KENTON COUNTY FISCAL COURT

MINUTES

January 25, 2005, 7:00 p.m.

The regular meeting of the Kenton County Fiscal Court was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Independence Courthouse.  Present at the meeting were Commissioners Dan Humpert, Barbara Black and Adam Koenig; Deputy Judge Executive Scott Kimmich; County Attorney Garry Edmondson; County Treasurer Ivan Frye; Human Resources Director Joe Shriver; County Police Chief Bill Dorsey; Emergency Management Director Ed Burk; Public Works Director Joe Murphy; Jail Terry Carl; Assistant County Attorney Brandon Voelker; Assistant County Attorney Stacey Hege; Crestview Hills Mayor Paul Meier; Court Reporter Cathy Johnston; and Guests.

Commissioner Humpert presided over the meeting in the absence of Judge Executive Ralph Drees.

The invocation was given and pledge of allegiance led by Commissioner Barbara Black.

Approval of Minutes

Commissioner Humpert asked for approval of the minutes for January 11.  Commissioner  Black moved for approval with a second from Commissioner Koenig.  The minutes were unanimously approved with the vote of aye.

Delegations

Commissioner Humpert announced there was a sign in sheet for citizens that wished to address the court regarding items on the agenda.  He also said the insurance premium tax was not on the agenda and would not be debated at this meeting.  There is a possibility this item will come before the court on February 8.

Kenton County Conservation District supervisors swearing-in ceremony:  The supervisors present were Janet Scanlon and Scott Kimberlin and Deputy Judge Kimmich swore them in to serve.

TANK-Commissioner Humpert said that we were all public servants here to serve the needs of Kenton County.  He said that he had fervently supported TANK and thought they were doing a good job.  He also said a suit had been filed for a second time for our transportation tax that is a payroll tax which is paid directly into a fund that is dedicated to transportation services.  He also said one issue that he had was with a tax levy that was passed in 1978 and voter approved up to one percent with no cap and this was never mentioned in the newspapers.  In 1986, the legislature gave counties the authority to approve a tax levy without voter approval subject to city payroll taxes.  In 1995, the fiscal court did not change the overall .85 percent payroll tax with a $25,000 cap but did readjust the transportation portion from .4 to .6 and dropped the health care portion from .3 to .1.  This was not a tax increase as reported but a readjustment.  In 2000, the fiscal court did another readjustment on the transportation portion from .6 to .7403 lowering the other portion to keep the rate at .85 percent and the cap was increased from $25,000 to the social security maximum.  The fiscal court cut the transportation portion of the payroll tax rate and reduced the cap back on the transportation portion to $25,000.  As a result, TANK had to cut service, cut frequency and increase fares. He said these were two of his issues.  The second issue is that we had to cut the payroll tax and the third issue is with the opinion of the Supreme Court that was his personal opinion and not speaking for the fiscal court.  He said he believed the decision that came down in November lacked moral content and directly effects transportation and the fiscal court.  The first moral principle is utilitarian that says you make your decision based on the greatest benefit of all.  The second moral principle is the universalist principle that says your decisions are based on intent.  The Supreme Court ruled the legislation did effect voter approved tax levies.  The third moral principle is distributive justice that says you make decisions based on fairness and justice.  This concerns providing services for the handicapped, disabled, poor, elderly and less fortunate that is part of government that should provide for those that are less fortunate.  The other moral principle is personal liberty that says all decisions should be based on the primacy of freedom.  It is the citizens of Kenton County who wish for and voted for these tax levies and it is their right and their will that this be done.

TANK-Mr. Harry Riggs came before the court to speak for the TANK board.  He also said Dave Sogar and Gee Gaither were there and the three of them constituted the three Kenton County members of the TANK Board of Directors.  He also introduced Dave Schnieder, counsel, Dave Malone, chairman of the board, Dave Braun, general manager, Gina Douthat, director of development and communication, and Kara Clark, manager of marketing.

