City Commission - Regular Meeting

[music] Everyone, welcome. Uh, it's always great great to see a big crowd here, usually, as I like to say. Um, I'll go ahead and call this meeting to order on November 25th, 2025, and ask our city clerk to please call roll. Commissioner Henderson, present. Commissioner Smith, here. Commissioner Thomas, present. Commissioner Wilson, present. Mayor Bray, present. Um we will ask uh Commissioner Henderson to do the invocation and after that we'll remain standing for the pledge of allegiance.

God of heaven, we are again grateful for this time that you've given us to get into your presence. We thank you Lord God because you are indeed an awesome God and a wonderful God and you deserve our honor and our glory. We thank you for the privilege that you've given us to serve this community and we pray as as we always do that we will make decisions that will be good for the masses and not just for a few. Father, we pray for the city workers and we pray for all who are here uh even now. It's in Jesus name that we pray and we thank you now for everything. Amen.

Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

City manager, are there any additions or deletions to the agenda? Mayor, none this evening. Okay, the first thing on the agenda is our civic beautifification annual business awards. And there's a group of ladies with the the beautifification board that do a great job. So, we're glad to have you and anxious to hear what you about all the awards.

Thank you, Mayor B. Commissioners. We are happy to present the I probably need to get this closer. The 2025 business awards from the Civic Beautifification Board. And what we try to do each year is spotlight several businesses throughout our um city limits that have done improvements to an existing building or maybe a new building or just um have spruced up the outside, added some landscape, painted, done some things just to make it more attractive around the city. And we truly appreciate all you guys do to try to make Paduka more beautiful place to live and to help attract tourism and um and just um clientele to your stores. So I'll call your name out. when I call your name out, if you would come up front and we're going to take a a quick snapshot with Kay as she gives you your award. Thanks for coming tonight. And you are you can leave after the awards ceremony. You don't Unless you want to stay. You can stay. [laughter]

Don't insult us by leaving. Can we leave too? No. [laughter] No. She's right. You I know it's a busy week for some of you. Okay. The first award goes to Office Pride Commercial Cleaning and the owners are Nick Moms and and his team Morris. Morris, I'm sorry. Right.

Oh, yeah. You are. You are. Okay. Somebody's got to shake his hand. Sorry about that. Congratulations. [applause] Next we have Pipers Tea and Coffee. And that's Peter Barnett and his wife Amber with the owners of Pipers. Are you here tonight? Nope. Not here. Okay. And who isn't happy to that we have the Be Happy PE pie club? Not Pie [laughter] Company. Um Judy Payne owns that. [applause]

[clears throat] And next we have View Magazine. It's at 257 Broadway Street. Maggie Arman and her son are here to accept the award. Oh, we've got two boys. [applause] You're welcome. [laughter] And next we have Hernandez Painting. It is at 1643 Broadway Street. Aidra Hernandez is here to accept the award. [applause]

[applause]

And next we have the Goodwill Opportunity Center. It's located at 1601 Broadway Street. Margie Silva, Caitlyn Wilson, Stuart Thompson, and Chad Spencer here to accept the award. [applause] I'll let you guys all gather in. [laughter]

Okay, [laughter] one more. One more. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Next, we have the Golden Carrot Natural Foods Store. If you've noticed the beautiful mural on the side of their building, it's gorgeous. Um, it's located at 433 Jefferson Street. We have Michelle and Jeff's speech here to accept the award. Michelle. [applause] [laughter] And next we have the West Kentucky Technical College campus at 4810 Alban Barkley Drive. And Dr. Ree is here to accept that award. [applause] [laughter] He didn't leave.

Where's the police? Where's the police? [laughter] Get that man back in here. Did he really leave? [laughter] He really did. [laughter] Next we have the Hotel Metropolitan of Paduca at 724 Oscar Cross Avenue. And Miss Betty Dobson is here to accept that award. [applause] Or maybe she didn't make it. [applause]

And next we have the chicken sa salad chick at 2670 New Hope Road. Laura White and Katie Ingler are here. [applause] Next we have Innovations Branding House 609 Jefferson Street. The owners are Todd and Laura Duff and they could not make it tonight. They're traveling. [clears throat] And next we have Advanced Internal Medicine 2005 Broadway. Dr. Ryan Fazine and Carla Fazine. They've done a great job, renovating a older building. [applause]

Thank you. Um, and next on we have West Park Village. Um, Billy Brooks and Jan Parton are the owners. I'm not sure if they were going to be here tonight or not, but they have done a great job updating their shopping center. Uh, JT Sports Bar and Grill at 528 North 32nd Street. Um, Justin Simmons is here to accept the award. [applause] [applause]

And next we have Primex Composite Home Systems. It's located at 444 North 8th Street. And I'm not sure that they are here. We tried to contact them. And Solless Salon at 2614 Bridge Street, sweet 104. [applause]

And that concludes our awards for 2025. And thank you all so much for coming tonight. [applause] Stacy, thank you for all the work uh that you put into this and thank all the businesses for uh caring caring about the exteriors of their of their um of their businesses and it's great to have everybody here tonight. Yeah. I want to thank Jill and Kay. They really put a lot of work into it this year. I've been a little absent this year. [laughter] Well, let's give credit where credit is due, right? Nobody can quite make the exit like Dr. Ree can, can they? I texted him and told him he got the wrong award. He needed to bring it back. [laughter]

That's That was good. We'll see if he does. [laughter]

Okay, we got uh before we move to the regular agenda, we have a couple of people who want to make public comments. And the first person is Parker. Parker Jacob. And um Parker's been here before, so I think he knows the rules of engagement. Welcome, Parker. Thank you. It's good to see you [clears throat] guys again. And God, the room's still packed. Okay. So So I'm here today because as most of you here, we care deeply about the future of Paduka. Um I care about what this city is becoming and I care about whether the people who live here today will be able to thrive in the Paduka of tomorrow. So, sorry. So, to start off with, we all want growth. Um, we all want to see revitalization. Uh, we want to see new projects, new energy. Um, the southside revitalization plan that you guys are going to be talking about, um, today, the the riverfront plaza, um, and many other initiatives underway that the mayor has even talked about. Um, they show that Paduka has a vision. Um, and that that's something to be proud of. Uh, we should all be proud of ourselves for that. Um but vision without attention to the basics can leave people behind. Right now our infrastructure is already showing signs of strain. Um we have road paint so faded that um turn lanes disappear in in the rain. Uh we have sidewalks cracking um and stopping suddenly with no safe space to to go. We have crosswalks that feel like suggestions instead of protections. Uh these problems are not abstract. Um they affect everyday people trying to move safely throughout our own community. Yeah. So if this is where we are now, imagine where where we will be [clears throat] as our population grows. As more families move here, as more visitors explore our city, growth doesn't just bring opportunity. It

brings pressure. If we don't strengthen our foundation, that pressure will fall squarely on the people who can least absorb it. I'm not here to dissuade growth by any means. I believe in Paduka's potential. I want our community to flourish, but flourishing requires more than just new projects. It requires safe [clears throat] streets, connected sidewalks, front functional crosswalks, and bike lanes that don't put people at risk for simply trying to get where they're going. I may be preaching to the choir, and the city may already be working towards solutions. Um, this commission may already have plans for fixing this these issues that I've been bringing up. Um, but I hope to emphasize how essential these basics are. Investing in infrastructure isn't just about concrete and paint. It's about dignity. It's about safety. It's about making sure that when Paduka grows, everyone grows within it. So, I'm asking passionately, very nicely, um, for us to prioritize the fundamentals. Let's build the kind of city where growth isn't just something we fear, but it's something we are fully prepared to welcome. And that's all I have to say. So, thank you. Thank [applause] you very much. Thank you very much for making those comments. Uh, and that those comments will not do not and will not go on deaf ears. So, appreciate your perspective very much. Um, and our second speaker is Kimberly Yates.

Yes. And this is my first time speaking before the commission. So I understand I have two minutes. Three. Three. Okay, that's better. But I have written it out what I'm going to say. So I stick to the agenda because otherwise I'll I'll talk for 30 minutes. Okay.

So and first I want to thank you all for having me and I thank Commissioner Thomas for his support in this. Um my name is Kimberly Yates. I have over 15 years experience related to animal welfare. Um, I also am a commissioner on the Paduka Human Rights Commission and I'm executive director of Hands of Hope where we have one sector that's related to animal rescue. I'm here to present why Paduka urgently needs a breeding ordinance and why passing it will immediately benefit animal control, the Humane Society, and the city of Paduca. Right now, Kentucky has no statewide breeding regulations. That means anyone can breed dogs or cats with zero oversight, zero licensing, and zero accountability. Because of this, irresponsible backyard breeding is flooding our shelters and overwhelming our animal control and humane society and rescues. In many cases, unregulated litters become the city's financial responsibility through intake, feeding, medical care, or in other aspects. Paduka taxpayers are currently footing the bill for the consequences of unregulated breeding while the breeders generating the problem pay nothing. Not a license fee, no taxes, no veterinary requirements. Art's law changes that. My proposal requires a breeding license, one litter per year per household, veterinary approval, vaccinations, and microchipping. It requires spayneuter of all puppies, kittens at the appropriate age as determined by a veterinarian before being sold. Enforcement penalties proposed include fines, surrender, charges for illegal breeding. Um, these simple common sense guidelines will produce three immediate benefits. Relief for animal control, the humane society and animal rescue organizations. With fewer unregulated litters, shelter overcrowding goes down. animal control officers spend less time responding to stray dog cats and neglect cases. This

means more bandwidth and resources for genuine emergencies. It also will help with increase public safety. Reducing stray animals lowers bite incidents, disease risk, and neighborhood nuisances. This improves safety for residents and lowers liability for the city. This also generates new revenue for the city of Paduca. This ordinance finally shifts the financial burden away from taxpayers by generating breeding license revenue, local business license revenue, sales tax revenue from regulated breeders and fines from illegal breeding operations. Right now, Paduka Paduka receives zero of that potential income. This ordinance is not anti-breeder. It is pro community, pro-safety, and pro- revenue. It ensures that only responsible licensed breeders operate in Paduka while reducing animal suffering and relieving pressure on our shelter system. Paduka has an opportunity to lead the state by putting a smart, humane, financially responsible system in place. Passing this ordinance protects animals, taxpayers, and strengthens public safety. Animal control as we now they're overworked and under under overworked and underpaid. And they're very good by the way. They do a lot. Shelters and rescues are overcrowded. Personally speaking, I along with my nonprofit have spent upwards of $60,000 this year going toward animal rescue. It's way overdue for a call to action. And that's all I have? Not really. [laughter]

That's all you get? That's all I get. But thank thank you very much. And I'll just I I'll make really brief comments. Couple of weeks ago, we introduced an ordinance that was designed to um I guess stop um these uh puppy breeders, you know, unregulated. And we've gotten a ton of backlash from that. And so I think that the commission at this point, you know, is going to just take a little time and really think about what our best next steps are. Um fair.

