CITY OF WINDY HILLS

 

Minutes of Special Council Meeting

January 25, 2021

 

The Council and Officers of the City of Windy Hills met virtually by Zoom, 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	Lisa Kraft
	Kate Greer	Attorney Randy Strobo
	Marcia Myers	Attorney Clay Barkely
	Marianne Rademaker	Attorney David Spinard
	Suzanne Spencer	Steve Teaford
	Laura Trachtenberg

 

MINUTES:

 

Councilwoman Greer moved to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2020, Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the minutes of the December 30, 2020, Special Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

 

FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:

 

The financial reports for December 2020 were moved for approval by Councilman Blue, seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the December bills, totaling $55,488.45 and was seconded by Councilman Blue.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

The Mayor asked if there were no objections if the Council could go out of order and present new business first, the presentation and acceptance of the 2019-20 Annual Audit. No one objected.

 

Debbie Stumler, Auditor with Bechtler, Parker & Watts Accounting Firm, presented a summary of the audit to the Council. There was discussion and a few questions for Ms. Stumler.

Councilman Blue made a motion to accept the audit, seconded by Councilwoman Rademaker. The motion passed unanimously.

 

RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS:  Martha Davis reported:  While walking up to the Shopping Center from the sidewalk on Rudy Lane, you can see that behind the center there is a lot of garbage and leaves on the ground and some of it is blowing into the MSD catch basin. Some of the garbage may be blowing out of the dumpsters. She asked the City to work with the Shopping Center to keep it cleaned up. Discussion by the Council followed. Councilman Blue reported that he would follow up and report at the next Council meeting.

 

MAYOR’S REPORT:

As reported by Mayor Davis, “Police Report:  There were 101 hours of Police support. Most of the time was devoted to a single home located on Victoria. We spent 30+ hours on this house. If you, as a council member, help a neighbor with a house watch, please remind them that there is a 30-day annual limit. Also, you can be directed to the website because we will be placing a direct link to complete the form and submit it to Graymoor-Devondale.

They also conducted 5 hours of traffic control radar resulting in no tickets or warnings. There were a couple of reports of suspicious persons but no individuals were found. There was a mailbox damaged on Hill Top. There was a report of auto theft in Coach Gate.

I received a request from a resident of Spain for a Windy Hills challenge coin depicting our City seal. I emailed him back that I would happily send him a window decal since we do not have a City coin. I haven’t heard back.

The auditors have finished their audit and are presenting it for adoption this evening. I will file our state-required financial reports on Tuesday.

Office update:  Lisa sent out delinquent tax letters to our residents who have not paid. She will give you more information in her report. Later this week or early next week, a CPA is coming into the office to work with Lisa on QuickBooks.

I was on a Zoom meeting with JCLC. The major topic was LG&E LED Lighting Service for cities. Bruce was also on the zoom meeting and will report more. Additionally, it was mentioned in the meeting that there is a possible statewide proposal to require elected officials to complete a mandatory training program. I will update you when we have more information.

The KLC is hosting a Mayors’ Zoom meeting with Governor Beshear. It is scheduled for Wednesday morning and I will attend.

Finally, I am still working on a few outstanding issues. The first is the house at 726 Indian Ridge Road. I have had additional calls from the neighbors and there was a fire department run at the house back in late December. I am working with our attorneys to move this forward. We have some additional legal issues dating to the spring that was left unfinished that they are also addressing.”

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 Finance/Ordinances:  Councilwoman Rademaker wanted everyone to understand the Windy Hills’ officials who deal with the money and sign checks are bonded.

Code Enforcement – Steve Teaford:  Mr. Teaford reported he would be spending most of his time in February following up on vacant and rental homes. We have received most of the rental registries back, but are still waiting for a few responses.

 Windy Hills Green/City Maintenance/Newsletter/Tree Board – Councilwoman Greer:

Councilwoman Greer reported on the following items:

“I have contracted with SavaTree to fertilize the big Spruce. It is expensive ($460) for two treatments this year. We will probably have one next year. The holiday lights will go on a different tree next year. There is another big spruce and two hollies. Caroline recommends the holly tree because it will be bushier. There is one near Rudy the Bear and one near the other spruces.

We had a problem with the Holiday tree lights. The electric eye died so SavaTree installed a timer. Lights went on about 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. and then went on again in the morning for people going to work. There was no extra cost. But then the timer got messed up one night (New Year’s Eve) and had to be replaced. Another problem involved one of the small evergreens by the sign. I gave Adam over 1000 lights to put on it. The lights lasted one or two nights. I will have an electrician look at the situation before next holiday season.