He said that TANK is in a difficult situation and the difficulties the counties in Northern Kentucky are facing in regard to funding is understood.  Reduction in services by TANK would be an incredibly terrible mistake.  TANK is operating at a very good level that serves a lot of people including handicapped persons that would not be able to get to work were it not for the buses.  It is surprising the service that TANK renders not only to the traveling public, but to the businesses and communities.  When a business is looking to decide whether or not it wants to locate in an area, it looks at the public transportation system, and TANK offers an outstanding public transportation system that a number of businesses and organizations use.  The citizenry and business are growing in this area and the public transportation system is excellent in that it gives mobility and freedom to the people.  TANK is committed in working with the cities, the county, mayors, and the governments to do anything to help find a legislative solution to the problems of which we are all aware.  TANK's support and resources are pledged to help with this solution and anything else we might be called upon to bring about a successful and quick resolution.  Mr. Riggs thanked the court for being able to speak.

Commissioner Humpert said there was a highlighted line in the paper that said the lawsuit had absolutely nothing to do with TANK.  He asked Mr. Riggs if this was erroneous, and Mr. Riggs said he had not seen the paper and did not wish to comment.

Deputy Judge Kimmich said he wished to differently pose the question to TANK management.  Today TANK is receiving $6,099,106.00 which is equal to 48/100th of a percent of the 6/10ths that the county is collecting.  If the current litigation is successful and there is no legislative relief, the amount collected by TANK would be reduced by law from .48 to .4, almost a 20 percent reduction in funding.  Would this negatively impact your ability to operate if the county was forced to reduce the collection by 20 percent of the money that is being sent to TANK today?

Mr. Riggs said there had not been any budgeting done or an analysis to really answer the question, and that they are committed to a successful legislative resolution.  At the appropriate time when it is found out what the issues are, it will be worked into the budget and whatever steps are necessary to continue to provide the county with the best service under the circumstances will be taken.

Mr. Kimmich said that until the numbers are seen, it is very difficult to make the decisions.  He said he wanted to show the members of the TANK board that the fiscal court had been working and talking with other elected officials.  He also said he wished to commend the folks at TANK on the work they had done and the fiscal court would also continue to work and meet with legislators to try to educate them on the issues the county is going to confront as it relates to reduction in service.  Looking at the county's finances, there is nowhere that the county can make up 20 percent of what is being given to the transit authority today and this is a very real number.

Mr. Kimmich also said that in late February if the legislature does not take action by the time they adjourn in mid-March, we will have to take the steps necessary to effectuate reductions in the spending plan commiserate with that we will be faced with in the courtroom.

Mr. Riggs said he understood this and the important point is that if TANK is forced to do something drastic and unthinkable, the entire county and the citizens will suffer.  This is why it is doubly important that a legislative solution be found to solve this problem.

Mr. Kimmich said he was asking the TANK staff to put together for the court within the next two to three weeks a schematic that would show that if the 4.8 was reduced to 4, what impact this would have in TANK's ability to provide service.  He said he would like to have this information before the next meeting in two weeks so we will be able to share the impact of the decisions that will be made by those legislators with each of them as the 138 members of the General Assembly deal with this issue.

Mr. Riggs said he could not promise this but he would take it back to TANK and would factor them in and work on it.

Commissioner Humpert said one of the critical missions of TANK is their ramp service which is the ride for the disabled, handicapped and elderly.

Mr. Riggs said that in preparing for this meeting and the briefing from staff, the pollution in this area has been reduced in a large part because TANK is taking motorists off the streets.

Mr. Kimmich said he wished to state for clarification that the comments that appeared in the paper are not on the editorial page and did not appear as the opinion of the newspaper.  They were the opinion of the plaintiff's attorney in this case.

Commissioner Humpert said they would like to put together an awareness committee to try to increase the public's awareness of this issue and try to get the public involved.  He said he was asking each of the counties to nominate a person to co-chair this committee and also asking TANK.

Commissioner Humpert asked for comments from the court and Commissioner Black said we are really looking at some severe cuts, not of what the court wanted to do at all, but what will be mandated upon us because of lawsuits.  She also said she was asking for the public's support and encouraging the public to contact their state officials to consider supporting legislation to help remedy the problem.  She thanked the citizens for being there to show their interest in their government and concern for this issue and that we need their help on this issue.

