HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/16/08SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
At a Regular Meeting of the Board of Commissioners, held on Tuesday, September 16,
2008, at 5:30 p.m., Mayor Paxton presided, and upon call of the roll by the City Clerk,
the following answered to their names: Commissioners Coleman, Kaler, Watkins, and
Mayor Paxton (4). Commissioner Smith was absent (1).
ADDITIONS/DELETIONS
Two items have been added to the agenda since it was distributed on Friday. They are as
follows:
New Operational Constraints on PATS
Storm Damage Report
WORKSHOP
JULIAN CARROLL CONVENTION CENTER RENOVATIONS REPORT
Steve Doolittle, Downtown Development Director, introduced Baccus Oliver, Engineer
for Marcum Engineering who is the lead engineer for the renovations project and Nick
Warren of Peck, Flannery, Gream, Warren, Inc. who will be the consulting architect.
The building was constructed in the early 1980's and in 1991 the City invested
approximately $1.2 million in renovations to the Convention Center. An atrium was
added along with life safety improvements and a minimal facelift was given (paint, carpet
and meeting rooms). It is now necessary for more renovations due to the age of the
building. Costs will possibly exceed $1.5 million and will include the following
necessary improvements:
New HVAC New ceiling & lighting grid
Bathrooms -need to be totally redone Doors & hardware
Side wall water penetration needs to be repaired Carpet
Interior paint
Should the budget provide, the additional renovations listed below are on the wish list:
Upgrade exterior to match new refurbished hotel
Lobby escalators
New porte cochere-current one is too small for a bus
Separate utilities & systems from hotel (fire alarms, fire suppression, etc.) This would
allow the Convention Center and Expo Center to be independent from the hotel.
There will be two phases for renovations—interior demolition and construction.
Demolition bids will be let in 1 to 2 weeks and the construction phase deadline is set for
April 1, 2009.
FUNDING FOR RENOVATIONS
A current bond the city and county issued for $9 million in 2001 will possibly be
refinanced and extended. The debt service is largely paid from the transient room tax
collected from hotels, motels, etc.
EXPO CENTER
Minimal expenditures required—upgrading should only cost a few thousand dollars
2010 PLAN
Proposed 50,000 square foot multi-purpose room addition to the Expo Center—
approximate costs $3.5 million—construction to be completed by 2010. The City has
asked for funding from the State.
Mr. Doolittle will be coming back to the Commission with another report and input after
the bids have been received.
NEW OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON PATS
Lew Jetton, PATS Marketing and Sales representative, reported that PATS has been
presented with new guidelines from the Federal Transportation Administration. Not -for
profit transit organizations that provide charter services will no longer be able to compete
with for-profit organizations. Although the for-profit charter services can lease charter
buses from the non-profit organizations. Trolley service along with transportation
services for special events will definitely be affected. The PATS Board will be
discussing this issue next week at its meeting to see if some action should be taken.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
STORM DAMAGE REPORT
Chris Yarber, Public Works Superintendent, was acting director when the windstorm hit
on September 14"'. He reported lots of damage in the area. Trees, tree limbs, and power
lines were down and some traffic lights were damaged. Initial response for Sunday
required employees from each division to be called in for duty and a total of 157 man-
hours were utilized. Usually only the employees from the street department are required
for clean up. The priority concerns for clean up were clearing streets and potential
dangers such as hanging limbs. The Fire Department assisted due to such vast amounts
of debris. Loads of debris that were picked up consisted of 16 knucklebooms, 20 pump
trucks and 7 refuse trucks (26 tons).
City will provide free pickup of trees and limbs through October 1St
PROPOSED REVISIONS TO OFF-DUTY DUI POLICY
Human Resources Director, Herschel Dungey, recommends combining the DUI and
substance abuse policy. Per the request of the Commission, the municipal order does
differentiate between police officers, firefighters, employees who drive city vehicles, and
department heads. The suspension for all will remain at 90 days without pay. For all
other employees, 30 days suspension without pay will apply. If an employee's license is
suspended in excess of the imposed disciplinary action and a requirement of their job is
to operate a city vehicle they will be demoted or asked to resign. If any employee
receives two DUI convictions within a period of five years during their employment it
shall be grounds for termination.
CITY MANAGER REPORT
• Henderson, Kentucky leadership group is coming here to visit
• Calendar Items
• Personnel Actions — no discussion
• Request Executive Session to discuss possible real estate sale
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Commissioner Kaler offered motion, seconded by Commissioner Coleman, that the
Board go into closed session for discussion of matters pertaining to the following topics:
Future sale or acquisition of a specific parcel(s) of real estate, as permitted by KRS
61.810(1)(b).
Adopted on call of the roll, yeas, Commissioners Coleman, Kaler, Watkins and Mayor
Paxton (4).
Upon motion the meeting adjourned.
ADOPTED: October 14, 2008
J&M""6 &04 -
City Clerk