# Rural Land Management Board - January 30, 2019 > Auto-transcribed civic record · January 30, 2019 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/4681 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/4681?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2019-01-30 - **Last revised**: July 15, 2026 - **Length**: 5,571 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 Rural Land Management Board met on January 30, 2019, at 3:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber at 101 East Vine St., Lexington, KY 40507, with Gloria Martin presiding. The board conducted nine votes during the meeting and heard one public comment. The meeting included two informational presentations: a Chair Report and a Staff Report. The board approved several administrative items, including the December 12, 2018 meeting minutes, the Updated 2019 Meeting Calendar, and the Standing and Ad Hoc Committee Chairs and Members. The board also authorized Chair Gloria Martin to move the RLMB's account at the Blue Grass Community Foundation to a local bank. Following a closed session held pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(b), the board voted to terminate the contract with Farm 10-2011 without penalty and authorized staff to request $2 million in the FY-2020 Budget Request. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn. ## Attendance **Present:** Gloria Martin, Beth Cawood, Linda Gordon, Ian Young, Heather Nolan, Zachary, Dr. Healy, Don, Phil Meyer, Mariana, Frank Penn, Mary Ann, Dee Dee Delaney, Knox Van Ugel, Will Mayer, Elizabeth Jensen, Mary Diane Hanna, Dennis Anderson, Sally Hamilton, and Kathy Plowman. **Absent:** Greg Bibb. **Late:** None. ## Votes and Decisions The following motions were voted on and passed by voice vote during the meeting: **December 12, 2018 Minutes** [timestamp: 00:17:15] Motion by Gloria Martin to approve the December 12, 2018 Minutes as amended. Passed. **Updated 2019 Meeting Calendar** [timestamp: 00:23:07] Motion by Gloria Martin, seconded by John, to approve the Updated 2019 Meeting Calendar as presented. Passed. **Standing and Ad Hoc Committee Chairs and Members** [timestamp: 00:29:06] Motion by Gloria Martin, seconded by John, to approve the Standing and Ad Hoc Committee Chairs and Members as presented. Passed. **Account Transfer Authorization** [timestamp: 00:34:33] Motion by Gloria Martin, seconded by John, to authorize Chair Gloria Martin to move the RLMB's account at the Blue Grass Community Foundation to a local bank. Passed. The motion included authorization to implore Bluegrass Community Foundation to refund fees. **Closed Session** [timestamp: 00:42:54] Motion by Gloria Martin, seconded by John, to enter into Closed Session pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(b) to discuss the potential acquisition of a real property interest. Passed. **FY-2020 Budget Request** [timestamp: 00:45:00] Motion by Gloria Martin, seconded by John, to authorize staff to request $2.1 million in the FY-2020 Budget Request. Passed. **Contract Termination** [timestamp: 00:46:13] Motion by Gloria Martin, seconded by John, to terminate the contract with Farm 10-2011 without penalty as discussed in Closed Session. Passed. **Special Meeting Scheduled** [timestamp: 00:48:02] Motion by Gloria Martin, seconded by John, to schedule a special meeting on February 13, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. in the Phoenix Building to discuss property acquisition in closed session. Passed. This meeting will precede the February 13 workshop on internal audit. **Adjournment** [timestamp: 00:49:37] Motion by Gloria Martin, seconded by John, to adjourn. Passed. ## Budget and Financial Actions The meeting included a request for $2,100,000 in appropriations for the FY-2020 Budget Request to support Rural Land Management Board operations. ## Public Comment [timestamp: 00:02:45] A speaker addressed the need for volunteer support and community participation in the annual homelessness count. The speaker highlighted opportunities for the public to contribute through volunteering and donations. Key points included: - Volunteers are needed for the homelessness count initiative - Interested participants can engage through the program's Facebook page - Mandatory training is required for volunteers - Community members are encouraged to donate care packages to support the effort The speaker emphasized the importance of public participation in this annual counting effort and outlined the specific ways residents could get involved. ## Appointments The following individuals were appointed to committees during the meeting: **Education and Outreach Committee** - Zachary - Dr. Healy **Budget and Finance Committee** - Don - Phil Meyer - Dennis Anderson **Ordinance and Plan Oversight Committee** - Mariana - Frank Penn - Mary Ann - Dee Dee Delaney - Knox Van Ugel **Applications Review and Donations Committee** - Will Mayer - Elizabeth Jensen - Mary Diane Hanna ## Contested Items **Meeting Frequency and Attendance Requirements** The board addressed a procedural dispute regarding meeting frequency and attendance requirements. The core concern centered on a 25% attendance requirement that board members found difficult to maintain given the existing schedule of only six annual meetings. Members expressed worry that the current meeting structure