Music Go ahead and call to order the Urban County Council Work Session of October 25, 2022 and the first item on the agenda is public comment for issues on today's agenda. So I don't know if anyone has signed up back there. Do you all mind? Mayor, Mayor, Mayor Gorton, we are in the process of getting the sign-in sheet down here. Our last meeting went a little bit over. Okay. I think we have a couple people. Thank you. Ms. Bean, is your item on the agenda? Okay, so we'll go with you later. Next on the agenda is docket approval, please. Thank you, Council Member Ellinger, second by Council Member Plowman. If you have questions about the docket, will you please log in? Council Member McCurne. Yes, sir. Walk-on is great. Thank you, Mayor. I know we've been talking about money all day today, and in lieu of that, I'm just going to continue the trend. I moved a place on the docket for the October 27th Council meeting a resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute a grant agreement with the Lexington Distillery District Foundation allocating $750,000 to the foundation for streetscape beautification and improvements on public property within the distillery district. So moved, I'd like to speak about this, please. Thank you. Council Member Reynolds seconds. Council Member McCurn would like to speak to this. And then Council Member Brown, are you on to speak to the motion? Okay. All right. Thank you, Mayor. This was an item that we approved back in I believe the spring or late last year coming from budget stabilization we have we're just now facilitating the agreement with the distillery district foundation to move the funds forward thank you thank you very much any questions about the motion all those in favor say aye is anyone opposed all right that motion passes is there anything else for the docket Councilmember James Brown. Thank you, Mayor. And Councilmembers, I shared an email I shared with you earlier this week about the efforts that's going on in Louisville in regards to getting the late, great Muhammad Ali a stamp. They have asked cities from around the Commonwealth and around the country to issue resolutions making the request. So with that, I move to place on the docket of the October 25th, 2022 Council meeting, a resolution proclaiming the Lexington Fayette Urban County government's support of the issuing of a stamp to honor Muhammad Ali. So moved. Second. Council Member Ellinger seconds. Is there any discussion? Council Member McCurn. Thank you, Mayor. Should that be October 27th, Council Member? On the docket? I stand corrected. Yes. Thank you, Council Member. No problem. Thank you. October 27th. Anything else to the motion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Anything else for the docket, Council Members? All those in favor of approving the docket as amended, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Thank you. Next is the October 18th work session summary of motions. Could I have a motion? Second. Let's see. Council Member Plumman moved, and I saw Council Member Baxter second. Any questions about that? All right. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? Okay. That motion passes. Next, we have budget amendments. Could I have a motion to approve? Vice Mayor Kay, you want to be the second? I heard Vice Mayor Kay move, but I also heard Council Member Baxter second. That works, doesn't it? Okay. All right. Now, let's have questions about budget amendments, Council. Any questions? Council Member Lamb. Thank you, Mayor. I would like to know more about Journal 137-049 to reallocate funds from personnel contingency to police corrections and E-911 for the public safety supplemental pay. Is this what we had approved back? And I don't want to answer my own question. I'll just let you answer it. Yes, ma'am. It is what you approved. This is the October payment. If you remember when we talked to some of our different bargaining units, they came up with different schedules and different amounts on when they thought that might be. Our first portion of that was around October 15th, and this represents that portion of funding, and it is allocating it from the contingency line item into the departments and divisions where it belongs. All right. Thank you so much, and that's fantastic. Thank you. Thank you. Other questions? Budget amendments? Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. Could you give us the breakdown on how that is, if you don't mind? Do you have that? Can I get right back to you? Yes, you may. Okay. Any other questions about budget amendments? All right. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Next is new business. Do we have a motion? Thank you. Council Member Plumman moves. Council Member Legree seconds. If you'll please log in with your questions. Council Member Reynolds. Thank you, Mayor. I have several, so please bear with me. The first one is on item A. I don't know if Commissioner Albright is available or not. she is this is similar to to what we saw in Sevierville is this looking at the feasibility of doing something similar to that is that right yes ma'am and where you remind me where those funds are coming from what's the name of the fund that I believe reason landfill fund the landfill fund and there's still quite a bit of money in that fund is that right yes ma'am and to correct myself, I believe we're using a split of landfill and urban services. Okay, and but there is money still in the landfill fund if we wanted to begin to implement something like this? Yeah, well there is a large balance in the landfill fund right now. Okay, and do you know how long that fund, or I mean that study might take to? We've asked them to have it completed in six months. Okay, that's wonderful. Well I'm excited about that. Thank you very much. You're welcome. And And then I have a question about the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center renovation project. That's item C. And I was wondering, this money for this is from the ARPA money that we set aside. Is that right? That's correct. Okay. I just wanted to make sure that it was part of that. So first we'll do this study, and then we'll try to build