CITY OF WINDY HILLS

Minutes of Regular Council Meeting

September 9, 2019

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 Davis called the meeting to order.

ROLL CALL:  The following were present:

MAYOR	COUNCIL MEMBERS	OTHER CITY OFFICIALS
Helen M. Davis	Bruce Blue	Sandy Moore
	Kate Greer	Jim Hodge
	Marcia Myers	Steve Teaford
	Marianne Rademaker
	Suzanne Spencer (absent)
	Laura Trachtenberg

MINUTES:

Councilwoman Greer moved to approve the minutes of the August 12, 2019 Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Myers and approved unanimously.

FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:

The financial reports for August, 2019 were moved for approval by Councilman Blue,  seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg, and approved unanimously.

Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the August bills, totaling $94,646.97 and was seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg.   The motion passed unanimously.

RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS:  Resident, Jim Ising, stated that Operation Brightside Cleanup will be on October 19 and will be meeting at Stock Yards Bank parking lot at 9:00 am.  He encouraged all to attend.  He also stated how much he likes the new electronic newsletter, The Breeze.

Sandy Norcross, a resident, stated that there is a speeding issue on Indian Ridge and is especially concerning at Kitty Hawk and the three curves.  She asked if speed humps could be added to slow drivers down.

MAYOR’S REPORT:  The August Police report:  109.2 hours of Police support, although only 108 hours were actually in Windy Hills.  There were 6.95 hours of house watch, which was a considerable reduction from prior months.   Radar monitoring of 47 hours resulted in 3 warnings.  The highest noted speed on Rudy was 38 miles per hour.  We had one parking violation.  She reported there are several unpaid parking violations and she sent warning letters to the violators.  There are a couple of violators who were sent second notices and still have not paid.  She will follow up with Jim Hodge regarding this issue.

She also reported that we have some delinquent taxes that we are continuing to pursue.  The auditors will be in the office on September 10 and 11 and she and Councilwoman Rademaker will be working on our management report that will be included in the official audit.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Code Enforcement:  Steve Teaford asked if there were any questions/comments pertaining to his report for August.  There were no comments.  He also reported that he had completed inspection on 57 rental properties.

City Maintenance/Windy Hills Green/Tree Board – Councilwoman Greer:  Councilwoman Greer reported on the following items:

• Tree Board meeting was held on Thursday, September 5.
• The Tree Board announced in the newsletter that they would give 15 trees away to the first 15 residents that applied. They had 22 apply.  The trees will be planted in late fall or early winter and be provided by the City’s approved nurseries.  The City Arborist will meet with the homeowners to determine the appropriate trees.  If there are any funds left over the Tree Board hopes to provide a tree to all those that applied.
• She is meeting with Brownsboro Landscaping to discuss the City Arborist’s recommendations for the trees in the right-of-way on Ambridge. Brownsboro Landscaping will do the pruning on those trees.  Bids will be taken on removing the trees that may have to be removed.
• Councilwoman Greer and Martha Davis removed the dead limb in Lou Phillips’ Dawn Redwood on the Green. Mike Hayman will fix the tree later so it will mature normally.  Hayman will also reexamine the maple near the parking pad to see if it needs removal now and she will get estimates if this needs to be done.
• The next Tree Board meeting will be held on October 3.
• Councilwoman Greer reported that there is a dying oak tree on Foeburn and she discussed with the owner, as it would probably damage her house if it fell. The homeowners are getting estimates for its removal.
• Brownsboro Landscaping removed the dead Chinese fringe tree on Ambridge and will probably have to remove the two dead Laurels at the entrance of Old Farm.

Newsletter – Councilwoman Myers:  Councilwoman Myers reported that the Breeze newsletter was sent out on August 16.  She stated that 700 received, 437 were opened, so was read by 62% of the recipients.  The September printed newsletter deadline is September 10 and in house by September 20.  Minuteman Press is doing our graphic design, printing, and mailing.  Councilwoman Myers and  Councilwoman Greer are co-editors of the newsletters, using “Dropbox” in order to organize and edit files.  They have set up an email address for the newsletters – newsletters@cityofwindyhills.com where residents can send responses or questions.  They will be referred to the appropriate person and copies sent to Mayor Davis.  All issues are on the website as well as the link to The Breeze issues.  She stated that The Breeze is for short articles conveying information that is needed soon.  The print edition allows for longer articles, more photos, and documents that must reach every household to satisfy legal requirements.  She also stated they are looking for more articles with a light, positive tone, or conveying practical information.  She asked for other suggestions and photos to be sent to her.  Councilwoman Myers also suggested that a short communications policy be developed to be used to determine what articles are appropriate for publication.  The next Breeze deadline is October 16.

Community Caring/Welcome to Windy Hills – Councilwoman Spencer:   In Councilwoman Spencer’s absence, Clerk Moore read her report.  There were 6 new residents.  If the current Tai Chi instructor decides to discontinue, Councilwoman Spencer will try to find another one.  There are 5 or 6 individuals still attending and they are hoping more will attend as the weather cools.  Councilwoman Spencer reported that several have asked about the City’s emergency plan in regards to electrical outages, storms/severe weather, or shooters.  She wants to know if the Council would like for her to contact different agencies to determine if there would be a need for this in the City.  She also reported the Kentucky Orchid Society will be commemorated with the purchase of a bench on the Green.  Councilwoman Spencer has asked that the City’s Holiday decorations be delivered by Brownsboro Lawn Care to her garage by mid-October and her committee will be meeting to determine any additional costs for consideration at the October meeting.

Finance and Ice Cream Social – Councilwoman Rademaker:  Councilwoman Rademaker reported that the Ice Cream Social will be on September 29 from 2 – 4 with the addition of volleyball, croquet and corn hole games.  She will remind the police to direct traffic.  There will be an Ecotech representative there to demonstrate how the recycle cans should be placed at the curb.  Councilwoman Rademaker also stated the finances are normal for this time of year as the taxes will start coming in during October and have an increase in revenues.

Public Works – Councilman Blue:  Councilman Blue reported that there is a delay in clearing up the drainage issue.  They are waiting on a return call from LGE, as there is a gas line immediately under the area to be repaired and Brownsboro Landscaping has to have approval before the work can be done.  Councilman Blue is continuing to get Louisville Metro to review the sinking pavement by the bridge on Rudy Lane.  He also reported that the Louisville Water Company has not completed the issue on the Green.  He reported that everything with Ecotech is going as planned and he has received very few negative comments and many positive ones.  He also reported that he is currently reviewing plans for handling potential winter issues.

Ordinances/Community Standards – Councilwoman Trachtenberg:  Councilwoman Trachtenberg reported that the Community Standards Resolution has been passed and that she is currently working on the Census regarding new properties in the City since the last census was taken.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Mayor Davis reported that there had been some concern over trees being removed around the “Corn” Property.  She has been in contact with the owner of the property and everything has been done within their rights.

NEW BUSINESS: None

ATTORNEY’S REPORT:  Attorney Hodge reported that Metro has asked to appeal the decision in the lawsuit regarding Metro waste services.  This won’t be decided until the hearing.  He also reported that he sent information regarding social media, but no one received it and will re-send it.

Comments/Questions to the Council as a Whole:   None

Councilwoman Greer moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:43 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg and the motion passed unanimously.

 

__­_____          __________________                                                ­­­­­_______________________

Helen M Davis, Mayor

Sandy Moore, City Clerk