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The City of Cynthiana Board of Commissioners met in
regular session on February 25, 2003 at 7:00 P.M. at City Hall. Present were Mayor Wells, Attorney Lair,
Commissioners Clayton, Conner, Doan, and Martin.
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Mayor Wells called the meeting to order.
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MEETING CALLED TO
ORDER
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Mayor Wells reported the minutes of February 11, 2003 have
been printed. Commissioner Doan
advised there were two items in the minutes that needed to be addressed, but
advised he would discuss the Ohio Truck invoice during his report. Commissioner Conner reported the garbage
tonnage reported in the February 11, 2003 meeting was incorrect – there
seemed to be some confusion in the figures – but the tonnage was actually down 10,000 Tons. Recycling can be contributed with this
reduction.
Commissioner Clayton made a motion to approve the
corrected minutes of February 11, 2003.
Commissioner Martin seconded.
In favor: Commissioner
Clayton: yes; Commissioner Conner: yes; Commissioner Doan:
yes; Commissioner Martin: yes;
Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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MINUTES OF 2/11/03
CORRECTED AND APPROVED
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Mayor Wells recognized Hazel and Harold Landrum, Fabulous
4th Committee chairmen.
Mrs. Landrum advised she was again asking for the Board’s sponsorship for the Fabulous 4th
celebration. This sponsorship
includes the Fabulous 4th Committee becoming a City Committee, the
City and County sharing the cost of the fireworks, and designating July 4 and
July 5 as the date for the Fabulous
Fourth celebration.
Mrs. Landrum advised as soon as a list of committee
members can be compiled, she will forward to City office. She thanked the Board for all their
support over the years.
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FABULOUS 4TH
COMMITTEE
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Mayor Wells recognized Rick Grubb who requested the Board
of Commissioners allow him to use the Commissioner’s Room to
meet with troubled kids. James Martin
questioned how many kids would he meet with.
He said he had to have a place to meet before the courts would filter
kids down to deal with him. Mayor
Wells suggested he put this request in writing, and the Board will need
documentation from Judge Melcher about these activities.
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RICK GRUBB – REQUEST
FOR USE OF CITY PROPERTY
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Mayor Wells recognized Attorney Lair.
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Attorney Lair read Ordinance #1358 amending Ordinance
#1328 to include the City of Frenchburg in the Regional Cable Commission. Commissioner Clayton made a motion to approve the first
reading of Ordinance #1358.
Commissioner Conner seconded.
In favor: Commissioner Clayton: yes;
Commissioner Conner: yes; Commissioner Doan: yes;
Commissioner Martin: yes; Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed: none.
Motion carried.
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ORDINANCE #1358 (1st
Reading)
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Commissioner Doan asked if the Cable TV franchise
questions have been resolved.
Attorney Lair advised Linda Ain is still in negotiations with
Adelphia, and she advised the City to not take any action at this point. There may be more changes forthcoming.
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CABLE TV FRANCHISE
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Ms. Ain advised the FCC does not require a discount rate
for any age group. Residents who
already receive a discount will be able to keep it, but there will be no
discounts to new customers.
Commissioner Doan stated he had received calls from cable users who
are concerned. Linda Ain will
continue to work on this.
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Attorney Lair advised Dr. Henry Norfleet and Jack Owens
have requested the annexation of approximately 14 acres. The plat and affidavit have been received, and the applicants are
requesting this 14 acres be zoned R1.
This property is currently zoned A1U. This action will require an ordinance of intent be
adopted. This ordinance will then go
to the Cynthiana-Harrison County-Berry Planning and Zoning Board for their consideration of the zone
change.
Attorney Lair read Ordinance #1359 of the City’s intent to
annex approximately 14 acres belonging to Dr. Henry Norfleet and Jack
Owens. Commissioner Doan made a
motion to accept the first reading of Ordinance #1359. Commissioner Martin seconded. In favor:
Commissioner Clayton:
yes; Commissioner Conner: yes; Commissioner Doan:
yes; Commissioner Martin: yes;
Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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NORFLEET ANNEXATION
REQUEST
ORDINANCE # 1359 – (1st
Reading)
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The Brunker properties are currently being surveyed.
