CITY OF UNION, KENTUCKY

Special Business Meeting

MINUTES

Monday, March 3, 2008

 

CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Don Kirby called to order the Special Business Meeting of the Union City Commission on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 6:31 p.m.

 

Present: Don Kirby (Mayor) and John Mefford, Todd Sayers, Bob Kelly and John Adams (City Commissioners). Also present were Warren S. Moore (City Administrator), Barry J. Burke P.E. (Foppe Technical Group), Kathy Porter (City Clerk/Treasurer) and Greg D. Voss (City Attorney).  There were fifteen (15) in audience attendance.

 

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

Mr. Sayers moved to accept the minutes as written. Mr. Adams seconded the motion. Motion carried.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT: Mr. Adams moved to accept the Treasurer’s Report of February 29, 2008 as presented.  Mr. Mefford seconded the motion. Motion carried.

 

CORRESPONDENCE: Mayor Kirby read a letter dated 7 February 2008 from Ryan Nix resident of Cool Springs regarding the need for sidewalks on Frogtown Road connecting Calico Court to the Cool Springs neighborhood. Mr. Kevin Costello, Boone County Planning Commission mentioned that if it’s something involving Cool Springs then P&Z would be involved and will check this out.  Warren Moore, City Administrator said he would take a look at it too.

 

CITIZENS/RECOGNITION/PUBLIC COMMENTS:

Mayor Kirby recognized Kevin Hoeben, a Life Scout with Troop 805 working on his Eagle Scout. Mr. Hoeben is a Ryle High School sophomore was present tonight to propose the possibility of placing a flag pole and a military monument in front of the Union City Building, he presented the Commission with a diagram of what it would look like and the estimated costs on this project. The labor is being donated and the cost of material may decrease with any donations received. Those interested in contributing to the project can call him. Mr. Hoeben mentioned that there would be volunteers from his troop as well as family and friends working on this. Several citizens in the audience tonight offered to donate money and time. The Mayor asked if he could provide the list of materials and the city can purchase materials without the sales tax.

 

Mr. Eugene Becknell, 1588 Sycamore Drive, was present tonight to inquire whether or not the city received any information after the on-site meeting that was held with Commissioner Kelly and two (2) of the Drees Company representatives relating to the issue he is having with a natural drainage problem (springs). Mr. Becknell restated his position that any subject “spring water” emanating from Drees property (Harmony Development) be redirected off of his land. Mr. Becknell was advised that the developer’s engineer and SD#1, the governing agency regarding storm water have responded to the issue; and, no regulations exist that would require any more improvements. Attorney Voss advised that this is a private issue between the property land owners. After much discussion Mayor Kirby stated that we would speak with the Drees Company and see what they can do; from a legal perspective there is nothing we can force them to do. We can make suggestions to see if they can improve the situation.

 

Mr. Yuzo Kojima, 10104 Russwill Lane, was present tonight to inquire about the location of the sanitary sewer on his property and wanted to inform us that he has a private water irrigation system and there is electric conduit and public drainage in the rear yard and wants to know who is going to pay for putting this back together after the sewer line is put in? Mr. Burke answered that as part of the engineering design plans and specifications the location of the sewer to serve on-site systems is rear lot and most cost effective. The bid documents have specific language requiring the contractor’s responsibility to basically restore private property back to the way it was before construction began.

 

Mr. Roy Frost, 10123 Russwill Lane and  Mr. James Hedgecock, 10118 Russwill Lane were present tonight regarding the sewer easement and assessment forms that they received in the mail and were concerned that the cost

 

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of the assessments was not included in the documents. Attorney Voss explained that the exact assessment amount is not known until all the acquisitions of the easements are received and that determination will be made after all the costs associated with the project are known. We are trying to get all the easements in now so we can get the construction project started. Mentioning that at this time the City is eligible for a low interest loan which you can choose to take advantage of, or in the alternative, pay the assessment amount in full. Citizens that do not want to sign the easements then legal action would take place in the Circuit Court via eminent domain which we want to avoid as that would just increase the legal expenditures in the acquisition of the easements. Attorney Voss said once we know that number we will send another letter out to the property owners.

 

Mr. Joey Slone, 10165 Russwill Lane, committed that he is for the sewers and this is great that the city is helping Russwill Lane get this done but personally thinks that there is a lot of legal jargon that is unnecessary and too restrictive for a property owner. Attorney Voss suggested that he contact him to go over the specifics that he is concerned about and see if we can come to a compromise.

