CALL TO ORDER - The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM by Mayor Harold A. Ries with the Pledge of Allegiance and a silent prayer.

ROLL CALL - Present were Messrs. Ralph Laird, Paul Meier and John Drummey, Frank Sommerkamp and Mrs. Beverly Draud. Mr. Joe Maloney was tardy.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA - Mr. Celarek suggested moving Old Business - C) Economic Development in front Engineering so that Ashley Development would not have to sit the whole council meeting. Mr. Meier suggested adding New Business - A) Northern Kentucky Telecommunications Study and B) Boone Kenton Cable Board update. Approved as amended.

Motion: Mr. Meier

Second: Mr. Drummey

APPROVAL OF MINUTES - The minutes from the special meeting held June 5, 1997 were approved as submitted on a motion from Mr. Sommerkamp, seconded by Mr. Meier. Minutes from the regular meeting of June 12 were approved as submitted on a motion by Mr. Sommerkamp, seconded by Mr. Meier.

Motion: Mr. Sommerkamp

Second: Mr. Meier

OLD BUSINESS

1. Economic Development

Mr. Celarek began by introducing representatives from Atria Communities, which is out of Louisville and met with the Economic Development Committee on Monday June 9th. Present was Tom Bridenstein of Deters, Benzinger and LaVelle law firm, Tom Smith from Wockett and Farley Architects, John Jernejcic, Vice President of Construction for Atria Communities and Bill Krutzjans from Ashley Construction. Mr. Bridenstein recapped briefly what happened from the last council meeting up to the last Economic Development meeting. The plan was approved by the Economic Development Committee with some minor changes such as locations of sidewalks. The plan calls for a 65,000 sq. ft., three story building built in stair step fashion and holding approximately ninety units. The project will be at the end of the cul-de-sac on the north side of Legend’s Way. The newest plans, which were presented to council, reflect the minor changes that came out of committee. Mr. Krutzjans mentioned that on number five of the handout, it would be done within twelve months after completion of construction.

Mr. Meier said that there was no sidewalk shown on the plans on lot 3, however number four on the handout takes care of that. It was also a concern that the memory impairment portion of the project may be considered nursing home rather than assisted living. If that is the case, Atria will not include it as part of the project as they wish to comply fully with any state requirements. Discussion ensued regarding changes in state requirements, voluntary compliance of regulations with reference to assisted living and what constitutes memory impairment. Mr. Celarek also pointed out a memo submitted by Mr. Lonergan.

Mr. Sommerkamp made the motion to accept stage II development plans as long as Atria Communities complies with changes set forth in committee, NKAPC, certain relocation of sidewalks, and KC&MP&ZC recommendations. Seconded by Mr. Meier.

Motion carried as all council members voted YES.

CITIZENS AND GUESTS

Recognized were Dr. Leo Oppenheimer and Julie Connelly.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Mr. Celarek reported on the following:

1. The City Building is undergoing some renovations with the installation of a new sound system for the council room, new carpeting throughout and insulation has been blown into the walls to increase energy efficiency. Most changes have occurred, however, the sound system will not be connected until tomorrow. Also, the bathrooms and hall have been painted.
2. Wednesday, July 16^th, the neighborhood watch group will meet at the City Building at 7:30PM.
3. Villa Hills will be celebrating their 35^th anniversary on July 26^th by holding a parade that begins at 10AM and will end up in Franzen Park. A festival will be held at the park that day and will include a variety of activities.
4. The Kentucky League of Cities will be holding their annual conference September 17^th - 20^th in Lexington. Mr. Celarek and Mr. Meier will be attending portions of the conference and Ms. Monhollen will be receiving her Municipal Clerks certification at the awards luncheon Thursday, September 18^th.
5. The City Building will be getting some new landscaping such as new bushes in front. The old bushes will be taken out and some more decorative ones put in.
6. Mr. Celarek spoke at the Erlanger Rotary Club this afternoon.

OLD BUSINESS

B. Thomas More Parkway

Mr. Berling stated that the grass is growing in spots, although there are spots that will have to be reseeded due to the severity of the storms this spring. There were some minor problems with joint overlapping although the heat is helping to smooth those over. Mr. Berling is still working with Broome Paving to remove rocks and reseed certain areas.

Mr. Sommerkamp requested that Mr. Meier mention to Colonel Anderson the fact that motorists are using the middle turn lane as a passing lane when cars slow down for a right turn on the Parkway. There have been four occurrences within the last month that Mr. Sommerkamp has noticed and he believes that it could become a safety hazard.

 

Mr. Laird stated that the utility company [ULH&P] dug a hole in the newly paved road recently and did not fix it properly. Mr. Celarek said the utility company put temporary patch over and in the hole and will come back to permanently patch it later. Discussion ensued over the hole and suggestions were made about stringent requirements on the utility, cable and phone companies who wish to dig up parts of any road should have to contact the City, etc.