created unnecessary risk of absences leading to potential removal from the board. In response to these concerns, the board made a decision to increase the frequency of meetings. This change was intended to make it easier for members to maintain compliance with attendance requirements and reduce the likelihood of involuntary removals due to absences. ## Motion to approve the December 12, 2018 Minutes as presented [timestamp: 00:17:15] The board reviewed the minutes from the December 12, 2018 meeting. During this review, Gloria Martin identified a correction needed in the document. The board updated the appointment date of voting members from April to November 15, 2018 to reflect the accurate timeline. Additionally, the board noted the importance of recording excused absences in future minutes to maintain complete and accurate records of attendance. The motion to approve the December 12, 2018 minutes as presented, with the noted correction, was approved. ## Motion to approve the Updated 2019 Meeting Calendar as presented [timestamp: 00:23:07] The board considered an updated 2019 meeting calendar designed to increase the frequency of regular meetings. Gloria Martin presented the calendar to the board. The primary rationale for the updated calendar was to ensure compliance with a 25% attendance requirement and to reduce the need for special meetings. By scheduling more frequent regular meetings throughout the year, the board aimed to create a more predictable meeting schedule that would help members maintain the required attendance threshold. The board approved the updated 2019 meeting calendar as presented. ## Motion to approve the Standing and Ad Hoc Committee Chairs and Members as presented [timestamp: 00:29:06] The board considered a motion to approve the appointment of committee chairs and members for the organization's standing and ad hoc committees. Gloria Martin presented this agenda item. The motion addressed the appointment of leadership and membership for four committees: - Education and Outreach - Budget and Finance - Ordinance and Plan Oversight - Applications Review and Donations The board approved the motion as presented, confirming the committee chairs and members for these four committees. ## Motion to authorize Chair Gloria Martin to move the RLMB's account at the Blue Grass Community Foundation to a local bank [timestamp: 00:34:33] The board discussed and approved a motion to authorize Chair Gloria Martin to transfer the RLMB's account from the Blue Grass Community Foundation to Central Bank. **Key speakers:** Beth Cawood and Gloria Martin led the discussion on this agenda item. **Rationale for the transfer:** The board cited two primary reasons for moving the account: - The Blue Grass Community Foundation currently charges a $250 annual fee - Central Bank offers the ability to open a nonprofit account with no fee **Outcome:** The motion was approved, authorizing Chair Gloria Martin to proceed with transferring the organization's funds to Central Bank. ## Chair Report Gloria Martin provided an update on several ongoing matters during this informational presentation [timestamp: 00:35:38]. **Planning and Public Safety Committee Progress** The Chair reported on the Planning and Public Safety Committee's recent activities and progress on its initiatives. **Internal Audit Work Session** Martin announced an upcoming work session focused on the internal audit, indicating this would be an opportunity for the body to review and discuss audit findings and related matters. **External Engagement** The Chair reported on her engagement with external organizations, including the Farm Bureau and other groups. This engagement reflected the Chair's outreach efforts to stakeholders and community partners. **Outcome** This agenda item was informational in nature, with no formal action or decision required. ## Staff Report Beth Cawood presented a staff report covering three main items [timestamp: 00:39:03]. **Farm Closure and Acreage Update** Staff reported on the closure of a 90-acre farm. This closure brought the total acreage managed to 29,760 acres. **Farm Bill Webinar Participation** Staff participated in a Farm Bill webinar, keeping the organization informed on relevant federal agricultural policy developments. **Council Presentation Preparation** Staff indicated they are preparing for an upcoming council presentation, though specific details about the presentation topic and timing were not provided in this report. This was an informational agenda item with no action required. ## Public Comment During the public comment period, information was shared regarding volunteer and donation opportunities for the annual homelessness count. [timestamp: 00:02:45] The commenter provided details on how community members could get involved in supporting this initiative, directing interested parties to the organization's Facebook page for additional information and to sign up for participation. This agenda item was informational in nature, with no formal debate or action items resulting from the public comment. ## Motion to enter into Closed Session pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(b) The board considered a motion to enter into closed session under Kentucky Revised Statute 61.810(1)(b) [timestamp: 00:42:54]. **Key Speaker** Gloria Martin presented the motion to the