["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Let's go ahead and call the meeting to order, if we could. I know we've had a fairly lengthy planning committee meeting, but to the extent we can go ahead and get started with the work session, we'll be able to conclude a little earlier. Is there anyone who wishes to comment on issues that are on the agenda for today? I haven't received any indication that anyone is here to do that, so in light of that, we'll move ahead to the docket approval. I think the docket has been circulated. Are there any motions? Council Member Beard has moved its approval. Is there a second? Mayor. Did I hear a second? Second. Got a second. All right. Council Member Stephens. Mayor, I have an item that I would like to move to a place on the docket. All right. And this item relates to the Sunday sales of liquor and alcoholic beverages in the urban county government territory. On August 7th, we circulated a first draft of possible changes. We later, and this was circulated to the members of the council as well as to your office and to the police department and several other areas, we subsequently circulated a second draft and followed by a third draft. And today I have distributed a final version, which I would recommend. And if you look at the document which we placed before you, you can see the final wording as it is highlighted. This would extend the hours on Sunday from 11 a.m. until 2.30 a.m. for distilled spirits, wine, and malt beverages. This document also has been presented to the Kentucky ABC as well as our alcoholic beverage control here in Lexington. We have changed the hours on the document you last had from 2.00 to 6.00 a.m. for sale, which makes it consistent. We also have, I think that's the gist of the changes, we've struck malt beverages from, if you look under, on page 1, 2, 3, 4, under E, regarding locked departments, we've struck in all stocks of malt beverages, and we've retained the hours of 1 to 9 for sale of retail package. These changes make us basically conform to the same hours that are present in Louisville and northern Kentucky, which I think would be a benefit to our visitors as well as to our citizens. The liquor laws in Kentucky are very complex. I think we need to get a motion to put it on the docket as opposed to debating the merits of it.  I move the motion, draft, it's labeled 8-2107, be placed on the docket. I have a motion and second that we add the draft ordinance to the docket. It's a motion to amend the approval of the docket. This way we'll treat it. The motion currently on the floor was a motion by Council Member Beard to approve the docket. This is a motion to amend the docket by adding this ordinance. So any discussion on the amendment? Council Member Stennett. I just had a question. I know this item is in the services committee. Mr. Ellinger, has this, is this the recommendation of the committee to bring it out of the committee at this point and put it on our docket, or is it still in committee? Well, we met last Tuesday, and I was going to bring that forward. But Dr. Stevens raised this issue, and he said he would probably be bringing something forward on Tuesday. And I said we can keep it in the committee unless it gets resolved here in the full council. And if it gets resolved in the full council, then it will just be dissolved in the services committee. So it was kept in there, but he told us in the committee that he would probably be bringing this forward today. Okay. So the committee has not taken action on it? We have not taken action. We discussed the issue, but we haven't taken action. But he told us that he would probably be bringing this forward to the full committee. Thank you. Full council. Any further discussion? Those in favor, then, of adding the ordinance to the docket, please let it be known by voting aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. And so the motion as amended now is to approve the docket with the addition of this one ordinance. Council Member DeKalb. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. I have two issues that pertain to the docket. The first one, I move to place in the docket for the August 23, 2007 meeting, a resolution authorizing the execution of a purchase of service agreement with LexArt at a cost not to exceed $350,000, plus up to $150,000 to match contributions. Second. For the motion, any discussion? Seeing none, those in favor, please vote aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. My second issue, Mayor, was we put on the docket for first reading a zone change on Walton Avenue at the time. The Belcourt Neighborhood Association said that they might ask for a public hearing. In the meantime, they have had a neighborhood meeting, and we had agreed to that. We would wait to hear from them. And if now the president of the Belcourt Neighborhood Association is to ask for a public hearing. Councilman DeKalb, thank you. Yes, we met at 6 p.m. on Sunday and voted to request a hearing. We're going to hire legal counsel and review our rights. And we look forward to an opportunity to share our concerns with the full counsel. And have Mr. Simpson, have you all talked and agreed upon a date? It has to be heard on or by the 25th of September is my understanding. Is that? That's correct, Mr. DeKalb. And we had asked for the 20th. We have some people that are going to be out of town after that date. So we were looking at the 20th of September. As we all know, we do not have a scheduled meeting for Thursday, the 20th. So we would have to be sure that we had a quorum to hear this on the 20th. The only other times that are would be in conjunction with the meeting. The 13th, we already have a hearing after our council meeting. The 18th, I know that there is, if I remember correctly, a neighborhoods meeting, a major meeting of neighborhoods that evening at 7 o'clock. And I don't know how many we're planning to go. So that is an option if we could get a quorum on the 18th, which would be after the work session. So and then the 20th, which has been suggested by Belcourt and the attorney for the developer for Thursday night, the 20th. So it's really up to the council when we could have a quorum. We're talking about 