The Thank you. The End Thank you. Thank you. Hello, hello, and greetings and welcome, and I'll call the meeting to order. Thank you. Thanks, everyone, and welcome. First on our agenda is the roll call. Madam Clerk, if you'll please call the roll. Ms. Akers? Ms. Bledsoe? Here. Mr. Brown? Mr. Fred Brown? Here. Mr. James Brown? Here. Ms. Evans? Here. Mr. Farmer? Mr. Gibbs? Ms. Henson? Here. Mr. Kay? Here. Ms. Lamb? Here. Mr. Lane? Here. Mr. Maloney? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Massadi? Yes. Ms. Gutchfield? Here. And Mr. Stennett? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Next on our agenda is the invocation, and I'm happy to introduce this associate pastor, Chad Cook, with Calvary Church of the Nazarene. Thank you. Let us pray. Holy Creator, we thank you for the leaders that are gathered here today. Lord, we thank you for our wonderful city of Lexington, and we thank you for what a blessing it is to live here amongst your people. God, we pray now for the leaders that are gathered here and the decisions that they will be making tonight and the days ahead. God, we pray as they look at the budget that they will consider carefully your wisdom and your guidance and that they will do what they know is best for our community and for its peoples. God, we pray for your genuine love and care amongst our leaders here and their families. We pray that you will continue to guide them, continue to direct them, and that you will bless this city. in an awesome and powerful way. And it's in your name we pray. Amen. Pastor, thank you. And Pastor, I believe, is he, he's with, and he's going to be here for that. You're going to stay with us for just a minute. We have a little presentation. Yes. Okay, great. The senior pastor here is here as well. Oh, all right, all right, all right, okay. All right, let me ask Councilmember Peggy Henson to join me at the podium. The Spirit of Lexington Award is designed to recognize citizens and organizations that go above and beyond the call of duty to help those in need. Council Member Henson has brought the work of Calvary Church of the Nazarene to our attention, and Christy Stamball, our Director of Aging and Disability Services, is here as well to support this nomination. And I will now turn the podium over to Council Member Peggy Henson. Thank you, Mayor. I'm going to tell you a little story. I go regularly, well, about every quarter I visit the Senior Center, Christian Towers. and they're very, it's a living community, senior living community, so they're very outspoken. They don't have a problem telling me what their needs are. So on one visit, they were complaining that they used to have a grocery bus that came and got them and took them to the grocery, but the funding ceased and so they no longer had this grocery bus. So after leaving there and I was giving it some thought, I soon, it didn't take very long for me to think about Matthew Cole, who is the pastor of Calvary Church of the Nazarene, because he not only, he can't tell me no for some reason. I don't know if he does that with other people or not, but he's just so involved in the community. So I felt like he would be the first person I would ask. And he graciously agreed to transport the seniors to the grocery once a month. So he, along with Anita Mills, who's the manager of Christian Towers, organized it all. and now they have this successful grocery store bus that comes and gets them. But Calvary, in addition to this, they're very active in the neighborhood park. They have a faith feeds program. And I just felt they were very much deserving of this award. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Christy because Christy Stambaugh, who is over aging services, when I spoke with her, she had another idea. Always. Hello. So when Peggy and I were talking, I said, you know, I wonder if a church would help us out. And then she thought of Calvary, and that worked out fine. So then I talked to Matthew Cole, and I said, it's been about six months since he's been doing it. I said, tell us the good, the bad, the ugly. And he truly said, there's no bad, there's no ugly. It's all good. So we said, let us reach out to other faith communities and see if they would help the seniors that live in our other senior high rise communities in Lexington and see if there's other churches out there who would enjoy this ministry once a month, transporting people to the grocery. He says it takes them two hours, start to finish. And they're serving eight, ten, sometimes a little bit more, sometimes a little less. but they said it's the easiest ministry they've ever done. So I'm kind of imploring to the other faith communities out there or those of you that have them in your council areas to just give my office a call and we'll help to work with the management of the senior communities and see if we can get this going citywide. So I just thought it was just amazing that they stepped up and did this and it's made a huge difference and it's really eased some of the worry and burden that our Office of Aging has for our aging communities, because not getting to the grocery store is kind of a big deal. And so that's all I have to say. Well, Pastor Cole, Pastor. So now this is the Spirit of Lexington Award, and we are just all really, really honored to be able to present it to you all. And we would love to have you say something to us. Thank you. Yes, sir. First of all, a huge thank you. It kind of seems overly simplistic. And while it's not unique to the Christian faith, and I'm glad that the plea is going out to all faith communities, John says it in his first letter this way, and I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but basically says if you have a need around you and you have the means to meet it, then do it. and we live in a beautiful city. I love Lexington dearly, entering into our 11th year since my wife and I moved here. And if you see a need in your community or around your city, then meet it. And it was an easy need to meet. We get the great joy of my two daughters come along with me and they say welcome on the Calvary bus. And for a three-year-old and a six-year-old, I think it's just the most awesome thing in the world. And they serenade 27 verses of the wheels on the bus go round and round between the grocery store and back to the senior home. And there's dolphins on the bus sometimes. and ducks on the bus, so you never know what kind of verse you're going to get. But it's just a beautiful thing. I think we get as much or more out of it than those that we're picking up, and it's been a blessing for me the days I drive. I know it's been a blessing for Chad the day he drives. And it's just we're grateful for the opportunity. Thank you. Thank you. So we'd like to now take some pictures if you all can join us. And the council members up in the front. Anita. Thank you. All right. Everybody smile. Okay. Thank you. All right. Next on our agenda, ordinances for a second reading. Madam Clerk, if you'll please give us a reading of the ordinances for a second reading. Ordinance number one, an ordinance amending Articles 1, 8, and 23 of the zoning ordinance to amend the definition and regulation of day shelters. Number two, an ordinance amending Section 2318C of the Code of Ordinances relating to the maximum age requirement for firefighter candidates. Number three, an ordinance to amend Ordinance No. 134-2014 amending Article 217A of the Zoning Ordinance to allow, as a minor amendment, the reduction of surplus parking spaces depicted on the original development plan to correct a clerical error in the title. Number four, an ordinance amending the authorized strength by abolishing one unclassified civil service position of Administrative Specialist Principal Grade 518E and creating one classified civil service position of Administrative Specialist Principal Grade 518E in the Division of Water Quality. Number five, an ordinance partially amending Section 3 of Ordinance 22-2015 relating to fees for sanitary sewer service rates to change the amount of the fee for sanitary sewer service for residential users subject to Schedule A from $4.21 per unit for usage in excess of one unit to $4.29 effective July 1, 2015. Number 6. Thank you. incumbent abolishing one position of program specialist grade 513 e and creating one position of environmental outreach specialist grade 518 e reclassifying the incumbent adjusting the biweekly salaries of the affected incumbents all in the division of waste management changing the pay grade of one position of deputy director of building inspection from grade 524 e to grade 527 e creating one position of building inspector supervisor grade 521 e and three positions