# Council Work Session - October 21, 2014 > Auto-transcribed civic record · October 21, 2014 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/3488 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/3488?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2014-10-21 - **Last revised**: July 15, 2026 - **Length**: 6,410 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 Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council met on October 21, 2014, at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the 2nd Floor of the Government Center in Lexington, Kentucky, with Mayor Jim Gray presiding. The council addressed 10 agenda items during the session, including public comment periods, rezoning requests, budget matters, and various reports. The body took 16 motions and votes on the items before it and heard 3 public comments from citizens. Key actions included approval of requested rezonings and docket items, budget amendments, new business, and continuing business or presentations, while council reports and the mayor's report were presented for informational purposes. ## Attendance The following individuals were present at the meeting on October 21, 2014: * Mayor Jim Gray * Vice Mayor Gordon * Council Member Akers * Council Member Beard * Council Member Farmer * Council Member Ford * Council Member Gorton * Council Member Henson * Council Member Kay * Council Member Lane * Council Member Massadi * Council Member Mossotti * Council Member Scutchfield * Council Member Stinnett * Council Member Stennett No council members were absent or late. ## Votes and Decisions All motions during this meeting were decided by voice vote and passed unanimously. **Procedural Motions** The council voted to go into closed session for discussion of potential litigation, moved by Vice Mayor Gordon and seconded by Council Member Akers [timestamp: 0:05:01]. The council approved the October 7, 2014 summary, moved by Council Member Ellinger and seconded by Council Member Stinnett [timestamp: 0:14:07]. The council approved the docket, moved by Council Member Farmer and seconded by Council Member Lane [timestamp: 0:11:47]. The council voted to remove Ordinance 1079-14 from the docket, moved by Council Member Lane and seconded by Vice Mayor Gordon [timestamp: 0:13:03]. **Budget and Financial Matters** The council approved budget amendments, moved by Council Member Farmer and seconded by Council Member Akers [timestamp: 0:14:39]. The council approved the Neighborhood Development Funds allocation of $500 to Aylesford Place Neighborhood Association, moved by Council Member Allinger and seconded by Council Member Farmer [timestamp: 0:17:56]. The council voted to reallocate older inactive bond proceeds to provide approximately $321,000 for capital equipment related to the reorganization of landscaping and forestry functions into the Division of Environmental Services, moved by Council Member Stennett and seconded by Council Member Clark [timestamp: 0:30:34]. **Organizational Changes** The council voted to change the name of the Division of Environmental Policy to Division of Environmental Services, transfer three civil service positions, and initiate budget amendments for the reorganization of landscaping and forestry functions, moved by Council Member Stennett and seconded by Council Member Henson [timestamp: 0:31:06]. The council voted to include three professional service requests in future fund balance discussions related to the reorganization of landscaping and forestry functions, moved by Council Member Stennett and seconded by Vice Mayor Gordon [timestamp: 0:32:09]. **Ordinances and Resolutions** The council approved new business, moved by Vice Mayor Gordon and seconded by Council Member Ellinger [timestamp: 0:15:13]. The council voted to place on the docket a resolution recommending the mayor not sign the proposed amended interlocal cooperative agreement with the Bluegrass Area Development District, moved by Council Member Ford and seconded by Council Member Akers [timestamp: 0:11:16]. The council voted to place on the docket an ordinance adopting a schedule of meetings for the council for calendar year 2015, moved by Vice Mayor Gordon and seconded by Council Member Lane [timestamp: 0:09:35]. The council voted to place on the docket an ordinance amending section 14-97-6 of the Code of Ordinances to include e-cigarettes in the definition of smoke or smoking, moved by Council Member Kay and seconded by Vice Mayor Gordon [timestamp: 0:10:09]. **Committee and Administrative Matters** The council voted to change the economic development committee meeting to 1:00–1:30 PM and add a special planning and public works committee meeting from 1:30–3:00 PM on November 11, 2014, moved by Council Member Farmer and seconded by Council Member Beard [timestamp: 0:38:31]. The council voted to place in the General Government Committee the examination of the political sign mechanism, moved by Council Member Farmer and seconded by Vice Mayor Gordon [timestamp: 0:41:54]. The council voted to adjourn, moved by Council Member Stennett and seconded by Vice Mayor Gordon [timestamp: 0:49:33]. ## Budget and Financial Actions The meeting included authorization for multiple grants, contracts, purchases, and budget amendments totaling significant financial commitments across various city departments. **Grants Accepted:** The city authorized acceptance of $34,000 from the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security under the 2014 State Homeland Security Grant Program for the Hazardous Devices Unit in the Division of Police (L1082-14). An additional $70,000 grant from the same source was accepted for the Division of Fire and Emergency Services for first responder equipment purchases (L1084-14). The city also authorized submission of a $391,424 grant application to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under the 2014 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program for exhaust extraction system upgrades or replacement at all Lexington fire stations (L1055-14). **Contracts and Agreements:** Authorization was granted to execute a contract with the Board of Education of Fayette County, Kentucky, for operation of preschool classrooms at the Family Care Center with no budgetary impact (L1066-14). A Professional Service Agreement with Victoria Nash to serve as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner on an on-call basis for forensic examinations in FY 2015 was authorized with no budgetary impact (L1085-14). The city also authorized amendment and acceptance of a final settlement to the sublease and management agreement with Lexarts, Inc. for the Downtown Arts Center with no budgetary impact (L1080-14). **Purchases and Appropriations:** Bullard Thermal Imagers was approved as a sole source provider of thermal imaging cameras for Fire and Emergency Services in an amount not to exceed $31,500 (F1083-14). The city approved a $20,000 payment