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 20th. As I say, there is no scheduled meeting for that evening. I suppose the most expedient way to deal with this is just get a show of hands about how many would prefer the 18th versus the 20th. So let's just see how many people think you would prefer the 18th in connection with a work session. Four, five, hands, six. Those that would prefer the 20th. Okay. Are you for the 18th or 20th? 20th. 20th. All right. It looks like there's a slight majority for the 18th on that count. Okay. Do we have enough that can be here on the 18th? The only thing I had on my schedule was the neighborhood's meeting at the Southside Church. And I don't know if that was all neighborhoods. Did anybody else have it down or is it just the third district? I guess it's just the third district. Okay. Can we – will there be enough here for the 18th, which will be following the work session, I assume at 6 p.m.? Why don't we think optimistically and shoot for 5 o'clock? 5 o'clock? It's fine with me. I like that attitude. All right. Now, if I understand then, the motion is to amend the docket so as to schedule the Bell Court for a public hearing on the 18th at 5 o'clock? At 5 o'clock. Is there any problem with you all? Okay. All right. All right. I make a motion that we have a public hearing at that time. Is there a second? Second. Then any discussion? Then those in favor of amending the docket as indicated, please let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Council Member James. Is this the appropriate time to add to the docket if I have a motion? Great. Would be. I move to place on the docket for Thursday, August the 23rd, 2007, council meeting a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the Urban County Government to execute a purchase of services agreement with Roots & Heritage Festival Incorporated for the 2007 Roots & Heritage Festival activities. Second. I have a motion and second. Any discussion? Those in favor then, please vote aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Anything further? Then I believe the motion is in order to approve the docket as amended now. So moved. Second. Any further discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. What's wrong with our machine? You've previously received a summary of earlier meeting. Move approval. Got a second. Any discussion? Those in favor of approving the summary, let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Takes us down to budget amendments which have been circulated. Move approval. Second. I have a motion and second. Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Aye. Those opposed, no. Motion carries. New business items. Move approval. I have a motion and second to approve the new business items. Any discussion? Those in favor, then vote aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Now we're down to presentations. We have the services committee. Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. In your packet on page 10 starts the service committee summary. We met on the 14th of August. The first item we dealt with was on Allegheny Avenue. And we had a motion from Mr. Blevins to direct the traffic engineering to implement the project of median cuts at Beaumont Center Lane. It was seconded by Council Member Lane. It was passed without dissent. I move that forward. So moved. Second. Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. The second item on the agenda was a multi-way stop at Healy Avenue and 6th Street. A motion by Council Member James to request a multi-way stop at 6th Street and Healy Avenue. It was seconded by Council Member McCord. It was passed without dissent. I move that forward. So moved. Second. Got a motion and second. Any discussion? Those in favor, vote aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. The third item on the agenda was the Sunday alcohol sales. And we've talked about that here in a couple of minutes during the council meeting work session here. But we discussed the different changes that happened in Frankfort that allowed the urban county government to allow Sunday liquor sales. And we decided to keep that in the committee unless something happened that will cause us to have that dissolved. And then the last item on the agenda was the taxi ordinance and how it relates to the IT program. And we were given some information and an update on the program. And that's all, Mayor. Thank you. Thank you very much. The next item I have is a presentation from Mr. Wilson about government center ADA elevator. Mayor? I'm sorry. May I ask you a question? Sure. I'm sorry. May I ask a question regarding the minutes that were just read from the services? Is it too late for me to talk about that? No. I guess I need to know procedurally. That was an issue that was in committee. And if someone could just bring clarity, because I know that people may be watching today regarding this issue, wondering whether, you know, whether the committee was able to do their work or not. Is this typically what happens that if something's in committee that can be brought forward to full council without the committee releasing it to go to full council? Because I don't know that we really voted on that. I think it was kind of a discussion. But I don't know that we voted to move it forward to council. If a question is directed to me, I suppose it is the prerogative of any member of the council to put a proposed ordinance or resolution on the agenda at any time they want to. Whether or not the group as a whole believes those resolutions or ordinances need the attention of committee and the review of the committee is a matter up to the council as a whole. So I guess to answer your question, my belief would be that a council member can bring a resolution forward whenever they want to, subject to the council as a group, referring it to committee for further study, for so long as the council as a group thinks that's appropriate. Thank you very much. Anything further? All right. Mr. Wilson, if you'll. My role here is just to turn it over to Greg Fitzsimons with Fitzsimons Office of Architects, who was our selected consultant, and he'll do the presentation. Thank you, Mayor, council members. I appreciate the opportunity to present