of building inspecting inspection manager grade 524 e abolishing four positions of building inspector senior grade 518 e abolishing four positions of building inspector grade 517 n and creating four positions of commercial building inspector grade 518 n reclassifying the incumbents adjusting the biweekly salaries or hourly rates of the infected incumbents on the division of building inspection creating one position of computer systems manager grade 524 e abolishing two positions of computer analyst grade 520 e of creating one position of computer systems manager senior grade 526 e abolishing one position of Information System Specialist, Grade 514N, and creating one position of Technical Specialist, Grade 515N, reclassifying the incumbents, changing the pay grade of one position of Radio Electronics Specialist from Grade 521E to Grade 515N, reallocating the incumbent, adjusting the biweekly salaries of the infected incumbents, all in the Division of Fire and Emergency Services. Abolishing one position of Human Resources Generalist, Grade 523E, creating one position of Human Resources Manager, Grade 525E, reclassifying the incumbent adjusting the biweekly salary of the infected incumbent in the division of human resources Changing the pay grade of one position of probation unit supervisor from grade 519 e to grade 522 e Reallocating the incumbent and adjusting the biweekly salary of the affected incumbent in the division of community corrections Changing the pay grade of 31 positions of telecommunicator senior from grade 516 n to grade 517 n 24 positions of telecommunicator from grade 513N to grade 514N, reallocating the incumbents, adjusting the hourly rate for the affected incumbents, all in the Division of Emergency Management 911, changing the pay grade of one position of technical services supervisor from grade 519E to grade 521E, changing the pay grade of electronic technician from grade 514N to grade 515N, reallocating the incumbents, abolishing one position of electronic technician Senior, Grade 516N, creating one position of Electronic Technician, Grade 515N, reclassifying the incumbent, adjusting the biweekly salary or hourly rate of the affected incumbents, all in the Division of Police, abolishing one position of Clerical Assistant, Grade 505N, and creating one position of Mailroom Clerk, Grade 508N, all in the Department of General Services, correcting the job date for Richard Flewelling, Eligibility Counselor from July 1, 2005 to December 1, 1977, adjusting the biweekly salary of the affected incumbent in the Division of Adult Services. Abolishing two positions of Operations Manager, Grade 520E, creating one position of Skill Trades Manager, Grade 521E, creating one position of Public Service Manager, Grade 521E, creating two positions of Recreation Manager, Grade 518E, abolishing one position of Senior Adult and Therapeutic Recreation Services Administrator, Grade 520E, creating five positions of Recreation Manager, Senior, Grade 520E, abolishing five positions of Recreation Supervisor, Grade 514E, creating one position of Recreation Specialist Senior, Grade 516E, abolishing one position of Equestrian Park Program Supervisor, Grade 516E, and one position of Park Naturalist, Grade 516E, reclassifying the incumbents, adjusting the biweekly salaries of the affected incumbents, all in the Division of Parks and Recreation, effective July 1, 2015. Number seven, an ordinance amending certain of the budgets of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government to reflect current requirements for municipal expenditures and appropriating and reappropriating funds, Schedule No. 69. No. 8, an ordinance amending the compensation system salary schedules in Sections 2253.2 and 2328 of the Code of Ordinances, providing a 2% structure movement to the salary schedules applicable to all full-time and part-time positions in the classification and compensation system, providing that all full-time and part-time employees in the classification and compensation system who receive a satisfactory score on their performance evaluation, pursuant to Sections 2129D and 2226.5 of the Code of Ordinances shall receive a 4% pay increase, providing that Section 2129C, notwithstanding, all employees at the maximum of the grade salary range shall receive a 4% pay increase, amending Section 2332D of the Code of Ordinances, modifying the existing step structure for the positions of Police Chief, Grade 324E, and Fire Chief, Grade 324E, increasing the salary by 4% for one position of ABC Administrator part-time within the Office of Alcohol Beverage Control, three positions of law clerk part-time within the Department of Law, one position of park patrol coordinator part-time within the Division of Parks and Recreation, all to become effective June 29, 2015. Number nine. And ordinance appropriating the revenues, expenditures. Wait a minute. But they want to speak on the motion, and that would be after the ordinances are read, you would speak on the motion. And, Mayor, for clarification, that would be prior to the vote, correct? Yes, it would be prior to the vote, but it would be after the ordinances are read. Okay, great. Thank you. Go ahead, continue. Madam Clerk. Number nine, an ordinance appropriating the revenues, expenditures, expenses, and interfund transfers for the General Services District Fund, the Tenant Relocation Fund, the Full Urban Services Districts Fund, the Police-Confiscated Federal Fund, the Police-Confiscated State Fund, the Public Safety Fund, the Municipal Aid Program Fund, the Miscellaneous Special Revenue Fund, the Police-Confiscated Treasury Fund, the Lexington Jobs Fund, the Affordable Housing and Homelessness Fund, the Fiscal Year 2016 Bond Projects Fund, the Sanitary Sewer Revenue and Operating Fund, the Sanitary Sewer Construction Fund, the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government Public Facilities Corporation General Fund, the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government Public Facilities Corporation Parks Projects Fund, the Water Quality Management Fund, the Water Quality Management Construction Fund, the Landfill Fund, the Right-of-Way Program Fund, the Extended School Program Fund, the Prisoner's Account Fund, the Enhanced 911 Fund, the Central Kentucky 911 Fund, the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government Public Library Corporation Fund, the City Employees Pension Fund, the Police and Fire Retirement Fund of the Lexington Fayette urban county government the medical insurance fund at the property and casualty claims fund and the reallocation of bond projects funds on a divisional level by four control levels for the fiscal year ending june 30 2016 for the lexington fayette urban county government and its agencies and instrumentalities approving and adopting the capital improvement program for fiscal years 2016 through 2021 as a portion of the fiscal year 2016 annual capital improvements budget and approving funding for the lexington fayette urban county tourist and convention commission from the transient room tax said funding to equal 99.5% of the revenue from the tax. All right. Thank you, Madam Clerk. So is there a motion to approve? No, Mr. Mayor. Second. Motion by Council Member Stenet, seconded by Vice Mayor Kate. Is there any discussion on the motion? If you all please sign up for discussion. Council Member Maloney. Thank you, Mayor. I just got a couple, just a quick question. I'm a little bit confused. I mean, after Thursday, we all made these great speeches, and then yesterday, I read in the paper we're looking about vetoing and then my phone started ringing off the hook from employees and they're really concerned about their raises and they asked me and I told them I would be glad to ask are you planning on vetoing their raises? Mr. Maloney I'm here You know that what we're doing is all we're doing is following the process and we're going to take the time just like the council's taking the time to review the council's adjusted budget. Right? So that's what I've said whenever I've been asked that question. And that's what we'll do. See, that's why I'm confused, because I remember four years ago when you did a tremendous job on the budget and we had a shortfall, and we had council members living out of their means, and they went in there and did some things they shouldn't have, and we got below the 1.5. and you came back and made that motion to veto a lot of those, and I support it. I support what you did. But this budget is one of the best budgets I think we all put together here and worked for the last four months, and a lot of it to deal with this administration here that came in with your staff