Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, I'd like to call to order the Radcliffe City Council regular meeting for Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 530. Meeting's being held here at Radcliffe City Hall, being streamed live on Facebook and recorded by Hardin County Television. If you'll please rise for an invocation and can remain standing for a pledge.

Let us pray. Father, we thank you for this day and we thank you for your abundant blessings. We thank you for the mayor and the council members who sit up here and make the laws and the ordinances that will help further our city. Father, we are thankful for the citizens of our city. We are thankful for our service members who are serving both here and abroad. Father, we ask that you comfort and bless those who are hurting today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. 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.

Hey, can we have a roll call, please?

Yes, sir. Bell? Present. Brown? Here. Drosch? Here. Merle? Here. Owens? Present.

Thompson? Here.

We have a quorum. We have consideration approval for minutes from August 18, 2026. second sorry i saw miss russo moving and i thought i was doing something wrong can we have approved for minutes for uh august 18 2026 regular meeting september 8 2026 special called meeting it's september 8 2026 work session Motion. Motion. Second. Second. All right. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? All right. Motion carries. Thank you all. Welcome, everybody. Once again, it is hot outside. Didn't I tell you?

It was hot.

We had a great weekend. Weather was pleasant. It didn't get as hot, so it's sad to see that it's back up in the 90s again. 98, I think, when I came in, so I'm still a little steamy. but we uh we got some informational items to discuss i just want to we've got some people some folks here this weekend we had our sixth sixth annual bourbon and blade show up at red hill cutlery and boundary oak distillery and so it was a great show probably the largest show that we've had weather was great uh everything went very smooth and well i don't know why you keep scooting over brent OK, I didn't think she wanted to get away from Mr. Basham there. I didn't know what was happening out there. So I think we, actually, do we have any couple of photos? Do we have any couple of photos pulled up? One of the largest crowds, I think, that we've had, I believe so. I don't know, Jason, do you know the head count? Or do we have an estimate? Josh, I know RPD thought it was at least over 10. I know if we didn't push more than that, but just great crowd. A lot of Martina McBride was the headliner. And so Koffay Anderson was very well received by a lot of folks. And, of course, Mickey James opened it up. But I think everybody came out, had a great time. There's a group photo at the end. C.J. Buck there from Buck Knives. There's Mickey James. But I think just overall, weather was perfect. You couldn't ask for a better day. And so we just want to... Is that the last one? Okay. thought it was gonna be me but thank you all for uh we want to recognize you all for all the hard work and dedication i especially want to thank the bashams and brant and jason and miss russo up here because if if you've never planned a large event it's like having a wedding and there's a lot of words being used that we won't say in a council room A lot of stress, a lot of headache, but all of us put a lot of work into this to make this happen and it takes a long time to prep rate and then was all over with.

We're all giving each other's hugs and everybody's happy again and we all go back to doing business in the next morning.

So I just want to thank you all and we'd like to give some recognition. Obviously Miss Russo for all her hard work and help that she that's a she wouldn't eat that day and. She was very hot and overworked that day, so I told her to take the day off, but she decided to show up for our meeting. So first, I'd like to recognize, you know what, Mr. Pike, I'm gonna let you do this. You're always good at this. I'm gonna let you read those.

Hot and overworked. It sounds like a country song. This is the Mayor's Recognition Award awarded to Boundary Oak Distillery. The City of Radcliffe would like to recognize you for your sponsorship and dedication to bourbon and blade since its inception. Bourbon and blades would not be possible without your strong commitment to hosting this event within our city. We thank you for your continued support of Radcliffe and our surrounding communities this 15th day of September 2026. JJ Duvall, Mayor.

boundary oak distillery and that can go as well as for red hill cutlery you don't have to read that again but both you all uh and thank you all for making it you know everybody that could come out and celebrate with us like i said everybody behave jeff i think as far as i know we had no major issues Yeah, everything had a good turnout. Of course, it's my last one, so someone on this side will get to make these statements next year, but thank you all so much for making it special. So I'm going to invite you all to come up and families, if you all want to come up, especially that little one right back there, if she wants to come up, take a photo with us.

You know all the trash they left behind?

All the trash they left behind. It was full of trash at the end of the day. Yeah.

Let's go back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

If I say Red Hill.

Red Hill. Round 3-0. Second home time. Super 69. All right, thank you. Thank you, Brent. Good to see you. Yep, good to see you, man. Brent's taking it.

Okay.

Next, we are into public comments. If anybody wants to come up and address the council, now is your opportunity. Yeah, please.

