# Council Work Session - November 10, 2015 > Auto-transcribed civic record · November 10, 2015 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/3825 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/3825?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2015-11-10 - **Last revised**: July 15, 2026 - **Length**: 13,174 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 November 10, 2015, at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber on the 2nd Floor of the Government Center, with Mayor Jim Gray presiding. The council addressed nine agenda items during the session, including public comment periods, rezoning requests, budget amendments, and various reports. The council took 21 votes and heard 4 public comments from members of the community. Among the items considered, the council approved the Summary and New Business, deferred action on Continuing Business/Presentations, and received informational reports on requested rezonings, budget amendments, council reports, and the Mayor's Report. ## Attendance **Present:** Kay, Stinnett, Moloney, Gibbs, Lamb, Farmer, Evans, Scutchfield, F. Brown, Mossotti, Bledsoe, Henson, and Hensley **Absent:** J. Brown and Akers **Late arrivals:** None ## Votes and Decisions All motions and measures brought before the meeting were passed by voice vote. **Authorizations and Contracts** L1354-15 authorized execution of a three-year ecological restoration maintenance services agreement with Advanced Mulching Technologies, Inc. DBA: EcoGro for the Green Acres Stream Corridor Vegetative Buffer. Motion by Martin, seconded by Holmes. L1356-15 authorized acceptance of $100,000 in federal funds from the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security for a multi-purpose training prop for the Division of Police. Motion by Gooding, seconded by Bastin. L1359-15 authorized establishment of a sole source provider contract with Pictometry International for oblique aerial photography and related services over six years. Motion by Nugent, seconded by Valicenti. L1361-15 authorized acceptance of $7,000 in federal funds from the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security for anti-virus software and network firewall device for the Division of Fire and Emergency Services. Motion by Gooding, seconded by Bastin. L1362-15 authorized acceptance of $34,000 in federal funds from the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security for key card entry systems and video monitoring at fire stations. Motion by Gooding, seconded by Bastin. L1365-15 authorized acceptance of $7,750 in state funds from the Kentucky Fire Commission for a forcible door entry training prop for the Division of Fire and Emergency Services. Motion by Gooding, seconded by Bastin. L1371-15 authorized acceptance and execution of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between LFUCG and Fraternal Order of Police, Town Branch Lodge #83, on behalf of Community Corrections Officers and Sergeants [timestamp: 0:32:29]. Motion by Barberie, seconded by Graham. L1383-15 authorized execution of an agreement with RubinBrown LLP for accounting services for the Historic Fayette County Courthouse Rehabilitation Project. Motion by Hamilton. **Administrative and Policy Motions** Additional motions passed included approval of the October 27, 2015 summary [timestamp: 0:17:00], budget amendments, new business, neighborhood development funds, and the vacation time carry over policy. Motions to place on docket resolutions authorizing change orders with Johnson Controls and Churchill McGee, LLC, and to name an unnamed street "Avenue of States" also passed. The Planning & Public Safety Committee summary from October 13, 2015 was approved [timestamp: 0:36:51]. The Euclid Commercial Corridor Study was referred to the Planning Committee [timestamp: 1:09:43]. A motion to suspend enforcement of local taxicab permit fees until amendments are passed was approved [timestamp: 0:57:52]. The issue of electronic advertising devices was referred to the Planning & Public Safety Committee. The meeting adjourned by motion. ## Budget and Financial Actions The meeting approved eight financial actions totaling $1,054,794.50 in contracts, grants, and appropriations: **Environmental and Infrastructure Services** * **L1354-15**: Advanced Mulching Technologies, Inc. DBA: EcoGro received a contract for $20,075.00 for maintenance services for the Green Acres Stream Corridor Vegetative Buffer. * **L1359-15**: Pictometry International was awarded a contract for $63,969.50 for the lease of oblique aerial photography, viewing software, hosting services, and maintenance for three flight deliverables. * **L1383-15**: RubinBrown LLP received a contract for $36,000 for accounting services related to the Historic Fayette County Courthouse Rehabilitation Project. **Public Safety and Emergency Services** * **L1356-15**: The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security received a grant of $100,000 for the purchase and installation of a multi-purpose training prop for the Division of Police. * **L1361-15**: The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security received a grant of $7,000 for the purchase of anti-virus software and network firewall device for the Division of Fire and Emergency Services. * **L1362-15**: The Kentucky Office of Homeland Security received a grant of $34,000 for the purchase of key card entry systems and video monitoring system at selected fire stations. * **L1365-15**: The Kentucky Fire Commission received a grant of $7,750 for the purchase of a forcible door entry training prop for the Division of Fire and Emergency Services. **Personnel and Labor** * **L1371-15**: An appropriation of $786,000 was approved for the cost of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for Community Corrections Officers and Sergeants for FY16, with the Fraternal Order of Police, Town Branch Lodge #83 as the recipient. ## Public Comment Four speakers addressed the council during the public comment period on November 10, 2015. **Minimum Wage Increase** Kimberly Kaplan spoke at [timestamp: 0:06:05] in opposition to a proposed minimum wage increase. Kaplan, identified as co-owner of Parkette Drive-In Restaurant, raised concerns about increased food and labor costs resulting from the increase. She also noted potential wage stagnation and expressed that the increase would be unfair to long-term employees. Kaplan urged the council to vote against the proposed increase. **Urban Services District** Mary Koziak, a resident of Rabbit Run, addressed the council at [timestamp: 0:13:14] regarding the Urban Services District. Koziak expressed concern about her community's placement in Tax District 3, noting that Rabbit Run lacks full service compared to other areas within District 3. She requested that the council pursue a more equitable solution for her community. **Euclid Commercial Corridor Study** Amy Clark spoke at [timestamp: 0:37:55] regarding the Euclid Commercial Corridor Study. Clark urged the council to delay accepting the study pending public comment and review. She expressed concern that the study lacks community input and warned that it may promote unwelcome development in the area. **Council Member Comment** Council Member Gibbs addressed the Euclid Commercial Corridor Study at [timestamp: 1:09:43]. While expressing enthusiasm about the study, Gibbs requested that it be referred to the Planning Committee for further review and discussion. ## Contested Items **Presentation of Euclid Commercial Corridor Study** Council members disputed the procedural approach for presenting the Euclid Commercial Corridor Study. The disagreement centered on whether the presentation should be delivered to the full council or referred to the Planning Committee. Council members raised concerns about consistency in agenda procedures and the timing of the presentation. The specific outcome of this procedural dispute is not documented in the available meeting materials. **Public Comment on the Euclid Commercial Corridor Study** Community member Amy Clark voiced opposition to the Euclid Commercial Corridor Study during public comment. Clark expressed concerns that the study lacked adequate public input and could result in unwelcome development in the area. She urged the council to delay implementation of any recommendations stemming from the study. Her comments reflected broader community concerns about the development implications of the study and the adequacy of public engagement in the planning process. ## Public Comment - Issues on Agenda Two members of the public addressed the council during this portion of the meeting [timestamp: 0:06:05]. **Speakers and Topics** Kimberly Kaplan spoke on the topic of minimum wage. Mary Koziak addressed the council regarding the Urban Services District. **Outcome** This agenda item was informational in nature, allowing community members to raise issues relevant to items under council consideration. ## Requested Rezonings/Docket Approval [timestamp: 00:17:00] No rezoning requests were presented during this agenda item. Additionally, there was no docket to approve, as no council meeting had been scheduled at the time of this meeting. ## Approval of Summary The council considered approval of the October 27, 2015 summary [timestamp: 00:17:00]. Key speakers on this agenda item included Stinnett and Mossotti. The October 27, 2015 summary was approved without dissent. ## Budget Amendments No budget amendments were presented during this session. [timestamp: 00:17:00] ## New Business [timestamp: 00:17:32] The council approved several new business items during this portion of the meeting. Key speakers on these matters included Scutchfield, Farmer, and Joe Schuller. The approved items encompassed multiple authorizations for contracts and grants, as well as consideration of a collective bargaining agreement for Community Corrections Officers and Sergeants. The council voted to approve all new business items presented. ## Continuing Business/Presentations During this agenda item, the council reviewed the Planning & Public Safety Committee summary and received a presentation on the Euclid Commercial Corridor Study. [timestamp: 00:35:12] Key speakers included Scutchfield, Jonathan Hollinger, Jeff Fugate, and George Ward. The presentation focused on the Euclid Commercial Corridor Study. Following the presentation, the matter was referred to the Planning Committee for further consideration. The outcome of this agenda item was deferred, indicating that final action or decision on the Euclid Commercial Corridor Study was postponed pending additional review by the Planning Committee. ## Council Reports [timestamp: 1:12:25] Council members presented several reports during this agenda item, covering awards, community events, and upcoming activities. **Topics Presented:** - **Emerging Leader Award for Angela Evans** — Council members reported on this award recognition - **Upcoming tree events** — Details were shared regarding scheduled tree-related activities - **Trip to Quebec City** — Information was provided about a planned trip - **Jubilee Jobs event** — Council members discussed this upcoming event **Key Speakers:** Reports were delivered by council members Massadi, Gibbs, Brown, Stinnett, and Lamb. **Outcome:** This agenda item was informational in nature, with council members sharing updates and information with no formal action required. ## Mayor's Report No mayor's report was presented at this meeting. ## Public Comment - Issues Not on Agenda [timestamp: 1:26:22] No public comments were received on issues not on the agenda. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): allow comment from 5th district residents now rather than at the end of the meeting - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the November 3, 2015 work session summary - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve new business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): move forward with the coding compliance assistance pilot project as proposed - **Motion** — failed (2-11): place Euclid Avenue Corridor into the Planning & Public Safety Committee - **Motion** — failed (0-0): call the question - **Motion** — passed (0-0): place on the docket for the Thursday, November 19, 2015, Council meeting a resolution suspending enforcement of section 18A-3 (requirement of local taxi cab permit), section 18A-4 (application and renewal for a local taci cab permit), and section 18A-6 (local taxi cab permit fees) of the Code of Ordinances until amendments to Chapter 18A are passed - **Motion** — passed (0-0): refer the Euclid Avenue Corridor study to the Planning & Public Safety Committee - **Motion** — passed (0-0): adjourn at 4:26pm --- ## Full transcript Music Thank you. Thank you. guitar solo Thank you. Thank you. guitar solo Thank you. Thank you. All right, hello everyone. Greetings. I'll call the meeting to order. And first, before we go into the meeting of the work session, we need to have a public hearing for the Urban Services District. I will open the hearing for comments from the public. Does anyone here from the public wish to speak? All right, then we will close the hearing. All right, now, Mr. Mundy, is there anyone here to speak for public comment? All right. but I'm going to ask for a motion from Councilmember Councilmember Farmer. I would ask for the council's opportunity to let a couple of 5th district folks speak now rather than wait until the end of the meeting. So moved. Second. Motion by Councilmember Farmer. Second by Vice Mayor Kay. Is there any discussion? Is this without objection? Alright, without objection we'll ask that two we have two people who wish to speak All right, you all understand we have a three-minute rule. All right, and thank you very much. So if you'll give your name and your address. My name is Kimberly Kaplan. I'm at 457 Severn Way here in Lexington, Kentucky. You might pull that microphone down, Kim. Thank you. Thank you. And I'm going to yield my time to my husband, Mr. Randy Kaplan. All right. I'm Randy Kaplan, 457 Severn Way. Mr. Mayor and ladies and gentlemen of the council, thank you for allowing me to speak today. My name is Randy Kaplan, along with my brother Jeff. I'm the co-owner of the Parkette Drive-In Restaurant. I'm here today to discuss the minimum wage increase issue. But if you will, a little bit about me first. I'm a retired Lexington police officer. I was a police officer for 20 years. I retired in 2005 with full time in service. I know I don't look that old, right? But I really am. I spent my adult life protecting and serving the city, and I'm still serving it. In 2008, Jeff and I decided to put our money into a business that had closed. Talk about a gamble. We wanted to save a 64-year-old landmark and icon, develop some of our own food concepts, and of course make money and also leave a legacy for our children. We reopened Parkette in March of 2009. I'm very thankful and grateful to say that we've been successful so far. It had closed in 2007. It took us eight months to renovate and restore the building. There were a lot of blood, sweat, and tears spilt during that time, and it wasn't easy, but we did it. Three years ago, we added our new diner garage, and if you haven't seen it, it's awesome. Please come by. We now nearly have a million dollars in the structure, a building we do not own. a million dollars of our money. Why did we do that? Because we had to to make it viable again. And it was through my efforts that we created opportunities to be on the Food Networks, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, the Rachel Ray Show, Secrets of Bluegrass Chefs, and the Local Traveler, which we actually won an Emmy for our segment this year. I'm the operating partner. I'm there six days a week. I've hired and trained every employee ever since we've opened even the bad ones. I keep anywhere between 25 and 30 employees. But back to the issue. Minimum wage is supposed to be starting pay for those new to the workforce, mostly kids. What 16-year-old should start their work career at $10? If an adult is entering or re-entering the workforce at minimum wage, there's usually a reason for that. But they deserve an opportunity too, and I provide them often. All previous wage increases up to now were up to $7.25, which is our current rate. There's a dramatic difference in covering food and labor costs at $7.25 than at $10.10, especially when trying to meet a payroll. And what about the existing staff? It's unfair to those that have worked their way up in time, performance, and dedication, and then have a new hire come in at their same or similar rate. They've earned their raises over time and longevity. There's no way that my business can afford to make up the percentage discrepancy that the current employee will be losing. I can only afford to pay my staff what the business earns. 1010 can actually stagnate wages as well by eliminating pay raises down the road due to the cost of labor going up and being able to make payroll. You're also eliminating incentives for employees to stay, especially in the restaurant business where turnover is great. Employees will just roam from place to place because the pay is the same everywhere. I'd like to share with you some of the costs of doing business in today's economic environment. In 2014, I had three price increases in beef alone. Three. And I'm a hamburger joint, folks. That's a huge hit for us. This past summer, the 2015 15 bird flu killed millions of chickens. Chicken and egg prices skyrocketed. Eggs went from $25 to $50 a case. Chicken and egg prices jumped horribly. Several years ago, there was a drought so severe you couldn't get tomatoes. Who doesn't remember that? It was so bad, a lot of restaurants in Lexington actually took tomatoes off their menu or had an upcharge or only to serve them upon request, but we didn't do that. We kept them on there and we did not raise our prices. I have nine cooking fryers. Cooking oil has gone up between $10 and $15 per 35-pound jug per each jug over the last several years, and I use about $15 a week. Why am I telling you about my food cost woes? Because I've heard it said that the reason there are opponents to the minimum wage increase is that we are just lining our pockets off the backs of our employees. That is not true. One council member here actually said, I wish these folks would just get over it. Well, I'm sorry, but you can't just get over it. I shouldn't have to. You, our mayor and council, are supposed to have our backs and help create a business climate that will help keep us in business so we can keep employing people. My business continues to fulfill many needs of the community, including jobs, taxes, utilities, my business and personal relationships with local and regional vendors, and of course saving Parkette, which could have been gone forever. And you know what else? During all those horrible times and all my cost increases, I had no wage cuts or freezes. No wage cuts. I continued to give my employee pay raise schedules. I thought Jeff was going to have a heart attack by giving raises, but we agreed that we have an obligation and commitment to our staff, and they have earned those raises. I didn't get raises, and Parkett lost that money, but my staff didn't lose anything. But I'm beyond being just an employer. These are my staff, and I care for them deeply. Their wellness and success means the world to me. I can't operate without them. I've actually saved several of their lives. And I agree that workers deserve better, but there are alternatives. What about lowering taxes so they can keep more of what they earn? And what about finding ways to cut health care costs? Why not create a tax incentive for $10 monthly plans per employee? That way I can cover their health care costs and we can get them covered and the medical needs that they deserve and create a healthier workforce. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope I shed some light today and I urge you to vote against the minimum wage increase. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Randy. I've just been notified that Mary Koziak is here to speak on the Urban Services District, so I'll reopen that hearing for her to speak. Where is Mary? Mary? Okay. Just come right up here to the podium. And Mary, you've got three minutes, if that will work for you. Thank you, ma'am. Was this a hearing that was advertised to the public? This was a hearing that was advertised. I didn't see it on our agenda today. I just wanted to make sure that. Well, it wasn't on the agenda. It didn't get on it. But pardon? It was? It was advertised in a certified letter to those individuals affected. We would have had the public hearing today. Okay. I mean, no problem. Sorry. It just didn't get on the agenda. That's why. All right, Mary. Thank you, Mayor and Council Members. I live on Rabbit Run. in the villages at rabbit run and i've been there since about 2008. several of us have been there early and as people came in as the development got larger the taxing district had changed for them and not quite certain why except during that period when we moved in we had refuse and that was it just the garbage collection so we had nothing else so i'm assuming that that is why we were in tax district two which is our current tax district the the taxing district that you're looking at is tax district three for all of us and and i i understand why you're doing that because we do have those types of services, although our garbage pickup is done at the curb, so the trucks just go down our private street, and they don't have to do anything else. We do not have the Rosies. We do have the recycling, which is the Rosies, I'm sorry. We don't have the trash collection. We've got the regular Herbies, which is the trash, the garbage. We do have the blue containers. They're all in one area. So, again, it's very easy for the recyclers to come in and just gather everything up. There's not a whole lot of expense to that. What we don't have is the gray receptacles. So we just go ahead and put our landscaping trash and whatever into the other. So I think what you need to look at is that we don't have full service like District 3 does have. I mean, that's what you pay for is full service, and we actually do not have that. We have private roads. We have private street cleaning. We have the private streetlights. So the only issue here is the refuse, is the trash. All right. So we appreciate your consideration. There's not a whole lot of us that are in that situation, and I understand the reason to have an equitable solution to all of this, but maybe like a two and a half, I mean, that would be ideal. But what we're saying is that we really don't have everything that is supposed to be listed in three. All right. Thank you, Mary. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you very much for joining us today. All right. I'll declare then the meeting will close again. And that allows us to move on to requested rezonings. I don't believe there are any rezoning requests. and there's no docket to approve this week because there's no council meeting. That allows us to move on to approving the summary. Is there a motion to approve? Second. Motion by Council Member Scotchfield, 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 budget amendments. There are no budget amendments this week. And that allows us to move on to new business. Is there a motion to approve? Second. Motion by Councilmember Massadi, second by Vice Mayor Kay. Is there any discussion? Councilmember Maloney. Thank you, Mayor. I was going to ask if somebody could come up and talk about GE. I would want to know the difference. I know we came to agreement. I'd like to know the big difference from what we had before and what we have now on this agreement, which is the— Jamie Emmons is coming to the podium, and I think he's going to bring our counsel, Joe Schuller. Yeah, I'll just introduce Joe Schuller. He was our lead negotiator on our team. You might give just a little context for Joe's history, too, Jamie. Joe works with Frost Brown Todd, who we engaged, I believe it was four years ago, when we began working through our collective bargaining agreements. At that time, it was his predecessor, Don Crane, and Joe worked together on that first contract. And since then, he's been engaged, I guess, now through four or five different contracts. And he's done a nice job with this one. So I'll let Joe take it from there. Thank you. I've had, as Mr. Ammon said, I've had the honor to represent you for the past few years in collective bargaining. and we've been able to get fair and reasonable contracts, fair and responsible contracts for you, and this one's no exception. I provided a memo for you outlining the details of the changes to the collective bargaining agreement, but I want to tell you about our priorities. We had a few major priorities here in this negotiation, And the major priorities were to make changes in the wages to help us attract and retain employees. And also, we wanted to make changes to address extensive use of sick leave. And we accomplished both of those goals. And we had professional negotiations at the table from both sides. So I'm happy. I'm proud of this agreement. And I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have. The question I have is the turnaround is very high in this department, and in the negotiation, have we come up with an idea of the salaries? I mean, I guess assuming the salaries, how much increase are we going to give these employees compared to what they make now? What is the difference of the salaries? Well, yes, we have a lot of turnover. And someone correct me if I'm wrong, but we've got some significant turnover. We also are having some issues attracting new employees. So we have several vacancies. The differences in the wages are not easy to explain because they're very different. We had a wage schedule that's been in place for a long time. And when you have wage schedules that have been in place over a long period of time, sometimes those wage schedules don't accomplish all the goals that you're trying to accomplish with them anymore. So we had to restructure our wage schedule. and our budget office did a great job of strategically revising the wage schedule so that it met our needs. So how much are we looking at? I mean, I know when we did the police and fire, we were able to get a percentage of what over the next four, three, four years, what the contract was, percentage on salaries increase. What are we looking at this group on their increases over the next, how long does the contract last? I mean, their increases. The first year of the contract, the total cost of the contract is about $822,000. And the out years are about $1.6 million. As far as the percentage wage increases go, they're very different from person to person. So the people at the beginning steps of the wage schedule have significantly higher increases than those in different portions of the wage schedule because one of the strategies was to increase the starting wage to attract more workers. What would be the starting wage for a person now coming in new? now. Last year, I mean, your last contract, what was the salary and then what's going to be different than what they're going to be making now? Sure. Mr. O'Mara is going to help out with answering this question. Can we just slide over? I'd like to answer my question. We've tried to raise the beginning salary. Currently, the beginning salary is $30,600, dollars and we're going to create a new step called a recruit and that will start at 32 000 and then after training they would go to 34 200 so in effect we're going from 30 600 to as soon as you finish your training to 34 200 is it okay council member stennett thank you mayor i guess this question may be for mr o'mare as well overall from what we budgeted last year to what we'll have the budget going forward how much did the contract overall increase annually about 1.6 million and do we do we budget this year or a portion of it in this current budget cycle we budgeted a portion of it we have about 820 000 that's going to impact this year we have it going into two phases one of them will go immediately upon execution of the contract basically the 1st of December. Then we'll give them another raise in March, and then it'll be July or anniversary date from thereafter. Very good. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Council Member Akers. Thank you, Mayor. Does this also include increased wages for any other existing employees or different ranks? This just affects the members of the bargaining unit. Right, but you just mentioned the details of the start of for starting new employees. So does it change anybody that's already? Oh, yes. Yeah, every employee, we still have a step schedule. Okay. And every employee will receive increases. Of course, you know, you don't want the second year people making less than the first year people. So you have to, you know, it has to work its way throughout the step schedule, and we've done that. Joe, isn't there an average that you're looking at across the employee universe or percentage? I think you have an average. Well, maybe not. They range from double-digit increases to single-digit, depending on where you are. We tried to elevate the people at the lower ranges, and then those ranges started to suppress that you were at the top. And the same thing for sergeants. Thank you. I think it's probably another topic for another discussion or time for another discussion. But since you brought it up about the high turnover and how that impacts wages and this cost, I mean, this is to me a pretty big jump in cost this year versus future years. So I wonder if anything was built into this negotiation or if there's plans by the administration there of Addressing the turnover rate to bring this number back down if possible Councilor Masati just informed Yes, so but I just wondered if I mean when we're talking money and we're looking at this almost Doubling or more than doubling is there any plans for potentially reducing this number in the future? reducing the wages no you mean I think you're you're saying that the relationship between the increase and the attrition yes absolutely what that was the whole goal of increasing the starting wages to do that corrections across the country are having the same issue Department of Corrections here in Kentucky gave their workers a 13% pay raise here just last summer because it was so short I think that's important to point out earlier it said that as if this is a unique situation. It is, this is universally across the board in corrections. And you just said that, Rodney, but I think it's worthwhile to say that again. Well, those who don't know, I attend the large jail network meeting twice a year in Aurora, Colorado, where the 62 largest jails in the country come. And we have a thing on hot topics, and that is what's the most burning issue in our industry. Turnover and retention is the number one. When you think of public safety, my industry never gets a break. If we get 17 inches of snow, we still have to feed 4,500 meals a day. We still do laundry for 1,300 people. We still have to take them to the doctor no matter what's going on in the other world. So the demand on correction staff is high, and the burnout rate is high. This will help with entry level so that people can make a living. The other thing it's going to help me do in retention-wise is that they're going to have to think twice about quitting and going to take another job at a local vendor because we're paying more than what they could leave. In the past, they were able to leave our institution, go someplace else, and make either the same amount of money, and in some cases, even more. All right. Thank you, Councilman Rekers. Councilman Massadi. Thank you, Mayor. Mr. Scholar, in our packet, a letter that we received from the Department of Law regarding the collective bargaining agreement, it just talks about correction officers and sergeants. no other rank above sergeant is affected by this collective bargaining agreement? Not by this one, ma'am. We're currently negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with the