board. **Discussion and Rationale** The board discussed the need to conduct closed session proceedings to address potential real property acquisitions. The motion cited the statutory authority under KRS 61.810(1)(b), which permits closed sessions for matters involving real property transactions. The board noted that discussing these potential acquisitions in open session would risk negatively affecting property values, thereby compromising the board's ability to negotiate effectively and secure favorable terms. **Outcome** The board unanimously approved the motion to enter into closed session. This approval allowed the board to proceed with confidential discussions regarding the potential real property acquisitions without public disclosure. ## Motion to terminate the contract with Farm 10-2011 without penalty [timestamp: 00:46:13] The board considered a motion to terminate the contract with Farm 10-2011 without penalty. Gloria Martin was the key speaker on this agenda item. The termination had been previously discussed in closed session. Based on that discussion, the board voted to approve the motion to terminate the contract with Farm 10-2011 without penalty. The motion was approved. ## Motion to authorize staff to request $2 million in the FY-2020 Budget Request [timestamp: 00:45:00] The board considered a motion to authorize staff to request funding in the FY-2020 budget. Gloria Martin was the key speaker on this agenda item. During discussion, the board reviewed the initial request amount of $2 million. The motion was approved, though the authorized amount was adjusted during the voting process. The final approved amount for the FY-2020 budget request was $2.1 million, representing an increase of $100,000 from the originally proposed figure. **Outcome:** The motion was approved. ## Motion to Adjourn The board voted to adjourn the meeting at approximately 4:56 p.m. [timestamp: 00:49:37]. Gloria Martin presented the motion to adjourn, which was approved by the board. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed: Motion to approve the December 12, 2018 Minutes as amended - **Motion** — passed: Motion to approve the Updated 2019 Meeting Calendar as presented - **Motion** — passed: Motion to approve the Standing and Ad Hoc Committee Chairs and Members as presented - **Motion** — passed: Motion to authorize Chair Gloria Martin to move the RLMB’s account at the Blue Grass Community Foundation to a local bank - **Motion** — passed: Motion to enter into Closed Session pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(b) to discuss the potential acquisition of a real property interest - **Motion** — passed: Motion to authorize staff to request $2.1 million in the FY-2020 Budget Request - **Motion** — passed: Motion to terminate the contract with Farm 10-2011 without penalty as discussed in Closed Session - **Motion** — passed: Motion to schedule a special meeting on February 13, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. in the Phoenix Building to discuss property acquisition in closed session - **Motion** — passed: Motion to adjourn --- ## Full transcript Do you look at different sets of answers and different areas of their issues? How do you work with that? Yeah, so we try to do as much as we can since this is one of our major data sets that we have. We have this data from every year, so there's also the ability to do longitudinal analysis. What we really try to look at is how many people are we seeing? Are we seeing higher numbers, lower numbers? What can be accounting for that? We factor in things such as what the weather was like on the night that we performed the count. We also gather a lot of demographic information. We get some information from folks about, for example, where their homelessness originated. We try to figure out what kinds of services would be valuable to them to help them to get off of the street or out of shelter. Yeah. You said 17 teams or groups go out. How many are in each one, did you say? So that's the number from last year. We had 17 teams. It will vary depending on how many locations we have this year as well as how many individuals are willing to participate. Sure. So each of those teams usually has about four individuals. We send people out in groups. It makes it obviously a little bit safer. And some of these locations can also be large wooded areas, for example. So it helps to have several people to cover that ground and make it a timely and quick process. We usually meet at the New Life Day Center as kind of our central hub of operations. on the evening of the count. You begin around nine o'clock. Teams go out, each team will probably visit maybe four to five locations. They will count, do those surveys, distribute care packages, and then everybody returns to the New Life Day Center to report back in in the evening. Last year, I believe we wrapped up around 1 a.m. It kind of varies on how many individuals that we find. There's also a component where we would look at the numbers of those staying in our shelters and our transitional housing programs. The bulk of that, however, can be performed by just pulling information from our electronic database. Yeah, you would have to actually go out and count them there. What's your biggest challenge with this event? I think our biggest challenge is probably just really being able to