to the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce for sponsorship of the Kentucky Manufacturing and Innovation Conference, a BEAM initiative (L1077-14). **Property and Budget Amendments:** Two parcels of land at 2602 and 2606 Mable Lane were declared surplus with no budgetary impact (L1087-14). Numerous budget amendments were approved, including $208,000 and $113,000 for Natural Resource Management equipment needs, $72,050 for software purchases, and various smaller amendments totaling thousands of dollars for personnel, equipment, and grant adjustments. ## Public Comment Three council members shared remarks during the public comment period. **Council Member Farmer** [timestamp: 0:39:02] raised concerns about political signage regulation, noting the lack of controls on sign size and placement. He observed increased visibility of political signage and its potential impact on viewsheds. Farmer also addressed a public art installation in the distillery district, noting community debate surrounding the installation's content and concerns that it may be perceived as gang-related. **Council Member Henson** [timestamp: 0:45:03] announced upcoming community events and commended public safety efforts. He informed the council of a Piccadone Neighborhood Association meeting and a fall festival scheduled at Valley Park. Henson also praised the police department's work on Safety City, highlighting the program's educational value for children. **Council Member Ford** [timestamp: 0:47:19] discussed recent community planning activities and reflected on a significant community anniversary. He shared that the East End Small Area Plan's five-year anniversary update was well-attended and noted discussions of Legacy Trail Phase 3 and Midland Avenue TIF projects. Ford also marked the 20th anniversary of Tony Sullivan's death and called for community efforts to build common ground with Black youth. ## Contested Items **Public Art Installation in the Distillery District** A public art installation by artist MTO in the distillery district became a point of contention during the meeting. The installation sparked debate over its content, with some community members questioning whether it was gang-related, while others defended it as an expression of free speech. Council Member Farmer raised the matter as a public discussion point, bringing the community disagreement into the formal council record. **Political Signage Regulation** Council Member Farmer also raised concerns about the lack of regulation governing political signage, specifically regarding size and placement standards. Farmer noted increased visibility of political signage and growing public concern about the issue. During discussion, the legal basis for the current policy was examined. The council responded by placing a motion to further examine the political signage regulation issue in the General Government Committee, indicating the matter would receive additional study and consideration before any potential policy changes. ## Public Comment – Issues on Agenda [timestamp: 00:07:19] No members of the public signed up to speak during the public comment period for issues on the agenda. Council Member Farmer raised concerns about two matters within the community. The first involved political signage, and the second concerned a public art installation in the distillery district. Council Member Farmer's remarks prompted discussion regarding free speech protections and how they balance with community values. The discussion remained informational in nature, with no formal action taken during this agenda item. ## Requested Rezonings/Docket Approval [timestamp: 00:08:22] The council addressed the docket for requested rezonings and approved motions to place several items on the October 23, 2014 council meeting agenda. Council Member Farmer, Council Member Lane, and Vice Mayor Gordon participated in the discussion. The council approved the docket as presented. In addition to placing items on the upcoming agenda, the council approved one motion to remove an ordinance from consideration. The outcome of this agenda item was approval. ## Approval of Summary The Council approved the summary from the October 7, 2014 meeting without dissent. [timestamp: 00:14:07] During this agenda item, Council Member Lane provided clarification regarding the procedure for removing items from the meeting docket. Lane noted that a motion to remove an item from the docket must be made on the meeting day itself, rather than in advance of the meeting. Council Members Ellinger and Stinnett were also present during this discussion. **Outcome:** The October 7, 2014 summary was approved. ## Budget Amendments The council discussed and approved budget amendments affecting multiple city departments during this agenda item [timestamp: 0:14:39]. **Departments Affected** The amendments addressed budget adjustments for the following departments: - Family Services - Parks and Recreation - Environmental Services **Key Discussion** Council Member Farmer and Council Member Akers participated in the discussion of these amendments. Several of the proposed amendments were connected to a broader reorganization of natural resource management functions within the city. **Outcome** The council approved all budget amendments presented during this agenda item. ## New Business The council addressed new business items during this portion of the meeting, with Vice Mayor Gordon and Scott Shapiro serving as key speakers [timestamp: 00:15:13]. The council approved several new business matters, including grant applications, contracts, and funding for events. A significant portion of the discussion focused on a $20,000 payment to the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce for the Manufacturing and Innovation Conference. This item received detailed consideration from council members before being approved. All new business items presented were approved by the council. ## Continuing Business/Presentations Susan Plueger presented a proposal for reorganizing natural resource management [timestamp: 0:21:08]. The proposal included several structural changes: renaming the Division of Environmental Policy to Environmental Services, transferring personnel, and reallocating funds. Council Member Stennett and Council Member Clark participated in the discussion of the reorganization proposal. Three motions were passed in support of the reorganization, resulting in approval of the proposal. ## Council Reports Council Member Ford reported on the Social Services & Community Development Committee's meeting [timestamp: 0:18:26]. The report covered discussions on workforce development and partner agency funding. Council Member Stennett reported on actions taken by the Environmental Quality Committee related to the natural resource reorganization. This agenda item was informational in nature, with no formal action required. ## Mayor's Report Vice Mayor Gordon