The application for Tree City is complete. Unfortunately, some of the information I needed was at Cheri Silvey-Slusher’s house and she is in Florida. Thank goodness for Lisa. She sent me all the information Helen and I needed.”

Newsletter – Councilwoman Myers:  Councilwoman Myers reported: “ On December 17, 2020, The Windy Hills Breeze was sent to 729 subscribed resident addresses.  About 60% were opened.

Our New Year’s print edition has been delayed in order to include our audit report and any other news from Council meeting which was delayed this month in order to accommodate the late audit report.

The revised deadline for the edition will be Wednesday, January 27th at noon. Feel free to submit articles or announcements, reminders, etc. whenever you have them before that. The print edition should be in our resident’s hands by next week, end of the week for sure.”

Community Caring/Health & Fitness/Welcome to Windy Hills – Councilwoman Spencer:

Councilwoman Spencer reported the following items:

• Welcome to Windy Hills – 1 new resident in December.
• Community Caring – Little Libraries in the City – Working with Steve on Code Enforcement issues.
• Pat Haunz and her daughter have checked the plaque that will be placed on the Green in Foster’s memory.
• The St. X student Dare to Care project collected 3,500 lbs. of food in Windy Hills.

Public Works – Councilman Blue:

Councilman Blue reported:

• “New post and signs on Windhurst will be finished this week. They will have the upgraded reflective tape.
• Streetlights that were damaged have been repaired
• Discussed the stonework on the Old Stone wall.
• I will purchase a couple of deer cameras for the Green.
• Have a call into LG&E about more lighting on the Green.
• No big problems with EcoTech. Marcia sent out an updated report on when they will pick up garbage and yard waste.
• JCLC Meeting – All new lights in Metro will now be replaced with LED lights. Normal lights last 5-6 years, but the LED lights will last 15+ years. Less maintenance, more efficient, and environmentally friendly.”

 Ordinances/Community Standards – Councilwoman Trachtenberg:  Councilwoman Trachtenberg – no report.

City Clerk – Lisa Kraft:  Ms. Kraft reported she sent out 26 letters for delinquent taxes on January 11, 2021. So far, 9 residents paid and several have called with promises to make payments.

 UNFINISHED BUSINESS:  None

 

ATTORNEYS COMMENTS:  Randy Strobo introduced Clay Barkely and David Spinard, members of his firm that will work with the city. He talked about helping with Parliamentary Procedure if needed. He wants the Council to make sure to go into Executive Session when talking about possible litigation since it adds a layer of protection.

 

Comments/Questions to the Council as a Whole:  Resident Pam Feldhoff asked if there is an update on the Pohl property.  The Mayor answered that the Pohls are planning on building sometime in the next year. They have started by paving their driveway. Steve Teaford added a few comments and there was more discussion.

Councilwoman Greer moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg, and the motion passed unanimously.

 

 

__­_____          __________________                                                ­­­­­_______________________

Helen M Davis, Mayor

Lisa Kraft, City Clerk

CITY OF WINDY HILLS

 

Minutes of Special Council Meeting

January 25, 2021

 

The Council and Officers of the City of Windy Hills met virtually by Zoom, 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	Lisa Kraft
	Kate Greer	Attorney Randy Strobo
	Marcia Myers	Attorney Clay Barkely
	Marianne Rademaker	Attorney David Spinard
	Suzanne Spencer	Steve Teaford
	Laura Trachtenberg

 

MINUTES:

 

Councilwoman Greer moved to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2020 Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the minutes of the December 30, 2020 Special Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

 

FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:

 

The financial reports for December 2020 were moved for approval by Councilman Blue, seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the December bills, totaling $55,488.45, and was seconded by Councilman Blue.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

The Mayor asked if there were no objections, if the Council could go out of order and present new business first, the presentation and acceptance of the 2019-20 Annual Audit. No one objected.

 

Debbie Stumler, Auditor with Bechtler, Parker & Watts Accounting Firm, presented a summary of the audit to the Council. There was discussion and a few questions for Ms. Stumler.

Councilman Blue made a motion to accept the audit, seconded by Councilwoman Rademaker. The motion passed unanimously.

 

RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS:  Martha Davis reported:  While walking up to the Shopping Center from the sidewalk on Rudy Lane, you can see that behind the center there is a lot of garbage and leaves on the ground and some of it is blowing into the MSD catch basin. Some of the garbage may be blowing out of the dumpsters. She asked the City to work with the Shopping Center to keep it cleaned up. Discussion by the Council followed. Councilman Blue reported that he would follow up and report at the next Council meeting.