captains and lieutenants. Why would they be separate? Just curious. They're in a separate bargaining unit. There are two different bargaining units, and in fact, they're even represented by different unions. Okay, thank you very much. Council Member Henson. Thank you, Mayor. I'm just curious, was there any additional measures put in place to help reduce the turnover and maintain the retention rate? Were there anything else in this collective bargaining agreement? you know there are i mentioned one of the things that we put in place was the the sick leave changes and i think those sick leave changes will help you know i think that'll increase the attendance so increasing the attendance makes it increasing the attendance reduces the overtime, which reduces the burnout rate. So there are a lot of things in the agreement that indirectly would affect those issues. And there are some things that can't be done because of seniority, correct? Like I know Rodney and I have talked about rotating officers, you know, because you have a tendency to get bored if you're in the same thing day in, day out. So, and it also helps with an operation if you rotate, you know, it's like the person learns this area, they rotate to the next area and so forth. But because of seniority that's in place, you're not really allowed to do that, correct? Generally, that's the case. there are some assignments in this collective bargaining agreement, some assignments have been changed from being assigned based upon seniority to assigned based upon the most qualified person. Right. Because we have to get the right, you know, when we're keeping people in a facility like ours, we want to have the right people in the right chairs. Right. And, you know, a lot of times, though, I think having a versatile workforce is important. That's why I was asking that. Thank you. But thank you. And there's nothing else you can think of that was in the contract that would help with the retention? Yeah. Well, I mean, there are several. One thing that will help is we've increased the shift differential for the second shift. So the people who are working the second shift used to get a 50-cent bump per hour, and now they'll get a dollar bump per hour. So that's a good incentive. Yes, yep, that's a good incentive. We've also increased some of the allowances slightly. The uniform allowance has increased by $100. Do you have anything else, Director? Not related to the contract. I would like to tell you, though, when I first met you in March of 2012, I became friends with Dr. James Wells out of Eastern Kentucky University. And he was doing a survey at the jail on how safe women feel. and he was following up a year and a half later with how safe men feel. And I asked him at that time, the next time he has an opportunity, I'd like to have a survey. So he said, okay. So he came to me at the end of last semester and says, I'm ready for your survey, Rodney, and we're going to do an employee satisfaction survey. We've coordinated through the commissioner's office. He's done the test instrument. So in January, we'll be doing a survey of all of our employees. They'll be analyzed by Dr. Wells on employee satisfaction and some of the things we can prove. Ms. Hanson, you mentioned shifts. Sometimes there's not much I can do with shifts because it's a bid process. But we're hoping for other ideas that they might come up with that we hadn't thought about to make it a better working environment. The other thing we did, I always tell everybody I don't have all the good ideas, but when I hear one, I know it's a good idea. And I'm not sure who came up with the idea, but they said, how about sending a letter to all the police and fire applicants that were rejected? So we did this this last time before. We got nine people applied, and we hired nine. So that's been successful for us. So we've got several things going in addition to the contract to try to improve our retention because we understand the cost of training. We understand the importance of keeping long-term employees. So in totality, we're trying to address it from several different areas. Thank you very much. I know it is a difficult challenge, and we've dealt with it the entire time. So I but I appreciate and I knew I guess and I spoke with several officers and I said, you're the time to make some changes is with this agreement. So and it looks like that has occurred. So thank you very much. Thank you, Councilman. All right, Joe. Thank you. Councilmember Farmer. Thank you, Mayor. Mine are on the descriptors for item B as in Bill and F as in Farmer. both of which use the term training prop, and I'm unfamiliar with usage of that term. If someone would define it for me, I'd be appreciated. I thought it may be preparation instead of prop, but I don't know. I know it says prop. In both of them it says prop. Oh, it does? And in the descriptor it says prop. Okay, so it must be prop. I don't know. What's a training prop, PROP? Which item are you on? Item B and item F. Okay. It's in the descriptor and it's in the header for each new business item. And I just wondered. You know, I'm going to have to ask Chief Barnard. I assume with the amount on this, this could be something of the magnitude of a firearms training simulator. That's about what that calls to train officers to use judgmental aspects of using force. But to verify that, I'm going to have to find out for sure from him. Greg's here. Is that what it is? It's very similar. It's for hazardous devices unit. It's kind of like a tanker or something, a container device that allows our special operations folks to train inside it. So prop means it's like props on a stage or something? or I'm not sure how it's set up but that's the the piece of that's the equipment that was needed for that that's used I'm not sure why the terminology is the way it is but it's much like you see on the back of a tanker or truck that allows a total containment type vessel that they can train inside and do some similar training that the Commissioner mentioned well I wouldn't object if somebody wanted to send me an email later telling exactly what the word prop means in this usage sure thank you sir sir thank you mayor thanks greg thank you councilmember farmer all right looks like that's all who've signed up for new business so we can vote all in favor of the motion please indicate by saying aye aye opposed no motion carries allows us to move on to continuing business and presentations the first item on on On continuing business is a summary of the Planning and Public Safety Committee, the October 13th meeting. I think that's going to be given by Councilmember Scutchfield. Thank you, Mayor. Yes. The chair of the committee, Councilmember Rosati, was absent from that meeting, and so she has asked that I give this summary. The Planning and Public Safety Committee was held on September 8, 2015. On our agenda, we discussed unmanned aircraft systems or otherwise known as drones. During this discussion, we determined that although it is of interest in the city, that federal aviation standards are who would handle this and no regulation that we would come up with could be implemented correctly. We also got an update from Council Member Bledsoe regarding the fireworks display, allowing for a $5 million insurance requirement for city property or city-sponsored events and $2 million property or insurance requirement for private entities. We also discussed the code compliance. Jonathan Hollinger from Planning gave us a presentation. at the end of the presentation after discussion. Motion was made by Council Member Akers to move forward with the pilot project as was proposed. It was seconded by Council Member Henson. I make that motion at this time. Motion by Council Member Skushfield, seconded by Council Member Akers. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right, hearing none, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. further we had several items that had been in committee that were removed i won't go over all the items that were removed at the time but we adjourned the meeting at 2 12 that afternoon thank you thank you council member scotchville all right um i'm going to All right. Council Member Massati has a motion, but before that, Council Member Massati, let me ask Amy Clark. I thought Amy had, it was my interpretation that Amy had signed on for, to speak to issues not on the agenda, but maybe she signed up for issues on the agenda. So, all right. So, Amy, why don't you speak now then? My name is Amy Clark, and I live at 628 Castle Road, and I appreciate your time and the interruption. I'm speaking on the Euclid Commercial Corridor Study, which is presented for you today. You really got your money's worth on this one. It's 110 pages long. There isn't anything it doesn't recommend that I could dream up. It really is enormous, and what you're getting is kind of a quickie film strip version. Raise your hand if you've read the whole 110 pages. And I know my council member has. Good. I ask you please not to accept the report until you've read it, at least reviewed it in committee, since it's an economic development measure, commercial corridor study. Sounds like the right committee for it. Especially, please don't accept the recommendations for implementation. There are some at the end of your quickie report. There are a great many more in the 110 pager. Till you have held a hearing to present it to the neighborhoods and receive public comment, you will notice that there was opportunity for public input a little during the course of it. There wasn't any presentation or opportunity for comment before it was finalized and sent on. There's a whole, whole lot of good in it. And I want to say that topmost in the implementation recommendations for the first years, one to four, is beefing up reinstituting a UK live where you work employee mortgage support kind of program. And coupled with it, LFUCG's part would be to do rental licensing and inspection. These are great ideas. It follows the Student Housing Task Force recommendation, your own council task force over five years ago. It was lately renewed in the UK Student Health and Safety Committee recommendations. Those two are not in your filmstrip version today. So please, let's have those. Those are what we're loving. There are some gaps and omissions in the report that really give pause. It was out of date before the ink was dry, and that was in March 24th of 2015. For example, $9.6 million in student housing property changed hands along Euclid. A Lucky's Urban Grocery with a pharmacy, one of the recommendations is a small urban grocery, is coming to meet the retail needs of the burgeoning student population west of campus. That's at the old Winn-Dixie site at