presented updates on recent recognitions and events for Lexington [timestamp: 0:33:14]. **America in Bloom Recognition** Vice Mayor Gordon reported that Lexington received recognition from America in Bloom. The city earned a special award for best commercial landscape and achieved a four-out-of-five blooms ranking in the national competition. **American Farmland Trust Conference** Vice Mayor Gordon highlighted that the American Farmland Trust held its national conference in Lexington, bringing attention to the city on a national level. **Outcome** This item was presented as informational, with no formal action required. ## Public Comment – Issues Not on Agenda [timestamp: 0:39:02] Council Member Farmer raised concerns during this public comment period regarding two issues not listed on the agenda: political signage and a controversial public art installation in the distillery district. Council Member Farmer's remarks sparked a discussion touching on broader questions of free speech, public taste, and community values. The council member expressed concerns about the political signage and questioned the appropriateness of the public art installation in the distillery district. The discussion that followed addressed the tension between protecting free speech rights and community standards regarding what is displayed in public spaces. The conversation reflected differing perspectives on how communities should balance individual expression with collective aesthetic and values concerns. This agenda item concluded as informational, with no formal action or resolution reached. The matters raised were noted for the record but did not result in a specific council decision or directive during this meeting. ## Adjournment The council adjourned following a motion to adjourn that passed without opposition. [timestamp: 49:33] Council Member Stennett and Vice Mayor Gordon were involved in the adjournment proceedings. The motion was approved, concluding the meeting. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the docket - **Motion** — passed (0-0): place on the docket for the October 23, 2014 Council meeting, a resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute a quitclaim deed, and any other documents necessary to transfer a portion of non-utilized right-of-way located adjacent to the property at 1747 Lakewood Lane to the abutting property owner - **Motion** — passed (0-0): place on the docket for the October 23, 2014 Council meeting an Ordinance adopting a schedule of meetings for the Council for the calendar year 2015 - **Motion** — passed (14-97): place on the docket for the Thursday, October 23, 2014 Council meeting, under first reading of ordinances, an ordinance amending Section 14-97(6) of the Code of Ordinances to include e-cigarettes in the definition of smoke or smoking - **Motion** — passed (0-0): place on the docket for the Thursday, October 23, 2014 Council meeting, under first reading resolutions, a resolution recommending that the Mayor not sign the proposed Amended Interlocal Cooperative Agreement with the Bluegrass ADD and recommending that the Urban County Government take the necessary steps to have Lexington-Fayette County area declared a Workforce Investment Area - **Motion** — passed (0-0): remove ordinance #4 - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approval of summary - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve budget amendments - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve new business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve a neighborhood development fund - **Motion** — passed (0-0): have the Administration bring back a budget amendment reallocating older inactive bond proceeds to provide approximately $ 321,000 capital equipment related to the reorganization of landscaping and forestry functions into the Division of Environmental Services (presently known as Division of Environmental Policy) - **Motion** — passed (0-0): 1.) Change the name of Division of Environmental Policy to Division of Environmental Services; 2.) Transfer three (3) civil service positions from Parks to Environmental Services, 2 Public Service Worker Seniors and 1 Equipment Operator Senior; and 3.) To have Administration initiate necessary budget amendments to transfer funding for seasonal employees, mowing and other purposes related to the reorganization of landscaping and forestry functions into the Division of Environmental Services - **Motion** — passed (0-0): include three (3) professional services requests into future Fund Balance discussions related to the to reorganization of landscaping and forestry functions into the Division of Environmental Services including: Tree Removal and County Road Maintenance $ 80,000; Corridors Landscaping and Maintenance $ 70,000; and Corridors Beautification/Breeders Cup Preparation $ 100,000 - **Motion** — passed (0-0): schedule a Special Planning & Public Works Committee meeting on November 11th at 1:30pm, change the Economic Development COW to end at 1:30pm - **Motion** — passed (0-0): place into the General Government Committee the examination of our sign mechanism - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the Mayor's Report - **Motion** — passed (0-0): adjourn at 4:15pm --- ## Full transcript The Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The End Hello, everyone. Hello and welcome to the, I'll call the meeting to order, the work session of the council. and for those of you who are here we we will be having a closed session at the beginning of the council meeting and recess into the council chambers so we can do that first and then we'll come back to public comment mr monday thank you sir when we when we reconvene vice mayor gordon i believe has a motion thank you mayor i move that we go into closed session pursuant to KRS 61.810.1c for the purpose of discussing potential litigation. It's a motion by Vice Mayor Gordon. It's a second by Council Member Akers. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. Hearing none, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. So the council will recess to the, what do you call that, council? Caucus room. Caucus room. Thank you. It is my own. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. to open session. And first on our agenda is a public comment. Mr. Mundy, nobody signed up. All right, sir, thank you. Next is, are there any rezoning requests? All right. Docket approval. Is there a motion to approve the docket? We need a motion and then I'll get the motions. Is there a motion to approve? There's a approval. Second. Second by Councilmember Ellinger. Is there any discussion? All right. Councilmember Farmer. Thank you, Mayor. I move to place on the docket for the council meeting scheduled for October 23, 2014, a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a quitclaim deed and any other documents necessary to transfer a portion of nonutilized right-of-way located adjacent to the property at 1747 Lakewood Drive to the abutting property owner. So moved. Motion by Council Member Farmer, seconded by Council Member Lane. Is there any discussion on the motion? Hearing none, then we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Vice Mayor Gordon. Thank you, Mayor. Council Members, last week Stacy emailed you the draft 2015 calendar for the Council. So everyone's had an opportunity to look at that. So I move to place on the docket for the October 23, 2014 council meeting an ordinance adopting a schedule of meetings for the council for the calendar year 2015. Motion by Vice Mayor Gordon, second by Council Member Lane. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. Hearing none, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Council Member K. Thank you, Mayor. On October 7th, the General Government Committee took action on the e-cigarette ordinance, and given the way the calendar is working, if we waited for the regular report out, this would be quite delayed. So I move to place on the docket for Thursday, October 23rd, 2014, Council Meeting, under first reading ordinances and ordinance amending section 14-97-6 of the Code of Ordinances to include e-cigarettes in the definition of smoke or smoking. Second. Motion by Council Member Kaye and a second by Vice Mayor Gordon. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. If not, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Council Member Ford. Thank you, Mayor. and like sign, the Social Services and Community Development Committee met this morning at 11 o'clock discussing one of the items was workforce development and job training. Council members, I bring forth a motion that resulted from that meeting. I move to place on the docket for the Thursday, October 23, 2014 council meeting under first reading resolutions, a resolution recommending that the mayor not sign the proposed amended interlocal cooperative agreement with the Bluegrass Ad and recommending that the urban county government take the necessary steps to have Lexington Fayette County area declared a workforce investment area. So moved. Motion by Council Member Ford. Second by Council Member Akers. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. Hearing none, then we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. All right. So these are the amendments to the docket. We can now vote on the motion to approve the docket. All in favor of the motion, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. All right. Councilman Lane, just so I'm correct here, do you have a motion on a second reading regarding zoning? Yeah, under ordinances. Should I get ahead of you on the ordinances? I'm sorry. Wait a minute. Go ahead. We're crossing each other. All right. Well, I believe that Mr. Murphy, representing the petitioner for the agricultural zone change, Boone Creek Outdoors, do you want to address that? Yes. Mr. Mayor, I represent the petitioner in that case. We are withdrawing that zone change application number four on your agenda. I have submitted a letter already to Ms. Nelson doing that. Withdrawing. All right. So you wish to make a motion? Yes, sir. I'd like to move to remove the ordinance 1079-14 from the Thursday, October 23rd, council meeting docket. There's a motion by Councilmember Lane and second by Vice Mayor Gordon. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. If not, then we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. And now we can vote on the docket. All in favor of the motion, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. All right, next on our agenda is approving the summary. Is there a motion? Motion by Council Member Beard and second by Council Member Henson. Is there any discussion, Council Member? Mayor, we were trying to get him back on Council Member Lane's motion. He'll have to make it again Thursday night. You can't remove it from the docket today. It had to be done Thursday night. Just making sure he knows that. Okay, got it. you'll need to make the motion again on thursday all right uh okay i'll repeat my motion thank you is there any further discussion i moved to remove or no no no oh that's okay i beg your pardon all right okay is there any further discussion on the motion to approve the summary hearing none then we can take a vote all in favor please say aye Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Next is budget amendments. Is there a motion to approve? Second. Motion to approve by Council Member Farmer and a second by Council Member Akers. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. If not, then we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Next is new business. Is there a motion? Second. motion by vice mayor Gordon and second by council member Ellinger so discussion on the motion council member Masati thank you mayor a question on number C please all right just question on number C I think that might be for Scott Shapiro Hi, Scott. Hi. If you wouldn't mind, just tell me what we're getting for the $20,000. Sure. This is the BEAM initiative. It had a number of programs that were recommended, initiatives that were recommended in the report that was issued last November. Of those was a conference on manufacturing innovation. That's going to be held this Friday here in Lexington. It's a conference. It's a BEAM initiative, but it's jointly produced by the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. So both Louisville and Lexington and Beam itself have all contributed an equal amount of money as a sponsorship to help get this conference started in the first year. It's basically for marketing then, this conference? It's for the creation and marketing of it, holding it and operations and marketing of it, yes. So it's a total of $60,000 then with these three groups, is that what you're saying? That's right. And they're sending out the information to across the United States? I'm just curious what their marketing effort is and what their reach is. Sure. I can put you in touch with Jim Ford or at the Kentucky Chamber who's marketing this or have them put together sort of an atomized list of their marketing efforts, if you like. I'm just wondering what their reach was and what they were doing. Sure. I think primarily they're reaching out to, for attendees, reaching out to Kentucky specifically, manufacturers and those that work with manufacturers. But there was a broader look in terms of getting experts here to come discuss topics in innovation around manufacturing. So that'd be payment for those folks as well, for speakers and things? I'm sorry? And that $60,000 would be payment for speakers and so forth, too? We had some money available for speakers. I don't think it was actually used for speakers. I think we were able to get away with not paying for speakers. So basically a marketing effort? Yes. Okay. Operations and marketing. Thanks. Okay. Is there any further discussion on new