Minutes January 25, 2021
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 Barkley | |
| Marianne Rademaker | Attorney David Spenard | |
| 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 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 the 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 the 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 have paid and several have called with promises to make payments.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None
ATTORNEYS COMMENTS: Randy Strobo introduced Clay Barkley and David Spenard, 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 |
