CITY OF WINDY HILLS

Minutes of Regular Council Meeting
September 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 Jim Hodge
Marcia Myers Steve Teaford
Marianne Rademaker
Suzanne Spencer
Laura Trachtenberg

MINUTES:

Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the minutes of the August 10, 2020 Council meeting; seconded by Councilwoman Greer. The motion passed unanimously.

FINANCIAL REPORTS, APPROVAL OF BILLS:

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

Councilwoman Myers moved to approve the August bills, totaling $70,815.63 and was seconded by Councilwoman Greer. The motion passed unanimously.

RESIDENTS’ COMMENTS/CONCERNS: None

MAYOR’S REPORT:
Police Report: There were 96.6 hours of Police support. Radar monitoring of 18.37 hours on Ambridge and Rudy resulted in 4 warnings. The police followed up on the car thefts within Windy Hills and the homeowner was able to get back the stolen property. There were several suspicious individuals and cars reported but the police never found anyone.
The Mayor signed the auditors’ contract, but they have not called to schedule the audit. She spent a considerable amount of time on 726 Indian Ridge and hand delivered a letter regarding the non-compliance with the WH grass ordinance. The grass was mowed by the due date.
She met with the LG&E supervisor and arborist to discuss Westport Road and the impact of removing the trees and vegetation on our City. LG&E has graciously offered to plant back natural grasses and small trees to lessen the damage to the homeowners. The problem is that the vegetation would be on the state right-of-way. We will have to work with the DOT to see if we can accept the offer. She was able to track down the state’s contact person, sent her an email, and is waiting for a response.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Finance/Ordinances: Councilwoman Rademaker reported we are waiting for the Auditors. Two CD’s are getting ready to mature and Helen Davis is investigating the best rates for them.

Code Enforcement – Steve Teaford: Mr. Teaford reported there are seven cases being followed up on with residents on one matter or another. Attorney Hodge is spearheading five of those and he has taken care of two.

Windy Hills Green/City Maintenance/Newsletter/Tree Board – Councilwoman Greer:
Councilwoman Greer reported on the following items:
• A new resident has taken advantage of the subsidy tree program.
• The residents who received free trees will need to check with the three nurseries to find out if they have the tree or whether it can be ordered.
• Caroline Westfall is going to Jonlynn Court to check a hazardous tree.
• She received a phone call from a resident on Clerkenwell about the unsightly island. She went over and took care of it, and called Adam to remind him about taking care of it in the future.
• Met with Caroline Westfall about the tree on the Green. Expensive to decorate.
• Called Tim Graven at Indian Hills about their tree. While talking to him he gave her some names to call. If we decide to have the common areas bid out next year, the City won’t have to bid out if it is under $30,000.
• She is seeking bids for the lights on the tree on the Green.
• Trees on the Green need to be pruned.

Newsletter – Councilwoman Myers: Councilwoman Myers reported in mid- August we sent out the Windy Hills Breeze to 729 residents and just over 60%were opened. She is In the process of putting together the September print newsletter. This is an opportunity for us to reach out to all of our residents and not just a part of them. She appreciates all of the councilmembers who have sent in articles. Hopefully, we will have it in homes by a week from Friday. Discussion followed about Haywood Ice Cream and whether we could host an Ice Cream Social.

Community Caring/Health & Fitness/Welcome to Windy Hills – Councilwoman Spencer:
Councilwoman Spencer reported the following items:
• “The interchange at Westport Road and I-264 is completely weeded. It was finished by Brightside without Dismas House, but altogether 9 Windy Hills and St. Matthews volunteers helped. The signs for Windy Hills and St. Matthews at that interchange were switched to correctly represent the right city. Walt Ostertag did the work.
• Working on a plaque revision.
• Two commemorative signs have been ordered.
• There were 7 real estate transfers in August.”

Public Works – Councilman Blue:
Councilman Blue reported:
• “Paving project is complete
• In January or February, I would like to hire contractor to inspect all of Windy Hills roads for spidering damage and any roads needing full repaving or partial repaving. I can do the potholes, large gaps, etc., but need a qualified person to check for the above areas. This is one reason I did not do more this year knowing we might have a bigger expense next spring.
• Need to do some painting and repair to yellow painted areas from one end of Ambridge (Rudy) to Westport.
• Will fix hole on 42 entrance to Coach Gate
• All signs have been ordered.
• Checking pokes, signs, and street lights needing repair
• Need 2-3 estimates for painting on Ambridge.
• Mayor informed me the trimming around the walkway on bridge is St. Matthews responsibility.
• Cable provider had an explosion”

Ordinances/Community Standards – Councilwoman Trachtenberg: Councilwoman Trachtenberg reported that she didn’t have anything this month.

City Clerk – Lisa Kraft: Ms. Kraft reported the property tax bills were delivered late Thursday. Work began on separating the bills into three stacks: one to keep, one to mail, and one as a duplicate copy. The Mayor and Councilwoman Rademaker are helping and today we began stuffing envelopes. The plan is to mail out the tax bills tomorrow or Wednesday.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

• Pohl property, the Mayor sent a letter, but they have not responded. Per MSD, the gravel driveway was a temporary solution and should be removed by November 1st, this would allow the area to go back into a natural state. Steve will monitor the situation.
• 1116 Windsong Way –Back in 2010, the paving company instead of paving the road end to end, edge to edge, paved over the curbs possibly causing drainage problems on Windsong. Councilman Blue made a motion to have our City engineer, Mark Madison, investigate the significance of the problem on those streets, Councilwoman Greer seconded the motion. Discussion followed about the road problem. The motion carried.
• The matter of Staci Farris’ request to be reimbursed for work done on a retaining wall at her residence – 1116 Windsong Way, in the amount of $8,000 was discussed. The Council decided not to reimburse Ms. Farris for work completed in 2015.
• Councilwoman Rademaker made a motion to repeal the Municipal Order 6 Series from 2014/2015, Councilwoman Spencer seconded the motion. There was no discussion. The motion carried.
• Councilwoman Rademaker made a motion to create a new Municipal Order. The Municipal Order 1 Series 2020-2021. Trees to be memorialized on the Green will be $300 donation + the cost of the plaque. Councilwoman Myers seconded the motion. Discussion – two Council members spoke against the proposal. Councilwoman Rademaker made a motion to suspend discussion. Councilwoman Greer seconded the motion. A councilmember continued discussion. Councilwoman Myers called point of order. The motion to end debate was split 4-2.

Councilwoman Spencer requested a roll call vote. The motion to create a new Municipal Order, the vote was as follows:

Roll Call Vote
Blue – No
Greer – Yes
Myers – Yes
Rademaker – Yes
Spencer – No
Trachtenberg – Yes

NEW BUSINESS: None

ATTORNEY’S REPORT: None

COMMENTS/QUESTIONS TO THE COUNCIL AS A WHOLE: None

Councilwoman Greer moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:52 P.M., seconded by Councilwoman Myers and the motion passed unanimously.

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Helen M Davis, Mayor Lisa Kraft, City Clerk