 

Mr. James Bell, 1830 Whispering Trail, mentioned that he attended last month’s meeting concerning the sewerage and drainage systems along Whispering Trails when the city commission authorized the city engineer to study and make recommendations including costs. Mr. Burke reported that the investigation is still in process regarding the following issues: a) improve child safety for an open drainage structure located on addresses 1838 and 1834; b) identify regulations, problems and solutions regarding sewerage clogging for one (1) or more residential buildings (e.g., addresses 1838 and 1826) via a single tap connected to the public sewer main; and c) evaluate the magnitude and extent of excessive flooding problems within the watershed, the existing storm drainage systems, its causes and possible short and long term solutions. Mayor Kirby stated that the city will proceed unless there is an objection from the commission to give approval to do the recognizance work and find out what the lines look like through there, map them out so that everybody knows where they are and how they are connected in. The SD#1 should have verification of the size of lines they are supporting. Mr. Burke commented yes for the public line but SD#1 could not verify the private lines. Mayor Kirby commented that we will find out where the private lines are and where they connect in and we can go from there once we have an assessment as to what the situation is.

 

Mr. Randy Lovett, 1810 Whispering Trail, mentioned that he also received the letter regarding the sewer easement and assessment forms in the mail dated February 22 and he doesn’t want to sign the easement until an agreement can be made for compensation of the easements from the non-benefited owners. Mr. Voss and Mr. Burke will meet with each effected Whispering Trails home owner individually to take a look at their specific issues and talk about possible solutions.

 

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT: Warren S. Moore, CAO

Carryover:

Union Town Plan: With assistance from resident Karen Franxman and City Clerk Kathy Porter there were approximately 400 envelopes mailed out containing a letter from the Mayor and a copy of the Union Town Plan brochure sent to Developers nationwide that were identified by P&Z as developing/building “New Urban” projects.

o        Spoke with Bill Zanoni, VP of Commercial Development with Continental and he is still working on coming up with a plan for the Collett property.

o        Boone County is planning a three-quarter-day symposium on New Urban Development tailored to county and local officials, as well as developers. This will take place on April 17 and strongly suggest that the Commission make every effort to attend.

Midland Atlantic: Their presentation to the Planning Commission has been scheduled for this month on the 19th.

LUCA (Local Update of Census Addresses): The City’s part of the process has been completed.

Transfer of Old Union Road to the City: No change on getting Old Union Road turned over to the city. The last snowfall it was not cleaned very well. A letter has been sent to KYDOT informing them that until we receive legal notification that the road has been formally turned over to the City, it is still theirs to maintain.

 

 

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Current Issues:

Snow Removal: Getting very few complaints, and interestingly enough, a lot of the people that are complaining are also complimenting us at the same time in comparison to what the County done for us in the past. Mayor Kirby commented that we are paying for it but getting good service. Mr. Moore mentioned that right now our contractor is about out of salt along with the County and the State. This late in the season it’s almost impossible to locate other suppliers. Mayor Kirby inquired about the year-to-date expenditure on the snow removal services Mr. Moore answered that this information can be found in the Budget Comparison Report document that they all received in their meeting packet tonight.

Urban Forest Commission: In the next few weeks Mr. Moore will meet with representatives of the Urban Forestry Commission and inspect the existing US42 plantings to determine which trees will need replanting. We will replace as many of them as we can, based on budget constraints.

Sanitary Sewers: Easements are coming in. Bids for the project were opened last Friday afternoon. Mr. Burke will go into the details of that under the City Engineer Report.

Old Fire District Facility: Met with the City Attorney and Chief Morgan two weeks ago, along with Jack Nickerson (the Appraiser) to go over the building once more. The Fire District Board has tentatively accepted the bid.

Daily Complaints/Suggestions: Those complaints not requiring review by either the City Attorney or the City Engineer have been handled.

 

PUBLIC WORKS/UNION VISIONING COMMITTEE REPORT: City Commissioner Bob Kelly

Public Works

Snow Removal: Mr. Kelly stated that in regards to the snow removal and the concern with the salt shortage we should be fine according to the ten day forecast.

Stop Signs: We received a request from Hampshire Home Owners Association to install two Stop signs at the corner of Pembroke Drive and Holderness Drive which will make this a 3-way stop. The Boone County Sign Division has been contacted and will get this done in the next couple days.

Union Visioning Committee

Symposium: Mr. Moore had mentioned earlier in his report regarding the Boone County Planning Symposium and Mr. Kelly commented that he thinks this is a great idea and it will be held on Thursday, April 17th 10:00 am to 4:00300 pm at the Burlington Library.