My mic should be on.

Yep, sir. Just state your name, please. Let's pull that mic towards you if you don't care. Sure.

All right.

Can everyone hear me?

Yep. Okay, thank you.

Well, good evening, Mayor Devon, members of the City Council and neighbors. My name is Frank Gainer, and I live over there in Vista Apartments. I'm here tonight because I'm concerned by how polarizing our national politics have become. We often treat public policy as battlefield lines rather than shared puzzles, forgetting that behind every proposed idea is a human being trying to build a better life for their family. The fact is both Republicans and Democrats have valid political positions. Republicans are right that we should always keep taxation on productivity to a minimum to reward hard work and investment. And Democrats are also right that the rich and powerful should always bear the biggest cost of taxation to ensure fairness and justice. I know what you're thinking. It sounds nice, but there's just simply no way to reconcile these two opposing perspectives. Well, what if I told you there was a man who had an idea that historically drew support from both liberals and conservatives alike? His name was the 19th century political economist Henry George, and his idea was the single tax. The single tax replaces all taxes with just one single tax on the unimproved value of land. Think about how backwards our tax system is. When local business owners renovate old buildings or expand their shops, they're penalized with higher taxes. Meanwhile, outside speculators can leave valuable lots vacant, contributing nothing to our towns, while paying next to nothing in taxes. The single tax switches this incentive entirely. Shifting taxes to land value will encourage local development, lower the financial burden on working families, and fund our vital public services without punishing productive work. It's both physically conservative and socially just. Now, I never ask anyone to believe anything blindly. All I humbly ask of this council is to investigate this concept for yourselves. And I am empathetic to the fact that this does seem like a radical idea. but I am confident that this will help us all realize that whether we're Republicans, Democrats, or neither, God has made us all and this land for us all. Hopefully with enough grassroots support from our cities and counties, we can eventually pitch this idea to Frankfurt. Anyway, that's all I have. Thank you very much for your service and your time. Does anyone have any questions or comments?

We don't do like, cause it's your opportunity. Yeah. If anybody wants to talk to you after the meeting, you're welcome to stay and absolutely. Yeah. We thank you for your time. Oh yeah.

Thank you for your time. Thank you.

Thank you. Please state your name.

You know who I am.

Got to have it for the record.

Jackson. I live at 148 Indiana Trail, Radcliffe, Kentucky. I've been a resident there for 38 years with a mortgage that is fully paid. I am coming back to you all again on tonight. I've only heard from one up here as far as our ads for our NAACP 35th Freedom Fund Banquet. And if anyone would like a ticket on tonight, I'll be happy to see you after. The meeting. So we do need a letter from our mayor. You let Bangor beat you with a letter. Congratulation. I'll talk to you, Secretary. We can get that because we need to get our book together. So if anyone else you are all I gave everybody up here a letter. So you all have the information that you need. Tickets are $75 each, $142. Thank you. Thank you, Pete.

good evening everyone I'm Pete Countryman with the Radcliffe Cultural Festival and I just like to give a brief wrap-up of this Saturday's cultural festival Saturday September 19th from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. This year, we have a great variety of vendors. The focus is mainly on local residents and quality products handcrafted. Excuse me. And our food trucks will feature the Taste of the World International Food Court for Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Mediterranean, and an all-American food truck. We also have with us the North Hardin Lions Club Shave Ice Truck and the Bobby Sanders Lemonade Stand. And it's important that when you come to the festival this year, everyone you see that's a vendor or a food truck is someone you know. They're coworkers, they're neighbors, they're friends, they're people you go to church with, they're fellow civic club members, fraternal members, and that's the focus. We have 110,000 people in the Hardin County.

There's plenty of talent locally rather than bringing people in from the outside.

And also we're proud of our food trucks. Each and every one of them can trace their ethnic background to one, two, or third generations, and they are also local residents. So we have the quality vendors part. We also have the food truck. And this year, it's going to be a little different. The city of Radcliffe will be making a presentation appropriately in this year of the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence and 70th anniversary of our incorporation as a city to honor our military heroes, our veterans, current military, as Radcliffe is the gateway to Fort Knox. So we invite everybody to come out Saturday September 19th, 4 p.m. till 9 p.m., and look forward to seeing everyone there. Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, anybody else want to move on? All right, we will move on to new business. All right. Mr. Pike, I need a second reading of an ordinance amending the City of Rackless annual budget for fiscal year July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2026.

