# Urban County Council Work Session - October 21, 2008 > Auto-transcribed civic record · Council · October 21, 2008 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/624 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/624?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2008-10-21 - **Body**: Council - **Last revised**: June 17, 2026 - **Length**: 13,125 words > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed by OpenAI Whisper-1. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude Sonnet. Speaker labels and 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 met on October 21, 2008, at 3:00 PM, with Mayor Newberry presiding. The meeting covered three agenda items, all informational in nature, including an Intergovernmental Committee Report, a Japan/Kentucky Cultural Exchange Presentation, and a briefing on Airport Board General Obligation Bond Issuance. Over the course of the meeting, the Council took 15 votes and heard 1 public comment. No action items requiring formal adoption were recorded among the agenda items presented. ## Attendance All members were present at the October 14, 2024 Council meeting. The following individuals were in attendance: - Mayor Newberry - Blevins - Gorton - Stevens - Ellinger - DeCamp - Gray - McChord - Henson - Blues - Beard - Lane - James - Myers No members were absent or late. ## Votes and Decisions All votes at the October 14, 2024 Council meeting were taken by voice vote. The following motions were considered: - **Approval of the docket** — Moved by DeCamp, seconded by Gray. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 00:04] - **Approval of the October 14, 2008 work session summary** — Moved by Gordon, seconded by DeCamp. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 05:23] - **Approval of budget amendments as amended** — Moved by Meyers, seconded by Stevens. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 07:01] - **Amendment to new business item W** to change the amount to $588,117 — Moved by Blevins, seconded by Stevens. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 08:14] - **Amendment to new business item B** to change the amount to $4,307.76 — Moved by Blevins, seconded by Gordon. Passed by voice vote, with 1 nay recorded. [timestamp: 09:21] - **Approval of new business items as amended** — Moved by Stevens, seconded by Ellinger. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 09:52] - **Motion to direct administration to cease delivery of union-free training class** — Moved by James, seconded by Blues. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 13:48] - **Place ordinance number 14 on the docket without a public hearing** — Moved by Blevins, seconded by Gordon. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 15:20] - **Retain item number 16 on the docket without a public hearing** — Moved by Stevens, seconded by Gordon. Passed by voice vote, with 3 nays recorded from Beard, Crosbie, and Ellinger. [timestamp: 16:22] - **Place item 15 on the docket without a public hearing** — Moved by Ellinger, seconded by Gordon. Passed by voice vote, with 1 nay recorded from Lane. [timestamp: 21:24] - **Approve the docket as amended** — Moved by Myers, seconded by Gordon. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 22:30] - **Place on the docket the resolutions necessary to implement the airport bond funding plan** — Moved by Stevens, seconded by DeCamp. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 41:43] - **Approve the NDF List dated October 21, 2008** — Moved by Blevins, seconded by Beard. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 48:44] - **Amend the Clean Air Ordinance as denoted in the memorandum** — Moved by Lane, seconded by Beard. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 1:07:41] - **Amend the Clean Air Ordinance to include vehicles** — Moved by Myers, seconded by Stevens. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 1:15:59] ## Budget and Financial Actions The Council addressed two financial contracts during the October 14, 2024 meeting. - **Excess Liability Insurance Renewal:** The Council considered renewing excess liability insurance through the KLC agent for the Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania at a cost of **$588,117**. This renewal maintains the city's excess liability coverage through the existing KLC-affiliated insurance arrangement. - **Facility Usage Contract – Jesse Clark Middle School Gymnasium:** The Council considered a facility usage contract with the **Fayette County Board of Education** for rental of the Jesse Clark Middle School Gymnasium, at a cost of **$4,307.76**. This agreement allows the city to utilize the school's gymnasium facility for its programming needs. No resolution numbers were associated with either item in the available meeting records. Combined, the two financial actions represent a total commitment of **$592,425.76**. ## Public Comment One member of the public addressed the Council during the public comment period at the October 14, 2024 meeting. - **Mr. Marr** [timestamp: 1:24:06] spoke regarding the format of public hearings on Tax Increment Financing (TIF). He suggested that these hearings should include straightforward, plain-language explanations of the specific projects under consideration as well as how TIF financing works. His concern was that members of the public attending these hearings may lack the background context needed to fully understand what is being discussed, and that providing simple, accessible explanations would help residents better engage with the process. No other public comments were recorded at this meeting. ## Contested Items Two items generated notable disagreement during the October 14, 2024 Council meeting. **Union-Free Training Class** This item prompted heated discussion centered on the neutrality and purpose of a union-free training class. Council members debated whether the class served a legitimate and impartial function or whether it was designed to discourage union organizing. The discussion was significant enough that it resulted in a motion to cease delivery of the class until changes to state law occur. The structured data does not identify the specific council members involved on each side of the debate, but the outcome — a motion to halt the training — indicates the concerns raised carried enough weight to produce a concrete procedural result. [timestamp: not available] **Public Hearing Guidelines for TIF** A procedural dispute arose during public hearings related to Tax Increment Financing (TIF). The disagreement focused on the scope of public comments that would be permitted during the TIF hearings. Concerns were raised that restrictions on what speakers could address amounted to suppressing dissent, with participants questioning whether the guidelines were being applied in a way that limited meaningful public participation. The specific individuals involved in the dispute are not identified in the available data, and no final resolution of the procedural question is noted. [timestamp: not available] ## Intergovernmental Committee Report [timestamp: 09:52] Council Member James delivered the Intergovernmental Committee Report, providing an update on the committee's recent meeting. The report centered on discussions surrounding a union-free training class and motions related to it. No additional detail on the specific motions or the outcome of those motions is available from the committee report as presented. The item was informational in nature, with no formal Council action taken. ## Japan/Kentucky Cultural Exchange Presentation [timestamp: 22:30] Glen Krebs addressed the Council regarding the Japan/Kentucky Cultural Exchange Program. Krebs spoke about the cultural exchange program's activities and its broader significance, emphasizing the importance of fostering cultural understanding between Japan and Kentucky. During his remarks, Krebs extended an invitation to Council members to participate in upcoming events connected to the exchange program. The presentation was informational in nature, intended to raise awareness among Council members about the program and encourage their involvement. No formal action was taken on this item, and no votes were recorded. The presentation served as an opportunity to highlight the value of international cultural exchange at the local level. ## Airport Board General Obligation Bond Issuance [timestamp: 28:37] John C. Merchant presented information to the Council regarding a bond issuance for the airport, covering the financial structure involved and its impact on the Urban County Government. The item was informational in nature, and no vote or formal action was taken by the Council at this meeting. No additional speakers, concerns, or debate are reflected in the available record for this agenda item. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of the docket - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of the October 14, 2008 work session summary - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of budget amendments as amended - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Amendment to new business item W to change amount to $588,117 - **Motion** — passed (0-1): Amendment to new business item B to change amount to $4,307.76 - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of new business items as amended - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Motion to direct administration to cease delivery of union-free training class - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Place ordinance number 14 on the docket without a public hearing - **Motion** — passed (0-3): Retain item number 16 on the docket without a public hearing - **Motion** — passed (0-1): Place item 15 on the docket without a public hearing - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approve the docket as amended - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Place on the docket the resolutions necessary to implement the airport bond funding plan - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approve the NDF List dated October 21, 2008 - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Amend the Clean Air Ordinance as denoted in the memorandum - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Amend the Clean Air Ordinance to include vehicles --- ## Full transcript Go ahead and get started, please. Who's the head of our