Commissioner Koenig said he also wished to thank everyone for coming and showing their concern on this issue and encouraged everyone to contact their legislators to show them how important this is to them.  This issue is too easily spun as a tax increase and it is easy for a legislator to say they are not for it because they hear that it is a tax increase.  He also said he had been in Frankfort with Mr. Kimmich lobbying for this issue and the citizens need to do their part by letting their voice be heard.  There were 4,000,000 trips on TANK last year and 70 percent of these trips were taking someone to or from work.  This eliminates a lot of pollution in the air and a lot of traffic congestion.  It is vital in this sense and also vital for the ramp patients that need this service.

Mr. Kimmich said most of the legislators are listed in the phone book, but if they are not, you can leave a message for them at their office in Frankfort at 502/564-8100 or they can be contacted via e-mail at www.kentucky.gov and go to the legislative home page.

Commissioner Humpert said the citizens that were there to address the court on the TANK issue had a time limit of three minutes.

Mr. Jim Ott, Crescent Springs, explained that he was there on behalf of his handicapped son who uses the TANK system.  He said TANK represents freedom for his son who uses it on a daily basis to get to and from St. Elizabeth Hospital.

Ms. Sarah Toadvine, Ludow, who works at the disability coalition five days per week as a volunteer, said she was a 15-year patron of TANK after being shut in for five years.  People who do not deal with this do not understand.  She said it had been a great deal of help for her to be able to use this service.  A lot of mothers and senior citizens also greatly depend on this service.

Ms. Sheryl Booker, Erlanger, said she was a user of the ramp service when she was on dialysis and they took her to her lifesaving treatments.  If they had to wait longer because the treatments did not go well, they adjusted their schedule to accommodate the treatment.  She stated that she could say in a nutshell that ramp did save her life and she would not have been able to pay for other transportation.  She said if there was anything she as a citizen could do, that she was willing to try.

Ms. Denise Turner said that she ran an outpatient dialysis center and TANK transports 20 patients three days a week out of a total of 138 patients.  They also work with senior citizens who have to come for treatment.  TANK also provides transportation for 10 patients in Campbell County and this is a helpful service for us.

Ms. Estelle Morgan, Florence, said she has used ramp to take her to the grocery, library, city hall, courthouse, meetings, doctors, hospitals, swimming, recreation, movies, etc.  She said she would like to tell the court if they do not have this service, the employers' absenteeism in the counties will be increased because they would have to try to find other transportation.

Commissioner Humpert thanked everyone for coming to speak and said a five-minute break would be taken so the speakers could leave who had spoken in regard to TANK.

General Business

There was not any general business to come before the court.

Resolutions

RESOLUTION NO. 05-01-Authorizing County Judge Executive Ralph A. Drees to sign a grant application for funds to replace the county squad, Ed Burk reporting:  This was a grant submitted on behalf of the Kenton County Fire Chiefs Association last year and is a continuation of the grant applied for last year.  It is not known what the fund will be this year but it will probably be the same.  The county is allowed to apply three years grant towards the purchase of a squad either new, used or refurbished.

Commissioner Koenig moved for approval with a second by Commissioner Black.  The resolution was unanimously passed upon roll call.

Ordinances

ORDINANCE NO. 121.19-Second reading amending the code of ordinances regarding the Kenton County administrative code, Scott Kimmich reporting:  This ordinance amends the administrative code changing the holiday schedule for the employees of the Kenton County Fiscal Court that was passed on the first reading.

Commissioner Black made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Koenig.  Upon roll call, the motion was unanimously passed.

ORDINANCE NO. 451.11-Second reading amending regulation pertaining to sexually oriented businesses, Garry Edmondson reporting:  This is the final housekeeping cleanup of this ordinance.  The impact of it is changing some of the administrative processes that grew out of a federal court case that was argued at the end of last year.

Approval was moved by Commissioner Black with a second by Commissioner Koenig.  The motion was unanimously approved following roll call.