Definitely. We uh I mean all of us are supportive of our animals out there and a lot of the things that you say are um you know absolutely true but when you get into passing ordinances and you know you pass an ordinance that you helps this person and there's another person that's on the opposite side. So I think we have to reflect uh and make and try to make the best decision we can. Thank you for your time.

Thank you for being here. Okay, we'll move to the consent agenda. Items on the consent agenda are considered to be uh considered to be routine by the board of commissioners and will be enacted with one motion and one vote. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a board member so requests in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately. The city clerk will read the items recommended for approval unless any commissioner would like an item removed for separate discussion. If not, I'd ask you to read the items.

Approve minutes for the November 4th, 2025 special call meeting of the board of commissioners. Receive and file documents. Joint appointment of Jessica Houseman to the joint 911 parcel fee appeals board to replace Jules Jones who has resigned. This term shall expire November 27th, 2026. Appointment of Valerie Pard, Bob Wade, Brian Wyatt, Juel Jones, and Douglas Mccclure to the Urban Renewal and Community Development Agency, URCDA. These terms shall expire October 8th, 2029, October 8th, 2026, October 8th, 2028, and October 8th, 2027, respectively. Appointment of Mark McGregor to the board of adjustment to replace Verna Boyin, whose term has expired. This term shall expire August 31st, 2029. Personnel Actions, a municipal order adopting contract modification number four to the construction contract with A&K Construction for a purchase credit in the amount of 1,341,2428 for items removed from the contract. Municipal order authorizing the facility maintenance division of the public works department to advertise for sealed bids for the window tint and film for city hall windows.

So move second. Caro. Commissioner Henderson. Yes. Commissioner Smith, I. [clears throat] Commissioner Thomas, I. Commissioner Wilson, I. Mayor Bray, I. Okay, that's approved. So, let's move to municipal orders. Um, and we have three of them tonight. And I'll ask the city clerk to read the first one. A proposed motion that the board of commissioners adopt a municipal order entitled a municipal order approving a funding agreement with the Paduka cooperative ministry in an amount not to exceed $200,000 for an emergency shelter and authorizing the mayor to execute all documents related to same. So move second manager.

Yeah. Mayor and commission uh per the request of the commission at our last meeting staff has drafted this municipal order for your consideration uh tonight. This municipal order um outlines that a uh a uh payment in the amount not to exceed $200,000 uh would be um provided to uh pro pad Paduka. I'm not the only one that can't speak tonight. [clears throat] Check my dentures there. uh the Paduka Cooperative Ministry uh the first 100,000 of that [clears throat] would be uh delivered no later than April 1st of 2026 and similar [clears throat] to what the county approved uh the final 100,000 would be at the conclusion and making sure that u uh of the construction and and the um benchmarks are all met. Uh you will recall that uh previously uh the uh the body had incorporated a [clears throat] housing small housing grant um and previously Paduca Cooperative Ministries were a recipient of 50,000 of that. This is over and above that and so it is uh 200,000 in new dollars going to and I'll answer any questions that you might have.

The 50,000 was really for operations for that. Right. It was it was several things but operations was one of one of the items. It was different than the construction. It it helped facilitate with their existing programming. I think we've all talked about it, heard about it and the need.

Yeah. I just want to say um you know I think this is something we've been stewing over for a while. That's that would be my terminology. But uh but I do think um I do appreciate the county and the three commissioners who stepped out, you know, to uh call this out, you know, for the county. And there's a lot of lot of things that the city and county, I think, you know, could be cooperating on. And this is a really good example. And I appreciate uh the leadership that was shown over there. And I think this is a good example of, you know, one example of where the city and county can work together uh to help accomplish a goal. And and I know Lacy and her team have been working really hard out there in the community. Uh she seems uh Lacy's everywhere. It seems like I don't go anywhere and I don't see her. Get away from me, Lacy. Get away. But um so

well, and they're here tonight. I think you know, we said that they didn't have to speak. They've already presented to us. So I appreciate you all being here. tonight, Lacy, and the and the board of PCM. So, thank you all for being here. Yeah, we do appreciate you being here and appreciate all the great hard work you're doing in the community. Uh, you know, you're really, as we like to say, plowing new ground because nobody else is doing it. So, um, specifically as it relates to that shelter. So, um I'd ask um besides Washington Street, this church, I I said specifically as it relates to the [laughter]

and and please don't let Commissioner Smith drag me into whatever he's got going on over here. He He is really good at doing that. He is really good at doing that. Okay. Uh I would ask the uh city clerk to call RO. Commissioner Henderson. I. Commissioner Smith. I. Commissioner Thomas. Hi. Commissioner Wilson. Hi. Mayor Bray. I All right. CONGRATULATIONS. [applause]

NOW, we'll see how long you guys stick around. [laughter] Um, so we have two ordinances related to the urban renewal, the work that we're doing in the southside. And I'll ask the city clerk to read the first one. And as you need to let Carol G out, I think that's a good [laughter] opportunity for you to exit if you need to. And do not be embarrassed, [laughter] but there will never be another grant. [laughter]

Thank you. A proposed motion that the board of commissioners adopt a municipal order entitled a municipal order authorizing the transfer of certain properties from the city of Paduca to the urban renewal and community development agency URCDA and authorizing the mayor to execute all documents related to same move. Second, Miss Gold.

Okay. Um this is just another step uh towards the southside revitalization program. um as you all appointed new URCDA members. We've had URCDA in our community since the early 1960s. [snorts] Um but when we really didn't have an active revitalization area, it was um working in conjunction with the planning commission and they would meet and then adjourn. And not all of them served uh dual roles, but some did. And so now we've completely separated it from the planning commission. We've repopulated it and now we're giving them back properties. And that's what you're seeing is are are the deeds. There's 29 properties that are in the project area that has been in the city's name that we've been acquiring through over the last year, year and a half or so. And those are going to be transferred to URCDA because they'll be reviewing the proposals, looking at the criteria just as we've done in Lowertown and and in Fountain Avenue previously. And then there are four properties that um were being held by URCDA that are no longer in project areas that are actually coming back to you. And most of those one of them has like a deed restriction that can't be sold, things like that. But um you should have them outlined the deeds that list the property separately.

So Carol, I'm not sure everybody understands. I mean, it's taken me a while to kind of just ramp up, you know, but um URCDA was that board was populated and working in both the lower town project and with the Midtown uh in Fountain Avenue. In Fountain Avenue.

Yes. As a matter of fact, um Valerie Pard, who was just appointed tonight, has served previously as chair of that board. She has some experience. Um Bob Wade is very familiar with it, too. has has served and so they both um have their arms around it extremely well. We have three new members. Um they'll all be trained again right after the first of the year. Uh a lot of their functions come out of KRS99. It's it's very strictly based on a revitalization effort. And um of course uh Mr. Denton is here tonight who will be serving as counsel [clears throat] for um them as well. So if you have any questions whatsoever, don't hesitate. So that board merged, so to speak, into planning and zoning once the Fountain Avenue project kind of began to Wayne or we we accomplished our goals.

Once we accomplished our goals, they just never wanted to get rid of URCDA because it has a purpose as you can see. It can hold title to property. It has lots of lots of but it really needs an active revitalization effort going on behind it. So it was merged into planning commission. Um, one would meet like at 5, the other would meet like at 5:30. And not all members serve dual roles as I mentioned. But yes, while you're up here, why don't you go on and explain the transfer of properties from the next uh municipal order we're going to we're going to vote on, which is a transfer to back to the city.

Back to the city. There are four properties that are really outside the revitalization area. And so, we're just transferring them back to the city. They they were left over. one of them. Um, and I couldn't really tell you why it ended up in URCDA. It has a deed restriction on it. It's not to not to ever be sold. I think they probably were at that time were just using URCDA's holding entity. Um, and so it it was in URCDA's name, but it really doesn't pertain to the revitalization efforts at all. So, we're transferring those back to the city so that we can make good decisions about them internally.

Okay. Good. And I'll just make this final statement and that is, you know, Carol and her team have been working really hard for the, you know, really the last year, you know, to get to get all this up and going. I mean, we're we've got the Southside incentives, you know, ready to go. and and so this URCDA board, you know, is really going to be the oversight board that's going to be making some very important decisions for phase one of the Southside revitalization pro project. So, we took u we took some time and a lot of care to pick those board members carefully. Uh but they're going to be doing what I call yman's work uh as we get into this project. So, so a lot of progress here tonight with uh the steps that we're taking.