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BRUNKER PROPERTY
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Attorney Lair read the minutes from a Special Meeting held
on February 21, 2003 at 5:00 P.M. Commissioner Conner made a motion to approve the minutes of
February 21, 2003. Commissioner
Clayton seconded. In favor: Commissioner Clayton: yes; Commissioner Conner: yes;
Commissioner Doan: yes; Commissioner Martin: yes;
Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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MINUTES OF SPECIAL MTG
2/21/2003 APPROVED
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Mayor Wells reported the City of Cynthiana suffered a
crippling ice storm on February 16, 2003 leaving residents without
electricity. She advised there was a
tremendous amount of damage to trees and power lines. She stated she felt the City of Cynthiana
had met the demands of the people during this crisis, and complimented the
Emergency Management Committee on their diligent work. They met everyday and updated the public
each day on WCYN Radio. The
Cynthiana Democrat also provided much information for the
public. The committee consisted of
City personnel, Judge Peak, Dr. Julia McKee of WEDCO, Mike Buis of Housing,
David Case of the Harrison County School System, David McGuffin and Mike Palmer of the EMS, Danny Northcutt of
HCWA, Ken Carpenter of Bluegrass Energy.
A shelter was set up at the Cynthiana Baptist Church. As a result of the massive loss of food
supply, the Food Pantry has been depleted. Monetary donations will be accepted for the pantry by the
Ministerial Association.
Mayor Wells thanked all who worked tirelessly to ease the
situation and reported Cynthiana was in good condition now.
Commissioner Conner advised there was a tremendous amount
of effort by everyone involved, and he appreciated the help expended by the
Fire Dept. and Sanitation Dept. in picking up debris. Commissioner Clayton stated it was a very
cohesive effort.
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ICE STORM 2003
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Mayor Wells recognized Commissioner of Public Finance Bill
Doan.
Commissioner Doan addressed the problem with the invoice
from Ohio Truck Body for the replacement of beds of two dump trucks and tarps that were purchased for said trucks. On November 11, 2002, Commissioner Conner made a motion to replace two trucks
beds and add tarps to two of the City’s dump trucks for a price of $3888.00
each. He stated this price included
powder-coating and tarps. This motion
was approved unanimously.
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FINANCE REPORT
OHIO TRUCK BODY INVOICE
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When the invoice arrived, the tarps were listed as a
separate expense bringing the total of the invoice to $4483.00 for each
truck. Commissioner Doan advised he
called Ohio Truck and spoke to Jim Mertz.
Mr. Mertz stated he had looked at the trucks for Leroy Conner and gave him a price for the beds. No tarps were mentioned. Leroy Conner called him at a later date and asked for a price on
the tarps. Leroy Conner authorized him to add the tarps and stated no
purchase order was needed. Mr. Doan
stated he felt this was a legitimate debt of the City of Cynthiana, and the
City needed to pay the invoice in the amount of $4,483.00 each truck.
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Commissioner Doan made a motion to pay the following
bills:
General
Fund $60,344.02
Water
Fund
$88,422.05
Cash-in-Bank General Fund $643,881.60
Cash-in-Bank Water Fund $215,244.43
Commissioner Clayton seconded. In favor: Commissioner
Clayton: yes; Commissioner Conner: yes;
Commissioner Doan: yes; Commissioner Martin: yes;
Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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BILLS
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Commissioner Doan reported he had authorized Larry Brown
Sosbe to contact someone to repair the front end loader. A representative will be here 2/26/2003 to
investigate this piece of equipment.
Also, Mr. Sosbe is having a local vendor investigate the status
of the bulldozer. This dozer has an
inoperable cylinder. Commissioner
Doan advised these two pieces of equipment are of no use whatsoever when they
are broken down. This equipment needs
to be kept running.
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REPAIR TO FRONT END
LOADER & DOZER
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Commissioner Doan stated Commissioner Conner had requested
that he look at the condition of the maintenance building used by Public
Works. Commissioner Doan advised the
building is in a very poor condition.
He stated he would not allow a building on his property to fall into
such a state of disrepair.