to you the proposed elevator addition, installation, and lobby of the Urban County Government Center. The last time I think I had the opportunity to present to the council was the Loudoun House renovation. I started with this image of the building as it was originally built, the Lafayette Hotel. In its original design, as a hotel, the building had a raised base. You can see here in the closer image showing the original storefront, the original canopy outline. And I believe this canopy is still back underneath the aluminum covering that's on it now. As you go out the building today, if you take a look at this canopy, I believe it's still back there. The chains still go up to the building. And blowing up this image, it's interesting to note there's a sign for a coffee shop here on the corner of the hotel building. So it was much more of an activity center at the time. But being designed as a hotel, it was meant to have some presence in its architecture, and the entry to the hotel is always an important feature. So inside the building, they installed this relatively small, but it was the monumental staircase meant to take you off street level, bring you up to lobby level, and present the interior of the hotel, which for its time, it was quite a high-style hotel. Right now, the goal for this project is to improve the ability for disabled people to enter the building and to do it with a little bit more respect and bring a disabled person to the front door of the building. As I was preparing to come down here today, I had to remember to bring my presentation and worry about bringing an umbrella or not, but I didn't have to worry about whether I'd be able to manage these steps when I came in the front door of the building. So by changing this and installing a better location for the elevator, it will make it much easier for a disabled person to enter the building. Currently, if you're in a wheelchair, you have to come to the secondary main entrance, up a wheelchair lift here to the main level, then to the elevators, and then on up to the council chamber levels. If you have to get back down to the mezzanine level, you have to take a second lift to get down to that level. So the intention of this elevator is to be able to come in off street level, be able to ride up half a level, get on to the mezzanine or on to the lobby level, and then have access to the elevators for the upper floors, or to continue on up to the mezzanine level. You can see in the red square, and I've already pointed to it, but this, we believe, is the best location for the elevator within the lobby. It doesn't disrupt any of the main circulation patterns. It does take away a little bit of the waiting space that's there, a little bit of gathering space, but I think it also fits relatively sympathetically in between the column grid and will have the least effect on the interior of the main lobby space. In planned form here, again, coming in the main door, we'll have to enlarge the aluminum storefronts that's there now. We'll still sort of have that sort of meet and greet thing that happens when you come in the entrance to the government building right now. But we're fortunate that there's enough room in between the existing entrance door and a little bit of stair landing there that we can cut through the little sidewall of the stairs right there and install the elevator, so I'd be able to come in on sidewalk level, get on to the elevator, ride up half a level, get out the backside, so to speak, and then approach the security desk. On the mezzanine level, you can see it will fit in between the columns and provide access to that level, especially for urban county employees. So what is that going to look like in the space? And we've tried to take some images here, a little bit dark on the slide, but this is, of course, the main lobby, the stairs here with the security desk and a close-up of this entrance piece into the stairs. Here's the outside door, our inside airlocked entry, the little heaters that have been replaced there in the last couple of years. And this is the area that would be altered to install the elevator, and the elevator would, as I said, sort of fit in between these two columns and rise up to that mezzanine level. From this image, it's actually kind of hard to see that, in fact, the elevator has been installed, and with digital graphics here, we have taken the elevator and installed it in the lobby. Again, here's our little heating unit, our glass doors. We come in. We've cut the marble out here. We now have an entrance to our elevator door. Our elevator shaft is proposed to be covered with black metal, and an aluminum panel that will have a black finish to it so that it blends into the lobby. It doesn't stand out. If we added wood to the finish or put plaster on the outside, it would begin to compete with the interior of the lobby, and we want to be sympathetic to the design of the original building and indicate that our elevator was installed in 2008 and not in 1908, or they could have had an elevator in 1908, but probably not in this location. And here's a little bit better view of looking down from the mezzanine level. Again, I think it's a little bit more clear where the elevator door is, and the elevator door on the second floor. Add some lights to highlight the area. Again, I think it will be a sympathetic addition and not compete with the original interior. From the other side, here's the lobby before, and, again, this is the area that we're looking at. The biggest impact, of course, will be to the ornamental plaster ceiling. We are fortunate there's enough room on the second floor for the elevator headroom. Again, here's the black-clad elevator shaft installed. We would hold it back from the existing column so some natural light would come through, and it would feel like it's a bit of a separate geometric element installed inside the space. Rotating around a little bit, you'd see the second door on the lobby level. And, again, our biggest impact will be to the plaster ceiling. I think this is, again, the best view of it. It gives you the best sense for what we're proposing to do. The estimated budget is $217,000, I believe, and with council approval we'll finish the design