identify those persons and connect with them. It can be a challenge to find people who are residing outside, and sometimes it can also be a challenge to make sure that they feel comfortable to engage. Oh, that makes sense, yeah. Well, this is a very unique program. I mean, I would say the majority of our citizens in Lexington, Kentucky do not know that this goes on. And it's not because you don't try good PR, but I did not realize that this had gone on for as many years as it had. And I think the implication that it has towards funding, which obviously helps the city as well. So I'm sure you need volunteers. We do. Could you talk about that, what you do next in terms of if you want to volunteer? Yeah, absolutely. So we have a lot of information that's available on our Facebook page. That is facebook.com slash Lex End Homelessness. Okay. And on our Facebook page, we are posting information as to how people can get involved in this event. That includes if they want to volunteer to conduct the count, there is a sign-up form. There is a mandatory training that's going to be offered the week prior to the count, so that way people can make sure that they have the information and tools that they need. We accept volunteers of various different levels of experience. usually in those teams that we create they're very intentional designs they include some of our service providers as well as some of our volunteers from the general population so even if you haven't worked with this population before probably someone on your team is going to provide that that knowledge base so that is one of the things that people can do the other thing is that we do need a number of donations to include in those care packages okay a list of those are also available on our Facebook page. And finally, we're also just trying to raise some awareness around this event. So leading up to the count, there's going to be a number of posts on our Facebook page that highlight some interesting numbers. Turned away from it all like a blind man. It's a lot of things, but I don't want to keep coming up with love, but it's so slashed and torn. Why? Why? La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la Thank you. This is our last dance. This is ourselves. Under pressure. Under pressure. Pressure. Well, since my baby left me, well, I found a new place to dwell. Well, it's down at the end of Lonely Street, that heartbreak hotel where I'll be. I'll be just so lonely, baby. Well, I'm so lonely. I'll be just so lonely I could die. Oh, though it's always crowded You still can find some room For broken-hearted lovers To cry there in the blue And be so lonely, baby And be so lonely And be so lonely And they could die Man, the best Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ ¶¶ Thank you. ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And if you aren't sure how to use this, staff is over there, will be happy to come give some pointers. We have some new folks with us today. Ian Young is our new representative from the NRCS office, Charlie Farmer's old seat. And why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself? My name's Ian. I cover 19 counties including Fayette. I've worked 38 years for Natural Resource Conservation Service. My main office is out of Cynthiana and I cover from Carroll County all the way over to Maysville back down to here and Jessamine and everything in between. So we cover quite a bit of area. Most of my career I was out west in far western Kentucky, the Paducah-Mayfield area. A lot of that. Originally grew up in Radcliffe outside of Fort Knox. But it's a pleasure to be here. I look forward to working with you all and helping you any way I can. And if it's okay, I'd like to introduce Heather, if I could. Yes, please do. Heather, come on up. Heather Nolan. She's the office manager for the Fayette County Conservation District and works with us. and she will be able to help you all a lot, I'm thinking. I just wanted to bring her along and let you all meet her. Great. Why don't you come on to the mic, if you don't mind? Hello, I'm Heather Noland. I've been working with the Conservation District for a year and a half or so. If you have any questions, you can just call me, and I'll be more than happy to help you out. Thank you. next thing on the agenda approval of our minutes from december the 12th there are two things one i wanted to pass this to you and will mayor already has one the ordinance says in section 2641 that the voting members of the rural land board shall serve a term of four years from the date of appointment and online it says we were appointed in april when in fact it was november 15th of 2018 so we'll be here barring accidents november 15th through 2022 and i wanted to make sure that was corrected um and uh the other thing is in the future uh please note if there were excused absences and we'll discuss that a little bit in the future and the only other thing i saw was at the end we might give the time at the end of when we adjourned the time of adjournment are there any other additions or corrections or changes that anyone saw if not i'll ask for a motion madam chair i motion that we approve the minutes as amended Is there a second? Motion has been made and seconded. Any other discussion? If not, all in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Or you can vote