# Urban County Council - April 14, 2022 > Auto-transcribed civic record · April 14, 2022 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/5552 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/5552?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2022-04-14 - **Last revised**: April 14, 2022 - **Length**: 11,644 words - **Speakers**: Mayor > ⚠️ **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 Urban County Council convened on April 14, 2022, at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers in Lexington, Kentucky, with Mayor Gorton presiding. The meeting addressed five agenda items, all of which were approved by the council. The session included both ceremonial recognitions and substantive budget matters, with council members taking five votes throughout the evening. The meeting also featured five public comments from community members and included presentations related to the agenda items. All business conducted during the meeting resulted in unanimous or majority approval, demonstrating council alignment on the items presented for consideration. ## Attendance The following members were present at the meeting on April 14, 2022: **Present:** • Mayor Gorton • F. Brown • J. Brown • Ellinger • Kay • Kloiber • Lamb • LeGris • McCurn • Moloney • Plomin • Reynolds • Sheehan • Worley • Baxter • Bledsoe All 16 members were in attendance with no absences or late arrivals recorded. ## Votes and Decisions The Council took action on five items during the April 14, 2022 meeting, with all measures passing unanimously. **Motion 0367-22** - Approval of the Minutes of the March 17, 2022 Council Meeting [timestamp: 00:00] Motioned by Baxter and seconded by Plomin, this item passed unanimously with 15 ayes and 0 nays. All council members voted in favor: F. Brown, J. Brown, Ellinger, Kay, Kloiber, Lamb, LeGris, McCurn, Moloney, Plomin, Reynolds, Sheehan, Worley, Baxter, and Bledsoe. **Motion 0298-22** - Amending certain budgets for municipal expenditures, FY 2022 Schedule No. 33 [timestamp: 01:00] Motioned by Ellinger and seconded by Plomin, this budget amendment passed by roll call vote with 15 ayes and 0 nays. All 15 council members voted in favor. **Motion 0299-22** - Amending budgets for ARPA funds, Schedule No. 34 [timestamp: 01:30] Motioned by Ellinger and seconded by Plomin, this ARPA budget amendment also passed by roll call vote with 15 ayes and 0 nays. All council members supported the measure. **Motion 0340-22** - Resolution for Government Center Garage Improvements [timestamp: 02:00] Motioned by Lamb and seconded by Ellinger, this resolution passed unanimously with 15 ayes and 0 nays. All council members voted in favor of the garage improvement project. **Motion 0315-22** - Resolution for enhanced security services with Downtown Lexington Management District [timestamp: 02:30] Motioned by LeGris and seconded by Worley, this security services resolution passed unanimously with 15 ayes and 0 nays. All 15 council members supported the enhanced downtown security partnership. ## Budget and Financial Actions The meeting addressed two significant financial contracts totaling $454,075 in expenditures. **Government Center Garage Improvements - $424,075** Resolution 0340-22 authorized a contract with Buckeye Construction & Restoration, Ltd. for $424,075 to perform improvements to the Government Center Garage. This represents the largest financial commitment discussed during the meeting. **Enhanced Security Services - $30,000** Resolution 0315-22 approved a $30,000 contract with the Downtown Lexington Management District for enhanced security services. This agreement will provide additional security coverage in the downtown area through the established management district. Both resolutions represent ongoing investments in city infrastructure and public safety, with the garage improvements addressing facility maintenance needs and the security services contract enhancing downtown safety measures. ## Public Comment Five community members addressed the council during public comment, all focusing on staffing and working conditions at the local jail facility. **Lori Harris** [timestamp: 12:00] spoke about the personal impact of jail staffing shortages on families. She expressed concern about how her husband's long working hours at the jail were affecting their family life and urged the council to address staffing needs. **Steve Parker** [timestamp: 13:00] invited council members to visit the jail facility to observe conditions firsthand. His comments focused on the need for officials to see the current state of jail operations directly. **Ann Schutz** [timestamp: 14:00] shared her personal experiences working extended hours due to understaffing challenges. She described the difficulties faced by jail staff as a result of insufficient personnel levels. **James Knowlton** [timestamp: 15:00] provided details about dangerous and exhausting working conditions at the jail. He attributed these conditions directly to understaffing issues affecting the facility. **Emily Brian** [timestamp: 16:00] concluded the public comment period by describing what she characterized as severe understaffing and safety issues at the jail. She called for immediate action from the council to address the crisis. All five speakers focused their remarks on jail-related concerns, specifically highlighting understaffing problems, worker safety issues, and the impact on both employees and their families. The comments presented a consistent message about the need for increased staffing levels and improved working conditions at the jail facility. ## Appointments The meeting included appointments and reappointments to various city boards and commissions. **New Appointments:** • Michele Hill was appointed to the Alarm Advisory Board • Patricia Alcorn, Stephen Overstreet, and Priscilla Willis were appointed to the Black & Williams Neighborhood Community Center Board • Carolyn Dunn and Charles Stewart were appointed to the Charles Young Center Advisory Board • Michelle Carter was appointed to the Commission on Veterans' Affairs • Nancy Wiser was appointed to the Lexington Center Corporation Board of Directors • David Osborne was appointed to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board • Melody Ryan was appointed to the Sister Cities Program Commission • Bob McLaughlin was appointed to the Social Services Advisory Board **Reappointments:** • Lane Boldman was reappointed to the Corridors Commission • Denise O'Meara and Russ Turpin were reappointed to the Greenspace Commission • Sharon Reed was reappointed to the Picnic with the Pops Commission • Gloria Martin and William Mayer were reappointed to the Rural Land Management Board • Koffi Akakpo was reappointed to the Transit Authority Board The appointments covered a wide range of municipal functions, from community centers and recreational facilities to transportation and veterans' services. Several boards received multiple new members, including the Black & Williams Neighborhood Community Center Board and Charles Young Center Advisory Board, each receiving two to three new appointees. ## Contested Items The primary contested item during the April 14, 2022 meeting centered on jail staffing and overtime issues, which drew significant community opposition and concern. **Jail Staffing and Overtime** Multiple members of the public voiced strong concerns about severe understaffing problems and excessive overtime at the county jail during the public comment period. Community members highlighted the critical nature of the staffing shortage and called for immediate action from the governing body to address what they characterized as unsafe working conditions for jail staff. The public comments emphasized the urgency of the situation, with speakers expressing concerns about both employee safety and the overall operational integrity of the jail facility. Citizens called attention to the impact of chronic understaffing on current employees who are required to work excessive overtime hours to maintain basic operations. The nature of the opposition was focused on demanding prompt governmental response to what community members viewed as a crisis situation requiring immediate intervention. Speakers urged officials to take concrete steps to resolve the staffing shortage and reduce the reliance on overtime work that was placing strain on jail personnel. While the specific outcome or official response to these concerns was not detailed in the available meeting data, the consistent theme from multiple public commenters demonstrated significant community pressure on local officials to address the jail's operational challenges. The contested nature of this item stemmed from the community's perception that current staffing levels were inadequate and potentially dangerous, requiring urgent attention from the governing body. *Note: Specific transcript timestamps were not available in the provided meeting data for this contested item.