work and our cost estimate. At this point, we feel like we're able to install this for the amount of funds appropriated for the project. And I'm here for any questions anybody has. Does anyone have any questions for Mr. Fitzsimmons? Ah, here we go. Council Member Stephens. Thank you. Well, this looks good. I think it will help people get in and out. But I was wondering about our present door arrangement. When the hotel was here, it was a revolving door, and now we have kind of an airlock and double door, which is difficult to negotiate with a wheelchair. I didn't know if you had thought about that. And, secondly, does this include replacing the surface of the floor there at the door? Because we still have the surface of the floor outlined for the revolving door, and it's not very attractive. You're correct. And that would be our intention, to clean that up so that from, as I said, we'll have to extend the aluminum storefront entry out because there's not enough clearance for a person in a wheelchair to come in, make that turn, come through these doors, and then turn again and reach the elevator. Kind of what's good about that relationship right now is that everyone is kind of forced up these set of stairs and there is a five-foot clearance here to rotate your wheelchair and be able to access the elevator. So we will extend the aluminum storefront to improve that access, and then try and come up with a new surface in here that still respects that historic marble finish, but would make it more safe as well as durable and clean traffic off of people's feet as they come into the building as well. Thank you. Council Member James. Thank you, Mayor. What are the actual dimensions of the elevator itself? And maybe you said it and I missed it. I didn't say it. The size is based on what is considered the standard ADA access elevator. The shaft itself is about 7 feet 4 by 6 feet 4 and makes the cab size about 5 feet by 6 feet, something like that. But it's enough room for a disabled person in a wheelchair to maneuver and reach the controls and do everything they need to use the elevator properly. Only one wheelchair would fit in there at a time? Right. Only one wheelchair would fit in there at a time, but two people can stand beside the wheelchair. Okay. And on the second floor, does it have a back door also, or does it only open to one side? That may be a budget item depending on how much funds we have, whether we go ahead and put the second door on the second floor. The elevator will keep it from being a raceway where, in fact, you can sort of walk all the way around. You have to backtrack, so to speak. So that will be a decision made based on budget. Okay. Now, I'm sure that the elevator itself is ADA compliant, but as far as I guess the word is maneuverability of coming out of there on the second floor, is that something you kind of go up and role play? Like you sit in a wheelchair and roll around to see if you're able to whip around to get in the direction you need to go into? You can see on the plan here, it's a little bit easier actually on the mezzanine level because they have the full width of the mezzanine once we exit the door on either side. As Mr. Stevens mentioned, more of our issue is coming in the front door and being able to come in the door and turn. But, again, a five-foot turning radius is what's required in a wheelchair, and we have the five-foot clearance necessary in each of these areas. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you, Mayor. Council Member Lane. Thank you, Mayor. I was curious as to what you estimate the total cost for soft cost and hard cost for the project, because I didn't get that number nailed down. I don't have the budget in front of me to be able to break those figures out and would have to refer to what Mr. Wilson's put together in the past for that information. Well, you mentioned a $217,000 charge. What does that cover? What's that for? Installing the elevator, the equipment itself will be roughly a $60,000 expense. The shaft is in the neighborhood of $100,000 to $125,000. The additional funds will be for cutting the structure, moving mechanical, electrical equipment that will be in the way as we move it. Okay. Well, I would not necessarily address this to you, but maybe to our Commissioner of General Services. But I'd like to see the entrance really cleaned up. I think that's very deplorable. That's the main entrance to the building. And when we have guests and dignitaries from visiting us, I don't feel it looks very well. And so I hope that while we're doing this renovation, that could all be completed simultaneously. When we selected this architect, we only challenged them to adjust the entrance as needed to improve wheelchair accessibility. If we want a little more work and a little better product at our front entrance, I'm sure Greg will be glad to do that for us, but there might be a slight adjustment to his cost to do that. And there would be some cost associated with doing that, but I don't see that's something we couldn't overcome. Okay. Well, thank you. I think this is a good project and can make a major difference to the front of our building. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Beard. Thank you, Mayor. Is it anticipated that the shaft itself as visible will be paneled? It's not going to be black like depicted, is it? Yes, sir. That's what I have proposed, is that it would be covered with the actual trade name of it would be an Alucabon panel. It's an aluminum panel that would be painted black, again, black to disappear. Your eye is drawn to the lighter elements inside the space. And when you walk in, your eye is drawn to the plaster, to the light fixtures, to the windows. And by installing a black skin to the outside, your eye will be less drawn to it than the other ornament inside the space. The other thing it does is it begins to complement other new features you've added. The aluminum storefront has a black frame to it, so it will complement that new element that you've installed. And then any other items that you might add into the lobby that are modern things, some discussion with Mr. Wilson about changing the security desk and, say, if you add metal detectors or those type of things, they