CITY OF FORT THOMAS,

CAMPBELL COUNTY, KENTUCKY, ON

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2009

Mayor Mary Brown called the meeting of council to order at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, November 2, 2009. The Clerk called the roll and the following Councilmembers were present: Jim Doepker, Jill Steller, Eric Haas, Roger Peterman and Tom Lampe. Absent: Lisa Kelly. Staff members in attendance included: City Administrative Officer Don Martin, City Clerk Melissa Kelly, Finance Director Fred Ewald, Fire Chief Mark Bailey, Police Chief Mike Daly, and City Attorney Jann Seidenfaden.

Mayor Mary Brown led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

Minutes

The minutes of the October 19, 2009 meeting were presented to council for consideration. A motion was made by Mr. Lampe to approve the minutes at written, it was seconded by Mr. Haas. The motion passed by a unanimous vote.

Visitors and Communications

Mayor Brown thanked the Recreation Department and all other city departments involved for all of their hard work on the Jack-O-Lantern Walk that was held in Tower Park on Thursday, October 29^th. The walk drew approximately 2500 people to view over 200 jack-o-lanterns and 1200 luminaries. This is truly a wonderful event for the community of Fort Thomas.

Mr. Rick Heilman of 74 St. Nicholas Place addressed council. Mr. Heilman thanked council on their work with the deer hunt program. He feels that this program is very beneficial to the community in thinning out the deer population. Mr. Lampe asked Mr. Heilman to reiterate from his letter to the editor on why it is important for a hunter not to trespass on private property. Mr. Heilman responded that any hunter knows that if you trespass without permission that you can loose your hunting license, all of your hunting equipment, your vehicle and you can serve time in jail and face very large fines. It is all written in the State of Kentucky hunting guides which can be obtained by any person at most places that sell hunting licenses for no charge. Most hunters would agree that trespassing is not worth the recourse from the state and also stressed that if you see someone trespassing on your property, call the police or game warden. Mr. Heilman was also present for another reason. He is concerned with the garbage pickers that are coming into the city to sort through people’s trash. He felt this poses a safety concern as people may be “scoping out” your property while they are looking through your garbage. Mr. Heilman asked council to look into regulations to address this issue.

Reports of Officers

Report from City Administrator: Don Martin: Don Martin presented a report to council on the following:

VA Homes: The city has almost finalized an agreement with the VA for the purchase of the homes on Alexander Circle in Tower Park. Staff will draft a business plan to present to council in early December for their review.

Tower: CDS is working on bid documents for the repair of the mortar and roof on the historic tower in Tower Park. Once the bid documents are received, they will be presented to council for review and with their approval, this project will be advertised for bid.

2009 Street Resurfacing Program: The street resurfacing will be completed by next week by Eaton Asphalt. City crews will then complete the sidewalk and curb work after the final course of asphalt is laid.

Leaf Pickup: Leaf pickup is underway and on schedule at this time. Please check the website for the leaf schedule or call the General Services Department for more information.

Rossford Park Public Meeting: The next public meeting for the Rossford Park Re-development plan is November 5^th at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the City Building. All residents are encouraged to attend.

New Business

Carmel Drive Resurfacing: As a component of the 2009 Street Resurfacing Program, Carmel Drive was slated to be resurfaced this fall by city crews. Due to the General Services Department’s involvement in several ongoing projects, they will not be able to devote the manpower to complete this project this fall. The contractor currently in the city resurfacing the streets involved in the program is Eaton Asphalt.

Don Martin and Fred Ewald indicated that staff is required to following the city’s purchasing policy. The policy states that projects less than $20,000 but more than $10,000 require three written bids. The proposed Carmel Drive project is $19,665.

Understanding staff’s concerns, a motion was made by Mr. Peterman and seconded by Mr. Doepker to suspend application of the city’s purchasing policy as it relates to the resurfacing of Carmel Drive and approve the contract extension with Easton Asphalt to include paving Carmel Drive, and finding as follows:

Carmel Manor Road project was adopted as a part of the City’s 2009/2010 Budget.The City’s General Services Department is unable to complete the work due to other ongoing projects. Asphalt plants will be closed for the winter in mid-November which will delay the resurfacing of this street until spring.Eaton has agreed to do the work at its unit price as bid for city street resurfacing. Performing the work will likely be a savings to the residents of Fort Thomas due to cost increases by next spring.

Upon call of the roll, the following members voted “aye” – Mr. Doepker, Mrs. Steller, Mr. Haas, Mr. Peterman and Mr. Lampe. Voting “no” – none. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Report on Vouchers

The Finance Committee presented its Report of Disbursements and recommended the payment of warrants numbered 58954 through 59044 for the period of October 20 – November 2, 2009. A motion was made by Mr. Doepker and seconded by Mrs. Steller to concur in the recommendation of the Finance Committee. Upon call of the roll, the following members voted “aye” – Mr. Doepker, Mrs. Steller, Mr. Haas, Mr. Peterman and Mr. Lampe. Voting "no" - none. The motion passed by a unanimous vote.

Ordinances, Resolutions, and Orders

Ordinance O-19-2009: An Ordinance amending Chapter 97 if the City of Fort Thomas Code of Ordinances to regulate the placement of temporary storage units, portable storage units and dumpsters, and establishing a permit fee and penalty for violation was presented to council for a first reading. This ordinance will be laid over to the next regular meeting of city council for consideration.

Municipal Order MO-14-2009: A Municipal Order re-appointing Dan Gorman as a member of the Planning Commission was presented to council. A motion was made by Mr. Doepker and seconded by Mr. Haas to approve MO-14-2009. The motion passed by a unanimous vote.

A motion to adjourn the council meeting was made by Mr. Lampe and seconded by Mrs. Steller. Motion approved by unanimous vote. Meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

APPROVED:

_____________________________

Mary H. Brown, Mayor

ATTEST:

____________________________

Melissa K. Kelly, City Clerk