# Council Public Safety Committee - March 4, 2013 > Auto-transcribed civic record · March 4, 2013 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/2900 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/2900?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2013-03-04 - **Last revised**: July 16, 2026 - **Length**: 2,753 words > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed with OpenAI's open-source Whisper large-v3-turbo model, run locally by The Lexington Times. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude. Verbatim wording may contain errors. See [methodology](https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/about/methodology) or [report a correction](mailto:editor@lexingtonky.news). --- ## Meeting Overview The Public Safety Committee met on March 5, 2013, at 1:00 p.m., with Peggy Henson presiding. The committee addressed four agenda items during the meeting, taking five votes and hearing four public comments. The committee approved the Summary and voted to approve the 24 Hour Nuisance Abatement Form Update. An informational presentation on the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Update was provided to the committee. The committee also considered Items Referred to Committee, which were deferred for future action. ## Attendance **Present:** Peggy Henson, Kevin Stinnett, Shevawn Akers, Diane Lawless, Bill Farmer, George Myers, Jennifer Mossotti, Harry Clarke, and Ed Lane **Absent:** Chuck Ellinger **Late:** None ## Votes and Decisions **Approval of February 5, 2013 Meeting Summary** [timestamp: 00:04:00] Motion by Bill Farmer, seconded by Shevawn Akers. The summary from the February 5, 2013 meeting was approved unanimously. All nine members voted in favor: Peggy Henson, Kevin Stinnett, Shevawn Akers, Diane Lawless, Bill Farmer, George Myers, Jennifer Mossotti, Harry Clarke, and Ed Lane. **Updated 24 Hour Nuisance Abatement Form** [timestamp: 00:06:37] Motion by George Myers, seconded by Peggy Henson. The updated 24 Hour Nuisance Abatement Form was approved unanimously by all nine members. The form will be revised with updated language and bright color (such as Tennessee orange) before printing. **Hazardous Materials Ordinance** [timestamp: 00:21:39] Motion by Diane Lawless, seconded by Ed Lane. The Hazardous Materials Ordinance was moved to the full Council for a vote. The motion passed unanimously with all nine members in favor. **Draft Public Nuisance Ordinance** [timestamp: 00:22:12] Motion by Shevawn Akers, seconded by Diane Lawless. The draft Public Nuisance Ordinance was moved to the full Council for a vote. The motion passed unanimously with all nine members in favor. **Adjournment** [timestamp: 00:22:43] Motion by Bill Farmer, seconded by Shevawn Akers. The meeting was adjourned by unanimous vote of all nine members. ## Public Comment Several council members and members of the public addressed the council on March 4, 2013, raising concerns about emergency preparedness and a proposed ordinance. **Emergency Preparedness and Safety** Council Member Myers expressed interest in a new FEMA policy that allows residential wind retrofit projects [timestamp: 00:09:47]. Myers requested that information about this program be shared with the public through council email blasts and newsletters. Council Member Akers raised concerns about tornado preparedness in mobile home parks [timestamp: 00:14:08]. Akers noted that the county is working with park management to develop individual and park-wide emergency plans rather than building centralized shelters. Council Member Farmer suggested keeping the discussion on safe places for emergencies in committee [timestamp: 00:17:53]. Farmer proposed exploring potential community-level mitigation funding opportunities that could extend beyond individual emergency plans. **Public Nuisance Ordinance** Stephen Marshall and Craig Hardin, members of the public, spoke in opposition to a draft Public Nuisance Ordinance [timestamp: 00:03:30]. Both expressed concerns about the ordinance's implications on property rights and its enforcement mechanisms. ## Contested Items The meeting included two areas of significant disagreement: **Public Nuisance Ordinance Draft** Community members Stephen Marshall and Craig Hardin expressed opposition to the draft Public Nuisance Ordinance. Both members of the public raised concerns about the ordinance's provisions, indicating broader community resistance to the proposed measure. **24 Hour Nuisance Abatement Form Wording** Council Members Clarke and Akers identified problems with the language and clarity of the 24 Hour Nuisance Abatement Form. Their specific concern focused on the use of the word "or" in the form's wording, which they argued created an incorrect implication that filing an appeal could serve as an alternative to abatement rather than as a separate process. This distinction was important to the council members, as it could affect how property owners understood their obligations and options. The concerns raised by Clarke and Akers prompted discussion of revisions to clarify the form's language and ensure it accurately reflected the intended procedures. ## Approval of Summary The committee approved the summary from the February 5, 2013 meeting. [timestamp: 00:04:00] Bill Farmer made the motion to approve the summary, and Shevawn Akers seconded the motion. The motion passed without dissent. ## 24 Hour Nuisance Abatement Form Update [timestamp: 00:05:04] David Jarvis from Code Enforcement presented an updated 24-hour emergency notice to abate form to the committee. **Key Changes to the Form** The revised form included several modifications: * Clarification of the abatement deadline * Addition of a bright color (such as Tennessee orange) to the form * Revised language emphasizing that failure to abate results in billing to the property owner **Outcome** The