 

MAYOR’S REPORT:

As reported by Mayor Davis, “Police Report:  There were 101 hours of Police support. Most of the time was devoted to a single home located on Victoria. We spent 30+ hours on this house. If you, as a council member, help a neighbor with house watch, please remind them that there is a 30 day annual limit. Also, you can be directed to the website because we will be placing a direct link to complete the form and submit it to Graymoor-Devondale.

They also conducted 5 hours of traffic control radar resulting in no tickets or warnings. There were a couple of reports of suspicious persons but no individuals were found. There was a mailbox damaged on Hill Top. There was a report of an auto theft in Coach Gate.

I received a request from a resident of Spain for a Windy Hills challenge coin depicting our City seal. I emailed him back that I would happily send him a window decal since we do not have a City coin. I haven’t heard back.

The auditors have finished their audit and are presenting it for adoption this evening. I will file our state required financial reports on Tuesday.

Office update:  Lisa sent out delinquent tax letters to our residents who have not paid. She will give you more information in her report. Later this week or early next week, a CPA is coming into the office to work with Lisa on QuickBooks.

I was on a Zoom meeting with JCLC. The major topic was LG&E LED Lighting Service for cities. Bruce was also on the zoom meeting and will report more. Additionally, it was mentioned in the meeting that there is a possible statewide proposal to require elected officials to complete a mandatory training program. I will update you when we have more information.

The KLC is hosting a Mayors’ Zoom meeting with Governor Beshear. It is scheduled for Wednesday morning and I will attend.

Finally, I am still working on a few outstanding issues. The first is the house at 726 Indian Ridge Road. I have had additional calls from the neighbors and there was a fire department run at the house back in late December. I am working with our attorneys to move this forward. We have some additional legal issues dating to the spring that were left unfinished that they are also addressing.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 

Finance/Ordinances:  Councilwoman Rademaker wanted everyone to understand the Windy Hills’ officials who deal with the money and sign checks are bonded.

 

Code Enforcement – Steve Teaford:  Mr. Teaford reported he would be spending most of his time in February following up on vacant and rental homes. We have received most of the rental registries back, but are still waiting for a few responses.

 

Windy Hills Green/City Maintenance/Newsletter/Tree Board – Councilwoman Greer:

Councilwoman Greer reported on the following items:

“I have contracted with SavaTree to fertilize the big Spruce. It is expensive ($460) for two treatments this year. We will probably have one next year. The holiday lights will go on a different tree next year. There is another big spruce and two hollies. Caroline recommends the holly tree because it will be bushier. There is one near Rudy the Bear and one near the other spruces.

We had a problem with the Holiday tree lights. The electric eye died so SavaTree installed a timer. Lights went on about 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. and then went on again in the morning for people going to work. There was no extra cost. But then the timer got messed up one night (New Year’s Eve) and had to be replaced. Another problem involved one of the small evergreens by the sign. I gave Adam over 1000 lights to put on it. The lights lasted one or two nights. I will have an electrician look at the situation before next holiday season.

The application for Tree City is complete. Unfortunately, some of the information I needed was at Cheri Silvey-Slusher’s house and she is in Florida. Thank goodness for Lisa. She sent me all the information Helen and I needed.”

Newsletter – Councilwoman Myers:  Councilwoman Myers reported: “ On December 17, 2020, The Windy Hills Breeze was sent to 729 subscribed resident addresses.  About 60% were opened.

Our New Year’s print edition has been delayed in order to include our audit report and any other news from Council meeting which was delayed this month in order to accommodate the late audit report.

The revised deadline for the edition will be Wednesday, January 27th at noon. Feel free to submit articles or announcements, reminders, etc. whenever you have them before that. The print edition should be in our resident’s hands by next week, end of the week for sure.”

Community Caring/Health & Fitness/Welcome to Windy Hills – Councilwoman Spencer:

Councilwoman Spencer reported the following items:

• Welcome to Windy Hills – 1 new resident in December.
• Community Caring – Little Libraries in the City – Working with Steve on Code Enforcement issues.
• Pat Haunz and daughter have checked the plaque that will be placed on the Green in Foster’s memory.
• The St. X student Dare to Care project collected 3,500 lbs. of food in Windy Hills.