* ## Honoring NCAA Track Champion Abby Steiner [timestamp: 00:30] Mayor Gorton presented agenda item 0302-22 to honor NCAA track and field champion Abby Steiner for her outstanding athletic achievements. During the presentation, Mayor Gorton officially declared April 14, 2022, as "Abby Steiner Day" in Lexington, recognizing Steiner's exceptional performance in collegiate track and field competition. The agenda item was structured as a ceremonial presentation to acknowledge Steiner's accomplishments as an NCAA champion. Both Mayor Gorton and Abby Steiner participated as key speakers during this recognition ceremony. The proclamation was approved without debate or opposition, reflecting the community's unanimous support for honoring the local athletic champion. The designation of April 14, 2022, as Abby Steiner Day serves as an official municipal recognition of her contributions to collegiate athletics and her representation of Lexington on the national stage. This ceremonial agenda item concluded successfully with the formal adoption of the proclamation honoring Steiner's NCAA track and field championship achievements. ## 2022 Dr. Rice C. Leach Public Health Hero Award [timestamp: 01:00] The city presented the 2022 Dr. Rice C. Leach Public Health Hero Award to two recipients in recognition of their outstanding contributions to public health. Mayor Gorton presented the awards to Dr. Sharon Walsh and Chief Marc Bramlage during this ceremonial agenda item. The Dr. Rice C. Leach Public Health Hero Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing public health in the community. Both recipients were recognized for their dedicated service and impact on community health outcomes. Dr. Sharon Walsh and Chief Marc Bramlage were acknowledged for their respective roles in promoting and protecting public health. The presentation highlighted their contributions to the community's wellbeing and their commitment to public health initiatives. The award presentation was approved without discussion, reflecting the unanimous support for recognizing these public health champions. Mayor Gorton served as the primary speaker for this ceremonial item, formally presenting the awards to both recipients. This agenda item (0304-22) was processed as a presentation and successfully concluded with the formal recognition of both award recipients for their public health service to the community. ## Amending Budgets for Municipal Expenditures [timestamp: 01:30] The council considered Ordinance 0298-22, which proposed amendments to municipal budgets to reflect current expenditure requirements. The ordinance was designed to adjust existing budget allocations to better align with the city's operational needs. Key speakers during the discussion included Ellinger and Plomin, who presented the rationale for the budget amendments. The speakers outlined the specific areas where budget adjustments were necessary to accommodate current municipal spending patterns and requirements. The ordinance addressed the need to realign budget categories to ensure adequate funding for ongoing municipal operations. The proposed changes were presented as necessary adjustments to maintain effective city services and meet current expenditure demands. Following the presentation and discussion, the council voted to approve Ordinance 0298-22. The approval allows the city to implement the budget amendments as outlined in the ordinance, ensuring that municipal expenditures can proceed according to current operational requirements. The successful passage of this ordinance provides the city with the budgetary flexibility needed to address immediate spending needs while maintaining fiscal responsibility in municipal operations. --- ## Decisions - **0367-22** — passed (15-0): Approval of the Minutes of the March 17, 2022 Council Meeting - **0298-22** — passed (15-0): Amending certain budgets for municipal expenditures, FY 2022 Schedule No. 33 - **0299-22** — passed (15-0): Amending budgets for ARPA funds, Schedule No. 34 - **0340-22** — passed (15-0): Resolution for Government Center Garage Improvements - **0315-22** — passed (15-0): Resolution for enhanced security services with Downtown Lexington Management District --- ## Full transcript Watching you, watching you, watching you You play with words, you play with Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. The End ¶¶ ¶¶ The End Welcome, everyone. I'd like to go ahead and call to order the Urban County Council meeting of April 14th, 2022. I'll ask the clerk, thank you, to call the roll. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Fred Brown? Here. Mr. James Brown? Here. Mr. Ellinger? Here. Vice Mayor Kay? Here. Mr. Kuiber? Ms. Lamb? Here. Ms. Legree? Here. Mr. McKern? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Maloney? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Plowman? Here. Ms. Reynolds? Here. Ms. Sheehan? Here. Mr. Worley? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Baxter? Yes, ma'am. And Ms. Bledsoe? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. And Mr. Kuiber? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you very much. We have a quorum. So next I'd like to welcome Jared Underwood to the podium. He is the community life pastor at Emanuel Baptist Church and is going to offer our invocation. Welcome. Thank you. Let's bow for a word of prayer. Our Father who is in heaven, we thank you so much for giving us life, for giving us breath today, and for holding us together. I thank you that you sit enthroned in heaven, ruling over all things justly every single day, every single moment, and that we can rest knowing that you are in control and that nothing surprises you. Thank you for sending your son, Jesus, to this earth to live the life that we were supposed to but couldn't, and to die the death on a cross in our place, the death that we deserve. And it's because of his resurrection, the powers of death and sin have no sting on those who trust in him alone. And so I thank you, Father, that you have appointed these leaders for our city. And I ask that there would be unity in this room tonight. And that just as, Father, as you are one with the Spirit and one with the Son, we pray that your kingdom would come and your good and perfect will would be done here in this room tonight as it is in heaven. And I pray that you would protect the hearts and the minds of these leaders from the schemes of the enemy, but that there would be the fruits of the spirit here tonight. I pray that you would bless their families, their households. God, and may all that is done tonight be for your honor and for your glory. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much. We really appreciate it. Next, council members, are the minutes of March 17th. For approval, is there a motion? Second. Thank you, Council Member Baxter and then Council Member Plowman. Are there any questions? All right. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes, and now we'll go to our presentations. Is Abby Steiner here? There you are. Yay. Yay. Will you come stand beside me? How are you? Good. How are you? This is a wonderful presentation that we have tonight. and you've probably read about Abby in the news recently. I'm really honored to be joined this evening by a true superstar, a fellow Ohio native who moved to Lexington to attend the University of Kentucky. Abby Steiner is a track and field sensation. Abby has done some really incredible things. In March, she won her second NCAA championship and set an indoor championship record in the women's 200 meter for her winning time of 22.16 seconds. Pretty incredible, right? You were on fire. Abby has accomplished a lot at Kentucky on the track, but she's also made sure to dedicate herself in the classroom, too. She's an academic All-American and was recently named the SEC Indoor Scholar Athlete of the Year. Abby, you are a role model for young women everywhere. and I know you're going to continue to do great things and with that I have a proclamation to read and then I'll ask if you want to say a few words, okay? All right. Whereas Abby Steiner, and I have a daughter named Abby, by the way. We have a lot of connection. Whereas Abby Steiner, a six-time All-American senior track and field sprinter, at the University of Kentucky has proven herself time and time again to be an exceptional talent. And whereas Abby's accomplishments include winning two NCAA championships and three SEC championships, breaking the American record in the indoor 200 meter, becoming number two all-time in the world in the indoor 200 meter, and holding collegiate records in both the indoor 200 meter and the indoor 300 meter. And whereas Abby has also dedicated herself to academics and was named the 2022 SEC Indoor Scholar Athlete of the Year and a 2021 Academic All-American. And whereas, having been named the 2022 National Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and the 2022 SEC Indoor Women's Runner of the Year, the world is clearly at Abby's feet. And whereas Abby is an inspiration to young girls in Lexington, across Kentucky, and throughout the country, and we know she will continue to do great things, Now, therefore, I, Linda Gorton, mayor of Lexington, do hereby declare April 14, 2022 Day, Abby Steiner Day in Lexington. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Awesome. Thank you. We had trouble putting all your accomplishments on here. Well, thank you so much. Sure. Yeah. So, would you like to say a few words? Yeah, I will. All right. Thank you so much, everyone, for having me and for honoring me to this day. it's been my privilege to represent the University of Kentucky these past four years and I'm looking forward to some more fast times this outdoor season so thank you guys so much. That's great. Shall we get a photo with the council? I told Abby we had trouble fitting all her accomplishments on the plaque. That's great. All right. Now, tonight we welcome our new Commissioner of Health, Dr. Joel McCullough. Welcome. And the two recipients of this year's Dr. Rice C. Leach Public Health Hero Award. Would you all like to join me at the podium? Sharon, don't be shy. Do you want to come up, Dr. McCullough? Don't be shy. So this year, the Lexington Fayette County Health Department has honored Battalion Chief Mark Bramlage and Dr. Sharon Walsh with its Public Health Hero Award. As you know, Dr. Rice-Leach served Lexington as a Commissioner of Health and a public health physician for more than 50 years. He was a great advocate for our community and equal access to health care. Both of this year's award recipients exemplify this same trait by doing great things for our community's public health. I want to welcome Dr. McCullough to the podium to say a few words about this year's award recipients, and afterward I'll have some special proclamations. Dr. McCullough? Welcome. Thank you, Mayor Gordon. Again, my name is Joel McCullough. I'm the commissioner here in Lexington. I've been here for two months and it's an honor to be here tonight to announce the award winners. I'd like to start with Dr. Sharon Walsh. Dr. Walsh's research combating the opioid epidemic has undoubtedly saved lives here in Lexington, Kentucky, and ultimately in the rest of the nation. The opioid epidemic was officially first declared a national public health emergency in October of 2017. and most recently the national public health emergency was renewed on April 4th of this year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It's clear that a national emergency exists when you examine the data on opioid use and abuse and death. Since 1999, the number of opioid deaths have over-quadrupled in the U.S., And in 2019, there were over 70,000 overdose deaths that occurred in the U.S., and about 70% of those were related to opioids. The Healing Communities Study at the University of Kentucky put UK at the forefront of leaders finding long-term sustainable solutions to this epidemic. Dr. Walsh and her colleagues will help keep people alive, families together, and makes her a true public health hero. And a few words about Chief Bramlage. This public health agency could not have provided as many COVID vaccinations without the partnership of Chief Bramlage and his team. From our very first COVID vaccination clinic in December of 2020 through June of 2021, we gave over 28,000 vaccinations at various venues, including 28 mass clinics and 24 community clinics. Chief Bramlage helped with the planning of each of these events and was hands-on throughout. out. He'd fill syringes if needed, gave shots, and he would do anything necessary to make the clinic successful. At one of the events, his team spent over an hour with a special needs child who was afraid of receiving the COVID vaccine. His team provided individual attention of this frightened child with care and compassion. Throughout the pandemic, Chief Brian Lynch offered world-class service, and that should make everyone in Lexington proud, and it shows that he deserves to be called a true public health hero. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Dr. McCullough, and I want to thank you and your team for the amazing partnership we have had during the past few years, and I know you've got some of your buddies here. from the health department who have helped make it work. And together, the city and the health department took a very positive, calm, thorough approach to guiding our residents safely through COVID-19. We were able to develop programs that help provide easy access to testing and vaccinations in underserved areas. These programs brought state and national attention. to the successes we've had, including Fayette County being the highest vaccinated county in Kentucky. Now, I want to welcome to the podium Dr. Sharon Walsh, and it's my pleasure to present you with a proclamation. How are you? I'm great. Thank you. How are you? I'm well. Thank you. I'm going to put this up here. Whereas Sharon Walsh, Ph.D., is a professor of behavioral science, psychiatry, pharmacology, and pharmaceutical sciences in the colleges of medicine and pharmacy at the University of Kentucky, and whereas Dr. Walsh is also director of the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, serving as the principal investigator on the landmark $87 million healing community study, the largest grant ever received by the University of Kentucky, to focus on the reduction of opioid overdose deaths. And whereas through her leadership, the study has established partnerships with 27 behavioral and health care agencies and eight criminal justice agencies in Fayette County to implement an integrated set of evidence-based practices to combat the opioid epidemic. and whereas her team has provided overdose education and distributed more than 4,600 naloxone kits and whereas Dr. Walsh was awarded the 2022 Dr. Rice C. Leach Public Health Hero Award by the Lexington Fayette County Health Department in honor of her service and dedication to improving the health of Lexington residents. Now, therefore, I, Linda Gorton, Mayor of Lexington, do hereby declare April 14, 2022, Dr. Sharon Walsh Day in Lexington. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We not only have the proclamation, but the actual hero award. Yes. Thanks so much. Thank you. You're welcome. Would you like to say anything? I will say just a few words. Okay. Thank you for taking those back. Thank you all for having me here tonight. It's a really great honor. I am personally very honored to receive this award, and I receive it on behalf of everyone who's working so hard to address the opioid epidemic. our team at the University of Kentucky numbers about a hundred very multidisciplinary our critical partners at voices of hope which are also here in Lexington and bluegrass care navigators who are also here in Lexington along with all of our partner agencies which right now number over 130 are currently reaching out to eight counties Fayette County being one of them across the state. And the goal is really to develop a roadmap for other communities so that we can reduce opioid overdose deaths and save lives and save the families of those who are being affected. So I'm very honored to receive this on behalf of all those people who are working for the people that don't really have a voice. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Hello. Most of you all know this man. Thank you so much, Dr. Walsh. And so now I have with me Battalion Chief Mark Bramlage, and I'd like to read this proclamation, and then Dr. McCullough has his hero award. whereas Lexington Fire Battalion Chief Mark Bramlage oversees Lexington's emergency medical services and whereas Chief Bramlage has led his team through a variety of challenges including fire and rescue, patient transport, and overdose response and whereas during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Bramlage has consistently made sure a partnership with the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department has helped maximize response efforts for our community, and whereas Chief Bramlage focused efforts of his team on assisting the health department with a large number of COVID-19 vaccination clinics, resulting in Fayette County being the highest vaccinated County in Kentucky, and whereas Chief Bramlage was awarded the 2022 Dr. Rice C. Leach Public Health Hero Award by the Lexington Fayette County Health Department in honor of his service and dedication to improving the health of Lexington residents, now therefore I, Linda Gorton, Mayor of Lexington, do hereby declare April 14, 2022, Chief Mark Bramlage Day in Lexington congratulations thank you would you like to say a few words I'm both humbled and honored to to accept this award on behalf of the division I'm proud of what our division was able to accomplish you know working with these various offices. I think that we have taken something that is bad as far as the pandemic goes and we've been able to turn it into something positive. I think that we've been able to see how we're able to reach outside of our box in city government in the in the fire department and work with other providers in a wide variety of medical services to be able to treat the citizens that we have. have. I think that puts our department at the cutting edge as we have done in the past and we will continue to do in the future. And that's also, I'm thanking you all for having the faith in us to able to give us the freedom and the flexibility to be able to forge these partnerships and to be able to treat our citizens and treat our citizens better through what we're able to do. Thank you. Thank you very much. We're going to do a picture with the council. Thank you. We're going to get a picture. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. And now it's time for second reading of ordinances. Okay. Ordinance number one, an ordinance amending certain of the budgets of the Licensed and Fair Urban County Government to reflect current requirements for municipal expenditures and appropriating reproofing funds, fiscal year 2022, Schedule number 33. In item two, in order to spending certain of the budgets of the Lexington Fair Urban County Government for council appropriations for various projects from American Rescue Plan Act, ARPA, State and Local Recovery Funds, as approved February 17, 2022, and amended March 15, 2022, and appropriating reproofing funds, Schedule number 34. Thank you. Thank you. Is there a motion to approve? So moved. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Ellinger. I think I heard a second from Council Member Plumman, or who seconded? Seconded. Okay, all right. When you're ready, if you'll take a roll call vote, please. Yes, ma'am. Mr. Fred Brown? Yes. Mr. James Brown? Yes. Mr. Ellinger? Yes, ma'am. Vice Mayor Kay? Yes. Mr. Kuiber? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Lamb? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Legree? Yes. Mr. McCurn? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Maloney? Yes. Ms. Plowman? Yes. Ms. Reynolds? Yes. Ms. Sheehan? Yes. Mr. Worley? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Baxter? Yes, ma'am. And Ms. Bledsoe? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you. Those items passed. And when you're ready, if you'll have first reading of ordinances, please. Yes, ma'am. Item three, an ordinance amending certain of the budgets of the Lexington and Fair Urban County Government to reflect current requirements. for municipal expenditures and appropriating and reproving funds, fiscal year 2022, Schedule number 35. Item 4, an ordinance meeting certain of the budgets at the Lexington Fair Urban County Government for council appropriations for various projects from the American Rescue Plan Act, ARPA, State and Local Recovery Funds as approved February 17, 2022 and appropriating and reproving funds, Schedule number 36. Thank you. Thank you very much. Are there any walk-ons, council members? All right. We'll go on then to first reading of resolutions. Item one, a resolution accepting a bid of David H. Elliott Construction Company Incorporated establishing price contract for inductive loop vehicle detection for the division of traffic engineering. Item two, a resolution accepting the bid of Buckeye Construction and Restoration LTD in the amount of $424,075 for government central garage improvements for the Department of General Services and authorizing the mayor on behalf of the government to enter into agreement with Buckeye Construction and Restoration LTD related to the bid. Item three, a resolution accepting a bid of Wesley Pruitt DBA Pruitt Farms in the amount of $2,000 per year for the leasing of farmland, West Hickman Wastewater Treatment Plant, and authorizing and directly on behalf of Urban County Government to accept any necessary agreement with Wesley Pruitt related to the bid, item four. A resolution accepting the bid of Boyd Company in the amount of $49,000 for fuel tanks for generators for the Division of Water Quality, item five. A resolution accepting the bid of Intellimotus, LLC, in the amount of $172,218 for SCADA upgrades for Town Branch and West Hickman Wastewater Treatment Plants for the Division of Water Quality, item six. A resolution accepted a bid of Integrity Municipal Systems, LLC, establishing a price contract for FRP repair and scrubber services for emergency scrubber systems for the Division of Water Quality, Item 7. A resolution accepted a bid of Brentag Mid-South Incorporated, establishing a price contract for phosphorus reduction chemicals for the Division of Water Quality, Item 8. A resolution ratifying the permanent classified civil service appointments of John Walsilko, Safety Specialist, Grade 518N, 25.621, Ireland, the Division of Streets and Roads, effective January 6, 2022, Terry Baker Vehicle and Equipment Mechanic. Grade 5, 12N, 17.471 hourly. In the Division of Streets and Roads, effective April 4, 2022. Dakota Farrington, Telecommunicator Senior. Grade 5, 17N, 22.153 hourly. In the Division of Enhanced 911, effective April 11, 2022. James Forsyth, Heavy Equipment Technician. Grade 5, 18N, 25.529 hourly. In the Division of Facilities and Fleet Management, effective April 4, 2022. Item 9. A resolution authorizing the Division of Revenue to enroll as a participant recipient of funds from the Kentucky Housing Corporation Homeowner Assistance Fund for payments related to delinquent LexServe bills and further authorizing the Division of Revenue to execute any necessary documents related to such participation. Item 10. A resolution authorizing the Mayor on behalf of the American Government to accept change order number one to the agreement with LACO Company, Incorporated, for construction of the Meadows-Northland-Arlington Public Improvements Project, Phase 6B1, increasing the contract price by $1,382,866, raising the total price from $1,242,903 to $2,625,769. Item 11, a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of your mechanic government to execute change number one to grant award agreement with the village of Rabin-Rodin Condominium Association, Incorporated for Storm Quality Projects, decreasing the grant award by the sum of $1,202.91 from $22,140 to $20,937.09. Item 12. A resolution authorizing the director of the mayor on behalf of your mechanic government to execute an addendum to extend the lease with Gray Television LLC for tower space for antennas at 2852 Winchester Road at a cost of knockout seed $9,377.63. Item 13. A resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of your mechanic government to execute a professional services agreement award a pursuant to RFP number 5, 2022 with Solar Energy Solutions LLC for installation of your roof mounted solar photovoltaic system at fire station Number 2021, it costs an act to exceed $49,693. Item 14, a resolution authorizing and directly mayor on behalf of your beginning government to execute a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy Portsmouth Paducah Project Office for response during specific security incidents. Item 15, a resolution authorizing and directly mayor on behalf of your beginning government to execute subrecipient agreements with Bluegrass Community and Technical College, $2 million, Lexington Public Library, $1 million, Lexington Community Radio Incorporated, DBA Radio Lex, $78,000, Greenhouse 17 Incorporated, $400,000, Commerce Lexington Incorporated, $191,000. Lexington Rescue Mission Incorporated, $350,000. NAMI, Lexington, Kentucky Incorporated, $170,000. FY 2023 funds allocating federal grant funds received under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, ARPA, to these entities for the purposes stated in the respective final agreements and authorizing the mayor to execute any other necessary agreements or documents related thereto. Item 16. A resolution authorizing the Division of Traffic Engineering to install no through truck signs on Waveland Museum Lane at a cost $400. Item 18. A resolution authorizing the Division of E911 to purchase access to phone numbers database from iConnective LLC, a sole source provider, and authorizing the Mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute an unnecessary agreement with I connect the LSE related to the procurement at a cost and I received $6,000. Item 19. A resolution authorizing and directly mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute a practicum agreement with Eastern Kentucky University to permit social work students from the university to receive training at the family care center at no cost to the urban county government. Item 20. A resolution authorizing and directly mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute an agreement with TAC Air for hangar and office rental at a cost and I received $20,700. Item 21. A resolution authorizing and directly mayor on behalf of the to execute a memorandum of agreement with the downtown Lexington Management District to provide enhanced security services at a cost longer to receive $30,000. Item 22. A resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the American Government to execute a memorandum of understanding with the Kentucky Mountain Bike Association, Kimba, formalizing the partnership between Kimba and the LFUCG Division of Parks and Recreation at New Cross to the Urban County Government. Item 23. A resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the American Government to execute clinical practical education agreement with Eastern Kentucky University for students pursuing a degree in recreation and park administration to work as interns in the Division of Parks and Recreation at no cost to the urban county government. Item 24. A resolution authorizing and directly mayor on behalf of the urban county government to accept an award from the Bluegrass Area Development District, Incorporated, of $7,552.62 in federal funds under the American Rescue Plan Act for the Lexington Senior Citizen Center, the acceptance of which does not obligate the urban county government to the expenditure of funds and authorizing the mayor to execute any necessary agreements related to these funds and authorizing the mayor to transfer other covered funds within the grant budget. Item 25. A resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute an agreement with the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority to accept an award of $11,868,095 in federal funds under the Kentucky Cleaner Water Grant American Rescue Plan Act funds for the replacement of chemical disinfection equipment at Town Branch and West Hickman Water Treatment Plants, the exception of which does not obligate the urban county government to the expenditure of funds and authorizing the mayor to transfer other covered funds within the grant budget. Item 26. A resolution authorizing and directly to the mayor on behalf of urban county government to accept an award of $10,000 from the Jesmond County Fiscal Court for the support of personnel and operating costs in the Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, MPO, for Jesmond County, the acceptance of which does not obligate the urban county government to the expenditure of funds, and authorize the mayor to execute any necessary agreements related to this grant and authorize the mayor to transfer undercurrent funds within the grant budget. Item 27. A resolution on authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute an agreement with the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs Division of Emergency Management to accept an award of $16,500 in federal funds under the Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Program and $2,640 in common with the Kentucky funds for the purchase and installation of float-on-warning markers and signs, the exception of which obligates the urban county government to the expenditure of $2,860 as a local match and authorizing the mayor to transfer out-of-comer funds within the grant budget. Item 28, a resolution authorizing and direct the mayor on behalf of Herbicannic Government to accept an award of $216,382.16 in federal funds under the American Rescue Plan Act of Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department of Community-Based Services, in order to support child care expenses in the extended school program at the Division of Parks and Recreation, the accept of which does not allocate the Herbicannic Government to the expenditure funds and authorizing the mayor to transfer undercover