There is a lot of progress and this board has a lot of responsibility and um you'll you'll notice members from CFSB are here tonight and of course they're they're here to talk about the incentives and and that side. They want to be supportive of that, but they also understand that [clears throat] URCDA will function as a bank board in a lot of ways. They'll be reviewing um whether the feasibility is there financially for people to do it. they want to put them in a position where we have win-wins on behalf of the city, on behalf of people getting homes and and and really revitalizing that neighborhood. So, it it's a it's a big deal from our perspective.

I just want to say one more thing. We got a nasty email this week from somebody, you know, who clearly didn't understand, you know, everything that was going on with this. Uh but everything [snorts] that we do as it relates to the Southside URCDA, we're going to be transparent. meetings are going to be open. People will be able to come, you know, express their opinion, you know, and we will have tough decisions to make as we go forward, you know, but we're going to do it, you know, open and with transparency, and I think that's very important. Absolutely. So, I don't think I got that. Got what? That email. No, I wasn't about to forward it to you. Oh, okay. [laughter] Okay. No, actually, did you get it?

Yeah, I responded to Yeah, let it came through customer service. Customer service. Okay, thank you. So, okay. Um, call roll. Commissioner Henderson, I. Commissioner Smith, I. Commissioner Thomas, I. Commissioner Wilson, I. Mayor Bray, I. And then I ask the city clerk to read the final municipal order. A proposed motion that the board of commissioners adopt a municipal order entitled a municipal order authorizing the transfer of certain properties from the urban renewal and community development agency URCDA to the city of Paduka and authorizing the mayor to execute all documents related to same. So moved. Second.

Uh any questions about this? Carol's already explained it. We good? Okay. Call roll, please. Commissioner Henderson. Hi. Commissioner Smith. I. Commissioner Thomas. Hi. Commissioner Wilson. Hi. Mayor Bray I. So, we have one ordinance to adopt tonight. Uh, and I'll ask the city clerk to please read it.

A proposed motion that the board of commissioners adopt an ordinance entitled an ordinance amending the code of ordinances of the city of Paduka, Kentucky to enact payments for board members. This ordinance is summarized as follows. This ordinance amends the city of Aduga code of ordinances to step to establish consistent compensation for voting members of various city boards, commissions, councils, and advisory bodies at a rate of $100 per meetings for chairpersons and $70 $75 per meeting for members. Payments authorized by this ordinance will begin January 1, 2026. So moved. Second call roll. Oh, sorry. We probably should talk about this one. [clears throat] Um, are there any questions or thoughts about uh board member payments? We've discussed it.

We I think at length we've discussed quarterly that there be paid how how it begins January 1st but it goes quarterly. Most boards will be paid quarterly. Um that is just um that's very similar to what we currently do for the planning commission and it just makes it a little bit simpler. So, um, even if they meet monthly, most payments would be done quarterly. And we and we're consistent with other cities that are that are paying their boards. Mhm. We are.

I know, mayor, you and I have gotten maybe just a couple from people that felt like it wasn't necessary and that people in the community should look at it as public service. And while I agree with that, I just think things have changed over the years. I know you go through and take that you you make those appointments. you take it very seriously and spend a lot of time on it and you felt like that this would help with finding quality people to serve on these boards and you've explained that to several. I I think it might be good if you explain that now.

Yeah. So, yeah, I did I did have some feedback from people who said I just I don't understand why you're paying board members. I mean, I've served, you know, on six boards of the city and I never got paid anything and I always did it, you know, because I wanted to help our city and um and so I I understand that perspective. I mean, that's uh you know, that's fair and there are people and and one of the options is that board members do not have to be paid. So, you you don't have to accept the payment. So, there is that option when you get started. But when you look at it, first of all, a couple of things. Uh I just wanted to research this. Uh the fiscal court, uh McCracken County, they pay their board of elections, their planning commissioners, board of adjustment, board of appeals, [clears throat] and their code enforcement board. They all get paid. So you've got that sort of inequity sitting out there, you know, to some degree. Second of all, you know, we appoint I appoint you all approve my appointments to all 30 boards and and so already we are [clears throat] I mean this ordinance is going to affect about 125 people somewhere in that neighborhood. But already we're paying JSA that I appoint to as well as uh Paduka Power System which I appoint to all get paid. So you know we're just trying to trying to equalize things, make sure there's equity out there and at the same time let board members or potential board members know, you know, your time is of value. your time. You come, you know, once a quarter, once a month, you spend a couple of hours. You know, your your thought process to help this city is important to us and your experience is

important to us. And so, it's, you know, it's in the whole scheme of things, it's to an individual, it's not a lot of money. Um, but it does say to them your your time and exper experience is important. So that's where I come out on the issue. So if there are no other discussion, I would ask the city clerk to uh call roll. Commissioner Henderson, I. Commissioner Smith, I. Commissioner Thomas, I. Commissioner Wilson, I. Mayor Bray, I.

We have three ordinances to introduce. And the first one has to do with golf carts. And I'll let our city clerk read it and then I'll make a few comments. A proposed motion. The board of commissioners introduce an ordinance entitled an ordinance creating a new article of chapter 110 traffic and vehicles of the code of ordinances of the city of Paduka, Kentucky related to golf carts. This ordinance is summarized as follows. This ordinance allows golf carts to operate on city of Paduca streets with posted speed limits of 25 miles per hour or less. Golf carts must be inspected by the McCracken County Sheriff's Office, permitted by the Paduka Police Department, ensured and operated only between sunrise and sunset. Operators must hold a valid driver's license, display a slowmoving vehicle emblem, and follow all traffic laws. Golf carts may cross roadways where the speed limit is 35 mph or less, but cannot be driven along those roadways. A $25 permit is required, valid until the golf cart changes ownership. The police department may deny, [clears throat] suspend, or revoke permits for safety or compliance violations with appeals right through the city manager. Exemptions are provided for city-owned golf carts, riverboat, tourism shuttle at the riverfront, and and carts used within permitted special events. Violations are misdemeanor punishable by fines of $20 to $500 and/or imprisonment for a period not to exceed 30 days.

So move second. Mr. Wilson, you want to kick it off? [laughter] Uh,

well, I have received some feedback about this, but I do feel like there's probably a need for us to take some time and study [clears throat] it more than we have just this this p period of time. I know we did reduce the speed limit from 35 to 25. I've [clears throat] had some questions about after sunset that that some of the reasons why people wanted to be in a golf cart was to not be driving on a street maybe and if they are required to have lights anyway and their golf cart is lit or with brake lights and all of that, why can't they drive past dark? If they're at a friend's house and they wanted to go back to their home, I do think that we will get other we would get other feedback. I've had some about just being in neighborhoods instead of just open all the way across the town, across the city. So, I would like to propose that we not rush into this and take some time. We're going into winter. I think people would probably be using these more in the spring, summer, fall than uh in while it's cold outside. So, I would just like for us to take some time to study it. Yeah, I I I tend to agree because I too have had calls, people have stopped me on the streets and I got an email this week, I think, expressing some of those same concerns. So, I think it'd only be wise for us to look at it some more. Yeah, I think um I mean, make no mistake. I mean, I think the reason we're looking at it is because their golf carts probably work in certain situations, in certain neighborhoods, and there are people who desire them out there, and it makes sense.

Um I I don't think we found exactly the right uh ordinance, you know, with the speed limits. And so I agree, you know, that we should that we should take a look. Um I know that Lindsay's done quite a bit of research. So I want to make sure that we all appreciate all the effort that she's put into this because she's talked to a lot of people and done a lot of a lot of research. But Lindsay, maybe you could talk about some of the, you know, some of what some other cities are doing, some options, some things we could think about and look at. Mhm. So, um, as it's currently written right now, it's a reintroduction at 25 mph. Um, that allows for a golf cart to drive along a road that would be 25 mph or less. Um, and it allows them to cross a road that would be anything that was 35 mph. So, kind of to give you an idea of what that looks like before we get into all the different options that are available, um I just want to pull up um a map here that our GIS put together. So, this is kind of the map that shows you the green roads would be anything 25 miles hour. The blue is going to be something that you could cross but not drive along. So, you're looking at roads that kind of um are are faster um you know, more more traffic. Um really the green is going to keep you mostly in the neighborhoods, but you could drive across these 35 m hour roads. Um and as you can see, it kind of is the majority of the city and it's very spread out as to um where you're looking at. So, that's kind of an overview. If you all want to dig in anymore, you can let me know. Um, that's that kind of gives you an idea of what you're looking at. Now, the sunrise to sunset.

Let me ask you on that. Yeah. On pulling that, what about Broadway, Jefferson, and Kentucky? Those were streets specifically mentioned to me. Yep.

So, Jefferson, if you take away the 35 mph, if you lower it to 25, Jefferson gets taken away. Jefferson would not be a street on which you could drive a golf cart. It would be a street that you could cross to get to another road, but you could not drive along it. Um, Broadway is the same way until you get up here to like Grace Episcopal Church. That's where it goes down um to a lower speed limit. So, in this area, moving on down toward the riverfront, you'd be able to drive a golf cart. Of course, Kentucky Avenue is is going to be out entirely. Monroe is very similar to Broadway in that once you get, you know, kind of past this North Ninth Street, that's going to be not an area where you could drive. So on Madison, you could drive that. You could take Madison all the way downtown.

Correct. Correct. You could take Madison all the way downtown. It's unrelated. I just wonder why Monroe would have a 35 mile hour limit versus 25. Seems like we might need to look at that. That's not related to this, but it seems kind of odd because that's a neighborhood. But the the complaint, most of the complaints that I've heard have really been based on uh minors using them as toys, I guess, and parents not uh supervising them. So, I think that's something we But I think we have it written in there that that's anyone you would have to have a valid driver's license to be able to

And you do anyway, right? Exactly. That is a state driving. They're illegal now. They're illegal now. I know. Exactly. the the the issue is just enforcement. But even on a golf course, you have to be 16, correct? To drive them.

