# Council Work Session - July 2, 2024 > Auto-transcribed civic record · July 2, 2024 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/6155 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/6155?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2024-07-02 - **Last revised**: July 2, 2024 - **Length**: 8,620 words > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed with OpenAI's open-source Whisper large-v3-turbo model, run locally by The Lexington Times. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude. Verbatim wording may contain errors. See [methodology](https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/about/methodology) or [report a correction](mailto:editor@lexingtonky.news). --- ## Meeting Overview The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council convened on July 2, 2024, at 3:00 PM in the Council Chamber in Lexington, Kentucky, with Mayor Gorton presiding. The council addressed four agenda items during the session, including both informational presentations and policy decisions. The meeting featured seven motions and votes, with the council approving a Crime Victim Paid Leave Policy as the primary legislative action of the day. Two members of the public provided comments during the public comment period. The council also received informational updates on the Public Infrastructure Program, an expansion of the Mental Health Court with an Aftercare Program, and a SPOKE Award presentation, demonstrating the body's focus on both infrastructure improvements and social services initiatives. ## Attendance The following members were present at the July 2, 2024 meeting: **Present:** • Mayor Gorton • Vice Mayor Wu • J. Brown • Ellinger II • Fogle • Lynch • LeGris • Monarrez • Sheehan • Worley • F. Brown • Sevigny • Reynolds • Plomin **Absent:** • Gray • Baxter **Late:** • None A total of 14 members were present for the meeting, with 2 members absent. No members arrived late to the proceedings. ## Votes and Decisions The Council conducted seven voice votes during the July 2, 2024 meeting, with all motions passing unanimously [timestamp: 03:00]. **Docket Approval** Councilmember Baxter motioned to approve the July 2, 2024 Council Meeting Docket, seconded by Councilmember Monarrez. The motion passed by voice vote. **Lex Arts Purchase Agreement** Councilmember Plomin motioned to approve a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute a purchase agreement with Lex Arts, seconded by Councilmember Gray. The motion passed by voice vote. **Work Session Motions** Councilmember Fogle motioned to approve Council Work Session Motions from June 25, 2024, seconded by Councilmember Plomin. The motion passed by voice vote. **Budget Amendments** Councilmember Plomin motioned to approve Budget Amendments, seconded by Councilmember Baxter. The motion passed by voice vote. **New Business** Councilmember Gray motioned to approve New Business items, seconded by Councilmember Monarrez. The motion passed by voice vote. **Capital Projects** Councilmember Legris motioned to approve Capital Projects, seconded by Councilmember Sheehan. The motion passed by voice vote. **Crime Victim Paid Leave Ordinance** Councilmember Plomin motioned to approve Section 21-37.4 of the Code of Ordinances for Crime Victim Paid Leave, seconded by Councilmember Gray. The motion passed by voice vote. All votes were conducted by voice vote rather than roll call, with no recorded individual vote tallies or opposition noted for any of the seven motions considered. ## Budget and Financial Actions The meeting addressed two significant financial agreements totaling over $814,000. **Lex Arts Services Contract** The council considered a purchase agreement with Lex Arts for services valued at $325,000. This contract represents a substantial investment in arts-related services for the community. **Public Infrastructure Forgivable Loan** A Public Infrastructure Program Forgivable Loan Agreement was reviewed for Red Draw Liberty LLC in the amount of $489,613. This loan, designated as L0687-24, is part of the city's infrastructure development initiatives and represents the larger of the two financial commitments discussed during the meeting. The combined value of these two financial actions totals $814,613, representing significant budgetary commitments across both cultural services and infrastructure development sectors. ## Public Comment Two members of the public addressed the meeting during the public comment period. **Brittany Rothmeyer** [timestamp: 00:00] from Fayette Alliance spoke in support of the Public Infrastructure Fund. Rothmeyer emphasized the importance of targeting infill and redevelopment areas through this funding mechanism, advocating for strategic investment in existing developed areas rather than new development. **Rick Day** [timestamp: 03:00] raised concerns about HR and administration compensation practices. Day criticized the handling of compensation matters by the HR and administration departments, specifically questioning the fairness and transparency of the compensation process. He expressed dissatisfaction with how these issues were being managed. The public comment period covered two distinct areas: infrastructure funding policy and internal administrative practices related to employee compensation. ## Contested Items The meeting featured one significant point of contention regarding proposed amendments to the Public Infrastructure Program. **Public Infrastructure Program Amendments** A heated discussion emerged over language in the ordinance concerning funding priorities for infrastructure projects. The central disagreement focused on whether the program should emphasize funding for projects located in infill and redevelopment areas, or if such funding should be mandatory. The debate centered on the distinction between encouraging versus requiring infrastructure investments in these targeted areas. Some participants appeared to favor stronger language that would mandate prioritizing infill and redevelopment projects, while others supported a more flexible approach that would emphasize these areas without creating binding requirements. Following the discussion, the council ultimately reached a resolution through an amendment to the ordinance. The final version adopted language that emphasizes, but does not require, funding for projects in infill and redevelopment areas. This compromise approach allows the program to signal priority for these types of developments while maintaining discretionary authority over funding decisions. The amendment represents a middle-ground solution that acknowledges the importance of infill and redevelopment projects for urban planning goals while preserving flexibility in the program's implementation. ## Public Infrastructure Program Update [timestamp: 03:00] Craig Bencz presented an update on the Public Infrastructure Program during the meeting, focusing on proposed amendments to the program's funding priorities. The presentation centered on proposed changes that would emphasize directing funding toward infill and redevelopment areas. This represents a shift in the program's approach to infrastructure investment, prioritizing development within existing urban boundaries rather than expansion into new areas. Bencz outlined how these amendments would affect the allocation of public infrastructure resources, though specific details about funding amounts, timelines, or affected projects were not provided in the available meeting data. The presentation was informational in nature, with no formal action taken during this agenda item. The update appears to be part of ongoing discussions about how the municipality directs its infrastructure investments to support strategic