funds within the grant budget. Item 29, a resolution authorizing and directly mayor on behalf of Herbie County Government to execute an amendment to the catering contract with Bateman Community Living LLC, DBA Trio Community Meals LLC, to raise the contract price by $3,386.40, raising the total price from $164,875.35 to $168,261.75. Item 30, a resolution authorizing and directly mayor on behalf of Herbie County Government to accept an award of $30,000 in Commonwealth of Kentucky funds from the Bluegrass Area Development District Incorporated for the purchase of replacing a boat ramp at Jacobson Park, the acceptance of which does not obligate the urban county government to the expenditure funds and authorizing the mayor to execute any necessary agreements related to these funds and authorizing the mayor to transfer any agreement funds within the grant budget. Item 31, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute amendment number two to the agreement with the Lexington County Health Department to accept an additional award of $78,443 in federal funds from the state maternal infant and early childhood home visiting program for the home network project, also known as Kentucky Health Access Nurturing Development Services, hands at the Family Care Center, the exception of which does not obligate the urban county government to the expenditure of funds in authorizing the mayor to transfer undercomer funds within the grant budget. And item 32, a resolution authorizing and directly mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute agreements with the Bluegrass Black Pride Incorporated, $1,800, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass $1,400 for the Office of the Urban County Council at a cost not to see the sum stated. Thank you. Thank you very much. Are there any walk-ons, Council Members? All right. Are there any motions to suspend the rules and give second reading? Council Member Lamb. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. On behalf of the administration, I'm asking for resolution number two, accepting the bid of Buckeye Construction and Restoration Limited, to be given second reading in an effort to move it along quickly. Thank you. Second. Thank you. Council Member Ellinger for their second. Any questions? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? Thank you. Council member LaGree. Thank you, Mayor. On behalf of the administration, I'd like to request a motion for a second reading of item number 21. A resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute a memorandum of understanding with the downtown Lexington Management District to provide enhanced security services at a cost not to exceed $30,000. This is a time sensitive issue, so moved. Second. Thank you. I heard, who did I hear over here? Council Member Worley. All right, any questions about that? All those in favor, say aye. Anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Are there any other motions to suspend the rules? No? All right, when you're ready, if you'll please take a roll call vote, Please read and then we'll do the vote. Yes, ma'am. Item 2, a resolution accepting the bid of Buckeye Construction and Restoration LTD in the amount of $424,075 for government center garage improvements for the Department of General Services and authorizing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to enter into an agreement with Buckeye Construction and Restoration LTD related to the bid. Item 21, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute in a memorandum of agreement with the downtown Lexington Management District to provide enhanced security services at a cost not to receive $30,000. Thank you. Thank you very much. Now, when you are ready, if you'll take a roll call vote. Oh, thank you. Is there a second? Second. Now. Mr. Fred Brown? Yes. Mr. James Brown? Yes. Yes. Mr. Ellinger? Yes, ma'am. Vice Mayor Kay? Yes. Mr. Koiber? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Lamb? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Lagree? Yes. Mr. McCurn? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Maloney? Yes. Ms. Plowman? Yes. Ms. Reynolds? Yes. Ms. Sheehan? Yes. Mr. Worley? Yes, ma'am. Ms. Baxter? Yes, ma'am. And Ms. Bledsoe? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you very much. Those passed. Council members, if I could have a motion, please, to approve communications from the mayor. So moved. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Reynolds, are there any questions? All right. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? Okay. And then, Council, you have the for information only communications from the mayor. And then we will move to the discipline. We have one police discipline, and Chief Weathers will present that. Welcome, Chief. Thank you, Mayor. Good evening, everybody. Try to make this quick. On February 22, 2022, an internal formal complaint was made that Officer Dwayne Ballio violated General Order 1973-02K, disciplinary procedures of sworn officers. Appendix B, Operational Rule 1.04, Body Camera Procedures. At the conclusion of the investigation, the employee met with me and accepted a one-day suspension without pay. On or about December 30, 2021, Officer Dwayne Ballio failed to activate his body-worn camera per policy on a call for service. Between the dates of January 9, 2021, and December 30, 2021, Officer Ballio had eight incidences involving body-worn camera errors or issues. Of the eight incidents, six were failure to activate, one was a late activation, and one equipment failure. The listed incidents where Officer Ballio failed to activate his body-worn camera did not involve critical incidents or arise from a complaint filed by a citizen. At the conclusion of the investigation, it was determined that Officer Balliol violated the above policy, which states, Officers issued body-worn cameras, show wear and use them as outlined in department policies, and record contacts and interactions that occur between officers and members of the public, suspects, and others in a wide variety of situations to promote transparency in accordance with state law and accountability for officers and the community through the objective evidence. This is Officer Ballio's first sustained formal complaint since his employment in March 8, 2004. Thank you. Council Member Bledsoe moved approval and Council Member McCurn seconded. Do you want to repeat the discipline? A one-day suspension. Yeah. Any other questions for the chief? All right. All those in favor of approving, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. That motion passes. Thank you, chief. Thank you. Next, council members, it's time for announcements. Please log in. Councilmember Maloney. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to go on record to say, a little over 48 hours ago, I had some folks come up here and make a little statement about an investigation. And I got very frustrated today when I found out a lot of my answers were answered in the newspaper. And why we didn't answer it. And I understand the investigation was going on and all that, But I don't like to bring something up if I don't have to. But from learning from this, if I have information that a council member constantly asks them for, I would give it to them before they bring it up there and ask these questions. And the prime example was that investigation. That person, I learned more in that newspaper that could have been told to me in that horseshoe that I really didn't have to. y'all could have texted me last month that this person was indicted or was in grand jury. You all told me there was an investigation going on, but once it goes to a grand jury, the investigation is over. You all have found the cause, and you're asking the grand jury to make a decision. Instead of me sitting up here having to ask these questions, I just feel like I'd rather have that information from this administration than I have to read about it in the newspaper. So I just wanted, I'm not very happy what it is, but I understand what they're doing. But please, from now on out, me or anyone, constantly ask over and over, and you all have information, so I don't have to bring it out here. And it could be a text or an email that it's in the grand jury. That would satisfy me completely. But when I have to read about a newspaper, I'm not happy about that. So thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Councilmember Plowman. Thank you, Mayor. I didn't get a chance to mention this the other night, but I wanted to share that there will be an on the table outside the window. It'll be next Tuesday the 19th, and it will be out at the 8th and Schoolhouse. This is out in the rural area, and it's for, well, Old Richmond Road, Neighborhood Association, which is very large, as well as the Fayette County Farm Bureau. And again, I think this will be rural input that will be interesting to listen to. So if any of my colleagues would like to join us, there will be an opportunity to even purchase dinner that night. So, thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Councilmember Fred Brown. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Easter this weekend. This is a holiday weekend for most people. There will be a lot of kiddies out there probably in the parks and around. So we just want to be mindful of the weekend and what it represents. Thank you. Thank you. Does anyone else have an announcement? All right, now it's time for public comment. And I need to confirm the names of people who are here for public comment. So if you are here, do you mind just first of all to stand up? I have to check this with this list, which I'm not sure is exactly correct. If you'll just stand up and state your name so I can find you on the list. Yes, go ahead. What is your last name? Thank you. Okay. Who else is signed up? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. And who else is signed up to speak? I'm sorry, Ann? Shelps. Okay, thank you. And who else? Emily Bryan. Emily Bryan, all right. And anybody else? Steve Parker. Steve Parker. Michael Harris. Michael Harris. Anyone else? I'm sorry. James, what's your last name again? Thank you. And anybody else? No? okay thank you very much now just to remind folks the council's rules are if you'll when you're called if you'll come to the podium and state your name and if you know the council district where you live or if you live in another county give us the county and you'll have three minutes to speak and so first then is Lori Harris welcome my name is Lori Harris and I am I live in district 7 I'd like to start. Madam Mayor and distinguished members of council, my name is Lori Harris. I am the wife of Corporal Michael Harris, who works at the Fayette County Detention Center. He is also the president of the FOP 83 at the Detention Center. First of all, I would like to say a great thank you to Richard Maloney for all he has done and all he is doing to help the situations at the jail. You all would do well to follow his lead. I know you all hear about the critical situations at the jail from employees, lawyers, members of counsel that's in this room, but how often do you hear from a spouse of an employee at the jail? To put it plainly, I miss my husband. Why, you may ask, it's because he is always at work. When he started at the detention center in 2010, I knew that it was going to change our lives. But that was a sacrifice I was willing to make because he wanted a career where he could help make a difference. It has been a long 12 years. He has seen things and experienced things that none of us in this room have ever experienced or will never experience. How many of us have had human feces and urine thrown at us? Have had people constantly trying to harm us? I'm sorry, excuse me. and you are at the point when if you are in a public place, you have to sit where you can see the door so you know who or what may be coming at you. You also lose your sense of empathy and sympathy for your fellow man because of what you have seen and what you have been through. The employees at the jail work so much overtime, it is just absolutely ridiculous. I have seen my husband work back-to-back shifts for days in a row. I may go days and never see him because for a few brief minutes in the morning and he's off to do it again. You may say, well, that's the nature of the job he has. Yes, it is. But if the detention center could hire more employees, that would be such a great help. I know that in the last contract there were pay increases in incentives added, but speaking as the wife of a correctional officer, it's just not enough. I ask that more be done to recruit new employees and to keep those that are there holding the line. You all have to realize that they are putting their own health and safety and welfare on the line every day, and they do it without a gun. Ms. Harris, your three minutes is up. Thank you very much. I can continue. Oh, okay. You can have Michael Harris's time. Three more minutes. Thank you. I would like to say that I am very proud of my husband and the job that he does. I would also like the mayor and the members of council to go to the detention center and spend one eight-hour shift and just see what they go through on a daily basis. I really believe at the end of that day you will be thanking your lucky stars that you did not have to do another eight-hour shift on top of what you just did. I would like to thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to speak. These are my feelings and my feelings only and I only speak for myself but I feel other spouses family members probably feel the same way thank you very much thank you mr. Parker welcome the Parker vice president at San Brant's Lodge 83 FOP I just want to to Houston, we stand Mr. Clover, Mr. Maloney, Mr. Ellinger. We are as the FOP lodge. We are going to we have extended an invitation for you guys to come out. The FOP will serve you lunch, take you on a tour. I think Mr. Ellinger made contact with someone about that. I just want to encourage all of you to come out. We'll like say we'll feed you a nice luncheon and take you on a tour of the facility if anybody has any questions you know you'll see a lot of staff there that you'll be able to speak with unfortunately right now most of them that there will be on overtime so it may not be the happiest bunch but they'll appreciate you coming out thanks thank you very much and Shelps Yes. Welcome. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you to the council members that are here. Let me speak. My name is Ann Schultz, and I'm a corporal at the Fayette County Detention Center. Been there for now 12 years and work three to five days of the overtime and try to give up some of my seniority days just to help for the coverage of the shortage of staff. just like Ms. Lori said we get anything from like human feces to everything thrown at us to ourselves and I've had my fair share a few of them early this year and actually just like yearned just thrown at me just the other day so it is very frustrating that you can't get enough help sorry I'm getting emotional because it is frustrating when you have to work a two-person unit and end up having to go like work by yourself and have to handle a lot. Sorry, I'm like, because I'm just so emotional because it means a lot to me and being shorted up staff and I do hope we get more people for help. But it is hard to run units alone when there's so much going on and when you're working so much overtime, you're exhausted and you can't watch as many inmates like you're supposed to and it's very like frustrating and exhausting. So again, I'm just like asking for more help. I don't know how you guys can do it, but I'm just asking as much help from you all to get more attention to the jail for help. Thank you very much. James Holton. Welcome. My name is James Nolton. I'm an employee of the Fayette County Detention Center for 18 years. People, the situation is critical. It is dangerous. People are falling asleep standing up. It's dangerous for the inmates. It's dangerous for the community. It's dangerous for the staff. Come see our conditions. See what it feels like to be asked to work on your Friday when you're dead tired from working four shifts and they want you to work another. And when you frown, you get a look like you've just done something to somebody's cherry holes. You got a command staff that scrutinizes every detail of your movement, but that command staff never misses the beat on that time clock. They're going home. You're going to another shift. Think about it. That's all I've got to say. Thank you very much. Emily Bryan. Welcome. Thank you. My name is Emily Bryan. I'm a corporal at the Fayette County Detention Center, and I've been there for 15 years. In October of 2018, members of the Fraternal Order of Police, Town Branch Lodge 83, came to a meeting to express their concerns regarding the issues at the Fayette County Detention Center. At that time, we came to address the staffing and overtime issues at the jail we were facing daily. Back then, we were 60 officers short of our maximum allotted amount of 279 officers. At the same time, the city of Louisville declared a state of emergency regarding the issues at the jail when they were facing the same issues. Comparing Louisville Metro to Fayette County Detention Center's numbers, staffing numbers equaled to being about 50% of our allotted staff. Our union attorney can be quoted stating it's a very, very serious, very significant issue. At this time, we thought that staffing was a problem then. Several of the issues that were brought up included not only losing officers that have been there a short amount of time, but also seasoned officers with significant knowledge of the job at hand. We asked for both a short-term and long-term solution from the city, and since then we have fallen on deaf ears. Now again, in 2018, we thought 62 officers short was a problem. That number has since almost doubled. We now stand at 116 officers short. Our time has nearly tripled since 2018, and the safety and security of everyone from an officer, inmate, civilian, medical staff, and more have gone beyond manageable, downright to completely unsafe. Every day we walk into the facility with only two things, guts and a can of pepper spray. We don't even have enough officers to cover our own time and run short on every shift. Currently, we have five units in our jail that are closed due to the number of inmates being down. Even with five units shut down, it still does nothing to help overtime. Normally it would, but we work in an environment that there is no such thing as a normal day. Right now, you might be lucky to have 15 officers show up for a shift. This leaves the rest of the vacancies to be filled by overtime. Overtime can't be filled because there's not enough officers to fill the overtime vacancies. Understandably, you have no idea reading this to know the significance of this. When we have the staff to cover all the positions, all of our units are covered. We have rover positions to respond to calls for help. Currently, we operate with officers having to cover up to four units at a time, meaning that the officer must go in, do a head count, feed the inmates, and go back for med pass. Officers are advised to just go in for feeding and med pass, and that's it. Don't stay in the unit at all. On top of that, you are required to respond to calls for help and tones that may go off. Another issue on top of that is we don't have enough officers to get a break. What we have to do is notify Mass Control that we're going on break, lock down our unit, control panel, and walk out hoping that nothing happens while