Urban County Council Meeting

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Council convened on January 13, 2011, at 6:00 PM in Lexington, Kentucky, with Mayor Gray presiding. The meeting covered 4 agenda items, including an invocation, approval of minutes, committee reports, and the second reading of ordinances. Over the course of the meeting, the Council took 5 votes and heard 1 public comment. The minutes from a prior meeting were approved, and ordinances on second reading were also passed, while the invocation and committee reports served as informational items requiring no formal action.

Attendance

All members were present at the January 13, 2011 Council meeting. The following 16 members attended:

• Mayor Gray
• Crosbie
• Ellinger
• Farmer
• Ford
• Gorton
• Henson
• Kay
• Lane
• Lawless
• Martin
• McChord
• Myers
• Stinnett
• Beard
• Blues

No members were recorded as absent or late.

Votes and Decisions

All five votes taken at the January 13, 2011, Council meeting passed unanimously with 15 ayes and 0 nays.

• Approval of Minutes 6:27: Moved by Ellinger, seconded by Crosbie, the Council approved the minutes from the December 9, 2010, Council meeting and the December 7, 2010, work session. The motion passed 15–0, with all members voting in favor: Crosbie, Ellinger, Farmer, Ford, Gorton, Henson, Kay, Lane, Lawless, Martin, McChord, Myers, Stinnett, Beard, and Blues.

• Removal of Ordinance from Docket 8:03: Moved by Gorton, seconded by Ellinger, the Council voted to remove an ordinance amending Section 21-5(2) of the Code of Ordinances from the docket. The motion passed 15–0.

• Referral of Franchise Agreements 13:55: Moved by Gorton, seconded by Blues, the Council voted to refer franchise agreements and other related issues to various committees. The motion passed 15–0.

• Referral of Street Repaving Bonding 16:04: Moved by Martin, seconded by Henson, the Council voted to refer consideration of additional bonding for street repaving to the Budget and Finance Committee. The motion passed 15–0.

• Second Reading of Ordinances 19:20: Moved by Ellinger, seconded by Gorton, the Council conducted a roll call vote on the second reading of ordinances relating to stormwater, grants, and budget amendments. All 15 members — Crosbie, Ellinger, Farmer, Ford, Gorton, Henson, Kay, Lane, Lawless, Martin, McChord, Myers, Stinnett, Beard, and Blues — voted in favor. The motion passed 15–0.

Budget and Financial Actions

The Council addressed several financial items at the January 13, 2011 meeting, spanning grants, an insurance payment, and service contracts.

Grants: - The Council accepted a $6,000 grant from the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to support the Domestic Violence Prevention Board. - A $41,057.20 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice was accepted for the purchase of bulletproof vests.

Insurance Payment: - The Council appropriated a payment of $116,236.74 from Great American Insurance Co., received as a result of a contractor bond default.

Contracts: - The Council approved an agreement with AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc. in the amount of $140,220 for Brownfield Site Assessment Services. - An agreement with Blue Grass Energy Cooperative Corp. was approved for $2,968 related to LED Street Lights.

No resolution numbers were available in the source materials for these items. Timestamps were not provided for individual financial actions.

Public Comment

One member of the public addressed the Council during the public comment period at the January 13, 2011 meeting.

• Robert Dalton spoke at 1:17:21 regarding House Bill 202, a measure focused on supporting veterans seeking commercial driver's licenses (CDLs). Dalton explained that the bill is designed to assist veterans by extending the waiver period for CDL requirements and by broadening the bill's scope to include all classes of vehicles, not just a limited subset. The proposal appears intended to ease the transition for veterans entering the civilian workforce by leveraging their military driving experience across a wider range of commercial vehicle categories.

No other public comments were recorded for this meeting.

Appointments

At the January 13, 2011 Council meeting, the following appointment was made:

• Richard Moloney was appointed to the role of Chief Administrative Officer.

Contested Items

• Budget and Finance Committee Membership: A procedural dispute arose during the meeting regarding the composition of the Budget and Finance Committee. Specifically, the question before the Council was whether to increase the number of members serving on the committee from nine to ten. The matter generated enough discussion to warrant further consideration rather than an immediate decision. Ultimately, the motion was withdrawn, with the understanding that the issue would be revisited and reviewed in six months.

Invocation

1:31

Pastor Bill Henard of Porter Memorial Baptist Church delivered the invocation at the opening of the Council meeting.

Approval of Minutes

6:27

The Council took up the approval of minutes from two previous meetings: the December 9, 2010, Council meeting and the December 7, 2010, work session. Ellinger and Crosbie were the key speakers during this portion of the meeting. The minutes were approved without noted objection or significant debate.

Committee Reports

7:33

The Council received reports on two recent committee meetings: the December 7, 2010, Council Services Committee meeting and the January 11, 2011, Committee of the Whole Work Session.

• Ellinger and Gorton were the key speakers delivering the committee reports.
• The reports were informational in nature, providing the full Council with updates from each respective committee meeting.

No votes or formal actions were taken as a result of these reports. The item was received as informational.

Second Reading of Ordinances

19:20

The Council conducted a second reading of ordinances covering topics related to stormwater, grants, and budget amendments. Key speakers during this portion of the meeting included Ellinger and Gorton.

The ordinances were brought forward for their second reading, a procedural step required before final adoption. The items addressed stormwater-related matters, grant provisions, and amendments to the budget. No additional details regarding specific debate, amendments, or concerns raised during this reading are available from the meeting record.

The Council approved the ordinances on second reading.