could be black metal and kind of blend in with the other modern improvements in the lobby. Central Bank, the new canopy on Central Bank has those aluminum panels on it. James Motors, they're aluminum colored. I believe the elevator inside the Chamber of Commerce building has some black metal panels on a portion of it. As you walk in the door on the 45-degree angle there, I think as you even drive by in the car, you can look in and see its shaft is partially enclosed in black metal panels. Well, it's a matter of taste, and it doesn't taste good to me. And I have reviewed this with Ms. Kerr at the Historic Preservation Office, and she concurred with the choice of a material different than what was in the lobby, again, to not compete with what was there but present a modern material for the modern elevator. The second question, is this a hydraulic or a how does the mechanism actually work? Right. It would be either two choices, either a hydraulic elevator or what's called a holeless elevator, which is essentially a piston system that just kind of collapses on itself like that drinking cup when you were a Boy Scout. You know, it's that same kind of collapsing mechanism. And that will also depend on the budget and whether we can, in fact, drill the hole or not, depending on the geology. I hope it's not like that drinking cup because mine always leaked. Thank you. Does anyone else wish to ask any questions? All right. Thank you, Mr. Fitzsimmons. And I think that takes us down now to the HOPE Center presentation. Ms. Livesey. Mr. Mayor, Mr. Vice Mayor, members of the council, thank you for having me today. My name is Kim Livesey, and I am with the HOPE Center. As you probably already know, the HOPE Center came into existence because the urban county government called for its creation in the early 1990s. And since then, the urban county council has not wavered in its support of the HOPE Center. You've been very staunch supporters. Our goal from the beginning has been to provide food, clothing, and shelter to homeless adult males. And now each year the HOPE Center is open 24-7, 365 days a year, and we provide approximately 30,000 items of clothing, 70,000 nights of lodging, and over 180,000 meals. In recent years, our goal has even expanded because we want to not only help people get off the street, we want them to help stay off the street. And we do this by offering recovery from addiction and mental health programs, a free health clinic, employment and transitional housing assistance, and even a mobile outreach called the HOPE Mobile that you may have seen downtown. And throughout all of this growth, the urban county government has been a staunch supporter. And because of your support, literally thousands of lives have been touched and changed. So the reason I'm here today is we want to officially and publicly recognize and thank the urban county government. We are hosting a very special event on September the 13th where we recognize our most faithful donors. And I'm here today to ask each of you to come and be our guest of honors for that event. You've received an e-mail invitation. I've heard from some of you, and I'll leave a hard copy of the invitation with you today. But I'm very grateful to have this opportunity to extend a personal invitation. We're very honored that the mayor and the vice mayor have already confirmed their attendance, and it would just mean a lot for us to have you all there if you could. I'll leave, again, a document with all the details. But I just wanted to thank you for your time and your support of the HOPE Center, but most of all for your commitment to the members of the homeless community. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Livesey, not only for your presentation but for all the work the HOPE Center has done for us along the way. Are there any members of the council that would like to ask questions? Ms. James. I'll wait until you get back to the podium. Thank you, Kim, and all of the HOPE Center staff members and the board for what you all do. I wondered if you had the numbers of substance abuse clients that you treat. Do you know those numbers? I don't know those numbers. I will get those for you. But as I'm sure you know, it is so large and growing. It's the number one cause of homelessness, and we are building a new recovery center on Loudon Avenue that will be open in 2008 so that we can accommodate more. But I can actually get that number for you. That would be great if you'd share that with all council members and the mayor. I would really appreciate that. I'll be glad to. Thank you. Thanks. Anything further? Thank you very much, Ms. Livesey. That brings us now to the council report. And as we discussed last time around, we thought we'd try to use our new technology rather than going around as we have traditionally done. If you wish to make a report, if you'd hit the request to speak button, and then we'll just take folks in the order that they sign up here. So, Council Member Blevins. Thank you, Mayor. I just have one item. Move approval of the NDF. Any discussion? Those in favor, please say aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Council Member Maloney. Thank you, Mayor. First of all, I want to, Mr. Bennett, I want to thank code enforcement for the work that you all have done the last couple of weeks in my district. And we appreciate it on some hot areas down at the sales road. We see a big improvement. I want to thank you on that. Mayor, last week we had a discussion about the holidays. And so what I did, I went back and met with some of the employees. And for the last 20 years, we've had that half the day off, and a lot of employees were really looking forward to that. And I just felt that when we got rid of it, that we'd come up with another alternative way. And I've talked to the employees and look at possibly looking at another day or that day, if they wanted to make it a holiday. And after discussion with the employees, and I have a letter from the civil service committee, they would like to see, and I kind of brought this proposal up, that making Christmas Eve their additional four and a half hours, I mean four hours, what they already have to be a full day. And I support that because the