ORDINANCE NO. 924.25-First reading of a proposed text amendment to the Kenton County Zoning Ordinance, Scott Kimmich reporting:  Commissioner Humpert asked for a motion to take this ordinance off the table for discussion purposes.  Commissioner Black moved for approval followed with a second by Commissioner Koenig.  The motion passed with the unanimous vote of aye.

Mr. Kimmich said a copy has been received from the planning and zoning commission of the appropriateness of a biodiesel refinement definition in the IP zone of Kenton County of which there are currently four.  Representatives are here of the plant that would be opened in an IP zone near Crestview Hills, Erlanger and Crescent Springs, a pie-shaped area, should this be approved as an appropriate use in an IP zone.  The mayor of Crestview Hills is also here and he has some comments he would like to bring before the court.  The court should be cautioned the discussion should not be about this particular plant but the appropriateness of the biodiesel use.

Commissioner Humpert asked Mr. Ralph Grieme if he had a presentation for the court.  Mr. Grieme said he was representing Mr. Alan Henry, the proprietor, who was there along with Mr. Matthew Hicks, a hazardous materials inspector with the State Fire Marshal's Office in Frankfort, and Mr. Gregory Copley who is with the Kentucky Business Environmental Assistance Program (KBEAP) from the University of Kentucky.  They are familiar with this process that is used all over the state and the country and can answer questions from the court and citizens.

Commissioner Humpert said before specific questions are answered, the persons who are there to address the court would be heard.

Mayor Paul Meier of the city of Crestview Hills came forward and gave the court a handout of a letter that had been submitted to the fiscal court from the city's attorneys, Adams, Stepner, Woltermann & Dusing.  The city of Crestview Hills was made aware of this text amendment shortly after the last fiscal court meeting.  Under normal circumstances, this would not appear to be a problem except the proposed location of this plant being within 300 feet of residential property, a home and multi homes in a condominium unit.  Other zones in Kenton County may be more appropriate than the proposed location.  The current IP zone has lower impact uses compared to a biodiesel refinement; therefore, the city of Crestview Hills is against the text amendment.  Even under current zoning, there have been many complaints from the residents of Lookout Farm about the noise from trains at all times during the day and night, truck noise, trucks and forklifts with backup beepers constantly going 24 hours a day, and the outdoor paging system where people are always getting paged.  He also said from their research, most biodiesel plants are a 24-hour operation.

He also said most of the concern for this text amendment would be to allow the storage and processing with very high flammable methane.  This chemical requires special handling, fire detection and fire suppression methods.  One guide that has been given to Commissioner Humpert, A Practical Guide to Read Before Building Your Plant, identifies a final safety recommendation for production buildings, "Choose open structures with the advantage of perfect ventilation and no risk of accumulation of explosive vapors."

Emergency access is also limited due to the railroad tracks and I-75.  These plants have been known to be very corrosive in nature even with the best materials used.  He further stated he was asking the fiscal court not to allow this text amendment in this IP zone.

Commissioner Humpert asked if anyone else was in attendance to speak to this issue and no one came forward.  The floor was opened for questions from the fiscal court.  Commissioner Koenig said he appreciated the two impartial observers and experts coming to the court.  He asked Mr. Henry if this was going to be a 24-hour operation and he answered yes.  Commissioner Koenig asked him for an overview of the operation.

Mr. Henry said the trucks would come in with soy or vegetable oil.  It is a close looped system putting very low pollutants in the air which comes directly from the truck through a pipeline to a storage tank that is heated to 140 degrees for 15 minutes and it sets for 24 hours to drop out all water moisture.  From this process, it goes straight to a reactor tank that has a vacuum on it for the recovery of the methanol.  The reason for doing this is cutting down on production cost and there are no vapors that can escape from the reactor.  There are two ways from the reactor, either washing with water or a product called magnasol, and the plant will be using magnasol that is a food grain, so there will be no waste water problems.

From this point it sets for another 48 hours to drop out any other impurities that may be in it.  These are bottled tanks so any moisture that has accumulated can be drained.  From that point it goes back out on a truck to be sold.

First of all, to answer the mayor's question, it is not methane, but methanol that is no more than the alcohol in your bathroom.  It is the same properties as isopropyl.

