May 2009 Newsletter
Next City Meeting:
Thursday, May 14
City Hall
7:30 pm
Always a lot of profitable fun, the
PARK TREES
More trees will be planted in the park this fall—both shade and flowering types. Two neighbors have contacted me and will donate $50 each. That’s why this is being posted.
If any neighbor wants to donate $50 or more for trees, please contact:
Brent Hardin
bboh@insightbb.com or 502/491-6142
News from your Commission:
Cardwell Way: The hole in the asphalt near Taylorsville Road has been repaired, where the turn-off valve for the water line had been paved over. Bids are being taken for repair of the asphalt at the turn-around.
Goose Report: The birds have returned to the basin area as a stopping point. A neighbor chased them off with her dog on a leash several times and the geese flew away. You are invited to do the same. A little action now will stop a problem later.
Jim Lynch
Park Basins: Debris has been cleaned out of the flat area of the park, at the concrete drains in the retention basis. They were cleaned out last month by hand and are draining well, just in time for the Spring rains.
Brent Hardin
Storm Clean-Up is almost finished. Some additional work in the park and berm areas still needs to be done. Also, there are some tree trunks in front of residents’ homes that need to be picked up. All of this stopped because of the wet ground. As soon as the big truck and the crane can operate without damaging the ground, we will be finished.
Brent Hardin & Jim Lynch
Yard Waste: Yard waste season is here. Please be sure to cut any limbs to 4 ft. in length for yard waste on Fridays. Try not to overload your yard waste containers so the Rumpke folks can lift it into their trucks.
Guidelines
If you have not been recycling and need a recycle bin, please email tcrennha@insightbb.com or call 491-6014. Teresa Renninger
The regular meeting of the City Commission was called to order at 7:30 pm on April 9, 2009 at the meeting room of the Hurstbourne Acres City Hall/Police Department, 1940 S. Hurstbourne Parkway, Louisville, Kentucky, with the following persons present:
Sean Fore, Mayor
Marty Dunn, Commissioner
Brent O. Hardin, Commissioner
Jim Lynch, Commissioner
Teresa Renninger, Commissioner
John Price, Treasurer
Stephen Emery, Attorney
Chris Redman, Police Chief
Steve Yocum, Police Officer
Michael Bolten, City Clerk
Charles Pennington, Resident
Linda Schneider, Resident
Sally Price, Resident
Ella Crump, Resident
Minutes for Meeting on March 12, 2009
Commissioner Lynch advised that a correction to the minutes was needed. Under New Business heading Do Not Block Intersection Sign, it should have read “painting of sign on the roadway” as opposed to “installing a sign”. After this correction, Commissioner Dunn made a motion to accept the minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Lynch and passed unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report
John Price read the treasurer’s report for March, 2009 and copies were made available for all people in attendance. Commissioner Lynch then made a motion to approve as read, which was seconded by Commissioner Dunn. The motion passed without opposition.
Warrants
The warrants for March, 2009 were then read by John Price, and copies were made available for all people in attendance. After a discussion, Commissioner Dunn made a motion to approve payment of the warrants, which was seconded by Commissioner Lynch and passed unopposed.
Police Report
Police Commissioner Dunn reported as follows:
-320 police hours from 3/12/09 to 4/9/09,
-1 citation, 2 arrests,
-4 accidents,
-16 traffic stops,
-5 reports,
-7 motorist assists,
-26 suspicious persons.