something. Yes, and Council Member and Mayor, if it pleases the council, I have a good update to share. We had a lot of things going on with this project. They're all coming together at the right time. The council, through ARPA, allocated $2.5 million for the renovation of the third floor, which is vacant, and also the first floor, which is the former alfalfa space. We're calling it a cafe. And so it's $2.5 million. dollars. We also were working simultaneously to obtain the deed from the state, from the cabinet finance and administration cabinet with the state. We can now report that we have closed that deal. We own that property. The mayor signed the deed and we've recorded it and the property is ours now. So that leaves us 2.4 million dollars to proceed with the project. What is on the council's docket now allows us to move immediately into design and that will come from the funds that's been allocated. That's exciting news. Thank you very much and thank you for working so hard on that. Thank you. And then real quick, G, I have been asking how we're going to distribute these leaf shoots. Is there any update on that? Thank you for asking. We are still working out the details. We will try in the next 24 hours or so to send out an email to all of you all to seek some help in contacting some HOAs and things like that for how we can quickly get these distributed throughout the community. We do not have another county-wide event coming up before we get them. Is someone able to call like 311 and then go pick them up somewhere? I think we will also have them available like at e-waste and down on the first floor of this building where someone could come get them, Yes. Okay. Thank you very much. You're welcome. That's all. Thank you very much. Okay. Thank you. Council Member McCurn. Thank you, Mayor. Commissioner? I was trying to catch you before you got back. Commissioner Albright? Commissioner Albright. You're a popular person today. Stay close. I'm sorry. What was the question? I hope you wore your tennis shoes today. Council Member Reynolds asked a few questions about item A, and I appreciate you answering those. And I'm excited that we're moving forward. Please let me know if there's anything I can help with on that. Item G, though, my only question for you on this is how many roughly is this going to purchase? How many? I'm sorry. Shoots for item G. Our initial purchase will be 5,000. We have the contract will be set up to allow us to go up to 25,000. We're really not sure what to expect as far as interest in getting one of these. So up to 25,000, all within the 100,000 scope? Yes, sir. Okay, perfect. That's my question. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Bledsoe. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to take a moment and highlight item number H on our work session docket. This has been a long-term discussion with those who use the recycling bins behind Good Foods Co-op. And I just want to compliment Commissioner Albright and your team for working very hard to come to our resolution and to say grateful heart that we have one. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Baxter. You don't have a question. Okay. No worries. Councilmember Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. Commissioner Albright, did you make it back yet? Oh, come on back. I hope you've got your step counter on. When you talked about $5,000, and it says up to $100,000, so how much are we paying them per unit then? It's a sliding scale, but they cost a little less than $10 a piece. So the more we buy, the lesser the price gets. But they go down to like $6 or $7 a piece. So if we buy $5,000 and decide we want more, then do we get that scale? I'll have to ask on that. Because normally if you don't buy initially, then you get that again. So, okay. Thank you. Okay. Because if we did the $25,000, we have $100,000, that would be $4. Right. It's actually a little over $100,000. And so it's not quite that inexpensive, and I think they're in the $6 to $7 range if we buy $5,000. But we also didn't want to end up with like $15,000 left. Sure. Thank you. Thank you. Does anyone else have questions about new business? All right. All those in favor of approving, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. That motion passes. Next, we have continuing business, and I'll call on Council Member Bledsoe for budget, finance, economic development. Thank you, Mayor. And I know while we are still in recess, since we did approve the minutes, I'm going to report them as such. The meeting started at 1.01. We first had the approval of the August 30, 2022 committee summary. Then Administrative Officer Craig Benz presented on behalf of the Jobs Fund and explained the Jobs Fund as an incentive program to provide funding to businesses who commit to creating and retaining jobs in Lexington. Available incentives for the jobs fund include up to $100,000 forgivable loan, up to $250,000 loan, and up to a $50,000 grant. To date, there have been 29 jobs fund recipients, 25 are current, totaling $3.83 million incentive awarded, and 281 jobs committed. Payroll committed by recipients is nearly 4.2 times the dispersed incentives at $15.3 million. The cost per job created is $12,918. The repaid principal and interest on loans totals $514,019 and $91,006 and is reinvested into the program when repaid by participants. No action was taken on this item. Next, Elodie Dickinson, the Director of Business and Workforce Development, presented on behalf of the Economic Development Grants Program. In fiscal year 2022, $200,000 in grants were awarded to five workforce partners, resulting in 346 job placements and 10 commercial driver's lessencers. The top three industry sectors represented were manufacturing, skilled trades, hospitality, with an average wage of $12.88 per hour. The program's fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024, funding was allocated by Council from the American Rescue Plan Act funds for a total of $800,000 annually. Dickinson shared eight agencies were awarded $50,000 this fiscal year and are required to report quarterly on their progress. The Economic Development Grant Program is in its