development goals. This agenda item served to inform council members and the public about the proposed direction for the Public Infrastructure Program, with the emphasis on infill and redevelopment areas aligning with common urban planning principles that promote efficient use of existing infrastructure and services. ## Crime Victim Paid Leave Policy [timestamp: 03:00] Stephanie Theakston presented an ordinance establishing a paid leave policy for crime victims during the July 2, 2024 meeting. The proposed policy would provide workplace protections and financial support for employees who are victims of crimes. Theakston emphasized the policy's dual benefits for both workplace safety and survivor support. The presentation highlighted how providing paid leave for crime victims can create a safer work environment while offering crucial assistance to employees during difficult circumstances following criminal incidents. The policy represents an expansion of employee benefits designed to address the practical challenges crime victims face when dealing with legal proceedings, recovery, and other aftermath of criminal acts. By providing paid time off, the policy would allow affected employees to attend court hearings, seek medical treatment, obtain counseling services, or handle other crime-related matters without facing financial hardship from lost wages. The ordinance was approved by the governing body, indicating support for enhancing employee protections and recognizing the unique needs of crime victims in the workplace. This policy addition demonstrates the jurisdiction's commitment to supporting community members who have experienced criminal victimization while maintaining their employment stability during recovery and legal processes. ## Expanding the Mental Health Court with an Aftercare Program [timestamp: 03:00] Bill Buckman presented information about expanding the Mental Health Court through the addition of an aftercare program. The presentation focused on how this expansion would help reduce recidivism rates among participants in the mental health court system. Buckman discussed the proposed aftercare program as an extension of the existing Mental Health Court services, highlighting its potential impact on preventing repeat offenses. The presentation emphasized the connection between continued support services and successful outcomes for individuals who have completed the mental health court program. The agenda item was presented for informational purposes, with no formal action taken during the meeting. The discussion centered on the benefits of providing ongoing support to mental health court graduates to help maintain their progress and reduce the likelihood of returning to the criminal justice system. ## SPOKE Award Presentation [timestamp: 03:00] Elizabeth McGee was recognized with the SPOKE Award during the meeting for her exceptional contributions to the budget team and government operations. The presentation was conducted by Mayor Gorton and Melissa Luker. The SPOKE Award appears to be a recognition program acknowledging outstanding performance and dedication among government staff members. McGee's selection for this honor highlights her significant impact on budget-related work and broader governmental functions. Mayor Gorton and Melissa Luker served as the key speakers for this presentation, formally recognizing McGee's achievements and contributions to the organization. The award presentation was informational in nature, celebrating McGee's professional excellence and service to the community. This recognition underscores the importance of acknowledging dedicated public servants who contribute meaningfully to municipal operations, particularly in critical areas such as budget management and government administration. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the July 2, 2024 Council Meeting Docket, as amended - **Motion** — passed (0-0): place on the docket for the July 2, 2024 Council Meeting a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute a Purchase of Services Agreement with LexArts, Inc. for various services relating to providing support to the arts community and community at-large at a cost not to exceed $325,000 - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the June 25, 2024 Work Session Summary - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve Budget Amendments - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve New Business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve Council Capital Projects - **Motion** — passed (0-0): advance to the full Council the ordinance relating to the Public Infrastructure Program [including the addition of language to increase housing] - **Motion** — passed (0-0): amend the Public Infrastructure Program ordinance, Sec. 1(B) adding “but not required” to the underlined portion after the word “emphasis”, and Sec. 1(E)(1) adding “but not required” to the underlined portion after the word “emphasis” - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approve Sec. 21-37.4 of the code of ordinances of the LFUCG to authorize up to fifty-six (56) hours of paid leave and up to two hundred and forty (240) hours of unpaid leave per calendar year for classified civil service employees who are victims of domestic violence or a crime, for needs related to or resulting from domestic violence or the crime, including the following amendment: leave granted under this section is not available for (1) work-related incidents or (2) work-related injuries, effective upon passage of Council - **Motion** — passed (0-0): adjourn at 4:00 p.m --- ## Full transcript Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome everyone. They just don't listen, do they? I'd like to go ahead and welcome you today to the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council work session July the 2nd 2024 and it's 3 o'clock so I'm going to go ahead and call this meeting to order and now is the time for public comment for issues on the agenda and we have one person who went if you need to talk can you please Please go out in the hall. Thank you. And so the person who signed up for issues on the agenda is Brittany Rothmeier and I think you know that you need to state your name in your council district and you'll have three minutes. Welcome. Good afternoon, Mayor and members of the council. Brittany Rothmeier for Fade Alliance and we are in district three. The Urban Alliance appreciates the Council's consideration of the Public Infrastructure Fund, not only increasing funding for it, but refining the language within it to ensure that it matches the intent of the program itself. We believe that the inclusion of an emphasis on infill and targeted redevelopment area is particularly important. Naturally, it's not possible for this fund to address every development inside the urban service boundary. So, while it's important for the fund to be flexible, targeting areas we do want to see redeveloped would be most efficient. It's clear that there will need to be a need to address cost sharing for infrastructure in any new greenfield areas for development in both existing expansion areas from 96 and any new expansion areas. The Urban Growth Master Plan is supposed to be addressing those questions, and the framework for supporting infrastructure in those new areas is and should be different from the rest of the Urban Service Area, as it will be completely new infrastructure and also doesn't seem to be the overall intent of this particular public infrastructure fund. If that is the case, it could be beneficial to provide clarity on the overall intent and differentiate it from current and future expansion areas. This public infrastructure fund seems that it could