committee approved the form with conditions for further revisions to be made before implementation. ## FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Update [timestamp: 00:07:39] Pat Dugger presented an update on FEMA's hazard mitigation grant program to the committee. **Key Updates** The presentation covered approval of an updated mitigation plan and new guidance from FEMA. A significant development was the introduction of new guidance that allows wind retrofit grants for residential properties, expanding the types of projects eligible for funding under the program. **Discussion Points** The committee discussed potential community applications for these grants, indicating interest in identifying local projects that could benefit from the hazard mitigation funding. The discussion also highlighted the need for outreach efforts to ensure that community members and local organizations are aware of the new grant opportunities and guidance. **Outcome** This agenda item was informational in nature, with no formal action required. The update provided the committee with current information about FEMA's hazard mitigation grant program and positioned the group to consider future applications and community engagement strategies related to these funding opportunities. ## Items Referred to Committee [timestamp: 00:16:49] The committee reviewed multiple items that had been referred for consideration, including fleet management, safe places for emergencies, abandoned housing, vehicle replacement policy, noise disturbance ordinance, infill and redevelopment recommendations, hazardous materials ordinance, public nuisance ordinance, and tenant transition. Key speakers during this discussion included George Myers, Bill Farmer, Jennifer Mossotti, and Ed Lane. Several of the referred items were removed or deferred during the review process. The specific details regarding which items were removed versus deferred, and the rationale for each decision, are available in the meeting transcript. **Outcome:** The items referred to committee were deferred. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed: Approval of the summary from the February 5, 2013 meeting - **Motion** — passed: Motion to approve the updated 24 Hour Nuisance Abatement Form - **Motion** — passed: Motion to move the Hazardous Materials Ordinance to the full Council for a vote - **Motion** — passed: Motion to move the draft Public Nuisance Ordinance to the full Council for a vote - **Motion** — passed: Motion to adjourn the meeting --- ## Full transcript Music Thank you. I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is the March 5, 2013 Public Safety Committee. meeting. And first on our agenda is approval of the summary. We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? All in favor say aye. Any opposed? Thank you. And then next on our agenda is David Jarvis with Code Enforcement, and we're going to discuss the 24-hour nuisance abatement form. Thank you, David. Thank you, afternoon committee members. I think we've got a pretty good stab at it this time. So thanks to Jennifer, of course, and Jonathan for their hard work. So we feel pretty good about it. I think Jonathan can put it on the overhead if you'd like. We're working. Technical issue. One of the recommendations also that we talked about was changing the color of it, and we will do that once we get the approval. We want to get your all's input on it. Any wordsmithing we want to do, if you want to change anything, You know, now's the time that we can do it, and we'll go with either a bright pink or a fluorescent orange or something that you can see from the street. And it'll be a two-part form. We'll fill out the top, tear it off, and keep it for our records, and then placard the other form on the door of the property. Okay, thank you. Is there any committee members that would like to discuss the changes? County Member Myers. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Jarvis, for coming in today. This is an excellent document, and I fully support you in this. And thank you for our staff also for making the edits with you. And this looks fantastic, so good job. Thank you. I want to thank Jennifer again and Jonathan. They really put this together. Thank you. Is there any other committee members? I would like to thank Jonathan and Jennifer for their work and David for, I think this is definitely something that needs to be done so I really appreciate the efforts of everybody and I don't believe we need a motion to move this forward just give you our blessing to Go to the printer Council Member Farmer So then we're down to a color discussion I'm not going to ask this one. What's your preference, sir? If we're trying to attract the attention of the people, I think we're trying to attract bright Tennessee orange. I agree. Thank you. That's what we use on our vehicle stickers for the vehicle, Tennessee orange, and you can see it from a mile away. I agree. I agree, too, so thank you. Thank you all so much. Thank you. Excellent work. This is great stuff. And next on the agenda is Ms. Pat Duggar with emergency management, and you're going to give us an update on the FEMA mitigation, hazard mitigation. I am, and I just have to quickly say to make sure everyone is aware that this is Severe Storms Awareness Month. Even though we're snowing, we're also preparing for tornadoes. March is kind of like that. You have to be ready for everything. So I just wanted to remind you of that. Yes, the last time we spoke, we were talking about we had applied for a grant for a tornado shelter for Sales Road Campus, and that had been sitting at FEMA for quite some time. We have now, and on your docket later this afternoon, is a request to approve the hazard mitigation plan update. FEMA has approved it with pending Ural's approval, but basically they have looked at