asking us to find other money to get some of these projects going, which we did. and we all and I just, to me I could understand why you wanted to do a veto four years ago but this year it seems like everybody's been working together and I just have concerns about that that's the reason why I I appreciate everything that you've said and appreciate the spirit of it just like the spirit of what I said that I've really commended the council on the process that it's gone through and the council engaged this process very deliberately and very carefully made some adjustments and now the administration considers that. And then we'll absolutely let you know just on time, just as we've said that we would, just as the charter calls for. I'm not trying to, but I know what you're saying, and we have a process too. We have to vote on a budget that we worked hard to put together. And now, after putting it all together, you're talking about maybe vetoing something. And I'm wondering if all the hard work that we did, is it worth the ability to vote on something? I certainly don't think that you've wasted any effort whatsoever in the time that the council is engaged very carefully and very thoughtfully and very deliberately. So I'll just say that one more time, that I really appreciate everything that's been done. All right. Council Member Sadi. Thank you, Mayor. Since we're speaking about the budget, I guess I'll kind of come across what my feelings are on some of it. I wish we didn't have to vote for it in full, and I know that you and the commissioners have worked relentlessly on this, and it's a good budget. My only two concerns are some of the capital bond projects we have, and one is the courthouse, and the other is the town branch. And as I, in my business, look at, when you look at a commercial, whether you're going to sell a building for sale or you're going to lease it, I kind of look at the facts. One of the facts that I pulled out just about a half hour ago is that we have 225,000 of office vacancy in central business downtown. That's a lot of vacancy. And that's a real concern to me and a concern to my constituents that we're going to spend, I guess, to the tune of about $22 million and some change on the courthouse. Now, I know it's got some historical nature, and I don't dispute that. I guess my biggest concern is the viability. Once we go ahead and spend this money, can we get a tenant in there that's going to offset not only the rent, the maintenance, and everything else? And you know, Mayor, as well as I do, you're a businessman, and you've done this your whole life. You know, when you get into a project, you start, and you look at abatement as far as for mold, asbestos. You run into problems with you thought the structure was sound. It wasn't sound. You run into all kinds of different issues that sometimes don't come out like you thought it was. That's my big concern. If I had not been provided, and I know Sally was very, you know, forthright the other day, that she's going to come to us and she's going to give us a plan. You know, I think plans are good, but I have a real concern with the viability of this project based upon what I just said. You know, when you've got that kind of a square footage vacancy, and I've been trying to lease downtown square feet for a long time, not done this just, you know, at a one-time or two-time try, it's tough. downtown office business space is very difficult to be able to secure those kind of tenants. And I can't support that. And then I look at the town branch, and I think, okay, Jennifer, this is a good idea. I think downtown is good. I think we need to make it vibrant, we're viable. We're in competition with a lot of other cities. And then I think, okay, what do I say to my folks who have been paying taxes for years and years? How come my basketball courts haven't been resurfaced? What about my tennis courts? What about my playgrounds? We're going to build a brand-new park. We're going to spend $250,000 on a parks master plan that hasn't been given to us yet. And we're going to go forward with all that. And, again, it's kind of like I can't get my handle on this. Okay. What I'm saying is it's just been able to reconcile this for me to go forward with these two projects. is uncomfortable for me, and I can't support it. And I hope you can understand why I'm saying this. I mean, you know, everybody has a right to their own opinion, to agree and to disagree. We just happen to disagree. And until, you know, I want to say my no vote today is by no means vote against Lexington. You know, this is a great place to live, work. I've raised my family. I have my business here, my husband's business. But it's more of a vote as, you know, do we need to do this, and how do we spend the taxpayer dollars wisely? Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Brown. Thank you, Mayor. I also have some concerns about the budget not being able to bring some things out. And we went through the process, and one of the things that I mentioned, and I'll mention it again, is that I felt like the $58 million that we're bonding was excessive, and especially a number of items. I know we need all of them. I wasn't questioning that. But there's got to be some priorities there. And I understand that once we get in and can look at the fund balance, if there is a surplus in October or November, then maybe we can rearrange some of that bonding amounts. But that was my concern there. But, you know, we can't vote against individual things in the budget. It's either up or down. So that was just my concern there. And I did have a question on number five ordinance, second reading, which is not the budget, but it's a sanitary fee going up from 421 per unit to 429. Y'all, maybe somebody has explained that, but I wanted to get that explanation for the public as to why that, is that an automatic increase? Commissioner O'Mara? Thank you, sir. That's actually a clerical error to an ordinance that has already been passed, I think it was in April. The council looked at two tier raise in the Lexer bill, one July 1 of 2015 and then again in July 2016. And the ordinance was written as 421 when it should have been written as 429. The increase has not gone into effect yet. this is correcting the original ordinance. Okay, I just wanted that clarified. I thought it was a correction, but I didn't know if it was addressed to the CPI, if we dealt with that. So that explains it. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Council Member Brown. Council Member Lane. Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to speak a little bit on the courthouse renovation. and I passed out a sheet that said 10 facts on the old courthouse renovation proposal, and the council members each have one, but I'm just going to go over them very quickly. The renovation cost is $38 million. The renovated building will provide only 22,555 usable square feet, and the total building is over 60,000 gross area, so the efficiency is only 36% usable. The cost of renovation per usable square foot would be around $1,685 a square foot. And the average rent needed to pay debt service per usable square foot would be about $56 per usable square foot, and that's quite above the market rate for space in downtown Lexington. And we don't have a business plan, and the mayor had indicated that we would be running this building for at least 100 years. So we need to look at the total cost to the government over 100 years for the building and decide if that's a good investment for taxpayers. And that would include an estimate of the cost of operations, maintenance, and the reserves that would be required for the maintenance. And I think you have to consider that a historic building is at $40 million. It's fairly expensive to maintain. And we have a number of buildings that we are not maintaining well, and we might be better served to use some of that $22 million to refurbish some of the fire stations, relocate some of those. And then we have no bona fide tenants committed to go into the space. We don't have a public-private partnership. Yet I know we're working on that. These are all contingencies to making the deal go together. And 50% of the square footage has to be released to a for-profit entity under the tax credit requirements. And before we can start construction, we have to have a development partnership formed. Full financing for public, private, and tax credits have to be secured. And we have to have lease agreements with tenants in place. and I think we've spent approximately $2 million or allocated approximately $2 million just to do exploration of putting the deal together. And so I'm just worried about this sort of spiraling