 

 

Public Works – Councilman Blue:

Councilman Blue reported:

• “New post and signs on Windhurst will be finished this week. They will have the upgraded reflective tape.
• Streetlights that were damaged have been repaired
• Discussed the stonework on the Old Stone wall.
• I will purchase a couple of deer cameras for the Green.
• Have a call into LG&E about more lighting on the Green.
• No big problems with EcoTech. Marcia sent out an updated report on when they will pick up garbage and yard waste.
• JCLC Meeting – All new lights in Metro will now be replaced with LED lights. Normal lights last 5-6 years, but the LED lights will last 15+ years. Less maintenance, more efficient, and environmentally friendly.”

 

Ordinances/Community Standards – Councilwoman Trachtenberg:  Councilwoman Trachtenberg – no report.

 

City Clerk – Lisa Kraft:  Ms. Kraft reported she sent out 26 letters for delinquent taxes on January 11, 2021. So far, 9 residents paid and several have called with promises to make payments.

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:  None

 

ATTORNEYS COMMENTS:  Randy Strobo introduced Clay Barkely and David Spinard, members of his firm that will work with the city. He talked about helping with Parliamentary Procedure if needed. He  wants the Council to make sure to go into Executive Session when talking about possible litigation since it adds a layer of protection.

 

COMMents/Questions to the Council as a Whole:  Resident Pam Feldhoff asked if there is an update on the Pohl property.  The Mayor answered that the Pohls are planning on building sometime in the next year. They have started by paving their driveway. Steve Teaford added a few comments and there was more discussion.

 

Councilwoman Greer moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg, and the motion passed unanimously.

 

 

__­_____          __________________                                                ­­­­­_______________________

Helen M Davis, Mayor

Lisa Kraft, City Clerk

 

CITY OF WINDY HILLS

 

Minutes of Special Council Meeting

January 25, 2021

 

The Council and Officers of the City of Windy Hills met virtually by Zoom, 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	Lisa Kraft
	Kate Greer	Attorney Randy Strobo
	Marcia Myers	Attorney Clay Barkely
	Marianne Rademaker	Attorney David Spinard
	Suzanne Spencer	Steve Teaford
	Laura Trachtenberg

 

MINUTES:

 

Councilwoman Greer moved to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2020 Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the minutes of the December 30, 2020 Special Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

 

FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:

 

The financial reports for December 2020 were moved for approval by Councilman Blue, seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the December bills, totaling $55,488.45, and was seconded by Councilman Blue.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

NEW BUSINESS:

 

The Mayor asked if there were no objections, if the Council could go out of order and present new business first, the presentation and acceptance of the 2019-20 Annual Audit. No one objected.

 

Debbie Stumler, Auditor with Bechtler, Parker & Watts Accounting Firm, presented a summary of the audit to the Council. There was discussion and a few questions for Ms. Stumler.

Councilman Blue made a motion to accept the audit, seconded by Councilwoman Rademaker. The motion passed unanimously.

 

RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS:  Martha Davis reported:  While walking up to the Shopping Center from the sidewalk on Rudy Lane, you can see that behind the center there is a lot of garbage and leaves on the ground and some of it is blowing into the MSD catch basin. Some of the garbage may be blowing out of the dumpsters. She asked the City to work with the Shopping Center to keep it cleaned up. Discussion by the Council followed. Councilman Blue reported that he would follow up and report at the next Council meeting.

 

MAYOR’S REPORT:

As reported by Mayor Davis, “Police Report:  There were 101 hours of Police support. Most of the time was devoted to a single home located on Victoria. We spent 30+ hours on this house. If you, as a council member, help a neighbor with house watch, please remind them that there is a 30 day annual limit. Also, you can be directed to the website because we will be placing a direct link to complete the form and submit it to Graymoor-Devondale.

They also conducted 5 hours of traffic control radar resulting in no tickets or warnings. There were a couple of reports of suspicious persons but no individuals were found. There was a mailbox damaged on Hill Top. There was a report of an auto theft in Coach Gate.

I received a request from a resident of Spain for a Windy Hills challenge coin depicting our City seal. I emailed him back that I would happily send him a window decal since we do not have a City coin. I haven’t heard back.

The auditors have finished their audit and are presenting it for adoption this evening. I will file our state required financial reports on Tuesday.

Office update:  Lisa sent out delinquent tax letters to our residents who have not paid. She will give you more information in her report. Later this week or early next week, a CPA is coming into the office to work with Lisa on QuickBooks.

