Minutes August 12, 2019
CITY OF WINDY HILLS
Minutes of Regular Council Meeting
August 12, 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 | ||
| Laura Trachtenberg |
MINUTES:
Councilwoman Greer moved to approve the minutes of the July 8, 2019 Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg and approved unanimously.
FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:
The financial reports for July, 2019 were moved for approval by Councilwoman Rademaker, seconded by Councilman Blue, and approved unanimously.
Councilwoman Rademaker moved to approve the July bills, totaling $38,360.23 and was seconded by Councilwoman Greer. The motion passed unanimously.
RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS: None.
MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Davis reported that the sanitation contract has had a few hiccups, which was to be expected, but the Ecotech staff have been very patient and accommodating. She stated that the office will have “in boxes” for each council member and staff. All mail/documents pertaining to a particular area will be placed in the mailbox. It will be placed on top of the file cabinet. She also asked each council member to check the website pertaining to their area, to see if the information is correct. She gave an example of the previous sanitation rules were incorrect and specifically contradicted our ordinances. She also reminded everyone to use their Windy Hills email addresses which would protect them from having their personal emails subject to Open Records search.
She further reported that the Audit contract has been signed and the auditors are working on the ’18-’19 documents. She stated the she and Councilwoman Rademaker met to review the year end financials, which Councilwoman Rademaker will discuss in her report, and all council members have received a detailed copy of their area’s expenses from ’18-’19 for their review.
Mayor Davis also reported that she met the Mayor of Worthington Hills at the Federal Reserve meeting and he told her that he liked our Rental Ordinance and they “borrowed” it for their city.
The July Police report: 129 hours of Police support. The report was formatted in an “unusual” way and it took her 2 hours to convert it into a usual format. There were 23.6 hours of house watch including 5 hours of early morning patrol. Upon her request a mobile radar unit was deployed to Two Springs. Radar monitoring resulted in 2 tickets on Ambridge, 1 on Rudy at Highfield, and 5 warnings. One young man on Foeburn was admonished to fix his noisy motorcycle and to stop riding too fast.
There were 5 parking violations. There were 3 suspicious males on Rudy, and upon completing his house watch, the officer found one of the males hiding in the bushes but the individual fled and the officer was unable to catch him. There was a reported burglary on Wicklow.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Code Enforcement: Steve Teaford asked if there were any questions/comments pertaining to his report for July. There were no comments.
City Maintenance/Windy Hills Green/Newsletter/Tree Board – Councilwoman Greer: Councilwoman Greer reported that she met with Mike Hayman and inspected the Green and addressed some other issues. The following are the results of this meeting:
- The main leader of the Dawn Redwood is broken and Mike Hayman will supervise Adam to correct the problem.
- Mike Hayman recommended that the Christmas tree get a 4 hour watering, which Adam will do shortly. He stated it looks healthy and has new growth.
- Mike Hayman recommended that the canopy trees be “limbed up” to 8 feet which will allow people to walk under them. Martha Davis and Councilwoman Greer worked on this project for 2 hours and finished most of the trees on the West side of the Green. The big Hollies and some of the trees near Rudy Lane remain to be done. They also removed growth on the bases of all the trees.
- The Appalachian Red Bud will be replaced.
- The newly planted Magnolia near the sundial has a water bag, which has been filled initially and will be filled on a weekly basis.
- The viburnum in the middle of the Green should come out.
- Mike Hayman will prune the three zelkovas himself. He plans to supervise Adam’s crew to heavily prune trees that need pruning in winter.
- There is a red maple near Rudy with one trunk that is dead with a dangerous branch. He recommends that we have that part of the tree removed. He thinks the tree will probably live another 10 years.
- Mike Hayman would like to plant a new tree north of the path where the bench is closest to the parking pad to provide shade to people sitting on the bench in the afternoon.
- He would like plant another Norman Fir directly beyond the parking pad.
- The sundial is being repaired.
- Mike was concerned about the newly planted Zelkova on Westport Rd., near Foeburn because of the drought. He put 10 gallons of water on it and Councilwoman Greer and Martha Davis added another 10. Councilwoman Greer will add a water bag to that tree and Adam will add water to it weekly through October.
Councilwoman Greer also reported that the Faye Ellerkamp sign should not have been placed at an evergreen due to their growth upwards and outwards. This would mean the memorial sign would have to be moved every couple of years. These evergreens cannot be limbed up as it would look disfigured. She suggested the Ellerkamp family choose another tree and place a new sign at that tree.
