# Council Work Session - Virtual Meeting Packet - January 19, 2021 > Auto-transcribed civic record · January 19, 2021 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/5276 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/5276?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2021-01-19 - **Last revised**: January 19, 2021 - **Length**: 2,437 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 held a virtual meeting on January 19, 2021, at 3:00 PM, presided over by Mayor Linda Gorton. The council addressed four agenda items during the session, taking three motions to a vote. No public comments were heard during the meeting. The council approved the Summary and New Business items, received an informational presentation on Continuing Business, and approved the Capacity Assurance Program Audit Results. The meeting was conducted entirely in a virtual format. ## Attendance **Present:** - Mayor Linda Gorton - McCurn - Ellinger - J. Brown - Worley - Lamb - Plomin - Kay - Kloiber - Moloney - Reynolds - Bledsoe - Farmer - Swanson - Higgins-Hord - F. Brown **Absent:** - Mossotti **Late:** None recorded ## Votes and Decisions The meeting included three motions, all of which passed by voice vote. **Approval of New Business** [timestamp: 0:01:03] Plomin moved to approve new business, seconded by Lamb. The motion passed by voice vote. Moloney voted against the motion. **Approval of the Capacity Assurance Plan Audit** [timestamp: 0:03:07] Kay moved to approve the Capacity Assurance Plan Audit, seconded by McCurn. The motion passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition. **Motion to Place Capacity Assurance Audit on the Docket** [timestamp: 0:04:13] Fred Brown moved to place the Capacity Assurance Audit on the docket, seconded by Kay. The motion passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition. ## Budget and Financial Actions The meeting included approval of six financial items totaling approximately $2.6 million in contracts and grants: **Training Services** - **L0046-21**: First Aid Training provided by the Red Cross for three Streets & Roads employees — $990.00 **Roadway Reimbursements** - **L0052-21**: Reimbursement to Kentucky American Water Company for roadway milling and paving — $57,145.03 - **L0052-21**: Reimbursement to Columbia Gas of Kentucky for roadway milling and paving — $29,877.48 **Federal Grant** - **L0064-21**: Federal funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to replace and purchase Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBAs) — $2,000,000 **Town Branch Commons Project Services** - **L0065-21**: Additional construction engineering and observation services for Town Branch Commons provided by AECOM Technical Services, Inc. — $402,500 - **L0066-21**: Construction administration services for the Town Branch Commons Corridor project provided by Gresham Smith and Partners — $127,554 ## Contested Items During the approval of new business, a split vote occurred regarding items d and e. Council member Moloney voted against these items, while the remainder of the council supported them. The items were ultimately approved despite Moloney's dissent. ## Approval of Summary The meeting included discussion and approval of the December 1, 2020 work session summary. Key speakers on this agenda item were Plomin and Kay. The summary was approved by the body. ## New Business During the New Business segment, the meeting addressed new items for discussion and approval. [timestamp: 00:01:03] **Key Participants** Plomin and Lamb led the discussion on new business matters. **Outcome** The new business items presented were approved by the meeting. ## Continuing Business/Presentations Fred Brown presented a summary from the Environmental Quality & Public Works Committee meeting held on October 6, 2020. [timestamp: 00:01:34] This agenda item was informational in nature, with no formal action or debate recorded. The presentation covered the committee's work and discussions from the October meeting, providing an update to the broader body on environmental quality and public works matters that had been addressed. ## Capacity Assurance Program Audit Results Kay and McCurn presented the Capacity Assurance Program Audit results to the meeting [timestamp: 00:03:07]. The presentation covered the audit findings for the program. Following the presentation, the audit results were put to a vote and approved by the body. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of new business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of the Capacity Assurance Plan Audit - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Motion to place Capacity Assurance Audit on the docket --- ## Full transcript Yeah, there's you, Commissioner Albach. We had talked earlier, or in the fall, about these utility companies and sharing some of the expense that we have related to road paving. And we also talked about the Fayette County School and maybe the University of Kentucky as being some partners sometimes in paving and streets. Did any of that, anything else come up from that discussion? Not specifically for this project. We do work with UK from time to time. And they did do a little bit of work on Avenue of Champions before the paving was completed, but their percentage was so low that it was not included. Okay. But I know this is a little separate, but it's kind of a partnership of the same thing. So that's all I had. Thanks, Mayor. Okay. Thank you. Does anyone else have a question about new business? all right all those in favor of approving new business please raise your hand all right anyone opposed same sign i'm against d and e yes on the rest okay uh stacy did you get that i'm sure you did yes ma'am thank you okay all right that those all pass and next is continuing business presentations and i this is environmental quality and public works of october 6th council member fred brown