The repair to this building needed to be addressed, so
Commissioner Doan requested Dave Kennedy obtain quotations for this work:
Steel
Repair Quoted materials
only $956.00
Harrison Machine
Shop $570.00 materials + $3080.00
Labor =
$3650.00 (This price
includes the
replacement of support
that is rusted out)
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REPAIR TO PUBLIC
WORKS MAINTENANCE BUILDING
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Commissioner Doan made a motion to award the repair of the
Public Works Maintenance building to Harrison Machine Shop in the
amount of $3,650.00. Commissioner
Conner seconded. In favor: Commissioner Clayton: yes; Commissioner
Conner: yes; Commissioner Doan: yes;
Commissioner Martin: yes; Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed: none.
Motion carried.
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Mayor Wells noted that the Finance Dept. met with
representatives of FEMA and the Department of Transportation and compiled an
estimated cost of $32,000.00 to clean up from the ice storm.
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FEMA & DOT INVESTIGATION
OF ICE STORM
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Mayor Wells recognized David Conner, Commissioner of
Public Works.
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PUBLIC WORKS REPORT
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Commissioner Conner made a motion to promote Brian Turner
from Maintenance Worker I to Maintenance Worker II with a pay increase of .38
on the hour effective 2/22/2003.
Commissioner Clayton seconded.
In favor: Commissioner
Clayton: yes; Commissioner Conner: yes;
Commissioner Doan: yes; Commissioner Martin: yes; Mayor Wells:
yes; Opposed: none.
Motion carried.
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BRIAN TURNER PROMOTED
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Commissioner Conner announced the City and County are
accepting branches and brush at the Handy Farm from 7:00 A.M. through 6:00
P.M. This brush is being burned.
The Public Works crew will do pothole patching when hot
mix becomes available and the brush is all collected. Cold patch does not hold.
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DEBRIS FROM ICE STORM
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Mayor Wells recognized Commissioner of Public Utilities
Tommy Clayton. Commissioner Clayton
advised residents can still flush and turn water on so Public Utilities was
operating.
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PUBLIC UTILITY REPORT
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Mayor Wells advised Jamie Hutchison of the Water Dept. had
secured prices on pipe for the construction of the new line from US 27 tower
to US 62 E, but the company is getting ready to initiate a price
increase. Commissioner Clayton
questioned if the City knew the sizes needed. Joe
Lewis of Quest Engineers, Inc. advised they would fax this information on 2/26/2003 .
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Commissioner Clayton made a motion to order the pipe for
the water line addition running from the U.S. 27 tower to US 62 E. Commissioner Conner seconded. In favor:
Commissioner Clayton:
yes; Commissioner Conner: yes;
Commissioner Doan: yes; Commissioner Martin: yes;
Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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MOTION TO ORDER PIPE
FOR WATER LINE
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Mayor Wells recognized Commissioner of Safety James Martin
who expressed sympathy on behalf of the Board to Chief Terry Stinson on the
death of his father.
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SYMPATHY
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Commissioner Martin advised Police Chief Frazier had
traveled to Frankfort to acquire a state surplus vehicle. He located a 1996 Jeep Cherokee that he
felt was in good condition.
Commissioner Martin made a motion to purchase a 1996 Jeep
Cherokee from the state surplus supply at a cost of $2750.00. Commissioner Doan seconded. In favor:
Commissioner Clayton: yes;
Commissioner Conner: yes; Commissioner Doan: yes;
Commissioner Martin: yes; Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed: none. Motion carried.
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MOTION TO PURCHASE 1996
JEEP FOR POLICE DEPT.
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Commissioner Martin made a motion to offer employment to
an individual as a Police Officer recruit subject to pre-employment
requirements. Commissioner Clayton
seconded. In favor: Commissioner Clayton: yes;
Commissioner Conner: yes; Commissioner Doan: yes;
Commissioner Martin: yes; Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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MOTION TO OFFER
EMPLOYMENT AS POLICE OFC. RECRUIT
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Commissioner Martin made a motion to offer employment to a
second individual as a Police Officer recruit subject to pre-employment
requirements. Commissioner Clayton
seconded. In favor: Commissioner Clayton: yes;
Commissioner Conner: yes; Commissioner Doan: yes;
Commissioner Martin: yes; Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed: none.