Councilwoman Greer’s Tree Board report included: Caroline Westfall evaluated the City planted trees on Ambridge. Councilwoman Greer is meeting with Adam Vogelsang to discuss what they can do to remedy the problems, including pruning. There is a dying tree on Ambridge that Andy Smart of the Plant Kingdom is going to examine and try to figure out what is killing it. The Ambridge work will come out of Tree Board funds. The next Tree Board meeting is September 5.
She also looked into the disfigured shrub (due to the Victoria Place paving) and reported that it is on the right-of-way, but was planted there by the owner to stop drivers from driving through his yard when they went around the circle. She suggested that the City replace it.
The next newsletter deadline is September 10.
Electronic Newsletter – “The Breeze” – Councilwoman Myers: Councilwoman Myers stated that the Breeze newsletter is in residents’ homes within 3 days of the reporting deadline and the printed newsletter is in the residents’ homes within 10 days of the reporting deadline.
Community Caring/Welcome to Windy Hills – Councilwoman Spencer: Councilwoman Spencer reported there were 5 new residents. She also reported that she is starting on the Christmas decorations.
Finance – Councilwoman Rademaker: Councilwoman Rademaker reported that she and Mayor Davis had reviewed the finances and stated that they are in good shape. Councilwoman Spencer stated that FEMA is a good resource for the City to use in cases of emergencies. It was reported that the City has reached out to FEMA in the past, but the Governor has to declare a “State of Emergency” before the City can request funds from FEMA.
Public Works – Councilman Blue: Councilman Blue reported that all paving (circles on Victoria Place and Jonlyn Ct and the entire Old Stone Lane) is complete. The potholes were also repaired with the exception of one he recently discovered and will report to LIBS. He also reported the manhole cover on Ambridge is repaired. He stated the hole at the Green is a Louisville Water Co issue. They have placed a cone and tape around the area. The curb at Foeburn has been repaired. The hole in front of a drain at Coach Gate has been reported to MSD. There was a drainage issue at new construction on Kinglan and has been reported to Metro Louisville. Councilman Blue has contacted MSD regarding the asphalt collapse at the bridge on Rudy Lane. He will continue to find the proper department to repair the pavement. He also thanked the Mayor and Councilwoman Greer for helping him on a complaint that had been received. He stated the speeding monitor on Two Springs did not seem to be working and reported it to Graymoor/Devondale Police. He also received a complaint regarding noisy neighbors and referred it to Code Enforcement Officer, Steve Teaford.
In regards to Recycling and Garbage: Councilman Blue commended Ecotech on the excellent job they are doing in the City and appreciates the immediate attention they give to any issue brought to them. They have placed recycling stickers on all green containers with yellow tops to help alleviate the problem of mixing waste and recycling in the recycling container. He suggested an article in either or both of the newsletters to remind residents not to put trash in the recycle bin.
Councilman Blue made a motion to repair the drainage issues on Windy Way and Highfield at a cost up to $1,890. His motion was seconded by Councilwoman Greer and passed unanimously.
Ordinances/Community Standards – Councilwoman Trachtenberg: Councilwoman Trachtenberg reported that the Committee met in July, and Councilwoman Rademaker and Code Enforcement Officer, Steve Teaford ran the meeting in her absence. She stated the Council will vote on the Community Standards Resolution in the “New Business” section.
Ordinance appeal – Kitty Hawk: Councilwoman Rademaker stated that Ms. Reise did not realize she needed an application to re-do her driveway. Ms. Reise was at the Friday Caucus meeting and stated she would get a letter from her contractor to verify that she just paved over her existing driveway and had not expanded it. The Council received the letter from her contractor and Councilwoman Rademaker made a motion to drop the complaint and grandfather the driveway dimensions. Councilwoman Myers seconded her motion and it passed unanimously. It was determined that the application would be put on the front page of the City’s website so it would be more noticeable and accessible to the residents.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None
NEW BUSINESS:
Resolution #1, Series 2019/2020 – Community Standards: Councilwoman Trachtenberg made a motion to approve the Community Standards Resolution and was seconded by Councilwoman Rademaker. The motion was approved unanimously.
Resolution #2, Series 2019/2020 – Code Enforcement Salary: Councilwoman Greer made a motion to approve the Resolution regarding the Code Enforcement Officer’s Salary (increasing it to $30 per hour) and was seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg. The motion was approved unanimously.
Other: None
ATTORNEY’S REPORT: Attorney Hodge reported that the lawsuit regarding Metro waste services has been resolved in favor of the suburban cities. In summary, it gives the suburban cities a voice in the decisions and will continue to have their own contracts. Basically, reserving the Cities’ rights relating to waste services.
Comments/Questions to the Council as a Whole: None
Councilwoman Greer moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:40 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Myers and the motion passed unanimously.
_____ __________________ _______________________
| Helen M Davis, Mayor | Sandy Moore, City Clerk |