provide the most benefit with a focus on aging and underutilized but already developed areas. As we continue to make investments in our downtown, many of our aging corridors haven't have been paid the same amount of attention, but have vast opportunities for redevelopment, including for housing, which is another key part of this program. The currently referenced infill and redevelopment map is a great starting point for targeting this fund, and Fayette Alliance believes that there's an opportunity for that map to be updated, to include a larger focus area that better reflects our corridors as our urban core has grown, expanded for example to include some of Leestown Road and Winchester Road among others. This map could be one of the part of criteria or scoring rubric built as mentioned by the committee members during last week's meeting. And housing could be another aspect of that same scoring criteria. In summary, it seems it would be beneficial for this fund to support project inside the existing urban service area, but not include existing or future expansion areas, which would have a separate and unique cost sharing program pursuant to the expansion area plans. This program could also benefit from an emphasis on aging redevelopment areas, and the infill and redevelopment area could be expanded with input from stakeholders on aging corridors not currently included in the existing map. We believe that there is an exciting opportunity for more stakeholder input in this important incentive program. We thank the council again for your investment in infill and public infrastructure, and would welcome being a part of the ongoing conversation about how to further incentivize infill and redevelopment moving forward. Thank you all. Thank you. All right, next up is our docket, so I'll entertain a motion to approve. Second. Council Member Baxter, second by Council Member Menardes. And if you have an item for the docket, will you please log in? Council Member Plowman. Thank you, Mayor. I move to place on the docket for the July 2, 2024 Council meeting a resolution authorizing the Mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute a purchase of a service agreement with LexArts. Inc. for various services relating to providing support to the arts community, the community at large, at a cost not to exceed $325,000. So moved. Is there a second? Second. Council Member Gray seconds. Are there any questions? All those in favor say aye. May. Oh, I'm sorry. Council Member Reynolds, did you have a question? Yes, thank you. Can you specify you're walking this on? Can you specify this is in addition to the money that we already? No, it's not. This is the money, yes. Just their only allocation for this coming budget? Yes. This is the regular annual PSA that we do for the money, that 325. Yes, so I'm just making sure this is not in addition to, this is just that amount, correct? That is correct. Okay, thank you. Any other questions? All right, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Is there anything else for the docket? All right, I'll ask those who are in favor of this walk-on and the docket as amended, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. next up is the council work session motions from june 25th 2024 could i have a motion to approve thank you council member fogel second by council member plowman are there questions corrections all right all those in favor say aye Anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. We do have budget amendments, and so I'll entertain a motion to approve. Council Member Plowman moves, Council Member Baxter seconds. Are there questions about budget amendments? Starting on page three. All right, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? right that motion passes council for your information only you have on page eight budget adjustments and that brings us to new business i'll entertain a motion to approve council member gray and then council member minares seconds and please log in with your questions council member gray thank you mayor um uh first of all i have a question regarding is it here um letter f which is regard there you are regarding the um where's the name of it it's the red um liberty road 2156 liberty road um just for the so residents who are watching if you could just give some more details thank you for emailing what was sent to me regarding this certainly so just to provide some background information this of course is a public infrastructure program application this is for the applicant is red draw liberty llc the site address is 2156 liberty road it's that vacant piece of property kind of adjacent to the school and the bus burn there on liberty road the proposed development for the site is 216 units of multi-family housing so that's essentially three-story garden apartments that are being being proposed total project cost is 52.7 million and the request from the applicant was 500 000 and a forgivable loan for the installation of sanitary sewer and storm water infrastructure The Economic Development Investment Board did hear this request during their May 7th meeting. And they have a recommended allocation or approval of $489,613 for the sanitary sewer improvements for this site. Essentially, the sanitary sewer improvements that are proposed will serve users adjacent to the site as well as this site itself. And will increase system capacity. And the result of this project also will remove an existing pump station that will decrease the overall system maintenance costs for the division of water quality. So there's some long-term benefits to the city as well for this project. The application is consistent with not only the policy that's in place right now, but with the incremental changes that the committee heard last week. two permanent jobs are being added to this site and after this project goes through the remaining balance from the original $3 million that council had allocated towards this program is down to $10,387 so that initial spend is just about allocated after this project. Glad to answer any other questions. Thank you. That's all I needed just for the record. And I have a question regarding letter H. It's regarding town branch. Director Burton, good to see you, sir. And I'm not sure, well, he can answer this. Is there an estimated completion date for the town branch? So that's an incredibly complicated question. I know, right? So we still have four phases left, three, four, five, and the crossing, which is what's on today's docket. Four and five, we are probably the nearest completion. We've got all the design elements resolved on that. We're just putting plans, finalizing plans. We had a holdup for four years due to a railroad issue. We've got that resolved. Phase three, which is just prior to that, still has a railroad issue that we're working on resolving. Hopefully we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, pun intended. And then this crossing section, which is just some minor design updates we have to make because of a right-of-way issue. Our goal is to put four and five in this crossing section out to bid this fall and hopefully start construction next spring, summer. Three, I can't make any promises on because it's still in the railroad's hands. Well, thank you, sir. No problem. And lastly, Monica, I, there you are. It's regarding letter I or L, J-K-L. L, I believe you answered pretty much most of my questions when you sent the information. Just for the record, can you give more information about, do we have individuals living on public property? We do. we have thank you for the question council member gray we have four individuals living in our parks that's down from seven several years ago but they these are