I was on a Zoom meeting with JCLC. The major topic was LG&E LED Lighting Service for cities. Bruce was also on the zoom meeting and will report more. Additionally, it was mentioned in the meeting that there is a possible statewide proposal to require elected officials to complete a mandatory training program. I will update you when we have more information.

The KLC is hosting a Mayors’ Zoom meeting with Governor Beshear. It is scheduled for Wednesday morning and I will attend.

Finally, I am still working on a few outstanding issues. The first is the house at 726 Indian Ridge Road. I have had additional calls from the neighbors and there was a fire department run at the house back in late December. I am working with our attorneys to move this forward. We have some additional legal issues dating to the spring that were left unfinished that they are also addressing.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 

Finance/Ordinances:  Councilwoman Rademaker wanted everyone to understand the Windy Hills’ officials who deal with the money and sign checks are bonded.

 

Code Enforcement – Steve Teaford:  Mr. Teaford reported he would be spending most of his time in February following up on vacant and rental homes. We have received most of the rental registries back, but are still waiting for a few responses.

 

Windy Hills Green/City Maintenance/Newsletter/Tree Board – Councilwoman Greer:

Councilwoman Greer reported on the following items:

“I have contracted with SavaTree to fertilize the big Spruce. It is expensive ($460) for two treatments this year. We will probably have one next year. The holiday lights will go on a different tree next year. There is another big spruce and two hollies. Caroline recommends the holly tree because it will be bushier. There is one near Rudy the Bear and one near the other spruces.

We had a problem with the Holiday tree lights. The electric eye died so SavaTree installed a timer. Lights went on about 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. and then went on again in the morning for people going to work. There was no extra cost. But then the timer got messed up one night (New Year’s Eve) and had to be replaced. Another problem involved one of the small evergreens by the sign. I gave Adam over 1000 lights to put on it. The lights lasted one or two nights. I will have an electrician look at the situation before next holiday season.

The application for Tree City is complete. Unfortunately, some of the information I needed was at Cheri Silvey-Slusher’s house and she is in Florida. Thank goodness for Lisa. She sent me all the information Helen and I needed.”

Newsletter – Councilwoman Myers:  Councilwoman Myers reported: “ On December 17, 2020, The Windy Hills Breeze was sent to 729 subscribed resident addresses.  About 60% were opened.

Our New Year’s print edition has been delayed in order to include our audit report and any other news from Council meeting which was delayed this month in order to accommodate the late audit report.

The revised deadline for the edition will be Wednesday, January 27th at noon. Feel free to submit articles or announcements, reminders, etc. whenever you have them before that. The print edition should be in our resident’s hands by next week, end of the week for sure.”

Community Caring/Health & Fitness/Welcome to Windy Hills – Councilwoman Spencer:

Councilwoman Spencer reported the following items:

• Welcome to Windy Hills – 1 new resident in December.
• Community Caring – Little Libraries in the City – Working with Steve on Code Enforcement issues.
• Pat Haunz and daughter have checked the plaque that will be placed on the Green in Foster’s memory.
• The St. X student Dare to Care project collected 3,500 lbs. of food in Windy Hills.

 

 

Public Works – Councilman Blue:

Councilman Blue reported:

• “New post and signs on Windhurst will be finished this week. They will have the upgraded reflective tape.
• Streetlights that were damaged have been repaired
• Discussed the stonework on the Old Stone wall.
• I will purchase a couple of deer cameras for the Green.
• Have a call into LG&E about more lighting on the Green.
• No big problems with EcoTech. Marcia sent out an updated report on when they will pick up garbage and yard waste.
• JCLC Meeting – All new lights in Metro will now be replaced with LED lights. Normal lights last 5-6 years, but the LED lights will last 15+ years. Less maintenance, more efficient, and environmentally friendly.”

 

Ordinances/Community Standards – Councilwoman Trachtenberg:  Councilwoman Trachtenberg – no report.

 

City Clerk – Lisa Kraft:  Ms. Kraft reported she sent out 26 letters for delinquent taxes on January 11, 2021. So far, 9 residents paid and several have called with promises to make payments.

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:  None

 

ATTORNEYS COMMENTS:  Randy Strobo introduced Clay Barkely and David Spinard, members of his firm that will work with the city. He talked about helping with Parliamentary Procedure if needed. He  wants the Council to make sure to go into Executive Session when talking about possible litigation since it adds a layer of protection.

 

COMMents/Questions to the Council as a Whole:  Resident Pam Feldhoff asked if there is an update on the Pohl property.  The Mayor answered that the Pohls are planning on building sometime in the next year. They have started by paving their driveway. Steve Teaford added a few comments and there was more discussion.