Virginia and Broadway. And by the way, this area really needs more roadway and streetscape improvements. It needs them really urgently. Even though I live near Euclid, I would say, gosh, it's more urgent there. It's sensible to do it on Euclid because of the sewer line going in at 2019 or 2020. There's also another 771, if I have the number right, beds in graduate and undergraduate student housing that UK is furnishing. The further concerns are what matter most. Nearly all the developments and markets envisioned entails own changes, yet this study professes not to be a small area plan. Please resolve. Amy, excuse me. Amy, excuse me. Yeah, we passed the three minutes. How much more time do you think? Where are you? I'm near the top of that. I would invite anyone to offer me a few more minutes. All right. There's a motion to extend and a second. All right, unless there's objection, you've got some more time. I thank you. Please resolve not to accept and use it as findings of fact for zone changes, because it hasn't had the public comment component and the full involvement, in fact, indeed any involvement, of the planning division staff. The report acknowledges that acquisition costs for key Euclid sites mean that only hotels, luxury condos, or off-campus undergrad dorms yield a viable return on investment for key sites on Euclid. Please don't offer public financing and incentives, such as are recommended, to make possible more high density student housing here on Euclid, which is unwelcome to the nearest residents. The report acknowledges that only national chain restaurant and retail lease rates, restaurant retail, that sort of thing. Only national chain lease rates can support the costs of the sort of major new developments that are envisioned along Euclid. Most of the stuff pictured in the report is four to six stories tall and over an acre in ground. Well, local business is what's most desirable to residents, and it says so in the report. So please don't offer stimulus to national businesses. And what's mentioned is that the DDA would move forward on attracting tenants and so forth to drive local ones out. We're seeing already the kind of real estate speculation that leaves vacant space along Euclid and in the near vicinity where there used to be a local art gallery, there's a chain home goods store, or a thriving bike shop. I very, very much miss the longstanding bike shop that was at Woodland. We have a hole right next door to us that teaches us that ambitious real estate speculation, sad to say, is not too big to fail. At the same time, we have great news. We see on Jefferson, Manchester, North Lyme, the kind of old, worn out, and even ugly buildings, Jane Jacobs says this, that foster startups, great enterprise, and creativity. It's actually the reverse of that parable you may have learned, that you don't put new wine in old bottles. It actually is older, smaller, better buildings that give not only the highest lease rates to their owners, but the best encouragement for startup businesses, creative small local businesses. Finally, professional space and uses receives no consideration that I can recall in the whole report, professional space and uses. This is when we're hearing that as a university city, it's the professions and patents and skilled, highly educated workforce that we do best. The best jobs in Euclid, in fact, are professions like engineering, design, health, and finance. And that's what the zoning is. So it's disturbing to think that nearly all of what's envisioned in this report runs counter to the zoning of a significant part of it, high density housing and so forth. Please take the time to think things through on Euclid, and especially to call a hearing and listen to your citizens before you vote to implement the recommendations here. And I would add that because of the timing of the sewer line, I can understand that that's something that you would want to implement, the $350,000 study that's consultant has already been chosen. I would only add that it would be helpful if the residents very early on could have something to say about the scope of that. Thank you, Amy. Appreciate your time. Thank you. Council Member Stenney. I have a question before we go to the presentation. Before we go to the presentation? Yes. Are you going to do the proclamation first? No, they're not here for the proclamation. Just a question. How did this presentation get on the work session agenda? Several people along the council have asked that question today, And I'm not sure if we've been told normally this presentation as Amy alluded to is put in the planning committee So we can dissect it if we're not gonna be asked to make any action on today Just question wise before the council at work session and not planning committee All right, Jonathan since you're presenting We are not asking you for any action today We contacted the council office and just told him we had this study ready to be presented and this was the direction we were given All right. No action today? You're not asking for? We're not. This is just to give you a little bit, just not to get into the details of the presentation. This is not a small area plan or other types of studies that you're familiar with saying that are officially adopted into the comprehensive plan and documents like that. So we're not actually asking you for any official action on the study. through the budget process. You did fund the $350,000 for the design of that Euclid corridor. We've already actually put out an RFP for that and selected the consultant. So we're not actually asking you for any official action, and there's no financial recommendations associated with this, but we're happy to give the presentation wherever you think is appropriate. All right. Thank you, Mayor. I don't understand why we're bringing it to the council. Personally, I think this should be in the committee, and the reason why I say that is you do your presentation there in the committee so they can have the knowledge. When questions do come up, and when you all do have recommendations, but to do it in front of this body and there's no recommendation, I just don't want to waste a bunch of calories when we have the talent to be put into planning and let them listen to it. And as you grow into this, you have meetings with this plan so they can realize the questions be asked. But what you're asking for us, council, here is just information. It's just I just don't think it's the right place to do this. I'm willing to listen to this, but I just don't like the way this is being handled. Nothing against what, to me, you leave it in a committee. They get smart knowledge with it, and then they start asking questions as this thing continues to grow and grow and what your goals are. So I just hope we're not wasting a lot of hours today. All right. Vice Mayor Kaye. Thank you, Mayor. I want to speak to this because it really is a larger question and a larger issue. when we have large projects like this and a lot of information half the time people on council say well we want everybody to hear it let's not put it in committee because it's important for the entire council to hear it and we have the other half of the council saying well it needs to go into committee we presently do not have a set of procedures for determining when to do which it's kind of ad hoc people come forward and they request to make a presentation typically i have a conversation as the vice mayor with those folks and if possible i ask them to reduce it to a written report and not to make it a presentation to council unless there is a requested action but occasionally people make the case that this is something that the entire council would benefit from hearing what i would suggest this is the longer term solution to this is that we next time we have a cow, a quarterly cow, we address the issue of whether we want to set up some standards for what comes before council's presentation. And then we will avoid having half the council think it needs to come forward and the other half thinking it does not. Thank you, Mayor. All right. Thank you. Who else would you wish to speak to this? Council Member Sadi. Thank you, Vice Mayor. I appreciate the explanation. I don't think we have a lot of consistency in what we do, and that's probably the biggest problem that we face. But I know when Councilmember Brown had an issue about the small area development plan, that went into planning. And typically we look at issues like this through planning. But I would also like the input of Councilmember Gibbs and Farmer, since this affects their district the most, where they feel the most comfortable this should be. So if you all want to weigh in, I'd like to hear your response. Personally, I would like to see you go to planning. personally i was surprised it was on the docket for today all right council member acres you wish to speak to this i just wanted to suggest i appreciate the history of your decision making but i think a simple email to communicate to council and say there's been a request from the administration to have this presentation what is the pleasure of the council, you know, just communication with us would have really solved this pretty simply. So I don't think we need to put it on the cow agenda. I don't know if we need to develop new policies. Just send an email and ask what is the pleasure of the council. Well, yeah, I want to speak to this myself. I've avoided it. But, you know, there are times when the administration feels like it should make a presentation to the full council. And it's an issue of timeliness. And I haven't weighed in on these kinds of things. as the chairman, but I could, and I've respected the privilege of the council to make some of these decisions like this, but when the administration feels like it's timely, then the administration will want to make a presentation through the full council. that's this is the presentation of the administration now if Jonathan and Derek say that it can wait then I'd say it can wait the only you know from our department we don't have a preference it's the venue that it's presented the only thing I would say is we do have three representatives from the University of Kentucky who have joined us for this presentation today. And so in respect to their time, I would request that we go ahead with the presentation. If you'd like to refer the item into committee after that presentation, that's perfectly suitable. All right. Now, we've also got a motion that we need to hear. So let's hold on that presentation for right now. Councilmember Henson. Thank you, Mayor. I see a problem with consistency, and I don't have a problem with the presentation. But, for instance, the Fersales Road Study Planning