Correct. You have to be 16 years old in order to drive with a valid driver's license. That is that is the requirement. Um and I will say that when we've talked to Bowling Green, who has um we've talked to their um police chief, we've talked to several people in their police department about enforcement specifically in Bowling Green. They allow for any roads in the city that are 35 mph or less is how their ordinance is written. And they said that they haven't seen a lot of issues other than um minors. That is their biggest enforcement issue that they have. But outside of that, they haven't had a lot of other issues that they've had since they passed that several years ago.

So a question if someone's minor is out gets pulled over and the ticket goes to the parent. Correct. Okay. I mean, I want to go on record as saying I think there is an ordinance here that we can that that's good for the city. I just don't think we've quite figured out what that is, you know, and and of course, I mean, one of the things you want to talk about a neighborhood option.

Yes. So, um, this is something we talked about a few months ago, like we kind of compared what other cities do, so I wanted to kind of bring this back. Um, so Frankfurt is one of the cities that they allow golf carts, but they designate specific roads. So they have gone in and said, "We specifically want to allow this in this area of our city, but nowhere else." And so they in their ordinance define specific streets where they want to allow golf. So that's an option that would be available. If you want to start with a specific area um and then look at expanding in the future, you could choose a specific area to allow golf carts. It's just kind of difficult to make

I think everyone happy with with what you choose.

Um the other option that we've seen um is um allowing for an application process to add new roads to the um to the ordinance. So they started with um just a few roads that they designated and then anything on top of that. If there is an individual in their city that wants to have their area dedicated, they would have to list out the streets that they would want to be allowed on. And then they would have to get a certain percentage of their neighbors, I believe it's 50% to sign off saying they also want um it on those roads to be allowed golf carts on those roads. So, those are the kind of the two that does require a lot of administration of the applications. It's an internal review and then it comes back to their city commission for approval each time.

I tell you what I'd like to propose or what I'd like to think about is is appointing um you know, maybe a committee um with some citizens, you know, who are interested in this, maybe one of our commissioners uh to meet and talk about it. And um I mean I would have to find a group of citizens who would really want to serve on it and maybe work through and come back with a solution that we might uh we might talk about and they could they could kind of vet that solution to all of us before they come back and propose it. But that way we're we're listening to people and we get some community input. Uh so uh that's what I would that's kind of my knee-jerk uh to sort of next steps and I do agree that you know there won't be many people driving golf carts in the middle of the winter some but

so would this committee have the authority to re well I guess they can recommend but the authority to say we we don't even want to go you want to be chairman no sir no sir [laughter] no sir Will this committee be paid? Thanks for muddying up the water. [laughter] It would not be a formal board. It would all be an ad. Don't don't ad hoc. [laughter]

I mean, there are some neighborhoods that had joined golf courses that I and you know, I see that they want to keep their golf cart at their house and drive it back and forth and it's on city streets. I understand that. And you know, if you're downtown close and you have a golf cart, I guess you still park it in in the parking lot just like you would your car, correct? I mean, I I haven't seen a lot of them downtown, but you can't park them on the sidewalk or anything. I don't think people generally drive them and park them for very long. They're they're pretty much on them all the time. You know, they might go in a store or something, but

yeah. No, you're you're correct. You would not be able to drive it on a sidewalk anywhere in the city and you would not be able to park it on a sidewalk. And what about the question that came to me about why are we limiting it to sunset which now would be 5:00 around in there when they're they aren't they required to have brake lights? They are they're required to have lights. Um that is something actually the state KRS used to specifically state that you could only have them from sunrise to sunset. So that has been repealed out of the state KRS. So we could authorize them for later if we so choose. It's just a safety. Okay. So this committee could take that up as well,

you know, and talk about it. So is the commission open to if if it wasn't a committee, some kind of um feedback request from the general public, survey, that type of thing.

I would think that'd be good. Well, yes, I would be open to that, but I really think somebody digging and talking to people and working through that with somebody I think I think we could do both. Um, but we can discuss. We can discuss. We don't have to make that decision today. But I think and we need more study and um and so the this commission will do that. We'll take that. And I appreciate all the work that Lindsay, you and everybody else has put into it. And I think there's something out there that that we can do. I agree. Thank you. Okay. All right. Great.

All right. We'll move on to the second ordinance that we are introducing tonight. And I'll ask the city clerk to please read it.

A proposed motion. The board of commissioners introduced an ordinance entitled an ordinance creating a new article of chapter 106 taxation of the code of ordinances of the city of Paduka Kentucky related to abandoned urban properties. This ordinance is summarized as follows. This ordinance would create a new tax category for properties classified as abandoned urban property under Kentucky law. This tool authorized by KRS92.305 and KRS132.012 012 is intended to address long-term vacant and neglected properties to create safety that create safety hazards and negatively affect neighborhoods. An abandoned urban property means any vacant structure or vacant or unimproved lot or parcel of ground in a predominantly developed urban area which has been vacant or unimproved for a period at least one year and which because of its dilapidated unsanitary unsafe vermin infest dangerous to safety of persons. that is unfit for its intended use, by reason of neglect or lack of maintenance, has become a place for accumulation of trash or debris, or has become infested with rodents or other vermin, has been tax delinquent for a period of at least 3 years, has had methamphetamine contamination notice posted as provided by KRS224.1-410 for a period of at least 90 days, and the owner has neither appealed the notice nor provided a certificate of decontamination during the 90 days or is located within a development area established under KRS65.70. 049.7051 and.7053. This ordinance would apply a tax rate of $1.50 for $100 of assessed value to qualifying properties. Further, the fire prevention division shall adopt a policy for compiling the list of abandoned urban property. The code enforcement board shall be responsible for reviewing fire prevention's recommended list each year and determining which properties legally meet the definition of abandoned urban property. The code enforcement board will also hear and decide all owner appeals and its certified list shall become the official list used for applying the abandoned urban property tax.

So move second. Um our city clerk has um a presentation she's going to walk us through and then we'll have a discussion.

So we are here tonight to discuss the abandoned urban property tax. Um this is an important tool that the state legislature has given to cities to be able to use. Um kind of the the purpose of this is to um discourage people from holding on to properties that create safety hazards um and depressed neighborhoods. So um this is not something that Paduka is inventing. This is something that many cities use as a tool. Um and the mayor and city manager had asked that we do some additional research on it and then um bring this back for the city commission's consideration. Um so the the why this ordinance the city taxpayer incurs a high cost for the enforcement and cleanup and demolition of these properties that become um blighted in our city. Um, and we are authorized through KRS to um create a tax that is at a higher rate than our standard real property tax um to incentivize people to either take care of these properties, sell, reinvest in them. So, what is an abandoned urban property? You heard me read the entire KRS definition there. Uh, but what it means is that it has been vacant for one year. That is the baseline. So, a property has to be vacant for one year and meet at least one more criteria. And those criteria are either it's unsafe, unfit, infested, unsanitary, it's accumulated uh trash, it's at least three years property tax delinquent, um it has it's contaminated, um or exists within a development area that's established under KRS65. And that basically means a tiff district. Um, so this would apply to residential properties, commercial properties, and vacant lots as well. So it applies to all of those.

So what this ordinance does and what it does not do. So it creates a new uh property tax classification and applies a dollar.50 per $100 of assessed value to these properties that are categorized as abandoned urban properties. So for reference, our current property tax rate is 0.271. So you're looking at over a five times increase on that. Um it establishes an annual list of of properties that fall under this definition. It creates a notice requirement to those property owners and it gives them an appeals process. What it does not do, it does not grant uh authority to enter or inspect the property without a warrant. So, um, it does not give us that right. It does not require property owners to make repairs. It does not trigger automatic foreclosure on the property or property seizure. This is truly just a tax classification. It's not a code enforcement action and it's not a condemnation tool. So, how will we compile the list? So, the ordinance sets out that fire prevention will create a policy um uh specific to how they're going to compile the original list. That policy must prioritize long-term vacant and unimproved properties. It has to a avoid penalizing uh property owners that are making good faith efforts to renovate, lease, or sell. And it has to allow property owners to at least temporarily defer um under certain conditions. So this gives us kind of a balanced approach that targets truly problematic properties, not owners who are trying to actually reinvest in Paduka. So when could a property be deferred? And when I say deferred, I mean we've put it on the list because it's been vacant a year and it has, you know, issues that have come up that it

qualifies as abandoned urban property. So under certain conditions, they could be deferred to another year before they have to pay that tax. So, if they are under active renovation, if they have an active sale or lease effort going on, if they have an approved redevelopment activity, um or if they have temporary legal or financial barriers such as probate, estate settlement, those kind of things, those are reasons why, um we could look at those and say, okay, we're going to defer those to the next year to see if these things get resolved. If they do not, then they could be subject to the property tax. So, I want to talk just a little about a little bit about code enforcement's role. Our code enforcement board um that good news, you just authorized payment, too, because they're going to have a lot of work. Um [laughter] uh under this ordinance, they would take fire prevention's list of properties. They would review that and certify it as the list. So then they would go through and make sure that those apply the state definition, the four deferral categories, and then they would hear any appeals that are um brought in by property owners kind of what this looks like. So our property taxes for this year have already gone out. This doesn't affect anyone this year. This starts kind of in January and it would be for next year's property taxes. So between the adoption of this ordinance and around March, uh we compile that list. By April 1st, that is certified by the code enforcement board. By May, notices go out. June, July, appeals are being heard. Um and then um October is when you would see the new amount show up on the tax bill. And then that repeats each year with new lists. This is just a comparison chart of what other cities charge um as far as their abandoned urban property tax. So you'll see that the

Yeah. question I think earlier slide said a $1.50 per 100 dollar value. Yes. Is that accurate or is it by per $1,000? It's per 100. It's per 100 of [clears throat] assessed value. That's similar to our That's the way the state statute reads on even on our property tax today. I thought a mill rate was really based on $1,000. No, it's 100. Okay. Perund valuation. So if you have a $200,000 piece of property, then you divide that by 100 and multiply times 1.5 which would be how much? Then math more than that, don't think,500,000.

