CITY OF WINDY HILLS

Minutes of Regular Council Meeting

May 13, 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 April 8, 2019 Council meeting; seconded by Councilman Blue and approved unanimously.

FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:

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

Councilwoman Trachtenberg moved to approve the April bills, totaling $42,605.56 and was seconded by Councilwoman Myers.  The motion passed unanimously.

RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS:  Resident Ralph Williams addressed the Council, complimenting them on the article on dogs.  He also warned the Council and asked if an article could be published about companies pushing “reverse mortgages” to the residents of Windy Hills.  Resident Jim Ising complimented the City on publishing the new electronic newsletter “The Breeze”.  Resident Staci Farris, of Windsong Way, addressed the Council concerning the lack of street curbs on her street, which is causing drainage issues.

MAYOR’S REPORT:  Mayor Davis reported that the property at 623 Rudy Lane was on the Planning and Zoning Board agenda regarding a requested building limit line variance to complete an addition.  Mayor Davis attended and spoke at the public hearing on May 6.  The variance was granted.  She discussed with the homeowner her concern that their rendering showed a larger addition than the site plan and if they followed through on the larger addition, we would follow up with Metro.  The homeowner said they didn’t think they would.

The April police report: Total of 102 hours. Radar – 18 1/2 hours divided between Ambridge, Rudy, Foeburn, and Coach Gate/Brownsboro, and Indian Ridge resulting in 6 citations, 2 warnings, and on several days the fastest speed was only 3-4 miles over the posted limit.  We had received a request from a Foeburn resident and we complied with the request, but the police report indicated that the vehicles’ speed did not exceed 28 miles/hr.  An Indian Ridge resident requested radar enforcement, which the police checked on two days.  Mayor Davis asked Chief Thronberry to transfer the enforcement from Brownsboro Rd. to Indian Ridge to see if there is a problem.  The police continued to issue several parking citations and the Mayor will send out follow up letters to those who have not paid.

The Mayor also reported that she and Councilwoman Rademaker have been working on the budget which we be discussed and have first reading tonight.  The Mayor thanked Councilwoman Rademaker and Councilman Blue for representing the City at the sanitation bid opening since she was at the Zoning hearing.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 Finance/Ordinances:  Councilwoman Rademaker reported that they have finished the budget including the Sanitation bid.  She also reported the they moved money from Stock Yards Bank to First Financial – including checking and CDs.

Code Enforcement:  Steve Teaford reported the City has 55 rentals, which is an increase of 7, some have failed the inspection, and he will follow-up with them.

Community Caring/Health & Fitness/Welcome to Windy Hills:   There were 7 new residents.  Councilwoman Spencer reported that on May 11, they had 18 participants in the new Tai Chi program and the next one will be on May 25th.  She also reported that she will be meeting with Mike Hayman to discuss how many trees are available for commemorative gifts.

Windy Hills Green/City Maintenance/Newsletter/Tree Board – Councilwoman Greer:  Councilwoman Greer reported that the Arbor Day celebration was postponed from Sunday, April 14 to Tuesday, April 16, because of rain.  The Tree Board raffled 5 fruit trees.  She also reported that Caroline Westfall had evaluated some trees on Indian Ridge to determine if they needed attention.  The Mayor will send out letters to those whose trees needed to be removed or attended to.  She stated that a newsletter article will announce that the Tree Board will offer a free tree for the first 15 residents who apply.  They will be planted in the fall.  The next newsletter will be out in June, and the first electronic newsletter was sent on April 25.  Councilwoman Myers reported that it was sent to 744 emails, 468 of which were opened, 69 bounced back, and 1 unsubscribed.  The Breeze will be sent out in between the quarterly newsletters.  Councilwoman Greer also reported that the water has been turned on at the Green and chips will be added to the path.  She also stated the sinkhole will be repaired and flowers had been planted.

Public Works:  Councilman Blue reported that the light pole on the northwest corner of the Green and the stop sign on Old Stone have been repaired.  He also reported that a dead deer and a tree limb were removed from the Green by Brownsboro Lawn Care.  He reported that he is working on a possible hazardous waste pickup after the new waste services contract is settled.  He reported that the drainage issues on Highfield and Windy Way are being investigated.  He said MSD said it is not their issue but he is still pursuing them to fix it.