six-year funding was awarded a total of 1.15 million grants to 14 unique agencies resulting in 1,054 job placements and 10 licensures. No action was taken on that item. Lastly, Melissa Luker, Director of Budgeting, presented on behalf of the Budget Amendment Revisions item. The Budget Process Workgroup recommended amendments to the 2005 Budget Ordinance to expand qualifications for budget adjustments. The current ordinance does not allow revenue, capital, and transfers as budget adjustments. The proposed change would allow for the adjustment of associated taxes and benefits, Council approved personnel actions related to position changes in the transfer of funds from contingency personnel accounts to division budgets. The new proposal clarifies that managing divisions would have the authority to reallocate accounts from one division to another if necessary. The proposal would allow operating funds to be moved within a department, expanding from being allowable within a division. Additionally, the proposal would allow capital accounts to be moved within the same account series and NDFs allocated to departments to be processed as adjustments. The final recommendation pertains to budget amendments during the fiscal year transition. Currently, the Council rules and procedures prior to the annual audit compilation. Budget amendments cannot be made if they have an impact on fund balance. The proposed new language would still permit emergency allocations and reappropriation of funds, but would also allow budget amendments before completion of the audit that impact fund balance, if there is unaccounted fund balance. A motion by Susan Lamb, seconded by James Brown, to approve the draft budget amendment revisions ordinance and refer to full council, passed unanimously, and on behalf of the committee, I so move. Is there a second? Councilmember Plumman seconded. Any questions? No? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Thank you, Mayor. We adjourned at 206. Very good. Thank you. Does anyone have any other questions for Councilmember Bledsoe in her report? All right. Thank you very much. At this time, we have a very special proclamation. If I could please invite Keith Horn to the podium. Council members, you all know Keith. And Keith is a very special part of our Department of Law and has been here many years, which you'll hear in a moment. The greatest story I think I always remember about Keith, you know, Keith is our litigator. And he has sat before counsel on many occasions at his table while the opposing attorney sat at their table. And one particular hearing, we won't refer to it because you and I know which one it was. A long time ago. Long time ago, the opposing attorney had masses of papers all over the table, and Keith Horn had two or three stacks. One, two, three. When you ask Keith a question, council members, he would pick up a bit of a stack, pull a document out, and then answer the question. It was amazing. He's unbelievably organized. But this is very difficult, I think, not only for me, but for many people in this room to acknowledge his upcoming retirement. Because we don't want you to go. However, that being said, I do have a proclamation, and I also wanted to recognize, Keith, your family, some of your family are here. Will you introduce them before we go on? My wife of 36 years and the best thing about me, Vicki, is here. Yay. My niece, Alex, and her husband, Billy. Wonderful. Thank you. I'll just add that Vicki is also an attorney and also retired. And any of you who are thinking, how has she put up with him for 36 years? I can only say, that's fair. And, you know, back to Keith and the hearings, he always had the best poker face, didn't he? You never knew what Keith was thinking. And I imagine your dinner conversations have been very interesting during those 36 years. So with that, I have a proclamation, and then I'll ask Keith to say a few words. I'll just preface this with we're going to miss you greatly. Whereas Keith Horne's career as an attorney has been devoted to public service, mostly as a member of the law department of the city of Lexington, And whereas Keith was hired as a city attorney in January 1995, and other than a few years with the state, he continued working for the city until his retirement, Halloween, October 2022. too, this is somehow appropriate for Keith, as managing attorney, and whereas Keith is an outstanding litigator and public speaker who is able to explain complicated issues in an understandable way, who is always organized and prepared. And whereas Keith always keeps an even keel, maintaining a poker face even in the most heated conversations, and is unfailingly kind. And whereas Keith has a dry wit and a wicked sense of humor, and whereas city employees across government seek Keith's sound legal advice, and he is always generous with his time, and whereas Keith also shares his expertise with law clerks, legal interns, and other attorneys in the law department, and whereas Keith is the recipient of the International Municipal Lawyers Association Distinguished Public Service Award. Now, therefore, I, Linda Gorton, Mayor of Lexington, do hereby declare October 25, 2022, Keith Horn Day in Lexington and wish him a long, happy retirement. Keith, may the force be with you. Congratulations. You know I hate it. I didn't hear your Star Wars talk. First, let me say, Mayor, I really appreciate your very kind words. It means a lot because I admire and respect you so much. Thank you. And I very, very deeply appreciate receiving the proclamation. I take it as meaning, job well done. I also take it as meaning that during my career here, I've earned your trust and your confidence, and if I have achieved that, then I am satisfied. I moved to Lexington in 1986 to attend college. I consider Lexington my home. Lexington has been good to and good for me. I take this proclamation as meaning that in some ways, maybe I've also been good to and for Lexington. I began working in a Department of Law as a law clerk when I was in law school, and I clerked from the summer of 1991 to the summer of 1993, and then I started working as an attorney with the law department