business? All right. Hearing none, then we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Next on the agenda is continuing business and presentations. There's a motion to approve the NDF by Council Member Allinger and a second by Council Member Farmer. Is there any discussion on the motion? Okay, hearing none, then we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. And next are council reports, I believe, unless I'm missing something. Now have I missed something? Oh, Social Services Community Development Committee, Council Member Ford. Thank you, Mayor. The Social Services and Community Development Committee report begins on page 20. We met on September 23rd. The meeting was called to order at 11 o'clock and a quorum was present. The summary of the August 26th meeting was approved unanimously. We had two items of business. The first was workforce investment and training in regards to the interlocal agreement. Kevin Atkins provided background information. and we were fortunate to have two guests with us, Judge Executive John Wilson of Garrett County and Mayor Ed Berner of the City of Winchester. They stated that, Kevin stated that the law department and the administration are in the process of reviewing the proposed amended interlocal cooperative agreement for compliance with current and pending workforce legislation. Mayor Burdner made extended comments a motion was allowed to allow 10 extra minutes for his presentation we also had citizen input from Mr. Charles Payne and Mr. Darrell Smith the chairman of the Bluegrass Workforce Investment Board I won't belabor the council with a lot of the details listed throughout the packet no action was taken at that time The next item was the partner agency funding process. Commissioner Mills presented the proposed amendments to the fiscal year 16 social services partner agency process. She stated that the name of the process is recommended to be changed to the extended social resource or abbreviated ESR grants. There were many proposals that were brought forth in regards to separating emergency shelter funding, accepting applications on a biennial basis, and a proposed cap on grant funding requests. Commissioner Mills concluded her report and agreed to come back to the committee which she did earlier this morning to provide a follow-up on these recommendations. The meeting adjourned without any further action at 1258. That concludes our report. Thank you, Council Member Ford. Next on the agenda is a presentation by Susan Pluger. on natural resource management reorganization proposal. Susan. Thank you. Mayor, council. Welcome. Thank you. Back in the summer, the administration wanted to look at how we do natural resource and vegetation management across government. This includes mowing, landscape maintenance, honeysuckle removal, trees, et cetera. We also had America in Bloom that came to see how is Lexington doing in this regard, and so that helped inform that discussion as well. We knew that we had issues in this area based upon the number of calls that we had received, whether it would be lots not being mowed, tree damage, things like that. We wanted to improve in this area, so we got all the involved divisions together to analyze what we could do to make improvements in this area. The result of that work is the plan that I'm going to show you today. This is a much shorter version of what was presented to the Environmental Quality Committee. I know several council members were not there to see that, so we wanted to present a shortened version today. This proposed reorganizational plan has three parts to it. Number one, we want to create clear points of contact and responsibility within government for vegetation management. Right now, we have six divisions that have significant vegetation management responsibilities. We want to bring that down to a much more reasonable number. And when the public calls, when there's an issue, they know who to call. That's our main goal here with this program, make sure that we have the right people in place to do the right things. We want to match the divisional responsibilities to the divisional focus, mission, and expertise, and then fill current gaps in resources and assignments. Right now we've got areas we would call no man's land, where no one in government currently has those responsibilities. We want to fix that with this plan. So first up, which is in no particular order, is to change the name of the Division of Environmental Policy to Environmental Services. We do not sit up on the ninth floor and write policy all day long. We provide services to the government and services to the public related to environmental issues. So we want to change that to better reflect what we actually do. Number two is an item on your agenda actually today related to reallocation of unspent bond funds to allow for purchase of equipment to provide government with a full year-round tree crew. Currently, we have a great tree crew in Streets and Roads, but they're not full year-round. They have other responsibilities related to snow removal, potholes, et cetera. So we would like to perform tree work all year-round on the trees that we are responsible for. Streets and roads would continue to be the 24-7 emergency operations related to trees, but this would provide that additional resource. Moving on to mowing, like I said, we've got six divisions that have significant mowing and landscape maintenance responsibilities. We want to bring that down to two, where we have two points of contact. Right now, Parks and Recreation primarily does all of the mowing related to our responsibilities other than water quality and fire who do their own facilities. That would not change. Water quality would continue to mow theirs and fire stations theirs. But all of these other areas would now be broken into two. Parks and Recreation would be responsible for parks, the greenways that are in parks, hard surface trails such as Legacy Trail, downtown streetscapes, and all of the other responsibilities would then go to this new expanded environmental services division. So if you're standing in a park, if you're standing on a hard surface trail, or you're standing downtown, you know who to call. But you call LexCall, and then they'll send it to parks. And if you're looking at anything else that needs to be addressed, those calls would come to us. Of course, there's budget amendments that would need to occur to transfer the funds for spring operations related to greenway maintenance, mowing, et cetera, from parks to environmental policy. And then three personnel transfers, two vacant public service worker positions from parks and one vacant equipment operator senior from streets and roads. And these would be coming onto your all's agendas in November. And then in addition to that, we do have some unmet needs associated with how we get things done. And right now, county road maintenance is done by parks