Commissioner Humpert asked for the vapor content and if it was like gasoline vapor where there is an explosive possibility.

Mr. Matthew Hicks, Kentucky State Fire Marshal's Office Hazardous Materials Division, said the flashpoint for the gasoline is a low grade but diesel fuel does have a flashpoint that can ignite.  The flashpoint for regular diesel fuel is 125 degrees Fahrenheit.  The flashpoint for biodiesel is 260 degrees Fahrenheit, so the chances of biodiesel flashing are much less than regular diesel fuel.

Commissioner Humpert asked that if he had a residence close to this plant, would he be concerned from a safety standpoint in respect to this particular material.  Mr. Hicks answered that he would be more worried about a gas station next door than this processing facility.

Commissioner Koenig asked Mr. Henry about low pollution and he answered that he had called Northern Kentucky Planning and Zoning and they referred him to KBEAP at the University of Kentucky.  The have done the calculation and have said that it falls way below what they would be concerned about.

Mr. Greg Copley, Director of KBEAP at the University of Kentucky, said that the entire process at the plant would generate emissions that are required for registration by the Division of Air Quality.  There is no permit requirement and it would be classified as a minor or an area source by the Division of Air Quality.

Commissioner Koenig asked what the threshold was for registration versus permit.  Mr. Copley said a permit would require emissions of greater than five tons per year of a single hazardous air pollutant and methanol is a hazardous air pollutant, and there should be less than that.

Commissioner Humpert asked how much of this pollutant would be emitted and Mr. Copley said it would be less than the five tons so it would be registered by the Division of Air Quality.  Commissioner Humpert asked if he had any idea as to how much and the answer was that, based on preliminary calculations, it would be two to three tons per year of methanol.

Commissioner Humpert said there was discussion as to a byproduct being animal feed and if this would be a pollutant and Mr. Grieme said no and it is used in toothpaste everyday and in Hollywood to make smoke in the movies.  Mr. Copley said the byproduct, which is glycerin, would be 10 percent of 10.4 million gallons.

Commissioner Black said she was not as concerned with the byproduct as to what the processing would be in dealing with it.  Mr. Henry said they would not be doing any processing at the plant but it would be refined at another entity where it would be sold.  Commissioner Black asked if this would be done in another container and Mr. Henry answered yes and that it would be shipped out by rail.  Mr. Henry said most of this would be done inside the building and explained that in the reactor tank the methanol is added and it drops out the triglycerides into a glycerin and this is what makes it thinner so it can be run in vehicles.  The glycerin goes into a tank that comes from a reactor in the closed loop, goes into a tank that is closed, and it goes from the tank shipped in a pipe onto the rail car and out.

Commissioner Black said that it was not so much as the process but how it was getting from inside the building to the rail cars or diesel trucks that are transporting the finished product.  She asked if this was from pipes coming from the facility outside to the tanker trucks to be loaded into them and about the process in getting the finished product from inside the building to tanker cars at the railroad.  Mr. Henry answered that it was the same way with a storage tank inside the building and a pipe from this tank to a tank outside on the rail.  Commissioner Black said when it is being pumped from inside the building from the containment system to a rail car, where are the pipes located that are pumping the various products to the rail car.  Mr. Henry said that they are above ground and there are trays underneath them to catch any leaks if there are any.  She then asked what is the distance of the pipes coming from the building to the rail car and Mr. Henry answered that he did not have the blueprints in front of him but it was less than 150 feet at the most, and from the edge of the building you are talking at least eight feet.

Deputy Judge Kimmich asked Mr. Henry how many plants he currently operates and how many he had experience operating at the present time and Mr. Henry answered there were none.  Mr. Kimmich asked about his experience in handling methanol and the other chemical agents and he said all of the personnel are hired from Cognis that used to be Emery in Cincinnati.  They have been making methyl esters for 20 years and this is what we are making.

Commissioner Humpert asked Mr. Copley if methanol had any odors or, if he was a resident within close proximity, he could tell there was a plant located in the area of if there was a pollutant associated with it.  Mr. Copley said his recollection from reading was that it was an odorless material and that it is added into the process.  Commissioner Humpert asked if this would always be a contained element and Mr. Copley answered yes.  Commissioner Humpert asked if there was any odor in this process that would escape into the atmosphere and Mr. Copley said from the way he understands it, the plant will be designed as a closed loop system with charcoal filters potentially being placed on any vent stacks that would go out into the air.