in 1995. I had the opportunity to work with some amazing and learn from some amazing attorneys those early years of my career. B.D. Delaney, Ed Gardner, Barbara Sled, Terry Holmes, Chris Westover, Wayne Waddell. If any of the people I've worked with during my career remember and feel about me the way that I remember and feel about the attorneys who mentored me, then I am satisfied. I also want to acknowledge that any success I've had in my career is because of my incredible law department team. I will end with something I said several years ago, but I think it's worth repeating. If a man is fortunate, he gets to work with people who make him a better attorney. If he's even more fortunate, he gets to spend his life with someone who makes him a better person. And if he's amazingly fortunate, he gets both. I'm an amazingly fortunate man. Thank you. Are you going to do a photo? Unless you don't have your family? And how about your law department? Okay, so we're going to do two photos, one with counsel and Keith and his family, and then we're going to bring the law department up. your danger, right? Perfect. Smile. Perfect. Thank you. Why don't you move over here? Perfect. All right. Now it is time for council reports. If you'll sign in. Councilmember Plowman. Thank you, Mayor. I was going to share last night, several of us and also the mayor attended a dinner tribute to Mr. P.G. Peoples and was very special. Over 900 folks attended this event last night. And that speaks to just what he means to our community. I had the opportunity and the privilege to work with Mr. Peoples, P.G., for my years that I was at United Way. And we worked on a lot of projects together. I'll tell you, this man, passionate about our community, visionary about our community. He was a gift to our community. And he actually was at the Urban League for 53 years. I think he started when he was 23 or something like that. But I just wanted to put out publicly how much he has meant to me, but also I know just so many people in our community. So I wanted to share that. A couple other things. Next week starts the festivities for Breeders' Cup, which will be held at Keeneland. and there's going to be a week-long citywide schedule of activities. And VisitLex has all of them posted on their website. And I hope you check them out because it's going to be a fun week for Lexington and for the region and really a lot of folks that are coming into Lexington from all over the country. And then last, we are looking at our domestic violence challenges and situation in our community. And on Thursday night, please join, if you can, the city and Greenhouse 17 for an evening of short films by and for and about women. And the proceeds do benefit the services of intimate partner abuse. It starts at 7 o'clock at the Kentucky Theater. And this has been an event they've had for many years. But, again, try to support and join us. 7 o'clock Thursday. It's called Luna Fest. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member James Brown. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Councilmember Pullman, for bringing up last night's event. Having the opportunity to recognize somebody like PG and what all he's done for our community while he's still here is just a perfect opportunity. I know he's been a mentor to me since I've been on council, and all the projects and initiatives that he's pushed in our community has been impressive to be that consistent so long. And then also, I'd also like to say it's Keith. Did Keith take off? Keith Horn. You know, one of the things that's hard to get used to here at City Hall is every time you meet and work with good people, at some point they retire. So Keith has been clear. He's been consistent. And he's answered the questions, the hard questions, when you ask them. And you can't ask for more than that from an attorney, from a counselor, and somebody that you work with here at City Hall. So he will be missed. But I think we still have a good law department. We have some new faces, some new folks, and hopefully they get to learn from him why he's still here. So, Keith, enjoy your retirement. And the next, Cash or Commissioner, I have a question. I have a question about code enforcement issues. I'm getting calls from a couple of people in the district that are receiving multiple code enforcement complaints. And I know that our current policy is we're complaint-based. So our code enforcement officers aren't necessarily going around looking for citations. Somebody is calling or submitting these complaints, and some of them justified, some of them not. And the person that I was talking to yesterday said that they felt like they were targeted and want to know if there was anything they could do to see if that's the case, if somebody is targeting them. I know that we can file or people have the right to file complaints and be anonymous, but is there a way to see if somebody doesn't file anonymous? And even if they are, can we tell if they're coming from one particular source? Internally, through the Lex call, if it was sent through the email process, there would be an email address attached to that particular complaint, but it's not part of the public record that you would see on your service request number on our website, the 311 service request website for co-enforcement that has the last 90 days. None of that information is on there as to where it comes from. Our folks generally only get contact information from a tenant to schedule an appointment to get into a unit to verify a housing issue. So most nuisance, we don't know where they come from. The 3-1-1 generates it. The originator of the complaint shows up in a box. It's usually one of 3-1-1 staff or one of my staff that generated the service request. So we don't necessarily see who it comes from unless we were asked to call them back, and then even that's not necessarily published. It could come out in personal interactions in the field. Complaints have kind of shown up with our guys on site. I think we've had some areas where the neighbors have come out because they're glad to see us. Thank God you're here. And that kind of blows any anonymity issues. But