CITY OF UNION, KENTUCKY

Regular Business Meeting

MINUTES

Monday, October 8, 2007

CALL TO ORDER: Regular Business Meeting:

Mayor Don Kirby called to order the Regular Business Meeting of the Union City Commission on Monday, October 8, 2007, at 7:30 p.m.

Present: Mayor Don Kirby and City Commissioners Todd Sayers, Bob Kelly, John Mefford and John Adams. Also present were Barry J. Burke P.E. (Foppe Technical Group), Kathy Porter (City Clerk/Treasurer) and City Attorney Greg Voss.

 Audience attendance totaled seven (7).

MINUTES: (All Commissioners were provided copies prior to tonight’s meeting)

Mr. Kelly moved to accept the minutes of September 10, 2007 as written. Mr. Sayers seconded the motion. Motion carried.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Mr. Sayers moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report of September 30, 2007 as presented.  Mr. Adams seconded the motion. Motion carried.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Mayor Kirby read a letter dated September 14, 2007, from Mayor Butch Callery, City of Covington, RE: Kentucky League of Cities Annual Convention, which will be held this year in Northern Kentucky at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, October 10-12. Mayor Kirby stated that the required amount based on population, $325.00, is a small amount for the exposure that the city gets. He encouraged the commissioners and city employees to attend that conference; it is a good time and a good learning experience.

Mayor Kirby read a letter dated October 1, 2007, from Lee R. Duncan, Boone County Urban Forest Commission, RE: Master Landscaping Plan for U.S. 42. City Administrator Warren Moore stated that he replied to Mr. Duncan’s letter. He pointed out that a lot of the trees were killed by the late spring frost and that we experienced the worst drought conditions since 1936. Watering the number of trees planted would have cost several thousand dollars more than it would cost to replace the trees. Mr. Moore suggested replanting the trees and put in place some type of maintenance, such as the tree bags, which would cost a couple thousand dollars for all the trees.

Mayor Kirby read an anonymous letter dated October 8, 2007, RE: Property at 10160 Old Union Road. Mayor Kirby stated that we are aware of this. The plan is for the property to actually be a restaurant that would serve alcohol, a Scottish Pub.

REPORTS OF CITY OPERATIONS:

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:

Carryover:

Mr. Warren Moore reported that in reference to the Union Town Plan, the brochure has been delivered by Mindy Gardt. Some changes need to be made at the printer’s request concerning the color.

No change in the Mt. Zion Road (SR 536) Rebuild.

In reference to the Tax Software, it is operational and any problems have been solved quickly.

In reference to the Volpenhein House, we received four (4) bids on the demolishing of the structure. It will be discussed under New Business later in the meeting.

In reference to Midland Atlantic, there is no change.

In reference to Telephony, the switchover from Cincinnati Bell to Insight has been problematic because they could not figure out whether the Governmental or Business Office should handle it. The necessary paperwork from the Governmental Office has been faxed and should be straightened out soon.

In reference to the John Kirby Development, the county feels that unless access can be gained thru the Quinn property to the south, or access gained by the KY DOT, then Whispering Trail would be the only option. P&Z feels the impact would be minimal due to the property being zoned for a soft use, business versus commercial.

Current:

Mr. Moore reported that in reference to traffic control, the City of Florence has changed the speed limit on Wetherington Boulevard to 35 mph; the city needs to do the same thing.

No change on the traffic control signal at Mt. Zion Road (SR536) and Old Union Road.

No change on the transfer of Old Union Road (Old US 42) to the city.

LUCA, the paperwork has been completed and turned over to the county for them to act as our official liaison with the Census Bureau.

Daily Complaints/Suggestions have been handled.

COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS:

Mr. Kelly stated that he had spoken with Greg Spillman, of Spillman Lawn Care concerning handling snow removal for the city. Mr. Spillman is looking for a location to store 60 tons of salt. He also needs a contact person from the city before he starts each job.

In reference to the Visioning Committee, Mr. Kelly stated that the city was represented at The Drees Company’s The Taste of Union by Commissioners Sayers and Mefford, as well as himself.  

PLANNING AND ZONING:

Mr. Reynolds was not present.

CITY ENGINEER REPORT:

Mr. Barry Burke with Foppe Technical Group presented the City Engineer’s Report. (All Commissioners were provided copies of the report dated October 3, 2007 prior to tonight’s meeting). From the 30 Issues noted, many of which are on-going, the following issues deserve some special attentio:

Items # 1(a, b, c & d) – Mr. Burke stated that the District’s Union Interceptor Sewer in conjunction with Howell and Kokosing Contractors should be operational by the end of this month. The Phase A & Phase B sewer will connect to the Interceptor Sewer. Mr. Burke discussed the Russwill Drive area concept plan. Extension of sewers along the proposed Relocated SR 536 from Sycamore Drive to serve the front portion of Russwill was not considered due to design constraints of the new highway. The magnitude and extent of assessments to benefited property owners is unknown at this time. Option 2 for combining Phases A, B & C as a part of the same plans for bidding is being pursued.

Item # 11 – Mr. Burke discussed the concerns about the private geo-thermal system that was installed at 1725 Sherman Court the intersection of Sherman and Braxton. We finally got the contractor, Arronco Comfort Air, Inc., to fix five or six slabs of damaged sidewalk. This repair work has been completed.

Item # 13 – Mr. Burke discussed the 44 posted speed limit signage changes from 25 to 20 Miles Per Hour (MPH) via Ordinance No. 2007-005. These changes have been scheduled by the BCPW Sign Division over time. No report regarding the status of the changes has yet to be reported by BCPWSD.