are you giving that as the new chair i certainly can uh let me see what page it's on page 13 i think I see it back here. Okay. We had the first item we had approval of the September 1, 2020 committee summary, and that was approved without dissent. And then we had a review of the RFI for routing software that we discussed on that. No further comments or any motions were made. And then we had the annual snow and ice removal plan that we have every year. And that was just some discussion there. And there was no motions that came out of that particular item. Then we had an environmental education. And we discussed that particular item and no items to make a motion came out of that. Then we had the capacity assurance program audit results. and out of that we had a motion by Vice Mayor Kay to approve the capacity assurance plan audit seconded by McCurran the motion passed without dissent I imagine this is just a formality that we have to approve this plan I guess that's the reason we made a motion there and then we discussed items referred to committee and we're going to that's an ongoing discussion in the new year. So that's all I have to report there. Thank you, Mayor. Okay, thank you very much. Councilmember Maloney, did you have a question? I saw your hand up. No? Okay. Thank you very much. Are there any questions for Councilmember Brown? All right. I'm sorry, I had my hand up. Vice Mayor, your blue hand isn't showing. I'm not getting a blue hand. I had it up. I'm sorry. Anyway, so on the motion that Councilmember Brown just referred to, I believe that needs to be approved. It needs to go on the docket. So you need a motion to place it on the docket. The capacity assurance audit. Yeah, I think that motion is to place it on our docket. Okay, so that would have come from the committee, Councilmember Fred Brown. So we'll need a second. Second. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Is there any question about it? All right, I see none. So the motion is to put that on the docket. All those in favor, please raise your hand. All right, is anyone opposed? Same sign. okay that motion passes thank you very much for that point um next is council reports so if you can log in please log in your blue hand if you can't show me another hand a yellow one or a council member plowman i guess i guess the blue hands are gone i show them all coming coming up they're all yellow oh i've got five blue ones all right good okay councilmember plumbin okay thank you mayor i just wanted to um follow up last week i mentioned that the breaking the bronze ceiling monument was going to be recognized by receiving this year's Spirit Award. So it will be broadcast live at noon. The mayor's state of the city is also in that same viewing. And we'll be at 12 noon. And I think you follow us, Mayor, 1215. And it will be on, of course, our government channel, channel 185 spectrum channel three metronet and channel three wind stream so i know you all want to tune in to hear the state of the city but tune it a little bit earlier and you can see our our award being presented so thank you mayor thank you and i think um if i'm if i'm correct it is an official council meeting the state of the government so everybody needs to be there um just so you know it's an official meeting thank you council member james brown council member james brown your hand is up there you are thank you thank you mayor i lost control of my computer for a second Thank you, Mayor. I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank the folks on the MLK Holiday Committee for all their efforts, especially with yesterday in the march. Terry Allen of UK has been coordinating that march for, I think, since its inception, and his collaboration with Central Bank Center, and then also our local police department, shouldn't go and recognize. I know there were concerns about safety and some other things, and our police department worked well and communicated with Terry and some of our other partners to make sure that it was a safe, peaceful march yesterday, so thank them for that, and then also for all the council members that attended. I know there's several council members that attend every year and participate, and it goes without saying that that might be one of the things that you're expected to do, but the fact that you take the time to come out and participate, I don't think gets overlooked by folks in our community, as well as the governor, and then other people in our community that come out and participate. I stole this saying from PG Peebles, but MLK Day is one of the most diverse and inclusive days in our city when folks come downtown and participate in the march and I think it says a lot about about our community and about the things that we hold the values that we hold important here in Lexington so I just wanted to say that so thank you mayor and I knew you couldn't participate not and we appreciate the message you sent and I think we'll let you off the hook this year with with all that you went through with your with your surgery so thank you. Thank you I appreciate that I'll be back next year. thank you uh council member lamb thank you mayor um i'm not used to this new screen either where it when you put your hand up it takes and puts you on the top row and then when you take your hand down it drops you and you put you somewhere else and then you have to find yourself again nothing um i really appreciated yesterday to uh council member james brown i i did appreciate it it was a struggle for me to know whether to go because of the pandemic, but I want to applaud everybody that did go and that was very safe. The face coverings, everybody kept good, decent distance, and I just appreciate the coordination that it took and collaboration for that to be pulled off, and it's a very important day to Diana and I as well. I have two items that I would like to place into