on your screens. And they are touch screens, by the way. We have some unfinished business. In your packets, Beth provided you with an updated schedule, if you'll look in your packet. And I also sent to her, and she accompanied, our reason for adding these dates to these more meetings to our annual schedule of meetings. I hope you've had an opportunity to read those. Our bylaws and the ordinance, you didn't get one. We'll give him a second. Okay. It's kind of in the middle of your packet at the end, John. Our ordinance says that we'll hold meetings at least quarterly and that we would approve a calendar of meetings annually. And if you'll recall, last month we looked at those, talked about those, but we did not formally adopt them or approve those. We have gone back and have looked at the last, the closest Wednesday to the last of every month that we could. And Beth has checked for this room to make sure we can, in fact, start at 3.30 for these meetings. and we did this as near to the last Wednesday of the month as possible and of course as you see on November 20th Thanksgiving was on the 28th and that was the day after the last Wednesday and of course Thanksgiving we allowed for and May 22nd that last Wednesday was too near to the Memorial Day holiday and also the same time as school and college graduations in Lexington and we worried about downtown parking. So that's why it's then. If you look at that page, the other reason for adding those, our bylaws state in our ordinance that we are required to attend a certain number of meetings, 25%. And in order to do that, even with excused or unexcused absences, If we only kept it at that six meetings, that really meant you could only miss about a meeting and a half. So by adding these in a two-year time period, that allows more. I think it's important to note that our members, it's a volunteer board. Many of us work. We have family, health obligations, all sorts of other meetings and things. And by scheduling more regular meetings, that should eliminate any possibility of being absent from 25 percent of the meetings and shouldn't result in any controversy or any removals or problems with the board. So it is much easier also to schedule meetings and cancel them than it is to go back and try to add special meetings to our agenda. Somehow that always throws up red flags. people say and and you know we will have closed sessions because we are stock talking about property acquisitions and we will have closed sessions and we didn't want to hold meetings just to go into a closed session and then the public wonder why they hold that meeting what are they talking about what's so secretive so because of that it's much easier just to schedule a meeting meeting for the month, cancel it if we don't need to meet, rather than have a special meeting. So having said that, are there any other questions or comments about that? And you should have a whole page with those. If there are not any questions or comments, I will entertain a motion to formally approve this schedule of meetings for 2019. Hint, hint. I'd like to make a motion to adopt the schedule for 2019. The motion has been made. Do I hear a second? Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposition? Unanimous. Thank you. Now we have some new business. And I have talked to several of you about our appointing standing committees. Beth also attached that page to your packet that came to you, and it's about establishing rural land management board committees. Our bylaws and the ordinance allow, and that's in your packet. You can find that page somewhere as well, that the chair may appoint committees composed of rural land board members or citizens or a combination, And there is one standing committee, and that is our education and outreach. And the other committees we have talked about, some of us needing, are we've already had some discussions about budget and finance. In the past, you'll note in the meetings, in the minutes from the last meeting, the former chair said that they did not do that, I think, because we are looking at all kinds of funding and closings that it will be imperative that we do look at our budget and our finances one of the committees we all always have ongoing ordinances and plan oversight that needs to be discussed and then a very important committee are their applications review and donations as you know we're getting ready to have a workshop which we'll talk about in a minute to discuss our internal audit and the applications one of the things that they talked about in there were the applications so we the committee can help work with beth in reviewing those applications and then we need some of you and people out in the community to help us look at donations and people applying to this program so those are the four committees one standing and three ad hoc that i have suggested i have already talked to zach and he's talked to heedley who have agreed on our the ordinance does say if you read this our bylaws that the committees the chair of the committees needs to be a member of our board but that the other members of the committee may be within or without so i've talked to zachary who's talked Dr. Healy, and they're willing to co-chair the education public relations. And Zach has talked to, on top of the names you have listed here, Melissa Brown, Walt