Yes, sir. This is the ordinance amending the city of Radcliffe, Kentucky annual budget for the fiscal year July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 by estimating revenues and resources and appropriating funds for the operation of the city government. Whereas an annual budget proposal and message has been prepared and delivered to the city council, And whereas the City Council has reviewed such budget proposal and made necessary modifications now, therefore, be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Radcliffe, Kentucky Section one that the annual budget for the fiscal year beginning July one, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026 is hereby amended as follows under anticipated revenues fund balance carry over under stormwater utility fund is amended to read $237,600. Insurance premium taxes is amended under general fund to read $4,404,300. Total resources available is amended under general fund to read $18,455,300 and under stormwater utility fund to read $1,958,500. On the appropriation side, public works department is amended under general fund to read $1,763,900. Economic development, planning, and building department is amended under general fund to read $607,900. Stormwater utility is amended under stormwater utility fund to read $1,335,900. Total appropriations under general fund are amended to read $18,455,300. And under Stormwater Utility Fund, amended to read $1,958,500. That's the second reading, Mayor. Ready for motion to adopt, discussion, and roll call vote. Do we have a motion?

I'll make a motion to accept. I second.

Second. All right. We have a motion. Do we have a second? Do we have any discussion? All. OK. Roll call vote, please.

Bell? Yes. Brown? Yes. DeRoche? Yes. Merle? Yes. Mullins? Yes. Thompson?

Yes.

Motion carries. Next, I need an introduction of a first reading of an ordinance levying the City of Radcliffe ad valorem taxes for general municipal purposes for FY2027. I'll make the introduction. Thank you.

Thank you. This is the ordinance levying City of Radcliffe ad valorem taxes for general municipal purposes for the fiscal year of 2027 on all taxable property within the taxing jurisdiction of the city. On each $100 of calendar year 2025 assessed, I think that should be six, shouldn't it? Assessed valuation as follows. On real property, 0.126, and personal property, 0.184, including real and personal property of public service companies. on privately owned and registered vehicles and watercraft, 0.199, and bank deposit tax, 0.00025. Be it ordained by the City of Radcliffe as follows. Section 1, for the purposes of support of the government and the City of Radcliffe in the payment of its debts and expenses for the fiscal year 2026, 2027, there will be in hereby are levied ad valorem taxes on each $100 of the calendar year 2026 assessed valuation of all taxable property within the taxing jurisdiction of the city as follows. A, real property and personal property. Personal property includes inventory, furniture, and fixtures of a business, including inventory held for resale, including real and personal property of public service companies on the Department of Revenue assessed valuation. Real property 0.126, personal property 0.184, bank deposit tax 0.00025. Paragraph B, privately owned registered vehicles and watercraft not a part of inventory shall be taxed at the rate of 0.199. Section 2, that this ordinance shall become effective on the date of its passage and publication as required by law. That's the first reading, Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Pike. And then, counsel, on that, those minor, we'll have a clean copy for the second reading. We just like Chance did this, and we love it when he screws up something small. And he didn't change the date, so we'll make sure that he He gets good notice that you all are upset about it and very upset that he screwed up. So, all right. Next, item number three is consideration approval. One of our important things we do every year, we all enjoy this, and I think it's one of our favorite things to do is approve the time for trick or treat. And so this year, let me look, what day was it on, trick or treat?

Was it on the 5th?

trick-or-treat is on Saturday 31st and so typically we always do I think five to eight so what we typically do so we'll just need a motion we do trunk or treat the Sunday before be the 25th motion second any discussion

all right hearing none trousseau brown yes drosh yes yes owens yes thompson yes yes

all right and then item number four is a closed session but council i don't i won't need that i think we've got that situation figured out and so i will not need that closed session tonight so that will bring us to the end of our meeting so we are mayor council comments and i think kim wasn't here i'm going to start with kim let's see what he's got uh going on it's still hot out there so watch out for everybody unless you want to hear about vacations i know we don't hear about you

No, but tell chance all about it.

Next few days.

Yes, sir. All right, Miss Owens.

I'd like to thank everybody for their condolences and whatnot. I rolled out of here on Tuesday morning of last week and returned on Saturday and flipped as we always do stay busy and change and go out. But My dad was 84. He was a Sergeant First Class Marine. And at the time that he was tired, if you will, he wasn't necessarily ill, but just tired of existing. So for folks who didn't notice that I was gone back and forth throughout this last two years, it's a good thing because that means I was able to get down there, turn around and come back to Virginia. He was in Hampton, Virginia. So thank you and I respect your... condolences. And second, just to echo serve about the event, I got a great aerial shot from Mr. Tim over there.