it and said it's great, ready to go. So then that allows us to move forward some of the projects that have been pending with them. So now they have asked us for some supplemental information on that project for the Versailles Road Campus, and we are trying to quickly get them answers so that we don't lose money in some of the federal budget cuts that are now happening. So we're trying to make sure that we don't lose that money. So we're hoping that that will come forward and we'll have that project in the next several months so that we will have a facility out on the Versailles Road campus that's specifically built to be survivable for a tornado. One other thing I wanted to share with you, I'm on the Regional Advisory Council for FEMA Region 4, and one of the new policies that FEMA just came out with last November was they're now making mitigation grant money available for residential, single, and multi-dwelling facilities for wind retrofit projects. So that means now that if we have residents out there who want to go through us and apply for mitigation projects on single and multifamily homes or residences, there's now a policy in place and guidance in place that FEMA will accept to retrofit your facility for wind resistance. So that's something new that's just come about that I think, you know, since we do seem to live where tornadoes are probable, that's a new addition for our folks. I think Council Member Farmer has signed up to speak. Thank you, Madam Chair. So in relation to the item in committee for today, the hazard mitigation grant program update, is that just the part about the wind stuff you were just talking about, or is it a compass of the thing? Well, the one thing we were talking about previously was the tornado shelter on Versailles Road campus. So that has finally gotten some movement, the wind update, and then just that we're asking you this afternoon later to approve the updated hazard mitigation plan. All right, so that's in the new business items for a work session. That's correct. All right, then let me double back on the one you just unveiled, which is, it sounds like individuals or small groups? Individuals or multi-residents, like a duplex. Okay. Can apply for money from FEMA to update for wind resistance, you said. Yeah, there are certain criteria, and they call them basic, intermediate, and major mitigation packages, and there's guidance associated with either one of those. So if you want to upgrade your residence so that it's more wind resistance, there's now guidelines that you have to adhere to to do that, which once there's guidelines, it makes you eligible to apply for that type of money. Would you mind to forward that to me or to the council office? Certainly, I can do that. Because I think the more people know about it, the more they may take advantage of it. What kind of, just generally speaking, co-op or how much would they cover of X amount of dollars, so to speak? Well, looking at the guidance, and you do have to do a cost-benefit analysis and ratio, but it looks like they would pay for the design of the project, the actual labor and work and the supplies for doing these retrofits. Now, they're not going to, if you have a bad roof already, they're not necessarily going to pay you to replace the bad roof. But if the roof is normal and you want to put extra strips on there to hold it down and do other things like that, they will pay for those types of things. And has this been used effectively in other parts of this state? This is brand new. It just was adopted by FEMA in November of last year. And so they're still really trying to get the word out. And they really started the emphasis on the coastal communities. Sure. We're a little inland, but that's why they're just now getting to us and briefing it. So I don't know that we have anyone yet in Kentucky that has applied for this. Is there a specific pool or just a number of, I mean, what kind of opportunity are we looking at here? I mean, I think Lexington is ripe for this type of change. Well, I think it's certainly, since it's an emphasis with FEMA, I think that those types of projects will be given high consideration compared to some other things. But there's not a specific pool of money just for the wind retrofits. It's part of the overall mitigation package. So it really depends on what else is being asked for across the country and how much they have. And I don't want to get into what the capabilities of the office are, but I don't want you to opine in public right now necessarily, but are there certain areas that you think would be more eligible than others, or are all parts of Lexington equally opportune for this type of retrofitting? I think all are eligible. I think probably there are certain parts of the community that would probably be more eligible and have a higher cost-benefit ratio than others would be. Okay. Okay. Then, Madam Chair, I would leave the questions on the new business items for the work session rather than doing them now, but thank you very much. Thank you. Council Member Akers? No. I did have – Pat, I know with the outbreak of tornadoes in some of the other counties that were hit very, very hard last year, just almost a year ago exactly, I'm concerned with folks that live in the mobile home parks and is there a plan in place for those? I'm not sure how many mobile home parks are in Fayette County, but my guess is there's maybe four or five. There's several, and we have worked independently with the mobile home park managements to try to encourage them to build a mitigation building for their residents, but also for the residents themselves to come up with a family plan and what they would do if there's a tornado or disaster. It's not typical nor best practices for a community to establish up-front tornado shelters because you never know where the tornado is