Commissioner Black asked what the vent stacks are vented from and Mr. Copley said that if the pressure for loading the system exceeds five pounds per square inch, there would be a pop-off valve very similar to what is on a hot water heater and would release the vapors.

Mr. Kimmich said it was his understanding that what the court has to deal with is whether or not to add the phrase biodiesl refinement to the list of principally permitted uses to an IP zone.  Some would argue that the area that is being talked about should not be IP because of its close proximity to the residential units.  He would also caution that as this issue is looked at, Mr. Henry has given a very good explanation that it may be fully self contained and fully enclosed but if this venture is unsuccessful or should he pursue other types of refinement once the zone is established, you cannot unring the bell, whether it be taking in dead animals and these are all things that could be defined in a biodiesel refinement.

Mr. Grieme said that if you look at the zoning ordinance in other sections, rendering is specifically prohibited.  This is a process of refining of oils and, in fact, if you want to add restrictive language to specifically limit this to biodiesel processing, that is fine.  But categorically if you read the ordinance, rendering of animals is not permitted and would not be by this language.  Biodiesel does not have anything to do with the rendering of animals but is the byproduct of that is already used and rendering would not be done on the site.

Attorney Edmondson said this ordinance could be gone into and additional development controls could be added such as filtering requirements for this particular use.  These could be added for particular safeguards and this could be tailored to fit to very narrow use.

Commissioner Humpert asked Mr. Grieme if he would be receptive to this and Mr. Grieme said they had initiated this conversation with the planning commission staff and they wanted to keep it simple.  He said they were willing to take the language the court was comfortable with that protects the citizenry.

Mr. Grieme said the idea of the pop-off valves and the releasing of pressure are types of things that are with us everyday such as in gasoline stations.  If there is a momentary pressure buildup, it will pop and then seal back up again.

Commissioner Black said this had been discussed for three meetings and she would like to bring some closure to this issue instead of dragging it out any longer.

Commissioner Koenig asked for a description of the closed loop system and what it means.  Mr. Henry said basically none of the process is exposed to the atmosphere.  Commissioner Koenig asked about what is not exposed and Mr. Henry said the methanol tanks will breathe and it is calculated over an entire year of being four tons which is about one percent that will be looped into the atmosphere.  Mr. Henry also said it is a 100 percent closed loop because a truck is unloaded into a tank, and charcoal filters are put on these, and this will take out the smell and will be breathing within the plant.  There is no rendering whatsoever to be done on the site.

Commissioner Koenig said the next question he has is there any setup that would fall under biodiesel refinement that does not require reactors, smoke stacks and sending some sort of pollutants into the air of which anyone is aware, or do they all have some sort of release of pollutants?  Mr. Copley said he was not aware of any other process across the country from which information has been received.  The only pollutant in this process is methanol and other pollutants are emitted from the other processes which deals with the combustion of fossil fuels.  Mr. Henry's plant will be run on electricity so there will not be combustion of natural gas or coal or any other combustible products.

There being no further questions, Commissioner Humpert asked for the pleasure of the fiscal court. 

Mr. Henry came forward to say that he knew that Governor Fletcher is a full backer of any biodiesel plant that could be put in the state.  This is also why President Bush signed the jobs bills so rapidly and Mr. Henry said he felt from a patriotic standpoint, that every gallon he makes and sells would stay in our community and not go overseas to the terrorists.  He also said that he thought if Americans were really serious about getting away from petroleum products, the court needed to help them out.  A lot of smog could also be gotten rid of that you see on the expressway.  The state of Minnesota has mandated that by June of this year all sulfur will be out of diesel fuel and two percent of biodiesel fuel will be in every gallon and Illinois and Mississippi are following suit.  Quite a few counties in our state are already using biodiesel in all of their trucks and vehicles.

