotel too everything i hear is it's it's very positive mr shound was at the hotel last week and made a comment Uh, that he wanted to thank, and I haven't done this. I wanted to do this for other commissioners and the mayor and everybody that's involved in the pickleball court. It was so nice to stay in there in a crowded hotel and everybody's crazy going every which way. have somebody actually sit there and tell us how great that the city was and the people that had worked with him and stuff so i want to make sure everybody knew that they're not only saying it in front of us here but they're telling people about it so i think that was pretty cool i just want to say great and everybody do stay cool and i can't wait for the air show i just did the rooming list for the thunderbirds and they'll be there and It's pretty amazing. I'd like to add one other activity. I don't know how well they've already advertised it, but after the air show is through on Saturday, about 4 o'clock, our Bluegrass Museum is having a concert on the back lawn. So you can be back there, and after all the excitement of the air show, go back there and chill out to some banjo music too. That's my public... Chill out.

Chill out.

Chill out is a key word. Okay. Thank you. Commissioner Sanders.

Thank you, Mayor. Just a couple observations tonight. What a positive meeting. Softball, these young kids from Owensboro had great success. I watched them on TV. That was great. The pickleball stuff is wonderful. It goes to show when you... When you have an idea, and you stick with it, and you push and push to get it done, and they got it done. And I'm so happy we're part of it. And it's a big deal. And it makes a difference in our community. I'll tell you, I am in the real estate business. And I have people all the time asking me, hey, I want to live over by, I had one the other day, Rudy Mines, because they like to ride bikes. So it's small things like that that make a great community. And I will tell you, somebody will say, hey, I want to live kind of close to the pickleball courts. They will, because people like that kind of stuff. And we have so many different things in Owensboro to offer people. And since we all live here, I don't think we recognize how good we have it. But people from other places see it all the time. I always like to mention a small business called up here every once in a while. The Huddle House on West Parish, I see a lot of people in the Huddle House, and they are so happy that they're on the west side. There's more restaurants coming that way. I see a lot of the same faces when I take my dad in there in the mornings. He's 90 years old, so he's always wanting to go eat breakfast, so I get drug in there by him. But anyway, it's all positive stuff, and it's enjoyable being up here when we hear a lot of good positive stuff. So thank you.

Thank you.

Item 10 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 city residents and taxpayers. At 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 their remarks to three minutes or less since item is not on the agenda No response is required from the staff or the Board of Commissioners Renee Kegel Tamarack Road

You know, I was going to read, but I'm not going to read. I just want to re-invite you all to the community question and answer Q&A that's going to be held next Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Party Space place just next to Computer Dave's out by Walmart on Frederica Street. I sent you an invite via email. A few of the questions that I put in there, I got an email back saying that you all couldn't answer those questions until the feasibility study's done on the power plant. But one of the questions was, how does it benefit us? How does it affect us? If we're getting our research and information wrong, on the power plant and the property around it, please come tell us. We really have good questions to ask. And for some reason, I've gone to the fiscal court and I've come here, and I'm struggling to get people to want to come and answer simple questions, things that will give us ease and pause on what is going on. I've hired two security guards, paid for them myself out of my pocket. Just so everybody would feel safe. I'm not going to allow any outbursts. I understand this is a hot topic. I really do. I get it. But we just want answers, and we want them before they're too late. I've been going to a lot of meetings. I've been asked to come to a lot of meetings. I've been asked to go speak because I have done research and research and research. And I feel like I have a lot of information, not just on the two words you don't want to hear, data centers. But on the power plants, I know how to build a power plant. I mean, just the information and then the companies involved, the shell companies involved and who they belong to, that company and what it entails, just all of the dots. And I'm making a timeline in the things that I've been told from some of you and from some of the fiscal court and from members in the community and from articles and news things that have happened. and i'm putting this time line together and it's just very confusing because there are some red flags that we would love to get some answers to And if you can't answer them, then say, you know, we don't know, but we'll go research because that's our job as city commissioners and as the mayor and as fiscal court members. That's our job to go find the answers that our community wants and needs because this will affect us. That power plant's going to affect us. Is it going to affect us to the positive or is it going to affect us to the negative? We don't know. We're only going by what we find. So please come to the meeting. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else?