 

Councilwoman Greer moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg, and the motion passed unanimously.

 

 

__­_____          __________________                                                ­­­­­_______________________

Helen M Davis, Mayor

Lisa Kraft, City Clerk

 

CITY OF WINDY HILLS

 

Minutes of Regular Council Meeting

December 14, 2020

 

The Council and Officers of the City of Windy Hills met virtually by Zoom, 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	Lisa Kraft
	Kate Greer	Steve Teaford
	Marcia Myers
	Marianne Rademaker
	Suzanne Spencer
	Laura Trachtenberg

 

MINUTES:

 

Councilwoman Greer moved to approve the minutes of the November  9, 2020, Council meeting; seconded by Councilman Blue. The motion passed unanimously.

 

FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:

 

The financial reports for November 2020 were moved for approval by Councilwoman Greer, seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Councilman Blue moved to approve the November bills, totaling  $43,432.34, and was seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS:  None

 

MAYOR’S REPORT:

“Police Report: There were 94.5 hours of Police support. Most of the time was devoted to traffic control radar resulting in no tickets or warnings.  There were 4 overnight parking tickets that resulted from my request for stepped-up enforcement in response to residents’ complaints. They responded to a missing child report, criminal mischief on Old Stone, a person running through a resident’s property but police were unable to catch the individual.  I will be purchasing $10.00 Gift Cards to the hardware store for each of the 22 officers.

 

I also continued to work with Rick Grismer and the KYDOT on the newly planted trees. Windy Hills will now be responsible for the maintenance of that section of Westport Road vegetation/grass. Our city beautification/maintenance budget will have to increase to cover this additional expense.

The auditors finished their visit and are working on their report but I have not seen the preliminary document.  We will have a 2019-20 surplus was roughly $150,000 but we do not have the details. We have to have the final report in January, because I have to send a report to the State by January 31st of our final numbers, or we will not be in compliance.

 

As I stated at the November meeting, we have a new attorney, Randy Strobo, whom the Council met at the work session. His partner was supposed to be in on this meeting but is not here. Their contract is for $250 an hour, and this is an increase over our past attorney, but we expect timely reports and timely work. If we have one of the non-partners doing work for the City, we will be billed at $125.00 an hour. They have 7 attorneys within their group. I can file liens and save our office the attorney fees. Steve will be working with them on some of our ongoing issues.

 

I was on two Zoom meetings with Governor Beshear, KLC officers, Kentucky Mayors, and County Executives discussing COVID, the rise in cases, etc.  Lisa Kraft posted the Governor’s documents on our website and I sent a notice to our residents addressing the Governor’s concerns. Finally, as you know the office went back to a partially remote work schedule based on Governor Beshear’s emergency order. The emergency order expired Sunday, December 13, 2020, and we will return to our normal work schedule.

We are back in the office by appointment from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM. The Restaurants are back open for in-person dining with 50% capacity. The case with Sandy has been settled with the Unemployment Office and the City has paid the final installment to them.

 

The Council members have to be sworn in by December 31^st and we will conduct it via Zoom. When is everyone available? E-mail me when you are not available and I will come up a couple of options to choose a day and time.

 

Questions?  Discussion”

 

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 

Finance/Ordinances:  Councilwoman Rademaker no report.

 

Code Enforcement – Steve Teaford:  Mr. Teaford reported the resident at #9 Pin Oak did a good job cleaning up their property. The Pohls at the end of Chelsea are going to redo their fence soon. His main concern was sending out letters to owners of rental homes to get them registered. At the entrance of Foeburn and Westport Road, now that the tall trees have been removed, there are a lot of electrics that have been exposed. He reported this to the Mayor and felt there needs to be some sort of safety barrier put up. The Mayor’s contact advised him that this is not a part of a LG&E transmission line, but part of AT&T. It is low voltage, but can still cause a significant shock. He will reach out to AT&T or the State about replanting some vegetation.

 

Windy Hills Green/City Maintenance/Newsletter/Tree Board – Councilwoman Greer:

Councilwoman Greer reported on the following items:

There are two new redbuds planted to replace the two dead ones. If you go up to the Green, note the new watering devices attached to the trees. They are called Rain Wells and work better than the water bags according to Mike Hayman. When it rains, the water collects in the wells and the water just runs off the water bags. He got them from Cindi Sullivan. She would not take any money from us for them because she supports tree-planting.

