Minutes April 12, 2021
CITY OF WINDY HILLS
Minutes of Regular Council Meeting
April 12, 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 Clay Barkley | |
| Marcia Myers | Steve Teaford | |
| Marianne Rademaker | ||
| Suzanne Spencer | ||
| Laura Trachtenberg |
MINUTES:
Councilwoman Greer moved to approve the minutes of the March 8, 2021, Council meeting; seconded by Councilman Blue. The motion passed unanimously.
FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:
The financial reports for March 2021 were moved for approval by Councilwoman Rademaker, seconded by Councilwoman Myers. The motion passed unanimously.
Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the March bills, totaling $43,462.72, and was seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion passed unanimously.
RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS: None
MAYOR’S REPORT:
The Mayor reported for the Police Report: There were 107 hours of Police support but part of the listed activity was outside of Windy Hills. Again, most of the time was devoted to a single home located on house watch. There were 57 activities reported on the police watch and 41 of the activities were devoted to that house.
They also conducted 4. 5 hours of traffic control radar resulting in no tickets and 2 warnings. There was a fireworks complaint at a home on Wicklow Road. The resident said that they only shot off a “few” fireworks but it went on for several minutes and the neighbors called the Mayor because they thought it was gunshots.
She met with Chief Throneberry where he informed her that Graymoor-Devondale Police are raising the hourly rate again by $2 per hour. If we maintain the same contract, the cost will go up $2400 per year.
She reported that she was on a Mayors’ Zoom meeting with Governor Beshear where gave an update on the Covid vaccine rollout and the Federal Covid funds. Windy Hills should be receiving information from the State by Mid-May regarding City Covid allocations for 2021.
She was on a “virtual” lunch meeting with Congressman Yarmuth and other female Mayors in honor of International Women’s Month. She is working through the JCLC and Councilwoman Paula McCraney to schedule a meeting with Jefferson county small city officials to discuss all of the proposed LDC Reform Project changes. Many of the changes are “benign” or positive. Other changes would have a negative impact on our City. The specific sections include residential setbacks, land density issues, and ancillary dwelling issues. She will keep the city apprised of the proposed changes.
The Spectrum Franchise Agreement is up for renewal and we will address some of our quality of service issues before we sign a new contract.
There was vandalism of a small structure on the Pohl property.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Finance/Ordinances: Councilwoman Rademaker reported she and the Mayor will begin working on the budget.
Code Enforcement: Steve Teaford asked if there were any questions/comments pertaining to his report for March. He also reported he will be working on rental inspections. There are 62 rental homes, 17 are in Coach Gate, and there are 4 vacant homes.
He also stated that ” I am working with the owners of two homes to get them cleaned up so they won’t become a nuisance”.
Windy Hills Green/City Maintenance/Newsletter/Tree Board – Councilwoman Greer:
Councilwoman Greer reported there are 4 trees on Ambridge to be removed.
Windy Hills received Tree City Recognition again. She talked to Mike Hayman about pruning trees. Adam was working on the pruning but stopped until the trees finish budding out. Adam Vogelsang is mulching.
Newsletter – Councilwoman Myers: Councilwoman Myers reported: In late March an eight-page print issue of the Windy Hills Newsletter was sent to all residents (approximately 1200 households). It is also posted on the Windy Hills website as part of the archive of back issues of print and digital newsletters.
The next two issues (April and May) will be the digital Windy Hills Breeze. The deadlines will be Wednesday, April 14 and May 12th respectively. Since The Breeze is an e-mail, we can only take a maximum of about 6 articles before it gets too long. The Breeze works well for announcements and photos.
She also made the following motion: “to move the Windy Hills community celebration from the 4th of July to Saturday, September 25th as a fall festival. By that time, we hope to see most of our residents including many children vaccinated and a resulting decline of Covid cases allowing most of the normal parts of our annual celebration to be enjoyed safely”. Councilwoman Rademaker seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Community Caring/Health & Fitness/Welcome to Windy Hills – Councilwoman Spencer:
Councilwoman Spencer reported the following items:
- “Welcome to Windy Hills – We had 1 new resident in March.
- Community Caring – No report
- Windy Hills Green Amenities – Memorial Plaque honoring Foster Haunz is in progress. We have an inquiry about a new bench
Public Works – Councilman Blue:
Councilman Blue reported: Working on road paving bids. No complaints about garbage or recycling this month.
Ordinances/Community Standards – Councilwoman Trachtenberg: Councilwoman Trachtenberg reported about her Food Truck proposal. The truck would park in Sojourn Church’s parking lot on the 1st Monday in May as reported in the Windy Hills Newsletter.
City Clerk – Lisa Kraft: Ms. Kraft reported there have been several resident calls about roosters crowing and chickens roaming free. Steve Teaford is addressing the problem.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Laura Trachtenberg – Food Trucks
NEW BUSINESS: None
ATTORNEYS COMMENTS: Attorney Clay Barkley reported they are continuing to work on property nuisance issues with the Mayor and Steve, also working with the mayor on Open Records issues, and Pharma litigation.
Comments/Questions to the Council as a Whole: None
Councilwoman Greer moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:01 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Rademaker and the motion passed unanimously.
_______ __________________ _______________________
| Helen M Davis, Mayor | Lisa Kraft, City Clerk |