Gaffield, Robin Owens, Meredith Price, and John McNamara on our board has just said he would be willing to serve on that as well for our education public relations committee. I've talked to Don, and since he and Phil Meyer are our treasurers, They've agreed to chair, co-chair the budget and finance. Mariana and Frank Penn, who have just gone off the board and have been here for years, have worked with budgets and understand what we need in the funding line. They've agreed to serve. For the ordinance oversight, Mary Ann, Dee Dee Delaney, has agreed to chair that. And Knox Van Ugel has agreed to serve with her. and a couple of other people have said they would, but they have not confirmed that. And then the applications, Will Mayer has agreed to chair that, and we have two people who have agreed to serve who have easements on their properties, who have been through the application process and are willing to look at those applications and see if we need to update those or what changes, if any, we need to make. and that's Elizabeth Jensen and Mary Diane Hanna. Is there anyone else sitting here? I was hoping some of our members who have excused absences today would be here because we have a banker and some people who know a whole lot about money I was hoping would agree to serve on at least our Budget and Finance Committee. Are any of the rest of you who are here willing to serve on these committees or have other names? Gloria, Dennis Anderson has agreed also to serve on the Budget and Finance Committee. Fantastic. He was one of the people I had hoped to do. I haven't gotten a full answer from our former chair, Greg Bibb. He's in Florida, and I haven't really received an answer. Great. Frank Penn, I think, is going to also serve. Okay. Yes. Sorry. Yeah. Sorry. So Dennis did agree. I assured him we wouldn't be meeting weekly. No. And I think once. That was really the rub at some of these meetings. I understand your reason for these meetings and for the committees, but I assure members of these committees that we've appointed, these are, I think, I anticipate them being fairly infrequent, but, you know, with substance when we do meet. So I don't want to take up people's precious time. If you'll notice at the very top of what I had her include, It says these are committees for 2019. So I envision these starting now, and all of the goals that I'm assigning or asking people to work toward envision being completed this year. And hopefully the budget and finance will have their suggestions put together quickly to pass on to the mayor to include in anything that she needs to do. Are there any other names to add to this? If not, I would, Chair would entertain a motion to accept the Chairs and the committee members as discussed and as listed on these sheets of paper. So moved. Is there a second? Second. Motion's been made and seconded. Any other comments? All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Thank you. And I think this is a great thing for us to do. I think that it will be a big help, and I think it puts us into a serious working board. Oh, did it work? Some of them didn't work very well last time. John voted earlier, and he wasn't. I looked, and he wasn't. I'm Jennifer. So I think John voted earlier. In fact, he was here. He's been here since the beginning. He says counting yes. The next thing on the agenda, moving along, is our fundraising account. And I'll let Beth tell you a little bit more about this. This is an account that's been in place for a long time, money that we put with the foundation when they were doing the educational film video, and they've contacted us a little late, I might add, about the money that was left in there and about us giving them X number of dollars annually to keep the money in place. Beth has talked to them, and I'm going to let her continue. so the account we opened was in 2013 and it was to raise money for the video and Don was actively involved in the treasurer at the time and so he and I were the ones who were often working with the Bluegrass Community Foundation and so we raised money for the one event and paid that to bullhorn for our video and we had just around 700 500 left it has just stayed there since that was a one-time fundraising project and there actually is a 250 dollar fee they will charge us to keep it there per year and we don't have the money to pay that so we are probably going to move it to central bank and greg bibbs said that we can open it there with as a nonprofit without any type of fee and so what we need to do is authorize Gloria as the chair to move the money as needed we're still waiting on a couple of answers from Bluegrass Community Foundation but if we absolutely need to move it we would want to go ahead and authorize Gloria to be able to do that for on behalf of the board is there any discussion about this i just have a question that i'm curious about uh beth if we'd had could we've had that money in central bank in the beginning and not had any as a non-profit i mean i never i never thought about this greg was on board could we have done that then i don't know that either i wondered that because the contract was signed before I came when Billy was still here. Right. And it may be because we were dispensing payments, and they are set up to work with nonprofits. I think we were being very careful to firewall