Item # 20(a) – Mr. Burke stated that the Wetherington Boulevard Traffic Analyses by Edwards & Kelcey (now Jacods) Engineering for the city of Florence indicated that 95% of the motorists have exceeded the posted speed limit of 25 mph. The 85% (percentile) used by traffic engineers at three (3) locations averaged 37 MPH. Florence had re-posted their signs at 35 MPH. Thus, in order to be consistent, it was recommended that the remaining sign in Unio be re-posted at 35 MPH. BCPW or a contractor will be contacted to perform the work, subject to final approval of Ordinance 2007-012 listed under New Business.

Items #s 3 & 8 – These items involving “public side drains with private connections” will be deleted from the list result of no activity/agreements by the residents.

Items #s 6, 9, 12, 14, 18 & 30 – Result of BCPW’s decision not to assist Union regarding public infrastructure repairs, this work will be extracted and forwarded to several contractors for bids. The 2007-2008 Boone County Bid Awards will be used for the lowest prices unless unreasonable scheduling and safety becomes an issue.

OLD BUSINESS:

Second Reading ORDINANCE NO. 2007-010 – AN ORDINANCE LEVYING AND FIXING THE TAX RATES OF THE CITY OF UNION, KENTUCKY, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2007-2008; LEVYING SAID TAX UPON REAL AND TANGIBLE PROPERTY; FIXING THE DATE OF PAYMENT, DISCOUNT PAYMENT, DELINQUENCY AND INTEREST CHARGES; FIXING THE PURPOSE THEREFORE; AND SETTING FORTH THE PROCEDURE FOR COLLECTION OF TAXES. Mr. Adams moved to approve the Ordinance. Mr. Mefford seconded the motion. Motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS:

First Reading ORDINANCE NO. 2007-009 – AN ORDINANCE SETTING THE GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE DEMOLITION OF UNFIT STRUCTURES AND/OR OTHER RELATED PROPERTY LOCATED IN THE CITY OF UNION, KENTUCKY.  Mr. Kelly moved to approve the Ordinance. Mr. Sayers seconded the motion. Motion carried.

First Reading ORDINANCE NO. 2007-012 – AN ORDINANCE SETTING THE SPEED LIMIT ON WETHERINGTON BOULEVARD IN THE CITY OF UNION, KENTUCKY AT THIRTY-FIVE (35) MILES PER HOUR.  This will be for the portion of Wetherington that is in the city limits, in order to coincide with Florence. Mr. Sayers moved to approve the Ordinance. Mr. Mefford seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Mayor Kirby stated that the commission needed to set the hours for Halloween Trick or Treat, on October 31, 2007. The hours were set at 6-8:00 p.m.

Mayor Kirby read an email received from Cindy Hauger with Keystone Home Builders, concerning the Union Village Detention Pond leak. Ms. Hauger spoke about the issue and photos were presented. Mr. Burke also addressed the issue regarding the issue about someone has opened the gate valve on the discharge control structure. Mayor Kirby stated that it would be best to figure out what the problem was and what it would take to fix it. Mr. Burke stated that developers Jim Wenstrup and Jim Berling will be contacted for a solution and will provide a report to Ms. Hauger and the city.

Mr. Moore addressed the issue of the Bids for Demolition of the property located at 10015 Old Union Road., the Volpenhein house. He stated that Spillman Lawncare had the lowest bid. Mr. Mefford moved to accept the Bid from Spillman Lawncare for the demolition. Mr. Sayers seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Mayor Kirby acknowledged the presence of Mr. Bill Madden with KDOT, and Mayor Kirby asked Mr. Burke to give a brief report on the Kirby property at Whispering Trail and U.S. 42. In summary, the provision access for the development is the problem. The city’s Ordinance No. 2000-007 prohibits access onto the public street of Whispering Trail. Without a KYTC permit to Relocated US 42 or cooperation through the Quinn property to the south enabling use of the existing access point along the highway, the property can’t be developed. Mayor Kirby also explained the landlocked situation with the Kirby property and requested that the parties meet and iron out the differences. It was also stated that other development plans associated with the subject site be used by the KYTC for warranting a traffic signal at this intersection.

Mr. Madden spoke about the situation from the state standpoint. He recommended to not allow another separate entrance due to the closeness to the subject intersection. Additional developments in the area including  the County’s Proposed Park plans along Old Union Road may be a consideration regarding a traffic light at this four (4)-way intersection.

Mayor Kirby stated that some solution to this problem must be reached. The city must work with all the entities to resolve this in the most reasonable fashion.

State representative Mr. Sal Santoro offered a suggestion for the city to look into contracting with the Sheriff’s Department to monitor the traffic.

First Reading ORDINANCE NO. 2007-011 – AN ORDINANCE OF THE UNION CITY COMMISSION REPEALING SECTION 1 OF ORDINANCE 2000-007, THE ORDINANCE WHICH ADOPTED THE UNION TOWN PLAN. The Commission agreed to repeal the portion of Section 1 of said Ordianance No. 2000-007 to allow the owner of the SE parcel (Kirby) property to access Whispering Trail. Mr. Mefford moved to approve the Ordinance. Mr. Sayers seconded the motion. Motion carried.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The November meeting date is the day after Veterans Day. That Monday is a State and Federal Holiday.  The meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT:

No further business came before the commission. Mr. Kelly moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:20 p.m. Mr.

Sayers seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Signed this 13 day of November, 2007.

APPROVED:                                                             ATTEST:

________________________                                                        _____________________________

Don Kirby, Mayor                                                               Kathy Porter, City Clerk/Treasurer

Bob Kelly, Mayor Pro Tem