Jamie Souders, Hayden Bridge Road, 42301. Pickleball Court's cool, man. I'm glad that we're finally getting something around here to do. Growing up here, seemed like when I was a kid, there was nothing. I mean, you just, you rode around on a bicycle, you went to the swimming pool, that was pretty much it. So, looks like we're really, I mean, looking around over the last, I'm gonna say 15 to 20 years, we've really done a lot. Thanks to you guys and the people before you. but you know, I heard the lady speaking about the pickleball courts and she, you know, it struck me when she said a company out of Louisville comes in to do the inspections on the courts and you know, Hey, I would think that we have people here that can do that work. They can do that stuff. Uh, the general contractor that's building the pickleball courts. Unless in the last two weeks they've gotten a business license, they don't even have a license to do business in this city. Major project, no license. I mean, how many times can I come up here and say the same things before it starts sinking in? We need to start taking care of our own people. We need an ordinance in place that protects our community and our tax dollars. Hopefully soon we can get something moving on it, but at the very least, hey, let's start collecting these tax dollars. We could use them, right? She knows we could use them. That's all I have, thank you.

Thank you. Is that it? Oh, excuse me.

Hi, my name's Tatum Helm, 1122 Booth Avenue. Kind of just piggybacking off of that, just as far as supporting local, I was really quick to get mad and see where the Seven Brew went, and we're all questioning, like, who approves this? The city of Owensboro does planning and zoning approve it. If you're not familiar with what I'm talking about, the Seven Brew that just went in place in the plaza where Nico's currently is and Libertalia Coffee, Which kind of becomes like a conflict thing. You know, why are we putting or allowing a franchise to go in front of this, these two local businesses that we want to support? And like I said, I kind of like took blame to do you guys approve that? Does planning and zoning approve it after further research and learning? No, but after further research and learning, I did learn that there are ordinances that can be put in place by you all that would protect local businesses or give them kind of a helping hand if larger corporations are to come in with that zoning area. So I just kind of like am asking you guys maybe talk with the Chamber of Commerce. I feel like that would be a great place that kind of wants to like protect the local businesses to see if they have ever done any type of like, I know that they work with like the Hardwood Institute and things like that. But maybe if they've ever worked with the city or someone that kind of knows of ordinances that could go into place to protect those local businesses, because obviously a landlord is going to lease to who they want to lease to because they're a business person. You know, they need to rent that property or have something built. But I think it's your guys's job to make sure that you're protecting those local businesses in those entities. especially one that is the Wesleyan Park Plaza. Like I'm 27 and I've known that to be a legendary place my whole life. I've lived in that area forever. My mom always talked about a dang movie theater that was there. No clue what that ever was. So it has a lot of history and like a seven brew being slapped up right there. To me, if I was one of the business owners there, I would kind of be upset, you know? And I think it's a great example to look at and be like, how can we maybe prevent this in the future in those certain areas and protect our local businesses that give back to us? Because I know 100% Nicos and Libertalia are both members of the chamber. They're always involved in city stuff. Libertalia has a food truck always downtown Friday after 5, so they're supporting that. So if you guys could just look into some ordinance things along those lines. Please go to Renee's meeting at the Party Space place. That's really big. If you guys don't want to answer questions, I kind of like raises concerns as you guys sitting on these seat board, like these boards, uh, you're here to kind of work with the community and let us know what you know, and, you know, discuss with us outside of this platform as well. And then I wanted to mention, because I don't know if there's another meeting before this, but grooving on the green Northwest neighborhood Alliance, it is the first weekend in September down at the convention center, uh, Rafe and David Curry. They were really hard to make that happen. So If you're listening at home or you guys, please get out and enjoy that. It's free music. Free music, food truck. They're going to have some, I believe, resources as well. But, yeah, that's all I have. Thank you.

You can talk fast, I can tell you that. Mercy. Anyone else? Okay. At this time, I'll make a motion to enter into closed session under KRS-61810-1K, in which federal or state law specifically requires to be conducted in privacy. Could I have a second, please? Second. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Aye. All opposed? Motion carries.