we're gone, and that Mass Control can see if something happens to be able to react. In the past year, we've had two suicides alone. Another issue is we have two doors to every unit. Due to not having enough staff, the outer door that would provide staff with a double security is always open, and we must key our way out of the unit. If you think this is a problem, let me tell you of another issue. Like any other jail, we have contraband issues. And since 2018, inmates have been more aggressive. Seven officers have been assaulted, resulting in a multitude of injuries from broken bones, broken teeth, concussions, and cuts that needed to be stitched. This doesn't even begin to acknowledge the mental impacts that can result from an incident like this. In the last two years alone, we have had six shanks found. The most recent, just over a couple weeks ago. Thank you so much. Okay, Mr. Abinadi. All right, very good. Thank you. You have three more minutes. Never before have we had an issue where weapons were made. Every day we are supposed to conduct cell checks to prevent these types of issues from happening. But when we don't have staff to do this, the safety of everyone in the building is jeopardized. Never have you had a commander sit a group of people down to plan out how to conduct a shakedown after a shank is found in the safest way possible and go, if you feel like you need a stab vest, we only have a few, but you can get one for the ones who want one. Then again, there's the mental impact of this job. Every day we enter this jail not knowing what we are going to have to face. Every day our cries for help keep getting pushed aside. Every day we lose more officers. every day we are pushed to the limits of our mental capacity every day we don't get to see our significant other our children every day officers are falling asleep at work just trying to make it through another 16 hour day shift day of work all we get to see is a reflection in the mirror that looks back and wonders when is this going to change when am I going to get a break and when am I going to get to sleep again in my 15 years here the amount sheer amount of danger we have faced in just the last few years alone is ridiculous. I as one of those seven officers that had severe was severely assaulted and I just got my tooth fixed last week permanently. We are on we we don't have the manpower to keep anybody in that building safe not even ourselves and we desperately need help whether it's state of emergency something we've got to do something to save everybody in that building. And let alone just having two suicides, we've never had that, ever. And that's not because, and they'll go and say that we're short staff. Officers were in those units, and it was in shift change. But we are so beyond worn out to keep ourselves even safe, even the inmates safe. If you all were to even walk in, we don't know if we could keep you safe. It's that dangerous right now. And we are dealing with a new set of inmates that just don't care, leading to how many shanks we've found lately. They don't. They know we can't cover the units. We know we can't come in and save somebody from getting shanked. This is what you're facing. And we really want you all to understand the dangers that we face every single day with this. Thank you. Thank you very much. James Summers. Are you here? Did you want to speak your name? No? Okay. All right. Did I miss anyone else who had signed up or wanted to speak? All right. Thank you very much. With council's indulgence just for a minute, first I'd like to address the jail employees who are here who have spoken. Many of you know, Mr. Parker and Mr. Harris, I know you especially know, I have been to the jail many, many times these last three years. And one of the things that we have done since 2019, because we were very concerned about the census of inmates, is we have continued over the years to request that the state and the federal folks move their prisoners out. And we've had some good success with that, moving state prisoners back to other facilities and the federal government moving some of their inmates out. um council members as you know that's revenue to our uh corrections facility that then we don't get but that's okay because we thought it was the right thing to ask the state government and the federal government to move them out and we have continued that effort all three of the past years With our collective bargaining, we have listened to our corrections officers, talked with many of them, and our two goals going into bargaining were to increase recruitment and increase retention. Those are two very different things. And as you all know, because you approved the bargaining contract, we were able to give some significant raises for our dedicated employees at the jail. It's a very hard place to work. And some of you ask council members to go out and see. If you have not been to our jail yet, then it's incumbent upon you to go out and see our jail. And speak with the officers out there. Because it's very difficult work. and we have been concentrating in many different ways on recruiting. We have been to a lot of different places with recruiting, and I know Director Farmer has more of those details, but we are shaking every bush we can. We have gotten a few people to come back. those who left for better pay. But once we signed our CBA, a few of them have come back to work again because we're offering more pay. It is a constant focus. And we all know it's a very hard place to work. And so we won't let up on the pressure. and this is, I don't want you to think this is unique to Lexington's jail. I'm in touch with judge executives from all over Kentucky and they would all like for someone else to have their jail if they could. They've told me this because it's a tough place to work. So I appreciate those of you who are employees or spouses who spoke because it isn't easy. And so we continue to work on these things every day, and we're not going to let up. So I appreciate your comments, and we have a couple of council members who want to speak. Council Member Maloney. Thank you. I appreciate you all coming up. I'm sorry you all had to come to do this. But, Mayor, I told you all, when I was CAO, and she was talking about 60 behind and 40 behind, and I as CAO, I was concerned about it. I asked the question, when should I panic? And that number's still there, is 115. And you said it was still under, I hear them crying, and the crisis are in. That 115 is a disaster on the wall to happen. And to the point that we may have to ask for help, because I don't think this is working. I just saw a couple of resignation already on this panel here and I understand and I think we need to find somewhere to help these folks and then get back and hopefully we'll catch up eventually but as we continue to try to hire seven, eight people and have four resign, we're not catching up. We're still in that 115 area which to me was I was told it was a crisis and eight cities are in a crisis and When you heard them down there with their spouses and everything, I think we need to look for help. And I'm to the point, and I want these folks to have a life, a quality of life. They do not have it, and we should be able to find somebody to temporarily help these folks out. And if we have to go to the state or wherever. Now Louisville's done this, and I think we're in a situation more severe than Louisville right now. And to me, I ask the administration and you all to figure out where we can get some help. And if we have to get the National Guard, we've got to get somebody, because these folks do not have a life. And you all sit here 16 hours a day for three days in a row. It's not going to make them live quality of life. So I ask them. And that number 115 still sticks in my head, and it's been like that. I know you all may think it's not a dangerous number, but these folks think it is. They're out there every day working. So you heard us at 60. We were able to make some adjustments on 60 shortfalls. But when it comes to 115, they can't make adjustments. So we have got to help these folks. So hopefully, I hope we can make that decision ASAP. Thank you. Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you all for coming down here. We know this is a major issue we need to address. One of the big things is what are we doing, Mayor or Commissioner, right now for recruiting people? What is our plan right now? Because being down 40%, if you start doing the numbers from our authorized strength, and if we're only adding, I think the last class I saw was one or two that were being added, we're losing more than we're gaining, and we're down over 100. So how are we going to ever get back to that, and what can we do? Do we need to go outside to get more help to recruit? I know it's tough with everybody's trying to get the same people, so it's a really tough environment right now. But what can we do as a council to help you all to give you money to improve our recruiting so we can get more people out there? Welcome, Director Farmer. Hello. Well, first of all, when the contract got signed off and approved in February, the council we got a hundred thousand dollars to go to do recruiting major trial has done an amazing job she has went to newspapers television radio social media we have hit Lexington we've hit Madison County that is doing a fabulous job for us they are reaching out to about nine counties east of Madison County so basically if you look at Lexington about 150 mile radius around Lexington we have hit as much advertising as we possibly can and it's just not for a month two weeks or three months we went out six months so all of our recruitment and advertising that we can do we've extended to six months to try to get this package together to get these numbers down and everybody wants to