and rolling downhill and running into a huge expense for the government. So I wanted just to say that I'm not in favor of this and I'm going to bring up a motion under council report to sort of go ahead and approve the bonding but to hold the approval of the expenditure until a full package comes back to council for approval. And I believe that is consistent with what the mayor said his plan was anyway, so that shouldn't be an issue. That's all I've got, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Lane. Council Member Stennett. Thank you, Mayor. I want to start off by saying thank you, Mayor, for the budget that you delivered back in April. It was a workable budget and the council ended up with it with a very good budget and with very few tweaks to it Unfortunately, you know the votes when we've on the budgets either up or down But we had the last two months to go through it and make motions to take stuff in or out And so this is our final product if we didn't make those motions Then we accept what's in there and move forward because the alternative to voting the budget down If everyone decided to take that stance would be we revert to last year's budget and how many people really want to do that? not too many people want to do that so I want to thank the administration Bill Mara you've been wonderful to work with last couple months thank you and CL Hamilton thank you and all your staffs Melissa Euchre and everyone down the line because this has been a good joint effort and I've seen a lot of budgets I've seen some bad ones I've seen some times where we had a lot of controversy through the council and through the administration thank all the directors for all their time with our links and thank all their employees who have talked to the council and been honest to us throughout this whole process. I think that's what you see before us tonight is the end result of a good process. Thank you to the vice mayor. This was your first time chairing that. I know it was difficult. I know it's a people just don't understand until you sit in that chair and have to deal with 14 other council members how difficult that is. But it is. It is when you're running the budget cow meeting. And last but not least, I want to thank our staff. Stacey Maynard. Where are you, Stacey? I know you were here earlier, And Teresa Grider and Paul Schoeniger and Craig, they did a great job in keeping this council apprised of all the information. And I want to thank my colleagues. There's been some good debate, some honest debate. I know some of you don't like the courthouse. I understand that. But, you know, tonight's approval just moves us to the process. It doesn't approve it. It doesn't finalize it. There's a lot more to come in August, and we'll get some good information, hopefully, from the administration. I know our CAO is shaking her head yes. But that will be the time that we make an educated decision. and hopefully we'll have the right information to be able to make a good decision for all of Lexington moving forward. There is only one thing that troubles me in the budget, and that's how we pick and choose which agencies to fund. Because while some of you held to a standard that you only can fund agencies through the ESR process, there are five agencies in the budget that didn't have to go through that process that every one of us will vote on tonight. Now, that is a double standard, and that's one we can and will address here in October because the frustration from those agencies, they didn't get funded. And they had to go through both processes. Some agencies didn't have to go through either one and got funded. And I think that's a true double standard that this council needs to take a hard look at. And I thank you for the motion last Thursday night, Council Member Bledsoe, for putting that in committee. I think we'll get to the bottom of that going forward. But in the end, thank you to everyone on this budget, and I look forward to supporting it tonight, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Stenet. Council Member Bledsoe. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to echo Council Member Senate's comments. I mean, there are a lot of things in this budget that I voted against, and unfortunately some got in the budget, and there are some things I voted for that did sustain and continue on. So I'm voting for the budget tonight knowing that sometimes you take those stances earlier, and we're not able to do that. So I just want to echo your thoughts, and I look forward to voting. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Bledsoe. All right, looks like that's all the council members who've signed up for discussion on the motion. That allows us to vote on the motion. You just can vote electronically and also voice vote. Oh, this is a voice, this is a roll call vote. So, Madam Clerk, when you're ready, please call the roll. Ms. Bledsoe? Yes. Mr. Fred Brown? Yes. Mr. James Brown? Yes. Ms. Evans? Yes. Ms. Henson? Yes. Mr. Kay? Yes. Ms. Lamb? Very pleased to say yes. Mr. Lane? Yes. Mr. Maloney? Yes. Ms. Basadi? Yes on all, no on number nine. Thank you. Ms. Gutchfield? Yes on all, but five. Thank you. And Mr. Stennett? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. I record one no vote on number nine and one no vote on number five. All ordinances are approved. Thank you, Madam Clerk. The vote reflects passage of the motion and allows us to move on. Two ordinances for a first reading. Madam Clerk, when you're ready. Ordinance number 10, an ordinance amending certain of the budgets of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County government to reflect current requirements for municipal expenditures and appropriating and reappropriating funds. Schedule number 1. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Are there any motions for walk-ons or suspensions? Hearing none, then we can continue with resolutions for a second reading. Resolution number one, a resolution accepting the bid of Windstream KDL LLC in accordance with the provisions of Ordinance No. 126-2014, creating and offering for sale a short-term franchise for the operation of a non-exclusive telecommunications system in Fayette County, and authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute a franchise agreement with Windstream KDL LLC, incorporating the terms and conditions of Ordinance No. 126, 2014. Number two, a resolution accepting the bids of Central Equipment Company, Century Equipment Incorporated, and Montgomery Tractor Sales Incorporated for tractor and mower parts for the Division of Facilities and Fleet Management. Number three, a resolution accepting the bids of Gilly Hyde Ford Lincoln Incorporated, Alton Blakely, Ford Lincoln Mazda, Bluegrass International, Powertrain of Kentucky, Fleet Pride, O'Reilly Automotive Stores, Inc. doing business as O'Reilly Auto Parts, Napa Auto Parts doing business as Shelby County Automotive, KOI Auto Parts, Midwest Napa, and Advanced Stores Company, Inc. doing business as CarQuest Auto Parts, establishing price contracts for vehicle filters for the Division of Facilities and Fleet Management. Number four, a resolution accepting the bid of Aramsko, Inc. Thank you. classified civil service appointments of Bethany McFadden and Amanda Ewell, both telecommunicator senior, grade 516 and 18.599 hourly in the Division of Emergency Management 911, effective June 1, 2015, ratifying the permanent sworn appointments of Jeremiah Davis, effective June 1, 2015, and Jeremiah Harville, effective April 27, 2015, both police sergeant grade 315 and 28.828 hourly in the Division of Police, ratifying the unclassified civil service appointment of Megan Cadwell, family support worker senior, grade 514N, 16.870 hourly, in the Division of Family Services, effective June 15, 2015, and ratifying the unclassified civil service pay increases in the office of the Urban County Council, Craig Benz, research analyst, grade 523E, from 2,500 biweekly to 2,742.31 biweekly, and Deborah Sloan, council staff specialist, grade 510N, from $15 hourly to $20 hourly, both effective June 29, 2015. Number eight, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute an agreement with Route Ware Incorporated for GPS services for the Division of Streets and Roads at a cost not to exceed $23,032.32. Number nine, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute a memorandum of understanding with Fayette County Public Schools for transportation services for the Family Care Center's students and their children for the 2015 summer school session at a cost not to exceed $5,189.25. sense. Number 10, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to accept a grant from the Kentucky