Motion carried.
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MOTION TO OFFER
EMPLOYMENT AS POLICE OFC. RECRUIT
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Asst. Chief Muntz advised these recruits are scheduled for
school on March 24 – sixteen weeks.
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Mayor Wells requested the Board of Commissioners appoint
Dr. Rick Arnold to the Park Committee as an ex-officio member.
Commissioner Doan made a motion to appoint Dr. Rick Arnold
to the Park Committee as an ex-officio member. Commissioner Conner seconded.
In favor: Commissioner
Clayton: yes; Commissioner Conner: yes;
Commissioner Doan: yes; Commissioner Martin: yes;
Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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DR. RICK ARNOLD
APPOINTED AS EX-OFFICIO MEMBER
OF PARK COMMITTEE
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Mayor Wells expressed sympathy to Ron England and Dale
North on the death of the aunt, Mae Hausberger. Mrs. Hausberger was an avid supporter of local government and
watched the meetings faithfully.
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SYMPATHY
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Mayor Wells reported the Division of Emergency Management
has awarded an extension
of time until 8/15/2003 to assess the condition of the A. Keller Dam.
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A.
KELLER DAM - EXTENSION AWARDED
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BGADD is sponsoring a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet our
Senators and Representatives. Any
Commissioner that would want to attend would be welcome to look at the
material.
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WASHINGTON, D. C.
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A letter was received from Secretary Codell regarding the
closing of E. Pearl Street and the installation of gates on Pleasant
St.
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MAYOR’S REPORT
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Pat Penniman has requested the City of Cynthiana support
the Academic Boosters. Mayor Wells
advised this is a worthy project.
Anyone wanting to donate should contact Mrs. Penniman
Mayor Wells received a letter from Senator Bunning
regarding the status of Captain Scott Speichler who is listed as Missing
–Captured.
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A budget request has been submitted by Mrs. Eva Renaker
for the Workforce program.
Project Grad has also submitted a request for funds.
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The Renaissance Committee is planning a Raggedy Ann and
Andy Festival.
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Planning and Zoning will hold a Board meeting on March 17,
2003.
A letter was received from Senator R. J. Palmer regarding
the Mayor’s comments on certain house bills to be considered. Commissioner Doan stated he has also
received such a letter.
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Mayor Wells advised she had written the following memos:
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Memo to Harold and Hazel Landrum regarding store
window decorations during Fabulous 4th weekend.
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A letter to Dr. Arnold about serving as a ex-officio
member on Park Committee.
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A letter to Nancy Brunker Garrison regarding the
annexation of her property.
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Mayor Wells advised she signed a work order to Quest
Engineers to do design work on the water line extension.
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Mayor Wells wrote a letter of thanks to James Adams
of CSX.
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Letter to Tom Leith of LRVRC&D about Commissioner
Doan being the
City’s representative on that Board.
Mayor Wells reported she had received a copy of a letter
and a petition from Jack Keith, resident of Reynolds Avenue, objecting to the
construction of the new park on the Handy Farm. (A copy is attached and made a part hereof)
Mayor Wells advised that Joe Judy, representing the
Cynthiana Baptist Church, requests permission to remove a fence that borders
the City parking lot off E. Pike Street.
The church would like to accomplish this task in the next day or so
while the bulldozer is on the property.
After discussion on the matter, Commissioner Doan made a
motion that to the extent the City of Cynthiana has any interest in the trees
and fence along the property line, the City of Cynthiana does not object to
the removal of said trees and fence, but the City of Cynthiana expresses no
opinion as to the ownership of these trees and fencing. It will be the responsibility of the party
seeking to obtain approval to remove these trees and fence to obtain
permission from any other property owners.
Commissioner Clayton seconded.
In favor: Commissioner Clayton:
yes; Commissioner Conner: yes;
Commissioner Doan: yes; Commissioner Martin: yes;
Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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PETITION OBJECTING TO HANDY FARM
PARK
MOTION TO
ALLOW THE BAPTIST CHURCH REMOVE FENCE AND TREES IF OWNERSHIP DETERMINED
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Mayor Wells stated the next item on the agenda was
executive session. Commissioner
Martin requested the opportunity to discuss a personnel matter. Attorney Lair advised the requirements
that had to be met in order to discuss a personnel matter in executive
session, and Commissioner Martin advised his problem did not meet those
specifications.