finance? Is there anyone here who wishes to comment- I think he checked with the bonds council and everything. You want to check with, uh, what's her name? ... all matters on the agenda? I think he said everything was go. Yeah. So, you know, keep me in the loop on that, will ya? Seeing none, we'll move ahead to the docket approval. Is there a motion to approve this week's docket? So moved. Second. Council member DeCamp has moved. Council member... Uh, Vice Mayor Gray has seconded. Any discussion? All in favor of approving the docket, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Do we, do we have a docket? Okay. I apologize. I'm advised by our clerk that there may be some zoning approvals that we need to undertake, so let's, uh, if there's no objection, let's, uh, um, let that motion stand aside for the time being, and we'll reconsider it when, uh, council clerk brings back the docket. Um, is- I have a walk-on for y- Then let's hold off on that as well. Yep. Let's go ahead and take care of the s- uh, approval summary. Um, the summary, the approval of the summary. Move approval, Mayor. Thank you. Council member Gordon has moved the approval. Second from Council member DeCamp. Any discussion? All in favor of approving the summary, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Um, there are some budget amendments. Um, however, I think there's one item on the list of, uh, budget amendments that we need to, uh, withdraw. So let's first of all have a motion to approve the, uh, budget amendments and then entertain an, uh, an amendment. So moved. Have a motion by Council member Meyers to approve the budget amendment. Is there a second? Second. Second by Council member Stevens. Council member Hinson. Mayor, I move that budget journal number 28132-33 on the budget amendment request list be removed from consideration. The budget journal for USGS stream precipitation gauge program duplicates a budget journal being approved as part of the new business item, accepting funds for removal and reinstallation of a stream precipitation gauge. Because the budget journal is directly related to the acceptance of these funds, it is more appropriate to be considered as part of the new business item and not as part of the budget amendment request list. Second. Council Member Hinson has moved to amend the list of budget amendments. Council Member Vi- um, Gordon has seconded. Any discussion? All in favor of the amendment, please let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. We're now back to discussion of the list of budget amendments as amended. Is there any discussion? Seeing none, then those in favor of approving the budget amendments as amended, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. Item five on the agenda is the, uh, new business item. I move to approve. Second. I have a motion by Council Member Stevens, second by Council Member Ellinger that those items be approved. Mr. Eskew. Mayor, excuse me, but on item W, uh, there's been some further negotiation on our behalf by KLC with, uh, of the insurance company of the State of Pennsylvania, and that amount has gone down 50,000. So instead of $638,117, it's $588,117. I move to amend. Thank you, Council Member Blevins. Thank you. I have a second by Council Member Stevens that we amend item W to, ah, change the amount to $588,117. Any discussion on that amendment? Nothing. Seeing none, we'll proceed to vote on the amendment. All in favor of amending item W, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. Mr. Green. Mayor and Council, uh, under item number B, or item B, request the corrections to the amount under, uh, new business, page two, item B of the synopsis, page 22. Item B of the budget, uh, information regarding the facility usage contract with Fayette County Board of Education for the rental of Jesse C. Clark Middle School gymnasium, the amount is 358,175. The listed amount should read $4,307.76. The 358.175 is a per day fee and the $4,307.76 covers the entire period of the contract. I'll move that amendment as well, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Blevins has moved to amend item B. Council Member, um, Gordon has seconded that motion. Any discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Oppose, no. No. Motion... The amendment carries. We're now back to discussing, uh, motion to approve the items of new business as amended. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor of approving the new business items as amended, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. Thank you. Well, while we, uh, continue to await the much awaited arrival of the docket, we'll proceed with the Intergovernmental Committee report. Council Member James. Thank you, Mayor. The Intergovernmental Committee met on October the 14th. All members were present. Um, we discussed two... Well, we had several on the, um, agenda. One was, um, moved for another meeting, but we've, um, item number one was staying union-free, the human resource training class. Um, Council Member Blues had brought this issue to committee, um, with some concerns, um, with the name and possibly the, um, the training, the focus of the training. Um, Michael Allen from Human Resources talked with us and shared with us that he thought maybe just the name of the training class was the issue, um, and thought that the training class itself, um, was just informational and it wasn't really meant to, to steer, um- Move this one. ... those that attend it one way or the other. We had quite a bit of conversation about it. Um, we learned the background of the training was from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, and, um, Mr. Allen had been involved with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and had helped put this together. Um, we had a representative of the American Federation of State, um, County Municipal Employees group. Um, she, she spoke. Her name was Debra Force. And she spoke, um, about the training, did not feel like it was neutral, felt like it was leading. Um, she had some questions regarding if a presentation for private purpose, um, was the same for, um, public sector as well. Um, Mr. Allen stated that he believed the general rules were the same and felt like the training, again, was neutral and, and should be, um, and was legitimate, and, um, just for informational purposes, again, he restated that. Um, Council Member Blues, um, talked about that it, the... Well, going back to the... Anyway, um- ... yet we shared information, there were a couple of motions that came forward. W- one motion was to actually hold off the human resource, um, training until there could be some revisions in the wording of the training packet. Um, that failed. Um, that did not, that motion failed and did not go forward. Um, and the intent of that, um, Council Member DeCamp brought that forward with the intent being, okay, if we change the wording, then maybe we can move forward with this training and, and offer this neutral training, um, and get rid of the perceptions of it being, um, slanted one way or the other. There was another motion that came forward by Council Member Blevins which did pass, um, that I'll present to you today in the form of a motion, um, and that is to, um- Okay. ... see, for the, to direct the administration to cease delivery of this training class until such time the state law changes to allow unionization or some other pressing need come before them to deliver this information. And I bring that to you in the form of a motion from the Intergovernmental Committee. Thank you. Thank you. Could you repeat the motion? I- I could not understand exactly what you said there. Um, I'm reading it as written, but if I need to go back and change that, then we can do that. To direct the administration to cease delivery of this class, the training class, until such time state law changes to allow unit- unionization or some other pressing need comes before them to deliver this information. You've heard the motion. We have a second by Council Member Blues. Um, is there any discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Oppose, no? Motion carries. The other two items both dealt with boards and commissions, and, um, there was more information needed, and more research needed on that. And I may need some parliamentarian help here, but there was a motion to bring, um, those two items back in, in the, I believe, November meeting? And I might need clarification from my committee members. Council Member Meyers, was that November or December meeting? It says in two, in two meetings. December? December. Okay. So, at this time, do I need to make the motion to bring it forward to ... It's still in committee? Okay. That's really the end of my report, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you. Um, I believe we now have the docket. Has everyone received a copy? And Madam Clerk, are there any public hearings we need to address in, in the docket? Ordinate on page 3, ordinances, um, 14, 15, and 16 need to be made. Uh, motions need to be made to put it on, on or without, with or without public hearings. All right. Uh, are there motions with regard to those, uh, ordinances? Council Member Blevins. Thank you, Mayor. I move to place ordinance number 14 on the docket without a public hearing. Second. I have a motion by Council Member Blevins, seconded by Council Member Gordon, to place item 14 on the docket without a hearing. Any discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no? Motion carries. Council Member Stevens. Uh, Mayor, I move that we retain item number 16 on the docket without a public hearing. Is there a second? Second. Without? Without? Without a public hearing, yes. All right. Um- That is, continued. It'd, it'd be remain on the docket without a public hearing. All right. Had a second, I think, by Council Member Gordon. Any discussion? Uh, Council Member Beard. Thank you, Mayor. I- it seems like something of this import and size should have an opportunity to have a public hearing, Dr. Stevens. Um, is there any- I don't believe there- ... other reason that- I don't believe there are any objectors, and all the objections that were listed in there in- initially has been, have been subsequently re- uh, resolved by meetings of the neighborhood people. Okay, thank you. Any further discussion? Yes, sir. Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. I've- I've received quite a few calls from people that have stopped me that have objected to this, so I think that I will vote against this and put it on for a public hearing. Uh, Council- Council Member Stevens. I know of no objectors at this time. That's all I can say. All right- And Mr. Sally may have some ... The report is a little confusing, because there's been some other information since then, which are, is present in the minutes of the planning commission, which are appended to the, uh, document. Mr. Sally? Perhaps Mr. Sally can clarify that for the council. Thank you, Mayor, members of the council. Good afternoon. The final report indicates the objectors who spoke at two public hearings at the planning commission, uh, the one was in August, their August meeting, uh, and by the time their September meeting came about, there had been continued meetings between the neighborhood, uh, and folks who had been at the original meeting to object. And the staff's understanding is a lot of those objections were, um, dealt with through revised conditional zoning restrictions that are part of the recommendation from the planning commission before you. As staff understands it, at the conclusion of the September meeting, there was only one objector remaining, and I do not see that- that lady here today. Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm sorry. Okay, uh, Mr. Salley, if you'd step back to the podium, Council Member Beard, I believe, has a question. How was the, the boundaries for this, uh, ND1, uh, arrived at? Uh, I'd originally heard loosely Chevy Chase. I happen to know that, for instance, the 300 block of Chenery Road is in Ashland Park, not in the Chevy Chase. Mm-hmm. Since I was born and raised there. I have seen the deed. Uh, wha- wha- was it loosely defined, or, uh, d- did people put up their hands? H- how, how did that process work? It was, uh, neighborhood driven. Uh, the neighborhood had a number of meetings prior to a formal request to the Planning Commission to initiate the zone change. Uh, when they concluded their meetings and brought forth petitions requesting that the Planning Commission initiate the zone change, they had a map that very much matches the map that's before you today. Uh, the Planning Commission after, uh, agreeing to initiate the change, and then after holding the public hearing, uh, made one alteration. They removed one property of about 900 from this proposed area. But it was, it was at the request of the neighborhood. So it was, um- It was mapped. ... it, it was mapped, but not platted? I, I don't believe it was strictly based on platting, that's correct. Right. Okay, well, then we're both right. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Any further discussion? Council Member James. Yes, Bill, I just have a question. The, um, it was, uh, the vote in Planning Commission was six, zero, and four, the four abstentions- Yes. ... is that what the, do you know what those abstentions, the purpose of those reasons? I believe that I do, yes. Uh, as I mentioned, there were two public hearings, or two days that this item was before the Planning Commission. Uh, the four members that abstained at the September day when they voted on that had not been present, uh, at the August meeting. And basically, they had a choice. Uh, they could either review the three and a half or four hours of testimony through videotape or CD of that prior meeting, or they could recuse themselves, and I believe all four decided on the latter. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Any further discussion? The motion is to put item 16 on the docket without a public hearing. All those in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Oppose, no. No. Motion carries with Council Members Beard and Crosby dissenting, and Ellinger. All right. Uh, is there a motion with regard to item 15? Anyone? Move to acknowledge that without a public hearing, Mayor. Council Member Ellinger has moved it be placed on the docket without a public hearing. Second. Have a second by Council Member Gordon. Any discussion? All in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Oppose, no. No. Motion carries with Council Member Ling dissenting. Um, floor is now open for a motion to approve the docket as amended. So moved. Second. Mayor, mayor, I have a walk-on. We have a motion by Council Member Myers and a second by Council Member Gordon. Council Member McCord. Thank you, Mayor. I have a motion to place on the, the docket a resolution, uh, for Thursday, October 23rd, 2008, authorizing the execution of the Federal Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification with the Federal Government Department of Justice, so moved. Second. Council Member McCord has, uh, moved to amend the docket by adding that item of business to the, uh, docket. Council Member Gordon has second. Any discussion? All in favor, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. We're now ready to discuss the docket as amended. Is there any further discussion? Then those in favor of approving the docket as amended, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. And, um, we're now ready to hear from Mr. Krebs on the Japan-Kentucky cultural exchange. Thank you, Mayor, members of the commission. Uh, it's a privilege to be here. And, uh, the purpose really is to extend to each of you a personal invitation to join us as we welcome 160 Japanese visitors to our city. They will arrive tomorrow. They're part of a cultural exchange, uh, that has been going on now for 18 years, uh, it's part of a, a Monjiro Whitfield commemoration. Uh, back in 1841, a young Japanese fisherman was stranded on an island, he was rescued by an American, taken home, and raised in Connecticut. Um, learned American culture, the English language, and then returned back to Japan as an adult, and was very instrumental in helping Japan become open to the rest of the world when trading eventually, uh, started again between Japan and the rest of the world. Um, this John Monjiro had been very involved in that. A foundation has been started. The two families of Captain Whitfield and John Monjiro have remained friends, now into the fifth and sixth generation. A foundation has been started which sponsors this continual cultural exchange every year. Next year, hundreds of Americans will be visiting Japan, and the following year back again in the United States. Here in Lexington, we have the opportunity to host the opening ceremony. We ha- that's scheduled for Thursday afternoon, beginning at 3:00 at the Keene Barn. Uh, Governor Beshear will be there. Mayor Newbury will be there. Um, former Governor Collins is chairing the event. She'll be making some remarks. Um, the current Consul General from Japan, Mr. Sato, will be there, and some other government dignitaries. The head, the actual, the, uh, head of the Japanese minority party, um, I, I guess, if you will, the Mitch McConnell of Japan- ... um, will be a part of that event as well. Um, so it should be an excellent event. In addition to the speakers, we'll have some presentations. Uh, Vice Mayor Gray is sharing some thoughts about the history of the Japanese, uh, experience here in Kentucky, um, and several others will be speaking and participating in that. Then in the evening, the party starts around 6:00. If you don't want to hear the speeches, you wanna come out for the party, um, party starts at 6:00 again at the Keene Barn. There will be bluegra- bluegrass music, lots of great Kentucky cuisine, um, uh, several crafts, sellers, and displayers, uh, bluegrass music playing. Um, Abe Lincoln will be there. Mary Todd Lincoln will be there. Uh, Colonel Sanders will be there. Um, Daniel Boone will be there. Should be a great event. Um, to, to welcome and help our 160 Japanese guests get a feel for Kentucky and, and her history. Um, then at the end of the evening, um, we'll have some, uh, children performing, some cloggers performing, and, uh, the Steven Foster Singers will send us home with a rousing rendition of My Old Kentucky Home. So it should be a great event out at the Keene Barn. Again, speeches start at 3:00. Presentations, some education, and then the, the party itself gets underway around 6:00. We hope that all of you can come and join us. Uh, we think it's a great opportunity to kinda get used to hosting foreigners as we get ready for the Equestrian Games, which are coming up in, in another couple of years. The closing ceremony will be over in Louisville. Um, we won't talk too much about what's going on there, but, but I do want to, to, uh, read just one paragraph from the press release that went out, which talks about the importance of the cultural exchange. "Person-to-person cultural exchange strengthens ties between Kentucky and Japan by extending friendship, encouraging sharing of cultural experience, and by fortifying global understanding and peace. As Kentuckians, we learn a great deal about Japanese culture through this program. In turn, our Japanese guests will take with them a greater appreciation for Kentucky as an i- ideal location for Japanese professionals, tourists, and businesses. Kentucky was chosen for this program in part because of such a reputation." Uh, we're grateful to have these guests coming, and we certainly would encourage and, and welcome any of you to come out and join us and participate in this program. Are there any- Questions? ... questions for Mr. Krebs? All right. May I also bring you greetings from our sister city. I had the very good pleasure of going over to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our twinning with Shinhidaka in Japan. They treated us very well and wanted me to bring back their best regards to each of you and their appreciation for the great support that you give to the Sister City Program. Thank you, Mayor. Thanks very much, Mr. Krebs. The next item on the agenda is a presentation concerning the airport bond, air- airport board's, uh, bond issue, and welcome to the podium, uh, John Merchant from the firm of Peck Shaffer. Thank you, Mayor and Council. I also have John Rhodes here from the, uh, airport. Uh, very quickly, the, uh, the airport is, uh, in the process of issuing bonds, uh, in the amount not to exceed about $85 million. It's a refunding, uh, of about $43 million and a new money project, approximately, uh, $34 million. It's a variable interest rate transaction. Uh, the letter credit is, is