going to go. And unless it is specifically constructed and designed to the new FEMA community, tornado community shelters, you're not guaranteeing them really a place of safety. So you don't want to send them to a certain building, and then unfortunately that would be the building that could hit. So that's why we're working with the park management to help develop a park plan as to where the residents could go, as well as the individual residents in the mobile home parks to develop a family plan. That sounds good. Thank you. Is there any other discussion on this item? And, Council Member Farmer, I did like the idea if you could send that out to us because a lot of us have district email blasts monthly or however often, and we could include that. Okay. Yeah, I'll do a quick summary because it's a lot in FEMA East. so I'll try to condense it down to layperson speak because it's sometimes even difficult for me to understand. Don't hesitate to add a link, for that matter, because a lot of these newsletters go out with hot links on. Some people can go right to the full verbiage. Okay. Sounds great. Thank you. I have one more. Council Member Farmer. Thank you. Pat, or Ms. Duggar, excuse me. If you were here last week during the conversation we had about the plan for the new Emergency Operations Center, I didn't see you, but is there any information or input you'd like to give us on that while you're here today? I think we're preparing for the workshop, so I think we'll do that all at one fill swoop. I just wondered if you'd take the bait. Thank you. I've been here too long. Okay, next on our agenda is items in committee. And I would like to go through each one of these since we have a little extra time today. But Council Member Myers, we have fleet management services. Yes, ma'am. We had a meeting, we had a presentation by John Sheed in our previous meeting to this one in general government, and it's my view that he did such an excellent job and his scope is wide enough that we can probably take this out of this committee and just let him carry on with what he's doing over there. So I would make that motion. Shaka. Aye. Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Thank you, Council Member Myers. Thank you, Madam Chair. Next on the list is compiling a list of safe places where people can go in times of weather or emergency events, emergency needs. Council Member Farmer. Well, I think she just gave us some really good input. I would like, if it's possible, to keep this in committee to try to roll into something. I still think there's some funding out there for us as a community to step up to, depending on how we use our FEMA resources. But I think that what she presented today was good for individuals. I still think that there may be areas of Lexington that might benefit from a larger opportunity rather than individual things. So if we could just hold on to it for a little more discussion, I would appreciate it. Okay, thank you. Thank you, ma'am. And then, Council Member Myers, we have abandoned housing. Thank you, Madam Chair. We had a great meeting last week preparing for this, and I think we're going to be ready for next meeting if you want to put it on the agenda. Okay, thank you. And then next was put in by the Public Safety Link last year, a creation of a policy for systematically replacing and maintaining vehicles. Can I make a motion to take that off? Since that was also in the General Government Committee of their fleet management and all that. Okay. Is there any discussion? That's an excellent idea. And, Council Member Lane, I might, you may be aware, I saw John Sheed in the General Government Committee meeting this morning, but he has developed a plan that I think is excellent. So we were thinking we would have him do a presentation in this committee, but if it were, it's whatever the committee pleases as far as his processes. Well, the other option would be obviously he could make it to a work session. Once he's got it finalized, then all the council members could see it simultaneously, which would eliminate seeing it more than once. Okay. And it would pertain to not only just public safety's concern was fire trucks, apparatuses, police vehicles, but his plan would cover across government. So we'll go ahead and remove it for now. Is anyone so all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. And then next was put in committee by Council Member Blues to amend subsection 14-726A of the code to add a requirement of a noise disturbance across dwelling unit boundaries. Madam Chairman, I'm not totally up to date with what's happened in the public safety area, but there hasn't seemed to be a broad-based support for that particular ordinance in other committees that I've been in. So I think maybe this would be a good time to delete that from the roster here. Second. Is there any discussion on the motion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. And then the next item was infill and redevelopment steering committee recommendations, nuisance abatement process, and that will remain in committee for now. And then next, hazardous materials ordinance. I would need a motion to remove that item that was placed in committee by Vice Mayor Gordon. Second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. And then next would be the public nuisance ordinance, which was moved on and passed by the council. So I would thank you. Is there any discussion on that item? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Thank you. And then last, the tenant transition and household disposal, Council Member Ford placed in committee, and it should be heard in April. Is there any other further discussion from committee members? I would entertain a motion to adjourn. Come in. Second. All in favor? Thank you. Thank you. Oh, Rudy. Do the booty. Oh, Rudy. Oh, Babaluma. Bamboo.