And he really kind of summarized how much support we have for that event.

When you see it from the air, we didn't have any incidences that Noah, hopefully the revenue was generated just right. I met so many people from different places. And it went really, really, really well.

Can I piggyback off that? Yes, sir. It was interesting. I've got photos with her that I haven't posted yet. But there's a lady there from the Netherlands. She had actually flown in. She flew to Chicago. And then she flew from Chicago to Louisville. And she was at our show. She was in the VIP area. She had got tickets. And she stayed afterwards. And someone had said, there's a lady here from the Netherlands. And I thought, what? Gina was actually talking to her is how I heard about it. And so I went over to her and introduced myself. And we talked. And I guess in the Netherlands, country music isn't as prevalent as it is here. And when she was growing up, Martina McBride was one of the first people that she had heard sing country music. So she had always stuck with her. and about i think she said 10 years ago she came here and kind of followed her through her tour and so martina hasn't been on tour in about two years and so she's going to follow her for the next five weeks she's going to every city and it's just something she's doing i just thought it was really i mean so we we did have someone here from the news actually there was another one that's all what i had someone here from tribooking did i say it right germany oh really so that's awesome yeah so that was cool to meet you know people from that area so i'm not gonna lie i said you flew from the netherlands so the word's gotten out sir but that's it thank you thank you

I'm going to piggyback on Pete Countryman with the festival for this Saturday. Two weekends in a row, we get to have a lot happening in our city. When the parade will empty into our city hall parking lot, there'll be a tent. And as he mentioned, the city of Radcliffe is celebrating our veteran heroes. So hopefully you have been able to see the banners that started being hung up today. There were 72 banners that applicants had applied prior to the deadline. Pam and I are taking those applications. We appreciate Ashley letting us help her with all that because she's been very busy. So if you'll text either one of us, we can get the application to you. The deadline is now October 16th. to get a banner because they will stay displayed and hung through Veterans Day throughout the city. So you can still get a banner. Just if you ordered one by the last week, They will not be hung if you did not get it in by the 4th for this particular event on the 19th. We do have Colonel Hallstatt, Fort Knox Garrison Commander coming to speak. We have Heart of Kentucky Chorus coming to sing some patriotic songs. And Carol with Allegra Studio, they're doing a little patriotic dancing song as well. And then we will have a surprise, some treats for our veterans and veteran families under the tent. So please join us under the tent Saturday evening.

Thank you. Yeah, I just want to apologize that I missed this past weekend because I feel like I missed a huge, huge fight. The biggest thing we've had in Radcliffe ever. I was on a family trip that's been booked for well over a year, so that's why I was not here to be able to experience that. But my husband wanted to go and he was like, he didn't want to go without me but it looked like it was amazing so kudos to those who put that on and i do love the idea of the banners so those were just when i started going up today so i'm excited to see how they look um And then just a reminder, I announced this last week, but the Halloween party for the special needs community again is on October the 9th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Colvin Community Center. There will be refreshments, DJ and dancing. So for those that want to come out for that and then just another reminder about the walkabout Wednesdays, 9 a.m. and then the 6 p.m. Is it 6? The morning walkabout, though, is the morning walkabout goes through October the 28th. And then the evening stroll, we have one on the 7th and 21st. So if you're interested in participating, come on out.

nothing this evening you want to talk about the game no sir well kim stole my phrase about the heat so i cannot talk about the heat but it is hot i said it but i have to say something else i did enjoy and i thank the boshams and i thank the city for Friday night? Was it Friday or Saturday? Saturday. Saturday night. I was not sure. I talked to a lot of people, and a lot of people talked to me, and I came up with this. Don't laugh. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Nobody to talk to. Although the Bashams Festival is gone, We still have the 19th, the cultural festival. I'm not going to say come and talk to me because, but you can talk to me. So don't stay home without talking to nobody. Come and have some fun. Meet some people. Dance. Who's going to be dancing?

The portion of the program for the city, right?

The Allegro. Yes. Okay.

All right.

And that's it. And it's too hot outside. So be careful.