with certain crews that they have during the year. But we would need some funding in order to accomplish that in environmental services. In addition, corridors landscaping, there is no assignment for corridors landscaping at this time. So we're requesting realizing that we have a need for funding in that area. And then in addition to that, of course, we know that we have the Breeders' Cup coming up in a year. we've got Garth Brooks coming here in a week. And whether it's Garth Brooks coming or if it's Breeders' Cup coming, it doesn't really matter. There's always things that are coming. And this is Lexington. I was born and raised here. And Lexington should be beautiful all the time because it's Lexington. And I know that we can do that. It's already beautiful, but we can do even more. The one picture there on the left is a landscaped area that's gotten a little bit out of control over on Georgetown at Charles. we want to turn those areas into the picture there on the right. So the first two items there relate to really cleaning up and maintaining what we have. And the third item relates to adding beautification around the city. And then in the future, for fiscal year 2016, this would really be the second phase of this reorganization. you would be seeing a request for three additional civil service positions to round out this reorganization. It would complete our tree crew. It would provide personnel for us to be the greenways point of contact and related to greenways and maintenance planning in greenways and also to perform the function of the commercial landscape examiner since we already have an enforcement function for vegetation within this division. So that is all that I had. Thank you, Susan. And I'll open the floor for comments or questions. Council Member Clark. No, thank you very much, Mayor. And I've seen Susan's presentation more than once, the complete presentation. Fortunately, being a member of both the tree board and the corridors commission, I've been privileged to see the details of this plan. And I just want to say to the council, if you haven't seen the whole plan, I recommend that you ask for that plan. Let Susan send it to you so you can see the details involved. It has occurred to me for the last year and a half with my involvement with the council and particularly in trees and corridors that our system is not well focused. It's fractured. It doesn't have the continuity and the central command, so to speak, that we need to make Lexington the beautiful place it should be. We find lots and lots of errors in maintaining our landscaping, our right-of-ways. And so I've been worried about this, thinking, what's the problem? And with Forrester and so forth. And I have been very, very pleased with the plan that Susan has come up with and supported by her commissioner as well. And so I would recommend to the council that we go full speed to make this work, whatever it takes. And I certainly recommend that, and I certainly commend Susan and her staff for making this happen. Thank you, Susan. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Clark. Council Member Stenet. Thank you, Mayor. And as chair of the Environmental Quality Committee, we had the pleasure of hearing Susan's presentation last Tuesday. So we asked for the full council to hear it today so we can bring forward actually three motions that will impact her efforts going forward and all of government. One of the big underlying factors here is our preparation for the Breeders' Cup next year. We've also had this issue of greenway responsibilities in committee for a number of years. So this will finally bring a couple things to a head and help us move forward. I'll give a brief summary of the meeting, and then I'll move into the motions, Council, so we can vote on them and get them on Thursday night's docket. The meeting was called to order 11.05 a.m. The first item on the agenda was committee summary, which was approved unanimously. Second item was the energy fund update, which we talked a little bit about earlier today. The third item was our natural resources management reorganization proposal. The first motion I'll bring to the Council today, made by Councilmember Gordon, and seconded by Councilmember Clark was to have a budget amendment reallocating older inactive bond proceeds to provide approximately $321,000 of capital equipment related to the reorganization of landscaping and forestry functions into the Division of Environmental Services presenting now as a Division of Environmental Policy. So moved. Second. Motion by Councilmember Stennett and seconded by Councilmember Massadi. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. Hearing none, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. All right. Our next motion, made by Council Member Farmer, seconded by Council Member Clark, is number one, and there's three different things here, Council, so bear with me. Change the name of Division of Environmental Policy to Division of Environmental Services. Number two, transfer all three civil service positions from parks to environmental services. two public service worker seniors and one equipment operator senior. And number three, to have administration initiate necessary budget amendments to transfer funding for seasonal employees, mowing, and other purposes related to the reorganization of landscaping and forestry functions into the new Division of Environmental Services. So moved. Motion by Council Member Stendant and seconded by Council Member Henson. Is there any discussion on the motion? Hearing none, then we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you, Mayor. And the last motion made by Council Member Farmer, seconded by Council Member Myers, was to include three professional service requests into future fund balance discussions, which we'll have in November related to the reorganization of landscaping and forestry functions and to the Division of Environmental Services, including tree removal and county road maintenance of $80,000, Corridors Landscaping and Maintenance of $70,000, and Corridors Beautification Breeders' Cup Preparation of $100,000. So moved. Second. Motion by Council Member Stennett, seconded by Vice Mayor Gorton. Is there any discussion on the motion? Hearing none, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you, Mayor and Council. And the committee adjourned at 1255 p.m. All right, sir. Thank you, Councilmember Stennett. Thank you, Susan. Just while you're leaving, is Commissioner Paulson in the room? He is. I'm just going to tell a story that quickly, very quickly, within one minute, I was riding with Commissioner Paulson out on Richmond Road and passed some overgrown materials at the corner of Richmond Road and Manowar, and he looked over at it and he said, Susan Pluger will get on that before you know it. So, Susan, thank you. I think everybody appreciates it. All right. Next is the council report. Please