Commissioner Koenig said he did not want to throw out the concept of biodiesel out of hand because we have trucks in public works, TANK buses and school buses that use biodiesel and he agreed with the concept that it is patriotic in a sense to create gas here and help the environment.  He also said he had issues with giving carte blanche to biodiesel refinements to all IP zones throughout Kenton County.  This site is very close to homes and other sites that do not have quite the density but are moving in that direction.  He said the best he could would be to consider a conditional use for biodiesel and see what happens, but he felt this was the best he could offer and felt he could not support the permitted use in its current form.

Commissioner Black said she could not support including biodiesel fuels as a permitted use in our IP zones.

Commissioner Humpert said three votes were needed to pass an ordinance so it was a moot point to consider this ordinance at this time.  The best thing he could say would be to table it until Judge Drees returns and consider the conditional development controls and use.  Conceivably, at that time there would be three votes for it at the first meeting in February which is on the eighth.  He asked for a motion to table it until February 8.

Attorney Edmondson said action would have to be taken within 90 days.  Commissioner Koenig asked if final action had to be taken or if it stands as recommended.  Mr. Edmondson said no that action had to be taken within 90 days so there was still time and that it could be left where it is and taken up at the next meeting.  Commissioner Humpert said this would be considered at the February 8 meeting.

Consent Agenda

CLAIMS LIST-County Treasurer Ivan Frye:  There were not any questions asked, so warrants will be issued and claims paid.

Administrative Actions

HANDOUT NO. 05-05-Renew agreement between Central Parking System of Kentucky, Inc. and Kenton County Fiscal Court, Ivan Frye reporting:  This is the renewal of one more year of a contract that was bid and has had four annual renewals.  Each year we take affirmative action to renew the contract because it has an escalator clause built into the bids and the fee for this coming year is indicated in the handout.  The hourly rate is $12.49 per hour of employee in the garage.

Commissioner Black moved for approval; seconded by Commissioner Koenig.  The motion was unanimously passed with the vote of aye.

HANDOUT NO. 05-06-Permission to extend contract for radio repair with Mobilcomm, Inc. beginning February 1, 2005 through January 31, 2006, Chief Bill Dorsey reporting:  This is the service agent for Motorola, Inc. who maintains all radio equipment and a big part of other entities in this area.  This is an annual contract and a continuance of the one from last year.  This is a sole source bid since there is no place else to go for the work and we have been a customer for many years and are satisfied with their service.

Commissioner Black made the motion to extend the contract; seconded by Commissioner Koenig.  The motion unanimously passed with a vote of aye.

HANDOUT NO. 05-07-Permission to accept bid for sale of property located at 3320 Frazier Street, Latonia, Kentucky, Scott Kimmich reporting:  A bid was submitted in the amount of $500.00 for the property from Ronnie Cheesman and Janet Tacket.  This is a parcel of property that was acquired by the county years ago for tax bills and the court is recommending acceptance of the bid with all cost of transfer being borne by the purchaser of the property.

Commissioner Black made the motion for acceptance; seconded by Commissioner Koenig.  The motion was unanimously approved with a vote of aye.

HANDOUT NO. 05-08-Authorize County Judge Executive Ralph A. Drees to sign an extension of the maintenance agreement with Mobilcomm, Inc. for various county tower sites, Ivan Frye reporting:  This is an annual contract that actually applies to site maintenance at each of our tower sites and this is required for maintenance at those facilities.  It is the same amount as last year.

Commissioner Black asked how many years were left on the contract that it could be extended.  Mr. Frye said it is an annual contract.  Commissioner Black asked if the rate was set for so many years and if it had changed.  Mr. Frye said the rate was not set and it could change.

Commissioner Humpert asked for a motion from the court.  Commissioner Koenig made the motion with a second from Commissioner Black.  The motion unanimously passed with a vote of aye.

Executive Orders

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 05-08-Appointment of hearing officer for sexually oriented businesses appeals hearing:  Mr. Kimmich said this order had been withdrawn and Judge Drees will make a nomination upon his return on February 8.

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 05-09-Resignation of Daniel Finan as school resource officer for the Kenton County Police Department, effective January 25, 2005:  Commissioner Black moved for approval with a second by Commissioner Koenig.  Upon the vote of aye, the motion unanimously passed.

