# Council Work Session - June 16, 2015 > Auto-transcribed civic record · June 16, 2015 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/3686 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/3686?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2015-06-16 - **Last revised**: July 15, 2026 - **Length**: 5,059 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 June 16, 2015, at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the 2nd Floor of the Government Center, with Mayor Gray presiding. The council addressed 10 agenda items during the session, including public comment periods, zoning matters, budget amendments, and various reports. The body took 19 votes and heard 5 public comments from constituents. Key actions included approval of requested rezonings and docket items, budget amendments, new business items, continuing business and presentations, and the mayor's report, with the meeting concluding in adjournment. ## Attendance The following individuals were present at the meeting on June 16, 2015: Farmer, Akers, Scutchfield, Moloney, Mossotti, Henson, Lane, Evans, Lamb, Gibbs, Bledsoe, J. Brown, F. Brown, Ford, Gooding, Holmes, Nugent, Valicenti, Houlihan, Emmons, Martin, Kay, Stinnett, Hanson, Maloney, Brown, James Brown, Graham, Reed, Poulsen, Fugate, Kurtzinger, Charlie Martin, Jamie, Sally, Janet, Adona, and Mundy. No absences or late arrivals were recorded. ## Votes and Decisions All motions were decided by voice vote. The following items were approved: **Motion 0723-15** – Authorization to execute a sole source agreement with BissNuss, Inc. for a sluice gate at Town Branch WWTP. Motion by Martin, seconded by Holmes. Passed. **Motion 0730-15** – Authorization to execute an addendum to contract 281-2014 with Level 3 for phone system redundancy. Motion by Nugent, seconded by Valicenti. Passed. **Motion 0753-15** – Authorization to accept $703,430.41 in FY 2016 funds from the Kentucky Commercial Mobile Radio Service Emergency Communications Board for 911 PSAP Customer Premise Equipment Upgrade. Motion by Gooding, seconded by Bastin. Passed. **Motion 0756-15** – Authorization to accept a $25 Kroger gift card donation from Joanna Rodes for Family Care Center client incentives. Motion by Ford. Passed. **Motion 0757-15** – Authorization to accept $200,000 in FY 2016 EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant for Fayette County Courthouse Property. Motion by Gooding, seconded by Holmes. Passed. **Resolution 0001-2015** – Designating the speed limit on Jouett Creek Drive as 25 mph. Motion by Stinnett, seconded by Moloney. Passed. [timestamp: 00:14:48] **Additional motions passed:** - Approval of the docket for June 18, 2015 Council Meeting. Motion by Hanson, seconded by Scutchfield. [timestamp: 00:03:27] - Approval of change order 18 to contract with Marilla Design and Construction for Senior Citizen Center. Motion by Stinnett, seconded by Scutchfield. [timestamp: 00:03:27] - Approval of the Environmental Quality & Public Works Committee meeting summary. Motion by Farmer, seconded by Henson. [timestamp: 00:07:12] - Approval of budget amendments. Motion by Scutchfield, seconded by Massadi. [timestamp: 00:07:12] - Approval of new business. Motion by Stinnett, seconded by Akers. [timestamp: 00:07:42] - Removal of item C (LexArts maintenance agreement) from new business. Motion by Akers, seconded by Scutchfield. [timestamp: 00:08:19] - Placement of tree protection issue into Environmental Quality & Public Works Committee. Motion by Gibbs, seconded by Bledsoe. [timestamp: 00:20:01] - Placement of street trees issue into Environmental Quality & Public Works Committee. Motion by Stinnett, seconded by Gibbs. [timestamp: 00:24:52] - Approval of Mayor's Report as amended. Motion by Scutchfield, seconded by Masati. [timestamp: 00:29:43] - Adjournment. Motion by Stinnett, seconded by Scutchfield. [timestamp: 00:32:12] **Motion 0751-15** – Authorization to execute a Memorandum of Agreement with LexArts for maintenance of the Oliver Lewis Way Art Bridge. Motion by Houlihan, seconded by Emmons. Withdrawn. [timestamp: 00:08:19] ## Budget and Financial Actions The following financial actions were approved: **Equipment Purchase (0723-15):** BissNuss, Inc was authorized to supply a 72" X 72" heavy duty sluice gate to replace a damaged gate at the primary effluent pump station at Town Branch WWTP for $25,216.00. **Communications Contract (0730-15):** An addendum to contract 281-2014 with Level 3 was approved for $28,878.24 to add additional lines for geographic redundancy and to address a failing phone system. **Arts Maintenance Appropriation (0751-15):** An appropriation of $7,500 was made to LexArts for maintenance of the Oliver Lewis Way Art Bridge over a five-year period. **911 System Grant (0753-15):** A grant of $703,430.41 was received from the Kentucky Commercial Mobile Radio Service Emergency Communications Board to upgrade 911 PSAP Customer Premise Equipment. The upgrade will maintain reliable 911 systems and enable Next Generation 911 features. **Brownfields Cleanup Grant (0757-15):** A grant of $200,000 was received from the Environmental Protection Agency for brownfields cleanup at the Fayette County Courthouse Property. The grant will