No. So 200,000 divided by the 100. So you get to 200 times the 1.5. Okay. Three $300. All right.

So kind of looking at comparable cities, cities around our size that use this tool, most of them um do fall in that $1.50 range. That is the maximum allowable um under under state statute. Um, so but just because other cities do it that way, I wanted to go over, you know, why did we recommend a$150? Um, well, the amount has to be high enough to change behavior. Um, that is the maximum rate that the ag that that the if the rate is too low, it's not going to encourage anyone to do anything differently. So we um also thought that the legislature intended for that because it is the maximum rate they allowed. The cost um of blight far exceeds the cost of the tax. So when you talk about these vacant and deteriorated properties, they have additional police and fire runs. They have code enforcement activity. Um they have boardup costs, cleanup, demolition. All of that comes back to the taxpayer. Um, many of these qualifying properties actually have a low assessed value. So that higher rate of a$150 will help actually be um a penalty that hopefully makes them want to reinvest or sell the property. Um, and then there is a when I say targeting the worst properties, our hope is that we are truly narrowing this to focus on those properties that are blight that are causing issues that do [clears throat] end up being on um lists that we have um and and bringing down their neighborhoods. And then there is a substantial implementation cost and administrative burden to to doing this. And um so I want to just kind of talk about that very quickly. It's going to cost about $30,000 in staff, technology,

and legal to get this up and running in the first year. Um and it is important to note that we think that we will need additional foreclosure and legal budget in next fiscal year based on um what we're get what we're doing here. So um and revenue expectations um may be looking at getting 10 to 25% of [snorts] what we bill back um and especially in the early years of this. So I know um one of the major questions is how many properties are going to be impacted. We are in the process uh very early stages of compiling a list um but that final number is going to change based on staff review, certification, appeals, all of that. Um, but for reference, Covington did provide some good input and they said they have about 190 properties on their list out of roughly 17,000 addresses. We look to probably have something similar is my guess. Um, so how will we define vacancy? It's not used for its intended purpose and it's not lawfully occupied. And how will we prove vacancy? So, um, our final protocol on this will be set in early 2026. if this is adopted by the commission, but it's going to be a um menagery of different things like field inspections, PVA data, prior code cases, real estate records, um utility shut offs, those kind of things. So, the mayor asked that I provide a few examples. I don't have um these I didn't want to, you know, put put specific addresses on display, but these are some some case studies that we've looked at. So, let's imagine that there's a southside home that's in disrepair and has delinquent taxes on it. Um that if a resident is living in that home, this doesn't apply to them because it is not vacant. And that is

the baseline thing that has to be true before you can apply the tax. And it has to be vacant for a year. At least one year. Correct. Um so let's say that there is a property in the development district, our tiff district. Um and it is an unsafe property. So a building that is falling down in our downtown. Um vacant for multiple years, not for sale or in probate, major disrepair, it's unsafe, no ongoing permits, no no um no attempts to improve it. Um, let's say that their assessed value is $260,000. That means their annual tax goes from 77 $74 to 3,900.

This could be a uh this could be a building on Broadway. I mean, this could be could be um and just to be clear, you know, it has to be vacant for at least a year. And one of the other the second qualification is that it's in the tiff district. So buildings downtown and and generally in the tiff district meet the other qualification. Mhm. So um so that's really that's just an example of what the tax goes from 700 to almost 4,000. Correct.

Um Lowertown historic home renovation. So um this there's a property been vacant for multiple years. There's some code enforcement cases that were there from the previous owner. um new owner come in, purchased it for renovation. The work is progressing, but it's a slow progress. Um and currently under renovation with some active permits going. So, this could be deferred to a future year. And if work were to stop and the code cases remain, it you know, we could put this tax in to incentivize either sell the property or renovate it. So, um, and then one other just talk about like a large vacant commercial property. You might be able to think of one, um, that has been vacant for multiple years, um, but doesn't have any active code cases. It's not considered unsafe or infested or contaminated. It's not in a development district. Um, it is actively for sale, but for much more than what it's assessed for. So, it's just kind of sitting there and and the owners aren't doing anything with it. We would not be able to do anything for that property. Um, with this tool, um, so this case kind of just underscores that this tax is not a blanket on all vacant buildings. Um, and it isn't a silver bullet. Um, it it is a targeted tool that focuses only on those properties that are creating chronic issues. So something like this, you would have to look at um other types of reinvestment and and growth and um ways to incentivize people to come in and take over that property.

Lindsay, let me just go back just a little bit. You talked about talked about the particularly the southside homes that are in disrepair. So, this would not even address what we would do or if we could do anything to those homes that were in disrepair, but you have people living in them. Correct. So, this tool specifically is just a tax. Yeah. Just Yeah. And if um you have someone that is living in one of those homes that is in disrepair, this is not a tool that would affect them in any way. Okay.

Uh you would be looking at the southside incentives and different things like that that could impact that. The final one that I had was like a historic property in major disrepair um vacant for multiple years, multiple code violations, uh considered unsafe um but not tax delinquent um and not in our development area. So um it let's assume that the assessed value was $125,000. That would mean that their property tax goes from $338 to $1,875, which could be enough to incentivize something, especially if you're looking at owning that for multiple years and not doing anything with it.

And so, what would stop someone from just listing it for sale for a week and then taking it back off from sale? Would that circumvent what we're trying to put in place or will we look into that? And I think that we take those case by case. I think that we put those on the list if we think that there is not a real genuine effort to sell those and let the code enforcement board hear directly from the appellant of this is why I don't think I should be on there and then defer those for a year and if they continue to try to defer that and defer and defer that then they would need to play the rate.

Yeah, I think uh just a couple of comments. I mean I know the the staff's been working on this again. Thank you for all the hard work. Um, and we've been through several iterations, discussions, and one of the things that came back to me a few weeks ago is like, you know, it's it's going to cost $30,000 a year. It's we're really not going to get a lot out of it. Uh, you know, we're not going to be able to cash flow it. But really, I think the bigger issue for us and for the city, you know, is that, you know, there there is a cost to allowing a building just to sit there and deteriorate. And there are two excellent examples. One being the worst example or best is Katar building, you know, which we all were aware of. And I kind of wonder, you know, had we had this, I mean, who who knows? I don't know what the value I don't know what the value at the time was, but I'd have to believe that it would provide some motivation, you know, for people to be to think about what they were doing. So, it's not really um you know an opportunity for us to generate more revenue as it is a motivational tool to make sure people think before they buy a building and once they bought it, you know, to make sure that they continue to improve it,

you know, or to put it up for sale. And I think it uh I think it just states that the city is really not going to accept uh you know vacant buildings just deteriorating over time. Uh we've sort of you know we proved that that by our actions but this is just furthering that that thought. So

I I agree mayor. I think that uh that there's a huge cost to losing a building whether it's downtown or anywhere else. The cost to the city is much more than 30,000 just one building. So, I think it's well worth the money. And I think it also sends a message that that uh you know, if you're going to buy a building on speculation and just plan on sitting on it for years and years and years without doing anything, you know that maybe you need to think about it. Make sure that you have a plan in place to redevelop it within a period of time. So, we want people to buy buildings downtown and put something in them. Do something with them. Absolutely. Yeah.

Right. That's a good point. Yeah.

Okay. Uh, thanks everybody. I think we're ready to move on to the last uh, ordinance introduction. A proposed motion that the board of commissioners introduce an ordinance entitled an ordinance abolishing ordinance number 2023068782 and establishing and appro and approving simplified southside incentives for homeowners and developers and authorizing the director of planning and urban renewal and community development agency to administer the incentive programs and provide financial assistance to eligible applicants for improvements, repair, remodel, reconstruction of the existing homes and construction of new homes to support the southside revitalization plan. This ordinance is summarized as follows. This ordinance repeals the existing pilot Southside House housing and business incentive grants and their corresponding ordinance and introduces the expanded homeowner and developer incentive grants for new housing redevelopment and construction as part of the Southside renovation plan. So move

second. You've got reinforcements behind you. I do. I do. And [laughter] um I I just am going to kick it off here and we'll dig in in just a minute. We have a couple of slides to talk through, but I I want to make sure that we're clear tonight that this is on homeowners currently there and new construction single family residential. That's what we're focusing on in phase one.

In phase one, correct? In with this incentive. And we've just got two quick slides. I've met with most everyone here and we've talked through it one-on-one. Um, but any other questions, those kind of things? And Palmer's going to handle the first one and he's going to talk about the homeowners um that have been there and that's what started out with the pilot program. And then I'm going to follow up with the developers. Okay.