Energy and Environmental Cabinet Division of Waste Management, which grant funds are in the amount of $110,000 Commonwealth of Kentucky funds are for the Fayette County household hazardous waste recycling event, the acceptance of which obligates the urban county government for the expenditure of a 25% local match in the amount of $28,007, which will be provided from documentation of employee wages, volunteers and program advertising, and authorizing the mayor to transfer unencumbered funds within the grant budget. Number 11, a resolution authorizing the Division of Community Corrections to procure the upgrade of the fire alarm panel and related services from Siemens Building Technologies Incorporated, a sole source provider, and a cost not to exceed $176,400, and authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to sign any necessary agreement with Siemens Building Technologies Incorporated related to the procurement. Number 12, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute a lease agreement with the Lexington and Fayette County Parking Authority for space located at 162 East Main Street. Number 13, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute change order number three to the contract with the EOP Architects PSC for the old courthouse structural study, increasing the contract price by the sum of $2,614.36 from $169,573.75 to $172,188.11. sense. Number 14, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute and submit a grant application to the Kentucky Fire Commission and to provide any additional information requested in connection with this grant application, which grant funds are in the amount of $7,750 Commonwealth of Kentucky funds and are for the purchase of a portable, durable, multifunction, forcible door entry simulator for firefighter training. Number 15, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to accept the proposals for fiscal year 2016 for excess liability insurance from and to execute any necessary contracts and documents on behalf of the urban county government with the following insurance companies and or their respective broker j smith linear and company lexington powell walton millward aviation from old republic insurance at a cost not to exceed thirty thousand two hundred and thirty one dollars general auto public officials law enforcement and professional from american alternative insurance munich re at a cost not to exceed five hundred and twenty six $25,951. Property from Affiliated Factory Mutual FM at a cost not to exceed $323,658.83. Cyber from National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at a cost not to exceed $28,530. Pollution from AIG Specialty Insurance Company at a cost not to exceed $20,341. And workers' compensation from Safety National Casualty Corporation at a cost not to exceed $325,628, all subject to sufficient funds being appropriated. Number 16, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute the First Amendment to lease agreement with North Central Area Health Education Center, extending the lease for one additional year beginning July 1, 2015 and ending on June 30, 2016. Number 17, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute a First Amendment to lease agreement with West End Community Empowerment Project of Lexington Incorporated, extending the term of its lease by one year. Number 18, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute a first amendment to lease agreement with the Urban League of Lexington, Fayette County Incorporated, extending the term of its lease by one year. Number 19, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute a first amendment to lease agreement with NAMI, Lexington, Kentucky Incorporated, extending the term of its lease by one year. Number 20, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute any necessary documents and accept a deed conveying permanent sanitary sewer and temporary construction easements across the property located at 1185 Deerhaven Lane for a gravity sanitary sewer line at a cost not to exceed $209.09. Number 21, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute Amendment No. 3 to the agreement with Bluegrass Area Development District to accept additional funds in the amount of $65,107.95 and to amend service delivery budget backup for operation of the Lexington Senior Citizen Center. Number 22, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute a multi-year agreement with Vision Internet Providers, Incorporated as the sole source provider, for an upgrade to the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government intranet website at a cost not to exceed $29,050 in fiscal year 2015 with additional funding for required subscription services subject to appropriation of sufficient funds in future fiscal years. Number 23, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute and submit a grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice to provide any additional information requested in connection with this grant application and to accept this grant if the application is approved, which grant funds are in the amount of $157,390 federal funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program are for the purchase of equipment and training for the Division of Police, the acceptance of which does not obligate the Urban County Government for the expenditure of funds, and authorizing the mayor to transfer unencumbered funds within the grant budget. Number 24, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute and submit six grant applications to the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security and to provide any additional information requested in connection with these grant applications, which grant funds are in the amount of $445,880 federal funds under the 2015 State Homeland Security Grant Program and are for the purchase of hazardous material detection and mitigation equipment, $65,000, coded key card entry system, $100,000, and cybersecurity hardware and software, $8,000, for the Division of Fire and Emergency Services, and the purchase of a multipurpose training prop and bomb suit for the hazardous devices unit, $142,800, and a searchlight system for the air support unit, $130,080 for the Division of Police. Number 25, a resolution amending Resolution No. 332-2014, which authorized the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute an agreement with EHI consultants for an Armstrong Mill West small area plan at a cost not to exceed $104,775 to correct a clerical error in Section 2 of the resolution. Number 26, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute change order number one to the contract with Gilpin Masonry Construction Incorporated for stone arch repairs at the Dunbar Community Center, increasing the contract price by the sum of $25,276 from $39,400 to $64,676. Number 27, resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute and submit a grant application to the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice and to provide any additional information requested in connection with this grant application and to accept this grant if the application is approved, which grant funds are in the amount of $34,182 Commonwealth of Kentucky funds under the fiscal year 2016 state discretionary grant funds are for continuation of the juvenile surveillance program, professional services, anger management counseling, drug testing services, ankle monitors, bus tokens, food and supplies, the acceptance of which does not obligate the urban county government for the expenditure of funds and authorizing the mayor to transfer unencumbered funds within the grant budget. Number 28, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute change order number one to the contract with JRJ Contracting LLC for the Shillitoe Sports Field Irrigation Project, increasing the contract price by the sum of $1,000 from $49,000 to $50,000. Number 29, a resolution encouraging the Kentucky General Assembly to increase the Commonwealth's minimum wage. And number 30, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute an agreement with Commonwealth of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways, to reimburse the urban county government up to $330,000 for operation and maintenance of traffic signals and electrical traffic control devices on the state primary road system. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Is there a motion to approve the second reading of resolutions? Second. Motion by Councilmember Stennett, second by Councilmember Lane. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. If not, then, Madam Clerk, whenever you're ready, please call the roll. Ms. Bledsoe? Yes to all and no on 29. Thank you. Mr. Fred Brown? Yes to all, no on 29. Thank you. Mr. James Brown? Yes. Thank you. Ms. Evans? Yes. Ms. Henson? Yes. Mr. K? Yes. Ms. Lamb? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Lane? Yes on all, no on 29. Thank you. Mr. Maloney? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Massadi? Yes. Ms. Gutchfield? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. And Mr. Stennett. Yes, ma'am. I record four no votes on number 29, so it is approved. All right. Thank you, Madam Clerk. The vote reflects passage of the motion. It allows us to move on to resolutions for our first reading. Number 31, a resolution accepting the bid of Fuel Band LLC in the amount of $19,888 for the repair of the outside rear wall at the Government Center for the Division of Facilities and Fleet Management. Number 32, a resolution accepting the bid of Todor LLC establishing a price contract for roll carts for the Division of Waste Management. Number 33, a resolution accepting the bid of Comtronics Incorporated, establishing a price contract for installation, repair, and removal of vehicle electronic equipment for the Division of Waste Management. Number 34, a resolution ratifying the permanent classified civil service appointment of Rob Ballard, arborist technician, grade 515N, 18.923 hourly in the Division of Environmental Services, effective June 8, 2015, and ratifying the following unclassified civil service pay increase in the office of the CAO, Sarah Hamilton, Chief Administrative Officer, Grade 539E, from 4,570.12 biweekly to 5,000 biweekly, effective June 29, 2015. Number 35, a resolution authorizing the Division of Human Resources to make conditional offers to the following probationary classified civil service appointments, Don Morris, Administrative Specialist, Principal, Grade 518E, 1,846.18 biweekly in the Division of Fire and Emergency Services, effective July 13, 2015. and Christopher Wilson, heavy equipment technician, grade 516N, 19.854 hourly, in the Division of Facilities and Fleet Management, effective upon passage of council. Number 36, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute an agreement with God's Pantry, $2,700 for the office of the Urban County Council, at a cost not to exceed the sum stated. Number 37, a resolution authorizing the Division of Water Quality to purchase a heavy-duty sluice gate for the Town Branch Wastewater Treatment Plant from Business Incorporated, a sole source provider, and authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute any necessary agreement with Business Incorporated related to the procurement at a cost not to exceed $25,216. Number 38, a resolution amending Resolution No. 588-2014 accepting the bid of Level 3 Communications Incorporated, formerly TW Telecom Holdings Incorporated, and establishing a price contract for Internet access redundancy and authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute an addendum to contract number 281-2014 for additional telephone lines for the LFUCG telephone system at a cost not to exceed $28,878.24 in fiscal year 2016. Number 39, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to accept a grant from the Kentucky Commercial Mobile Radio Service Emergency Communications Board, which grant funds are in the amount of $703,430.41. Commonwealth of Kentucky funds are for the Lexington 911 PSAP customer premise equipment upgrade project for fiscal year 2016, the acceptance of which does not obligate the urban county government for the expenditure of funds, and authorizing the mayor to transfer unencumbered funds within the grant budget. Number 40, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to accept a donation of one $25 Kroger gift card from Joanna Rhodes for client incentives for families served by the Family Care Center. Number 41, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to accept a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency, which grant funds are in the amount of $200,000 federal funds, are for the remediation of environmental concerns identified at the Old Fayette County Courthouse, the acceptance of which obligates the urban county government for the expenditure of $40,000 as a local match, and authorizing the mayor to transfer unencumbered funds within the grant budget. Number 42, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute Change Order No. 18 to the contract with Marilia Design and Construction for the Senior Citizen Center Construction Project, increasing the contract price by the sum of $336,699 from $9,111,061.07 to $9,447,760.07. since. And number 43, a resolution designating the speed limit on Jewett Creek Drive as 25 miles per hour and authorizing and directing the Division of Traffic Engineering to install proper and appropriate signs in accordance with the designation. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Are there any motions for Walcons? Councilmember Stennett? Thank you, Mayor. Councilmembers, in front of you, we have a motion to place on the docket for tonight's councilman resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute a partial release of easement, releasing a utility easement on the property located at 225 Chenault Road. And I'm putting this on behalf of Council Member Farmer who couldn't be here tonight. So moved. Second. Motion by Council Member Stennett, second by Council Member Sadi. Is there any discussion on the motion? Alright. If there is not, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Any other walk-ons? All right. Madam Clerk, do you want to read that one? Sure. This will be number 44, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute a partial release of easement releasing utility easement on the property located at 225 Chenault Road. All right. Thank you, ma'am. Are there any motions to suspend the rules for second reads? Council Member Henson. Thank you, Mayor. I move to suspend the rules and give second reading to number 35. These are your conditional offers for employment. Second. Motion on 35 by Council Member Henson, second by Vice Mayor Kaye. Is there any discussion on the motion? If not, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Council Member Maloney. Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to move the second reading on 36th to close out the book so we can get the money to God Pantry. So move. Second. Motion by Council Member Maloney, seconded by Council Member Henson. 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 Lamb. Thanks, Mayor. I have two. I want to request on behalf of the administration resolution number 31 for second reading. I so move. All right. Motion by Council Member Lamb and second by Council Member Henson. Any discussion on the motion? All right. If not, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you. And the second one is item number 42. I'd like to suspend the rules on number 42, please. Motion on number 42. Is there a second? Second. Second by Council Member Henson. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you, Council Member Lamb. Council Member Stennett. Thank you, Mayor. I have two. First of all, number 34, so we can get these approved since this is the last meeting of the fiscal year. Motion on 34 by Councilmember Stennett. Is there a second? Second. Second by Councilmember Scutchfield. Is there any discussion on the motion? Hearing none, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Opposed no. Motion carries. Councilmember Scutchfield. The next one, I've got one more, Mayor. Sorry. And number 44, which was the easement, utility easement release, so that this project can begin. It's holding up the construction. All right. Motion by Council Member Stennett and second by Vice Mayor Kay. Any discussion on the motion? Council Member Brown. Thank you, Mayor. On 44, that's what we're talking about, isn't it? Yes, sir. You just walked that on. Is that correct? That would be correct. Do you want the first and a second reading? Yes, sir, because it's holding up the construction. I can't support that. I understand. I agree with the – I don't have any problem with the easement, but I can't support the process. Right. Okay. Thank you. Any further discussion on the motion? All right. Then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. No. All right. Motion carries. Council Member Scutchfield. Thank you, Mayor. I move to suspend the rules and give second reading to number 43 so that we can get the traffic, the speed limit changed. Thank you. Motion by Council Member Scotchfield. Second by Vice Mayor Kaye. Is there any discussion on the motion? If not, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Council Member Fred Brown. Oh, okay. That was your other comment. All right. Is that all the