address asbestos, lead paint, mold, and guano remediation. ## Public Comment Council members addressed several community initiatives and concerns during the meeting. **Skate Park at Berry Hill Park** [timestamp: 00:15:19] Council Member Brown reported on the informal opening of the skate park at Berry Hill Park, which has experienced high attendance. However, several operational issues were identified, including trash accumulation, lack of fencing and lighting, and the need for increased police presence and ongoing maintenance. **Neighborhood Leaders' Meeting** [timestamp: 00:18:56] Council Member James Brown thanked the Mayor for attending the first neighborhood leaders' meeting. He praised both the turnout and the presentation on the Town Branch Trail project. **Community Meetings on Safety and Environmental Restoration** [timestamp: 00:20:36] Council Member Henson announced upcoming public meetings on two topics: Cross Keys Pond restoration and a town hall focused on reducing violence in the Northside area. **Senior Intern Program** [timestamp: 00:23:19] Council Member Stinnett expressed appreciation for the 31st Senior Intern Program and advocated for its expansion, requesting additional funding and consideration of new program ideas. **Neighborhood Association Meetings** [timestamp: 00:27:34] Council Member Akers noted the Mayor's attendance at the Metathorpe Neighborhood Association meeting and announced an upcoming meeting of the Masterson Station Neighborhood Association. ## Appointments The following appointments were made during this meeting: * **Jamie** was appointed to the Planning Commission * **Sally** was appointed to the Board of Adjustment ## Contested Items Two procedural matters were disputed during the meeting. **Acceptance of Small Donations** Council Member Lamb raised concerns about the process for accepting small donations. Lamb noted that the staff time required to process minor gifts—such as a $25 gift card—exceeded the monetary value of the donation itself. Lamb suggested that a policy change was needed to prevent such items from being placed on the docket in the future. **Wi-Fi in the Council Chamber** Council Member Stinnett questioned the reliability of Wi-Fi service in the Council Chamber. Stinnett highlighted that this had been an ongoing issue since 2009 and requested an update on what steps were being taken to address the problem. ## Public Comment - Issues on Agenda No public comments were submitted for this work session. ## Requested Rezonings/Docket Approval [timestamp: 00:03:27] The board approved the docket for the June 18, 2015 Council Meeting. Key speakers on this item included Stinnett, Henson, and Lane. In addition to docket approval, the board also approved a change order for the Senior Citizen Center construction project. The change order increased the contract price by $336,699. The item was approved by the board. ## Approval of Summary The committee approved the summary of the Environmental Quality & Public Works Committee meeting held on May 19, 2015. [timestamp: 00:13:12] Stinnett presented this agenda item for approval. The motion to approve the summary was carried, and the summary was officially approved by the committee. ## Budget Amendments The Budget Amendments agenda item was presented during the meeting [timestamp: 00:07:12]. **Key Speakers** Scutchfield and Massadi led the discussion on budget amendments. **Amendments Approved** The following budget amendments were approved: - A transfer from Asset Forfeiture funds to the Street Sales 2015 grant - Additional funds allocated for the Public Safety Emergency Operations Center **Outcome** The budget amendments were approved. ## New Business [timestamp: 00:07:42] The board approved several new business items during this section of the meeting. **Items Approved** The following contracts and grants were approved: - Contract with BissNuss, Inc. - Contract with Level 3 - EPA Brownfields grant **LexArts Maintenance Agreement** The LexArts maintenance agreement was removed from the docket after confirmation that it was not required. **Key Participants** The discussion was led by board members Akers, Lamb, and Graham. **Outcome** All new business items presented were approved. ## Continuing Business/Presentations [timestamp: 00:13:12] During this agenda item, the council addressed three matters: **Neighborhood Development Funds** The council approved Neighborhood Development Funds, though specific details regarding the amount or intended projects were not provided in the available materials. **Environmental Quality & Public Works Committee Meeting Summary** Stinnett, Henson, and Moloney presented a summary of the Environmental Quality & Public Works Committee meeting. The specific content of this committee report was not detailed in the provided information. **Speed Limit Reduction on Jouett Creek Drive** The council approved a reduction of the speed limit on Jouett Creek Drive to 25 mph. This action was taken during the presentations portion of the meeting. **Outcome** All matters presented during this agenda item were approved. ## Council Reports Council members provided updates on several ongoing initiatives and issues during this agenda item. **Senior Intern