focus on our classes are only seven in class or classes only ten well we've done that on purpose. It's not because we can't get any more in but while we're running them through the process whether it's medical polygraph or testing our classes five weeks so we can wait two months to do a big class of 20 or we can run our 10 through every five weeks to get them downstairs to help with the overtime and that's what we're choosing to do right now. So that's the reason why our classes are anywhere from 10 around that number because we run them through to get them downstairs to help, not to let them sit there and just wait for the next class to happen every two to three months. In the six months that we've been doing this, what have our plus minus have been if we're adding and subtracting? Are we making any gains on this or none? We are. We just started in February and March. And the mall, I forgot the mall, we started that probably in March with all of public safety. So if you look at the people that have left just starting with January of this year, because we also have a lot of retirements, it just so happens that our 20-year retirement mark where people are eligible to retire hit right in the middle of COVID and right in the middle of everybody resigning. March was the first month that we actually hired more than we lost. And the ones that we lost, they went to the fire department here in Lexington. one went to Nicholasville Police Department, one left for medical, we had one retirement, and the other two left for medical reasons. So we lost six. So in the past months, we were losing double digits. So we are seeing improvement in the first month since the contract with all of our advertisements going out. This will be our second month that we'll actually get to see the numbers in April. So with again in March, what's our plan and when do we hope to get close to our authorized strength looking long term? Well that's that's a hard question to answer because we know right now that we have one more retirement coming up in June and we have one that is going to Georgetown Police and one going to FMC so we know that those are coming up in May and June but I mean we're out there recruiting and that's also not talking about the job fairs that we're doing so I just give an answer when i think that that's going to be is there something that we need to do more then to because it doesn't look like we're making any big strides with big numbers to start filling the big backlog that we have one or two is not going to help we need to get 20 40 60 and that still only gets us to half where we need to be i agree um i think that right now we got the money for for the advertising. I'm not sure what else we can do. We put it out there. I just think that this negativity that's been put on the jail is not help us in any. We had a female come in to come back and she pulled out because of the interaction she had with the staff member in the lobby. So it's the negativity also in the spotlight, you know. It's class of seven we have right now. Most of them are females. We have more females in there. Females are not leaving, but does it help when I have to go back to the jail and defend why females can only work in certain areas inside the jail. That's a negativity that comes on the jail. So if I'm sitting there as a female director and I'm having to answer questions why only females are allowed to work in certain areas, that's an issue. I think that we need to look at the positives instead of the negatives. We have so many officers out there that are volunteering to work over because they know we're short and they're concerned and they're wanting to help out but they don't get the credit for it because we're always looking at the negativity that gets put on. I have to explain out there. So I think that instead of looking at the negative, we put a positive spin on it. My time's up, but thank you. But I want to look at the positivity. I want to thank everybody who is doing that, but they can only do it so long until they get burned out. We've got to get them some help. And I agree with that. Thank you. Director Farmer, would you speak, it sort of speaks a little bit to something that Council Member Ellinger said. Would you speak to the competitive, you mentioned the employee who went to FMC, what you've seen happening in the surrounding corrections? Yes. So I actually talked to a lady, the jailer, in Henderson County, out in western Kentucky. and at their strength, they're 96. She was calling us to see if we could help sit at the hospital with an inmate that was having to come here for heart surgery. And they were running at 33 officers, and she was going to lose three more that next week. And obviously I told her that we could not help because we were in the same boat that they were. FMC, you know, their starting pay, I think, is, The last I checked was in the close to 50s, high 40s, 50s. So when they come to work for us, they get the experience, and then they go there because they can make more money. While we were waiting for our contract to be finalized in February, Woodford County was able to raise their starting pay at $18. Well, we were still at $15.46, and there was nothing that we could do about it until our contract was agreed and signed upon. So we lost four that went there for the $18 an hour. Some of these smaller county jails that are not under a CBA, they were able to raise their pay, and we lost people that way. I mean, FMC last year, I think we lost five. Every October is when they get their new physical year start, so that's when they do a lot of their hiring. People will go to probation and parole. in the summertime state probation and parole we will lose a lot of people to go that route not anything on chief weather sitting back there but you know every time that the police academy goes through we lose anywhere up to four or five to the police academy and we just lost one to the fire department so a lot of people that we get in through the jail that wants to be police officers once they come through and they get a couple years of experience they typically get picked up with other police station or police departments if not in lexington but also in the surrounding counties thank you for that i just wanted everybody to understand it's very competitive also council member reynolds thank you mayor and thank you director farmer and thank you everyone who came out to speak i think first of all we have to sit here and acknowledge the complexity of the situation we all understand that doing one thing or the other is not going to fix this and i And I appreciate that we've tried to make inroads. We're doing recruiting. We raised the pay a little. But obviously, the jail's bleeding right now. And so, just doing those things is not working enough. So, what I would like to ask, I don't know who in here I need to ask, is why are we not looking for a way to have emergency help? whether it be from another city or the state or I don't know. I mean, we're not gaining our numbers enough, quickly enough. And I am worried about the security of everybody involved. And I know everyone's doing what they can do and it's just still not enough. So I don't know if that's for the mayor, for Director Farmer, for somebody else. I'll ask Director Farmer to speak to that statement, the state of emergency, and what that means. Well, if you call for a state of emergency, the National Guard's not going to come in. I mean, we're still going to be left to run the jail. I just got off the phone this week, actually, with Mr. Rainey from NIC, which is National Institute for Corrections. So they were supposed to come when Mr. Haney was here, and then COVID hit, and they weren't allowed to travel. So they're planning on coming again, or coming, I think, into June or August. And direct supervision was a big thing 20 years ago. But as you can tell with us, it's so hard to staff, direct supervision is. So the new trend is actually what they're studying. And once they do the final process of the jail that they're working with, is they're doing a hybrid. They're only going to be doing direct supervision on the special needs, which what we consider are entering with our medical, our suicide inmates, that's in single cells. And the GP is going to be linear. So when they come to see us in June, That's one thing we're looking at is some of the physical plant that we may have to change in order to do that, if that is the route we're going to go. I'm not saying that is, but I'm just saying that's the trend that corrections is going in. So there's no way to get outside help for the jail without declaring an emergency, and if you declare an emergency, you still can't get help. Is that what you're saying? Yes, and we've asked for part-timers to come back, and I've actually met with both presidents of both unions because we have two separate unions at the jail. And I'm still waiting on Corporal Harris to get me a response back because even part-timers are not covered under the contract. It's just for full-time employees. So that was something that we would have to sit down and work with the unions on bringing in someone that is not a full-time employee, whether it's under the contract or if there's an issue there. Okay. I think we need to look at all of our options at this point and not think that what we're doing is going to make up for the gap that we have right now. So that's all. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Does anyone else wish to speak? All right. Thank you, Director Farmer. Thank you. All right. So that takes us through our agenda, so I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. Thank you. Thank you. Is there a second? Second. Very good. All those in favor, say aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. We're adjourned. Thank you. Thank you.