between the program and that separate sort of private-funded awareness. I think so. That's probably why it went through the Bluegrass Community Foundation. Yes. I'm just thinking of, I'm tight. I'm just thinking about. I know. Keep money for the program. We're all tight when it comes to our money. And we didn't want to just give them $250 for this year when that would take the whole thing and we might need it for the education, the PR, all kinds of things. And Beth is actually checking to see because she had in the file a letter written initially when there was no fee. And in the interim, they have charged a fee over the last couple of years. which we didn't really know about and the when when the notice came it went to the former director who hasn't been here for a while who forwarded to me and that was when i contacted some of you because i was not involved in raising that money so she's also seeing if we cannot also retrieve some of the fee they've charged over the last little bit in which case that will go a long way to helping the our pr education committee so the chair will entertain a motion about if need be should we move that uh the the treasurer would move that the chair moves that money into into the new account and and out of the fee bearing account thank you that motion has been made and john seconded it and may i propose an amendment yes please to that motion I would also authorize our chair to implore the Bluegrass Community Foundation to refund any fees that they see fit. And Beth actually has written that letter and has requested that and has a copy of the original letter that she's sent with that I think is that correct yes so that has been done the Motion's been made and seconded. No discussion. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. One thing I have added to our agenda. From now on, there will be a chair report, and I'll tell you what I've been up to, and there will be a staff report, and Beth will tell us what she's been up to. And after this month, considering what you all just voted for, we will have committee reports. And I'll like for each of you to file and make a simple statement at each of our meetings about whatever you've been up to. So we'll know what's going on and everybody will be abreast of what we're doing in the report. So next on this is the chair report. and the Planning and Public Safety Committee is expected to continue their review of the PDR at their February 5th meeting. And Beth will report back to the council, and by the way, one of our council members, thank you for coming, Kathy Plowman. They voted back in December that they concurred, we did, with the council's recommendation to add a council member and two council-appointed seats, and they've looked at that, and that will move on. The next thing I want to do is announce and put this on your schedule of meetings, please, that we will have a work session on Wednesday, February the 13th at 2 p.m., and it's going to be in the third floor over at the Phoenix Building. The reason for that is, if you'll recall, those of you who were on the board, Will and I were not, but in the minutes back at the October meeting when the internal audit came out, the minutes stated that they would have a work session to discuss the internal audit, at least the high-priority items that were on that, and we would have a work session to carry on with that and make sure that those requests and recommendations were followed through. So we're going to do that. We're going to have that work session, workshop, on Wednesday, February the 13th at 2 p.m. to do that. So please mark your calendar. I don't anticipate that that will take very long. There are five recommendations, some of which are fairly simple to do and are in-house things. So please do that. The other thing I've done is I've met with Law and Beth, and we've talked about various and sundry things that we needed to discuss. And I've talked with some of you, as you well know individually, a few board members about serving on committees and finding committee members and sort of what we would be expecting. And I've met with Beth or talked to her at least once daily since our last meeting, sometimes numerous times. and the one outside meeting I've attended on our behalf was the Farm Bureau board meeting and Nick was there and he said it was okay and I said what I should have. So I have not attended anything else on our behalf, but I will try to tell you all always when the Farm Bureau meetings are and I intend to attend each and every one of their monthly board meetings if at all possible. And that's my report and Beth. okay thank you um so first on my report is that we closed a 90 acre farm on january 11th 2019 which brought our total acreage to 29 760 acres and that's the announcement i sent out to you all earlier this month i did participate in a webinar earlier this month that the american farmland trust put on about the 2018 Farm Bill. And there are some really new, there's some positive changes that have come about in that Farm Bill that will be good for our program. I've discussed those a little with Gloria and now that the federal government has reopened NRCS, we'll be able to get some guidance from their national headquarters and we'll be talking with them and then have an update for the board at one of our upcoming meetings about