March Council Meeting Minutes

March 2009 Minutes

The Woodlawn Park City Council met on March 16, 2009, at Woodlawn Park City Hall. Present were Mayor Tim Robertson, Attorney Matt Carey, Chief Jim Carter, Council Members, Scott Horn, Sherry Hyde, George Langford, Christian Seidt, Greg Claypool, and Doug Watson, Treasurer Charlie Veeneman and City Clerk Chana Elswick.

The meeting began at 7:32 pm.

Mayor Tim Robertson asked if any guests would like to approach the Council. There were no guests.

The council reviewed the minutes for the February 16, 2009 Council Meeting. Sherry made a motion to accept the minutes for the meeting. Greg seconded the motion. . All voted aye and the minutes were accepted.

Charlie Veeneman gave the Treasurer’s report. He gave Council a revised January report, for the misclassification of $200.00. Charlie stated Council had already voted on the revised report. He stated the City is 8 months into the year. Insurance tax revenues is at $10,000.00 for February and there is still 1 quarter left in the year. HB 414 is quarterly and is on target and may be over budget. Tim asked that Gloria review and figure the litter abatement expenses. He stated contingency expense was reclassified and placed under FEMA. There were 3 amounts moved to FEMA expenses. Charlie stated that year to date, the City is $20,000.00 over in expenses versus revenues. He is projecting a balanced budget. Greg made a motion to accept the report. Chris seconded the motion. All voted aye and the report was accepted.
Charlie stated there was not much change in the delinquent property taxes from last month. There are 6 for 2008,2 for 2007 and 1 for 2006. There is a lien on the one that owes or all 3 years, but no lien on the one for 07-08. Tim asked Charlie to send another letter, by certified mail, before giving to the attorney. Charlie stated rental licenses went out 02/28/09. He sent out $7,750.00 and had collected $3,125.00 so far in March. Business license fees do not fall under Code Enforcement, per Matt. Matt read the listing of items under Code Enforcement. Matt did find that Business license does fall under the Code Enforcement Board. Tim requested and delinquent Business License fess be turned over to the Code Enforcement Board. Charlie stated he and Tim and met with 2 representatives from FEMA, who helped them complete 1 application. He stated they are still in process and waiting on the final cleanup bill. Tim stated he had TLD take pictures of the wood chip piles. Charlie stated Gloria was concerned about a check the City had received from KTC/MOA and asked if it was for mowing.

Chana Elswick gave the Clerk’s report. She stated there were 1134 hits to the homepage and 3591 hits to the discussion area. She has mailed the census packet. She asked any one that needed to, to fill out an Elected Officials Disclosure Form. She will set up the large trash pickup with ID.

Chief Jim Carter gave the police report for February. He had 9 house watches, 8 warnings, and 133 miscellaneous runs and 3 incident reports; a burglary, missing person and an accidental shooting. He stated LG&E had been at the Block Watch meeting. He stated the burglary suspect had been caught and he had probably done 2 of the 4 burglaries in the City.

Council Focus
Fences and Building Permits Doug Watson stated that an inspector called about 801 Beechwood and they do have the proper permits. The request for the letter from the City fell through the cracks. He stated the garage at 903 Ahland had been demolished by the ice storm and he gave approval for a 2-car carport to be built.
Emergency George Langford stated he had answered a complaint about a drainage issue on Wingate. He walked where the pipe is and it has a hole in it. The resident has not called him back. He stated there were 12 attendees and 3 or 4 Block Watch Captains at the LG&E meeting. They stated the problem is the trees from the Brownsboro Road station to the City. There are no problems with trees in the City maintains, but the problem is the trees the residents maintain. He stated there were tree limbs from the storm on the train easement. He asked if TLD was going to clean them up. Tim stated that when TLD mows the easement, they will remove the branches. Greg stated the residents should clean up trees in their yards. Tim stated the City will have to clean the easement. George stated the tree is hanging over into the easement and the home owner should clean it up.
Communication Sherry Hyde stated she had sent out an email for articles for the newsletter. Greg and George have an article for the newsletter. They would like to post the disaster plan. Greg would like to encourage residents to help with drainage and be responsible for cleanup. Tim stated he had Mike Brown’s ad.
Public Relations Tim stated the yard sale is May 9, 2009. Mike moved it from Easter weekend. He has had 18 residents sign up. He would like to Hall Construction. Tim asked Chief Carter to keep Perryman one way. He stated they may want a second officer to help with traffic. Tim stated the newsletter will be sent the first part of April
Streets and Signs Scott Horn stated the City Hall Improvement Committee meeting had been postponed while gathering information on road construction. He is still working on a spreadsheet for the signs.. He is not working on entrance signs yet. Traffic has been routed through the City during construction. He asked if the City needs temporary no outlet signs. There is one at the end of Walser. Tim will give him the contact name at Safetico. Doug stated that due to excess traffic in the City, should try to lobby for reimbursement for paving due to wear. Tim asked Doug to draft a letter to ask for the funds.
Grounds Greg Claypool stated Mrs. Gierhieser was concerned about drainage at Walser. He wants the State to keep the area open and level for drainage.
Welcome Christian Seidt stated there were no new residents to welcome. He asked how he will get the info on new residents. Tim stated by word of mouth and the closings listed in the newspaper. Doug stated the best way is to watch for “for sale” signs.

Old Business Tim stated he had taken the Church off the agenda. Council had held a special meeting and reviewed the Church’s proposal. The Church was not ready to discuss the proposal.

New Business Budget- Charlie made a proposal spreadsheet to consider raising the discount for taxes for this year. He reviewed the spreadsheet with the Council. The current discount is 25%, if paid early. He discussed the current amount of property tax income and the projected amount, with the discount of up to 50%, if paid early, for this tax year. Charlie reviewed the spreadsheet with Council. Charlie stated every 10% in discount is approximately $13,800.00 less in revenues. Tim stated he would review real numbers with Charlie. He stated he would like to tap into the excess funds and the insurance tax will have an increase in the budget. Charlie has projected the insurance tax to be over budget for the year. Tim asked Council to discuss the proposal. Greg stated that Council keeps forgetting they will have to replace the police car and will need funds for that. Tim stated some money had been earmarked for a replacement police car. He stated he would like a mass communication system for the City to notify residents in an emergency. Charlie stated there would be a loss of $33,000.00 in revenue. Tim stated is a year to year discount and had been done in the past. Christian stated he would like to look at a “wish list” of expenses and the money the City has. Greg stated he thinks 25% is generous. Tim stated he wanted to give back to the City, in this economy. Charlie stated he just wanted to let Council know they had the option. He will not get the valuations until April 1st and he cannot set a rate until those numbers are in. George stated it was good idea to give something back to the residents. Tim stated the City can afford this incentive. Greg asked if anyone else was doing this. Tim stated he did not know. He asked Council to consider other expenses and discuss at the next meeting.

Doug made a motion to adjourn the meeting. George seconded the motion. All voted aye and the meeting was adjourned at 8:29 pm.



Respectfully submitted,

Chana R. Elswick
City Clerk