from our record-keeping standpoint as an open records, I can't give you that information externally. The complaints names are redacted by our open records policy. So even if you gave me your name, you made the request to want to know who made complaints on this, I couldn't give it to you. Okay. So I know one of the recommendations from the Mayor's Commission on Racial Justice and Equality and also the Neighborhoods in Transition Task Force was that we moved to make code enforcement complaints not anonymous, that the people making the complaints had to self-identify. I know that now, since we have everything in one division, and I think we're trying to change the culture of a lot of things, I'd be interested if you all would take a look at code enforcement, the commissioner, at maybe coming back to us with some suggestions on how we can improve the reporting process for code enforcement violations so we can find out if folks are being targeted and it's predatory as opposed to just trying to get neighbors to be compliant. Predatory by issue of the complainants driving them? Yeah, not predatory on code enforcement's part. That would probably be a bigger question for law than myself because they say under our open record act, to the table as well ask them to ask them to help with the effort as well i'm just saying i know from our we have a list of information and open records that we're required to take out of any open records request and the complaint's name is like top three their phone number personal information things like companies and company information is not redacted but personal names and phone numbers and addresses are and that's you know that that's not our policy but we could look at it i know there are other jurisdictions where you cannot complain anonymously i lived in one for a long time where if you wanted a complaint you had to attach a name and address that you were a constituent to make the complaint but that's that's not the case here and i'm not aware that we're the only division required to comply with that okay so i mean we'll be happy to to look into the idea but it's been that way a long long time even with my days back in building inspection you couldn't get names of people personal people okay and that was that was about retaliation from my recollection well i'm at a time so mayor i'll i'll follow up with the commissioner and uh in the director and see what we can do to maybe put this item in committee thank you thank you okay well director ol chevy i i thought of one question would you be if council member Brown has an address that's particularly had a lot of complaints on it. Is it possible to talk with him about that? Are you? Oh yeah, oh yeah, I can give you the frequency of the number of cases, the style of complaint, all that. That is all in the Salesforce data now that we can pull that up for you pretty quick now. And whether those complaints produced a citation or not? That's correct. I can also tell you whether it was a notice, a citation, appeal, the result of the appeals, the frequency of condemnations, different things. We can generate a lot of robust reports now through Salesforce. So, so Mayor, just to add some clarity, I think we, there's a particular property, we know that there's a lot of complaints. The question is, is someone targeting that property? and if so what ways can you identify who that is and how do we treat it internally going forward so that I think it's a little more complicated than just knowing how many and whether they were yeah and whether it's yes substantiated yeah okay all right thank you all right thank you Councilmember McCurron thank you mayor um I'm going to try and be brief with all my remarks here I also want to give a shout out and I was honored to be at the dinner last night for mr. PG peoples there are a lot of movers and shakers in Lexington but there are a few that stand out as much as he does in this community and when he speaks you listen and he's he's done a wonders for this community and I've had the privilege of working with him and mr. horn I know you're not in chambers year but if you are watching I've also enjoyed our time working together greatly and going to miss you here this weekend on Saturday in particular air literally all the things starting at 9 a.m. to 9 to 11 at Masterson or a fire station 24 in Masterson station will be my annual pancake breakfast I encourage you to come out please come out council members community members bring your families. You can dress up in a costume if you wish to. Last year we had several superheroes that showed up and one dapper Darth Vader that cooked pancakes, if anybody recalls him. Just saying. There'll be pancakes, eggs, bacon, drinks, like milk and orange juice. I hope to see you all out there. It's always a great event and I want to thank the fire department for their support annually with this. On Saturday at 1 o'clock to 3 at Whitney Young Park will be the community festival, fall festival. This is the second time the neighborhood is hosting this festival, and this will be in partnership with Mobile Mission and Community Inspired Lexington, plus many more. We'll have the police grill team out there, and there'll be tons of fun and games for the community as well. Then McConnell's Trace that evening starting at 3 p.m. till about 8. They will be doing a trunk retreat. It'll be doing a parade through the neighborhood. Please come out for some more family fun. And then on Halloween at Douglas Park, the Georgetown Street Area Neighborhood Association will be hosting their trunk retreat from 6 to 8 p.m. I do want to say happy Halloween to everyone. Please be safe if you are out that evening. We'll have a lot of our youth out dressed in costumes with masks on. So if you are driving, please, please, please drive extremely slow and precautious. Thank you. Happy Halloween. October 31st, 6 to 8 p.m. is trick-or-treat. Yes, ma'am, 6 to 8 p.m. Yes. Vice Mayor Kay. Thank you, Mayor. I want to add my comments to about both Mr. PG Peoples and Keith Horn. As I already mentioned, PG was somebody that really fulfilled a specific and very important role in this community for a very