state government and other government agencies are closed that day. And when we open up on that day, and many times I've come in here, we're just really turning on a lot of lights. People are just sitting there kind of all excited about ready to go home for the holidays. They're really not halfway here because they're enjoying what's going to happen. And I think this will be a great opportunity after losing this holiday. I mean, it's appreciation day. I think this will be a great appreciation for them to have Christmas Eve off. So I'd like to make a motion to amend 2838 to increase holiday leave for the Christmas Eve from four hours to eight hours. Second. We have a motion and second to amend section 2138 of the ordinances as indicated on the sheet that's been passed around. I'm inclined to believe that in order for us to amend an ordinance, we have to go through the two-reading process. And so if that is correct, then I think what we probably ought to do is just go ahead and move to amend the docket by adding this to Thursday's docket. Is that okay? That would be great. All right. Any discussion? And those in favor of amending the docket to add the amendment to the ordinances outlined by Council Member Maloney, please let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Anything further? That's it. Thank you. Council Member Blues. Thank you, Mayor. I just have two announcements. On Monday, August the 27th at 7 p.m., the Oakwood Neighborhood Association will meet in the Oakwood Park Shelter. And then at 5.30 p.m., Tuesday, August 28th, the Community Needs Assessment Summit will be held at First Baptist Church in Bracktown. And I want to encourage the Council and the public to attend that summit where there will be a full discussion and identification of community needs and discussion of the best ways to address them. I think this will be an important event, and I want to encourage everybody to attend. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you very much. Council Member Duquette. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to report that we had our second meeting of the News Rack Committee and that we are making headway in finding a more efficient and attractive way to distribute newspapers in Lexington, especially downtown. And we're hoping that, especially in the downtown, that this will coincide with the sidewalk improvements which are in the works. Thank you very much. Council Member James. Thank you, Mayor. Council Member Blues mentioned something that I want to also reiterate. The needs assessment is very important that we participate as a city, as clients, as those that are part of the programs, the directors of programs and staff members, to get a full assessment of what's happening in Lexington-Fayette-Urban County and to make sure that all that we do is targeted towards helping the residents of the community. So I wanted to reiterate that. If anybody has any questions on that, I believe, and please tell me if the number is wrong, but I believe the number is 258-3600 to call. That may be social services. Does that sound right, Dr. Hill? 3800, 258-3800. So please call that number if you have any questions, and you're always welcome to call my office at 258-3216 as well. I also wanted to let council members know you received at the beginning of work session today, I passed around something at the top that says primary offense counts, current jail population. I visited today with Ron Bishop at Community Corrections, and my primary visit was to discuss what types of what was the jail census in relationship to alcohol and substance abuse. And on this sheet I've indicated the offenses and charges that Ron Bishop and I discuss that have a lot to do with alcohol and substance abuse. And if you look at that data there, it's pretty staggering the percentage of our current census at the detention center and those that are related to alcohol or substance abuse. I think that's very important as we probably will be approached pretty soon about extending, expanding the jail and we know how cost effective or how cost detrimental that can be, a $24 million possible expansion of that facility. So I, you know, with maybe some see a connection with extended liquor sales on Sunday. Whether there is or not, I believe this is a good time for us to really be aware of the impact of substance abuse in our community. And I have also spoken with one of the judges here in Lexington who told me that if it weren't for drug and alcohol charges, they could probably operate in the old courthouse. So that's pretty, that's a powerful statement. And so I just want to offer this for your reference. If you have any questions about this, you're welcome to talk with me. I'm sure Ron Bishop would be welcome to speak with you as well. And I look forward to working with you on ways to treat and prevent alcohol and substance abuse. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Crosby. Thank you, Mayor. A couple of things. The first I want to announce the seventh district is having a president's meeting. The topic will be the traffic management study. That will be Thursday, August 30th at 7 p.m. at the Eagle Creek Library. Initially this was set up as a president of the neighborhood association within the district. However, I've gotten a lot of input that there's some concerned citizens who would just like to attend so we can open it up. However, we just need people to call the office at 258-3214 so that we can accommodate everybody for space at the library. The other issue that's come up in the district is I'm getting a lot of phone calls, particularly in the morning with parents who have kids at school bus stops. And I'd just like to remind everybody to watch their foot a little bit when they're driving and kind of let up. We don't have to have such a lead foot. We'll make it to work in time. You know, we just have to be mindful that these kids are out at these school bus stops and not to speed so much. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Wayne. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to report that I spoke with Jim Clark, the president of LexArts, and he advises that LexArts has raised about $100,000 of the matching money necessary to get the $150,000 in funds that were approved by the Urban County Council. And he was very excited about their progress. I also wanted in the arts area to acknowledge UBS, which was the brokerage firm that helped underwrite the first chamber music festival of Lexington. And also to recognize Charles Stone, who was a volunteer organizer of the event. The festival was held out at Fasig-Tempton. It was extremely well attended. It got good reviews in the paper. And it was an exceptional performance. And I think this will become an annual event for our community. And then the last item I have is I've given written notice to the stakeholders and council members regarding a new Sand Drive proposal that we presented at the council work session on Tuesday, August 23rd. And I would encourage anybody that's interested in that particular issue to attend that meeting. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you very much. Council Member Stephens. Thank you. Did you say Tuesday, August 23rd, Mr. Lane? Tuesday, yes. August 23rd? 28th. Okay. Thank you. I agree with Council Member James that the largest health problem we have in the United States at this time is no longer communicable disease, which at one time with tuberculosis and other diseases were the leading cause of death. But now we have behavioral disorders which relate to substance abuse, both alcohol and drugs, as well as food. Obesity is one of the biggest problems we have in the United States and also lack of exercise. So it's really difficult for physicians to modify human behavior when they're called upon to treat some of these things. And I think we need to look at what facilities we have here in Lexington that can help people without, besides the medical profession, to combat these things. I do have some good news and bad news for the Bourbon County Government and the Council in that the Corridors Committee had submitted a transportation enhancement grant to work on Newtown Pike from Main Street out to, I guess, to Ironworks now, since that's where it's going to be a route for the equestrian games. And we had applied for something over $200,000 for this project, but it appears that we've got $650,000. That's the good news. The bad news is we'll have to find the matching money someplace. So thank you. Thank you very much. Council Member Myers. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to announce again that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet provided a CMAQ grant for the 8th District for the Gainesway Trail. It's going to be for $500,000. We have the match in the budget already. And it's going to connect four schools, two parks, and also a 4,000 square foot community building. And so that's just a great thing for the 8th District and for our city. And I just want to give thanks to our planning staff, our engineering staff for writing that grant, my staff, Joe Shuler, as well as the Transportation Cabinet and Secretary Nyberg. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Myers. Let me take the moment to expand on that just a little bit. That was a terrific project for our community, no question about it. The great news is it was one of several that were awarded on Friday afternoon, and this was all a result of decisions being made in Frankfurt by the Governor's Office and the Transportation Cabinet. As a result of those decisions, we are going to be able to rapidly accelerate the construction of an assortment of different trails, including not only the one that Council Member Myers described, but also the trail that will run through Main Chance Farm from Coldstream Park all the way out to the horse park. And an extension of the town branch trail that will run along McConnell Springs. So we had a fabulous day on Friday afternoon. I said then and I still think now that making those funds available to us now so that we can go ahead and get those trails constructed is going to be a transforming event for this community because I happen to believe that once people see trails being built and have the opportunity to enjoy them, that there's going to be an increase in demand for those kinds of facilities in our community. So you're exactly right about what you said. I am excited for the 8th District, and I'm also excited for those folks who live along the town branch trail and will be able to use the Main Chance Trail. Thanks for making that point. Council Member Scott. Thank you, Mayor. To piggyback a little bit on the trail money, and that's a great thing that we're doing here in our community. But there's always, with everything good we do, there's always a consequence. And having lived through the first Brighton East Trail, this council needs to be reminded that we have a bigger issue with trails, and that's the ongoing maintenance. There's currently very little, if any, money in the budget for the maintenance. As we build these new trails and we get the funding for it, that's great. But we need to be preparing ourselves to add several thousands of dollars for the mowing and the upkeep of these trails as we go forward. So I hope council members are starting to think about that and think about that for next year's budget. That needs to be a whole separate item in the parking rec budget to keep our trail system going. A couple of items. One, I'd like to put an issue of a four-way stop at Brian L. Drive and Northside Drive into the Services Committee for next month's meeting. So moved. Second. Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. And then last but not least, I know council members are excited to know when our next DOG Task Force meeting is. It's next Tuesday night. So I hope everyone can come at 6 p.m. up on the fifth floor of council chambers or council floor on the fifth floor at 6 p.m. And that's the 28th of August will be our second meeting for the DOG Task Force. We'll actually be going into the individual ordinances and reviewing those, so it may be a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with those different ordinances. I'd welcome everyone here to come to that meeting. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Gordon. Thank you, Mayor. That's an excellent segue for me for my first announcement, which is on September the 8th we'll be holding, we being the Division of Parks and the Friends of the Dog Park, we'll be holding our sixth annual dog paddle at the Woodland Park Pool. This is an annual fundraiser for our dog parks. All of the money goes back to build the dog parks, and we usually make about $10,000. Last year we had approximately 750 dogs swim. It is dog swim only. People can't swim. And dogs, it's $10 per dog, and dogs must have proof of rabies vaccination, and that's a certificate from the veterinarian or the tag. So that's September the 8th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Woodland Pool. If you don't have a dog that wants to swim, it's great entertainment. We usually set up bleachers outside the fence because a lot of people just like to watch. And then the other item is that next week I will be reporting out the planning committee report. However, the planning committee, the one issue on our agenda today was the water supply issue, and the planning committee did ask that we bring the question to the MPO tomorrow about whether a pipeline could be laid in the I-64 corridor, and realizing that they may not be able to give that answer tomorrow, I'm just going to present the question. Thank you, Mayor. Unless another council member has something to report, we'll move on to the Mayor's report. I have, I think, one appointment to be added to the docket and a motion to approve that recommendation is in order. I have a motion and second. Any discussion? Those in favor of them, please vote aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. I only have one item that I want to mention since we had an opportunity to talk about the trails just a moment ago. As you all are undoubtedly aware, as a consequence of having pulled into the garage, we're still in the process of trying to assess how most appropriately to deal with the parking garage issues here at the government center. I hope we'll be receiving some information on that most any time that will enable us to move forward with a proposal to probably repair that garage. But I think this also accelerates our need to go through that real estate assessment that we talked about during the budget process. And there are a lot of different moving pieces on the real estate front now, I just wanted to let you know that we're going to be trying to take kind of a global look at our real estate needs in the downtown area as expediently as we possibly can, because that could have some impact on what we do or don't do with the parking garage. This is really a complex series of factors to consider, and I expect we're going to be trying to enlist some really quick support from a national real estate management firm that can shed some light on the situation for us pretty quickly, because I think we're going to need to collectively make some fairly quick decisions about how most effectively to proceed. In the meantime, I'll appreciate your all's continued cooperation in terms of where you drive and where you park, and we'll try to get back to some semblance of normalcy as quickly as we can, but I do appreciate your all's cooperation on that front. If anybody has any questions, I'll be glad to try to answer them or we can move on. Okay. Does anyone have any public comment on issues that are not on our agenda this afternoon? Mr. Cobb, if you'd care to step to the microphone, you'll have three minutes, please. If you would state your name and your address, I would appreciate it. Thank you, Mayor. My name is Louis Cobb. My address is 2001 Cornerstone, apartment number two. Peace and love to the council. I know you all are trying to do a good job. You're talking about dog trails, trails dogs. People are dying on the streets, man. I need you all to help change the attitude of this community. There's a segment of the society that feels left out. You all don't talk about them. Things are going on in the community. They're being left behind. We got to do something about these young brothers with these guns. I need a council to bear with me. I got a solution. I'm going to teach them all how to shine shoes. Sounds like a joke, but shoes is a common denominator. All y'all have on shoes. It ain't going to cost y'all nothing but a little humility. I'm going to shine everybody's shoes. I want to show the young guys, hey, there's something better to do. Put that gun away and pick up a shoebox. I ask the council to help me. We got to wipe out racism in this town. All of us are going to be destroyed by racism. We all human beings. We all deserve the right to live and live happily. It takes everybody. I thank the mayor for this opportunity, and he's got to help me change this town. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Cobb. Is there anyone else who wishes to address the council? Seeing none, the last item on the agenda is a closed session issue. Council Member Stennett. Thank you, Mayor. I move we go into closed session pursuant to KRS 61.8101B and 1C to discuss the acquisition of real property and proposed litigation. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you for attending this afternoon, and if everyone present other than the council members and council will exit, I would appreciate it. Thank you. Discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Council Member James. Mayor, I'd like to make a motion. I move to place on the docket for August 23, 2007, resolutions authorizing and directing the Department of Law to institute condemnation proceedings in Fayette County, I'm sorry, Fayette Circuit Court to obtain title to the properties located at 547 and 549 Goodloe Street, 245 Ann Street, 528 East 3rd Street, and 253 Ann Street for the construction of the extension of Shropshire Boulevard for the Bluegrass Aspendale Project. Second. Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. The floor is open for a motion to adjourn. Second. All those in favor of adjourning, please stand. Motion carries. Second. All those in favor, please vote aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. The floor is open for a motion to adjourn. Third. All those in favor, please vote aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. The floor is open for a motion to adjourn. Fourth. All those in favor, please vote aye.