Thank you for the introduction, Carol. Mayor, commissioners, city manager, city clerk, it's always a pleasure to talk to you. Um, but I'm very excited to talk about one of the first programs coming out of the full Southside revitalization plan. We adopted the plan back in August and this is one of the first really big components that we're moving forward again as Carol said, uh, to address the housing conditions within the area. There it is. So, um, to briefly catch to back up, previously a few years ago, we had the pilot incentive program in our pilot area, the smaller portion of the Walter Jaton neighborhood. Um, and this was a micro grant for general beautifification on the exteriors of homes. And then we also had a larger grant program uh for new construction in major rehab projects. What we're proposing through this ordinance is a larger expansion of these two programs which are now together. So generally this is now a 30% reimbursement of your project costs. This is up to a maximum of $30,000. You can use this for the cost of new construction of a new home or you can also use this for renovations and rehab projects at your on your home as well. So the general expenses that are eligible for this are both interior and exterior. Previously with that micro grant, it was kept to the exterior of homes. Um, and that maximum award was $5,000. So, we're really working to try and expand both of these incentives together. So, the general expenses for rehab would include windows, siding, electrical, HVAC, new roofing, porches, accessibility ramps, um, anything that really, uh, helps the structural stability of the home in of itself or the building of a new one completely as well. Uh generally speaking, uh the things that are not eligible under this program would be general maintenance

such as cleaning, um general debris, uh trash pickup, or appliances and new furniture. That's not covered through this grant here. Uh but again, this is going to work as a reimbursement grant. So essentially an applicant would come forward with their plans whether it's for a new home or the uh estimates for the rehab that they have um planned whether that be their their windows or the roofs or etc. Um they'll provide the estimate for that and we are able to intake that application and then uh calculate how much the reimbursement would be and again that's going to be using uh a 30% of their project cost. So, I have a few examples here. Um, just saying a a minimum investment of $5,000. They have their smaller project there. Um, again, that would be matched with a uh $1,500 award. Uh, going up to $25,000. You can see they would get a $7,500 reward. And then there's that maximum coming out when you spend uh $100,000. That would get you that $30,000 maximum. Of course, if you're building a home, you're going to spend a lot more than $100,000, but that's where that total is going to cap out at. I will also note um you can't uh well, you don't have to apply just one time and then you're out. Um so, let's say you have a few different rehab projects or expenses at your home. You can apply up to three times um up to a maximum of $30,000 in total. So $30,000 is the maximum award that can be placed at one singular property. Uh but a homeowner can apply multiple times to get up to that point. And we say currently three times is what they can do. So that's for us to intake that application. So on the latter half of this after they've submitted their estimates, we've reviewed it and give them uh the quote of how much we want to reimburse them, they can begin the construction of their project. uh after

the completion of their project they will file for reimbursement through our department and that is when we verify that the work has been completed to the point that we approved. So they give us invoices they they yes we would get those final receipts from them essentially and then documentation of the working of itself. So similar to what we had before um previously and I think a lot of great work came of that um but this is what we heard from the community. We want to expand it and since we have this plan, this is one of the first items coming of that. It's a larger area and this is in a way to hopefully make people's dollars go farther as well. How long would it take a person to be reimbursed?

Uh it depends on the the length of project. Sure. Um but whenever um they file for that, it is within a few weeks or two even. Um it's a quicker process and it also depends on the amount of information they provide back to us as well. zone. Sounds great. Okay, it does. We can talk a bit more when it comes to another part of new construction through our developer grant incentives. From that, I'll pass it on to Carol then. Thank you, Palmer.

Thank you. Okay, the developer grant incentive is the next portion of the ordinance. And this one um we really structured to try to get new, you know, get more density to get new construction going in the area. And one of the things that you if you'll recall about a year ago, we did some listening sessions with people and one of the things is they were concerned to come to the area and take risks. We got that feedback from CFSB as well. And when we leaned on um Mr. Denton, he had worked in Fountain Avenue. He had also worked in Lowertown. And that was one of the things that he reminded us of is that people are afraid to take the risk. So how are you going to minimize the risk? Once you get a few going, then the market will take care of itself. So that's really how we targeted this incentive. And so what we're asking to do is that we have met with developers and we're asking them to come in and what they're going to do is sign a memorandum of agreement with the city and they're going to guarantee us what they're going to build and what their price is going to be and then and then pending an appraisal we'll close the gap. So what that's saying basically is let's just use a $200,000 home as an example. If if they come in and they say, "We're going to build a $200,000 home and it's a three-bedroom, two bath, and this is what we need to get our money back. We need to be guaranteed this money." We'll enter into a memorandum of agreement, give them a time period to finish it, and then once they have finished it, we'll have it appraised. They will at that point set list it for sale, whether by themselves or through a realtor. We don't we don't care about that. but will take that appraised number and the number that they entered into the contract for their sale price and their buyer will be awarded the the gap the difference. Now, it has to be a qualified buyer. You know, we'll work

with the banks, no matter what bank it is, we'll work there's a disclosure they'll have to agree to, but we'll work with the bank to make sure it's a qualified buyer. But that $75,000 gap in this scenario will essentially serve as their down payment. and help them get in the house. To be able to do that, we're going to take a a second on the property and a non-performing mortgage. And what that means, it's essentially a 0% interest mortgage and it goes against the property right behind the bank and it will be a 10year note that they'll have with us. it will be reduced by 20% over that period of time. But if they were to sell, if they were in five years and then they chose to sell, half of that incentive is going to come back to us. It's reduced according to the time period that they

in a year. Yes. Did I say 20? I'm sorry. Yes. Yes. And we talked about doing it five years. We we had a hard hearty discussion about doing it five years, but what often times people don't realize is that that incentive has to count as income for that family. So if we advertise it out over 10 years, then $7,500 is what they're they're paying an income on as opposed to 15,000 over five. That's why so this example I I just want to the builder builds it for 200. M it appraises for 125. Mhm. Somebody buys it for 200.

They're not going to buy it for 200 if the builder spent 200. Correct. The the the developer has to get very real and understand his margins when he comes and signs that memorandum of agreement with us because he's going to tell us his sale price. You're you're correct. He's going to tell you. So in this case, he would have come to us and said, "My sale price is going to be 200,000." 200,000. Mhm. And whatever his margin is. So his construction cost is really his his cost. His responsibility. Mhm. Mhm. Okay.

And in meeting with him, most all of them that we met with, we we had a lunchon or a breakfast actually. Very successful with the developers. And in meeting with them, almost all of them are able to tell us. I I was very surprised, but their pencils are pretty sharp. Yeah, they they know what their margins are and they know, but they also know that if they can't turn it quickly that it eats into that margin, so it keeps them right turning and burning as one of them said to me.

So the difference between the 200,000 and the I mean that's a lower appraised value on the $200,000 house. Is it because of the lack of density of new homes and comps in that area? So once you get more homes in there, the appraise value should begin to go up on all of the others. Correct. We are figuring that probably 10 will make a difference. It we should see the market change. They'll be built in the same area to help bring that up.

Yes. We want them so that they're visual from one another. And we're hoping that if we could have 10 coming up out of the ground by spring that it will start to change the market. And we've talked about that with appraisers, we've talked about that with bankers, you know, we we've talked about it with realators. And everyone seems to feel like once that kind of energy starts, it will start to change the market. And we're we really don't think that we'll have to use 75 on each one of the 10. 10's our goal. We don't think we'll have to use 75 because you're going to get some people that are going to build two-bedroom, two bath. You're going to have some that may build a larger home and want to assume that risk, but this is the maximum amount that we're willing to do. And

that's exactly how it happened with Fountain Avenue. I mean, there were the first few houses sold below the cost of the uh builder and the city turned around and made the builder hole on those. In this way, I kind of like how you've done it where instead of uh making the builder whole on it, you're kind of making the buyer whole on it because they're paying basically what's above the appraisal rate. It's all the same thing.

It it is all the same thing. This is just structuring it a little different. And it does cause the the builder as well as the city to assume a little risk, but in the way that it was done previously, there was buybacks and um you know, the city lost on average from the research I've done about $60,000 per home. Um and and there were four that they lost nicer homes than what we're talking about here, a $200,000 home. Those homes were that was what 15 years ago, too. So, Correct. Correct. And I I think you'll see nicer homes start to be built in the area, too. Yeah.

Yeah. There's there's demand for new homes. Uh new efficient homes. I mean, there's definitely demand out there. So, right. And and we're willing to work with them that with URCDA, as we talked about earlier, they'll have the properties. They can, you know, make a proposal for a property. They can show us their plan. They can have a de I mean, the developer can do all that. we can work with them and I think that we'll be able to turn it fairly quickly and so hopefully by spring we'll be able to see more progress. Well, it's been a long time coming. It's been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears here, but you know, we're making real progress now. We feel and it's very exciting. So,

and again, a shout out CFSD is here and and they have offered up to 100% financing. They're working with closing costs, all those things. And there are other other banks that have reached out, but they have stepped up and and kind of charted the course and started first. So, we want to tell them how [clears throat] appreciative we are. That's kind of the grease, the financing. That's the grease that makes the thing work. And so, we really appreciate what CFSB's doing to help Paduka.

And I do have a question. So is that appraised value or the area this phase one area what is the appraised value of the homes currently because we mentioned that it would affect the other homes in that area too hopefully or potentially raise their um appraisement value. So what is the current appraisement for most of those?

They're they're all over the board. you know, that that a lot depends on square footage and it also takes into consideration the age of the home, the style of the home, um how much is in disrepair, and they're all over the board. It that's a I wish I could just tell you that, you know, just average $100 a square foot and and calculate that out, but it's there's so many things that an appraiser takes into consideration when they tour the home that it's they're all over the board. We haven't been able to get a good number. when Palmer and West went through and did the inventory, that's one of the things that we looked at and they're all over the board. But what percentage of those homes are actually landlordowned horses?

So in in the our phase one area is Kentucky to Calwell the loop over to Tent Street that those tracks back in the back. So in that area there's 1,061 properties over 400 of them are vacant and 50% of the occupied homes are rental. Gotcha. Okay.

So that's one of the reasons that that we have not people have asked us about incentives for multifamily. They've asked us you know incentives for duplexes and those kind of things. Not that we want to discourage that. We will definitely have a conversation with them. But that agreement or um that development might look a little differently than just this. We're trying to build back single family home ownership. That's the goal with these incentives. The others will come, but but this is really the backbone of our community and we've got to get that going. Any other questions? Great job. Onward and upward. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate you. Thank you very much.

Okay, that's all the uh ordinances we have for tonight and now we have a discussion just an update on commission priorities. If you remember, we met last year. We all got together uh in sort of a retreat format to talk about uh our priorities and we decided to do those for two years instead of one if you recall [clears throat] which was a bit of a change. And so Michelle works diligently to keep all of [clears throat] us thanks guys to thank um to u keep all of us up to date on how we're making it. And uh so we're I'll turn it over to you Michelle.