long time. A lot of people don't know about how much he did in the background. He was visible, he was vocal, but he was incredibly effective in dealing with very sensitive issues in this community. and he managed to say what needed to be said and maintain the respect of all of the people that he talked to and he's retiring and he will be missed in that position and for Keith at the end of my 12th year of counsel and learning how to to deal with issues and to rely on the law department. As has already been said, Keith was a straight dealer. I knew I could get from Keith what I needed to know. He didn't always tell me exactly what I wanted to hear, but he let me know kind of from his perspective what needed to be done. I appreciated that. He will be missed. And then finally, there's been a lot of information circulated to council from employees about the compensation study and not just individuals who have specific concerns but people who have concerns about the way in which the underlying um the structure of that report the assumptions that it makes when we looked at the actual results it seemed like there was some unfairness and some inequity in it and so I was inclined to kind of bring either an amendment or an ordinance forward that would amend what we're going to consider on Thursday night but I was convinced by a very good attorney in the in the in our office that that would not be the best way forward so instead i'm going to make a motion to put into the general government committee a review of the way in which the compensation study has been implemented with special attention to people who were given a title and increase with no accompanying pay. Employees saw a reduction of their salary slash market rate ratio and employees who have made lateral moves and their total employee time employed for consideration in that salary. So those are a few things. There may be more, but I think there I think we need to hear what our employees have told us about the way in which this compensation study has been implemented and it may be at the end of the day that there's a rationale for everything that was done but I think we need to spend some time looking at that so I make that motion thank you council member lamb seconds is there any discussion you have to raise your hand if you want to discuss all right all those in favor say aye Aye. Anyone opposed? That motion passes. You're welcome. Councilmember Baxter. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to announce that the Kentucky Book Festival will be taking place this Saturday at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Lexington Green from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be lots of authors and book signings that day. And then Councilmember Kern mentioned Halloween. I just wanted to give, as a parent, if you are getting your kid dressed on Halloween, you might invest in some reflective tags or glow sticks or something to make them a little more visible. Kids are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and involved in a tragic accident on Halloween than any other day of the year. So please make sure, like Councilman McCurron said, that we are being aware as we're driving around and paying attention to what's going on. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Maloney. Thank you. May I appreciate it? We're all talking about PG. I don't want to repeat everything. He has done tremendous for this community, but he had a huge impact on me. There are two people in my life that got me in affordable housing, one with Don Ball and the other one with PG. When I went to work for Kentucky Housing, PG was on the board of Kentucky Housing, and we got to know each other because I was on the council. And he showed me the ways. And I came back, and I went to work for Community Ventures. And when he was at Urban League, we compared notes. And then when I told him I went on to REACH, he encouraged me to go to REACH and become the president there. So he had a huge impact in affordable housing in my life. And I wish he would never be another one like him. And I'm honored that I had the chance to work with both him and Don Ball. Now, to Keith, that man's a classic lawyer. I've been here a long time, but I've never met a guy that's so calm. You're right about poker. And he knows how to really answer the question where everybody understands it. And that, to me, is what a great lawyer is. I'm going to tell him he did it. He's been great. And I do appreciate what he's done. And, Vice Mayor, I appreciate your motion, but I'm still not going to support item 10 on Tuesday for second reading. I'd rather we had this in the committee for discussion before we bring it out for second reading because I've heard the same thing you've had, and to me, there's employees that I've been here the whole time through the COVID, and they didn't get the $5,000. They were here every day, and they got that bump up, but they didn't get a raise. and they've been here with people who have been working from home and got raises and they don't have to pay gas to come to work. And it seems like we didn't put all everything together. And it concerns me, the morale of what people are going around. It's been pretty bad this week, and my heart goes out to these employees. There's a lot of great workers, and I've sat with commissioners. I've sat with directors, and we've sat in rooms and seen people cry and how they have no career now. They get the max out, but they have no career, and they didn't get no promotion, no money. So to me, I am not going to support number 10 for second reading, but I do appreciate what you're doing, Vice Mayor, but I think sometimes it might be a little bit late. Maybe we should wait and hear what everybody says before we give a second reading. That's just me, because there's a lot of interesting things that are going to come out when you hear what I've heard, and I think I encourage my colleagues the same thing. I usually tell you why I vote, but this is the first time I'm pleading with you all. You might want to hold off on this and wait until you hear the whole story and be fair to everybody. And to me, I've never seen the morale as low as it is right now. So I thought the MAG was supposed to help the low-income people to bring jobs and make their jobs go up and make it quick. But there were people who were upper class that got promotion and raises that I didn't think should have got it. And to me, or that shouldn't have been in the study, but that's just me. I have my opinion. You all have their own opinion. But to me, I felt like the ones that needed the most did not get what they needed. So that's why I will not support this. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Reynolds. Thank you, Mayor. I, real quick, wanted to say a few things about what Council Member Brown said in terms of code enforcement. We've had that discussion on and off for a while about predatory people that are calling in a predatory sort of way on certain houses, sometimes founded and sometimes unfounded. And I do think it's a really delicate balance because we don't want people to feel like they can't call code and be anonymous and not have retaliation. And at the same time, we don't want properties being targeted for various reasons. So I'm willing to look at that in committee as well. And I do have that item of code enforcement still in committee. So that's something that maybe we could work on together because it's been an ongoing issue. And then I just have a few announcements. There are a million things happening this weekend. So if you want to have some fun with your family, I think you can find it anywhere. But I am going to just mention that the Pine Meadows, Cardinal Hill, and Mason Healy neighborhood are having their activities this Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m., first with a pumpkin carving contest and then a costume and pet parade. and on Sunday the 30th there is going to be a fall fling from 4 to 6 p.m. at Gardenside Christian Church. And then I want to highlight a really great event, I think, anyway, in Valley Park on Saturday from 4.30 to 10 p.m. It is the Dia de los Muertos, so the Day of the Dead Festival, And it is going to be a partnership with Parks and Rec and Casa de Cultura. And they did this last year, and it was amazing. We had a huge turnout. There were a lot of people there. There's performances and food. And this is celebrating a typical Mexican holiday that I really like, which celebrates death and life. So I hope you all will come out and join us on Saturday. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Lamb. Thank you, Mayor. And I do want to chime in. I know that I wasn't able to make the celebration for Mr. Peoples last night, but I know I am a better person and a better human being and a better council person for knowing and working with him over the years. He has always just been just top flight. And as far as Keith goes, I mean, I have worked with him from the first day he walked in here, even as an intern. And we have worked on some very difficult, very complex issues, and I have, too, seen him in action with the disciplinary hearings, and his tenacity just always has blown my mind. I mean, I couldn't be any more proud. I wish he and his family the best and the best, as I do for Mr. Peoples and his family the best in their retirements, and thank them for everything they've done for our community. And I just want to touch a little bit based on what, Vice Mayor, I appreciate that you put that in the committee because I do think there are some things that do need to be reviewed. And I know that I've had several employees call me and talk to me about it and email me, and I appreciate that. I've also had a number of employees that have also said to me that they appreciated that we moved this item forward because what I said last week about how many government employees were sitting and watching that conversation, not last week, but during that presentation, it was true. And I have been in this government long enough to know that I have been in studies where my colleagues next to me or in other divisions, they received increases in pay and I didn't. And I just think our employees are really kind and compassionate employees and don't hold that against each other. I think that we do need to look into some of the issues that Vice Mayor was talking about, and I believe that there's going to be some conversations about that. But I think the fact about possibly delaying this, I'm telling you, I know what that makes employees feel like. I know. I come from that. I grew up in this. So I applaud my colleagues for moving it forward, and I think that it is in the best interest. And I do know that we will look at this in a more narrow scope to some of the items that have been brought to our attention. And I feel confident that we will figure out a solution and to address the concerns of those that have brought things forward. So I appreciate the work that the study, the agency did, and that our human resources did. And so I just want the employees to hear that we appreciate and value them, both sworn and non-sworn. We're very fortunate to have such good employees in this urban county government. And we've been able to do a lot for the employees this past year with all this ARPA money. I mean, I haven't tallied it up, but there have been more monies that have been given to employees. in the last couple of years, and maybe sometime whenever I'm off council, I'll have time to go back and look it up and actually tally it up. And the employees appreciate that. They appreciate every penny of it and every kind word because they listen to this. So I appreciate those that are hearing my words right now, and thank you so much, Mayor. Thank you. Any other council reports? All right. There is a mayor's report. If I could have a motion. Thank you. Vice Mayor, second by Council Member Sheehan. Any questions? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. I will add my voice to the chorus of PG people's. PG really is one of a kind and I think that the fact that 900 people showed up for him last night is a huge statement. I have known him since the mid-90s when we sat on the inaugural Fayette County Public Schools Equity Council and PG was our leader. He chaired that inaugural Equity Council and people like Reverend Bob Brown, Arnold Gaither, Jack Birch, we were all in there kind of, you know, finding our way forward on the equity issues that came up to us. And PG's been a phenomenal role model, phenomenal leader and had so much influence on how we as Lexington look as a city. So we're grateful for his time. Next is the price contract bid recommendations. If I could have a motion. So moved. Council Member Plowman, second by Council Member Sheehan. Are there any questions? No. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. We have two people signed up for public comment, and the council asks that you come to the podium and state your name and your council district, and you'll each have three minutes. So first is Dottie Bean. Welcome. Council members, during the pandemic, we spent a lot of time watching the wheels of government grind out unequaled amounts of money to help Americans weather the shutdown of the economy that was unnecessary and lasted more than a year. We were glad to see that money was provided to feed, house, and protect the homeless and other vulnerable citizens, and then build houses for them and others when the economy recovered. We also saw very large amounts of money allocated to help local governments in their struggles to continue to provide basic services to taxpayers while not receiving some of the normal tax revenues they have always used to make sure those services included public safety and all of those were taken care of. Today in the Budget and Finance Committee, we saw a lot of what is left of that money that came to Lexington handed out to government workers, community organizations, such as the Commerce, Lexington, and other pet projects for the mayor and the council members and the vice mayor. We are in a city of 330,000 where crime, poverty, and homelessness have greatly increased because of rampant gambling, a vast new network of breweries and distilleries, and a speculative housing market that has driven up costs and driven very low-income people into the streets and has de-emphasized prosecuting drug crimes. During the time we were shut down, we saw a reimagined downtown spring up and a lot of small businesses closed in areas outside of downtown that weren't bars, online gambling parlors, or politically connected startups. We are very disappointed that the city did not see fit to use the monies from the Rescue Recovery Act to help to benefit the citizens who have struggled to help it stay afloat during the past two years. We hope Lexington Tonians will let you know what they think of this on November the 8th. For the record, are you still in the 8th district? Pardon? For the record, are you still in the 8th district? Okay, thank you. Next is Tana Fogle. Welcome. Here I am again. Welcome. Your name and your council district. Tana Fogle, 1st District, James Brown, councilman. Okay, so Chief Weathers, his hashtag, if you see something, say something. If you see something, say something. I'm here to say, if you see something, say something. Council, please do something. Last week, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I stayed out to 2 a.m., transporting people without homes, what people will say, homeless folks, to hotels. Our process was to go to the Salvation Army and to the Hope Center to see if they were eligible to come in for shelter. You all know that the freeze warning and all of that happened. And so for those who were not eligible, and you guys need to check in to why they're not eligible. Some we found had a Pop-Tart and went into a living area, so they were barred for six months. But anyway, so folks were not eligible, and six hotels with a block of rooms, we filled them up for three nights. I don't even know if you all knew that, but it did happen because I was one of the drivers. And thank you for talking about the pancake breakfast. I think we'll load up some people in our homes and we'll come out. And they haven't had bacon and stuff for a long time, so you might see us. But I'm asking you all. I know there's reports that have been given that homelessness doesn't look like it's presented. But we are here to stand in the gap. And these are people who are falling through the cracks. They are real. If you see something, say something. Right, Chief? If you see something, say something. City Council, do something. Please. I don't know how many times I have to come down here. I'm running for First District, and right now I don't even know if I'm going to complete the race because I'm not having a good feeling. If you see something, say something. Do you see these people? Should we come out on the south side and trick-or-treat? Or should we come down during the Breeders' Cup? With vans full of folks, what will make you see people? I'm just asking you. This is what I do. I was going to stand up here and just be quiet for three minutes. That was going to be hard for me, but I was going to do it. And I'm just asking. I'm appealing one more time. I heard about this surplus of money that's floating around. Is there some way? I mean, we started off asking for the clarion on Richmond Road, and that got shot down. Then we said we could re-wreck these facilities for folks to take a shower and be a part of this community from November to April. That was shot down. Then we were supposed to have met with Charlie for this $55,000 for overnights at the lighthouse, and that doesn't look like that's going to go through. Where are people going to go? That's all I want to ask. I know it's three minutes. My time is up, and I'm glad it's up. Thank you. Thank you, counsel. have a nice Halloween and I'll be looking for all of these places that you're going to have these events. Thank you. Thank you very much. That finishes our agenda, Council Members. Yes, Council Member Bledsoe. Thank you, Mayor. We will take a brief recess when it is adjourned and bring our budget meeting back to, from recess at 420, which we'll get one time to take a little break. Okay, very good. 420. 420. Okay, thank you. Is there a motion to adjourn? Second. All right. All those in favor say aye. Aye. We are adjourned. Thank you all for being here. you