CITY OF WINDY HILLS

Minutes of Regular Council Meeting

November 13, 2017

The Council and Officers of the City of Windy Hills met at the Sojourn Community Church, 2501 Rudy Lane, at 7:00 P.M.  Mayor Ising called the meeting to order.

ROLL CALL:  The following were present:

MAYOR	COUNCIL MEMBERS	OTHER CITY OFFICIALS
E. James Ising	Helen Davis	Sandy Moore
	Kate Greer	Jim Hodge
	Lou Phillips	Steve Teaford
	Marianne Rademaker (Absent)
	Mike Skelton
	Suzanne Spencer

 

MINUTES:

Councilwoman Greer moved to approve the minutes of the October 9, 2017 Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Spencer and approved unanimously.

FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:

The financial reports for October, 2017 were moved for approval by Councilwoman Davis, seconded by Councilwoman Rademaker and approved unanimously.

Councilwoman  Rademaker moved to approve the October bills, totaling $87,595.06 and was seconded by Councilman Skelton.  The motion passed unanimously.

RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS:  Resident, Ralph Williams, stated that he had the City Arborist, Caroline Westfall, evaluate a tree in their yard.  She noticed a Pecan Tree in their yard that is a Champion Tree measuring 14′ 8″ tall.  There is only one other Pecan Tree bigger than theirs in the state.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Finance/Ordinances:  Councilwoman Davis had no report.  Mayor Ising stated that the City had received approximately 1200 tax payments.

Code Enforcement:  Steve Teaford had reviewed the October report with the Council at the Caucus meeting.  He added that he had talked to the last rental property in question.  He stated that there are 48 rental properties in Windy Hills, 8 in Coach Gate and 7 on Indian Ridge.  Compared to other Cities, Windy Hills  has a lower percentage number of rental properties.

Community Caring/Health & Fitness/Welcome to Windy Hills:   Councilwoman Spencer reported that there are 4 new residents.  She showed the Council the Christmas swags for the light posts that her committee had prepared.  She also reported that she is  preparing an Identity Theft article for the upcoming newsletter.  She had no Health and Fitness report.

Community Events/Newsletter/Tree Board:   Councilwoman Greer is finalizing the details for Glow on the Green on Sunday, November 26th.  She reported that the Tree Board had met to develop their plan for 2018.  She asked if Attorney Hodge could write letters to any residents that may have a tree that is dangerous to the public.  She also stated that the street lights at the entrance to Sojourn Community Church are not working and asked that they be reported to LG&E.

Public Works:  In Councilman Phillips absence, the Mayor reported that the two “No Parking” signs had been installed on Ambridge at Westport Road.

Police Liaison/Real Estate Signs:  Councilwoman Rademaker reported that Graymoor-Devondale Police Department patrolled Windy Hills for 99.5 hours.  9.5 hours of radar time was spent on Ambridge resulting in no citations and 4 warnings.  Rudy Lane received 5.5 hours of radar time, resulting in one citation and two warnings.  Two citations and one warning were also issued at Coach Gate and Brownsboro Rd.  An additional two citations and a warning occurred at Victoria Place and Brownsboro Rd.  A warning was issued at Hubbards Ln and Brownsboro Rd.  Five parking violations received warnings:  Chelsea, Rudy, Regency, and two different Bonfire locations.  Five residences were on the house watch list.  A burglar alarm went off on Wicklow – malfunction.  Suspicious persons were checked on twice at Sojourn Church and once on Two Springs.  An open garage door was checked on at Coach Gate.  There was a fraud investigation at the Stock Yards Bank.  An ID card was found on the front porch of a resident on Clerkenwell.  Police also cleared the roadway on Rudy and checked on an elderly resident who was having work done on her driveway.

Windy Hills Green/City Beautification:  Councilman Skelton stated that they checked out the lights on the tree on the Green for Light up the Green and very little needed to be done to get the tree ready.  He asked that a Red Bow be put on Rudy II in time for the Glow.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Website Update:  Councilwoman Davis reported that she had called Kathleen Sauer the previous week.  She also asked if Attorney Hodge could send a letter to our current webmaster if the City gets no response from him in regards to releasing information needed to proceed with the new website.

Playground Equipment at Sojourn:  Attorney Hodge revised the Agreement with regard to the Playground Equipment at Sojourn Church.  The agreement has been signed by Mayor Ising and is now in the hands of Sojourn Church.

NEW BUSINESS

Tree Board 2017-2018 Work Plan:  Councilwoman Greer stated that the Tree Board took a survey years ago.  The streets that are lacking trees are Indian Ridge and Clerkenwell.  The Tree Board has sent letters to the residents on Clerkenwell to inform them that they could pick a tree from a select group and from one of three nurseries.  The resident would have to sign an agreement stating that they would be responsible for the tree.

Reach Alert Contract:  Councilman Skelton stated that there are currently 362 people signed up to receive alerts through the Reach Alert System.  Councilman Skelton made a motion to spend up to $2500 to continue with Reach Alert for one year.  It was suggested that a post card be sent out to all the residents to maybe increase the number of people that have signed up for the service.  Councilwoman Davis stated that she is against the renewal due to the discussion last year and the Council agreeing that it would only be renewed this year if the City had an increase of participants in at least 50% and it has not.  The motion passed with a vote of 3 Ayes (Councilman Skelton, Councilwomen Greer and Spencer), 1 Nay (Councilwoman Davis) and 1 Abstain (Councilwoman Rademaker).  Councilman Phillips was absent.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT:  Attorney Hodge stated that nothing needs to be decided on the Cable Communications at this time.  Metro is currently addressing the situation.

MAYOR’S REPORT:  Mayor Ising reported he received a thank you note from Tish Moore, a Kitty Hawk resident, for the work done on her street.  He also reported that 12 people participated in the Brightside Cleanup with a good representation from the Council.  He also stated that 2 people from Sojourn Community Church were there and Angela Leet’s Legislative Assistant asked for a photo, but one was not taken this time.  He stated a lot of tax payments were made in Oct and the City received good comments from residents coming into the office especially regarding the 40% discount.  He reported that the City of Indian Hills has bought a house on Brownsboro Road and will be using it as their City Hall.  He also reminded everyone that the Holiday appreciation dinner will be on Tuesday, December 5.  He said Sojourn Community Church apologized for the condition of the meeting room last month and will make every effort to correct that.  He asked Attorney Hodge about the City investing in a Collateral Security Agreement when the City already has $250,000 with Independence Bank.  And, he wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Comments/Questions to the Council as a Whole:  None.

Councilwoman Rademaker moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:48 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Greer and the motion passed unanimously.

__­_____          __________________                                                ­­­­­_______________________

E. James Ising, Mayor

Sandy Moore, City Clerk