Thank you mayor. Good evening mayor, commissioners, city manager, and city clerk. I'm excited to be here to talk about our commission priorities. And actually a number of the items on the agenda tonight are related to these commission priorities. So, uh, to the mayor's point, [clears throat] I think we've done a great job of staying focused and working as a team to hit the vision that the board has for our community. So, with that, um, I do want to mention these are highlights. This is not every single activity related to all of our commission priorities. U, but it's meant to be very conversational, so please feel free to jump in. All right. Um, so I think starting off with one where we've had great made great progress and see some great successes is downtown and economic development. As you know, Main Street was successfully transitioned to an external organization and they'll actually provide a more full update to the board at a January meeting, but you know, they have their board up and running. The city's helping fund them. They've had some great events like they've picked up the cocktail trails, got those going. Uh we had that uh the whistle stop at uh downtown which was great. I know several of us were there. Um so you know they're really rocking and rolling. There's a lot of things going on downtown. I think the number going around is 21 new projects um opening up downtown. So a lot of great economic development happening and we'll have a you know more full presentation from Main Street um in January.

Yeah. And the 21 new projects was a little bit mind-blowing to me when I heard it. Um, and they're not all uh they're all not not all open yet, you know, but uh man, it shows a lot of great activity. Yeah. And of course, you know, our abandoned urban properties that we talked about just earlier, you know, is is designed to dovetail into and help Main Street and downtown, you know, as much as we can. And of course, the riverfront development. I mean, we're going like a house of fire there. So, if you have not driven through it, you should. I mean, I almost cried. I just [laughter] feel so good. So excited about it. Be strong. I know. I was just so overwhelmed. [laughter] It's It's really going to be nice.

Yeah, it's great. And I think we're working towards substantial completion with it. Do you want to talk about that, Dar? No, I would I was just going to say the We are on target for substantial completion in the end of June, 1st of July uh time frame uh for next summer. Yeah. And of course, I want to give a shout out for all the great decorations uh with planning and public works. I know that was something that's important and Main Street, I guess, you know, Commissioner Smith, we've talked a lot about it. Uh but we had great [clears throat] winter fall decorations down there and then there's some great winter enhancements. So, I know the planning team and public works and Main Street have worked together to really enhance that. So, jokingly say,

I'd love to see downtown look like a Hallmark Christmas movie. [laughter] So we probably need about 25 times more decoration. [laughter] So So fess up. How many Hallmark Christmas movies have you watch? It's on my house constantly [laughter] and it's not me that has it on. But I think we are making great efforts. I mean, I when I was out of town recently, [clears throat] I took pictures and sent them to Carol and said

next year's goal for Main Street, you know, because every store, well, it was in New York City, but you know, everything's relative relative. You can scale it down or whatever, scale it, but every store had pumpkins and bums and everything. So, and we I think every it's looking good. Go ahead, Commissioner Henderson. I was just going to ask if you can give us some um ideas of what some of the 21 new projects are or or can we say that now?

Yeah, sure. Well, of course, the US Bank building, you know, that's under is probably the biggest one, you know, and I met with that out of town family. I mean, they are so excited and invested in Paduka. I'm I'm after I met with them, I mean, I'm even more excited. Uh there's a new Indian restaurant. Um, a new Asian Fusion restaurant going in. They're both in different stages of development. Uh, there's Fly Guys, I'm sorry. Fly Guys, new men's store. Yeah, new men store. Uh, there's It also included the Main Street office. Yeah. Yeah. Main Street office. It looks beautiful. Yeah. Yeah, it does. Uh, there's a spa going in with uh, you know, downtown. Yeah. And, um, I don't know.

That's good. That's a good Yeah, that's good. I just I just want to get an idea. Two two two new distilleries for all you drinkers out there. [laughter] And they're they're [clears throat] right next to each other. And one of them, Old Terrell. Uh they're launching this week, I think. Uh I think they're out in stores and they are and that and they're launching in the building that I grew up in essentially. You know, the building that I first my first job was in. So it's really uh it's just very great. Yeah. Good deal. Good stuff. I mean, I knew they were Yeah. that they were there. I just didn't know what all of them were.

Sure. Yep. And then, um, like I said, Main Street will be here to [clears throat] give a really more full update. They're about six months in, you know, since they've been up and running. So, they'll get into that more, too. Thank you. Yeah. I'll press on. Uh, another exciting one. We're hitting all the high notes to begin with. Get some momentum. Uh, I'm not going to spend a ton of time here because we just talked about them, but of course the Southside efforts have been great.

I think one thing I did want to talk about with the upcoming um what you'll see too is you'll really see that enhanced um effort around community partnerships and communications. We have some great banners to go down Walter Jaton. Um we're going to do quarterly newsletters. They're talking about community events. So you I think that you'll start to see some things, you know, after the first of the year, some noticeable things um in addition to all of the substantive things that Carol talked about today. Okay. Yep.

All right. So again, here's another one. Support for human and social services. We've already talked about this tonight. So we have the uh PCM agreement and then the three homeless services grants that we've already talked about uh but I did want to highlight it. And then of course we have our residential rental property occupancy permitting. Um you know this is one that we have talked about internally a little bit but we have our fire prevention team is working with the attorneys. We need to do an ordinance update to it. Um we also in the budget included a new co code enforcement officer to help us you know with that ordinance um with enforcement of that ordinance. So we hired a code enforcement officer and then we had one retire. So they're back at the recruitment, but we have brought on the one that was technically budgeted and then they're actively recruiting for another code enforcement officer. So that ordinance introduction, we're going to bring in a future commission meeting.

Yeah. Yeah. We're working on the update on that ordinance and so we'll have a lot of discussion around that. So it seems like we should have been recruiting for two code. That's exactly what I said to Michelle today. [laughter] We know these we know these retirements are coming on. And it's not like we actually that one was a surprise. It was. Yes. But you're right. No, we should continuously be recruiting. Yeah.

Uh city facilities is something I wanted to highlight because we have made so we had that facility studies done in 2020. The board has been great about budgeting um you know taking care of our own facilities. So we're very appreciative of that. We've made significant progress at the public works building. If you haven't been out there, it looks great. There's been new roofs and gutters. They redid the front porch. It It needed a little bit of love and it looks great. Um, of course you've seen we've been doing work to city hall. Um, we have the HVAC, the duck duck cleaning, uh, the window tinting, and then we're looking at some other changes inside. Uh, and then fire station one. They're looking at a um improvement to a main drain line. So, we've really been able to knock off a lot of projects on that facility maintenance. So, we're very appreciative of that. And then also funding um future facilities. So setting money aside for you know those larger capital projects, new land acquisition and design, that type of thing. So there was budget increased in FY26. We're working towards the design of a new parks maintenance building. Of course we're working towards the uh police building. And really what's what's kind of coming up with that is um we've been putting together a capital improvement plan. And so that identifies the major projects and proposed funding sources. So, I know the fin um the interim finance director and the city manager have been and I have been working through that and so that will come to you at a future commission meeting to kind of talk about what are the proposed funding sources for these capital needs. It's been a lot of work going into facilities.

Yeah. So, that's something that's been with us since the 2020s. So, we've been scratching and clawing our way trying to make we've made a lot of improvements. I mean, we've Yep. We spend money on buildings, but [clears throat] when you get to building a park parks maintenance building, you know, that's a couple million dollars. Um, a new police station, Lord, you know, we don't really know what that number is going to be. So, we have to continue to plan for for the replacement of buildings,

right? Uh, I mean it it just we just have to do that and it has to be part of our budgeting process and I know there's a uh a very rich capital improvement plan that's been worked on by you know the finance team and you city manager. So u we'll be talking about that.

That's right. And and if if you remember too we include the leadership team in setting the commission priorities and their input and this is always one of their their biggest needs that they talk about. So, okay, we're going to keep rolling. Uh, with quality housing, there were a few items I I wanted to talk about. So, as you'll remember, um, we've been working on the Katar John site. The mayor brought it up earlier with the abandoned urban properties. So, we are working towards developing that site with residential use. And then I wanted to talk a little bit about the permits for this year. Um, so we look at permits completed. And when you're looking at kind of single family new builds, that includes condos, town homes, houses, had about 23 permits completed. So way to think of that is probably done and have been, you know,

a occupied. Yep. And then I think the that's that's a little bit of increase from past years, but I think the big story is that we have a lot more rental units than we've had in the past. So that includes apartment complexes and um duplexes. So we have 119 rental units permits that have been completed and that's up significantly from the past couple of years. So yeah, and I think everybody sees the rental [clears throat] units going up and and uh you know people wonder you know where where are all these people coming from that are going to rent these units and then as soon as they open them up you know before they open but I think there's a lot of great s great things going on future development. And I mean, there's going to be a lot of construction jobs

coming up in the community. Those are all most all of those or they can be uh jobs that people from out of town take and need a rental uh you know, for a period of time. So, yeah. Um we just got a lot of a lot of great development opportunities going on in the in the city in the community, you know. So, that's right. That's right. I just want to mention, Cater, John, without dragging us through all of that, that project's lagged a little bit. Uh, but we're working hard. Uh, you know, and and we hope to be able to talk about that at the next commission meeting. Uh, have a little that's that's the hope that we'll be able to do that, but

it's it's we're pushing hard. Yep. Um, you know, to get a development agreement and something to talk about. So, it's a high priority for staff and I know the commission. Yeah, go ahead.

Okay. Um, city staffing needs. This was another item that was heard from the leadership team and got included in our commission priorities. Of course, there's some positions that are being recruited that were added in this budget. The firefighters we're getting ready to we had three firefighters. We're getting ready to recruit for the assistant planning director. We have filled the recreation specialist. And then, of course, we've already talked about the code enforcement officer. But the direction we also heard from the board is we don't just want to hear about new ads. We really want to hear about efficiencies that are gained. And so, you know, I do have a couple of highlights from our departments. We have several departments that are working really I think the thing I've seen the most is they're really using technology for efficiencies. So, we have, you know, human resources that has implemented a new recruitment software. Um, we have customer experience working through of course the app and we'll talk about that a little bit later um with quality of life, but we've already had I think 390 requests. So if you think about it, that's 390 service requests that aren't calls. Uh you have police department, public works, fire dep fire department both suppression and prevention with technology enhancements and then you know finance with everything that they're doing around the quarterly payroll and people submitting those electronically. So we have a lot of departments that are capitalizing on technology for efficiencies. We've also had some cost savings with like our risk manager decreasing the mod rate. uh the deflection specialist that we've talked a lot about has reduced repeat calls for service and then you know one thing we've talked about I think like the customer experience department is they actually reduced from three to two so we do look at those efficiency gains and not just you know adding staff that are aligned with the priorities

you know one of the things I'll point out is I mean it's small but but we have been able to reduce one headcount in customer experience as a result of the you know the app uh because you know people are uh you know using technology and so I just think we we always have to be looking for for for efficiency gains in all the department you know trying to do more with less use more technology uh to to drive more efficiency within the city so I think that message has been received from the leadership team and they've taken it to heart right thank you

okay let's see here um revenue equity. So, finance department has a great has done a great job digging into this. Of course, we've already talked about the minimum business license fees and gross receipts threshold changes. They also have recovered about $700,000 in collection efforts. And in terms of business licenses, they've had um 1,200 new business license registered this calendar year. So, they've really dug in and they'll keep on those efforts. Great. Mhm. Yeah, that's that's really great work. Yeah, agreed. I know sometimes it feels, you know, we hit these bullets with such there's so much work that goes into them. We have great results that it's like a bullet. So, [laughter] you want me to talk for a few more minutes?

No, I don't think anyone does, but uh I think they're ready to go. But it is just amazing how all of this work comes up into these very high level bullets. Uh so, quality of life, we have the tree voucher program out and running. Um, I did get an update today and I think we've had 233 people so far that have wanted that incentive. So, Wow. or the voucher. So, that's great. Yep. We've had a really great response from that. Yeah. If you haven't got your tree voucher and you live in the city, let us hear from you. [laughter] [gasps]

Of course, we've had the recycling and brush enhancements this year, which I think the community looks great. I think public works has done a great job going around and getting that, you know, brush. Uh we have the new app. So here's another plug for my Paduka. Uh we have a wonderful app and online portal where you can enter service requests. Um and so far we've had 880 downloads. U but mayor and I were talking about what we can do um to increase that. And actually I was talking with public works because we were talking about the bulk item pickup and we thought there may be an opportunity there to use that make people use that app for their bulk item pickup. So, that's one way to increase.

We got to get the commissioners. We got to get all the commissioners out, you know, getting people to download this app. Sandra, can you go door tod door in your neighborhood? [laughter] We'll have a contest. That's right. Yeah. [laughter] It's very user friendly. Kudos to the team. I think we got feedback from the board and so that was a great that was a great effort that was launched this year. Yeah. Yeah. And I just I'm going to call out you you know mentioned how you know cleaning up and everything, but the folks that I talk with that are developing the US Bank building, they they came in and met with them back here and

and they looked at me and they said, "How do you keep your city so clean? You know, we we come in here and it's it's amazing. everybody takes care of their their places and and so you know it really made me proud you know of all the work that uh you know the staff everybody does you know our staff you know of course led by Chris but also the business owners out there you know I mean we everybody respects their property and everybody else's and it really shows to out of town people agree it's very well said okay

u we'll be coming forward with a bulk item pickup and enancement hopefully at the next meeting is what we've been talking about um so we can roll that out at the beginning of next year um after some blessing from the board that it meets your all's expectation and then we've done a little bit of initial research on the child care and you know um getting more like Uber andyft and that kind of private transportation in the city um but we'll put together a more full report with recommendations probably in the first quarter is what we're looking like but you know the same team that works on golf carts and those kinds of things works on this. So, [laughter] I'll just throw that out there. I think it will be a big issue in the 2026 general assembly

uh childcare will in particular. So, that may be some things that will come out that would help us. Yeah, we've done some, you know, initial and without some help from the general assembly, it's it's going to be tough. I mean, we're there's going to be some challenges, but but we're we're still focused on it. So, that's right. And like we've done some initial zoning research and don't believe we have any zoning that's really um impacting those types of kind of in homes from coming into service but we'll put together more full report and different ideas. So I think first quarter is when you can expect that. Okay, keep rolling.

Um so now we're into kind of our continuous improvement items. Uh we're waiting the board authorized us to apply for that Branch Street um grant. It's a request of $2 million with a state ma match. So we've heard from the funding agencies that we should hear in the middle of December. Um so we're hoping to get good news on that project. And then of course in the upcoming capital improvement program we have plugged in some storm water projects so we can talk about you know what that would look like in funding opportunities.

Okay. Keep moving. Uh mental health, of course, we've done a significant amount of community awareness efforts and organizational activities. Um this is a continuous improvement, but PM does a great job uh reaching out to the community and then HR organizes all of our activities in May, including mental health lunches and that type of thing. So, I think we get a great response. Yeah, that's been real successful, I think. You know, raising awareness about me mental health. So, I'm

very pleased with that. And then finally, and on another high note, we have the greenway trail, uh, trails on bike lanes. So, we've completed the conceptual map. We're working through the design and engineering, and we plan to have actually a contract to the board for that at the next meeting. So, um, that's been moving along really well. And then, of course, we'll have to work through funding and the CIP and the, you know, the the design and engineering is funded, but we're going to have to work through funding, grants, that type of thing. So, uh, really excited about that one. Okay. Yeah. Bike lanes, uh, you know, that's those are like 10-year projects, you know, that what we're trying to do, but but at least we're going.

Yeah. And, uh, so, well, the other great thing about it is it aligns with the Southside plan. Yeah.

Um, you know, kind of our revitalization that area that we've talked about, this project goes right through there. So, it, you know, it's great to be putting city infrastructure improvements where, you know, we're focusing our neighborhood efforts, too. Um, so what's next? Um, of course, I want to thank the team. This is a team effort with between the commission, staff, city manager office. Um, everyone is involved in implementing these. I'm putting together kind of an annual report with KC. So, you'll have that booklet will be made available. And then we are going to have a priorities kind of reaffirmation with the board. And so we're looking at that the afternoon of January 16th to make sure there's no tweaks that we want to make to these as we head into that second year with our priorities. And that aligns really well with the budgeting process, too, so that we can align the priorities with the budget.

Okay, great job. It's tough to be the last last person on the agenda in a long meeting, but [laughter] you did a great job. And um and commission I just remind all of us commission priorities, I mean that we spent a lot of time upfront. Mhm. trying to trying to prioritize the things that we think as a group are most important and then the staff works hard to make sure that those get funded. That's right. You know, and stay focused on them. So, great job. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Comments from city manager,

uh, mayor and commission, and just for the public's knowledge, uh, just want to remind that city hall and our majority of our offices will be closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving holiday. Um, we've done a lot of uh public announcements, but also a reminder because of those closures, the those uh folks and residents that get our trash refuge collection and uh um recycle collection that those two [clears throat] days Thursday and Friday will not occur and those will be moved to next Monday, beginning of the week. So, and uh that's also a good plug that if as we've talked before, if you haven't downloaded my Paduka app and you want to stay up to date uh on all of our activities and closures in there, that's a great way to get updated by having that app downloaded.

And if you hadn't signed up for recycling, please do so. [laughter] Any other commissioners comments down this way? No, you already know I'm going to speak, but [laughter] no. Um I just wanted to circle back to the ant pet ordinance as well. Um, just for the other commissioners, um, because there were some misleading ads that were out on Facebook and I want to thank Kim for bringing that to my attention because I received 50 plus emails from people saying, "Vote no." And I'm like, the first few I'm like, I'm responding back cuz I'm thinking they're personally reaching out. Then I start seeing more and more and more. I'm like, "Okay, this is automated somewhat."

But there's um an organization that was putting misleading ads out basically misrepresenting what the ordinance even was that we were introducing. So, um, I just wanted to bring that forward and let the other commissioners know. um if you got those emails, which I'm sure we all did, um that those ads were misleading the community on what we were actually doing. Um and again, I want to thank Kim for coming and speaking on that and, you know, bringing a blueprint of an ordinance. Um my whole time being on the commission, I don't think I've seen someone actually bring a blueprint for us to utilize. So, that's um I appreciate that. And on a lighter note, I guess I'll say um we all saw the inside the job show released and I wanted to thank um the team, Miss Pam, uh Dan and everybody at WKCTC. And it was great to have all of us featured on that show. And um whenever I pitched that idea earlier this year, it was with the goal of just making government TV less like government TV and reaching a broader audience and uh bringing more transparency. So I think we accomplished that goal with this first episode.

Okay. Thank you, Dewan. Sandra. Okay. I think uh we uh we do have an executive session tonight. We will not be taking any action afterwards. And I will entertain a motion to move into executive session. U let the clerk read it. Oh, sorry.

A proposed motion of the board of commissioners to go into close session for discussion of matters pertaining to the following topics. Collective bargaining with public employees as permitted by KRS61.810 subsection 1E. issues which might lead to the appointment, dismissal or disciplining of an employee as permitted by KRS61.810 subsection 1F and a specific proposal by a business entity where public discussion of the subject matter would jeopardize the location, retention, expansion, or upgrading of a business entity is permitted by KRS61.810 subsection 1G. So moved. Second. Call RO. Commissioner Henderson, I. Commissioner Smith, I. Commissioner Thomas, I. Commissioner Wilson, I. Mayor Bray. Hi

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