to be provided by JPMorgan Chase. Uh, it also has, uh, it's one of the securities. It has a debt service reserve fund on it as well. Um, I have the bond issues listed here. I won't go through the, uh, uh, all the details with respect to which bonds we're refunding and so forth. Number 2B on here also discusses the actual new money part, uh, that's gonna take place, taxiway realignments, uh, as well as, uh, runway improvements, uh, terminal renovations, and so forth. Going to page two, with respect to the proposed structure for the bonds, the bonds, uh, will be issued by the, uh, airport board as opposed to the airport corporation. Um, we are doing a, a, an entirely new, uh, general obligation, I mean, doing a, an entirely new indenture as well as supplemental indenture, uh, with respect to this transaction. And the airport board on October the 15th passed the, uh, general resolution as well as a series resolution with respect to this transaction. Uh, as has previously been done, the ele- Urban County Government is asked to, uh, approve a lease between the, uh, it's usually, it has been in the past with the Urban County Government as well as the corporation and the board. This year, we're asking that the lease be approved, the Urban County Government would approve the lease, uh, between the board and the Urban County Government. What would be a little different with respect to this transaction or this lease, uh, as opposed to the ones that have been done in the past, the ones that were done in the past that are still outstanding were '94, '98, and 2003. It's that this would be a general obligation lease, uh, on beh- with, uh, the Irvin County government. The... We still would have the, as I pointed out, we'd have the letter credit provider, which would be JP Morgan Chase. In this environment, as it relates to, uh, the things that are happening in the credit market, uh, they have a double A rating from, uh, Standard & Poor's and a triple A rating from Moody's. What would be beneficial for the airport board, if we do this as a general obligation lease, is that the rating agencies would give the airport a, a better rating with respect to these bonds because it would be a general obligation lease, uh, with the Irvin County government. So would allow the airport to have a lower cost of borrowing. The main thing I do want to emphasize, however, is although we're entering into a lease and it'll be a general obligation lease, just like the, I think it would be the courthouse here, what you have is general obligation bonds, or a general obligation lease. Uh, but in the courthouse perspective, as it re- as it relates to the airport, we have offsetting revenues. So the airport, uh, with respect to the leases that have been done in the past, has always paid their, uh, obligations. We don't see that changing in the future. And as I pointed out, even though it would be characterized as a general obligation lease, uh, the revenues would still be done by the city, I'm, I'm sorry, by the airport board. They would continue to pay the bonds. They've never been, uh, looked upon for anything else. Uh, and, th- as I pointed out, this transaction, just like the courthouse, already has revenues attached to it because the airports continues to pay. The other thing that's very important here is, even though it would be characterized as a general obligation lease, uh, it would in no way, uh, impair the Irvin County government from going forward with any of its projects. Uh, I might add, the way the law reads with respect to general obligation leases, uh, rough numbers, but you're able to do 10% of your ass- uh, uh, of your assessed valuation. Your assessed valuation is close to 27 billion. 10% of that is 2.7 billion. The current amount you have outstanding, and these are very, very rough numbers from a couple, from a year or so ago, it's about 285 million. If you included this, it would be approximately 360 million or thereabouts. Uh, but again, uh, it has offsetting revenues with it, so it, it doesn't have any impact as it relates to your budget specifically. Now I'll take any questions. Council member Stennet. Thank you, Mayor, and app- appreciate the overview. Uh, I guess I have a commissioner, or a question for Commissioner Ko, a- and how this affects her overall bond capacity and our bond ratings 'cause I know, uh, we have a pension bond of about $70 million plus several other things, and, um, uh, I assume the bond ra- rating agencies would also take this into account, um, in terms of our ca- maybe overall capacity, overall rate of our bonds. Have you all looked at that? Um, a- actually, yes. We had the bond rate, the folks from the rating agency in, um, this past week and visited with them. Um, they're fully aware of what we're moving forward with, with the airport. This is a change in the, in the way we've done business with the airport in the past, but it does give the airport an opportunity to get a, a higher rating on their bonds and then actually pay a lower interest rate, which for the community is, is good for everybody. It will not affect what we have the capacity to do at LFUCG because the debt will be offset with revenue, just like we, just like, as John described with, with the courthouse. So a new government center, the $70 million for police pension, everything's okay going forward? It, it, it, it will now be shown on, on those debt lists that I give you, it will show there, but so will the revenue. So it, it, it's an offset, it's a wash, it won't affect what we were planning to move forward with. Good, I just wanted to make sure. Thank you. Okay. Council member Beard. Excuse me, Commissioner. Um, the revenue generated, the source of that revenue, uh, I assume we have investigated as to its, uh, sustainability and... We, we do. I mean, we, we get it, um, of course the airport is part of the, our audit every year and, um, quite frankly, um, if, if they didn't have the revenue to support the bonds, they, nobody would buy the bonds. I understand but- So it, it's, it's- ... it, it- ... we're somewhat prot- It's not now, it's later that I'm concerned. I, I agree. I agree, I understand. I, I think the position we're in, um, while, while we have a lease agreement, a- co- we have a lease, lease agreement right now. It's not a GO lease, which means it does not have the full faith and credit of the, of the, of the government. In practicality, we would never let airport bonds default. Um, that's, I mean, just like our relationship with Lexington Center, um, i- if something went awry in either one of those organizations, the government would be in a position of, of bailing them out because it- Now you- ... because the sense of the, of the, of the c- of the community then is, is damaged and- Never say ne- never, or I will say Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. I, I understand fully. I understand fully. And, and, you know, I, I have to say, everybody's really nervous about, um, you know, what, what, what the bonds will s- will go for and in fact, we're going to be going to market at the end of November. We're in the same situation. So, um, it, it's, it's time to be nervous, but, but this is a fairly conservative arrangement. Does this impact our, uh, internally set percentage of- No, sir. It does not impact it at all? No, sir. No, sir. Okay. The one we're considering moving. All right- Right. No, it does not affect that. Thank you. Mm-hmm. Council Member Lane. Uh, yes, I had a question about matching dollars from the federal and state government. Can someone speak to that? For the airport, uh, runway work? Yes, sir. Could you state your name, please? I'm John Rhodes. I'm the Director of Admi- Administration and Finance for the Airport Board. Good. Could you touch on the matching money that the airport will be receiving from the state and federal government? In- In general numbers, the entire project for the new money, the new projects, uh, as, uh, outlined in our master plan is, uh, ar- around $60 million. About half of which will come from federal and state funding. Uh, we have a pledge of $9 million from the state on, uh, the relocation of Runway 826, and we have a pledge of nine million from the federal government on that particular project, which is a- the largest of those projects. It's a $27 million project and then nine million from us. Could you also, just for the general public, maybe touch on what some of the improvements in addition to the runway modifications are gonna be? For, uh, the, uh, Runway 826? Well, I was thinking about for the- the dollars that are being expended and I just thought I'd give a quick summary of where those dollars are going. The, um, Runway 826, um, in our master plan, right now, Runway 826 intersects with Runway 422, and this project calls for, uh, removing that intersection and Runway 826 would be moved slightly to the west, and it would no longer intersect with Runway 422, which would greatly enhance safety and, um, and, uh, that- and then that runway would, uh, we- it- it would improve capacity for aircraft operation. Other than the 826 project that are- that are gonna be using the- that you're gonna be using. Okay. Yeah, in addition to the runway project of 826, there's also a- a major, um, out of this financing of about $30 million that we're talking about, about 10 million of it is for relocation of Runway 826, ab- about 10 million for relocation of the airport terminal, uh, entrance road, and some surface, uh, uh, parking spaces. Um, there is a million dollars to inh- increase, uh, sanitary sewer capacity. Uh, there, um, is about, uh, $8 million in improvements in the terminal building lobby. If you've been through there lately, you've noticed that we have already refurbished concourses C and B, uh, we have new retail shops, new food and beverage shops, so this would be the last phase of all the modification to- to update the terminal building- Mm-hmm. ... inside and out of the lobby. And- and did I understand you correctly that you- we receive nine or $10 million from the federal government and nine or 10 million from the state government as matching money with our- the money going in here? Yes, sir. Nine million for Runway 826 and, uh, nine million from the federal government for Runway 826 and then some additional funding from the FAA for the other projects that are included. Okay. Thank you very much. Yes, sir. Council