Commissioner Martin stated Michael Coppage of the Police
Dept. would like to address the Board of Commissioners regarding a grievance
that he filed. Officer Coppage
advised that he had filed a grievance against City Clerk McIlvain regarding
the reimbursement of funds withheld from his paycheck for dental
insurance. Officer Coppage maintains
that he signed up for coverage and changed his mind. He contends that he informed the City
Clerk that he wanted to discontinue this deduction, but it was not
discontinued until November 2002. He
would like to be reimbursed his $235.00.
He also complained that City Clerk McIlvain had called him a liar.
Officer Coppage’s request was denied by Safety
Commissioner Doan in November 2002.
Officer Coppage then requested to speak to the Board of
Commissioners. On the night he was
scheduled to appear before the Board about this grievance, Officer Coppage
failed to appear. The Board assumed
that the matter had been dropped. It
was later learned that he was away on a personal matter.
Officer Coppage stated he had followed the proper
procedure by following the chain of command by passing his response to the
denial along to Chief Frazier. He
has been waiting for an answer ever since.
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REQUEST FOR AN EXECUTIVE
SESSION – DENIED
OFFICER COPPAGE –
GRIEVANCE APPEAL
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Officer Coppage understood that he had a right to be
present. Attorney Lair stated that
even if he filed an appeal, the Board may or may not grant the appeal because
it might not have merit. Officer
Coppage indicated that when the City answered the grievance, the response was late according to the grievance
plan. Attorney Lair stated it could
be five working days instead of five days.
He stated that was not an indication that Officer Coppage had
“won”. Officer Coppage asked if that
meant the City did not have to follow their own policy. Attorney Lair stated he felt that Mr.
Combs should be contacted to “tweak” the grievance policy in regards to the
time limits, etc. The policy does not
require the board to grant a hearing on every grievance, but the Board should
respond to the grievance within the timeframe, if possible.
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Attorney Lair questioned if Officer Coppage was requesting
a hearing. Officer Coppage stated
that he would do whatever to get his money back. Attorney Lair advised a time should be set for the Board to
hear this grievance appeal and look at the records to determine what needs to
be done. It was decided that next
week would be the earliest date, and Chief Frazier needed to be contacted
about the whereabouts of the grievance since the grievance was not in the
proper file.
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City Clerk McIlvain requested time to respond to the
grievance. She stated she did not
call Officer Coppage a liar, and stated that Commissioner McGee had reviewed
the records. Attorney Lair stated the
details could be discussed during the hearing.
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Commissioner Conner made a motion to move to executive
session to discuss a legal matter.
Commissioner Martin seconded.
In favor: Commissioner Clayton:
yes; Commissioner Conner: yes;
Commissioner Doan: yes; Commissioner Martin: yes;
Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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EXECUTIVE SESSION
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Commissioner Clayton made a motion to return to regular
session. Commissioner Doan seconded. In favor: Commissioner
Clayton: yes; Commissioner Conner: yes;
Commissioner Doan: yes; Commissioner Martin: yes;
Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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RETURN TO REGULAR
SESSION
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Mayor Wells advised that while in executive session
litigation was discussed.
Commissioner Clayton made a motion to authorize City Attorney Lair to
file a response concerning the ABC Board license appeal that is currently in
the Frankfort Circuit Court.
Commissioner Martin seconded. In favor: Commissioner Clayton:
yes; Commissioner Conner: yes;
Commissioner Doan: yes; Commissioner Martin: yes;
Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Motion carried.
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LITIGATION DISCUSSED –
ATTORNEY LAIR AUTHORIZED TO RESPOND
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There being no further business to discuss, Commissioner Clayton made a motion to
adjourn. Commissioner Doan
seconded. In favor: Commissioner Clayton:
yes; Commissioner
Clayton: yes; Commissioner Doan: yes;
Commissioner Martin: yes; Mayor Wells: yes; Opposed:
none. Meeting adjourned at 9:30
P.M.
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ADJOURNMENT
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