some of the changes that are are coming about but they're all good so no negative changes with the farm bill and as Gloria said we've had we've been working together quite a bit and it's been going great we feel like we have a lot of good things on the horizon for this year i'm finalizing our presentation to the council for next week and Gloria's been consulting on that and i we will send it out to you all so that you see it before Tuesday's presentation the city advertised for the position of planning commissioner and that was a three-week posting i believe that just closed um so we'll keep you all posted as that as things develop sally hamilton who is our cao is in the back there she is acting commissioner and wearing many hats and um so she is overseeing us right now and um so if you all haven't met sally there she that's her um and that concludes my report for today so thank you all and i appreciate you all coming out in this bitter cold i'll say that as do i thank you sally thank you for coming with is there anything you'd like to say as as this board knows uh the original ordinance said that we would be under the cao and i'm very supportive of that so um to just let you know we did close all our applications yesterday and we received 21 applications for planning commissioner and uh the mayor is is very anxious about this position she considers it one of the most important positions in in the government so um we will start interviewing very shortly for this they are now screening the applications and so i would hope that by um in another month we will we will be able to have a new commissioner of planning, I hope, for you. Thank you. As your plate is already pretty full without that. I'm not very good at planning, but I'll try to do whatever you all need. Thank you. The one thing I will add to what Beth said is from now on we're going to try, as we close on these farms to welcome the new folks into the PDR program with their easements and ask some of them to please come and give us a short, very short, little presentation, however they want to do it, PowerPoint or slides, or just talk about their farm and what's significant about it and what we've saved. And next month, our farm that we just closed on this month, Beth and I did both attend the closing, she is going to come in February and will make a presentation about our most recent closing. So be sure and come and thank them as well. Are there any public comments? Anybody out here need to say anything or want to say anything? Anything else before we go into closed session? No? Then I'm going to ask for a motion and a second to go into closed session pursuant to KRS 618101B to discuss the potential acquisition of a real property interest. And the public discussion cannot be because of the value and the closed nature of that request. So, is there a motion? Motion has been made. Is there a second? And a second. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. All in favor. Thank you. I cover everything. Thank you. Thank you. We are back into session, and the chair will entertain. We're going to have three motions, the first of which is a motion to authorize the staff to request $2.1 million in the FY 2020 budget. Is there a motion and a second for that? Motion has been made and seconded. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Then come up to vote. The next, oh there you go, okay. Did your screens come up so you could vote? Well, that's what came up, it's 2.1. Why does it say 2? Well because the motion is different from what she had drafted, so it's 2.1. On the record, 2.1, that's automatic, right? The record should reflect that our request is for 2.1. The second motion is the authorization to terminate contract from Farm 10-2011 without penalty as discussed in closed session. There's a motion. Is there a second? Second. And the next. That one's yours? looking for the other and all in favor please signify by saying aye aye opposed no votes well it's unanimous whether it's coming up or not and then the next motion is to have a a special meeting scheduled for prior to our workshop on February the 13th at 1.30 p.m. And this will be, you already have the room in the building in the Phoenix Building, third floor. And our purpose is to have to discuss property acquisition in closed session, a special meeting to discuss that. So moved. Motion's been made. Can we hold for just a second while I add this? Sure. We're holding just a second while she adds this in. Yes, at 1.30 in the Phoenix Building third floor conference room. Motion to act. All right, the motion is on the screen. Add at 1.30 on there. We'll have a special meeting at 1.30 to discuss property acquisition on February 13th on the third floor of the Phoenix building. So moved. Is there a second? Second. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. And you might just speak if it doesn't come up yet. All in favor. Any opposition? All right, it's unanimous. And our goal has to be to try to do these meetings as quickly and as efficiently as we can. And I'll note for the record that it is not quite 5 o'clock. So we have done that. Thank you all for coming out on a really cold day. Thank you very much. I appreciate your attendance. Is there a motion to adjourn? Second. Second? We are adjourned. 456. Thank you. . I'm going to go to the next episode.