Member Stevens. Uh, I'm on the finance committee of the airport board and we have gone over these, uh, in some detail. Mr. Merchant told us all about the bonding, which, um, I didn't learn about in medical school, but I'm getting better at it. Uh, and it, uh, the finance committee of course approved it as did the board. And I think the questions about whether it'll affect our bonding capacity and our ability to- to, uh, carry forward some of the things we're planning to do, I think were answered and- and that is not a problem. Uh, so I would move that we, uh, place on the appropriate docket the resolutions necessary to implement this plan. Second. I'm sorry. Was the motion for us to approve the appropriate documents necessary to implement this plan? Yes. All right. And I heard a second from council- There'll be several resolutions coming forward, they'll need to be- ... from Council Member DeCam. Um, any discussion of the motion? Seeing none, those in favor of, uh, the motion that we approve the resolutions or- or- or put on the docket the resolutions necessary to approve this funding plan, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Any further questions for Mr. Merchant or anyone else? All right. Very well. Thank you. Um, at this time, I- I asked, um, some folks from our community development office, uh, to come down- downstairs just for a moment. Um, and I- I wanted to provide a little recognition. Last night, I know some of you were at the Urban League's annual dinner where they celebrated their 40th anniversary and I am very, uh, proud to say that the league announced its annual community service award was presented to Irvin County Government primarily as a result of the folks in our community development office, many of whom are here today. And, um, let me, um, call the names off of the folks who are here and- and three who are not. Michael Marinero, Irene Gooding, and Becky McFarlane are not here today, I understand, but, uh, I've asked Paula King to stand and remain standing, if you would. ... uh, Vanessa Case, Geoffrey King, Marianne Moss, Won-- Wanzella Richmond, Margie Chapman, Theresa Reynolds, Randall Naylor, John Dulin, uh, Celia Moore, William Stephens, and Stacy Gramble. Uh, these are the folks that, uh, have really been do- doing the heavy lifting that was recognized by the Urban League last night. Eh, Paula has with her the very nice cup that they were presented in, uh, recognition of their efforts. I think it's, uh, safe to say that whenever there are successful affordable housing initiatives in our community, they're the result of a lot of, uh, partnership efforts. And last night, PG Peoples described, uh, community development's efforts as a key reason why our city's been able to make as much headway as we have on affordable housing. Um, so I just wanted to invite all these folks to come down so you might see 'em firsthand and, and I just wanted to say thanks very much for all of the effort that you've made to improve our community. Thank you for being here. Speech. Paula wouldn't make a speech last night, so I'm gonna impose upon her today. Well, this is, this is home, so I can make a speech here . You know, it's, it was nice to be recognized. Uh, and we, we were only recognized for what we do every day, so, uh, it's always good to have the support of the council. Uh, you support us in what we do and we appreciate it. Uh, we just do our jobs and we, we appreciate, it's nice to be recognized by the community, uh, for the work that we do. So we appreciate, uh, the work that, we're, we're glad that we, we were recognized and I'm glad to recognize the people who work with me because I don't do it by myself. It's a, it's a community effort with my staff and it's a community effort with, with you all and it takes all of us to make affordable housing work. And as I've told everybody who has emailed me today, I can't do it by myself. We all have to do this together and we all have to continue to work together. So let's continue to make this effort and make affordable housing a priority so that we can make a difference in this community. And that's all I really have to say, so thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Council member Gordon. Uh, Paula, before you and your folks leave, I wanted to also congratulate you. I was, uh, sitting beside council member James at the dinner last night, and as they were reading off the awesome- Yeah. ... things that had been done by this unknown entity that they were gonna give the award to, we were going, "Oh my gosh, who could this be?" It was, it was, it was awesome what you all have done over the years, and I just wanted to give you my personal thanks. I was really, uh, struck by how much you have done for this cause. So thank you all very much. Well said. Thank you. And we're now ready for council reports, so if you, uh, wish to give a report, please indicate. And we'll start with Council Member Gordon. Thank you, Mayor. I have one brief item. Um, in the year 2000, the Parks, Division of Parks met with, uh, neighborhoods and with Friends of the Dog Park to develop a master plan for our dog parks. And I am especially pleased to announce the grand opening of the Wellington Dog Park. This completes our master plan. It's taken us, uh, almost 10 years and it's, uh, the Friends of the Dog Park have raised over $70,000 to fence dog parks. And so the Wellington Dog Park will have its grand opening on October 26th at two o'clock, and we hope you'll come out for the event. It's not a big splashy event. There will be lots of humans and lots of canines there celebrating the opening of this park. It's at the corner of Wellington Way and Clays Mill Road. It's already actually in use. People have hardly been able to wait for the grand opening, but it's, it is really the completion of our master plan and that's a pretty, pretty exciting thing and it's involved lots and lots of private dollars. So eh, from, uh, going forward, one of the things that the Friends of the Dog Park intend to do is to raise money for amenities. Um, some of the parks need trees, some need benches. We're trying to put water sources in them. So it's gonna be a great day and I invite all of you and the public to come out. Bring your dogs. Thank you. Council Member Blevins. Guilty as charged, Council Member Gordon. We were there this weekend with our own dog. I'd like to move approval of this week's NDF list, please. Second. I have a motion by Council Member Blevins and a second by Council Member Beard to approve the NDF. Any discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Oppose no. Motion carries. Thanks, Mayor. That's all I had. Thank you. Council Member McCourt. Thank you, Mayor, and, uh, along that same theme, uh, this last week we were able to, uh, put three quarters of the trail that goes into -- to Wellington Park, and I'm so pleased that after three or four years of -- of, uh, trying and -- and, uh, working to get that trail put together and working with the Friends of the Dog Park to get that dog park in, you have a 32 acre park now, uh, that for 12 years has basically sat vacant and we've had the privilege of mowing grass for 12 years. And now, it has, uh, just a lot of life and vitality and Sunday night was driving down Clays Mill and just saw dozens of folks out on bikes and walking around and, uh, was out on Friday and saw, um, uh, a lady with her adult son, who was blind, walking on the trail, and, uh, just, i- it's very gratifying when you finally see these things come to fruition. So certainly want to make sure folks are invited, uh, to the opening of the dog park on the 26th, and then also for the -- the formal ribbon-cutting that we'll have, uh, a little bit later. As it relates to trails also, this week is a -- is a very big week as it relates to the Legacy Trail, uh, the trail that will come from the horse park into downtown. Uh, the Knight Foundation Center for Legacy, uh, that's inside the Bluegrass Community Foundation has, uh, has not only on Thursday, but Friday and Saturday as well, a series of events for stakeholders, uh, for the community to be involved in -- in having a say in this, uh, in this most important project that really does probably change our, uh, our culture as it relates to trails. Uh, we are on a very fast track to have, uh, have this done by 2010 games and, um, on Saturday, starting at around nine o'clock out at Coldstream Park, the public is welcome for, uh, a discussion and the opportunity to see not only what the trail will look like, but have input on that, and would certainly encourage everyone. There is a bike ride from eight o'clock, uh, in the morning starting at Chief Cide out there for those that want to bike. For those that don't, they want to just come join us at nine o'clock, uh, the community activity part starts and then at 11 o'clock, uh, lunch is served and there'll be music and I certainly want to invite all my council colleagues, uh, on Friday for the lunch at the Embassy Suites, but if you cannot make that, please do come out, uh, on Saturday morning. Thank you, Mayor. Council Member Blues. Thank you, Mayor. Several events coming up, uh, this evening. Uh, two neighborhood association meetings. The Great Acres, uh, actually the Great Acres Homeowners Association will meet 6:00 PM. That's at Blacktown Baptist Church. Uh, the, uh, the, uh, HOA will take up some, uh, some very important issues and I encourage all the -- the folks from Great Acres to be there and to, uh, to participate. At seven o'clock, the Glens at Greendale will meet at the Masterson Station Clubhouse. Um, they're getting their, uh, their HOA up and going and, uh, I look forward to seeing, uh, seeing the neighbors out there. On -- on Saturday, October 25th, the Brookfield Chase Neighborhood Association will meet at 2:00 PM at the Northside Library. Then next Monday, October 27, the Oakwood Neighborhood Association will hold their monthly meeting, seven o'clock in the community center in Oakwood Park. And the Radcliffe Marlborough Neighborhood Association will also meet at the same time in Marlborough Park. Also at seven o'clock on Monday evening, the, uh, there will be a public meeting of, for the neighborhoods surrounding the proposed public, uh, Public Safety Operations Center. So I, uh, en- encourage the folks from -- from Belmont Farm, from Highlands, from Coventry, uh, Coldstream Station, Connor Woods, uh, the, uh, uh, citation -- Citation Condo Association to, uh, come to that meeting. Uh, Commissioner Bennett will be there, um, and -- and -- and other officials from LFUCG to answer all -- all the questions and concerns about that, uh, uh, that facility. Again, that's seven o'clock at the House of God Church on Georgetown Road, just inside New Circle Road. The meeting will be in -- in the gymnasium in the multipurpose building. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Lane. Uh, thank you, Mayor. Uh, as you all recall, last, uh, Tuesday, the Services Committee reported out on the clean air ordinance revisions and, uh, during our discussion regarding the definition of a building, uh, there's a question about temporary closure of a -- more of a temporary building. And I'd asked, um, Mike Santer to provide an amendment that was in agreement with their interpretation of what the ordinance meant. So on, um, Thursday, October 16th, he forwarded a copy of that amendment to all council members. So you all received that last Thursday. And, um, what I would like to do then, there were a couple other changes that I noted that I -- that I thought were clarifications. So I wanted, if I might, there's about three or four items here to just, uh, read those to you very quickly and explain what the, uh, what the theory behind that is. And then, if it's acceptable to the Council, I'd like for it to be, you know, a-a amend the ordinance so it can be voted on on Thursday. Um, the first, uh, section is Section 3, and it's Item Number One. And the, uh, added sentence says, uh, and just to refresh your memory, this is a discussion of a building and the definition of a building is any structure that has 40% or more of external walls and closed, that has a -- any kind of permanent or temporary roof on it. The question that came up is if somebody had a tent or some other, uh, temporary structure and they had sides on it, whether that would be a building or not. And the... ... the way it was interpreted at the meeting was that if you take those temporary, uh, closures off of a tent, then it would be, um, then considered, you know, a- you could smoke in there if it's 40% or less. So the way this reads is, "Any structure whose floor area is enclosed overhead by a roof or other covering of any material, whether permanent or temporary, that has 40% or more of the s- perimeter temporarily closed by walls, windows, doors, or other coverings of any material shall not be subject to the definition of a building when the temporary walls, windows, and doors or other coverings are not in place." Uh, and that was the interpret- uh, and Mike, I notice, is here, excuse me, Mr. Sanner. And, uh, if you want to, if anybody has a question on that, you could address that, if you would like. I, I have a question. Council Member Stevens. Now, as I interpret your wording, that means if we have a building with curtains, say, around the edge, and those curtains are, are released and closed, then that means, and if that exceeds 40%, then no smoking would be allowed in that enclosure. Right. Well, that's my interpretation. Is that- Right. ... your interpretation, Mr. Sanner? Correct. Okay. We just want the words to, to say it 'cause I know there are some establishments that would like- Right. ... to not be, would like to lower the side curtains during inclement weather- Right. ... and still smoke. But in your interpretation, and the law department's, and mine too- Right. ... that would not be allowed. Yes, sir, that's correct. And, and where I see this would come into play is suppose somebody had a, a restaurant with an outside, say, covered area that maybe had awnings on the outside. Well, if it were enclosed during the winter when it's cold, no smoking would be permitted there. But say, during the summer when it's warm, they wanna take the, all the exterior, uh, temporary awnings off, then you would be eligible to smoke in that area. Yeah, I think that's- Is that a correct interpretation, Mr. Sanner? Yes, Council Member Lane, that's correct. Thank you. All right. May I go ahead and address the other couple of points here, is that under the definition of a private organization, um, it says, "The building will be used exclusively for the organization, uh, organization's purposes at all times." And I thought it would be more appropriate to put, "For the organization or a member's purposes," because many times members have private events at a private club and they do it under their name. So that was a clarification item. Uh, and that was in paragraph 4. Under Section 4, this had to do with smoking in any, uh, public transportation area and specifically it said, "Nor within any ticket boarding and waiting area of public transportation buildings." And I felt that to make that more enforceable, it should have enclosed overhead by a roof. So that means if you're at a, um, a transit stop where they have an enclosed area and it has a roof on it, you can't smoke in there or if you're out at the main terminal on Main Street, or excuse me, on Vine Street and, uh, it's an open area, but as long as you're, if there's a roof over that, you can't smoke in that area. So it would be more enforceable. So that was the other recommendation. And then under, um, exceptions, um, an exception would be that you could smoke in a hospital, hospice or nursing home if the home permits smoking in its dwelling rooms. But smoking is not allowed in any room shared by another person. And, and it did read before then, "With a non-smoker." Now my point being is that it doesn't protect smokers. So if you were sick and you were sharing a room with somebody, even though you were a smoker, you wouldn't have the right under this ordinance to say, "I don't want you to smoke in the room that I'm in." So by making it with another person, whether the person's a smoker or non-smoker, they would have the right to ask the other party not to smoke in the room with them. So that's just a small change. And, um, uh, let's see. There were a couple other. Under the, um, under Section 5, paragraph 4, um, there are some, um... Where it says, "Where an owner or lessee or assignee has control of the building," um, they can require non-smoking signs, et cetera, et cetera. But the requirements of this section do not apply to any exempt building, establishment therein, or private organization. And since a private organization was added as a new category, it used to just be organization in a previous, uh, draft. This is just a clarification in that particular area. That also applies to Section 3, uh, item number three. And those are the changes. So they're very minor, but at the same time, they do clarify it. And, um, Mr. Sanner, if you'd like to give your opinion on this. Um, you, you did this at my request, but I'm hoping that you've, um, you know, made sure the legally, the legal ease is accurate and all that. If you have any comment, I appreciate your comment. Right, the language is accurate. We were just giving clarity to help understand the ordinance, so there'd be less wiggle room. Uh, Council Member Steven. The hospitals may be no problem because they're all gonna go completely smoke-free, uh, even their campuses, in a few days. But if it's in there, that'll take care of it. It won't do any harm. Council Member Gordon. Well, I was, uh, Dr. Stevens, I was just going to ask for clarification on what that hospital- ... portion actually meant. I wasn't sure what exactly the change was. Well, I believe it also refers to hospice. And- So I can see there might be- But- ... somebody who's terminally ill that might- And what's the specific- ... not be able to get out of the bed and wanting to smoke in their room. But I don't know. I didn't write that ordinance. It was already- Oh, okay. What- ... in there. ... as it stands now- You're talking about, uh- ... does hospice or hospitals or- ... Council Member Lane's change? What is the change? What does it do? It used to allow, if two people shared a room and you were a non-smoker, you could request your roommate not to smoke. But Council Member Lane, uh, expands the definition so that any person in the room can request the roommate not to smoke, whether you're a smoker or not. So it doesn't prohibit smoking in a hospital room? The ordinance doesn't. Is that what I'm hearing you say? Uh, the ch- the changes- I- I thought- The- the change for Council Member Lane more clearly defines, uh, two roommates', how shall we say, relationship in a hospital room. Previously, only a non-smoker could request his roommate not to smoke in the room. Now, any person in the room can request his roommate not to smoke in the room. Smoker or non-smoker. Smoker or non-smoker. You see, my point was, is that, let's just say you're a smoker and you're sick and you're in the hospital, and your roommate is a smoker. And under the way the current ordinance reads, only non-smokers can request your roommate not to smoke. I'm just saying that either party in there can ask the other party not to smoke. Everybody should have an equal right, because the smoker may not- Well- ... want anybody smoking in the room, even though they are a smoker. So under the current ordinance, regardless of what the hospitals and, uh, places are doing, smoking would be permitted in the hospital room? Well, I think that's up to, uh- Is that- ... either hospital or hospice. Each one of them sets their own guidelines on that, I believe. Right. So- 'Cause these rooms are considered dwelling rooms- Mm-hmm. ... under the ordinance. Mm-hmm. And so, uh, it... But at the same time, the hospital can say, "We won't allow any smoking here at all." But you might be in a hospice, for example, where- Mm-hmm. ... uh, and it... and they permit you to smoke there if you want to. So, so they aren't part of the workplace. Is that- No. They're... No, they would not be considered. This is considered a dwelling. Okay. It's under, it's under the definition of dwelling. And this is no change. This has been in the ordinance- Right. ... the whole time and we... I'm not changing that. It was just so that a non... a smoking person who did not want anybody smoking in the hospital room with them- Mm-hmm. ... or her would have the right to ask for non-smoking from the other person. And if they say, "Sorry," then there can be smoking? Right. If they... yeah, if the facility allows it. Thank you. Any... Council Member Blevins. I, I wanna make sure I got this as well. It's my understanding that the new version of the ordinance would cover hospital campuses as w- not campuses, but the buildings themselves, any public building, including, say, for example, St. Joe's building. If it's a workplace, all those definitions that apply to all the businesses in town that we're talking about, all the public buildings, now apply to any building where the public has a reasonable, uh, ex- expectation to enter. And I would have to believe that includes a hospital facility. So the little- Right. ... the little piece that Council Member Lane is working on now is with respect to s- a very special situation. Is that correct? 