Committee, Small Area Plans Planning Committee, Two-Way Streets, all those things go in planning. So I think in our Cal meeting, we should develop some sort of consistency because what this tells me is that you're putting this project ahead of my important for sales row project. So see where I'm coming from? Yes, ma'am. Sure do. So I just wanted to share my thoughts. I think that everything that you all have made sense, everything that you all have said makes sense in terms of protocol, but also hear what the vice mayor says and there are times when the administration feels like in terms of timeliness it is important for the full council to hear something now today since we've flushed this out is it okay that we go on does anybody have a grave objection to going on you want to make a motion all right after i've asked after hearing the conversation what he said I think we ought to, and here in Council Member and the Council Member for this district, I make a motion that we put this in the planning committee, so move. All right. There's a motion and there's a second. Places in planning. Is there any discussion on the motion? Council Member Evans. Is that in lieu of hearing the presentation today? All right, now. Okay. Council Member Evans. I guess I appreciate that thought, but again, noting that we do have speakers here that have taken time out of their schedule. It can always go to committee after it's heard, but to be in considerate of their time, I would oppose that motion. Council Member Brown. Fred Brown. Thank you, Mayor. I agree with the council member Evans. The parties are here. It's not going to be any problem. What is it, a 15-minute or less presentation? If we can just get the highlights, I think we will be better informed when we take it. And I agree we should take it to planning committee or one of the committees. And I think we can still do that, but we'll have a little bit of basic information going into that planning committee, and then maybe we'll be more informed. So I'm going to oppose the motion. All right. Anybody else wish to speak? Councilor Ansley. As we say in business, timing is everything. And if there's a timing issue, we need to hear this today and everybody's here. I'd respect for all their time. I would oppose the motion also. But at the same time, I made a motion to amend an existing ordinance from 3 to 30, eight weeks ago and was sent to the planning committee. So we do have some correlation we've got to get put together on the protocol. So I would just move to call the question. All right. There's a motion to call the question. Is there a second? Second. There's a second. Is there any objection to call? Yes. All right. Then I don't believe that's going to pass, but we'll vote. All in favor of calling the question, say aye. Opposed, no. All right. Motion fails. Council Member Gibbs. Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, Mayor. I'm not clear. Councilman Maloney, would your motion preclude hearing their presentation? Because I would like to hear the presentation today, but I would like it to go into committee eventually, because I would like to make sure this thing is fully vetted. But I think it would be very informative for us to hear it. So could you clarify your motion? His motion was not to hear it. Not to hear it. Well, I'm opposed to that motion, then. Thank you. Thank you for the clarification. Anybody else wish to speak? All right. then we had a call for the question I'll go ahead and call for the vote all in favor of the motion please indicate vote electronically yay and if you oppose and you want to hear the presentation vote no all right motion fails all right then that means that we can listen to the presentation nope Mayor? We've got a... Yeah, Councilmember... Councilmember Massadi has a motion. I'll take that now. And since we're on the topic of planning and public safety, today at the Planning and Public Safety Committee, the issue of taxicab ordinance was on the agenda for discussion. The committee discussed this at length, and because we are superseded by state law, the council voted to pass a resolution suspending the enforcement of the collection of the local taxicab permit fees until we determine when amendments are necessary. So I move to place on the docket for Thursday, November 19, 2015, Council Meeting, a resolution suspending enforcement of Section 18A-3, which is requirement of local taxicab permit, Section 18A-4, which is application and renewal for a local taxicab permit, and Section 18A-6, local taxicab permit fees of the Code of Ordinances until amendments to Chapter 18A are passed. So moved. Motion by Council Member Masati and second by Council Member Henson. Is there any discussion on the motion? All right, then we can vote. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. All right. Now we can move to that ill-fated presentation. Dramatic. So today I'm here to present on the commercial corridor study. I do have several people with me from the project team that I'd like to introduce at the beginning. We have Jeff Fugate, obviously from the DDA, who you're familiar with. George Ward from the University of Kentucky is here, as well as Judy Needham, who worked from UK, who worked with us on the project, and Mary Vosovich from UK. And Brandy Berryman, who was very soon to be formerly with the DDA, also worked on the project. So I'll just get right into it in the interest of your time. The study was commissioned in 2014. It cost $75,000. The project team, as I said, included all the entities that I just mentioned. The consultant team was MKSK, Development Strategies, and EHI. This is not a small area plan. It has the comprehensive plan to be used as through that process. The scope of the study was to identify market and data-driven opportunities to fully realize the potential of these corridors. And it's also to create an actionable plan for implementation, ultimately trying to create a vibrant gateway between downtown campus and the established close-in neighborhoods. So the study area includes the entirety of Euclid Avenue and Avenue of Champions, as well as a portion of South Limestone. So the outline of this study essentially included an existing conditions analysis that was land, building use, infrastructure, opportunities analysis, which included a market study identifying potential gaps in that market, as well as an implementation strategy, which includes key opportunities, who will implement the different sections of the plan and also the timeline for doing so. We did have public engagement as part of this project. We met with neighborhoods, we met with students, we met with business owners and commercial brokers in the study area. And the highlights of that public engagement included protecting the neighborhoods from conversion to student housing, creating diverse housing options that serve more than just students and long-time residents, but also young professionals and graduate students, creating shopping and specifically neighborhood services, which seemed to fit well with the neighborhoods, improving the pedestrian experience. It was viewed by most people as unsafe in one way or another. And also creating parking options that don't encroach into the neighborhoods and preserving space for local business, as you heard today. And there was concern about this disruption of major construction. People often invoked the South Limestone Streetscape Project and saying they were trying to avoid a situation like that. So I will actually turn the presentation over to Jeff Fugate to go through the market analysis. All right. Thank you, counsel, for your time. So we're not going to try to get you up to speed on 110 pages of the report today. What I do want to do is give you an idea or a flavor for what the report does, because this is not the type of plan you're used to seeing. This is not about land use. It's not about vision. It's not about what ought to be. It really was about what can be. And so we really focused on doing market analysis of retail and residential trends. So what we looked at were the trends and we were looking at the population, right? So one of the things that we know is that there's an increased demand for small housing opportunity, particularly near a university. We know that established households matter, right? And, but we also know that we've got young professionals. You think about a university, you've got untenured faculty that may or may not be here in five years. You've got medical residents who may or may not be here in five years. You've got graduate students who may or may not be here in four years. They don't need to buy a house, but they need somewhere to live, right? So there's market opportunity there. We also know that we've got 20,000 undergraduate students, not all of which will fit on campus. And so we're seeing that as a market force as well. We also know that demographics change, so do shopping preferences. People don't necessarily want what our parents wanted, right? So we're seeing some changes in that. And one way to think about what the aspiration of this plan is for is that most of you guys are familiar with Bardstown Road in Louisville. That's what this could be. This could be that type of vibrant strip near the university that connects to downtown, but it can only be that if it works economically for the developers of infill buildings, so not raising and rebuilding, but looking at empty lots and redevelopment lots. And that's only going to be driven by economically viable retail and residential opportunities, right? So those, basically what those strategies are, the types of things we can build, right? Market rate undergraduate housing, that's apartments, right? Graduate and professional housing, off-campus university linked housing, and then young professional housing. So we're looking at housing that targets a number of markets, all of which are driven by the presence of the university and the medical center. And then also looking at the retail is that there's anchor retail. What that means is what are the things that are going to attract people to them, right? Grocery stores, bookstores, you know, certain types of convened, you know, certain things like, you know, the target model, but it may not be target pharmacies. Those are anchors. We also know that hospitality has room to grow in Lexington. And then we know that there are certain service retails that have an ability to survive and thrive near campuses, such as things like our supply stores, bookstores, kind of things that may not do as well in other settings. We take a look at the geography of the area, break the corridor in the segments, and identify key parcels for redevelopment. So this isn't about bulldozing, euclid, and starting