Program and Skate Park** Council members Brown and James Brown presented reports on the Senior Intern Program and skate park developments. These updates were informational in nature, allowing the council to receive status reports on these community programs. **Neighborhood Meetings** Council Member Henson reported on neighborhood meetings, providing the council with feedback and updates from community engagement efforts. **Tree Protection Issues** Tree protection emerged as a significant topic during the council reports. Council Member Gibbs moved to place tree protection into committee for further review and discussion. This action indicated that the council determined the issue warranted more detailed examination through the committee process rather than immediate full council action. **Speakers and Participation** In addition to those mentioned above, Council Members Maloney and Stinnett participated in the council reports discussion. **Outcome** The agenda item was informational in nature, with council members sharing updates on various programs and community matters. The primary action taken was Council Member Gibbs' motion to refer tree protection issues to committee for further consideration. [timestamp: 00:15:19] ## Mayor's Report The Mayor presented a report to the council [timestamp: 00:28:05]. The Mayor requested approval of the report with specific exclusions for Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment appointments, which were noted as pending confirmation hearings. Henson participated in the discussion of this agenda item. The motion to approve the Mayor's Report, with the noted exclusions for the Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment appointments, passed. ## Public Comment - Issues Not on Agenda No public comments were submitted for issues not on the agenda. ## Adjournment A motion to adjourn the meeting was made and carried. [timestamp: 00:32:12] The motion involved speakers Stinnett and Scutchfield and was approved. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): schedule a Special Council Meeting on August 24, 2015 at 5:00pm for a Fire Hearing - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the June 18, 2015 docket - **Motion** — passed (0-0): place on the docket for the June 18, 2015 Council meeting, a resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute Change Order No. 18 to the contract with Merilla Design & Construction for the Senior Citizens Center Construction project, increasing the contract price by the sum of $336,699 from $9,11,061.07 to $9,447,760.07 - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the June 9, 2015 summary - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve budget amendments - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve new business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): remove item C under new business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve neighborhood development funds - **Motion** — passed (0-0): reduce speed limit on Jouett Creek - **Motion** — passed (0-0): place into the Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee the issue of requiring strong tree protection language in city RFPs related to work that might endanger or damage trees, and the issue of tree protection planning on the part of LFUCG staff prior to the issuance of RFPs or prior to beginning work on projects that might endanger or damage trees - **Motion** — passed (0-0): refer the issue of street trees to the Environmental Quality & Public Works committee - **Motion** — passed (0-0): remove the Planning Commission and BOA appointments from the Mayor’s Report pending confirmation - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the Mayor's Report as amended - **Motion** — passed (0-0): adjourn at 3:40pm --- ## Full transcript I ask Mr. Mundy, has anyone signed up for public comments for the work session? All right. Thank you. I'm going to ask Keith Horn from our law department if he will come to the podium. He can take us through setting a hearing date for an issue. We need a hearing date for a firefighter discipline hearing, and the attorney for the firefighter is here. We haven't had one of these for a firefighter. You've done several for police officers. It's the same thing. You've been doing these on a Monday afternoon beginning at 3, the last time we had one. I would suggest the same thing after you get back from your break, and so I'm recommending to you August the 24th as the date for the hearing, then you would need to set a special meeting to have the hearing on that date. All right. Thank you, Keith. So we need to check our calendars. What did you give us? I'm sorry. Did you give us a suggested? Because it's a Monday and it's a week after you get back would be August the 24th. We need a motion. What just a second? Council Member Stennett? Yeah, I was going to ask a question before I made the motion. Is there a time constraint on when this has to be heard like it is sometimes in the police side? They're only in the sense of when the charges are filed, which is something I usually work out with the attorney. So this is not I'm not sure if you're asking me if you can go later or if you need to do August the 24th. Yeah, that's what I'm asking. You can go later. The obviously the firefighter, everyone involved would like to get it as quickly as we can. but if you needed to go later, you could go later. Okay. Fair enough. Mayor, I'll make a motion to have the hearing, the fire hearing on August 24th at 5 o'clock. So motion and a second for the 24th at 5 o'clock. 