sign up for council reports. And first to sign on is Vice Mayor Gordon. Thank you, Mayor. Well, since Susan is here and mentioned America in Bloom, we have fantastic news. It's flying all over the place. For our community, as you may remember, Lexington decided to participate for the first time ever in the national program America in Bloom. We convened a broad group of people from around the community. Many LFUCG folks participated. We did an assessment of our community, And then judges, national judges, came to town in June, and they looked at Lexington in a lot of different categories. And then we, you know, they submitted their report. The national conference was in Philadelphia in early October, where two folks from Lexington attended. and Lexington received a special award for its best commercial landscape. It received the best commercial landscape award. It received special mention for its landscaped areas, and as a first-time participant, which is really unusual, it was ranked, they have a scale of ranking on all the different categories, and it ranked four out of five blooms. This is really fantastic for our community because the judges actually then give recommendations under each of the categories, landscaping, urban forestry, et cetera. And so the report has come in. I'm hoping we can get it on our website at some point. And then in November, we're working on a presentation at a work session where the folks who participated in the local America in Bloom can come and give the council the award. It's a beautiful award. And talk about next steps. So that is a big deal. Lexington's now on the map nationwide for America in Bloom. And then secondly, Council Members, I just put before you a piece about the American Farmland Trust. So the American Farmland Trust is right now in town holding their national conference. It's the first time in 10 years that they've been in Lexington. They were here 10 years ago for their national conference. There are 350 participants from across the country and Canada. I've already met people from Idaho, Iowa, Maine, California, Connecticut, New Mexico, Ontario, and Alberta. There are state secretaries of agriculture. There are food coordinators from all over the country. The program is very hefty, as you'll see from the materials that I gave you. And the American Farmland Trust, it's real effort. You know, it's on their bumper sticker, no farms, no food, right? So they're very interested in farmland protection to protect our food supply. And they're all in town now. And the ones I've talked to love our city, Mayor. They're staying downtown. They are eating at the restaurants. They're walking around seeing things, and they're happy campers. And one of them told me that he might even move here. He likes it so much. So if you run into any of them, please welcome them. This is a great PR tool for our community all across the country. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Council Member Farmer. Thank you, Mayor. Our council members, in an effort to try to add a planning and public works committee meeting, which one of the nuances of our schedule for the year did not provide for a planning and public works committee meeting in November or December. There are items in committee that several council members want to have action taken on, and we have probably about five things on the potential agenda. In looking around for a place to potentially add that meeting, I had a conversation with Councilmember Beard, who chairs our economic development committee of the whole. He now has a meeting scheduled on the 11th at 1 o'clock. He believes that they can conduct their business between 1 and 1.30, and we might have the ability to add a special Planning and Public Works Committee meeting on the 11th from 1.30 to 3 p.m. So with that background, I'd like to make a motion that on November 11th, we change the committee, the whole economic development committee meeting to be from 1 to 1.30 and then add a special planning and public works committee meeting from 1.30 to 3 p.m. So moved. Motion by Council Member Farmer, second by Council Member Beard. Is there any discussion on the motion? If not, then we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you very much. Yes, sir. I had asked the Department of Law, and I'm not sure who really to go to, Mayor. We've had kind of various inputs, I think, as council members about political signage and its size and shape in the current election. And I think I saw one op-ed about it, and I certainly have had questions put to me about it. We used to have kind of a rather strict policy as it relates to political signage, and now we don't. And it's making a difference in some of the roadways and the view sheds, and I just need a little linkage between where we were and where we are now so that there's context for the public. Yes, sir. Thank you, Council Member Farmer. I think Commissioner Graham or Mr. Horn. And just something to tell them why it's changed as much as anything else. I'm not sure what you mean by changed because many years ago, the law department, before my current tenure here, opined that the existing ordinance on political signs is not enforceable because of a series of decisions from the federal courts saying that that's an impermissible restriction of political speech. So I'm not sure when you say what has changed necessarily what that means. It's certainly something we could examine over the next election cycle because we're so close now if you want to look at it. And that's fine. I think in the last two cycles, I think you've seen first what I think most of us noticed was the lack of however far back this iteration goes to the 30-day rule. And so now things can go up, I guess, basically at any point in time, and I understand that. I think the next step away, which again has been the last couple cycles, was the addition or are the additions of the 4x6s or the 4x8s or the plywood-sized signs that we typically haven't seen in our locale. And I don't know. I think people have questions, and I was just trying to get a little bit of an answer. Certainly the 30-day restriction is in your current ordinance, but it is unenforceable. Thank you. The size part you can probably examine. Obviously, it's a little bit late for this election to examine it, but the size part may be worth looking at to see if there are restrictions that can be placed on the size of signs. Now, that's going to mean generally, I think, regulating the size of signs, which you do to a large extent. What it can't be is content-based. You can't have a distinction between the political speech and the business speech, for example. But that may be something you want to examine either in a committee before the next election or something like that. I'm placing committee structure. What do you think? Where? In general government? Thank you, sir, very much. Or, yes, go ahead. I have an off-topic thing I wanted to say while I'm standing here. I wanted to just tell Chris Ford I appreciated his op-ed piece on what I'll say was about Tony Sullivan, but was actually about a great deal more than that. I thought it was nicely done. Thank you, Attorney. Well done all the way around. Thank you, sir. Um, then mayor taking a lead from that conversation, I would, uh, move to place in, uh, general government and examination of our, shall we just say our political sign mechanism for lack of a better, or something to keep it broad. Motion by council member Farmer, second by vice mayor Gordon. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. If not, then we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. I do have one more item, but I'll come back after council member Henson. All right. All right. Okay. All right. Again, in the free speech and public arena, I've laid at your all's places a picture of the current installation that's going on in the distillery district. Do you have a copy of that to put up over there? You know, this is just another one for public discussion. I don't know what else to say. This is an installation by an artist named MTO, who is from France by way of Berlin. and he has done some, he or she, I do not know, I shouldn't say that, has done some installations in other places. And I guess this is another one, kind of like the previous one I talked about in terms of free speech, where we got some e-mails from some neighborhood businesses about what I would just loosely refer to as the content here, as a constant protagonist for public art. It's tough to talk about it when it's, I don't know, I think this goes back to what's public art and what's good taste and what's bad taste. What I can say is, if you talk, and I know that there are mayors, someone in the audience from your administration, which I value and would be glad to hear from, who says that this is not gang related. However, there are some people in the community who do think it is gang related. And I think it raises a conversation about when and where this type of speech takes place in public and in what capacity. Because this is a rather large mural that seems to depict something that certainly is a message immediately I don't get, but one that perhaps others might not want to see. So I don't really have a specific thing to do here other than say, Lexington is a welcoming community that does a lot of great things and has nurtured a lot of great artists in a lot of ways. That doesn't mean that every piece of artwork is something everyone would like. And occasionally there are things I think that people find objection to, and at this particular time and place, this could be one of those pieces. I don't really have an answer here other than a great potential public discussion. I don't think I can do as good an op-ed piece as Council Member Ford did, but there's the basis for some community conversation here because I think that if folks have an issue with it in terms of its content, that is their right to have it. If it's around their place of business, I think they're even more involved in that conversation. I, again, would just apologize for only bringing the conversation and not having any sort of outcome for it other than, I think, a further discussion. Thank you, Council Member Farmer. Thank you, Council Member Farmer. Council Member Henson. Thank you, Mayor. I have a couple of announcements. Tonight at 6.30 is a Piccadone Neighborhood Association meeting at SCAPA. And then on Saturday, there's a fall festival at Valley Park from 2 to 6. And also, last week I attended the grand reopening of Safety City. And I thought about Commander Armstrong is here and just what a wonderful job he did. He was marching around the track with the children, and they were just loving it. And it is such a good educational tool for those kids to learn pedestrian bicycle safety. But the police department painted, there's a little police station there, and there's a fire station restaurant. I'm not sure what it is. It's red. And the big blue building is there. And they did all this work to get this up and running, but it was a partnership with Eastern Kentucky University. So I just wanted to thank you particularly, Commander Armstrong, for your work in that. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Henson. Council Member Ford. Thank you, Mayor. I want to share news that last Wednesday, I guess it was October 15th, 15th. We had a very productive meeting of the East End Small Area Plan five-year anniversary update over at the Charles Young Center. We welcomed about, I would say, 60, between 60 and 70 folks to come out. Very engaging discussion. There was a lot of talk in regards to the Legacy Trail Phase 3 and, of course, the Midland Avenue TIF projects. I appreciate everybody that came out. Segue into Midland Avenue. There's going to be an opportunity here in these chambers on Thursday before at the beginning of our council meeting at 6 p.m. the public hearing for that proposed Millen Avenue TIF district. Again, that's going to be October 16th at 6 p.m. I want to thank Attorney Horn and Council Member Farmer. As many council members and folks here may know, I had the fortune to share an op-ed in this Sunday's newspaper, and I appreciate the Herald-Leader for publishing that. reflecting on the history of the tragedy that our community suffered 20 years ago with the killing of Tony Sullivan. I know that everybody's attention has been on Ferguson, Missouri, and areas across the nation, but I thought it was an opportune time for our community to look back on what we've learned from that and how far we actually have to go to that. in those limited words, I did share that at that time I was still just a college student, so I went to class and to football practice the very next day. But I can only imagine as many of you leaders were present and actually in service at that time and can recall the impact that it had on our community. The one thing that I would like to pose as a challenge is hopefully an opportunity that we may have as elected leaders and business leaders, educators across our community, are to find ways to engineer common ground with black boys and young black men in our community. Thank you, Mayor. That's my report. Thank you, Council Member Ford. All right. With no additional council members signing up for a council report, we can move on to the mayor's report. Is there a motion? Second. Motion by Council Member Stennett, second by Vice Mayor Gorton. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. If not, then we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Next on the agenda is public comment. Is anyone signed up, Mr. Mundy? All right. No one signed up. So that allows us to move on to an adjournment motion. Second. Motion by Council Member Stenet and a second by Vice Mayor Gordon. Unless there's an objection, we will stand adjourned. Thank you. .