Ordinances/Community Standards – Councilwoman Trachtenberg:  Councilwoman Trachtenberg reported that the Community Standards committee is presenting the Vacant House Ordinance tonight for first reading. She also reported she is working on the 2020 new property update.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:  None

 

NEW BUSINESS:

Waste Services Bid:  Councilwoman Rademaker made a motion to accept Ecotech’s bid for twice weekly trash pickup, once weekly recycle pickup, and once weekly yard waste pickup for 9 months of the year and bi-weekly during December, January, and February.  Ecotech will provide large recycle rolling cans with lids for recycling but will not provide trash cans.   The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Greer and passed with a vote of 5 Ayes and one abstaining vote by Councilman Blue.  Councilwoman Myers stated that the Sanitation Committee tried to meet the needs of most people in the City.  Mayor Davis and Councilwoman Rademaker thanked Councilwoman Myers and Councilman Blue for their work on the Committee.

Ordinance No. 8, Series 2018/2109 – Ad Valorem Taxes – 1st Reading:  Councilwoman Greer made a motion to have the Ordinance read by Attorney Hodge for the first reading and was seconded by Councilwoman Trachtenberg.  The motion passed unanimously, and Attorney Hodge read Ordinance No. 8 into record.

Ordinance No. 9, Series 2018/2109 – 2019/2020 Budget – 1st Reading:  Mayor Davis read the following statement: As your Mayor, I am tasked with preparing and presenting the budget.  Your Mayor Pro Tem, Marianne Rademaker, and I have been working on this budget since February.  We attended the Jefferson County League of City January meeting about budget requirements and preparation to ensure state compliance.  You will be happy to know that we are in FULL compliance. Tonight we will have a first reading, where we will have questions and comments without any action.  In June, we will have a second reading and formally act on the budget.

Items of note for the budget:  based on assessments, we are forecasting a 2% increase in the property tax revenue which is within the 4% increase allowed by law. We are also projecting a 100% increase in interest revenue from our general fund CDs and checking account. We are projecting the other revenue to be flat.

One of the biggest variables is the municipal insurance premium tax.  We tried to be conservative in the projection because the amount collected can vary widely due to purchases of large life insurance policies and the taxes collected on said policies. Fiscal year 2017-18 we collected a record amount of municipal insurance premium tax revenue but quite frankly the 2018-19 revenue is lagging behind the projection.

On the expenditure side, we increased the budget for General government by 3% based on inflation, maintaining the City website, and preserving city standards including code enforcement, rental registry, etc.  I would like to note that donations to not-for-profits are not included in this budget.

The cost of our public safety provided by Graymoor-Devondale will increase by 4.3% beginning July 1.  The biggest increase will be on the Sanitation costs.  There is a projected 22% increase in sanitation costs, which is primarily the cost of recycling.   Our residents OVERWHELMINGLY favored a city-wide weekly recycling program and I am pleased that we are able to provide this without raising taxes.

On the Road Aid Fund part of the budget, we are projecting a 500% increase in interest income with other revenue flat.  We did not increase the budget for 2019-20 road fund expenditures.

I am pleased to announce that the tax rate will again be .17 per $100 with a 40% discount if paid during October, 2019.

Councilwoman Rademaker made a motion to have the Ordinance read by Attorney Hodge for the first reading and was seconded by Councilman Blue.  The motion passed unanimously and Attorney Hodge read Ordinance No. 9 into record.  Councilwoman Spencer asked about including Not-for-profit donations and Attorney Hodge stated the budget could be amended if needed.

Ordinance No. 10, Series 2018/2019 – Vacant House Ordinance – 1st Reading:  Councilwoman Trachtenberg made a motion to have the Ordinance read by Attorney Hodge for the first reading and was seconded by Councilman Blue.  The motion passed unanimously and Attorney Hodge read Ordinance No. 10 into record.

Other:  Councilman Blue reported that he will be meeting with LIBS paving regarding fixing pot holes on Old Stone and repaving the circle on Victoria and Jonlyn.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT:  No

Comments/Questions to the Council as a Whole:   Resident, Mike Skelton asked if the street on Windsong was privately owned verses City of Windy Hills-owned, that he seemed to recall it is privately owned and the City would not be responsible for the curbs.  He said it could be determined by looking up a map on LOGIC.org.

Councilwoman Greer moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:49 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Rademaker and the motion passed unanimously.

 

__­_____          __________________                                                ­­­­­_______________________

Helen M Davis, Mayor

Sandy Moore, City Clerk