over. Key parcels for development and redevelopment. Tested those with the numbers, with the data, and some of them work with the market, some of them don't quite work with the market. And that's where the question of subsidy comes in. How do you drive, get that price down? Is it the land? Is it subsidy for the construction? And then I will turn it over to Jonathan to talk a little bit about how we implement the recommendations. But I will say that that is a very brief snapshot of what's in the report. The report itself actually goes in the great detail about all of those recommendations. So the implementation phase of this, which is really critically important, revolves around three ideas. One is to invest in place. The other is to support neighborhood reinvestment. The other one is to create strategic development opportunities. Investing in place comes with a large set of different recommendations. And so what we're presenting here today is the ones we're working on right now. There may be a number of recommendations in the off years. The plan actually has a series of short, medium, and long-term goals, and I would encourage you to read that. I sent you a link today to a web page that has all of the documents. It includes all the appendices of this presentation. So if you would like to share those with your constituents or browse them yourself, you can certainly do so. So the implementation partners for each of these areas may be slightly different, but certainly the city, the University of Kentucky, and the Downtown Development Authority all play a role in different parts of this. So actually, I'm going to let George Ward speak to what UK is doing actively, as you can see, with their construction in terms of investing in place along Avenue of Champions. Thanks, Jonathan. Mayor. First of all, we're very pleased with this study. We believe that it's designed to stabilize the neighborhoods around the campus, and we're very hopeful that along the Euclid Corridor, it'll provide good housing options for our grad students and our younger faculty members. We're also encouraged by having active living opportunities so close to campus, So it makes it walkable, makes it bikeable, and helps us manage our transportation demands on the campus. As you can see, UK has a pretty substantial skin in the game at this point on Avenue of Champions. The total investment is actually more than $325 million with a little bit more on the way. We believe that this is a catalyst project which will encourage private development near this. that will enhance services to the surrounding neighborhoods. So the remaining components of the study obviously invest in place. Our streetscape design on Euclid and Avenue of Champions is underway. We have held an RFP selection committee. There were several council members involved with that, and we are negotiating a contract, and we'll begin that process. That is designed to coincide with the sanitary sewer improvements that will come down Euclid Avenue in 2019. And so one of the reasons we put forward that in this current budget year was to get those two projects on the same track. We're also looking at supporting neighborhood investment. UK is examining their faculty, staff, and graduate student housing programs. There'll be an assistance program that would allow those different demographics to actually purchase property in and around campus. The city is examining a commercial design overlay framework. There are some examples in Columbus and other cities that are sort of a light touch in terms of figuring out how you want a corridor to look. And we actually have an ND1 framework that's used in residential areas that we can apply in commercial areas under the current ordinance. So we're examining what that might look like. That is a citizen-driven process, so that would really be driven by the commercial tenants along the corridor. And the last part of this implementation is the strategic development opportunities. The Downtown Development Authority is really leading the charge on this, and they've created a strategic working group that is implementing these leasing strategies for existing buildings and possibly also for new buildings that are identified as key projects. UK and DDA are working together on some of the parcels that UK currently owns or are within their boundary, their strategic planning boundary. And they're also working to recruit private sector development partners to help them with some of those. And so with that, I will open up for any questions that you may have. All right. All right, are there any questions or comments? I just want to thank you. First of all, I want to apologize for the information in the mayor. Your group did not ask for this. I just found out it was asked by Council Member Catt to do this presentation. And we have a policy and procedure that we have to follow. That anything comes on the docket, we, the council, have to vote on the work session. And it did not happen. And I want to apologize to you all personally, and I'm embarrassed what happened. I thought we would follow the rules in the process, and we did not follow it. So I appreciate the presentation. Thank you. All right. All right. are there any comments are there any questions councilmember Gibbs thank you for the presentation I'm really excited about the whole thing but I still have lots of questions about it and I'd like to see any next time you do an update maybe send it to the I would like to see it go to the planning committee of planning committee not the Planning Commission just for my own clarification this item I don't think is currently in committee so it would need to be referred if that's the pleasure so i'm going to make a motion referred to committee to the planning committee motion by council member gives second by councilmember farmer 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 councilman gibbs you is that it all right all right councilman masada you wish to speak to this mr fugit can you come up to the podium please i was extremely interested because this is kind of of my ballywick and i know that you guys were i mean you all on the presentation had talked about your residential component your retail component and trying to intertwine the two i just based upon experience i know it's real difficult i mean everyone would like a grocery as you know downtown everybody wants a pharmacy when you look at a pharmacy what they're looking for is prescriptions and you've got a transient population so that's been the hold up pretty much the same thing on the on your grocery store, too. They're looking for residents that are going to be there long term. So it's going to be a challenge. I agree with you. Yes, ma'am. And I didn't know, have you worked with any commercial brokers here to kind of get that kind of information to go forward? Because we've all worked with these clients that we've tried to get them into town, we get them here, and then they're not interested because of that reason. So the statement is under is that we are putting together a strategic working group now. So I should say that it overstates it a little bit in the slideshow in that we don't have a group together. We're getting ready to put that group together. And what that group would include is definitely the commercial brokers because you guys have the experiences. You have the relationships. You know what you're hearing. What the feedback I've gotten from your colleagues is that a lot of times part of the issue is is that they're not dealing with large enough developments or enough, particularly in downtown settings, they don't have a single landowner who's trying to kind of put all the leasing together, much as you would with a mall or something like that, right? And so what we're hoping is that with this plan and with UK as a partner, we'll have more control over being able to put together a leasing strategy that would be more compelling to some of those tenants who don't want to just go into their space because they don't know what's going to happen next door or what's going to happen across the street. So being able to do a little more leasing in a strategy and as a package, we hope will give us a little bit of a better position to have those conversations. Okay. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. All right. That's all the comments or questions from council members. So that allows us to move on to next on our agenda, which is council reports. I'll open the floor to the council if you'll please log in. Thank you. Council Member Massadi. Thank you, Mayor. I think most of us know our colleague Angela Evans, and I would like to tell you a little bit about our colleague Angela Evans. I'm proud today to take this moment to give her special recognition. Angela is the recipient, the 2015 recipient, of the Emerging Leader Award for Emerge America. The organization is committed to increasing the ranks of women leaders from diverse backgrounds in public office. Next week, Emerge America will be celebrating a decade of progress with their 10th anniversary conference, From Ambition to Action, celebrating 10 years of Emerge America's impact. As part of this historic celebration, they will be presenting awards to three alumni of the Emerge program. Councilmember Evans is a graduate of the 2013 Emerge Kentucky class. She was recently nominated for the Emerging Leader Award, a recognition that will go to one woman in the Emerge network who is proving to be a woman on the rise. After weeks of voting across the country, Emerge America announced that Councilmember Angela Evans would be the recipient of this award, being honored for her work as a Councilwoman for the City of Lexington, for being a dedicated servant of her constituents and her community, and for her belief and commitment to growing the number of women who are represented as public office holders. congratulations to council member evans for this outstanding award and recognition and thank you for your continued representation to the city of lexington go girl go Thank you. Speech. Speech. Sure. Answer. I'll respond. Thank you, Councilmember Massadi, for that recognition. It was simply truly an honor to just be nominated by the chapter of Emerge Kentucky chapter. we've had so many alumni that they could have selected and I truly am honored that they chose to put my name forward and even more honored that I had so many of you friends, colleagues, long time friends and so forth take the few minutes it took to vote for me as well so I will be going to San Francisco to accept that award next week and unfortunately will be missing a neighborhood association meeting. But I have already told them I can try and make a phone call. I don't know how the reception is at the airport, but always letting them know I'm also on duty. But, again, it's just been a true honor to be nominated and an even bigger honor to actually win the award. And hopefully I can live up to that emerging leader title. Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you, Council Member Evans. All right, that allows us to move on to the next council report. Council Member Gibbs. Thank you, Mayor. I've got a couple of things. First of all, one of the reasons I ran for city council is to try to promote environmental issues, and a very important environmental issue is our trees, and we have a deficient tree canopy. The Lexington tree canopy is only about 25%, while arborists recommend about 40%. With that in mind, I want to promote a couple of events coming up. The University of Kentucky has brought in Dr. Kathleen Wolfe of the University of Washington, and she's going to be in Lexington for a few days. She's a leading expert on the beneficial effects of trees and other nature within the city limits. She's going to do things downtown twice tomorrow. In the morning, she's going to speak to the tree board. That will be at 1030 tomorrow morning. That's an open meeting, limited space, so let's hope millions of people don't come. But I'm hoping some of my council colleagues will join me and other people from LFUCG. And she's going to speak specifically on the economic benefits of trees, which is a very big deal. Tomorrow night, there's going to be an event highlighting her at the Downtown Arts Center. At 5 o'clock until 6.30, there'll be a reception for her. And then from 6.30 to 7, there's going to be a tree report, a report card for the various neighborhoods. So if you want to find out how your neighborhood is doing for trees, you can find out then. And then at 7 o'clock from 7 to 8, Dr. Wolf is doing a presentation entitled To Your Health, Trees and Nature for Wellness. And so I hope especially people could join us at the Downtown Arts Center. If you just want to catch her lecture, that'll be at 7 o'clock. But thank you very much. And how am I doing for time? Not too bad. The other thing, while you guys were here celebrating the Breeders' Cup, I was working. the mayor sent me to Quebec City for a conference to create a network of Francophone and Francophile cities. Actually it was quite a bit of fun. You may not think of Lexington as a hub for French language and culture, but the connection we have very strong connections. Duval, France is our oldest sister city. We have a fairly large French-speaking population here. A lot of it is Congolese and other immigrants from Africa. We also have strong beneficial trade relationships with Canada and France. So I'm excited about the opportunities that this network is going to present. I think primarily it's going to be in regard to tourism. I doubt we'll ever be a major hub of French culture, but I met today with people from Visit Lex, from the mayor's office, from social services, and from the Sister Cities Commission to see how we can capitalize on this opportunity. And so I just want to make you guys aware of we're going to be networking to try to make this more French-friendly for French-speaking tourists. I'd like to thank the mayor for providing me the opportunity to take a trip to Quebec. Thank you. All right, sir. Thank you, Council Member Gibbs. Council Member Fred Brown. Thank you, Mayor. A couple items. the long-awaited dedication of the Berry Hill Skate Park will take place this Thursday, November the 12th at 4 p.m., and that's at the Berry Hill Park off of Buckhorn Drive. So just wanted to announce that. And I'm not sure, maybe Council Member Lamb may be talking about the veterans meeting tomorrow at 11 o'clock. I'll let her talk about that. aren't we meeting at Veterans Park tomorrow at 11 a.m.? I mean at 10 a.m.? Are you going to announce that? Okay, I'll let her. Thank you. Okay, thanks, Council Member Brown. Council Member Stennett. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to revisit an event I had the opportunity to attend on Friday along with Commissioner Ford, who was there, and our Chief of Police, Mark Bernard, Sergeant Barry, who was there as well. but it was for Jubilee Jobs. And those on council know we supported Jubilee Jobs this year with our ASR grants. They're doing a lot of good work on reentry and helping people find jobs. This organization is really telling our future about what Lexington's employment looks like, by helping people, for a number of reasons, reenter the job market, whether it be they got a divorce and they have to reenter it, or they were incarcerated. But there's a number of reasons why they reenter in the job market, and I just appreciate everyone being there. And it was interesting in the audience. There was a big fear about the minimum wage change because the wage change will affect these individuals the most. The 250 people, they have found jobs year to date, and that's over 208 last year. So they're rising on the number of employers that are willing to accept these jobs because they have to have the business owners in our community be willing to say, yes, we want to employ these individuals. And that's the big fear in the room Friday. I didn't solicit a comment, but a lot of people came up to me and asked, we're worried about these individuals. our most vulnerable citizens, that if you change it, we may not get these people hired now going forward. The business owners were concerned about that, and it was very telling. They have a great story to tell. I encourage my colleagues, go visit Jubilee Jobs and see the individuals they're working with. Go on Monday morning at 9 a.m. and see how many people show up for their job skills training because it's a great story, and I appreciate them being in our community and being an advocate for people that need a helping hand. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Stenet. Council Member Lamb. Thank you, Mayor. I would like to grab in mind everybody, tomorrow is Veterans Day, and we invite everyone to attend the Veterans Day appreciation event, and it's at 10 o'clock. That's what threw me. You were saying 11, and I was like, no, there's another event at 11, I believe, but everybody needs to come to our event. at 10 a.m. in Veterans Park, and it's next to the tank, and we'll be celebrating and thanking those who have or currently are serving our country. And I would also like to announce that we have a new restroom facility located beside the Children's Garden at the Arboretum, which is something that most people probably won't get excited about, but it is really a beautiful facility. It's very nice, and I joined Councilmember Gibbs and former Vice Mayor Linda Gorton and Arboretum Director Molly Davis out at the Arboretum yesterday and we took a few pictures and the mayor was kind enough to do a press release and it is exciting. It will be open dawn to dusk when the Arboretum is open. It will not be open during home UK football games or if UK is closed due to weather and I know this was a collaborative issue that started back in i think two thousand eleven the money was put forward back then and uh... it is just now come to completion but i know that took a lot of effort from a lot of people and i really appreciate that thank you thank you mayor thank you councilman lamb vice mayor k thank you mayor uh... i want to go back to this question that's been raised about presentations etc etc etc I've been on council for five years. In the first four years, I did not have any responsibility for the agenda. And I never frankly understood exactly how things got on the agenda, who made the decisions, how they made the decisions, why they made those decisions about things like proclamations, presentations, recognitions, reports, and motions to go into closed session. Now maybe I should have made it my business to find out. And I've been vice mayor for almost a year. And so I apologize to council for not having followed up and figured out for myself and for the council exactly what the procedure is. But so far as I know, maybe law can correct me if I'm wrong, it's not laid out anywhere. If someone knows where it is, I'd like to see it. And whether it's laid out now or not, I would like this council to put some attention the question because for what it's worth I have tried my best to make judgments which I think are in the best interest of the council and I've been second guessed on that any number of times and I've tried to kind of figure out a better way to do it but so far I haven't got it and I think it's inappropriate for me or anybody else to simply be making decisions about what goes on the agenda But that's what's been happening. So we don't have a committee of the whole scheduled for quite a while. But when we do, I will put that on the agenda. And in the meantime, I will get with law and see if we can find out where, if anywhere, it's actually laid out about who has final responsibility and authority for placing things on our agenda. Thank you, Mayor. All right. Thank you, Vice Mayor Kaye. Council Member Akers. Thank you. I just wanted to share some neighborhood announcements. Tonight, the Coventry Homeowners Association will be meeting at Imani Baptist Church at 6.30 p.m. And at 7 o'clock, the Metathorpe Neighborhood Association will be meeting at their community center in Metathorpe at the park. I also wanted to share that this week is the kickoff event of Readathon, which is hosted by LBAR every year, which is the Bluegrass Association of Realtors. And as part of that, they give away a book. They donated a different book to every elementary school in central Kentucky. And this year, the book is called The Invisible Boy. And so I have been visiting all the elementary schools in the 2nd District. and yesterday I read the book to Sandersville students, kindergarten students at Sandersville Elementary and first graders and kindergartners, two classes yesterday at Booker T. Washington Primary Academy. Tomorrow I'll be stopping by Metathorpe and Thursday at Booker T. Washington Intermediate. So I just want to thank LBAR for donating the books and giving me the opportunity to reach out to all the districts or schools in my district and reading what is a very good book about including everyone and making sure that we don't leave anyone out on the playground or at lunchtime or here on the council. So thank you. All right. Thank you, Council Member Akers. All right. There's no mayor's report today, which takes us to public comment for issues not on the agenda. Mr. Mundy says there's no public comment today, so that allows me to ask for a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn and the second. Unless there's objection, we are adjourned. Thank you.