The Holiday Tree looks quite different than it did last year. There are gaps in the tree because the Kentucky Tree men wrapped them incorrectly around the branches. In short, the branches were injured (girded) by the tight wiring. Some were dead and needed to be removed. The tree is in decline. I really preferred the smaller lights, but Caroline Westfall said that they must be wrapped tightly to stay on. The lights they use are put on differently. She recommends that we use a different tree for a few years and give this one a rest. There are two candidates—the Spruce directly behind the current one and a couple of hollies. One is near the spruces. The other is near Rudy II. This is where the estimate comes into the picture. She recommends that we fertilize the existing one seriously to bring it back to a healthy state.

Then there is the issue of the lights that are on in the daytime. Adam said the electronic “eye” is not working and did not work last year either. We just never realized it because the lights were so much smaller. Caroline said that Sav-a-Tree provides a timer for the tree at no extra charge. They didn’t install it because they thought we would use the “eye.” She is going to have a timer installed today. It will go on around 5:00 and go off at 1:00 A.M. It will go on again around 6:00 A.M. for a couple of hours for people going to work. This will have to do until we replace the “eye.”

Also, some of the lights were drooping.  Sav-a-tree came and fixed them, but forgot to plug in the cord. Adam Vogelsang discovered it and took care of it. Adam told me that lots of lights were out on the small tree. I took over 1000 lights to him. They will be installed this week.

Newsletter – Councilwoman Myers:  Councilwoman Myers reported the November Windy Hills Breeze was sent to 733 residents. 60.6% were opened at least once. This is a very good rate for this type of communication. The issue was opened 1289 separate times. Two addresses were unsubscribed. We do not know the reason for those. This may be duplicate addresses or another preferred e-mail, or rejection of the communication.

By common agreement of the Council, we will send our December Holiday Greeting issue digitally and move the next print issue until January. The December Breeze deadline is noon on Wednesday, December 16th and the deadline for the January print issue will be Wednesday, January 13th. If the Council has ideas for articles for future months or photos that might be used, please feel free to send them to Councilwoman Myers any time as she keeps Dropbox folders for each issue. It would be especially great to have good news stories and affirmations.

Articles for The Breeze must be short and the e-mail format can only take 4 to 5 articles before becoming so large that it takes a long time to load, overwhelms mailboxes, and requires more scrolling than many readers will do. Pictures show well as The Breeze is in color. Our 4 annual print editions are usually 8 pages long, in black and white, and are mailed to every household. Each print edition includes any documents required by law (new ordinances, audit report, etc.).

 

Community Caring/Health & Fitness/Welcome to Windy Hills – Councilwoman Spencer:

Councilwoman Spencer reported the following items:

• Working with a group of St. X students on a Dare to Care project.
• Windy Hills Green – will talk to Pat Haunz about the plaque for Foster.
• There were 5 new residents in November.
• Would like to thank Cheri Baird, Staci Farris, Mary Jo McDonald, Pam Ritter, Kim Roberts, and Jody Smiley for helping with the light pole bow fluffing. Special thanks to Susie Walser and her company at the Brownsboro Center for storage space.

 

 

Public Works – Councilman Blue:

Councilman Blue reported:

• Asked to work on the Old Stone wall. It’s not in very good shape. Need to find people who specialize in these type of walls. Called EcoTech to find out if they have cameras in the back of their trucks. They have not called back.
• Met with someone about security cameras for the Green. We would need an internet connection or we could purchase Deer cameras.
• Reported a light out.

 

Ordinances/Community Standards – Councilwoman Trachtenberg:  Councilwoman Trachtenberg no report.

 

City Clerk – Lisa Kraft:  Ms. Kraft reported checks are coming in for Rental Registration 2021, and still receiving a few property tax payments.

 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:  None

 

NEW BUSINESS:  None

 

 Comments/Questions to the Council as a Whole:  None

 

Councilwoman Greer moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:47 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg and the motion passed unanimously.

 

 

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Helen M Davis, Mayor

Lisa Kraft, City Clerk

 

CITY OF WINDY HILLS

Minutes of Regular Council Meeting
August 10, 2020

The Council and Officers of the City of Windy Hills met virtually by Zoom, 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 Lisa Kraft
Kate Greer Jim Hodge
Marcia Myers Steve Teaford
Marianne Rademaker
Suzanne Spencer
Laura Trachtenberg

MINUTES:

Councilwoman Greer moved to approve the minutes of the July 13, 2020 Council meeting; seconded by Councilman Blue, and approved unanimously.

FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:

The financial reports for July 2020 were moved for approval by Councilman Blue, seconded by Councilwoman Myers, and approved unanimously.

Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the July bills, totaling $45,832.91 and was seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.

RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS: None

MAYOR’S REPORT:
Police Report: There were 102 hours of Police support. The police have continued to deal with incidents of vandalism within Windy Hills and thefts from cars parked in residents’ driveways. There was 1 speeding citation and 1 courtesy notice. The police issued one parking ticket and a warning.
Mayor Davis will be representing Windy Hills on the B3TEconomy Focus Team. The first virtual meeting, held on July 15, 2020, was almost 2 hours long and mostly dealt with revitalizing the West End of Louisville.
Most of the Mayor’s time this month has been devoted to the property at 726 Indian Ridge which will be discussed under new business.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Finance/Ordinances: Councilwoman Rademaker reported the 2 year CD at Eclipse Bank matured. It was rolled over into a 1 year CD at .75%.

Code Enforcement – Steve Teaford: Steve Teaford reported he had completed all inspections on rental and vacant properties. Only the Ackerman properties are not done. The property owner at 711 Indian Ridge wants his/her $50.00 waived. Discussed turning over newly paved driveways, without permits, to Attorney Hodge for possible action. Residents are concerned about the Pohl’s building a property fence on their property. The Mayor and Steve Teaford are requesting a meeting with the Pohls to discuss the property. The subject of vegetable gardens in front yards has come up again. Attorney Hodge said Metro addresses the subject.

Community Caring/Health & Fitness/Welcome to Windy Hills – Councilwoman Spencer: Councilwoman Spencer reported she and 5 other women – Joyce Brown, Carla McMillan, Betsy, Emily, and Jody Smiley, worked on trimming back weeds at the Westport Road/I264 interchange. Normally, this is a Dismas House project, but Dismas cannot permit the residents to work in teams because of the Covid crisis. There were 8 real estate transfers in July. The new bench is in place on the Green and two plaques have been ordered.

Windy Hills Green/City Maintenance/Newsletter/Tree Board – Councilwoman Greer:
Councilwoman Greer reported on the following items:
• Pruned trees.
• The water bags on the Green have been filled.
• Adam Vogelsang sprayed the weeds and they have finally died.
• Waiting on an estimate from Adam Volgelsang to mulch the Green.
• She is seeking bid for the Lights on the tree on the Green.

Public Works – Councilman Blue:
Councilman Blue reported:
• The paving was complete and he would be checking all areas.
• Coach Gate pothole repairs are done.
• JCLC yearly dinner has been moved to February.
• Foeburn and Rudy is an MSD problem.
• Street signs have been ordered.
• He talked to Brian at EcoTech about recycling problems.

Ordinances/Community Standards – Councilwoman Trachtenberg: Councilwoman Trachtenberg reported that she had researched information about the GPS trackers that can be placed on street signs. She also searched office records for information to bolster the Windy Hills Purdue Pharma claim.

Newsletter – Councilwoman Myers: Councilwoman Myers reported the Breeze was sent to 730 residents and was opened by 62%. She is working on the September print issue, so please send any ideas to her.

Discussion followed about whether Windy Hills should host the Ice Cream Social. It is tentatively scheduled for October, but the decision will be made at the next Council meeting.

City Clerk – Lisa Kraft: Ms. Kraft reported about the change in e-mail provider. All council members can call the office if having problems logging into Outlook.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None

NEW BUSINESS:
The Mayor reported about the residence at 726 Indian Ridge Road. After talking to the Mayor Fisher’s office, Graymoor/Devondale Police Chief, Grady Throneberry, multiple times, and the nearby residents, she requested that the Council declare the property a nuisance.

Councilman Blue made a motion to declare the property a nuisance and have the City Attorney take all necessary action to effect this action. Councilwoman Myers seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously.

Jim Hodge will proceed with the paperwork to declare the property a nuisance. Windy Hills will enlist the aid of the Jefferson County Assistant Attorney in this process.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT: Attorney Hodge reported he had filed a claim in the Purdue Pharma Litigation – for $50,000. He discussed that the amount would include anything that may surface even after the claim is filed. Sandy Moore update: She won her unemployment suit and we will receive an assessment. He has turned it over to a labor person.

COMMENTS/QUESTIONS TO THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE: None

Councilwoman Greer moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:50 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Myers and the motion passed unanimously.

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Helen M Davis, Mayor Lisa Kraft, City Clerk