'Cause it's, it was within rooms. It's within rooms. In a hospital, which is under the dwelling unit exemption- Okay. ... for a hospice. Yeah, uh, Council Member Blevins, I believe that's listed as an exception- Right. So that means- ... to the hospital provisions. ... that in the hallways and the general public access areas of the hospital, you can no longer smoke as a part of this new ordinance. It's just within the individual rooms. That's correct. Yeah. Right. That's what I'm trying to get at because I was afraid Council Member Gordon was misinterpreting that we weren't banning it in the, in the more public areas of the hospital. Thank you. That's all I had. Council Member Blues. Thank you, Mayor. Can we go back to the, uh, to the suggestion, suggested emendation on, uh, on private clubs, I think it was? Was that early on? Can you read that again and, and, and maybe, um, um, address the implications? Uh, one of the definitions of private organizations was, "The building will be used exclusively for the organization's purposes at all times." Council Member Lane has asked that it now read, "The building will be used exclusively for the organization's or member's purposes at all times." So what does that change, exactly? Tightens the definition of a private organization. More clarifies it, so there's not as much wiggle room to get out of being a private organization. I see. Thank you. Council Member Lane, on the basis of that, you have- If there are no more questions, uh, I, you know, I'm gonna... I, I, I mentioned to you, Mayor, that I will not be able to be here for the meeting on Thursday, so I'm gonna ask one of my fellow council members to introduce these changes, so they can be, uh, amended, the ordinance can be amended on Thursday evening. And as I said, I, I think these are, are good improvements. They're clarifications. They make it easier for people to understand the ordinance and they improve the rights of the people involved. If you would like- ... to, uh, move to amend the docket to reflect these changes. Uh, I think that would be appropriate at this time, if you- Okay. ... if you'd like to go ahead. All right. Well, thank you, Mayor, then I would like to do that. I so move to, uh, amend the Clean Air Ordinance as, uh, denoted in the memorandum sent out by, uh, Michael Santer, dated October 16th. And a copy, I have a copy of it here, but each council member has received a copy of that. So move. Do we hear a second? Second. Have a second with Council Member Beard. Any further discussion? Then those in favor of amending the docket to reflect the changes in the smoking ordinance that, uh, Council Member Lane has outlined, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you very much, Mayor. Thank you, Council, for your support. Appreciate it. Um, next is Council Member James. Thank you, Mayor. Excuse me. Council members, I hope that you've noticed on your schedule of meetings, um, and received an email from me- Oh. ... about the Thursday, October 23rd, um, council workshop. Um, I've received a few confirmations that, um, folks will be attending, um, but I did want to personally extend the invitation to council members, as well as, um, mayor's staff and commissioners. You should have received an email as well. Um, the 211 United Way Council Workshop. It, I think this will be very informative and, um, United Way has gone way out, and they specifically, um, have by zip code and by council district, um, some data that you might be interested in. So I hope that you will attend. There will be food provided for dinner prior to our council meeting, and it should be pretty informative and, um, hope to see you there. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Council Member Beard. Thank you, Mayor. Um, tomorrow evening at 6:00 PM at The Good Barn, uh, UK's, um, um, well, actually on the campus near Nicholasville Road, uh, there will be a meeting to, um, unveil and/or discuss the placement of a bicycle path, um, from University Court to Shady Lane. And I just wanted to alert people in my district, especially the folks that live in the Southern Heights, uh, Neighborhood Association area, that this meeting is open to all. And, um, if you'd like to hear about this or want to discuss this at all, it'd be a good time to, to do so. And I wanted everybody to be aware. That's all. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Stevens. The grant that was applied to from Transportation Enhancement for the installation of sidewalks on Tates Creek Bike was approved. Uh, there has been some opposition, as everyone probably knows that's been attending meetings. Uh, so we plan to have, the Carter's Committee will sponsor a public meeting or gathering or whatever you want to call it, but it will be at one of the churches on Tates Creek Bike, which have been kind enough to grant us permission to use their rooms in the past. Uh, sometime in the future, probably about three weeks, the Engineering Division has to do some things and work on some other projects, I mean, related to this project. So we'll wait till that's done and then we'll have this presentation and, uh, invite public comment from all those who have an opinion about it. The, uh, as soon as we set the date, we'll put it on our calendar. We'll notify, probably be in the newspaper also, uh, and on the radio and it'll be on our Urban County Government Calendar. Thank you. Council Member James. I was just gonna ask Dr. Stephens if, um, there would be a way to, um, direct mail those that would be affected? How many residents or businesses- Probably so. We, I hadn't looked, we could mail it to those people that live on Tates Creek. I think that would be advisable. Okay. Thank you. We'll see about that. Anything further? There are a lot of people who live right off Tates Creek, uh, that are, have contacted me and, uh, I- I hope they also, but I'm not sure how far we should send the mailman. Thank you. You're welcome. The Carter's Committee will give a full report at next week's meeting too. Vice Mayor Gray. Thank you, Mayor. Um, the third or fourth meeting, I believe, of the, um, Police and Fire Pension Task Force will be held tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 at the Commerce Lexington big meeting room on the first floor. And, um, all council members are invited. Uh, anyone who can attend, um, Chairman Leer encouraged that, so I'm passing on the invitation. Thank y'all. And Council Member Meyers. Thank you, Mayor. Um, want to start last night. We had, um, the Eight District Neighborhood Association presidents and the leadership all met, uh, and had a great meeting to discuss how we can move forward, uh, to improve the quality of life for the residents of the Eighth District collectively, and had a great turnout and a lot of good ideas discussed, and we're moving forward with those things and getting it out to the citizens on what we're going to do in that respect. And also, I have a motion too to amend the Clean Air Ordinance to include the following language that, "All vehicles owned, confiscated, leased, rented, maintained, or borrowed by the LFUCG will be included under the, under the act." And, uh, Mr. Santa, if you could come forward. I don't know if section four would be the best place to put that, when we talk about buildings, or really let you determine where that would go. It's the new section that says, "All buildings owned..." It would be best under ... It says, "All buildings owned, leased, operated by, or under the jurisdiction of the elec- Lexington-Fayette Urban County government, or any unit thereof, shall be subject to the revisions of sections 1497 to 14104." That makes all government buildings under the jurisdiction of the smoking ban. The best way to, would be to just say, "All buildings or vehicles-" Okay. "... owned, leased, operated by or under the jurisdiction ..." So, so, so that it's, the building and the vehicles have the same language. Okay. So I make that motion, so moved. I'm happy to second that. And we have a, a motion by Council Member Myers, which I think is designed to amend the docket to reflect those changes in the smoking ordinance, and a second by Council Member Stevens. Council Member Lane? Yeah, I'm not n- necessarily opposed to that, but I, I did have a question, is, um, so we've got an ordinance. What, how are you gonna enforce it? I mean, there, there's no penalty, uh, denoted for smoking in one of our buildings, or in one of our cars, or are you gonna charge the employee 150 bucks for ... I mean, how, how are you planning to enforce that ordinance- Well- ... that section of the ordinance? How do we enforce the end section of the ordinance that pertains to buildings? Do we fine our employees for smoking in buildings? I understand. My, my question though is that we can pass the ordinance, but what is the enforcement of the ordinance? What is the penalty if a, an employee, uh, or anybody smokes in one of our buildings, or they smoke in one of our cars? I mean, I'm just trying to figure out how you're going to enforce it, is my question. Well, I guess it would be the same as for a building. So if your, whatever the disciplinary action would be for someone smoking in the building would be the same as smoking in a vehicle. My intent's not to worry about enforcement. My intent's to ensure that our vehicles aren't smoked in, and most of those vehicles are gonna be operated, well, I guess all of them will be operated by an employee. And I imagine if this ordinance goes into place, then there could be subsequent personnel policies in place to deal with that effectively. Okay. What if we are hauling somebody around in one of our