# Urban County Council Work Session - December 3, 2007 > Auto-transcribed civic record · Council · December 3, 2007 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/265 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/265?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2007-12-03 - **Body**: Council - **Last revised**: March 1, 2026 - **Length**: 15,998 words > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed by OpenAI Whisper-1, with speaker labels folded in from Granicus closed-captioning. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude Sonnet. Speaker labels and verbatim wording may contain errors. See [methodology](https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/about/methodology) or [report a correction](mailto:editor@lexingtonky.news). --- ## Meeting Overview The Urban County Council convened on December 4, 2007, at 3:00 PM in the Council Chamber on the second floor of the Government Center, with Mayor Newberry presiding. The council addressed three main agenda items during the session, including budget amendments, a presentation from the Lexington Public Library, and a confirmation hearing for Cheryl Taylor. The council conducted five motions and votes throughout the meeting, with budget amendments receiving approval and Taylor's confirmation proceeding to first reading. Two members of the public provided comments during the public comment period, and the council received an informational presentation from library officials. ## Attendance The Council meeting on December 3, 2007 had strong attendance with 15 members present and only one absence. **Present:** • Mayor Newberry • CM DeCamp • CM Beard • CM Stinnett • CM McChord • CM Stevens • CM Ellinger • CM Gorton • CM Blevins • CM Crosby • CM Myers • CM Maloney • CM Blues • CM Lane • CM James **Absent:** • VM Gray **Late:** • None With 15 of 16 council members in attendance, the meeting had a quorum to conduct official business. ## Votes and Decisions The Council took five unanimous votes during the December 3, 2007 meeting, with all 15 members present voting in favor of each motion. **Water Supply Resolution Rescission** [timestamp: 00:00] CM DeCamp motioned to rescind resolution 390-99 identifying Kentucky River as Fayette County's preferred water supply source, seconded by CM Beard. The motion passed unanimously with 15 ayes and 0 nays. **Kennel License Fee Increase** [timestamp: 00:00] CM Stinnett motioned to amend Section 4-12.4(d) of the Code of Ordinances to increase the kennel license fee, seconded by CM McChord. The motion passed unanimously with 15 ayes and 0 nays. **Dog Running at Large Fine Increase** [timestamp: 00:00] CM Stinnett motioned to amend Section 4-19(e) of the Code of Ordinances to increase fines for dogs running at large, seconded by CM McChord. The motion passed unanimously with 15 ayes and 0 nays. **Budget Amendments** [timestamp: 00:00] CM Stevens motioned to add budget amendments #1142, #1143, #1146, #1147, and #1148, seconded by CM Ellinger. The motion passed unanimously with 15 ayes and 0 nays. **Docket Approval** [timestamp: 00:00] CM DeCamp motioned to approve the docket as amended, seconded by CM Beard. The motion passed unanimously with 15 ayes and 0 nays. All votes included Mayor Newberry and Council Members DeCamp, Beard, Stinnett, McChord, Stevens, Ellinger, Gorton, Blevins, Crosby, Myers, Maloney, Blues, Lane, and James voting in favor. No members voted against any of the motions, and there were no abstentions recorded. ## Budget and Financial Actions The Council approved several financial agreements and contract amendments totaling $381,127.15 during the December 3, 2007 meeting. **Housing Program Amendments** Two significant amendments were approved for first-time homebuyer programs: • Resolution 667-07 authorized a $100,000 amendment to the agreement with REACH, Inc. for the First-Time Homebuyers Program • Resolution 679-07 approved a $258,533.15 amendment to the agreement with Community Ventures Corporation for the First-Time Homebuyers Program **Construction Contract Change Order** The Council approved Resolution 670-07, authorizing Change Order No. 1 to the contract with Past Respects, LLC for the Cadentown School Project in the amount of $12,619. **Event Facility Rental** Resolution 690-07 approved a rental agreement with Lexington Center Corporation for $9,975 to host the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Memorial Program. These financial actions demonstrate the Council's continued investment in affordable housing initiatives through the homebuyer assistance programs, ongoing commitment to the Cadentown School renovation project, and support for community commemorative events. The largest expenditure was the Community Ventures Corporation amendment at over $258,000, reflecting substantial funding for first-time homebuyer assistance programs in the community. ## Public Comment The public comment portion of the December 3, 2007 Council meeting featured announcements from two Council Members rather than traditional public speakers. **Keep-It-Real Campaign Announcement** [timestamp: 00:00] Council Member Gorton announced the fourth annual Keep-It-Real campaign, an initiative encouraging high school students to create and submit videos explaining why individuals under 21 should not consume alcohol. This educational campaign appears to be part of ongoing youth outreach and substance abuse prevention efforts in the community. **Academic Achievement Recognition** [timestamp: 00:00] Council Member Stennett offered congratulations to the Brown Station High School girls' soccer team for achieving a remarkable academic milestone. The team was ranked seventh in the nation for their collective Grade Point Average (GPA), highlighting the student-athletes' success in balancing both academic excellence and athletic performance. Both announcements focused on positive youth initiatives and achievements within the community, emphasizing education, prevention, and academic success among local high school students. ## Appointments The Council took action on one appointment during the December 3, 2007 meeting. • **Cheryl Taylor** was appointed as Commissioner of Environmental Quality The appointment was processed as part of the Council's regular business for filling positions on city boards, commissions, and other governmental bodies. ## Contested Items The Council faced one contested item during the December 3, 2007 meeting regarding correspondence to the Public Service Commission about water supply issues. **Letter to Public Service Commission** The disagreement centered on two different proposed letters to the Public Service Commission, with the primary dispute involving the level of political commentary each letter contained. Council members were divided on which version to send, with some preferring a more straightforward approach while others supported including additional political context in the correspondence. The nature of the split vote indicates that Council members had differing views on the appropriate tone and content for official communication with the Public Service Commission regarding water supply matters. However, the specific details of each proposed letter's content, the individual Council members' positions, and the final outcome of the vote were not captured in the available meeting data. This contested item reflects broader disagreements among Council members about how to approach communications with state regulatory bodies and the appropriate level of political commentary to include in official municipal correspondence. *Note: Specific vote tallies, individual Council member positions, and the final resolution of this contested item would require review of the complete meeting transcript or minutes.* ## Budget Amendments [timestamp: 00:00] The Council discussed five budget amendments during the December 3, 2007 meeting, focusing on re-appropriating capital project budgets. CM Stevens led the discussion on budget amendments #1142, #1143, #1146, #1147, and #1148. These amendments involved re-appropriating funds within existing capital project budgets rather than requesting new funding. The amendments addressed various capital project budget adjustments that required Council approval to move forward with planned municipal projects and expenditures. The Council approved all five budget amendments without significant debate or opposition, allowing the re-appropriation of capital project funds as requested. ## Lexington Public Library Presentation [timestamp: 00:00] Burgess Carey and Larry Smith delivered a presentation to the Council regarding the Lexington Public Library's operations and impact on the community. The presentation covered three main areas: the library's economic impact on the city, current community programs and services, and future planning initiatives. Carey and Smith provided Council members with detailed information about how the library contributes to Lexington's economic development and serves as a community resource. The speakers outlined various community programs currently offered by the library system, highlighting the range of services available to residents beyond traditional book lending. They also discussed the library's role in supporting educational and cultural activities throughout the city. As part of their presentation, Carey and Smith addressed future plans for library services and potential developments. This forward-looking component of the presentation gave Council members insight into the library's strategic direction and anticipated needs. The presentation was informational in nature, providing Council members with a comprehensive overview of library operations rather than requesting specific action or approval. No formal decisions were made during this agenda item, as it served to update the Council on the library's current status and future objectives. The speakers' presentation allowed Council members to better understand the library's multifaceted role in the community and its contribution to Lexington's overall municipal services. ## Confirmation Hearing for Cheryl Taylor [timestamp: 00:00] The Council conducted a confirmation hearing for Cheryl Taylor's appointment as Commissioner of Environmental Quality. Council Member Gorton served as the key speaker for this agenda item. The hearing was structured as a first reading, with the formal vote scheduled for Thursday's council meeting. This follows the standard council procedure for mayoral appointments, which requires a confirmation hearing followed by a separate voting session. No specific details about Taylor's qualifications, background, or the scope of discussion during the hearing were provided in the available meeting materials. The Environmental Quality Commissioner position oversees the city's environmental programs and regulatory compliance. The outcome of this session was recorded as a first reading, indicating that the confirmation process proceeded to the next stage without immediate opposition or concerns that would have prevented advancement to the scheduled vote. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (15-0): Rescind resolution 390-99 identifying Kentucky River as Fayette County's preferred water supply source - **Motion** — passed (15-0): Amend Section 4-12.4(d) of the Code of Ordinances to increase the kennel license fee - **Motion** — passed (15-0): Amend Section 4-19(e) of the Code of Ordinances to increase fines for dogs running at large - **Motion** — passed (15-0): Add budget amendments #1142, #1143, #1146, #1147, and #1148 - **Motion** — passed (15-0): Approve the docket as amended --- ## Full transcript ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ We now are ready to vote on the docket as amended. Council Member Stennett. Thank you, Mayor. A couple of items. A couple of weeks ago we had the DOG Task Force presentation, and in response to the recommendations made from the DOG Task Force, I'm bringing forth two of the three motions needed to implement some of the recommendations. The first motion is I move to place on the docket for Thursday, December the 6th, an ordinance amending section 4-12.4D of the code of ordinances to increase the kennel license fee from $25 to $135. So moved. Second. Any discussion? Those in favor of adding that item to the docket, please let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. One more, Mayor. I move to place on the docket for Thursday, December the 6th, an ordinance amending section 4-19E of the code of ordinances to increase the fine for the prohibition against dogs running at large to not less than $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second offense, $250 for a third offense, and $500 for a fourth and each subsequent offense during a 36-month period. So moved. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Those in favor of amending the docket to include that item, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Mayor. Any other amendments? Yes. Opposed amendments? Council Member Stephens. I'm embarrassed to say I don't find it in the stack of papers, but I have an amendment to, I mean a motion put on the docket, a series of motions to approve the final accounting for the funds in our government except for the general fund, which has not been completed. We have amendments for the funds related to sewer, solid waste, and so forth. And I will do you have a copy of that, Mr. Deaton? Mr. Deaton came to the rescue. I make a motion to add budget amendments numbered 1142, 1143, 1146, 1147, and 1148 that reappropriate capital project budgets in the following funds, urban service, municipal aid, sanitary sewer operating parks, public facilities, landfill. These are detailed in the memorandum dated December 3rd, 2007. I have a motion by Council Member Stephens, second by Council Member Ellinger. Council Member Gordon. Dr. Stephens, does that include the capital projects from the council funds from two years ago? I can't answer that. Mr. Deaton, can you answer that? Does that reappropriate those funds for those projects? No, it does not. Those are in the general fund. We're not ready to reappropriate money in the general fund at this point. Do you know some of those projects are in progress and neighborhoods are waiting for the reimbursement? Do you know where those are in the system? I do not. Okay. Can you? Maybe Commissioner Coe knows something. I was going to say Commissioner Coe probably is more up to date on that than I am. That money was appropriated in fall of 2005, so can you? And one of the things I had discussed with the Budget Finance Committee was that as bills are coming through for projects that were already underway and or promised, we're going ahead and processing those, even though technically it's putting that budget in a negative, but we'll deal with that as we deal with the reappropriations in the general fund. But we're not letting any bills lay around. We are paying them timely. Okay. Thank you very much. These are all funds that are not the general fund. Motion on the floor is to amend the docket by adding the item that Dr. Stevens raised a moment ago. If anyone wishes to have that repeated, I'll let him do so. If not, I think we're ready to vote. Those in favor? Council Member Lane. Yes, sir. I don't know that I've seen the memo dated December 3, 2007, that itemizes all that information. I personally placed them in the council members' boxes yesterday morning at about 845. Okay. Well, then we'll have time to review that. I have reviewed those. They seem to be in proper order. In that case, I'll take Councilman Stevens' word for it. Thank you. I think we're ready to vote on the proposed amendment by Council Member Stevens. All those in favor of amending the docket to include that item of business, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries unanimously. Unless there are further motions to amend the docket, I think we're ready to vote on the main motion, which is to approve the docket as now amended. Any discussion? I have one question, and that is with regard to item 15 under the ordinances. I notice there's a question about a public hearing there. Has that already been scheduled, or do we need to schedule it? I'm sorry, which one? Item 15. That will be held at the meeting. It will just be one where the public hearing will be opened Thursday night, and if there are people available to speak, they will have an opportunity. Very well. We're ready to vote. I believe those in favor of approving the docket as amended, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries unanimously. I believe we have a summary for approval. I have a motion to approve the November 27th summary and a second by Councilmember Beard. Motion was by Councilmember Ellinger. Any discussion? Seeing none, we'll proceed to vote. Those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Those opposed, say no. Motion carries unanimously. We're now down to budget amendments. Mayor, is there any chance we get the screen on over there, too? All right. I'll have to defer to somebody else. All right. We're ready to consider budget amendments. I think we have a motion on the floor. Any discussion of the budget amendments? Since we are now at least semi-operable. Those in favor of approving the budget amendments, please indicate by voting yes electronically. Those opposed, vote no. Madam Clerk, it appears as though the motion carries. Thank you. We're now down to the items of new business. Is there a motion? Excuse me, Mayor. That last vote, I believe, was a previous motion, and I don't think the vote was cast for the last item. I've got the vote here. That screen's not moving, but my screen is, and so I've got the vote. It's probably on my screen, your vote. Well, since I was confused, thinking this was the vote on the last motion, what was the outcome of the? All right. Thank you. Second. All right. Did we have a motion on items of new business? Council Member DeCamp, you've only been here 12 years. I think I'll. I'm sitting in a different place. That's what's confusing me. I almost said Council Member Blevins. Second by Council Member Gordon. Any discussion of the items of new business? Council Member James. Thank you, Mayor. I do have a question on item E. It says Stevens and Langston as the sponsors. My question just had to deal with whether the property owners are aware of this ordinance, all along from Newtown, from wherever it is, Main Street, all the way to the Urban Service Boundary. I would say some are, but we've not notified them officially. Should that be part of our process to notify those property owners prior to with something like this that will mandate them to have certain types of landscaping? I'm going to make a motion that this be tabled until next week, and that will give us an opportunity to do so, and I think it's not a bad idea. I'll second that whenever you do that. I'm last on the list here. All right. Council Member Blevins. Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to make a motion to remove item BB from the list of new business today at the request of Commissioner Kelly. They have more work to do, and I trust his judgment, so I believe we'll remove it. Second. I'm told they need to rework some of the numbers and wording to make it feasible to be passed. I think the motion is to amend the items of new business by deleting item BB. That's correct. All right. We have a second by Council Member Gordon. Any discussion? Those in favor of that amendment, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed, vote no. And please go ahead and vote electronically since it appears to be functioning. Motion carries. Thank you. Council Member Blevins. Council Member Maloney. For the record, I'd like to disqualify on A. I don't know how we do it, the voting system, but I would like to disqualify on A. I do have a question. I don't know who can answer this, Mayor, but I understand on F and F, I understand what these folks have been working a lot over time, and I appreciate all the hard work and what the idea that you come up with is great. But my question goes out, I know this is a one-time deal. Once they get the system up, it will be back to normal. The problem I have is that we have a lot of employees in the summer that work for Park and Rec and also the police that run into the same problem year after year after year with the same problem these guys are running into. And I'm just wondering how do we address their concerns about their overtime, I mean, their comp time that they lose, and it goes on every year. I mean, they only use so much comp. I mean, they've got the Fourth of July weekend. They've got a lot of activity going on in the summer, and they end up having the same problem these guys have with an ongoing situation. And so does the other departments and police that have the same problem. Are we going to try to work the same way with these folks on this issue? Because I think it's a big concern, and I really understand why you're doing it. The folks with the stars, they really have been working hard, and I have no problem with that. But I just want to make sure we're being fair across the board on these kind of problems here that continues year after year. And I didn't know if you all would look into that. Let me enlist Commissioner Coe's assistance here because, candidly, I'm not sure to what degree that question has been addressed internally. Perhaps it has, but Commissioner Coe. We have had considerable discussion internally on that particular issue, and actually I don't have a solution to that problem. I think the difference is that this is an extenuating circumstance. The park situation is something that we know every year the Fourth of July is going to come, and we can plan a little bit for their time. Now, certainly they have people who earn in excess of 80 hours, but this is an extenuating circumstance with a very small group of people who, for the most part, for the last two years have been working nights and weekends to try to get the system where it needs to be. The whole 80-hour comp thing is something maybe we want to address somewhere down the road. It's my understanding that the police actually carries forward more than 80 hours or can have more than 80 hours. I understand the issue, but I think by bringing this forward, we're agreeing as an administration that this is an extenuating circumstance. Well, I have no problem. I agree with you on that. I have no problem. I'm just concerned about something that goes on every year. As are we. I know a lot of park employees that I see working all those hours, and I say, well, I can't use them because I've already. I just hope that we can go back to the drawing board and maybe we can come up with some kind of, because I hate to see somebody work that many hours and not be able to use it. And I'm not, this is just, this is a totally different piece. I agree with you on the parks issue, and we've discussed it repeatedly. Unfortunately, it's one of those problems that we've talked about a lot, but we don't have a solution to bring to you at this point. Well, I hope you all can work with that, because I think, and I don't mean to say this, but this is going to happen, and I think you're going to have a lot of people in the parks who are going to say, well, if they can do it, why can't we? And I just want to give you a heads up, and I really think we need to be on top of this when this happens. I recognize that. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for bringing that up. Council Member Stephens. Mayor, as I mentioned before, there have been some problems arise with this particular ordinance related to the corridors on Newtown Pike. After discussions with one of the landowners who is out there, we decided that some work needed to be done on it, and the law department has not quite finished their revision. So I would move that we table this until December 11th. Second. All right. It was item E, correct? Sir, that's item E. The Newtown landscape ordinance. I believe the correct form of the motion as opposed to tabling it would be to amend the docket, amend the items of new business to delete item E, and then we'll get it on the docket in December, did you say? I think it would be ready by next week. Okay, December 11th. We can do that. I would be happy to reword that to postpone item E until December 11th. Would that be the appropriate motion? And I think we had a second. Council Member James, the motion is to amend the items of new business by deleting item E until December 11th's meeting. Any discussion? Let's take it on a voice vote. Those in favor of amending the items of new business by deleting item E, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Any further motions with regard to the items of new business? Seeing none, I think we're prepared to vote on the main motion, which is to approve the items of business as amended. Now, I need some help from the clerk. I'm not sure what this vote reflects. The last vote is the exact last one that you just did to postpone or delete item E until December 11th. All right. So now we're ready to vote. We need to clear the screens, please, so that we can vote on approving the items of new business. Can I ask a question? Do I need to hit abstain on that A, or how do I do that? If you hit abstain, then your vote is actually going to go with the majority. So I can put in the notes that you recuse yourself from that item, which is what I've noted already and put in the system. Okay. Thank you. I don't know how to clear the screen, and my screen is still showing the last vote. In the interest of moving on, let's do it by voice vote. Those in favor of approving the items of new business as amended, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you. All right. That brings us now down to the presentations. The first one is from the Budget and Finance Committee. Sorry about that. Thank you. I'd like permission to postpone this until later in the meeting until I get a copy of the report. That is quite satisfactory. We'll move on. The next presentation is from the Lexington Public Library. Mr. Carey, if you'll step to the podium, please. Good afternoon. I'm Burgess Carey. I'm the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Lexington Public Library. I'd like to thank you all for the opportunity to come down here and address the Council. I'd like to tell you how honored I am to represent such a strong institution as the Lexington Public Library. You all would be pleased to know for a city of its size, Lexington boasts one of the finest public library systems in the country. We're here in part as a response from Councilman Meyer's letter of a couple months ago, I believe in October, asking for additional communication with the library. As some of you may know, we deliver a monthly report to the Mayor's Office, and we have brought copies of our programmatic budget for fiscal year 08 with us to distribute, and in it you'll find copies of our mission, our vision, our accomplishments, our goals, and budgetary information for each of our departments. I'd like to introduce you to a few of the people I brought with me who'd like to speak also. Mr. Larry Smith, who's Secretary of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Buzz Carmichael, who's a member of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Benjamin Calgo, did he come? Who many of you may know, he's an advisory board member. And Kathleen Emhoff, our Director and CEO. At this time, I'd like to turn the podium over to Mr. Smith, who'd make our presentation. Thank you, Burgess. I just wanted to take a couple of minutes to highlight some of the statistics that aren't as commonly understood about the library. I've got some information that we have forwarded to you about circulation and so forth. But just a few other things that I think are of interest. For one, I'm not sure everyone knows, but the Lexington Public Library was founded in 1795. It's five years older than the Library of Congress. Its role has changed, obviously, since then, but it is just as relevant or even more so today than it was at that time. A couple of points on the economic impact of the library. The physical library is a cornerstone of the downtown area. As the downtown area continues its revitalization, the library's role as a community gathering point will become even more important. The library has 126 full-time employees, 119 part-time staff. They pay more than $138,000 a year in occupational tax. On our new north side branch, we've exceeded our minority recruitment goal for the construction of that branch, with more than 17% being minority and women participation. The library is a center of lifelong living. Other than the parks and recreation, it's the only agency that serves citizens from birth. We have a Baby's First Library Card program through Old Age, our senior book buddies program. In fiscal year 07, we presented more than 2,500 community education programs, with more than 52,000 citizens, children, and 8,800 adults participating. The continuation and expansion of the primetime family reading programs in the Bilingual Cafe provide free multicultural literacy services to all people throughout the city. In 07, our Outreach Service Book Van circulated more than 143,000 items to assisted living facilities, Head Start programs, daycare centers, the Family Care Center, and the Florence Crittenden Home. In addition, volunteers for the Library Book Buddies program delivered 8,600 items to homebound adults in our community. The library and the University of Kentucky Health Care have partnered in a centrally located downtown kiosk for distribution of preventative health information. Our staff answered more than 200,000 reference questions via the telephone or in person. We have 175 public computers. These were used over 330,000 times for more than 223,000 hours. And in last year, over 3,700 people of all ages attended 493 free computer classes. We partner with a number of organizations in the community, the YMCA, LexArts, the Chamber, the Downtown Development Authority, the United Way, the W.T. Young Library, the World Trade Center, the Explorium, and the Living Arts and Science Center. During 2008, we will do a return on investment survey that we will be happy to share with you when we have the information. Libraries are a great investment. The green sheet that's in the packet tells you what you get for your investment in the Lexington Public Library. So thank you for your time, and I'm going to turn it back over to Burgess Carey to wrap up our presentation. Thank you. Are there any questions from the council? I do have a question. Yes, sir. You may have mentioned it, but what's the status of your relationship with the Carnegie Center and Operation Read now? Do you want to put this in, Kathleen? With Carnegie Center now? Yeah. We understand that you've been in conversations with them and have been helping some. Yes. We've spent over a year working with the Carnegie Board to see if we can come up with a mutually agreeable agreement. We're meeting tomorrow night, hopefully, to finalize an agreement so that we could have it to you, so that you would have it for your budget for this next year. Operation Read currently does not have an executive director. We have met with their board chair, and they're really – it's difficult for us to negotiate with them because there really isn't anybody there to negotiate with. They are both private boards, nonprofit boards, and we're willing to work with them in any way we can, and our goal is by the end of the year to have some kind of agreement with the Carnegie Center. I'm sorry. I didn't catch the last thing you said. Our goal by the end of the year is to have an agreement with the Carnegie Center, which would be six months ahead of when the current agreement expires. And your goal with Operation Read? They aren't going to be hiring an executive director until December 20th, so we aren't really sure how we can work that out. We're more than willing to talk to their board chair. They only have three people on their board at this point, but we're more than willing to try to do something with them, but it's a little hard when they don't have a leader at this time. I think we get many citizens, at least through the years, who approach me about why the library and those other two organizations can't get together and work together in a better way. So I'm sure they'll be happy to hear what you have to say and look forward to meaningful negotiations. We really feel that we can work better together. We can spend more time together talking to each other and do a better job and provide better services overall if we do it together. Thank you. Any other questions? Council Member DeCamp. Yes. I'd like to follow up what Dr. Stephens said on the Carnegie Center. I don't know if most people know, and it's my understanding, that the public library owns the building, the old Carnegie Library, which is a very well-known building, very kind of historic building, which is located in Gratz Park, and I hope as you go into negotiation and try to open up, I think, better communications that have been there in the past, that they're a pretty good occupant and there are not many people that could go into that building that would be acceptable, I think, and for the kind of use that they provide. So I hope that you'll keep that in mind because it is an important operation and I think all the support that they can get from the budget of the public library will be helpful in sustaining a kind of relationship not only with the library but with the city that the Carnegie Center has. So I hope that you'll keep that in mind as you go into more negotiations with them because it's very, very important to the city. We have already agreed with them for a five-year lease at $1 a year, so we want them there. We've already agreed to that piece. Yeah. We're meeting with them again tomorrow. Right. I knew that, so that's why I said it. Thank you. Council Member Crosby. I don't have a question. I just have a comment. I just really want to thank you all for all the programming that you do for the children in the various locations. As a mother of three young children and all the opportunities that we have to visit the different libraries and participate in different activities really has helped my children and it has instilled such a love of reading. They absolutely love to go to the library, and I just really appreciate everything you all do. So thank you very much. Thank you. We love to hear that. Council Member Myers. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for coming in today and presenting. I just have a couple of quick questions. The meeting, I guess the first one is the five-year agreement that you've reached for a dollar lease per year with Carnegie Center, is that starting this next fiscal year and moving forward? Okay. As part of the original agreement with the Carnegie Center when you were providing part of the funding and LFECG was doing the same, it's my understanding that there was a self-sufficiency aspect to the Carnegie Center where they were supposed to provide you with a plan for self-sufficiency three or four years ago. Is that part of this negotiation, or have you received a plan for self-sufficiency from them yet? We have not received anything from them. They have at various times given us oral reports of where they are in their fundraising, but we do not have an actual report. Okay. Is that going to be part of your negotiations with them? Because it's my understanding they were supposed to actually put together a plan rather than a report, but a plan becomes self-sufficient. So over this next five years. We have asked them for that on numerous occasions so that we can plan better with them. Right. But we haven't received that. Okay. Do you think that will be part of what they're going to – will you be talking with them about that tomorrow? We're hoping so. I mean, we don't know. They're setting the agendas. We've already given them the last proposal, and so we're waiting to hear from them what they have to say about it. Okay. Could you keep us abreast of what's – Certainly. Okay. That's why we sent you the whole package, because we figured then everybody would be on the same page. Sure. They'd know everything that had gone on in the last year. And we really appreciate that. So though it was a lot of trees, we thought at least everybody would know. We appreciate that. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. We'd also like the opportunity to come down more often and do a presentation, maybe a little bit more informative of our programs if the Council has time, because I can't express to you how strongly I feel, as K.C., Councilwoman Crosby does, about what Lexington Public Library provides for our community. I think because of past board members and an outstanding staff, funding that we feel is adequate, that has been in place now for over 25 years, I believe. The return on that investment, I think, has just been fantastic. Thank you all. Council Member Maloney, we're not through yet. Thank you. The question I have is on Village Drive in my district. I go by there a lot, and, I mean, it just seems like there's a span. I mean, people just coming out the doors. A lot of folks go in there, and I know there's not a lot of room there. I know that you've added on, you bought some, but I really feel in the next two or three years, that's going to be a capacity because of the population in that area. And do you all have a five-year plan for the fourth? Because I feel like that's going to be double within two years, you all are going to be. The board operates with a 15-year plan that we annually update, and the village branch actually has been an extremely successful project. We've been victims of our own success there, and we have an expansion under construction there now. But, obviously, that branch has been a true success. Yeah, and that's what I was hoping, that you all look at a five-year plan. Well, I know you've got 15 years, but I guarantee you when you all span what you have right now, there will be a capacity within two years. Because I think, in my opinion, I think that's the most used library probably in the city right now. I mean, every time I go in, it's full, and I'm not knocking into the other libraries. But it's great to see the kids there and the families there that are using that library. And I just hope that we can find a larger location in that area and just get the state-of-the-art for these kids to be able to use that library, which they've already used, and I appreciate you all for it. Our property and building committees have identified that area as well as the Hamburg area as future potential growth. Thank you. Council Member Stennett. Great segue. You took the words out of my mouth. The Hamburg area, I know we've met with you all briefly a few months ago regarding that project. Where are we at on the Hamburg area? Are we still looking for property? You got something you can give us? That's what I would ask. We're looking. You never know. We've been in negotiations with the city about one particular piece of property. I don't know the status of that now. The Eagle Creek branch, of course, serves part of that area, but we know that's obviously a high-growth area and we really would like to be there. It's prohibitive, and it has been, the real estate cost, but we're continuing to look. So would the Eagle Creek branch stay open as well as you would have one in Hamburg, or would it replace that one? We're really looking at all options and, frankly, how it impacts our 15-year plan and our plans for growth and staffing of the other libraries. But we know that's an area we need to be. Thank you. Anything further from members of the Council? I've got then a couple of questions. Could you provide us with a written summary of how things go with the Carnegie Center and Operation LEAD tomorrow evening? Could you provide us that prior to our Thursday meeting? 7 o'clock in the evening. Second, I understood you to say that you own the old library building in Gratz Park. Is that correct? That's correct. Do you know to what degree you receive maintenance assistance from urban county government? The commitment this year is for $100,000. Some of it is in kind, and some of it is actual dollars. I don't have that with me. I believe it's a 60-40 percent. The city does maintain the building, yes. I think it's about $40,000. Okay. That's all the questions I have. Thank you all very much for being with us. Council Member Stevens, are you ready to proceed? Yes. If the council will turn to page 102 in the packet, there's a summary of the meeting that was held on November 27th, the regular meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee. All committee members were present. The first item on the docket was a, I would say, a conversation with Susan Harris and Brian Boehm of the Lexington Horsemen and with Mr. Bill Owen of the Lexington Center Corporation about the contract between the horsemen and the Lexington Center. The parking prices and the concession prices were reviewed, terms of the lease, what the obligations of the horsemen were to the center and what the obligations of the Lexington Center were to the horsemen. The conversation lasted about an hour and 15 minutes. There was one clarification I thought that was significant, and that the horsemen apparently pay rent that's equal to about $10,000 a month, a game, I mean. But the Lexington Center, in their presentation, had deducted the amount of money that the horsemen, that is used to pay the personnel at the Lexington Center. So the actual rent that the Lexington Center receives was listed as $3,000 to $4,000 for each game. So there was a little disparity in that, and I think that was cleared up so everybody understands that their rent is around $10,000 a month. They have had losing seasons for about three years in a row. Their attendance has been a little better last year than previous years. After the discussion, there were no motions from any members of the Budget and Finance Committee. The second item was a review of provisions of financing to partner agencies. This has been placed in the committee by Councilmember Myers, and he and Commissioner Askew clarified certain items about purchase of service agreements between partner or outside agencies, as we used to call them, and their obligation to the city to furnish this with audited reports and complete financial reports so that we as a city could better ascertain what their financial needs might be and what proportion of their expenditures would come from the city and so forth as it relates to their mission. The third item was to be a report by Commissioner Cole on the state of the STARS and how it reflects on any financial reports that we all are looking forward to. And because we had run out of time, no STARS were to be seen. And that completes my report. Thank you very much. Are there any questions? Any questions for Dr. Stevens? All right. That brings us now down to an item on the agenda, which I have been looking forward to with some mixed emotions, I suppose. As everyone on the Council is painfully aware, our long-time Council clerk, Liz Damrell, is going to be retiring here shortly, and I have a little presentation I would like to make. I ask the Council's indulgence that if we depart from the normal rules of decorum here for a moment, I'd like for Liz to come up and take my chair. And I want to go over, Jeanette, if you don't mind, and take Liz's chair here for just a moment. That's what I call real motion. I have a proclamation of the Lexington, Fayette, Urban County Government, to all to whom these presents shall come, whereas this proclamation authorizes Jim Newberry, on behalf of the Urban County Government, to congratulate Council Clerk Liz Damrell, who is leaving her public service career for new challenges as a writer of short stories and children's books, and whereas this proclamation authorizes Jim Newberry, on behalf of the Urban County Government, to congratulate Liz Damrell on 25 years of service to said government and to citizens of Lexington, and whereas this proclamation authorizes Jim Newberry, on behalf of the Urban County Government, to look back on Liz Damrell's successful career at said government, including her first position in 1983 as an office assistant to, working for the Council Clerk, Kitty Johnson, and Deputy Council Clerk, Ann Salee, her 1988 appointment as Deputy Council Clerk, her 1992 appointment as Council Clerk, and her professional standing as a certified municipal clerk, and whereas this proclamation authorizes Jim Newberry, on behalf of the Urban County Government, to thank Liz Damrell and to encourage her to more enjoy the time with her sons, Devin and Matthew, and now, therefore, I, Jim Newberry, Mayor of the Lexington and Fayette Urban County Government, do hereby proclaim December 14, 2007, as Liz Damrell Day, and on behalf of the Urban County Government, authorize and encourage Liz Damrell's fellow employees to attend a reception in her honor to be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Friday, December 14. Thank you, Master Clerk. Thank you very much. I'd like Liz to spin the rules and give second reading. Second. I can tell you that's not easy. And perhaps that is the most visible part of what Liz does, but as all of you on the Council know, and I hope many of the folks who may watch from week to week will come to understand, Liz has had enormous responsibilities here in terms of the maintenance of our archives and generally keeping the records of Urban County Government in good fashion. I think I came to certainly more fully appreciate the job that Liz does during the course of this year, but for all of those folks who have worked with you here for a long, long time, Liz, let me tell you that we are going to miss you very much. You have done a superb job throughout your career here in whatever the capacity may have been. And I just wanted to present this proclamation and to give you a chance to sort of get a different perspective on the Council meetings. I don't want to do it. But thanks so much for all you've done. Thank you so much. Well, I appreciate this totally unexpected thing. I'm glad I didn't wear something really weird today to work. But you all have been wonderful to our office, and it's been a real blessing to me to work for the Urban County Government. And I'll pop in from time to time. I still have it until New Year's Eve. That's my final day of work. I thought that would be a good day. So thank you all for everything that you all do, and the Mayor, and best of luck and good wishes to all of you. That brings us down now to the Council reports. Council Member Beard. I've got a new list now. Council Member Gordon. Thank you, Mayor. And just since Liz is still in the House, I want to add my personal thanks. Thank you so much for your dedication. I have four items. First is the Council held its confirmation hearing for Cheryl Taylor as our new Commissioner of Environmental Quality, and she is on the dock at Thursday for first reading under resolutions. And then secondly, I have been asked to announce the fourth annual Keep It Real, Don't Drink Community Education Campaign, which high school students in Fayette County and 16 surrounding counties are eligible to enter. And they enter videos, and the 30-second video is to give a message about why kids under 21 shouldn't drink. And it's a really neat contest every year. The deadline for entries is December 14th. And if folks want additional information, they can go onto the website, www.keep-it-real.us, and then folks go on the Internet and vote. And so the Council will see the results in the spring after the voting takes place. Secondly, I wanted to just highlight something that I think is a really neat program that Lextran is doing for Customer Appreciation Night on December 18th. If you're a member of the general public, you can actually go to the transit center at 7 o'clock, and buses are going to leave with citizens to go tour the Southern Lights display at the Kentucky Horse Park. And so I think we ought to just cram those buses full, and it'll be a fun night for our citizens and us to see the Southern Lights from a big bus window. Finally, the Vice Mayor asked me to bring this wonderful award from the Downtown Lexington Corporation. This award was presented to the Urban County Council for each year it goes to a business or organization that exemplifies exceptional contribution to our community in Downtown Lexington. And the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council was recognized for its vision for our city and our commitment to making Lexington great. And we want to thank the Downtown Lexington Corporation, some of whom are here, and just reassure you that we're all on board to keep working toward that vision of keeping Lexington a really good place. So thank you very much. Thank you. Council Member Stennett. Thank you, Mayor. Just to echo the same sentiments Council Member Gordon said, thank you so much for the award. I know to all my colleagues who also received the award, you know, hard work, integrity, and respect is what we've had the last year on Council. And I know we wouldn't have gotten this award a year ago or even two years ago. So I want to thank my colleagues for helping sharing that award as well. Yesterday, Mayor, we had our first, I believe, on Monday. I'm glad Michael Allen is here, our first benefit enrollment period. I think there's some confusion about the process at this point. And I'd like to ask Michael Allen if you can shed any light about the rest of this week and what we're able to do to get our benefits online. Several employees are a little bit confused, and I think there may be another opportunity to have another enrollment here at the Government Center possibly, if we can arrange that. I think some people did not get their benefits completed on Monday. I know I went online myself, Humana, and dealt with it in a piece of cake. It took me less than four minutes to do it, but I think some other people had some troubles with it jamming up yesterday. So could you tell us where we're at on the process? I sure can, Council Member. Thank you. Briefly, what we discovered for the Government Center on Monday morning was that we only have approximately 60 portals of access to the Internet in the Government Building and the surrounding buildings, which is probably not sufficient. At that point, we had a lot of – the good news is that we had so many people that were ready and willing and able to go online to start to enroll, which was very encouraging. The bad news is it locked up the Internet completely. So we will be addressing those issues. We have corrected that in all of the outlying areas. Today at Community Corrections, there was absolutely no problems. So we are working on that. There is a slight communication issue that we need to address, and that's if you have a pop-up blocker on your Internet browser and you go to submit your final enrollment, it will be blocked, and then it will appear that the system is not working. So those kinds of little tweaks we need to do. This is a perfect storm of benefits. It's called a positive enrollment. Over the last several years, we haven't had to have this kind of enrollment because we haven't made any changes. Anytime we make a benefit change, provider type, plan design, tier, whatever, we have to have everyone who is eligible for benefits, I think as you know, Council Member, enroll, re-enroll. So the good days were if you didn't have any changes, you didn't have to go to open enrollment. This particular time, we have to. It occurred approximately four years ago when we added Aetna as a provider with Humana. What that basically amounts to is we have 3,500 eligible employees that every single one must come and visit with us and determine what benefits, if any, they want. Well, we have five days to do that, so it becomes a real numbers game and a lot of hard work has gone into it. Unfortunately, there has been some waits, but we're working on that as well. In order to eliminate some of the pinch points, we have already scheduled two more make-up days here for next week. Part of the issue, I'd love to add several more weeks if I could just to make it much easier on our employees, but part of the problem is the deadline that we face with the end of the year, the 31st, because everyone will expect, all of our employees, and rightfully so, will expect their new cards, new enrollment information, and everything by the first of the year. So we have to put a cutoff point in so that we can get that information to the appropriate carriers so that they can meet our customers' needs. But we are addressing that. I appreciate everyone's patience and working with us on that. And what are those two days next week? Have we scheduled them yet? One for sure is Tuesday, next Tuesday for certain, because the third shift for fire has some difficulty because of the work week, the 56-hour work week. So we've already scheduled the entire third shift, which is about 115 people, to come on Tuesday. So I was working with Chief Hendricks on that today. So that will be one full day. And then there will probably be another one either Wednesday or Thursday. I was thinking Thursday because, for instance, council members, et cetera, will probably be here Thursday. And is there no meeting Thursday, this Thursday? The 11th is the last day. Then either probably Wednesday. It will either be Tuesday, Thursday, or Tuesday, Wednesday, one of those two. But we'll have two days. And one other question, must people enroll online before they come to or can they do either or? It's very helpful to enroll online because if not, when we go to the final, where Colonial is helping us do the database, if you're not enrolled, then they have to do that process. So that would even take the process even longer. So it makes it kind of quicker. So you can do the health and dental online, but the rest you'll need to do in person. That is correct. And there is light at the end of the tunnel because once we do get our human capital system, the beauty of that system is that we become the database here. So the information you put online we would be able to upload to our providers and then that would eliminate you could do all this from your home and never have to go visit an enrollment site. And that's our goal. All right. While you're here, Mr. Allen, let me check and see if there are any other questions. Council Member Gordon. I have a quick question. Council Member Stennett answered or asked part of it. Can you clarify for me once we've done the online, which a lot of us did the online but couldn't get into the other part, what exactly is the part where you sit down with the counselor? Is that insurance, eye care? What else is it? That's anything else that you'd like to enroll in, Council Member, all other insurances. And what Colonial does for us is to take this all into a database and then upload it all into our mainframe versus having to ask to do individual manual data entry. What do you do with an employee who does the online part but doesn't show for the sit down with the counselor part? Well, then that will be considered that's okay, but it will be because we're under ordinance to supply medical, a medical plan. That will be considered a default, and they will default into the Humana Gold plan, so they'll have the coverage. And then if they want to make some changes after the beginning of the year, obviously we'll try to accommodate them as best as we can. Even though they registered online for their Humana plan? Because the systems don't interface, our system and the Humana at this point does not interface, that data is good data, but it's housed on the Humana site, not our site. Well, then what is the benefit of sitting down and doing the online part if you have to go? Well, there's a dual benefit to it. The first is that it's getting our employees used to enrolling online, which is a good thing, because that's where we're going to be going in the future. Second, they have the printout sheet that shows what their election is and that their dependents, et cetera, are enrolled already on the database with Humana, which is where they should be. And then when the colonial rep wants to input that data, it's a simple click versus a lot more data entry. One final question. Now, this year, employees are automatically enrolled through Humana in the iCare, is that correct? That is correct. So if an employee has a family member who only wants iCare, then that employee, do they have to take another IMED plan and then add the spouse or family member on, so they're covered twice? They can be covered twice and get twice the benefit, yeah. Okay, thank you. So, yes. Any other questions for Mr. Allen? Yes. Council Member Crosby. Not so much. Maybe not a question, but maybe just a few comments. You know, obviously there were a few bumps in the road, and with everybody going into one plan versus the many options and everybody having to enroll, but maybe if you have to go through something like this again, some special considerations, some things that I took note of yesterday were, one, that there are employees who have special needs, for example, and I won't name names, but if your leg's an immobilizer, you can't physically stand in line for three hours to enroll. It's not physically possible. And if people in line are not willing to make an exception for you, that doesn't leave you very many choices. So maybe having some kind of line or some exception where people with some medical necessity might be able to go where they don't have to wait in lines like that might be a good option in the future. And then also, perhaps, for people who may not be enrolling in the plans where they're opting out versus those who might have, you know, a family where they're enrolling and they might have more needs where it's going to take them 45 minutes versus somebody where it's taking them 10 minutes kind of separating separate lines to try and keep things flowing a little different because there were a lot of frustrations, I think, with people having to all be funneled through the same area where their needs were very different, where you could have kept one kind of going very smoothly and others were not going very smoothly because they had a much greater need versus some of the others, if that makes sense. Those are good suggestions. Thanks, Council Member. Council Member Beard. Thank you, Mayor. Additional observations, if we might. Mondays, especially in December, where individuals are attempting to burn up some vacation, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that they're going to be down here anyway. In some cases, for Council Member Crosby, did not exaggerate, three and four hours. I saw no attempt, really, to remediate the situation in the lobby. There were people from Human Resources that were coming to chat about the situation, but there was no attempt to fix something. The situation with police and fire, when, in fact, we have a site for police and fire, I noticed, for instance, that the council clerk's office, all five of them were required to go out to or asked to go out to the West Sector location on Old Frankfort Pike. Meanwhile, we must have had three or four hundred people who were fire department and police individuals who came down to the main lobby and clogged up the operation. I don't know whether the communication was not clear enough to everyone. Someone brought forward the idea that there was a comment about a one-liner, that public safety comes to government center, when they really meant the public safety office, and not all of public safety. But little things like that are more than an irritant. To have to stand for three or four hours. It was an iron 45 minutes for me to opt out of my medical insurance, because I have my medical insurance somewhere else, and to sign up again for the fifth straight year for the $7,500 in life insurance, which is the only thing that I actually took. It just needs some rough edges. Michael knocked off, you know, it's a captive audience, but at the same time there were people that could not get any work done yesterday if they were here, and there were other people that had to come down here. I saw an EMS unit sitting outside idling, and they were taking turns in the EMS unit coming in, and I imagine they were fairly long turns. And so the EMS unit was sitting out behind the government center idling. Hopefully, again, the rough edges can get knocked off, but it was not a fun place to be yesterday afternoon. Thank you. Council Member McCord. Thank you, Mayor. And I have to agree with those sentiments. It's, you know, not only was it not a fun place yesterday to be, but today out of corrections it was as bad. We had an individual who got there at 7.30 this morning and, you know, just stood in line until 9 o'clock, wasn't even the first person there. It took him three hours to get through the process. And I think as we hear these examples, I think the thing that's kind of frustrating, I guess, for council is the amount of waste that shows of not only talent but gas idling out in front and so forth like that. So just for some clarity, Michael, if it's okay with you, I want to ask a couple questions that people are asking us or asking me at least. In a situation, and this is my own situation, if I don't want to change anything and I have my health insurance outside of this operation, I just want everything the same and just keep it that way, then walk me through exactly what I need to do. Well, council member, because it's a positive enrollment, you have to waive coverage again. And we have this thing called a benefit pool. And because we have that benefit pool, you have to tell us, if you waive coverage, what you want to do with it. So we, every year, if there's absolutely no change and it's not a positive enrollment, then you can just let it ride. And those are wonderful years, and those are what we look forward to. But in a positive enrollment, because we do have a new medical plan, new types of medical plans that are dissimilar from what you were offered before, you again have to tell us, nope, I waive coverage, and this is how I want to use, to council member Beard's point, this is, I want the $7,500 worth of life insurance, and this is how I want my benefit pool to be used, whether it just goes all into 401K or whatever you want to do with it. Would it be, as an employee, I go online onto Humana and Delta Dental, and it was all jammed up yesterday here, obviously, so I never saw it, and couldn't get to an outside computer to even get in and look at it. But people are telling me, hey, you get to the Humana page, and then it says sign in, but I don't have a member number. What am I doing? I really don't know, council member, because the Humana page works perfectly. Okay. The question, then, that I have is if, as a couple of folks in this government, I've set my benefit pool up, I'm happy, but I don't remember exactly where everything is or how that's distributed. When I get up to that computer, does that person see what I've got so far? Yes, sir. The colonial rep has the whole printout of what your current benefit structure looks like. Okay. And so if I can get online and I can opt out of my health insurance and can choose Delta Dental or whatever, I've got that in my hand, I sit down with them, they've got this on the screen, I say keep it as is. And it's just that fast. And sign off. Okay. So one of the things, again, that I think Council Member Crosby had brought to light, you know, we've got five more days of enrollment now. Can we put any of these things to work to get some of this fed up? Because I don't think anybody is enjoying the idea of what do you mean you waited three hours and people are starting to talk amongst themselves. And there's a growing sense of real, not frustration, it's anger. I mean, that's the phone calls that I'm getting and so forth. And it's unfortunate because I agree with what you're saying. We've got to take it from where it is today, which is a very manual, labor-intensive mode, to getting our workforce to plugging all these things in online and making it a lot smoother. And this is a rough transitional year. And so I think that's why I want to just make sure that we ask these questions so that people can see it, people watch it, and we can tell them. We have already started to address one of Council Member Crosby's concerns on individuals who are disabled or unable to stand for any period of time and have already started addressing how we're working on that so those people are not standing in line for any length of time. The waiver of benefits, it would be nice if we could make just a, but with that benefit pool as well, it might not necessarily be any faster for that group than any other group. So it's kind of like you get in two different lines at the grocery store and you go, darn it, I picked the wrong line. And so at this point, everybody is getting, you know, the next available individual. I think one thing that would be a help, just as a suggestion, is if your office could send out just a very quick e-mail blanketed across government saying, step one, two, three, I know it's confusing, you know, just what we've talked about here, just a very simple, if you go to the website, plug this thing in, you know, and so forth. I don't think it's that thick because people will dump it quick, but that might help so that over the next five days' worth of enrollment, at least we've got some of the rough edges, as Councilman Beard said, knocked down a little bit. Will do. Thank you. Council Member Myers. Thank you, Mayor. I just have one quick question. Is it possible that we require Colonial to have more reps up here? Because that, to me, seemed to be where things really bogged down. That's a great question, Council Member Myers, and that's the first one I attacked. We have nine representatives this year, which is more than we normally have, and I did approach the principal for, because I was out at corrections bright and early this morning and worked there until my pension board meeting, and I talked to Mike Terry about adding staff because there's a training issue and it's his people, and he's paying for them, but I did ask him to add more people. Can we include that in the RFP next year? Hopefully, sir. We won't need their services next year. Okay. As soon as we can have something that allows us to enroll online and where we can house the database of selection and then upload that to the vendor instead of having going to the vendor database and receiving a download, this will never happen again. Okay. And we're right on the cusp of having that available, and that's got to be the goal that we want to achieve. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Any further questions? Council Member Beard. The requirement that we show proof of insurance, how would that work in an online environment? I can't very well show somebody my medical card if I'm at my terminal at home. I'm sure there's going to be some exceptions to the overall online enrollment, Council Member, and we'll have to address those as we design the system. I don't have a good answer for that right now. The other comment is that I was lucky that my aide had gone ahead and plowed the ground for me so that I wasn't completely lost when I got down there. But to waive your benefits, you had to go to the basement to do so. That's just where the access to the Humana site was. Yeah, okay. There were people who went and stood in line through the whole process to find out that they had to turn around and go downstairs and then come back in and go to the back of the line. And if there was some kind of a sign up telling people where they needed to go first, second, and third, it would have been a lot smoother. We did that today. I was not aware of that yesterday, but that's how we were working at corrections today. So, good suggestion. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Any further questions? Council Member James. I just wanted to clarify something you said, Mr. Allen. You mentioned that if someone enrolls in line and they later want to make changes, what qualifying event is there that allows them to make changes? Well, there's a number of qualifying events in the plan design, Council Member. But what we're talking about is if what I was talking about, if somebody defaults and let's say that they needed coverage for a spouse or for children and their default is employee only in the gold plan, and they can come to us and say, well, it's a mistake. I need this level of coverage prior to the beginning of the first, prior to the first of the year. We'll see if we can make that change available for them. Okay, but prior to the first. It has to be prior to the first of the year. Even after that, there are qualifying events, marriage and all those. Yeah, I just wanted to clarify that it's not because I think when you spoke earlier, it sounded as if beyond coverage being effective. Thanks for clarifying. Okay, thank you. Any further questions? All right, thank you, Mr. Allen. Thank you all. Council Member Stennett, do you have anything further? Yes, a few more items from my council report. We made two motions earlier in response to the dog task force recommendations. There still is one other motion outstanding, and that's the staffing level at animal care and control, and just for council members' sake, I know some people have called me and asked why we haven't brought that motion forward. It's because we can't find the money. We've got to find the money first before we can make the budget amendment, and what we're looking for, council members, is about $92,000, and that would increase the staffing for at least the next six months of the budget cycle for the 2008 budget. So $92,000 is what we're looking for. I know the mayor is chipping in and trying to find some areas as well. So that's the holdup there. Also, some good news. I know Brown Station High School is in the news quite a bit for several things, but it's a pleasure to find out this past weekend that the National Soccer Coaches Association announced the annual team academic awards, and our own Brown Station girls' soccer team was number seventh in the nation in GPA average at 4.17 as a team for the 2006-2007 season, and they were number one in the state. So I want to congratulate those girls and Coach Trip Rogers there at Brown Station for getting that recognition. Academics should always come first, and he definitely pushes that first. Great. Thank you. And last but not least, there's a new four-way stop at Brian L. and Northside Drive there in the Deep Springs neighborhood area. I just want to make sure people are aware of that. And we have installed some flashing lights on top of the new stop signs, so hopefully it will make it a little bit easier to see going through that new intersection. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Blevins. Thank you, Mayor. Council Members and Mr. Mayor, as you all know, I've been working diligently to try to bring to you some legislation regarding the needed revenue in our sanitary sewer area. So we can begin work. I'm happy to give you an update today. I want to first thank Commissioner Coe and Charlie Martin and their staff for all their assistance, as well as the folks on the desk for your assistance in crafting legislation. We're very close to having something ready. I hope to complete it in December. The last bits of policy need to be put in place. That's still in draft form, and as a result, the financial model is still in draft form. We're going to wrap that work up in December. So today I would like to ask that Ms. Langston and Mr. Green, if you could make arrangements, we probably need a slot as early in January as you can make it for a good discussion on this. I wanted to give you all a heads up. We'll be seeing that in January. Thanks, Mayor. That's all I have. Thank you very much. Council Member McCord. Thank you, Mayor. A couple of things. One is I wanted to thank the Mayor and your staff for a great night on Saturday night. The Christmas festivities in Lexington were really well done, and not only were they well done, but they were very coordinated. Instead of having a parade and then a Christmas tree lighting on a different night and everything, it was all put together. And I want to thank Renee Jackson and Sandy Straub as well from the Downtown Lexington Corporation for making this a really, really special event. And, Mayor, you did a great thing from the stage where you acknowledged that there were a number of folks from Parks and Recreation that have been working like the dickens for the last month or so to make this happen. And I'd just like to acknowledge those people publicly as well and thank them personally for all of the work that they've done. And if you'll bear with me, Council, let me just rattle off these names that really have done yeoman's work. Sean McStay, Scott Brinegar, Lori Brinegar, Mike Davis, Gordon Gillam, Evelyn O'Kelly, Darrell Hager, John Carter, Jeff Giles, Robert Harris, C.D. Purnell, Pat Qualls, Jerry Elam, Kenny Hacker, Brian Craycraft, Anthony Kelly, Estelle Sorrell, and Kathy Moberly, along with Penny Ebel and her staff. And it really set the holidays off right. And I know we had a record crowd and the weather was good, but thank you. Let me just inject one thing. Most of those folks, when I read their names the other night, were scattered all over the place, and I didn't have a chance to express my appreciation to them personally. We have scheduled a time on December 18th, 9 o'clock in the morning, for them to come by for coffee and donuts, just where we would have a chance to say thanks to them directly. And I wanted to invite any of the council members who'd like to come by on the 18th at 9 o'clock in the Mayor's office to do so, just so we can express our appreciation to them. They did a fabulous job. Thank you, Mayor. I also wanted just to invite council members and Mayor to our Therapeutic Recreation, I guess, Division of Parks and Recreation is hosting a Christmas dinner and dance for our special needs community on Saturday, this Saturday, December 8th. The dinner is from 5 to 6, and the dance starts around 6 and goes until 9 o'clock. For those that want more information, please call Brent Claiborne at 258-2908. And Brent has done just a fantastic job. He's a recreational supervisor in that area that's in that acting role and just has a real heart for this community and has done some phenomenal things. The last thing I wanted to say is I got the opportunity last week on Thursday and Friday to go with a group with Bluegrass Tomorrow to Austin, Texas, kind of a look into our chamber's leadership trip and what Austin has and study how they do economic development since we had had our chamber in Commerce Lexington with economic development on Tuesday talking about their plans. And it was very timely to sit down and talk to Austin. And I am thrilled to death to come back with a number of things that I think are going to be very beneficial to this body as we do our task force. But a couple things I wanted just to make you all aware of to kind of give you a sense of where we can go and what can happen when you really partner. Austin, Texas, has a program called Opportunity Austin that basically is started by the chamber. It was a five-year program designed to create 72,000 net jobs in five years. They are three-and-a-half, just a little over three-and-a-half years into that endeavor, and they're at 80,000 net jobs. Now, Austin is a city that's about three times our size, so those numbers are pretty staggering. But that's what can happen when you see a coordinated effort between City Hall and Commerce Lexington, in their case, Chamber of Commerce. The other thing that was really interesting was 18% of Travis County residents are University of Texas graduates. An equal number in Fayette County would be roughly just under 50,000 folks in Fayette County would be U.K. graduates. And so Austin does a phenomenal job of keeping and retaining the best and the brightest, attracting from the outside, all the things that Councilmember Stennett has said he would like to see with this task force. And there's some really specific things that I want to share with the Council is how the city partners with them. But I just want to let you know that I've seen how it's done, and it looks really good when you can pull it all together. And I'm thrilled to be working with Commerce Lexington over the next year with this. So thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Councilmember Maloney. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to announce tonight at Cardinal Valley they're having a potluck neighborhood association meeting. I will not be able to make it because of the zone change, but I hope everybody in the Cardinal Valley area does show up. I'd like to echo on Liz. I was here in 1988 when she first started doing this, and I remember when she took Kitty's place. And she will be missed, and I really appreciate all the hard work that she's done for the last 20 years or so at that position. And I thank her again, and she will be missed. Thank you. Thank you very much. Councilmember Blues. Thank you, Mayor. A couple of items. Almost a month ago, the Civil Service Employees Association asked us to send a letter around to councilmembers asking us to formalize the allowance of up to four hours a month, I think, for CSEA officers to do CSEA business. And so I moved to place an intergovernmental committee, the Civil Service Employees Association request, for four hours a month of AWL time for officers to conduct CSEA business. So moved. Second. I'd like to ask a second from Councilmember Blues and a second from Councilmember Beard to refer that item to the CSEA Services Committee. Is that correct? Intergovernmental. Intergovernmental Committee. I'm sorry. Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Those opposed, vote no. Motion carries. And I've got a second item. If I could have that first image on the screen. This is something that came up in one of my neighborhoods. You'll see that nice little picket fence there in the foreground, and then you'll see a second fence farther down the street. And I had a lot of calls on that from the surrounding neighbors, as you might imagine. It's not only unsightly, but if you look at the next image, you see how dangerous that is. This is the neighbor's driveway. So trying to negotiate backing out of that driveway, blind into the street, crossing the sidewalk, or somebody walking a dog, a kid coming behind a scooter, or a bicycle. So we have aesthetics combined with a safety issue. And the third thing to know about that fence is that it's perfectly legal. And so I want to move to place in the Planning Committee a review of the ordinances regulating the allowable heights of residential fences. So moved. Questions? I have a motion by Councilmember Blues and a second by Councilmember DeCamp to refer that item to the Planning Committee. And that counts as a member of Maloney. Mr. Blues, I appreciate you bringing that up. I also like to have a similar problem in my district where a gentleman is putting a fence up, and it's been going on for about four years, and he just puts piece by piece by piece into that fence. And it's really becoming a problem. A lot of the neighbors are complaining. And I really would like to amend, if that's possible, on how much time a fence has once it has a permit, when it can be built by. And if you have a problem with the friendly amendment to be added to that, along with the discussion about the height and all that. I consider that a friendly amendment. As does I expect Councilmember DeCamp for his second? Yes. All right. We'll do that by friendly amendment. Just as a footnote, I will support this. But we, as a body, the previous council, have already looked at this issue in depth. And this happened in my district about a year and a half ago. And we looked at every legal possible way. I don't know if David Barber was involved with that or not. But our law department did a lot of work on this. And I have all the files. And basically on the height and on what's allowable is a very difficult thing for this city to ever change. But in response to Councilmember Maloney's issue, I think there is some ways to curb the timeliness of building the fence. But in terms of, you know, the material and the height, there's very little we can do. But I'll be glad to forward that information to Councilmember. We've already looked at this issue. Well, I appreciate that, you know, that warning. But undaunted, I look forward to your turning over your files to me, you know, or to the planning committee. Actually, to Councilmember Gorton. And I know that we'll be happy to tear into it. All right. The motion on the floor is to refer to the planning committee for their consideration of the item of height of fences, material of fences, and the duration of permits to construct fences. Any further discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries unanimously. Anything further? Councilmember Blues? No, thank you, Mayor. That's my report. Thank you. Councilmember Stephens. I support the looking at the fence problem. There's a structure on Richmond Road just past Henry Clay's house in which they're erecting a fence on the front line next to the sidewalk. The neighbors are not in favor of it, but it's legal. And the building inspector could find no way to say no. However, it's turned out there's a deed restriction against it. So, you might check the deeds in some neighborhoods. They've got deed restrictions on fences. The neighborhood I live in allows no fences. So, there are other ways to look at it. I think some of the neighbors are going to go to court on this deed restriction. I don't know if that applies in your neighborhood. The Budget and Finance Committee, Councilmember Lane and Councilmember Stennett and I have looked at our docket on December the 11th when we're scheduled to meet in deference to the fact that we have nothing on the docket and that we're getting a new governor that day and there will be a lot of festivities in the town to the west of us. We're canceling the Budget and Finance Committee. No Budget and Finance Committee next week. All right. Unless somebody wants to have one. And we hope they have a good time because we'll be in Frankfurt. Anything further? Thank you. Councilmember DeCant. Thank you, Mayor. Two quick things. Yesterday, the Ad Hoc News Rack Committee met and we met with the KKG, the new recently hired consultants for the downtown sidewalks and other design features, and we are making some progress. We still get a lot of complaints about, especially in the downtown, the news racks, the number and how they're scattered around. And so we're still working on it and hopefully by working with our new consultant, we will come up with some plans not only for the downtown but some more stringent regulations for news racks outside of the downtown. So we are working on it. It's a slow process, but we will be coming up with something. The other thing was that last night I was able to attend the candlelight tour at Eisen, the Henry Clay Estate, and I doubt whether there's any place that had such outstanding holiday decorations as they had at Eisen. We're really fortunate that the home of Henry Clay, the great statesman, was here in Lexington and that his house is still open to the public and it certainly is one of our major tourist attractions and certainly an outstanding place to visit over the Christmas holidays to see the decorations. I would encourage everyone to do it. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Lane. Thank you, Mayor. About a year or so ago, there was a capital expenditure fund approved by the council for the Bluegrass Domestic Balance Program. That was out of our capital expenditure funds allocations. And this was approved by the council, however, and the money was dispersed on this just recently. But in checking the paperwork, evidently there's not a record of it being approved by the council. And there was a memorandum sent out by Council Administrator Langston to all council members on November 29th with all the information on that. So I would just like to make a motion to approve the payment to the Bluegrass Domestic Balance Program. Second. The question I have is whether or not that is something that needs to be placed on the docket and looks as though our law department commissioner is not here right offhand. Where are the funds coming from? The capital money? Yeah, this was already been on the docket. I mean, I remember it being on the docket. Why don't you go ahead and vote for it. If it needs to be put on the docket, we'll put it on the docket. That's a pragmatic lawyer if I ever saw one. I like that. I like that. The second item I have, Mayor. Well, let's take care of that now while we can. Jeanette. I was the capital projects coordinator on that, and I spoke with Glenda George in the Department of Law. And what happened, for some reason we didn't know, that one particular issue got dropped on the resolution. When the resolution was made for all the other items on that capital projects list in October 2006, that particular one was dropped. And so I contacted her to make sure that we were doing correctly, and this is what she told me to do in order to get this particular one issue on a resolution so that we could finish what we actually started. Because everything actually was approved, and it actually was approved in work session, but for some reason it got dropped from the resolution. All right. Then we have a motion to approve the expenditure of the Blue Grass Domestic Violence Program. Yes. In the amount of $8,500, correct? $8,500, and it's already been dispersed. Well, to ratify the dispersion of that amount of money. And do I have a second from Council Member Myers? Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Those opposed, no. Motion carries. All right. Thank you. Mayor, I've got one other item. Last week at work session there was a letter drafted for the Public Service Commission, and there were some Council Members who elected not to sign that letter. And so in discussions with those other Council Members, we have drafted a second letter, which the following Council Members have agreed to sign it, Council Member Myers, McCord, Crosby, James, and myself. We, however, are submitting the letter to the other Council Members, and we passed out a copy on that. And when this issue comes up, I guess it's on the docket to sign a letter like this at our next meeting coming up. We'd like to have this letter considered. Perhaps that all the Council Members could be, you know, we could get a unanimous consent on one letter and submit it, just one letter to the PSC, rather than having two letters submitted. So I'm just self-advising that I'd like for the Council Members to look at the letter, and I'd appreciate any feedback on that between now and next Tuesday. Thank you. Council Member Gorton. I just wanted to clarify the other letter is already sent. If you will recall the discussion, the wording was that the following Council Members as individuals were advocating this, and that letter went out last Tuesday, and it is not on the docket for approval. It is a letter as individuals that 11 Council Members signed. Okay. Well, maybe I need to be correct on that. I thought that Council Member Stevens made a resolution to adopt that letter. That's not on the docket anymore? Okay. Well, then I would welcome any Council Member who would just like to sign this letter, in addition to one they've already signed, to consider signing the letter. Thank you. All right. Anything further? Council Member Lane. Anybody wish to speak to that particular issue? Yes, I have a comment. Council Member Stevens. What I did in the motion last week was not to ask for Council approval, but ask that that letter be placed in our minutes as far as historical documentation is concerned. So it was not approved by the Council. It was just put in our minutes without approval. All right. Council Member Illinger. A couple of questions. What is the difference between the last letter and this letter, in your opinion, and when is the deadline to have, if you want to sign this letter, it's going to be sent out? Well, we have five Council Members that have already agreed to sign. So I would say we could send it out next Tuesday and give all the other Council Members an opportunity if they wanted to sign the letter, sign the other letter. I mean, you could sign both of them. It wouldn't be a problem. For purposes of clarification, is the deadline for public comment December 28th, Mr. Barber? Yes. Okay. So in terms of having something in the record at the Public Service Commission, it would need to be there on or before December 28th. Council Member Illinger. I had a second question, though. What was the difference between the two letters, in your opinion? Well, I think the basic difference between the two letters is that this letter has less political commentary in it, and it's basically stating that we're relying on the Public Service Commission to take all the information from all the various sources that are making either statements or filing information with the Commission to evaluate all that and to look at the plan by Kentucky American War Company compared to any other alternative plans that were provided so that we could get a very accurate apples-to-apples, fully objective analysis of the submissions that were made. So there would be a benefit to our constituents and to our council, to our government, to have this information to evaluate to, you know, determine the cost and feasibility of the different programs that were offered. Council Member James, are you wishing to speak to this issue? Yes, I am. Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to respond to Council Member Stevens where he mentioned that the issue was actually to put in the minutes that the letter was being submitted. When I look back at the actual work session summary on page 3, it actually specifies a motion by Council Member Stevens to approve the second drafted letter. So the minutes actually reflect approval by council, not submittal into minutes. I'm sorry that I didn't make that correction when we were going over the minutes, but I would submit that that was not what the intention was. We didn't want to bind those people who have contrary opinions to endorsement of the secondary endorsement letter just because they happen to be on the council. So I'll read that over and prepare an amendment to that, or minutes, so that a correction to the minutes will reflect what the intention was, which was not to speak for any member of the council who didn't want to sign the letter. Okay. Thank you for that consideration. I look forward to a revision. Okay. Thank you. Council Member Myers. Thank you, Mayor. I would just say I'd like to thank Councilman Lane for putting together this letter, and I do agree with him that I think the main difference between this letter and the previous letter is that they both have the same intent, I believe, but the political commentary is absent in this letter. Thank you. Council Member Ellinger. I hate to continue to ask this, but is there a conflict between the two letters? Do you think you can sign both letters and still be in agreement? And is the PSC going to be confused by the two different letters receiving them? Is there enough difference between them, or are you one telling one thing? If I sign both letters, is it saying I'm for something and not for something then? Well, I think each council member would have to make their own decision in that regard. I elected not to sign the other letter and to prepare this letter instead because I felt that it better reflected my position and the best interests of my constituents and the best interests of our Fayette County, and I have been following the water supply issue for a number of years. So, I mean, I've tried to be very objective about it. That was my intent. I'm not trying to be argumentative about the other letter, but I felt strongly that this letter was a better reflection on what we should be saying as a council to the Public Service Commission. Anything further? Council Member Stennett. I just want to clarify. Council Member Lane keeps alluding to there were 10 people signed the letter. There were actually, for official, there were 11 council members signed that letter. Thank you. Yes, sir, I was aware of that. Andrea James has indicated she would sign this letter also. Council Member Crosby. Thank you, Mayor. Okay, I lost my train of thought. Okay, I'd like to make a motion to put into the Services Committee a multi-way stop sign at Squires Oak and Summerhill. Second. I have a motion by Council Member Crosby and a second by Council Member Gordon. Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. That's all I have. Thank you. Council Member Beard. Actually, because of what was showing up on my screen, I was trying to get in the queue to talk about the open enrollment, and I guess it turned up over here instead, so I have no further comment. Thank you. Thank you very much. Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. On Saturday, December 8th, the FOF, the firefighters will be hosting the Chuck Williams Firefighter Auction at 2555 Palumbo Drive, which is the Old Champs, beginning at 3 o'clock. The auction is held each year in honor of fallen firefighter Chuck Williams, who was committed to the toy program. The auction is open to the public and is a terrific place to find Christmas gifts, household items, travel and hospitality packages, tools, sports, memorabilia, U.K. basketball tickets, Keeneland box seats, and so much more. Firefighter Chili will be served throughout the auction. All proceeds benefit the toy program. In reference to the toy program, they're still accepting gifts and donations through next Thursday, the 13th. The toys should be new, unwrapped, and appropriate for children birth to 10 years of age. The toys can be dropped off at any Lexington Fire Station or at the Old Champs building on 255 Palumbo Drive. They are looking for volunteers. The toy distribution will be the following Saturday, December 15th from 8 to 3 o'clock, and volunteers are needed to assist in the distribution of the toys programs. And already we've spoken, and I'll get this information, but if you could put this on Channel 3 so people will know exactly where to send the toys and where if they'd like to receive toys. There's over 2,500 children that are already signed up. And on a different note, I was talking to John Byrd. Mr. Byrd, if you would come up here. We were talking earlier about the health care, and just as a FYI, open enrollment actually is going on not just for the Urban County Government but also for Medicare. And if you could just kind of tell us what's going on with that just to make sure all the public is aware of this. Yes, I was listening with interest to the comment about the open enrollment for the city employees. I am involved in government relations for several companies here in town, but I'm not here in that role today. I'm here as an employee of Humana, and I am involved with the open enrollment for Medicare. And all of our residents who are 65 or older or disabled and have Medicare have an opportunity to choose their benefits too every year like you do as a city employee, and November 15th through December 31st is that time. And there are many companies that offer benefits to Medicare beneficiaries, and they have an opportunity to review them and make a decision. And I just wanted you to know in case you had questions from your constituents. And I thought it would be a good opportunity to let the people at home know too. They have until the end of the month to do that. Thank you. And thank you, Mayor. That's all I have. Thank you. Council Member Myers. Thank you, Mayor. Coming up on the screen here, I'm announcing today the first annual holiday decorating contest. And I'll just read this. This is from my Neighborhood Association Presidents in the 8th District. Neighborhood Associations in the 8th Council District are encouraging residents to put up outside holiday decorations and inter-decorating contests in each neighborhood. And these are neighborhoods that have neighborhood associations. Prizes will be awarded to the winners in each of the three categories of decorated door, lighted house, and decorated yard. Please put up your decorations by Sunday, December 9th. Judging will follow. Winners will be notified by phone or e-mail provided. Prizes will be distributed at the 8th District year-end potluck to be held Monday, December 17th at 7 o'clock p.m. at the Tates Brook Baptist Church at 3724 Appian Way. And then the phone number on there, if you can't read it to call, if you want to enter into the contest, is 552-1816, or you can e-mail lou.gregory at insightbb.com. And then my second announcement is I want to ‑‑ could you enlarge that? Is it possible to enlarge that? Thank you very much. Also, I just want to give everybody one more opportunity to submit Christmas cards to our military service personnel across the country. And this group, Military Missions Incorporated, Beth Pennington is the executive director. Her phone number is 859-509-4827. And if you can contact her, she will get you in touch with the information that you need to go ahead and send out a Christmas card and or a gift to our service personnel across the country. That is our report. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Unless another council member has something further, we'll move on to the Mayor's Report. We have a couple of Board and Commission appointments. I'd entertain a motion to approve. I move. Motion by Council Member Crosby. And second by Council Member Beard. Or? Blues. Blues. Thank you. Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Let me just make a couple of very brief announcements. We have two receptions coming up. Both will be here in the Government Center in the Ballroom. I hope you all will be able to join us. Those of you on the Council will be able to join us Thursday evening from 5 until 7, at which time we'll have a reception for the members of our Boards and Commissions. It should be a fairly large crowd of folks. We have a lot of people who do a lot of work, and it's a chance to say thanks. The following day on Friday from 1130 to 130, again in the Ballroom, we'll have our annual employee holiday reception, and we'd love to have the members of the Council present for that as well. That is the only items I had for the Mayor's report, so we're ready to move forward for public comment on any issues not on the agenda. Does anyone wish to comment? Seeing none, Council Member Gorton. Thank you, Mayor. I move pursuant to KRS 61.8101C to go into closed session for the purpose of discussing pending litigation matters involving the Lexington-Fayette-Urban County Government. Do we hear a second? I have a motion by Council Member Gorton, a second by Council Member Beard to go into closed session. Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58