Mt. Zion 536: Mr. Kelly asked Kevin Costello who was in the audience tonight whether he had any information on the construction road plan for Mt. Zion 536. Mr. Costello replied year 2012 it’s in the 6-year plan and contingent on approval in the year 2010 session in Frankfort.

Sidewalk Grants: Mr. Mefford reported that the Intent-to-Apply form has been submitted for the KTC’s Transportation Enhancement (TE) Program – we received an approval that we could submit a full application that has to be postmarked by March 20, Mr. Mefford is working with the city engineer for specific costs and the Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD) as they have the expertise and the software to download the applications so that we can get the six applications submitted by the deadline.

Identity for Union: The Visioning Committee is looking for an identity for city of Union and taking ideas.

 

CITY ENGINEER REPORT: Barry J. Burke, P.E., P.L.S.

Mr. Barry Burke with Foppe Technical Group presented the City Engineer’s Report. (All Commissioners were provided copies of the report including 21 issues dated February 27, 2008 for tonight’s meeting). The following issue was presented for city commission action.

 

Sanitary Sewer Project: Union Collector Sewers there are two phases to this project we call one Phase A&B and the other Phase C. The Bid Opening was held on February 29th at 3PM at the city building. Warren Moore, Kathy Porter, Barry Burke and Tim Foster and a total of 13 contractors and suppliers were in attendance. Mr. Burke provided to the Commission the Bid Tabs for five (5) of the 11 Contractors that bid on these projects. Also, a Summary of the analyses recommending that G&T Excavating of Burlington, Ky. be awarded the

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Combined Contract of $855,148.69 for Phases A&B and Phase C and is considered to be the Lowest Qualified

Bidder subject to a review of the Bid Bonds by the City Attorney. Mr. Burke reported that from the 23 Plan Holders, a total of 11 Bids were submitted, opened and read aloud. Bids ranged from a Low Bid of $855,148.69 to a High Bid of $2,201,868, the low bid was from G & T Excavating out of Burlington, Ky. The 2nd low bidder was from an out of town firm called ConnHurst LLC out of Olive Hill, Ky. in the amount of $868,118.55. Keep in mind that this is just a bid price and not a lump sum. It’s basically an estimate. The project will start generally after we get the easements and a pre-construction meeting.

 

Motion - Union Sewer BIDS: Motion was made by Mr. Kelly to accept the Combined Bid amount of $855,148.69 contingent on the City Attorney reviewing the Bonds from G&T Excavating, Inc and seconded by Mr. Sayers. Motion carried.

 

Planning & ZoningMr. Kevin Costello, Executive Director, Boone County Planning Commission, was here tonight to present a proposal before the Commission for soliciting proposals to hire a retail real estate consultant(s) in order to prepare and execute strategies for the first phase of development in the Union Town Center Mixed-Use District in Union, Kentucky. This work is part of an initiative to implement the recommendations of the 2000 Union Town Plan, adopted by the Boone County Planning Commission, the City of Union and the Boone County Fiscal Court. Mr. Costello explained what the responsibilities the retail real estate consultant would be undertaking. Mayor Kirby stated that he would like to include a Task Two B which would cover the Old Union Business District. Mr. Costello commented that it does include that area. After discussion, the City Commission approved allowing the planning commission to seek proposals for the consultant.

Motion: Mayor Kirby called for a motion to approve the Boone County Planning Commission creating a Proposal to seek for the position of a retail real estate consultant(s). Motion made by Mr. Mefford and seconded by Mr. Adams. Motion carried.

 

OLD BUSINESS: There was none presented.

 

NEW BUSINESS: Mayor Kirby gave first reading on the following Ordinance:

 

ORDINANCE NO. 2008-001 – AN ORDINANCE APPOVING AND ADOPTING A RESOLUTION OF THE BOONE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDING APPROVAL FOR A REQUEST FOR ZONING TEST AMENDMENTS TO REGULATE SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES. After first reading Mayor Kirby called for a motion to approve. Mr. Adams made a motion and Mr. Sayers seconded the motion. Motion Carried.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Next city business meeting: Monday, April 14, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.

 

ADJOURNMENT: No further business came before the Commission. Mr. Kelly moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 p.m. and Mr. Mefford seconded the motion. Motion carried.

 

Signed this 14th day of April, 2008.

 

 

APPROVED:                                                             ATTEST:

 

________________________                                                        _____________________________

Don Kirby, Mayor                                                               Kathy Porter, City Clerk/Treasurer