Try to pull something up there. So back in 2019, this is for us. Back in 2019, Jeff Gregory became mayor of the city of Elizabethtown. And Jeff and I, of course, know each other. We've grown up together, been around each other for a long time. And so we decided to do a little thing between the rivalry between Elizabethtown and Radcliffe just to keep that going. And Jeff was an E-Town kid. I'm a North kid. And so we came up with a thing called the Marist Cup. And this is the trophy. This is back in 2019. Of course, it says Radcliffe E-Town. And Radcliffe beat Elizabeth Town. And Jeff had to walk out on Panther Field to present me this trophy. Well, they have never played since 2019. E-Town and Radcliffe have not played each other since then. And so I think recently, as this year, they have signed an agreement that they are going to play the next two seasons, one game against each other. And so Jeff has never had the opportunity to get this trophy back. And I rub it in his face every opportunity I get because Jeff's just as competitive as I am. And so Jeff's son is one of the coaches there at the elementary school, TK Stone. And of course, the two little boys, I don't know if you can see them. There's a little redhead there holding his hat backwards. And then right down there at the bottom, you can see Cameron. There's Cameron and Luke right below us. And I think Luke's holding a trophy. We were actually playing them again this Thursday. and so it's north versus tk stone and both teams are uh three and oh and so jeff and i started talking crap to each other again a few weeks ago and so we thought what better way of course i'm leaving his mayor and i said we got to do it one more time because he really wants the opportunity to get a trophy back at least somehow some way on his desk that says north versus e-town and so do you are you able to pull that up is it two you may not be able to pull it up yeah we're gonna So we're doing the Mayor's Cup because they don't play each other, but we're doing it for the eighth graders. And we're going to have it. It's going to be this Thursday at Elizabethtown High School. And we just want to encourage anyone to come out and support. I think he's going to pull that flyer up. Both teams are really good. Mrs. King, you probably remember a little bit of this rivalry, don't you? And so I don't think you all are playing them as freshmen, are you? No, but you all like playing. I know you used to coach for us, but I mean, he's not, you're all not playing it. I don't think varsity or not varsity freshmen. I don't think they're playing it all this year. Yeah. Yeah. The central and all them, they do, but they don't play. Yeah. They don't play the other one. But we just want to encourage everybody to come out. It's going to be at 530 at Elizabethtown High School. We'd love for you all to come out and support the young boys and come out and support them. I think this will be fun. Anything I can do to get at Jeff Gregory just makes my day even better. i'm talking a lot of trash you better win hang on i'm giving it to them so but uh we got a new trophy that trophies three tiers and we hope that rivalry keeps going um between the it's just fun and the kids are already talking trash to each other online it's clean it's fun but we're excited about it so this thursday yeah this thursday at y'all usually record don't you Not middle school. Not middle school. Okay. Yeah, it's this Thursday. Now, the heat, we're waiting to see what the heat is. I think that day is supposed to be 98. So, depending on the heat, whether they'll call the game or not. They may delay it. They have lights down there in E-Town, so they may delay it. But if not, we'll see. We'll post something on it.

Ashley, is there anything else we've got?

Next month's meeting.

Second reading.

Oh, second reading. Yes, council. We need a second reading. There it is. If anybody needs any information on that. We need a second reading of the ordinance. I'd like to have it probably Thursday, Friday. Would you say what's best? Either day? Do you know what your schedule is for the election? Friday? Kim, do you all have anything Friday? Friday? We can do morning or it's just a second reading of the tax, levying the tax. Yep. time in the morning anything it doesn't matter nine nine thirty ten sure what do y'all wanna do nine nine nine friday morning okay friday night okay anything else when do you stay all right uh just a reminder this weekend huh parade yeah i was getting ready i actually was getting ready to before he said that so just a reminder that you see i got you yeah just a reminder this weekend is our city parade uh lineup starts at 4 p.m it's going to be on state street right behind the post office it's first come first serve um we did have obviously we had people sign up but When you get there, you just line up. There'll be someone to guide you in space and into your area. Dignitaries and elected officials will be at the Methodist Church there off State Street. And then we come out onto Deepwood and we turn onto Lincoln Trail and we'll start at five. And then from there, we throw candy. And just a reminder, we've always done very well with this. Please keep everybody not running out. Pay attention. Be slow. We like the kids to get the candy. When you throw the candy, make sure you are throwing the candy, that you're not laying it beside. Be cautious, careful. Are you like if you're participating? Obviously, if you're running for office, we encourage you to come out. You know, we want everybody. We don't turn anybody away. So we encourage everybody to come out, support it and have a good time. And it'll end here at City Hall. And then that's where the cultural festival and the honoring of our military soldiers will happen directly after the parade. So I got you. Yes, sir. All right. With that, I'll take a motion to adjourn. Motion, second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. I'll use that next time. Just rub it in, Jeffy Moore.

Can I talk to you? Me?

It's not a county.