City of Mount Washington
Minutes of the Regularly Scheduled Council Meeting
August 28, 2006
City Hall Annex Building, 186 Branham Way
Mayor Sullivan called the meeting to order at 6:30pm with the following Council members present: Joetta Calhoun, Ed Hilbert, Ralph Lutes, Sid Griffin, Lloyd Dooley and Larry Porter.
Also present were City Clerk Christi Franklin, City Treasurer Peggy Brinkman, City Engineer Dave Derrick and City Attorney Jim Winchell.
Larry Porter gave the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Minutes
Christi Franklin read the minutes of the August 14, 2006 Council meeting. Sid Griffin made a motion to accept the minutes as written. Joetta Calhoun seconded the motion. Motion passed by a roll call vote with the abstention going with the majority as follows:
Yes Abstain
Sid Griffin Ed Hilbert
Lloyd Dooley
Ralph Lutes
Larry Porter
Joetta Calhoun
Ms. Franklin read the minutes of the August 14, 2006 caucus. Larry Porter made a motion to accept the minutes as written. Ralph Lutes seconded the motion. Motion passed with the abstention going with the majority as follows:
Yes Abstain
Sid Griffin Ed Hilbert
Lloyd Dooley
Ralph Lutes
Larry Porter
Joetta Calhoun
Mayor Sullivan asked Christi Franklin to read the minutes of the 201 Facility Plan Study Committee meeting held on August 18, 2006 for informational purposes. Ms. Franklin read the minutes and Dave Derrick discussed the time frame for the treatment plant upgrade, the projected flows and the two processes discussed by the committee.
Treasurer’s Report
Peggy Brinkman gave the Treasurer’s Report for July 2006. Lloyd Dooley made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Larry Porter seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously by a roll call vote.
Ordinances
Larry Porter introduced and the Council held first reading of an ordinance annexing 2.66 acres, known as the Albert C. and Mary R. Cahoe property located at 6034 Highway 44E. Joetta Calhoun asked if the property was contiguous. Mayor Sullivan responded “yes”.
Larry Porter introduced and the Council held first reading of an ordinance to accept or reject the recommendation of the Bullitt County Joint Planning Commission to re-zone the Richard Allen property located at 9913 Highway 44E (Docket No. 2006Z-34) consisting of one lot 100’ x 190’ from R-1 Residential to B-2 Central Business. Mr. Allen stated the proposed use is a florist shop and residence.
Joetta Calhoun introduced and the Council held first reading of an ordinance annexing 1.73 acres, known as the John and Kimberly Silliman and Sherry and Gary Hayes property located at 391 Helm Lane.
Larry Porter introduced and the Council held first reading of an ordinance amending the City of Mt. Washington annual budget for the 2006/2007 fiscal year.
Lloyd Dooley introduced and the Council held first reading of an ordinance annexing 113.844 acres, known as the BMP Development, LLC property located south of Highway 44 – west side of Mt. Washington – access from 44 off of Armstrong Lane. Keith Brown from Pike Legal Group representing the applicant discussed the use as a quality residential development. If annexed, Mr. Brown discussed a future request for R-1 zoning except for setbacks. Discussion followed. Doris Owen stated she is not opposed to the subdivision, but is concerned about additional traffic on Armstrong Lane. She understands it is a County road, but asked the City to work with the County. She said the infrastructure must be kept up. Magistrate Eddie Bleemel said they County can’t stop the project, but some developers are being asked by the County to supply the materials and the County will do the work. Discussion followed.
Guests to Address the Council
Bill Smithwick from the Kentucky Baptist Home for Children updated the Council on the facility and addressed security issues. He stated the program has not changed since they moved from Middletown with the exception of a fewer number of children. He said the level of children accepted remains the same and to the best of his knowledge, no one has been harmed. Addressing the recent security issues, Mr. Smithwick stated the van stolen was theirs and staffing meets and exceeds the staffing ratio requirements. He said some boys will try to go home. In an effort to make the facility better, he said the courtyard fence has a temporary fix and they will be completing a permanent solution. They have found some locks not working properly due to the new construction and the contractor was called out when a lock was found to work improperly. Extra training was provided for the staff that carry magnetic keys and the agency keys are now more secure. Mr. Smithwick said this is not a lockdown facility and they try to make the facility as safe as possible and stated the children are not a threat to the community. They are more a threat to themselves. He apologized that the recent incidents caused an inconvenience to the police chief and these incidents should be diminishing as they become more familiar with the facility. Sid Griffin asked if they have considered guards outside. Mr. Smithwick said they have not, but do have security cameras outside. Mr. Griffin also asked if the facility is to notify the neighbors if a child leaves. Mr. Smithwick said Mr. Alcorn is the only neighbor that asked to be notified and he was notified each time. He also said an open house for the corporate office will be in early November. Norman Lemme asked if any escapes were not reported to the police and if there is a waiting period before notifying the police. Mr. Smithwick stated they were all reported to the police and there is not waiting period.
Norman Lemme said regarding the Kentucky Baptist Home for Children, his neighbors saw at least two boys escape and at least one came on his property and was not apprehended until some time later. He discussed his definition of a prisoner. It was his understanding from his neighbor that all neighbors are to be notified when a child escapes. He feels there should be some type of system to alarm the surrounding area. He discussed the level of children at the facility. Mr. Lemme asked for more protection for the residents and more warning if an escape should occur. Further discussion followed on who should be notified and how the notification occurs. Mr. Smithwick stated they will notify anyone who wants to be notified. They just need to let him know their name and phone number.
Mayor’s Report
Mayor Sullivan said after investigating the stop sign request on the corner of Justin Trail and Fairway, a stop sign can not be erected because it would be too close to the other stop signs.
He also reported a break in the electric line to the street lights in Wilchar Section 2 and it will be repaired.
Mayor Sullivan discussed the request from Carl Marrillia to place their lease sign next to the business park entrance sign. The Mayor asked the Council for their thoughts. Joetta Calhoun said it needs to follow the ordinance. Jim Winchell said the ordinance addresses the sign size, but this request is for a private owner to place a sign on City property to benefit a private enterprise. This does not serve a public purpose and he doesn’t think the City can make City property available for someone to advertise a private enterprise. The Council agreed with Mr. Winchell and Mayor Sullivan will notify Mr. Marrillia his request has been denied. Kenny Stout said the City should remove the signs placed on someone else’s property without approval from the property owner. Doris Owen said the City should be enforcing the sign ordinance on Armstrong Lane on City property. Mayor Sullivan said that only one side of the road is City property. Eddie Bleemel addressed this from the County perspective and will look at the legalities. Jim Winchell stated he will also look into this issue further.
Eddie Bleemel invited the City Officials to the fiscal court meetings.
Report from Council
Sid Griffin said he had a difficult time hearing the ordinances being read and asked the guests if they were able to hear them. Discussion followed. He also said the candidates for political office should ask permission before putting up a sign. Mr. Griffin reminded the Council of the ribbon cutting for Windsor Gardens on Wednesday and said it is important for the Council to attend these events.
Lloyd Dooley asked for an update on Mr. Hardin’s drainage issue. Mayor Sullivan said it has been completed.
Adjourn
Sid Griffin made a motion to adjourn at 8:03pm. Joetta Calhoun seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously by a roll call vote.