annual renewal agreements that you're seeing come before you today and those employees provide vital services at those locations that they serve so at raven run also at jacobson and masterson station parks thank you i appreciate Appreciate you and thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Councilmember Plowman. Thank you, Mayor. And this is for letter D. Mr. Burton, if you'd come back up. And this really deals with our rural roads and the relationship between the rural roads and the fiscal court. And I thought for the benefit of possibly some of the new council members in the public, you could explain where that money's come from. So we get a yearly allocation from the state and it's effectively part of the gas tax and based on percentages and population that's roughly eight to a hundred thousand dollars a year i think we of what i would call needs of requests folks made to for paving and shoulder repairs and and other safety needs we probably have three million dollars in request so our goal is to to shrink that down and basically scope to fit our budget so we shrank that down to a couple paving projects a safety project on delong and then we're also working with the state's office of highway safety improvement program in order to leverage that funds for a vulnerable road user survey a road safety audit so that we can hopefully use some of those hsip funds to expand that 850 000 to even more to make some improvements on the rural roads yeah it usually is right around 800 000 And our office gets really involved in that because obviously all the county roads are out in the rural area. But I just wanted to explain that so people understood it was gasoline tax related. Right. Okay, thank you Mr. Burton. Yep. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Councilmember Fogle. Thank you, Mayor. C as in Charlie. Charlie. Commissioner Lanter. Commissioner Lanter and Jeff. So I know we gave funds for the awning to be put on the New Life Day Center. Can you just catch us up on, like this is the second summer and the awning's not up. Is there a hold up in a particular division as to why that awning for shade? And the reason why I'm bringing this, because you know our office get a lot of complaints for Martin Luther King and that area, but that's the only shaded areas like around front, and we're trying to keep them around the back. Can you help me, Jeff? Absolutely. So, one, a clarification. We did not execute the initial agreement until October 1st of last year, so this is only going to be the first summer under this agreement. Unfortunately, New Life Day Center is a much smaller organization. Part of the funding that we gave under this agreement was for operations in addition to these improvements. They have a little bit less of a cash flow than some of our larger providers. This is a reimbursement grant, as is the money that they got through the ARPA nonprofit capital grants. And so they had to kind of prioritize which issues that they were going to tackle first. They had some issues come up with their restrooms that were more urgent for them to immediately address. They also had some delays that were related to weather. I'm sure you remember we had quite a wet spring. But they have gone through the permitting process and work is to begin this week on that structure and should be completed within a couple of weeks. Do you see the smile? I'm smiling too. Thank you. That's really the only question I had. I just wanted to update on the progress down there at New Life Day Center so that we can tell the MLK Neighborhood Association that we're coming along. Thank you for the opportunity and your support. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. I had another one, Mayor, and that was, I believe that is, we'll leave Kay alone, maybe somebody else, E, as in everlasting. Hi, good evening. I'm Sam Murdock. Can you help us with the new process? For the item E on the DNI Labs International? Yes. That's a contract the police department has for a sole source provider for DNA testing. The average time when we send off for forensic evidence for DNA can take up to three to four to five years. by entering this it'll will get results back with DNA evidence within four to six weeks which you know these are very impactful crimes when we're submitting forensic evidence off for these types of issues and over time it makes these investigations very difficult for the investigators just because of witnesses you know over a period of two to three years we can lose track of witnesses and makes the investigation difficult and this will also help us bring some resolution to victims and individuals. Well, thank you because when I saw this, my heart leaped because there's so many mothers that have open cases that has not been resolved. And so this looks like a process that will speed that, especially if that, the person who's committing the crime is already in the system from the state and federal government. So thank you. I just wanted to know how all these three systems were going to tie in. And I appreciate you. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Council Member Fogle, this is new in the budget. And as Commander Murdoch said, we used to send everything to the public estate lab. So this will speed everything up. Yes, ma'am. And you know I'm big on surveillance. Yes, I know. But when I saw this, I was like, well, I'm always talking about surveillance and other folks. but this is something that I can really support. And so our community definitely needs this to close some of those cases. Solving crimes. Yes, ma'am. Okay, good. Council Member Savigny. Thank you, Mayor. My question is on item number A about bonding. Thank you, Commissioner Hensley. You appeared from back there, and I was like, I don't know where she went. So it's great to see you. So I have a, this, could you just explain this item to me? Is this basically getting prepared for our bond issue for this fiscal year? Right. So what this allows us to do, since we're in a new budget year, by the way, Happy New Year, this allows us to go ahead and start those projects with which were authorized in the budget that would have been bond items. So the ones that we typically kick off right away are paving. obviously it's summertime so that's a good time to get started for paving and then any large purchases for vehicles we go ahead and get on the list for those purchases and then anything that's ready to go as far as the the big contracts that we're ready to go ahead and award we would want to go ahead and get going on those so before we if we want to go ahead and get started on those before we actually go out and get those bonded dollars we do a a authorization that allows us to go out and get the or commit to those and then refund with the bonded dollars our general fund so we're basically creating a due to do from between the bond in between our general fund I think your question because I I think you've asked a few different times, is if during the fund balance conversation, council wants to make a different decision on the bonding, if you all wanted to cash fund or make a different decision, could you do that? And the answer is yes. If you still wanted to make a different decision, when you get to November, if you all have cash and you wanted to make a different decision on what we bond, can you still do that? And the answer is yes. So when you get to that point, say if we've already started a project and you decide, well, instead of bonding, if we've already not gone out and gotten the bond, you'd rather do cash, you can make that decision at that point. This just allows us to create those projects within our accounting system and kind of get rolling on those because you've already authorized them in the budget. Thank you. And then I would probably my follow on is, is there, are there costs incurred? When are the costs incurred to actually do the bonding? Like, because there's probably some pre-work that gets done and all that kind of jazz. Yeah, those aren't actually incurred until we start that process. And we're not looking to go out to market probably until January of this year. So we probably wouldn't incur any expenses until maybe December at the earliest when we start talking to bond council and start doing advertisements and that kind of thing. So it will be, you know, maybe later winter, very early spring this year is what we'd be looking at. And then my last one was when we actually do bond and if we bonded everything that's projected, how are we doing against our resolution? again that was the 10% number? Sure. Based on the budget that we've got for FY25, we're just under 10.5%. Our goal I think is around 10. I think we're at like 10.48, something like that. And so we're pretty close to that 10% goal. Okay. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mayor. Anyone else have a question for new business? All right. All those in favor of approval, say aye. All those opposed? All right, that motion passes. There are no appointments, no donations, and no procurements. So that brings us to continuing business and presentations, and I'll entertain a motion to approve the capital projects. Second. Thank you. Motion by Council Member LeGray and second by Council Member Sheehan. Are there any questions? All right, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. At this time, I'll ask Council Member Reynolds to give her Social Services Public Safety Report. Do you have a report or? No. Okay, you'd like us to come back? Okay, Councilmember James Brown, do you have a budget finance and economic development? report. Thank you, Mayor. Budget Finance Economic Development Committee partial report out summary of motions. The meeting began at 1 0 5 p.m. The first item was a Public Infrastructure Program update. Craig Benz, the administrative officer senior from the Office of Economic Development, presented on the Public Infrastructure Program update. The purpose of the program is to provide qualified projects with local funding for public infrastructure improvements through interest free loans with terms not to exceed ten years in length in order to promote employment growth and increase development within the urban service boundary. Proposed amendments to the program through ordinance include emphasizing funding projects located within the infield and redevelopment areas, clarifying public infrastructure benefit for multiple users, maintaining $500,000 funding limits per application, Clarifying publicly accessible infrastructure, adding language for infrastructure improvements that improve system capacity and provide a public benefit and allow for waving of limits and conditions of the case of exceptional projects that will result in significant public benefits. A motion was made to amend the draft ordinance to add wording to increase housing. And on behalf of the committee, I move to advance to the full council the ordinance as amended. I so move. Second. All right. Vice Mayor Wu seconded. Are there any questions? All those in favor say aye. There's a question. I'm sorry. Oh, Council Member Lynch, I'm sorry. Thank you, Mayor. I have a proposed amendment to the proposed ordinance, something that I brought up and discussed at that committee meeting that I wanted to add into the language. specifically regarding Section 1B under the first underlined sentence adding after the word emphasis, but not required, and the same amendment to Section 1, Item E, 1 under the underlined section adding again behind the word emphasis, but not required. And this is just to mirror the language that Mr. Ben said in his presentation that was written in his presentation that the emphasis is going to be, they hope to emphasize projects in the infill and redevelopment area, but that will not be required for applicants to get this money. So I want to make sure that those words, but not required, are also reflected in the proposed ordinance so that we can be consistent there. Since that's the intent of their program, as he expressed in his presentation and his statements, like for that proposed language to be added to the proposed ordinance so that applicants know that when they're they're not going to be completely required to only look at the infill and redevelopment area but they can look at other parts of the of the county as well so are you add this is an amendment that the motion is about an amendment are you adding to this amendment you're wanting to amend the amendment i can or i can yeah just to make it easy yeah the motion on the floor is just to move this ordinance forward to the full council and she's wanting to put an amendment in the ordinance okay well well the motion was to amend right the draft ordinance to add increase housing after spurred economic development i believe so that was an amendment that was yes yes so that's already so that amendment has already been passed so So on behalf of the committee, I move to advance to the full council the ordinance as amended. Okay, so you're wanting to place this amendment on the full. All right. Yes. Do you mind repeating the wording? Yes. Briefly. So in section one, letter B, on the first underlined portion of that section, I'm proposing that it read with an emphasis, comma, but not required comma on funding projects located within the infill and redevelopment areas in the same amendment to section e part e and that's section one so number one under locations so that it will read um under the underlying portion with an emphasis comma but not required comma on projects located within infill and redevelopment areas all right is there a second Okay, Council Member Baxter. All right. Now, is there a discussion about this amendment? Anyone? Okay, all those in favor of the amendment, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, thank you very much. All right, so seeing no other speakers, we now have a motion on the floor. to approve the draft ordinance with the amendment. Is there any discussion? All right. All those in favor of approval, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. Thank you. That passes. That concludes my report, Mayor. All right. Very good. Thank you very much. Are there any further questions for Council Member Brown? All right. Thank you. Now, we'll go back to Council Member Reynolds, who has Social Services and Public Safety report. Thank you, Mayor. I have the May 14th, 2024 report out summary. The meeting was called to order at 1.01 p.m., and the first item on the agenda was approved of the April 9, 2024 committee meeting summary. There were no additions or corrections, and the summary was approved without dissent. Next, Carmen Combs Marks, Substance Use Disorder Intervention Program Coordinator in the Department of Social Services, provided an overview of the Substance Abuse Intervention Program. The city's Substance Use Disorder Intervention Program is a resource for individuals searching for information about the substance use addiction and treatment services. She spoke about outreach efforts and highlighted the distribution of naloxone in the community. She said that Lexington Fayette County ranks 12th among Kentucky's 120th counties burdened by the opioid crisis. Speaking about state legislation regarding HB 248 and required certification for sober living houses, Mark said that they are ahead of that and that certification will be required by the end of the year. No action was taken on