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 05-10-Appointment of Susan Wyatt as Dispatcher I for the Department of Public Safety, effective January 25, 2005:  Commissioner Koenig moved for approval; seconded by Commissioner Black and the vote unanimously passed with the vote of aye.

Citizens Address

There were not any other citizens present who wished to address the court.

Administrative Reporting

DEPUTY JUDGE EXECUTIVE-Scott Kimmich:  There is a request from the Commonwealth of Kentucky to extend the lease for probation and parole.  They sought bids and no one bid on their space so they are going out to bid again until June 30, 2006, at the current rate of $12.00 per square foot.  Also, the Commonwealth is asking that we renew the lease for the Commonwealth attorney's office at the rate of $12.00 per square foot as well.  In those agreements, we would be leasing 15 parking spaces to the Commonwealth attorney's office and 43 parking spaces for probation and parole at $45.00 per month.

Commissioner Humpert asked Mr. Kimmich if he was recommending the fiscal court to adopt this and he answered yes.

Commissioner Koenig moved for approval followed with a second from Commissioner Black.  The motion was unanimously approved with the vote of aye.

COUNTY TREASURER-Ivan Frye:  Nothing further to report.

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR-Joe Shriver:  No report.

COUNTY ATTORNEY'S REPORT-Garry Edmondson:  Nothing further to report.

Commissioners' Reports

COMMISSIONER BARBARA BLACK-Said she wished to comment on the TANK issue.  Commissioner Black said we were facing really severe cuts, not what the court wants to do at all, but will be mandated because of lawsuits.  Asked for the public's support and their encouragement for elected officials at the state level to consider supporting legislation to help remedy the problem and said she could not thank the public enough for taking the time to come to court showing their concern, interest in government and the court will do their best to have this outcome to be the best it can be, but the public's help will be needed.  The court has some influence but the public probably has more influence with this issue so it is being laid back in the public's lap by asking them to get the word out and talk to everyone they could.  Commissioner Black thanked the personnel from TANK for doing a great job and also the ones that serve on the board and also thanked the persons who ride TANK and the people that have supported it over the years.

COMMISSIONER DAN HUMPERT-Nothing further to report.

COMMISSIONER ADAM KOENIG-Said he also wanted to thank everyone that came to show their support on the TANK issue and said that the public would have to contact their legislators to let them know how important this is.  The issue is too easily spun as a tax increase and it is a lot easier for a legislator to say they are not for it because they hear it is a tax increase over and over, but when they hear how it will adversely effect the life of the public and the impact and hardship it will cause many people, this is when they will listen.  He also said that he and Mr. Kimmich had been to Frankfort to meet with legislators and bring them up to speed on this issue and they were also lobbying Senator Westwood.  This issue will be up to the public in large part so let your voice be heard.  There were 4,000,000 trips on tank last year and 70 percent of those trips were taking someone to or from work and this makes for a lot of congestion and pollution in the air that does not exist and a lot of businesses rely on TANK to get their employees to work.  It is vital in this sense and also vital for the ramp passengers that use this service.

Mr. Kimmich said most of the legislators are listed in the phone book but if it is not listed, a message can be left at their offices at 502/564-8100 in Frankfort or they can be contacted by way of e-mail at www.kentucky.gov and go to the legislative home page.

Judge-Executive's Report

Executive Session

Commissioner Koenig made a motion for the court to go into executive session with a second from Commissioner Black.  The motion unanimously passed with the vote of aye.

Commissioner Black made the motion to come out of executive session; seconded by Commissioner Koenig.  With a vote of aye, the motion unanimously passed.

Commissioner Humpert called the regular court back into session.  Commissioner Black made the motion to authorize the county attorney to take appropriate action in defense of the recent filing of litigation against the county on behalf of Seco Electric.  Commissioner Koenig made the second and the motion unanimously passed with the vote of aye.

Adjournment

There being no further business to come before the court, Commissioner Koenig made the motion to adjourn; seconded by Commissioner Black.  The court was adjourned with the unanimous vote of aye.