Fort Thomas, Ky.
February 5, 2001
The Regular Meeting was called to order by Mayor Mary H. Brown at 8:00 P.M. on Monday, February 5, 2001. She asked for the Clerk to call the Roll and then noted that copies of the Minutes of the previous Regular Meeting had been distributed in the Council packets. The following Councilmembers were present: Runge, Doepker, Lied, Peterman, Fernandez. Absent: Haas. Also attending were the following staff members: City Administrative Officer Jeff Earlywine, City Clerk Dottie Ivie, Assistant to the CAO Jay Treft, City Treasurer Fred Ewald, City Attorney Jann Seidenfaden, Police Chiedf Steve Schmidt and Fire Chief Dale Edmondson.
The Minutes were approved upon motion (Doepker), second (Runge),
and unanimous Aye voice vote. A letter of resignation was read
aloud by the Clerk from John R. Stewart, who has served on the
Civil Service Commission for the past 10 years. This was received
and accepted with regret, upon motion (Runge) and second (Lied)
and unanimous Aye voice vote.
Mayor Brown then called on Chief Steve Schmidt for a special requested
recognition. He read a commendation and presented a departmental
medal to Patrolman Dave Lambers. Lambers then introduced his wife
and children to Council and was congratulated for this honor.
Then, Mayor Brown deviated from the Agenda in order to present
three Executive Orders appointing three new Firefighter/Paramedics,
Michael C. O'Day II, Franklin Scott Shepherd, and Matthew G. Stuart.
Each was called up for a presentation of a new badge by the Fire
Chief, and in the case of FF/P Michael O'Day II, his father Mike
O'Day, former employee of the City Fire Department, presented
him with the same number badge as he wore in previous years. Each
was asked to introduce any guests who were attending, and all
new employees were congratulated by Mayor Brown, with an accompanying
round of applause.
A letter was presented from Carolyn and Ed Bosch requesting permission for a Walk-a-thon on Saturday, March 17, 2001, beginning at 9:00 A.M. to raise funds for a Fort Thomas resident (Mrs. Sharon Everett) who was severely burned in a car fire on July 9, 2000. It was moved (Runge) and seconded (Lied) to approve this request, with the suggestion that the group work with the Police Department in providing safe movement for walkers through the City on this date. Motion carried, upon unanimous Aye voice vote. The City Clerk will contact the Bosch's to let them know of Council's approval for their event.
Several students from Highlands High School were in the audience to present their letter and request that a crosswalk be provided at North Fort Thomas Avenue and Montrose Avenue. Their letter stated: "We feel that the absence of a crosswalk at the proposed site will result in personal injury to the students of our school." Councilmembers discussed this area with the students and recommended that they obtain a written permission from the 2 or 3 property owners who would be affected by the loss of a parking space in front of their homes. If the proposed crosswalk is concurred in by these owners, the City would then be able to review safety issues with a goal of providing a crosswalk, perhaps on a temporary basis until the completion of the traffic diversion time period (March 31, 2001). Any marked crosswalk, according to Mr. Earlywine, would have to be of a certain size, which would eliminate parking 20 feet on either side of a marked walk. The students were invited to attend the next Council meeting on February 20 for further input and discussion.
Also speaking to Council was Sue Ellen Hogue, who presented
a pamphlet and some suggestions that the City consider locating
a Dog Park where owners could permit their dogs to run.
The Monthly Report of the Police Department was presented by Chief
Steve Schmidt. He reviewed activities of several of the officers
for the month, including the solving of a mystery where a skeleton
was discovered and identified. His report was received and filed,
upon motion (Runge), second (Lied) and unanimous Aye voice vote.
The Finance Committee, reported on the Fiscal Year 2000 Audit Report which they had studied at a recent work luncheon and recommended approval of the report. So moved, to concur in their recommendation (Runge), seconded (Doepker), and upon Roll Call vote, all voted Aye; motion carried.
The Public Works Committee reported on their final public inspection of the 2000 Street Improvement, which was conducted on Saturday morning, January 27, 2001. There were several remaining punchlist items that were identified during this inspection and the contractor agreed to make repairs as soon as weather permits. Several other minor items will be addressed by the City's Public Works Department this spring. They recommended that work be accepted from Buchanan Construction Company and final payment be made, less a $2,500 retainage for remaining repair items. Eaton Asphalt Paving Company will still need to do crack sealing and one instance of pavement repair along Summit Avenue and Glenway Avenue. Their final report will result in retainage being released. The Committee recommended that a final apportionment ordinance be prepared for abutting property owners, and upon motion (Fernandez), second (Runge) and Roll Call vote, their report was concurred in.
The Law-Labor-License Committee, which met just prior to the Council meeting, reported on the topic of their meeting which included some possible changes to the existing pets ordinances. Mr. Peterman reported that they intend to abandon their wording on the numbers of pets that citizens may own and emphasize the problem of nuisance rather than numbers. Numerous residents have contacted the members of this Committee with their suggestions and taking this information into account, there will be changes such as penalties for a barking dog, or for other nuisance violations within the neighborhood, that may be the best way to address these problems. Jay Treft commented about current similar laws in neighboring communities and said that current law seems to be general rather than specific. Although there are always some gray areas, he said that listing and defining specific offenses, such as odors, noises, could be done. Council concurred in their recommendation to continue looking at these ordinances with an end result in mind of preparing a more precise Nuisance Ordinance draft.
A second Public Works Committee report presented a listing of the proposed streets to be improved on the 2001 Street Improvements Program and this recommendation was approved upon motion (Runge), second (Fernandez) and unanimous Aye Roll Call vote. The following streets were approved: Avenel Place (with curb replacement), Altamont Court, Bivouac Avenue, Carolina Avenue, Dixie Place, Hartweg Avenue, Linden Court, Linden Avenue, Tower Hill Road (upper portion only) and Waterworks Road (small portion only).
Under New Business, Mr. Earlywine discussed a specific legislative item concerning dispatching and how monies are to be distributed in future years, with no action required. He noted that we will be appointing Police Chief Steve Schmidt and Fire Chief Dale Edmondson to the County Dispatching Board with anticipated meetings of that Board to begin in March. The Finance Committee's Report on Vouchers for the period was presented, and approved upon motion (Doepker), second (Lied), and unanimous Aye Roll Call vote.
Two Municipal Orders were then presented, MO-5-2001, Appointing Ed Melvin to the Tree Commission and MO-6-2001, Appointing Dan Fehler to the Planning Commission. The first was approved upon motion (Runge), second (Lied) and unanimous Aye voice vote; the second was approved after motion (Doepker), second (Runge), and unanimous Aye voice vote. There being no further business to come before Council, the meeting was adjourned.
APPROVED:
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Mary H. Brown, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Dorothy A. Ivie, City Clerk