this item. Next, Stephanie Theakston, Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention Coalition Coordinator, presented the Crime Victim Paid Leave Policy. Because employment can empower survivors by making them less financially dependent on abusive partners and counters isolation efforts by allowing interaction with coworkers, people who are abusive often target workplaces to create stress for the survivor. Some of the ways in which this policy benefits the workplace is it leads to less absenteeism, lower staff turnover, greater productivity, fewer safety risks, and better morale. Thiexton explained an employee who has been a victim may request leave to seek medical attention, obtain services, obtain counseling, relocate, take legal action, or take other action to meet needs resulting from domestic violence or crime. There was a motion by Councilmember Plowman to approve section 21-37.4 of the Code of Ordinances of Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government to authorize up to 56 hours of paid leave and up to 240 hours of unpaid leave per calendar year for classified civil servant employees who are victims of domestic violence or a crime. for needs related to or resulting from domestic violence or the crime, including the following amendment, leaving granted under the section that is not available for one, work-related incidents, or two, work-related injuries, effective upon passage of counsel, seconded by Council Member Gray. Motion passed and without dissent. On behalf of the committee, I so move. Thank you, Council Member Gray. Seconds. Is there any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Next, we heard from Bill Buckman, mental health court coordinator on expanding the mental health court with an aftercare program. He explained the intersection of mental health and substance abuse with 90% of participants having both mental illness and substance use disorder, and 32% of those having multiple drug and alcohol dependencies. He mentioned the recidivism rate, which is close to 50% in Kentucky. One year after graduation, that rate falls to 17.7%, and regular participants in the alumni program are down to 7%. The health field is notoriously difficult to get voluntary participation in what is known as aftercare or continuing care, especially with clients who were receiving care as part of the court diversion program or who were court-ordered in condition of probation. No action was taken on this item, and the meeting adjourned at 2.40 p.m., and that concludes my report out. Thank you very much, Mayor. Thank you. Are there any questions for Council Member Reynolds? All right. Thank you very much. Next, we have a presentation. At this time, I'd like to ask Budget Director Melissa Luker and Elizabeth McGee to join me at the podium. We tried to keep this a surprise and then she became ill when we first scheduled it, so it's not exactly a surprise, but we hope it is in a way. At this time, I'm very proud to present this year's SPOKE Award. The SPOKE Award, short for skilled, professional, outstanding, knowledgeable, and exceptional, honors city employees who exhibit a high level of commitment, initiative, and dedication to their jobs. This year's recipient is an individual who is a very important part of our government and a very important member of our budget team and she has been for a long time a few years how many 27 27 years it's my distinct honor to present this year's spoke award to budget officer senior in the department of finance elizabeth mcgee and here is the award congratulations thank you So over the years, Elizabeth has worked very closely with our budget teams and government divisions to craft solid, balanced budgets. She uses her skill set to work across departmental and divisional lines to help make many of our projects a reality. In looking at the words that SPOKE stands for, Elizabeth's colleagues say she exemplifies every single one, and I couldn't agree more. Elizabeth shows up every day with a positive attitude and a can-do spirit, ready to assist people throughout government. and just as a reminder Elizabeth's colleagues this is voted on by the employees of urban county government and nominated by the employees so it's very special in that way I appreciate the passion you have for your work Elizabeth and for the people in our community and I thank you very much and budget director melissa luker is here representing lots of colleagues of elizabeth's who nominated her for the award and so i'd like to ask director luker to say a few words welcome good afternoon i think i'm a little bit more nervous talking about it because i knew she was going to be um embarrassed by this and i was when council member syvington asked me to give a phone balance number while the commissioner was across on the west coast last week. So I'm a little nervous because I went to think of what to say about Elizabeth and it's really hard to just put it into words what she does for our office and the entire government. There are a lot of times when people come to Elizabeth because they don't know. It may not be a budget question. It may not be a finance question but they know Elizabeth is going to know the answer because she's been here and she's researched and she's dealt with it already. She keeps us on track with the budget process. She keeps us in line with the Avaloran process. She also, she's just, I should probably just read straight what we submitted, but like I said, this is, it's really, I don't know that there's anybody more deserving in government. She's not in the front lines. She doesn't come to the podium often, but a lot of what we present at the podium, she has her hands in she has helped us to get it right we double check we triple check and she's a big part of that and she's got our systems and our spreadsheets and lots of formulas and so she just her knowledge of the budget process the government finances people soft is far and above what we could ever ask for or once we are very fortunate to have her even if during the budget time which is also around Easter she has caused the entire office to have an addiction for the dark chocolate Cadbury eggs which are hard to find but she has that and she also she has anything you could ever need you need dental floss you have you need a needle and thread she's got it in her desk so she's not vacuum cleaner not Not only is she knowledgeable about government and the budget, she's a great friend, she's a great employee, and she's a great resource. We're just very lucky to have her. Now we know where to get our dental floss. I will say, Elizabeth, you are one of the first employees I ever met. My first year on council, I didn't understand the budget. So I came to your office and she did a wonderful job explaining how this budget works and what it means and I really never have forgotten that. So thank you. Would you like to say a few words? I'd say just a few. Okay. I'm not a person of many words. But I will say I love this place. I never thought I'd be here. My degree was in economics, which makes sense. My minor was in art history. I really wanted to be a museum curator, and that just didn't work out. I ended up here. I loved it. I started with Mayor Miller. So it's been great. I love it here. It's a great place to work. Our office is wonderful. But, yeah, if you ever need anything, chances are after 27, 28 years, I have it in my office. That's for sure. Let's get a picture with the council now. You are a budget curator, just not a museum curator. And are your colleagues here? Thank you. We're coming up. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. All right, that brings us to council reports, council members. Any? Okay, council member Gray. council member gray thank you mayor first of all um last week i don't know if you noticed but i was not here colleagues i would like to first of all say thank you to my colleagues uh shayla lynch and preston worley for um for you know carrying on my announcement without me and i was watching So I was watching, so I'm a nerd. I watch even when I'm not here. So last week I was not here because I was attending the National League of Cities National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials Conference in Chicago. At the conference, I learned so much, and it was so worthwhile to attend the conference. I not only was able to meet individuals from around the nation who were doing exactly the same thing, but they looked like me, from mayors to aldermen to council members to mayor pro tems. Still don't know what that is. But that's leadership in cities around the nation. And also, the young lady in the green in the picture, guess who she is? She is the niece of Harry Sykes. She, too, is a trailblazer. She is the first African-American council member in her city. She is also the first African-American mayor pro tem in her city. So it was a delight to meet her. Not only did I get a chance to meet people such as her, but I also got a chance to learn about some grants, some money-saving information for our city, which I cannot wait to relate to individuals such as Commissioner Albright and others. So we have some great deal of funds that are out there that will be useful for our city. So thank you all for allowing me to be not here, but I was here. Next, once again, we are having movie night in the 6th District. We'll be showing Kung Fu Panda 4 at Mary Todd Elementary School. It's great that the mayor, I mean, not the mayor, the principal of Mary Todd, Michael Jones, has agreed to partner with me and as well as the local businesses that are sponsoring the event at his school so that we can actually have an event for the first time in the Joyland neighborhood. So individuals not only from the 6th District, but from all over Lexington, but especially the 1st and the 12th Districts who touch the 6th District, that area, please come out for the movie. This is the opportunity to come out and get to know our neighbors, get to know one another, and have some free fun, which is what I'm all about, fun and free. So next, also we do, finally, we have a Liberty Park public meeting. My office has been receiving a lot of calls regarding the upkeep, or what many of them call the lack of upkeep, of Liberty Park and lack of knowing what the plans are for the area. So thankfully, Parks and Recreation will be there to answer all of the questions that you have. And even some that you didn't know you had. So please come out. This is a great opportunity to get all of your questions answered. And that is all that I do have. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Lynch. Thank you, Mayor. And I would just like to introduce my summer intern, Elka Kunders. Could you please send Elka? She is an amazing rising senior at Center College, my alma mater. And she is also a second district neighbor, her and her family. And I just want to give her a little bit of praise because she's an outstanding young woman. She is a Lincoln scholar at Center College, and she's been newly awarded the Newman Civic Fellowship. And the Civic Fellowship is a year-long program that recognizes students who stand out for their leadership, potential, and commitment to creating positive change in communities. And each fellow is nominated by the president of the college. So she was nominated by the president of Center College, which is awesome. She is majoring in business and economics with a double minor in history and data science. She is also the editor of the CENTO, which is the student newspaper at Center College. And she plans to go on to law school, and she has a very keen interest in antitrust law. And so I was overjoyed when she emailed me to ask if she could be my summer intern and brought her in and interviewed her, and she was just outstanding. So colleagues and staff, I'd like you to see Elka with me coming to meetings and doing some really good work in the second district with me throughout the summer, and she's just an outstanding young woman. And my internship with Elka is her third one that she's doing this summer. She's got two other ones going on right now. So she is in high demand and she's just an outstanding young woman. I'm so pleased to have her working with the second district council office this summer. So thank you, Elkin, welcome. And then lastly, I would like to invite all of my colleagues, neighbors, friends to come out to celebrate National Crown Day, which is tomorrow, January 3rd. We're going to have a special press conference and reception with food that is open to the public that will start at 530 PM. So I just want to invite everyone to come to the government center lobby on tomorrow evening at 5.30 PM for a brief press conference reception with some food and then we can go listen to some good music, some patriotic music that's going to be happening as well for the city. So I invite everyone to come out for National Crown Day and that's all my announcements. Thank you. Councilmember Fogle. I have a quick announcement. Thank you, Mayor. It was just, my announcement is the Dignity Station was out and rolling today. I guess we may not have those photos. Just stay tuned because it's going to be up and running all summer. Thanks to the Catholic Action Center and the supporters around here. Please, if you see someone on the side of the street with a sign, and if you feel safe enough to crack your window just to communicate, just point them in the direction of the Catholic Action Center or our own programs under housing stabilization so that they can receive some help. The temperatures are supposed to go back up. They're supposed to climb. So while we're enjoying the 4th of July, just keep in mind that folks will be out there just hunting for a shade tree. That's my announcement for this session. Thank you. Councilmember Plowman? Thank you, Mayor. I have a couple announcements. And the first one, I believe I've got some pictures up there, Chris. I'll go ahead and start just talking about it. We had a great egg day last week. And when I say that, sometimes people think I'm saying egg, E-G-G, but it's egg, A-G. And this is when council members and legislative aides and other interested parties visit agriculturally based businesses, mostly operating in the ARZN in the 12th district. We toured Root and Riddle and internationally recognized Equine Hospital. And we actually saw horses having some treatments, which was very interesting. We visited Seedleaf, a headwater farm, which is an operation on a PDR farm. And finally, the Bluegrass Stockyard, where the UK extension offices hosted a great lunch, and believe it or not, included beef. So we had great hamburgers at lunch. We learned about the expansion of UK facilities for the UK Agriculture College, as well as a tour of the stockyards, state of the arts facilities for cattle sales, the biggest operation west of the Mississippi. And if you've never been out there for a visit, it's really worth seeing that operation. Special thanks to Erica Rogers, LFUCG Director of Agricultural Development, Vice Mayor Wu and his aide, Tori Cruz-Falk, and my aide, Ashley, for their assistance in preparing for the whole day, and also the Extension Office, which financially supported Mayor Gordon for joining us for welcoming remarks at the top of the day. So it really is, I very much appreciate the council members and aides and everyone to learn more about our agricultural assets. I've mentioned this before, but I want to remind you next Monday, July 8th, my office will be hosting a solar farm info session for constituents who are interested in finding out more about the two solar farms proposals in the Winchester Road area, Haley, at Rillard. We will have Commissioner Keith Horn there to speak and we will be providing more information on the projects. Also representatives from East Kentucky Power and also Silicon Ranch who are the ones that parties that are interested in having these solar farms out there. We held from 6 to 7.30 at the Macedonian Christian Church on Winchester Road close to Haley Pike. So please join us if you can. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Savigny. Thank you, Mayor. Celebrate the 4th of July week several times at Moondance this week. Tonight we're going to have Big Band Boom, and several council members will be out there to enjoy that. We've got the Southland Jamboree. They're going to keep it going with Mashed Grass on Thursday. And on Friday, we've got Red, White, and Blues with TD Young joining them. All the shows start at 7 o'clock. Food and drink vendors are present. So grab your dancing shoes, your blanket. Join me in the music capital of Lexington. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member James Brown. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to give a shout out to the folks out at Fleet. They really rolled out the red carpet for me last week when I just went out to visit with them. And I was talking earlier today about public safety and recruitment and about how I can feel a change in the field and morale. I think the same thing goes from that division as well, or that department. Folks were really upbeat, they were excited and shared with me how some of the things that they shared with us have really been addressed by the administration and has really worked to increase morale and make people feel good about the opportunities that they have in fleet management. So I just wanted to say that, and then also just give a congratulations to Elizabeth McGee for being awarded the Spoke Award. I thought I was the only person that ended up in her office at one time and got the answers that I needed, but it sounds like it's an ongoing thing here in city government. So just congratulations to her and that department and all they do to make sure that we have the information we need to make good decisions. So thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Councilmember Reynolds. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to say I don't have pictures. You all can tell I'm disorganized because I rely on Sarah a lot, and she's out of town this week. But I did want to mention that we had a council cleanup day with Teresa Rakes, who you all met previously, on Saturday. It was really hot, but we cleaned up part of Alexandria Drive. and so you will probably be getting an email from her just encouraging you to do a cleanup day in your district as well and we're going to repeat this throughout the year we had people stop and just thank us for caring about the environment and picking up trash that was on the side of the road so I just wanted to mention that and then I want to wish everybody a happy 4th of July I hope it is a safe one and I hope that you take into consideration your neighbors if you're setting off fireworks and the laws as to what type you're setting off. And then I really wanted to invite you to a few different events. First of all, if you go to our city's website and put in 4th of July, you can see the whole list of events that we have going on today through Friday still. And I just wanted to highlight Thursday's events with the Bluegrass 10K at 725 a.m. on Main and Limestone, the Fun Run at 830 at the Courthouse Plaza, and then the festival market will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Courthouse. and then the reading of the Declaration of Independence at 10 a.m. at the historic courthouse and then the parade starts at noon and fireworks at 10 p.m. over Oliver Lewis and Main Street. And so I hope everyone will get out and enjoy all the different activities. Also, the Toy Factory, they on Angliana, they're having their big annual 4th of July celebration. It will be all evening. That is for family and children, lots of different things for them as well. So get out there, enjoy the activities, and stay safe. Thank you. Thank you. Vice Mayor Wu. Thank you, Mayor. I just have a very quick public service announcement for anyone within earshot. If you are over 50, you are eligible for the shingles vaccine, and I cannot recommend it enough. and I'll be getting mine in a couple of weeks. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Now we have public comment for issues not on the, I'm sorry, you came back on. Council Member Gray, sorry. Sorry, this is, I forgot to say one thing. Happy 75th birthday to my mama. And while we were here, while we were here, my father, he called to tell me that he walked for the first time. that's but yes that's my announcement that's that's great news that's great news thank you anybody else all right it's time for public comment for issues not on the agenda and we have one person signed up uh rick day and i think you know the rules okay all righty welcome my name is Rick day and I live in the third district shortly after the reallocations vice mayor Steve Kaye said that except in extreme situations we rely on the recommendations of the administration I have told you about the $30,000 difference between Jason and Nathan about a Cheney not being topped out after 50 years I told you how employees were reached were treated during the mag study versus how I select fewer retreat were treated during reallocations how Becky's value went up by 9,000 and her salary by zero her director's value went up by 6,000 and his salary by 9,000 I told you how Brian and crystal both got excellent appeal letters from the commissioner Brian got seven and a Brian got seven percent and 250 an hour crystal got one half of 1% and 15 cents an hour I told you how HR did not tell Brenda all they knew and let her give up $10,000 a year I told you everything about the reallocations was wrong then after two years of fighting our open and transparent government I gave you the information that proved it was wrong to prove that you are purposely misled by both HR and administration. I have told you a lot of things. Now maybe you can tell me something. Is there anything compensation related that HR or this administration could do that you would consider extreme? Is there anything they could do that you would question? When get back from spray from break we will take a detailed look at the mag study we will look at what we were told was going to do what it was going to do and what it actually did did we get what we paid for did we get more than what we paid for how some things for some people just happened no reason no explanation what was the relationship between HR and the management advisory group in the main time maybe if each of you will give some thought as to what HR and administration might do that you would consider extreme or that you might question I mean I would like to know one other thing don't you wonder one half of 1% 15 cents an hour where did that come from who came up with that our compensation system is a mess HR and administration is not going to fix it it is not fair it is not equitable and it does not inspire excellence thank you Council members that brings us to adjournment and I want to wish everyone a wonderful Independence Week and I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. All right is there a second? All those in favor say aye. Thank you we are adjourned. Thank you.