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. Thank you. Five o'clock on August the 24th. Give us a little time to enter it. All right. That allows us to move on to any rezoning requests and docket approval. Is there a motion to approve the docket? Move approval. Second. Motion by Council Member Hanson, seconded by Council Member Scotchfield. Any discussion? All right. If not, then we can vote. Council Member Stenet. Thank you, Mayor. I have a motion to go on the docket. I move to place the docket for June 18th. council meeting a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute change order number 18 to the contract with Marilla design and construction for the senior citizen center construction project increasing the contract price by the sum of three hundred thirty six thousand six hundred and ninety nine dollars from nine million one hundred and eleven thousand sixty one dollars and seven cents to nine million four hundred and forty seven thousand seven hundred and $60.07. So moved. Second. Motion by Council Member Stenet and second by Council Member Scotchville. Is there any discussion on the motion? Council Member Henson. Thank you, Mayor. Did we get the explanation for this increase? No, but it'd be a good time to ask. So I would just ask before it... The proposal is to deal with the unsuitable soil on site, primarily the entire blacktop, that proposed to be blacktop area in the parking lot. What's being proposed is to remove the top 24 to 36 inches of the current material because apparently it's been brought on from another site a long time ago, contains a lot of organics and really does not have the, it's not a suitable base to handle the load. So it's quite a bit of an area. We've got the numbers based on the unit pricing and the estimate, a reminder that the amount is not to exceed amount, so there's a good possibility that we're not going to even hit that amount, but it's still going to be a substantial. Okay, thank you. So when, and this is something that you weren't aware of until now? No. We had done some exploration where the building is itself, and there was a couple of the ones that was done initially before even the design process began. And this is something that we requested prior to moving on with work on the parking lot site, and that's what the geotechnical studies came up with. Okay. Thank you, sir. Sure. All right. Thank you, Council Member Henson. Thank you, John Sheet. Council Member Lane. All right. I just wanted to add a footnote to that, is that this is property that the city owned, and when we were doing site investigations, we had an outside firm that the cost of the site in a commercial zone would have maybe been $5 million, $3 million. So even though we've had to spend a little extra on the soils condition, there was a huge amount of savings, by the way, this was developed, and I just thought I'd mention that. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Lane. Good observation. Thank you, sir. Any further discussion on the motion? All right. If not, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Any further discussion on the motion? to approve the docket all right hearing none then we can vote all in favor please say aye oppose no motion carries next is the summary is there a motion to approve motion by councilmember acres second by councilmember henson is there any discussion on the motion all right if not then we can vote all in favor please say aye aye Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. And next are budget amendments. Is there a motion to approve budget? Second. Motion by Council Member Scotchfield, second by Council Member Massadi. Any discussion on the motion? All right. Just a second. Has anybody signed on? My electronic monitor is not exactly working. Okay. All right. If not, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Next on the agenda is new business. Is there a motion to approve? Motion by Council Member Stenet. Is there a second? Second by Council Member Akers. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. Council Member Akers. Thank you, Mayor. I move to remove item C under new business. After further discussions with District 7, the Transportation Cabinet, they don't require the maintenance agreement at this time since the art has not yet been installed. So Commissioner Holmes just submitted a letter to the Cabinet saying that the art will be maintained and don't need the agreement at this time. So I move to remove. Motion by Council Member Akers and seconded by Council Member Scotchfield. Is there any discussion on the motion to remove? All right. If not, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Council Member Lamb. Thank you, Mayor. I have a question that pertains to item E. It's not the subject matter, but it's about accepting donations. and I guess I would like to ask Commissioner Graham. The process