In other news, with the accreditation ongoing, Commissioners Dunn and Renninger along with Police Chief Redman met with the Kentucky League of Cities. In an informal audit, our city’s Police Department received a significant increase in our scores in preparation for the city’s accreditation. Commissioner Renninger has been invaluable in her role in the preparation of the paperwork needed to obtain the grants for the Police Department (new police firearms). Also, it was noted that coyotes have been sighted in the city again. Police Chief Redman and Officer Yocum have participated in “First Response Homeland Security” training. In reference to census numbers, there are approximately 185 residential homes, 3 apartment complexes, and 2800 residents. The number of people that daily pass through our city varies from 10,000 to 14,000, for whose safety we are responsible. The city will participate in the “Click it or Ticket” program which runs from May 18 through May 31 presented by the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety. Finally, Officer Yocum is currently working on the redesign of the city’s police badges. A copy of the proposed design was passed around. It was noted that our city was first established in 1963 with Stanley Welch as our first mayor.
Attorney’s Report
Attorney Emery indicated that the suit against the resident with the outstanding property tax bill is going forward. An update was provided regarding the code enforcement case that is pending in District Court. Finally, some questions had been raised about deed restrictions over at Hunnington; John F. Stewart’s paralegal is currently working on that issue. This should be concluded soon.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Police Commissioner
The Easter Egg Hunt will be Saturday, April 11. There will be three groups, and it will begin promptly at 11:00 am. In other news, Commissioner Dunn and Police Chief Redman have had discussions with a couple of neighbors regarding a dispute with a barking dog and fences. It was recommended that the parties involved use a service provided by Metro Government which can help mediate disagreements and disputes among neighbors.
Roads and Lighting
Commissioner Lynch reported that the street signs at Wesley and Blowing Tree were once again stolen. The city had just spent $130 to have one of them installed. Street lights have been fixed on Wesley and Addington. Street damage was reported on Cardwell Way from a Rumpke truck, and that is being handled.
Parks Commissioner
Commissioner Hardin reported that the port-a-let is back up in the park. There is no further update on the sidewalk suggestion. The improvements to the park were mentioned, and the grass cutting will begin shortly.
Sanitation
Commissioner Renninger reported that there had been a request from a resident for a garbage dumpster, there was a complaint about Rumpke workers walking on a resident’s grass, and a complaint about some of the workers throwing, though unintentionally, garbage can lids on residents’ flowers. In unrelated news, Commissioner Renninger appreciated the redesigned city’s website.
OLD BUSINESS
First Reading of Ad Valorem Tax Ordinance
After the initial discussion, Commissioner Dunn made a motion to have the first reading of Ordinance #2, Series 2009, establishing the Ad Valorem Tax rate at $.14/$100 of valuation for the fiscal year from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Lynch. The motion passed unopposed, and the reading was completed by Mayor Fore.
Criminal Investigation
Commissioner Dunn mentioned an ongoing criminal investigation of a resident in the city. The company who handles our city’s computer problems and needs was hired to do a thorough investigation of the resident’s computer hard drive. An invoice has been presented to the city and a report given to Police Chief Redman. Although the city did handle the investigation in this case as outlined, Mayor Fore suggested that in view of the concerns regarding the city’s potential liability, any future cases requiring this kind of investigation be turned over to the Metro City Police Department for their expertise. This will be discussed further, as well as personnel matters and budgetary issues pertaining to the police department, when this meeting is recessed for an executive session.
First Reading of Budget Ordinance
After an initial presentation by Mayor Fore, Commissioner Dunn made a motion to have the first reading of Ordinance #3, Series 2009, establishing the city budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. Commissioner Lynch seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The reading was then completed by Mayor Fore. It was noted that based on initial calculations, the city’s expected income for the fiscal year would be $232,946 and the budget total would be $346,870.
Blowing Tree Update
Regarding the suggestion to widen Blowing Tree Road, Commissioner Hardin presented the preliminary results; there were 7 residents in favor, 2 undecided and 1 opposed.
Miscellaneous
As of this meeting, no FEMA funds have yet been received as discussed in prior months. The storm debris in the park and other areas of the city should be completely cleaned up within the next couple of weeks. There was a brief mention of a garage/fence/screen dispute between 2 residents on Hurstbourne Lane.
There being no further business or discussion, the meeting was recessed for an executive session.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Bolten, City Clerk