Urban County Council Meeting

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Urban County Council met on July 2, 2015, at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers in Lexington, Kentucky, with Mayor Gray presiding. The council addressed four agenda items during the session, taking two votes and hearing four public comments. The council approved the minutes from the June 16, 2015 meeting, approved amendments to budgets for municipal expenditures, and approved the acceptance of a bid for roll carts. Additionally, the council conducted a first reading on a zone change proposal for 3900 Boston Road.

Attendance

Present: Bledsoe, F. Brown, J. Brown, Evans, Farmer, Gibbs, Henson, Kay, Lamb, Lane, Moloney, Mossotti, Scutchfield, Stinnett

Absent: Akers

Late: None

Votes and Decisions

Ordinance 0838-15: Amending Certain Budgets of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government 4:14

This ordinance was moved by Kay and seconded by Farmer. The measure passed by roll call vote with 14 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions. All members present voted in favor: Bledsoe, F. Brown, J. Brown, Evans, Farmer, Gibbs, Henson, Kay, Lamb, Lane, Moloney, Mossotti, Scutchfield, and Stinnett.

Resolution 0785-15: Accepting the Bid of Toter, LLC for Roll Carts 34:15

This resolution was moved by Henson and seconded by Kay. The measure passed by roll call vote with 14 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions. All members present voted in favor: Bledsoe, F. Brown, J. Brown, Evans, Farmer, Gibbs, Henson, Kay, Lamb, Lane, Moloney, Mossotti, Scutchfield, and Stinnett.

Budget and Financial Actions

The meeting approved four financial actions totaling $957,524.65:

Town Branch Waste Water Treatment Plant Equipment Resolution 0723-15 authorized the purchase of a heavy duty sluice gate for the Town Branch Waste Water Treatment Plant from BissNuss, Inc. for $25,216.

Communications Infrastructure Resolution 0730-15 approved a contract with Level 3 Communications, Inc. for $28,878.24 to provide internet access redundancy and additional telephone lines.

911 System Upgrade Resolution 0753-15 authorized acceptance of a grant in the amount of $703,430.41 from the Kentucky Commercial Mobile Radio Service Emergency Communications Board for the Lexington 911 PSAP Customer Premise Equipment Upgrade Project.

Environmental Remediation Resolution 0757-15 authorized acceptance of a grant in the amount of $200,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency for remediation of environmental concerns at the Old Fayette County Courthouse.

Public Comment

Four members of the public addressed the meeting with concerns spanning police accountability, government transparency, and economic policy.

Police Accountability and Body Cameras

Sarah Williams spoke at 1:11:03 regarding police accountability and body cameras. She expressed concerns about police accountability and cited personal experiences with police surveillance, advocating for the implementation of body cameras.

Transparency and Public Engagement

April Taylor commented at 1:13:45 on the need for transparency and public engagement in government processes. She expressed frustration with changes to meeting times and noted a lack of access to information.

Tax Incentives for Businesses

Bernard McCarthy addressed the meeting at 1:16:25 to criticize the use of tax incentives to attract businesses. He argued that such incentives could harm other communities.

Police Misconduct and Transparency

Lucian Cavanaugh spoke at 1:18:04 about police misconduct and transparency. He shared personal experiences with police misconduct and stressed the importance of transparency and accountability in law enforcement.

Appointments

The following appointments and reappointments were made:

CASA of Lexington - Amy (Pollock) Dailey was appointed - Elizabeth McCarty was reappointed

Historic Preservation Commission - John Rhorer was reappointed - David Cohen was reappointed

Planning Commission - William Berkley was reappointed

Contested Items

Sick Leave Transfer Program

The council engaged in a heated discussion regarding proposed changes to the sick leave transfer program. The debate centered on two specific modifications: reducing the required hours for the program and removing maternity and paternity leave provisions. The nature of the disagreement indicates significant division among council members over these policy adjustments, though the extracted data does not specify which council members supported or opposed each change, nor does it indicate the final outcome of the debate.

Police Body Cameras

Community members raised concerns about police accountability and transparency, expressing strong support for the implementation of police body cameras. Participants highlighted past issues with police transparency as a basis for their position. The community opposition documented here reflects advocacy for the body camera initiative rather than opposition to it, with supporters viewing the cameras as a mechanism to ensure greater accountability in police conduct.

Minutes of the June 16, 2015 Council Meeting

The council considered approval of the minutes from the June 16, 2015 council meeting. 2:34

Key speakers on this item included Scutchfield and Kay.

The minutes were approved unanimously by the council.

Amending Budgets for Municipal Expenditures

An ordinance to amend certain budgets to reflect current municipal expenditure requirements was presented to the council 4:14.

Key Speakers

Kay and Farmer addressed the council on this matter.

Outcome

The ordinance was approved.

Zone Change for 3900 Boston Rd.

An ordinance to change the zoning designation for the property at 3900 Boston Rd. from Professional Office to Planned Neighborhood Residential was presented for first reading 5:17.

Key speakers on this matter included Mossotti and Evans.

The ordinance received its first reading during this meeting. No additional details regarding specific discussion points, concerns raised, or debate on the proposal are available from the provided meeting materials.

Bid Acceptance for Roll Carts

A resolution to accept the bid from Toter, LLC for roll carts was presented to the council. 34:15

Key speakers on this agenda item included Henson and Kay.

The resolution was approved unanimously by the council.