for accepting donations often seems to cost more than the actual donation, and I know this discussion has taken place a million times, but I'm going to make it a million and one. It's because of the work hours committed to get it through the blue sheet process that it just, I mean, it's for $25. Could this problem be addressed in either our council rules Or would it be that it would need to change a LFCCG policy? And thank you We actually were just talking about this And my understanding is that if the council passed a resolution saying you did not want to see these Then we wouldn't have to put them on the docket I mean, and we could put stipulations or something But I mean, they're donations So there being, I mean, I just think that I'm wondering what area of government, what committee we should bring this up in, or I don't know. I just wanted to see what my colleagues thought about this. And, Council Member Lamb, you may recall, and it's been several years ago, and I think I was the attorney who wrote this opinion, we had someone who wanted to donate some playground equipment to a park. and so the opinion was at that time that the council had to formally accept that donation and then that's just kind of carried over, but now we've gotten to the point where we're accepting $25 gift cards and that's not really what the intent was, but that is what that opinion said, so we may want to look at coming up with a way to correct that so that we don't see these types of things every council meeting. Okay, so, and now I'm thinking off the top of my head, what committee this would be okay so I would like to have this brought forward to one of our next committees and I'll have to look and see maybe the September one maybe so if I can find that that opinion opinion all right I appreciate it okay thank you all thanks thanks man mayor thanks you want to be appropriate put that in the form of a motion um you all want that or not i mean i can i mean but right now there's a um we've got the motion on the floor for the new business item so i'll wait until after all right thank you all right is there any further discussion vice mayor k thank you mayor um it may be it may be useful to think about handling this in a slightly different way than putting it in committee. I think the question of the whole way in which the council docket is set up and what we then leave on the docket as first and second read, I actually raised about three years ago when I first got on council, four years ago when I first got on council, and I'd like to have the council discuss that again, and I would put that as an agenda item for our August council of the whole meeting, if that would be appropriate, instead of putting it into committee. But we can, obviously if you want to move to put it in committee, you can do that too. But I'm going to work on some proposals that will be, this could be included as a part of that package. Thank you, Mayor. All right. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Any further discussion on the motion? All right. If not, then we can vote. All in favor of the motion, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Next item on our agenda is continuing business and presentations. Is there a motion regarding the NDFs? Motion by Vice Mayor Kaye to approve, second by Council Member Akers. 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. next is a summary of the environmental quality and public works committee meeting who's the chairman are you going to take i was wondering i thought council member farmer but council member stennett thank you mayor on behalf of councilmember farmer i present to you the meeting summary of the let's see may 19th meeting the meeting was called to order at 1 p.m The first item of business was approval of the previous summary, which passed without dissent. The next item on the agenda was the distillery district update by Commissioner Paulson. We heard updates in regards to the Town Branch Trail project, including estimates and timelines for Phases 4 through 6 of the Town Branch Trail. We also heard an update in regards to the hydrology study, which is currently a LOMAR, is being submitted to FEMA, and the submission approval process will take two to three years. In addition to that, we heard an update on the UK trunk line, which will begin later on this year. There was extensive discussion in regards to the distillery district, and also we ended that discussion with a motion that was already made before the council committee and moving the funds or remaining bond proceeds from the distillery fund to the other two items we discussed a couple weeks ago in work session. The next item was item number three on the agenda, the snow and ice control plan. We did have rather lengthy discussion on this item as well. The conclusion is that in August we'll hear an updated snow and ice plan that will be presented to the council. Next was the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program. There was not enough time left in the meeting to address that issue. We actually addressed it today in committee. So that report will be in about 30 days. The last we ended with a motion, and I'll bring it before the council now. I motion by myself to approve reduction of speed limit on Jewett Creek and was seconded by Councilman Maloney. So moved. Motion by Council Member Stennett. Second by Council Member Henson. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right, if not, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. The motion carries. Thank you, Mayor. We adjourned at 2.53 p.m. Thank you, Council Member Stennett. Next on our agenda is Council Reports. If the Council Members will please sign on electronically, and I'll call on you for a Council report. Council Member Brown, Council Member Fred Brown, then Council Member James Brown. Thank you, Mayor. Yes, I'd just like to report on the skate park opening at Berry Hill Park. It hasn't been officially opened. I think the grand opening is going to be in August, but I had a chance to get out there Sunday, and all the structure and the apparatus is in place, but we've got a lot of landscaping and some other amenities to do before the grand opening. But I did want to notice a couple of things. Quite a few people out there Sunday, mostly teenagers. I went and just chatted with some of them. There was one fellow was from Dayton, Ohio, and the other fellow was from Mount Sterling. So there wasn't all Lextonians that were there, were there, but there must have been 50 to 60 people out there trying it out. I did see, I mean, some things that bothered me a little bit was there's a lot of trash around. I think we only had one or two trash containers, and we need to put some more trash containers out there, I think. And probably, and I think Commissioner Reed is working on this, but it's a premature opening, so to speak, but you can't keep them out because there's no fences and people can go in there at any time. We don't have lights, so we're trying to prohibit any nighttime skating, but I wonder if that might not be a problem or a problem that's coming. So I guess I just wanted to report that we need to have some police presence there and we need to have maybe some maintenance or some parks and rec people out there involved a little bit, especially on the weekends leading up to the August grand opening. So Commissioner Reed, I discussed with him, and there is some things in the works, but I just wanted to report that we need to keep on top of that. It could be a real problem if we don't have some people out there involved in security. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Brown. Commissioner Reed, you want to confirm all your activities? He's right. That's a pretty good confirmation. There are a great number of people who started going to the skate park more than we anticipated. We're addressing the trash issue. I agree. I am concerned about safety issues there. We have talked to police. We are increasing park patrol. You know, this project was one that was funded. It was going to be a public-private partnership, and we didn't get all the money that we envisioned and the money we did get went into the construction of the skate park itself and not to some of the amenities. So we're playing catch-up on trying to get some of that done, but we will get these issues addressed. All right, sir. Thank you. Council Member James Brown. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to thank you for attending my first neighborhood leaders' presidents meeting last night. I had at the Legacy, I was about to say the Legacy, the Legends Baseball Stadium. Andy Shea was gracious enough to host us and let us use the boardroom, and we had a pretty good attendance. And we were also joined by Commissioner Ford and Commissioner Poulsen and Jeff Fugate from the DDA, and he presented a presentation of the Town Branch Trail. And that was actually the first time a lot of the neighbors have seen that presentation and heard about that project and had some questions. And I think we had a pretty good informative meeting, But I wanted to publicly say thank you for attending and staying the whole meeting last night. Thanks, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you, Council Member Brown. Council Member Gibbs. Thank you, Mayor. I'm the council representative on the tree board. And during a recent tree board meeting, we discussed concerns the board has about preventing damage to trees during work carried out by LFUCG and some of our contractors. therefore i moved to place into the environmental quality and public works committee the issue requiring strong tree protection language and rfps related to work that might endanger or damage trees and also the issue of tree protection planning on the part of lfucg staff prior to the issuance of the rfps and prior work beginning prior to beginning work on projects that might and danger or damage trees. So moved. Motion by Council Member Gibbs. Second by Council Member Bledsoe. Is there any discussion on the motion? If not, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. All right. Thank you, Council Member Gibbs. Council Member Henson. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to announce that the West Gardenside Neighborhood Association residents, that there's a public meeting tonight at Gardenside Baptist Church, and it's regarding the restoration of Cross Keys Pond. So just as a reminder. And then also on the 22nd at Northside Library, there is a town hall meeting. to discuss, again, recent violence in the area and more efforts at what we can take to prevent that from happening. And I know that there are many people across our community that work extremely hard, including the police. But aside from the police, I think that it is a community issue. and so I will be attending that town hall meeting and just wanted to make others aware. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Henson. Council Member Maloney. Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to ask Commissioner Holmes to come up. I don't want to put him on the spot. I just wanted him to give us some good news. Usually I like to give you advance, but I've been kind of out of commission this morning, So I wanted you to brag about this new pothole patch and where we are. And I decided I wanted a few in the United States, and I think we just got in. And tell council members when we can use it, like in the winter months and all that. So the pothole patcher that you all approved previously has arrived in Lexington finally. And we have gone out and inspected it. We are now training our employees on it. We hope that in the near future we will provide demonstrations for you all to see. If it operates as well as it looks, it will be an incredible piece of machinery for the urban county government. I just want to thank you, and I think the council, from what I hear, this is going to be really a lot quicker than what we had before, and plus in the winter months, we never could use this kind of equipment. This is going to be able to be used in the winter months, so I'm really excited to have it on board. So hopefully this will solve some of the pothole problems we have throughout the city. I assume all of us get those calls, and this is going to be a big plus, and I just want to commend your staff for finding it and finally getting it here. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Maloney. Council Member Stennett. Thank you, Mayor. I have a few items today, so bear with me. The first one is I want to thank, we just ended our 31st Senior Intern Program last week, and I want to thank all the commissioners, directors, especially Commissioner Ford for his work and involvement in that and then Christy Stamball who leads the program, who works under Commissioner Ford. She did an outstanding job as she always does. And I also want to thank Shannon Settles in the CAO office and then my counsel, A.D. Melvin, for all their hard work as well as a committee of seniors outside of government who worked since January to prepare this program. And I thank my colleagues for coming last Monday, as well as those of you who came last Friday to the banquet. And, Mayor, thank you for being there as well. I just wanted to pass along from all the seniors. They were really, really impressed for all the employees in government, how much quality of work we have and how much passion our employees had during all those presentations because it was a lot of work for our directors to show up and those employees to be involved. But they were really impressed. that they think now, if they thought before we had a first-class city, now they truly believe it. And it just echoes, Mayor, all the employees in government and the show they put on last week for those individuals that participate in the program. And to my colleagues, I think we need to expand the program. So, of course, that takes funding and some good ideas out there. And I think we'll be coming back to Council maybe later on this year to talk about how we can make it bigger and better in the future. So thank you on that. The second item I want to put into committee is street trees. We're getting a lot of pushback from residents. residential areas and residents in those areas about the street trees popping up the sidewalks. Now, our code enforcement does a great job in enforcing the sidewalk ordinance, but, you know, someone has to pay for those sidewalks, and they're not cheap when you have to replace it because of a tree root from a street tree. And the alternative is to take the tree out and not put one back, and I know a lot of us don't want to see that happen, so there has to be a solution, and I think we flirted with the solution about three years ago. It never was formally adopted by the council, but I'd like to go ahead and put that back into the Environmental Quality Committee and come back out with a new ordinance that helps us address those issues going forward. So moved. Second. Motion by Council Member Stennett and second by Council Member Gibbs. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. We can vote then. All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, no. The motion carries. Thank you, Mayor. And then last, Internet inside this room. Adona, I know you're in the room with us. What is the update on getting Wi-Fi in this room? Because this goes back to Council Member Martin in the 10th District, really was pushed to get Wi-Fi in this room. And that was six years ago. And we still don't have reliable Wi-Fi in this room. Can you give us some relief in when we're going to be able to get Wi-Fi? I'll give you. The public, too. I can give you a little update about what we're doing. First of all, I think it depends on where you sit in this room. There are parts of the room where the Wi-Fi is better. It's probably the worst up where you are. because some of it is interference, some of it might be placement of the devices. We're having some issues with certain floors also, for instance, the 12th floor, 11th floor, 10th floor. There seems to be some interference from some devices on the roof. So what we've done, we've probably gone about as far as we can with the staff that we have. We are requesting right now the layout of every one of the floors. We're having a company come in and do an assessment of what we can do. We can buy devices and place them in certain areas. That in itself interferes with other devices. So I want you to know we're working on it. Unfortunately, I can't give you a solution today. And that's why I ask. It's not as easy as flipping a switch and buying a new router like we do at home. So it's a lot more complex for this building. It's been going on a long time. It is. So thank you for addressing it finally, and maybe we can get a better solution. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Stenney. Council Member Akers. Thank you, Mayor. I also wanted to thank you for attending the Metathorpe Neighborhood Association meeting last Tuesday. After a long day of budget meetings, the mayor, as well as Charlie Martin, attended, and Commander Kurtzinger, if he is here or someone from the police is here. They both attended, and it was a well-attended neighborhood meeting, so everybody was really glad and appreciative that you stopped by, as well as providing updates on some of the stormwater projects and crime in the neighborhood for the summer. Secondly, I just wanted to announce that tonight is the Masterson Station Neighborhood Association meeting at 7 o'clock at the Clubhouse in Masterson Station. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Akers. All right. Looks like any other council members wish to offer a council report? Nobody signed on. Okay. Then that allows us to move to the mayor's report. Is there a motion to approve? Mayor. Mayor. We need to make sure that we remove the Planning Commission and the Board of Adjustment appointments because those have to go through confirmation hearings. So I so move that we approve all of the mayor's report with the exclusion of the Planning Commission and the Board of Adjustment pending their confirmation hearings being set up. I so move. All right. There's a motion and a second. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. All right. If not, then I don't know how that got on there. It looks like Jamie and Sally are having a conversation. Sorry. I was talking to the law department. Just FYI, we have two more coming. We have one more Board of Adjustment and one more Planning Commission appointment, and we need to get those done before your break, those confirmation hearings. All right. So, okay. So there wasn't any, but the motion to remove, there's no concern about that on behalf of the administration? No, that's the proper procedure. We just need to get a confirmation hearing scheduled. All right. Okay. All right. All right. All right. Is there any further discussion on the motion to remove? All right. All in favor then, please say aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. All right. So now we can go back to the original motion. Is there... I believe we had... Was there a motion or not? No, I don't believe there was a motion, was there? It was Mayors' report. As amended. Right, I know, but we didn't get a motion. Pardon? Susan, you... Before we got a motion. So, Council Member Scutchfield, thank you. Motion to approve by Council Member Scutchfield. Is there a second? Second by Councilmember Masati. All right. All right. Is there any discussion on the motion? Councilmember Henson. Thank you, Mayor. I thought, I believe this is the first confirmation hearing we've had since we have a lot of new council members, that perhaps it would come from the law department, but the ordinance that looks at the membership of both the BOA, the Board of Adjustment, and the Planning Commission. So if we could get that, I think it would be helpful to our new council members. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, that's a good observation. Thank you, Council Member Hanson. Janet, did you get that? Okay. And the new council members, y'all understand what Council Member Henson was describing. So we're going to get a background on the confirmation process for everyone. Jamie. I'll just add one point. There are three boards or commissions that require confirmation hearings. It's the Planning, Board of Adjustment, and the Ethics Commission. All right. Okay. All right. Now we can take a vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. All right. All right. That takes us to public comment for issues not on the agenda. Mr. Mundy says nobody signed on. All right. Then that allows us to go to a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn by Council Member Stenet, second by Council Member Scutchfield. Unless there's an objection, we will stand adjourned. Thank you. Thank you.