the General Government and Social Services Committee. The first item is a review of the Civic Lex public comment proposal to determine if amendments should be made to the pre-pandemic public comment process. I so move. Is there a second? Second. Council Member Reynolds seconds. Are there questions? All right. I don't see any. All those in favor, please raise your hand. Is anyone opposed? Same sign. All right, that motion passes. Thank you so much. And then the next item is, it's an item that to share Lexington's non-Lexington Nonprofit Coalition's ideas and partnerships to meet critical community needs now and ensuring a thriving Lexington in the future. I realize that we have a presentation that is coming forward in February at work session, but this is a different item and I just wanted to say that for clarity. I so move. Second. Councilmember Plowman seconds. Are there any questions? All right I see none. All those in favor please show your hand. Anyone opposed? Same sign. All right that motion passes. And thank you all so much for your support on these two items. They'll be forthcoming. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Councilmember Bledsoe. Thank you, Mayor. I just have one item. And I just want to say thank you, Councilmember Brown, for your leadership on all the MLK activities. You did a great job. And that takes a lot of time and effort. And so we appreciate your leadership in helping us know how to be there with you. And then, too, we had some council projects that people have been working on for the last year or so that weren't able to get expended during the timeframe that we had previously said before. So I'd like to amend the Council Project Expenditure Policy adopted pursuant to Resolution No. 227-2016 to extend the date for encumbering project funds to March 31, 2021. Is there a second? Council Member Ellinger? Who seconded? Council Member Murner. Thank you. Is there any discussion of the motion? All right. All those in favor, please raise your hand. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Thank you very much, colleagues, and thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Councilmember Maloney. Thank you, Mayor. I, too, want to come in yesterday. I not only get to walk once, but I got to walk twice. I want to thank Councilmember Kern and Meadowthorpe Neighborhood Association for letting me walk through their Martin Luther King. And it was a lot longer than I thought it would be, but I got my walk out of it. I was surprised I lasted that long, but thank you. Second thing, Mayor, and I asked planning a couple years ago along with Council Member Henson. we had a zone change about where we were taking apartment complex down. As you know, the how important it is to keep affordable housing and rental property up and taking them down to use for gas station. And I don't have a problem putting a gas station in when it's already been a former business, but we just had a similar episode on Vassalle's road. We're taking in one of the nicest structures that I've ever seen. It's built for a long time. A lot of people are going to be displaced for a gas station. And that's going to be the ninth gas station on Vassels Road. I don't mind putting a gas station in what is a business. But when you start taking apartments down, it's a message that Peggy Henson and I brought up a couple years ago. And I know the law, and sometimes the law is not on our side. but it just disturbs me when I see good units like this be tore down for a gas station. And I commend Council Member Reynolds for going down and speak on that. And I appreciate her because it's important that we keep as many apartment complexes we can, especially in certain areas where they're needed. And secondly, Mayor, and I know it's getting to be budget time. and what the new president coming in tomorrow, he has made a promise that he wants to pass the minimum wage up to $15. And as you know, Council Member Mazzotti pushed for the minimum wage to be increased, but that was denied. But the city went on and passed it on the help of you all. I was able to pass that to raise it up to $10. We need to find out how many people are making less than $15 an hour and be prepared for your budget. Because if its minimum wage passes, it's going to be a large impact of funding. And you need to know how many are being funded under the $15 and how much it will cost us in our budget if we ever have to come to that day. What's going to cost us to go up to $15? So I asked you all to, I know I'm just putting it up on your radar out there, but it's very important that we know that we have this kind of money set aside. And if we're going to follow what the president will question, I ask that we be prepared and be proactive on it. So that's all I have. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. I think my team is already on that. And we already know, you know, I've forgotten what year it was that there was a report done to council about wages within government. And most wages were raised at that time to $11. dollars and so we um i appreciate the reminder and that's all you know we're paying attention to all those legislations because they all can impact us so also at the state level so thank you um i don't see any more hands of any color does anyone else have a council report or something to bring up all right there is no mayor's report today and so that brings us to the end of our agenda so if i could have a motion to adjourn so move second thank you vice mayor thank you councilmember plowman all those in favor please raise your hand all right is anyone opposed all right thanks so much we are adjourned have a great evening You never dreamed you could have all you ever wanted Darling, you can have it all with me I've got a big love, wild and free Room to grow as big as your dreams Deep as a river in a raging flood As endless as a star