February 13, 2018

REGULAR MEETING

January 23, 2018

CITY OF HURSTBOURNE

200 WHITTINGTON PARKWAY

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

Mayor Mary Schneider called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.

C.A.O. Leidgen conducted the roll call.  A quorum of the Commission was present.

Present: Mary Schneider, Mayor

Ben Jackson, Commissioner

Norb Hancock, Commissioner

Earl Hubbuch, Commissioner

Lois Wagner, Commissioner

Others

Present: John Singler, City Attorney

Chris Crumpton, City Engineer

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Schneider.

Attorney Bill Bardenwerper, Jim Obert, Carl Goertemoeller and Michael Copfer of Viking Properties presented plans regarding a proposed apartment complex to be built at the Vikings Hurstbourne Plaza site.  There was much discussion about the design and placement of the apartments.  Currently, the apartments plans are awaiting approval from Louisville Planning and Zoning. The Commission will also review the plans once they arrive from Metro Louisville.

Commissioner Jackson made the motion that the minutes of the January 9, 2018 regular meeting be approved as distributed to the Commission.  His motion was seconded by Commissioner Hancock; motion carried unanimously.

Municipal Order 18-13 Approval of City Expenses

Commissioner Hubbuch made a motion to approve MO 18-13; his motion seconded by Commissioner Hancock. The motion passed unanimously.

Municipal Order 18-14 Approval of Hanlon Horticultural Services

C. A. O. Jim Leidgen distributed and discussed the contract for services for Andrea R. Hanlon, President of Hanlon Horticultural Consultants. This contract will be for one year and under the supervision of Mr. Leidgen. Ms. Hanlon will submit field notes with her invoices to highlight her work and suggestions.

There was much discussion about an ongoing need for a horticultural and landscape management consulting company for the consistent beautification of the City. Commissioner Hubbuch added some background history regarding the performance of the Hanlon Horticultural Services.

Commissioner Jackson replied I agree with some of the things Commissioner Hubbuch said and some I don’t.  Last year, I was influenced by what Commissioner Hubbuch and CAO. Leidgen said that her services weren’t needed on a full-time basis but they offered her an hourly rate on an as needed basis which she denied.  Now that CAO Leidgen has recanted his comments and has supported the need for her, I am open to listen.  I feel like Public Works was properly handled this past year however, I was disappointed with the median landscaping.  I commented at a prior Commission meeting that I was disappointed with the landscaping and it was not in the minutes. I suggested that we create a Landscaping Committee to develop a plan so that no matter who supervises Public Works it is consistent.  I recommended that Commissioner Hubbuch and I be on the Committee. However, Mayor Schneider, as a master gardener, wanted to serve on the Committee. I agreed to let Mayor Schneider take my place on the committee. The idea of the committee was to create ideas and recommendations and come back to the Commission for final approval.

A large part of the City’s infrastructure is green space, medians, entrances, urns, etc.  It is our responsibility to take as good of care of this part of our city as it is the roads and sidewalks.  As we have outside professionals like a city engineer to help with the structural part of the infrastructure, I agree that we may need professional help with this part of the infrastructure.

I was not aware of the reports that were submitted monthly from Hanlon as these examples handed out tonight.  With the understanding that the CAO is to communicate with all vendors, the CAO should take these reports and insure that work is communicated to the appropriate vendor and ensures that work is completed.  I totally agree with what was brought up and reinforced in our ordinance that we are to supervise.  C. A. O. Jim Leidgen is to work with the contractors.  I also think it is a good thing that she comes to a Commission meeting to report once a month.  Ms. Hanlon should work with Mr. Leidgen and I would like a letter to be sent to all the vendors with a copy of the ordinance stating that the CAO is the point person and no one else.

Personally, I would like to see fall colors such as mums at the main brick entrances and for the image of the City as a prestigious community that is alive and keep it in people’s mind.  We’ve had them (mums) in the past, but didn’t do it last year.

Regarding the two weeks’ notice, this contract doesn’t take effect until March 1st which meets the two weeks. I don’t think she should have invoiced the City $2000 for the Hazard Tree Inventory.  Once a contract is approved by the Commission, any other “additional projects” should come back to the Commission for additional approval.  If the Commission agreed to that, that’s fine.  It should not be an order by Mr. Leidgen. With that said, I don’t like anything that has an auto-renewal because things are forgotten. It is in her Exhibit One not in our MO and it needs to be struck. Again, I concur with some of Commissioner Hubbuch’s comments. However, I think hiring a professional to keep our infrastructure beautiful because it is an integral part of our City.”

Commissioner Wagner made a motion to approve MO 18-14 with a one-year contract and a cancellable   30-day notice clause; her motion was seconded by Mayor Schneider. The motion passed with a 4-1 vote with Commissioner Hubbuch opposing.

Municipal Order 18-15 Code Enforcement Board

After some discussion of an alternate member to serve on the board, Commissioner Hubbuch made a motion to approve MO 18-15; his motion seconded by Commissioner Jackson. The motion passed unanimously.

Commissioner Jackson discussed a certificate of deposit that matured with J. P. Chase. Commissioner Jackson stated that the Finance Committee recommended that the certificate be invested at a local bank at a 1% rate in a Money Market account; therefore, Commissioner Jackson made the motion to invest the certificate at Republic Bank as recommended. His motion was seconded by Mayor Schneider; motion carried unanimously.

C. A. O. Jim Leidgen reported that after he and Mayor Schneider met with four companies regarding the City’s website upgrade, the preferred choice was “301 Interactive Marketing”. Their pricing was competitive; they are local and would assign dedicated programmers to develop the website upgrade. Mr. Leidgen also stated they have a dedicated server that the City would only share with their other customers. Commissioner Hubbuch made a motion to hire “301 Marketing”; his motion was seconded by Commissioner Jackson.  The motion passed unanimously.

Mayor Schneider reported that there will be a Jefferson League of Cities meeting on Thursday, January 29, 2018 regarding Google Fiber.

City Attorney Singler reported that the road closures had been filed. He added that the contracts and bid specifications are being finalized for Landscape Gardiner, Turf Mowing & Treatments, Irrigation, Landscape Gardener, Plant Materials Chemical Treatments, and Snow Removal. Drafts will be available prior to the next Commission meeting on February 13, 2018. Commissioner Jackson asked Mr. Leidgen to run a vendor search on the contractors to see what has actually been paid verses their contract bid prices.

No report.

No report.

Commissioner Jackson stated that there will be an annual Shred It Day on Saturday, April 14, 2018. In addition, he asked Mr. Leidgen about the Reach Alert agreement and its renewable clause. He stated that he would like future negotiations to be based on the number of actual users.

No report.

City Engineer Chris Crumpton discussed the traffic study impact results from Neel Schaffer, Inc. regarding the proposed apartment complex to be located at 200 Oxmoor Lane. He reported that based on the location of the apartments their analysis showed only a two percent increase in traffic flow that would affect the City of Hurstbourne.

No report.

C. A. O. Leidgen presented computer images of the weather station atop City Hall and described the station’s functions. He showed live data and a how it is being monitored from the office. Commissioner Jackson recommended Mr. Leidgen contact the City’s insurance company and add the system as an additional asset.

At 7:27 p.m. Mayor Schneider made the motion to adjourn. Her motion was seconded by Commissioner Jackson; motion carried unanimously.