motions to suspend? All right, then. Madam Clerk, whenever you're ready, please. Number 31, a resolution accepting the bid of Fuel Band, LLC, in the amount of $19,888 for the repair of the outside rear wall at the Government Center for the Division of Facilities and Fleet Management. Number 34. A resolution authorizing the Division of Human Resources to make conditional offers to the following probationary classified civil service appointments. Don Morris, Administrative Specialist, Principal, Grade 518E, 1,846.18, biweekly, in the Division of Fire and Emergency Services, effective July 13, 2015. And Christopher Wilson, Heavy Equipment Technician, Grade 516N, 19.854, hourly in the Division of Facilities and Fleet Management, effective upon passage of counsel. Number 36, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute an agreement with God's Pantry, $2,700 for the office of the urban county council at a cost not to exceed the sum stated. Number 42, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute change order number 18 to the contract with Marillia Design and Construction for the Senior Citizen Center Construction Project, increasing the contract price by the sum of $336,699 from $9,111,061.07 to $9,447,760. Number 43, a resolution designating the speed limit on Jewett Creek Drive as 25 miles per hour and authorizing and directing the Division of Traffic Engineering to install proper and appropriate signs in accordance with the designation. and number 44 a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute a partial release of easement releasing a utility easement on the property located at 225 chennault road motion by council member henson and a second by council member scutchfield is there any discussion on the motion all right then madam clerk whenever you're ready please call the roll Ms. Bledsoe? Yes. Mr. Fred Brown? Yes. Mr. James Brown? Yes. Ms. Evans? Yes. Ms. Henson? Yes. Mr. Kay? Yes. Ms. Lamb? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Lane? Yes. Mr. Maloney? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Massadi? Yes. Ms. Scutchfield? Yes. And Mr. Stennett? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Clerk. The vote reflects passage of the motion. It allows us to move to communications from the mayor. Is there a motion to approve by Council Member Stenet? Seconded by Vice Mayor Kaye. 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 announcements. The floor is available to council members for announcements. Okay. I'm having trouble with my monitor. Here we go. All right. Council Member Bledsoe. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to elaborate just real quickly on why I voted no on 29. I very much agree with the spirit of the resolution on minimum wage, and I do believe and I would like to encourage our assembly to take it up. I think it's one piece of a larger picture, including workforce development, right to work, and overall tax reform. Doing one without the other, I think, isn't why. So that's why I didn't vote for it, although I do think it's a state thing. I hope they take up all those issues. Thanks. Thank you, Council Member Bledsoe. Council Member Lane. Thank you, Mayor. As I said earlier, I was going to make a motion to remove the $22 million old courthouse renovation project from the FY 2016 reimbursement resolution related to capital projects so as to prohibit incumbents or expenditures of funds related to the project until the administration has presented a comprehensive leasing and business plan related to the project, and that plan is approved by Council. This motion would keep the old courthouse renovation in the 2016 bond package list, but withholds expenditures until authorized by council. So moved. Motion by Council Member Lane. Second. Second by Council Member Massadi. Is there discussion on the motion? All right. We have discussion on the motion. Council Member Maloney. I thought we already had this discussion because I brought it up. I wanted to split all three of them up, the bonds, so that we don't make it into one group until we have each study on each one come out. And I thought that we already had this discussion. And the way I read this, we're doing that. We've already had this discussion, and I think this was two weeks ago, because I brought it up here when Bill O'Meara came up. And I said, you're not going to put these all under one. and before I vote for anything, I want them individually discussed. So I don't know why we have – I'm wrong about the way you're writing here, but I assume we've already discussed this. I'd just like to make a short comment back on that, is that in our meetings the mayor clearly stated that we were going to authorize the money but we would not be spending it until we did all of the due diligence on it. And this merely is putting in writing what the mayor said we were going to do. And I felt strongly about this because, you know, if we do the courthouse and we invest all the money in it and then we have a long-term obligation, maybe for 100 years, to operate the building, maintain it, repair it, and all that, it's a huge investment for the taxpayers. And I feel that it's really important before we go down the slippery slope and start spending money here and there. And then, you know, we get this approved. We need more money for that. And before you know it, we've got a lot of money invested in this project before the council's really even reviewed a business plan on it. So that's why I'm asking for it. And I think it backs up what the mayor said he was planning to do anyway. So I would appreciate your support on this. I'll ask not right now but I'll ask Commissioner O'Meara to speak to the to these questions that have been presented perhaps after council members speak. Council member Stennett Thank you mayor. I'll agree for once with Council Member Maloney that we've had some of this discussion a couple of weeks ago but I would say there is not a resolution before it, Councilman Relain. There's no reimbursement resolution before the council. That's why I can't support this motion at this time until it actually comes. I think Mr. O'Meara even said at the microphone he was willing to split that out if that's what we really wanted out of the reimbursement resolution when it comes in July or whenever it comes. So I won't support this tonight. I appreciate the spirit of it. I think it's been clear that the CEO has demonstrated in August we'll get a business plan and in August we'll be able to make the final call moving forward. So that's the reason I'll vote no. Thank you. Council Member Scotchfield. Thank you, Mayor. Anytime any budget, if we were going to expend money on this, it's going to come before us anyway, before we allow any of that millions of dollars to go out. And we are the catch-all. I think we have to look at this structure. This is a structure that for 20 years, this council and this city has let sit there and decay. If we do not do something about this structure now, one, it costs us another million dollars every year. If we had done something 10 years ago, the cost would have been $12 million or maybe $14 million. It would have been much less. This is a piece of history. It is a piece of art that this city has. We do not have 100-year-old buildings in this city anymore. and and I just I cannot fathom having it torn down and having another piece of land sitting there not having something on it I think this comes down to each one of us this is this is something we have to bite off and do or it's going to cost us more in the long run and and I'm not passing this buck to another council like it's been done to us. It's time to do it. Thank you, Council Member Scotchville. Council Member Fred Brown. Thank you, Mayor. Council Member Lane, I agree with the spirit of it and the intent because I, too, have got some reservations about voting for just putting it in there, carte blanche. We've been assured that there's going to be a plan coming forward. The process is going to allow us to be able to talk about it in length, and especially about the cost and the bonding part of it. And the way this motion is couched, you're removing something. I don't know what you're removing, but I know the intent that you have there. But I can't support the motion because I think the process is going to be there, and I'll certainly be looking at it. Thank you, Council Member Brown. Any other Council members wish to speak to the motion? Does the administration, Bill, do you need to say, would you wish to say anything to add? Don't have to. All right, okay. All right. Okay, then it doesn't sound like there's any questions. Okay. All right. If there's no further discussion, then we can vote. All in favor of the motion, please indicate by saying aye and voting electronically. And all those... All in favor of the motion, please say aye. All opposed, please say no. All right. And vote electronically. All right. So the motion fails. All right. Thank you, Council Member Lane. Is there anyone, any other council member? I don't see any other council, oh, Vice Mayor Kay. Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to add my comments about the budget process, and I would start by saying that this is my fifth time at the rodeo. It's the first time I've had any responsibility for managing the process, And I can say that in every year, at least from my perspective, the process itself, that is the work that the council does with the administration, the support we get from staff, the work that council members do themselves, it's gotten better and better. We start earlier. We get better information. There's more exchange of information. And so when we get to the point of actually having a budget, it's not perfect. It's not what every one of us might like in every detail, but it is a really good budget, and it reflects a wise use of the funds that the taxpayers entrust to us to spend wisely. So I want to add, again, my thanks to administration, council staff, council members, and I'm going to return the favor and give a special shout-out to Councilmember Stinnett as chair of the budget and finance for his expertise and his help in guiding council and understanding what is a truly intricate budget. So thanks to everyone, and I'm very pleased that this budget passed, and I look forward to an even better budget process next year. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Council Member Lamb. Thank you, Mayor. I just have to echo some of that, this being my first budget to ever get to vote on in this capacity, and I can't say how proud I am. It truly has been an experience, and I look forward to many more. And I appreciate all of the congenial manner that this council has handled themselves in wonderful discussions. And I'm even more pleased that we're able to provide support to our employees. We've had a lengthy time of making cuts and having to make decisions, hard decisions, and now we can actually start supporting our employees again. And I just am very appreciative, and I look forward to many more fun days of conversations. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Lamb. Council Member Evans. I just have two quick announcements, if that's all right, Mayor. First of all, I want to thank my colleagues and staff and the YMCA. We had a great groundbreaking this morning for the Hamburg Place YMCA. I think it was much more well attended, well attended than anyone anticipated. And just from the comments on Facebook, I think everyone in the city really is excited about the new facility that we're going to have. So thank you all for coming, and thank you, Council Member Stinnett. This is just your day to get all kinds of accolades for leading the charge in that, before I even really thought about running for council. So it is something that everyone in the neighborhood and in the district knew needed to happen. So everyone is excited. So thank you for that. And then just one more announcement that the Eastminster Presbyterian Women are having their annual rummage sale Friday and Saturday starting at 8 o'clock in the morning. They always have great finds, and they're a hoot to hang out with and just chat with. So I would encourage everyone. They're on the corner of Liberty Road and Henry Clay. So it's technically in Councilmember Farmer's district, but that is a church that I attend. They're a wonderful group of women. Again, all kinds of things, anything you want, you'll be able to find, and you'll be supporting a good cause. And part of that money they put directly back into the city. So they pick a charity specifically in town, so you're doing a great job. So thank you. That's my announcement. Thank you, Councilmember Evans. And Councilmember Maloney. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to echo what Jenny Crustfield, Council Member Crustfield, said about the courthouse. If I look at this symbol out here, that is the courthouse on that symbol. Isn't it? The closest building to looking like it. Well, anyway. Anyway, on a serious note. On a serious note, we learned from when they tore those buildings down, and you all, the council at that time, got plenty of calls from everybody in the neighborhoods, and you're in your neighborhoods and everything, about not having a plan or a project. And to me, I think it's the right way to go, especially since that's not my building there. This building, to me, is historical. This is Lutzen, and I say it again. Everybody keeps talking about the Blue Horse. I'm talking about the courthouse. When I send people downtown, I'm sending them to the courthouse, not the Blue Horse. So I commend the administration, and I commend that we do it right. And that's history there. And the last thing we need to do is tear down, I think, the prettiest building in Lutzen. And I think there's so much potential if we do it right. If you go to any city, if they have a building like that, it's their pride and joy. and I don't think we have a pride and joy in this town. And that's the only building that we have that can make it the pride and joy. I mean, I don't know we have the green space and all that, but we don't have a building like this. And to me, this is an opportunity, and I echo Council Member Custerfield on that. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Loney. All right. Is that all the Council Members who have signed? Council Member Lane. Good. I just want to thank my fellow council members for their comments tonight. And I would like to remind the council members that for six or seven or eight years, I've been a strong advocate of protecting the courthouse. On many occasions, I even made recommendations for budgets for, you know, making repairs to it, making it watertight. And, you know, we didn't have the money or we didn't vote the money, so it didn't get done. But I don't think the number one problem is the fact that we've had deferred maintenance as much as when the building was renovated in 1960. The people that did the research on it used the word the building was desecrated because we tore out the stairs, the windows, the doors, put another floor in, tore out all the molding. So the building has really been devastated for a period of over 50 years, and it has had deferred maintenance recently. You know, I'm heartbroken about the condition of the building, and I'm also very disappointed to find out that the building has 60,000 gross area in it and only 22,000 of usable square footage. And I think that's been the problem that has plagued the courts, and that's why they renovated in 1950, because the utility of the building was not that good. But I just want to go on the record and say I believe in historic buildings. I believe, but I think we also have to remember that we represent taxpayers. If this is going to cost $100 or $150 million over the next 100 years to maintain that building, would that money be better spent somewhere else? And that's the question we have to ask. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Lane? And just quickly, I'll pass the gavel to the vice mayor just so I can offer a few comments to thank the council on behalf of the administration. A lot of hard work, a lot of calories went into your work over the last several months in reviewing this budget and becoming familiar with so many of the moving parts in a budget like this. I earlier thanked our core staff, the administration, Sally and your team, Bill, all the commissioners, Jamie Emmons on the mayor's staff, all of the commissioners and all of the directors, and as Richard, as Councilmember Maloney routinely will say and properly will say, all the employees who participated in the budgeting process. And I think that we would all agree that there's one other group that we should perhaps thank, and that's our citizens that give us the opportunity and the resources and the funding to actually create this budget. And I know that we all take these roles that we have seriously and with a genuine interest in supporting such extraordinary citizenry and extraordinary city. So thank you all very much. I'll take it back. Take it back. Thank you, Vice Mayor. next on our agenda public comments mr. Mundy is anybody signed up no one signed up for public comments and there's a motion to adjourn by council member stennett and a second by council members scutchfield unless there's objection we are adjourned Thank you. Thank you.