C. Solid Waste

The Solid Waste Committee has met twice to discuss proposing an ordinance for solid waste collection. Since incorporation of the City, there has not been an ordinance regulating solid waste collection although the City undertook the residential collection of garbage. Now the problem is enacting an ordinance which will still allow the City to collect garbage from residents but a defined business would have to provide their own disposal. In this ordinance, an apartment complex would be considered a business.

Mr. Wehrman mentioned an addition in the wording of the revised Ordinance 1997-6-2 on page 3, subsection u. The words inserted were "individual access" so the ordinance would define single family dwelling. Mr. Celarek stated that the words "two family dwelling" were not needed in this definition and asked Mr. Wehrman to take them out. Mr. Wehrman addressed the portions of the ordinance [subsections T and U] which dealt with the definitions of multifamily and single dwellings. There was lengthy discussion as to what all the definitions should include and not include. Then Mr. Laird suggested that the ordinance be postponed until next month so it could go into committee and all concerns be addressed. Council agreed as all types of residences and appropriate containers for each could be clearly defined.

D. Public Works

Mr. Celarek mentioned a newspaper article that had been included in council packets. The article addressed the acceptance of new stormwater piping standards by the Northern Kentucky Area Planning Commission. The standards apply to new subdivisions and are not retroactive. The old standard was a ten year piping and that was changed to a twenty five year piping for stormwater. There was interest in cities taking over responsibility after developers were through, however that was dropped. Mr. Lonergan would like to see regional interest promoted such as Sanitation District 1 taking over responsibility. He feels that makes the most sense and the Sanitation District 1 could then inspect older piping to see what would need to be done to bring it up to current standards.

NEW BUSINESS

A. Boone Kenton Cable Board

Mr. Meier reported that last night Walter Pagen, current Director of the Cable Board gave a presentation which reflected the history of the proceedings between the Cable Board and TKR Cable. Mrs. Peggy Sensel, who is the representative from Crestview Hills, Edgewood and Elsmere, was also in attendance. TKR Cable wishes to work with the new Cable Board and wants to upgrade the system in Northern Kentucky to be more competitive. They will also do this at mostly their expense rather than passing the cost on to the citizens. However, the cities must be willing to contribute three quarters of a percent of their cable franchise revenue, which TKR will match. Soon a sample ordinance will be sent to the cities to enter into an agreement for this project. TKR and the Cable Board would like to see an ordinance passed by October and systems upgrades can begin around January of 1998. Mr. Meier stressed that many more channels will be available down the road for those cities who participate while those who do not will not receive the same privileges.

2. Northern Kentucky Telecommunications Authority

Mr. Celarek reported that at the Economic Development meeting on Monday, July 7^th, Marc Bergman, CAO of Ft. Wright, Jeff Earlywine, CAO of Ft. Thomas, Bill Schyer, CAO of Erlanger and Bob Jennings from Public Facilities Corp. made a presentation that was summarized in a four page handout to council. The presentation was an encouragement for cities to enter into an interlocal agreement to study the feasibility of Telecommunications Authority. There is uncertainty, though, as to what stage the study is in, whether money will be asked for or just a study performed. Mr. Sommerkamp was concerned that the Economic Development Committee has only had the information since Monday but the rest of council has only had it for a few hours. He is not ready to commit money to the project even though the City can pull out of the project at any time. Mr. Drummey suggested an Ad Hoc committee be formed to study this issue. The Mayor appointed Mr. Sommerkamp the chair of the committee, serving with Mr. Drummey and Mr. Maloney. Mr. Meier read in the newspaper that there would be more presentations at council meetings and encouraged other members of council to attend one.

Streetlighting

Mrs. Draud informed council that streetlights have not been installed as of yet. There have been some set backs with reference to easements that are needed. It is hoped this issue will be resolved shortly.

Police Authority

Mr. Meier stated that a new cruiser was purchased but has not yet had the interior equipment installed so it will not be street ready for a couple more weeks.

Fire Committee

Mr. Celarek informed council that the Ft. Mitchell Fire Dept. hired another full time person. They currently have seven part time and fifty volunteer fire and EMS personnel. Mr. Drummey had some questions as to why trucks run lights and sirens during the day and evening hours. Mr. Maloney and Mr. Meier replied that it was for insurance and liability purposes. It was mentioned that late at night and early morning, the department will often only run lights, simply because there is not a lot of traffic on the streets at those hours.

Mr. Maloney expressed concern over response time to the Summit Lakes area and suggested that the City think about constructing a sub station that will be staffed with whomever the City has the fire contract. There was discussion on why members of council agreed or disagreed. Mr. Celarek inquired as to whether this would be better discussed in Safety Committee. Council agreed it was an issue that deserved further consideration within the confines of committee.

Recreation

Mr. Meier mentioned that tennis, racquetball, gymnastics and cooking clinics begin soon and encouraged last minuters to sign up.

Motion to adjourn made by Mr. Laird, seconded by Mr. Sommerkamp at 8:41 PM.