vehicles, and they're not an employee of the government, and they're smoking in there? I mean, I, I'm asking you how we're gonna enforce all this. Well, I think it'd be simple for the driver of the vehicle to tell them they can't smoke in the vehicle, same as if someone walked in off the street and came into your office and lit up a cigarette. You'd say the same thing. Any further discussion? Then those in favor of amending the docket to reflect the changes outlined by Council Member Myers, please indicate by saying, "Aye." Aye. Opposed, "No." Motion carries. And a couple final things, um, the Neighborhood Summit is coming up this Saturday, and I think the mayor's gonna speak a little bit about it as well. But, um, my neighborhood presidents received it well, and looking for a good turnout from not only our leadership, but also other residents in the 8th District. And that's gonna be Saturday, uh, beginning at 7:30 AM to 1:00 PM here in the Government Center at 200 East Main Street. And then, um, final thing I'd like to do is call Mr. Joe Kelley up to the microphone. Earlier today in the, um, planning committee meeting, we had a little dis-, a little exchange that I think I kinda crossed a line, and I was not, um, as collegial as I'd like to be and like to be noted as being. So I just wanna publicly, uh, apologize to you for the conversation that we had earlier and my part in that. And you didn't have any negative part in that. It was all me. And so I apologize to you publicly for, for the things that were said. Uh, thank you, Council Member, and the apology is certainly accepted. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you very much. If I could get the, uh, brochure that I shared with you just a moment ago back, um, I do want to re-emphasize the Neighborhood Summit. If you have, uh, folks who'd like to participate, please en-, encourage them to come. They can register in advance or at the door. It's, um, a $5 fee per person, and that includes both a, a coffee and donut breakfast and, uh, a boxed lunch. So I hope, um, you'll encourage folks who are active in your neighborhood associations to, to, uh, be here. We, um, are trying to provide an opportunity for folks to learn a little bit more about some of the services that we routinely offer to our neighborhoods, and I, I think if the experience this year is like the one last year, it will be well-received. Finally, I would just, uh, remind everybody we have a couple of, uh, meetings this evening to, um, uh, conduct public hearings on the, um, TIF development plans that have been presented in connection with both the, uh, Distillery District along Manchester Street. That one will be at 6:00. It will be followed at 7:00 by a hearing on the courthouse Phoenix Park, uh, TIF, and, um, it is not necessary for council members to attend, but you're certainly welcome, and I hope you will be here, and, um, we'll look forward to seeing several of you then. Mayor? Yes. May I ask you a quick question on that? I know we'll talk about it tonight, but would you mind maybe, just for those watching, set kind of the guidelines, because, uh, a number of folks have asked, you know, "Well, what, what are we allowed to talk on? How long do we get to talk? What's kind of inbounds, out of bounds?" I think setting those rules in advance is really key to tonight- Sure. ... if you wouldn't mind. That's a good point, Council Member McCord. As, uh, has been explained to us by Jim Parsons, who is the counsel that has been advising us on tax increment financing issues, the comments tonight will be targeted to the development plans that have previously been filed with regard to both of those districts. Um, those- ... plans are -- are available in the clerk's office. Uh, they're fairly specific documents and we -- we need to try to keep our comments focused on the contents of the development plans. I -- I've got a question about that. I've heard this a couple of times and it's a little bit disturbing to me. If we are designing this to suppress dissent of any form, I mean, that -- I've heard this two or three times, and I'd like that explained, Councilman McCord. What -- what is it that you... that we don't want to have in the presentations- Oh, I'm just saying- ... or the public hearing? No. I'm saying that Jim Parsons had told us with regard to public hearing that it is about the development plan, I th-... and I was under the impression that it was what the public has to say about the -- the TIF portions of it. Okay. So if it's something that somebody says, "Hey, I -- I don't like the height of the building," that's not a part of the discussion tonight, as I understand it. If it is... if it is a... if... if the project itself influences the TIF, the viability of the project, then that is very much a piece of the conversation in my view. And I don't know why we would suppress that point of view by anybody. I... I... I'm not suppressing anything, Vice Mayor. What I'm saying is, is that, uh, I would like to know the ground rules heading into tonight, because I... I can tell you what's probably going to happen. And... and you know very good and well what's going to happen, is, uh, that there will be a number of comments that may go out of bounds. And just like with our... our zone change, it would be nice to let folks know in advance so there isn't any embarrassment on their part and i-... and any confusion on our part that's listening. We're here to listen to what the public has to say, so that's part of the reason why we need to, uh, to define those boundaries and let folks know when they come in. That was all I'm... I'm pointing out. Okay. Well, um, is that... is that my point? The... the observation that I'm making is that I've heard that expressed two or three times, and so I'm just curious as to what the motivation is because in my view, the projects do influence... the projects themselves influence the credibility of the TIF. And so that's an issue that we... that anyone should be able to speak... speak to in the public hearing. Thank you. Anything further? All right, that takes us down to public comment on issues not on the agenda today. Does anyone wish to address the council?Mr. Marr, if you'll step to the podium. You'll have three minutes. Mayor. Mayor. Before he steps forward, I was trying to ask you something real quick. Sorry. That's okay. I didn't raise my hand soon enough. Um, will tonight's comments be, um... will someone be logging those and typing those up for us or do we just... if we're here, we just take notes? I'll, um... I'll need to check with counsel about that, whether or not we're planning on having a transcript of the hearing or whether it will just be merely, um, recorded- Thank you. ... o-... on video or audio. My guess is it'll just be recorded. If you'd like a transcript, we could probably do that. I don't know. I don't know that we've got anybody in-house that can do that. I think it could get pretty... well, depending upon how lengthy the hearing is, it could get pretty- . Sure. You could get... yeah. You'd be able... Councilmember James, I assume, can you get a copy of the- Yeah. ... yeah, recorded? I... I... I guess it's... it's more, um... it's really holistic and more procedural than anything. If we're going to make public hearings a part of the TIF process, I think we just kinda need to figure out when it comes to the hearing, um, are we going to... we need to make a decision, are we going to include that and any data and any packet of information about each particular TIF. And that was really all that I was going for. I mean, whether it's a disc or whether it's a transcript, something just needs to go in the record that is- Right. ... actually what was said and what transpired. Right. Uh, Councilmember James, and this goes to what the Vice Mayor and Councilmember McCord was saying, Mr. Parsons will be here tonight, and I know that he's going to have some introductory comments about the public hearing because he's been through a few of these, uh, and it... it would be... he could answer that question for you. But I think that information is going to be available. Also, Mayor, the, um, the development plans, both development plans are on the LFUCG website also now, so... in addition to copies in the clerk's office. Great. A- anything further? All right, unless some other councilmember has a question, we'll proceed with Mr. Marr. Commissioner Ask, you just, uh, answered my question almost. But the last... you had a public hearing maybe a couple months ago about the TIF thing, Center Point a little bit. And Mr. Parsons presented then also, I remember, and I was there. And there were like three or four public citizens who were here. And because it wasn't presented in layman's terms, a lot of public citizens didn't understand the context of the conversation. And one lady who actually, um, works for Gray Construction actually, came up to me and asked, "How can I comment if I don't know what we're talking about?" So I was just gonna say, if for both public hearings, if we could... maybe Barry McNeese could present five or 10 minutes what his overall Distillery District is. Maybe somebody can speak in layman's terms as to what TIF financing is for Joe the Plumber. And that way, when they can... when they do comment, they know the context of the conversation, real simple. And that, I think, will help guide you guys, in my opinion, uh, to keep the conversation going in the direction you guys want it to go in versus getting off on all kinds of tangents. Because I think there is a lot of... you have two very different TIFs, Center Point and the Distillery District, and so making that clarification, I think, would be really good for public citizens also. But if... whatever you guys can do in the beginning of each public hearing to make that very clear for people, I think that'd be helpful. Thank you, Mr. Marr. Does anyone else wish to address the council? Seeing none, I think we have a closed session. Uh, Mayor. Councilmember Lane. I move that we go into closed session pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(c)) for the purposes of discussing... discussing proposed litigation on behalf of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County government. So moved. Second. Have a motion and second that we go into closed session. Any discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries.