KENTON COUNTY FISCAL COURT

MINUTES

JULY 13, 2004

The regular meeting of the Kenton County Fiscal Court was called to order at the Independence Courthouse.  Present at the meeting were Commissioners Barbara Black, Dan Humpert and Adam Koenig; Deputy Judge-Executive Scott Kimmich; Assistant County Attorney Brandon Voelker; County Treasurer Ivan Frye; Human Resources Director Joe Shriver; Police Chief Bill Dorsey; Emergency Management Director Ed Burk; Special Projects Manager Ralph Bailey; Animal Shelter Director Dan Evans; Sheriff Charles Korzenborn; Public Works Director Joe Murphy; County Engineer Charlie Meyer; Jailer Terry Carl; Fiscal Court Reporter Cathy Johnston; and guests.

Commissioner Barbara Black presided over the meeting because of the absence of Judge Executive Ralph A. Drees.

The invocation was said and pledge of allegiance led by Commissioner Adam Koenig.

Approval of Minutes

Commissioner Black asked for approval of the minutes for June 22, 2004.  Commissioner Humpert said that he and the treasurer had been working on an item in the agenda and the change has been given to the clerk to be made.  With this change in place, Commissioner Humpert made the motion to approve the minutes; seconded by Commissioner Koenig.  Motion unanimously passed.

Delegations

There were not any delegations to come before the court.

General Business

Award Motorola bid for Records/CAD management, Chief Dorsey reporting-The fiscal court had previously given directions over four years ago to look for better ways to better serve all of the safety service agencies.  A grant was applied for and received from the Federal Government for $1,000,000, part of a $3.5 million dollar project.  The cities and county together created a pool of money for the $2.5 million for phase one of the project which is to put an MDT and emergency services vehicle in Kenton County.  Phase one of the project is well underway and should be completed in August.  Phase two of the project is to bid the CAD/RMS portion of the system-CAD is computer aided dispatch and RMS is records management system.  The RMS portion of the bid will enable the cruisers and vehicles equipped with MDTs to directly deliver reports and messages back to the records keeping portion.  This means that police officers will not have to go to the office to make a report but can do this from the cruiser while they are in the neighborhoods deterring crime.

The bid process has been gone through and all the bids submitted have been examined, and it is the opinion that of all bids received, this is the best one because of the way it works with the rest of the system.  This will be an approval of the court to negotiate with Motorola for the contract and the cost will not exceed the price now in hand.

Commissioner Black said this was a great improvement by saving time for the officers and keeping them on the streets more and asked for a motion of approval.  Commissioner Humpert moved to approve followed by Commissioner Koenig's second.

Commissioner Humpert asked the price of the contract and Chief Dorsey answered that it was $1,018,000.

Deputy Judge Kimmich said he wished to point out that the court was authorizing the chief to proceed with accepting the Motorola bid and proceed in the negotiation of the contract.  The final contract will come back before the court for final approval before the execution.  It is reasonable to believe it will back to the court within two weeks from today.

The motion was unanimously approved upon roll call.

The next general business item was discussion and selection of line of succession for the fiscal court for the 2004 calendar year, Ed Burk reporting-The line of succession needs to be established to make sure we have continuity of government in the event of a disaster and the judge and/or deputy judge are out of town.  The state requires a minimum of three.

Commissioner Black said that when the commissioners first came into office a line of succession had to be established for practical purposes of when the judge and deputy judge is out of town.  At the beginning of the first term in office, Commissioner Koenig took the first period of time and it is now Commissioner Black's term, and it will be Commissioner Humpert's time for the next year.  What needs to be determined now is the period of time this will be and the ordinance states that it is a fiscal year rather than a calendar year.

Commissioner Humpert said they were elected on a calendar year basis and it will be worked on for the ordinance to be changed to a calendar year basis.  He also said he would like for Commissioner Black to continue in this post for at least for the first half of the fiscal year until the ordinance is changed, if the ordinance is not changed for the entire fiscal year.  Commissioner Humpert would follow on January 1 or the end of the fiscal year of July 1, and said he would make this motion.

Commissioner Black said she was willing to serve whatever time was needed and it would have to be determined when the ordinance is changed as to whether it will be a calendar year or a fiscal year.

Commissioner Koenig seconded the motion.  Deputy Judge Kimmich said the motion was for Commissioner Black to serve as the presiding officer of the court for the calendar year 2004, and that the Director of Homeland Security be directed to prepare an amendment to the current county ordinance to reflect a calendar year transition rather than a fiscal year transition and another election will be conducted in January.

Commissioner Black asked for call of the question whereupon the motion unanimously passed.

Resolutions

RESOLUTION NO. 04-09C-Approve budget adjustments between appropriation accounts to provide necessary funding, Ivan Frye reporting:  A page has been provided with a listing of items that were on order at the end of the fiscal year and these adjustments are to provide additional funds in each line item to cover these costs.

Commissioner Black said this money has already been allotted and this is a way to pay the bills that come in after the end of the fiscal year.  Commissioner Koenig made the motion for the adjustments; seconded by Commissioner Humpert.  The motion was unanimously approved upon roll call.

RESOLUTION NO. 04-13-Approve and adopt annual compensation rates of Kenton County Fiscal Court employees, Ivan Frye reporting:  A list of compensation is provided so that the court can approve specific amounts that sets the individual wage.  Commissioner Humpert asked if this was a two percent increase and Mr. Frye answered yes.

Commissioner Humpert made the motion to adopt with Commissioner Koenig's second.  Following roll call, the motion was unanimously approved.

RESOLUTION NO. 04-14-Request the Kentucky Department of Highways reduce the speed limit from the intersection of Highland Avenue to its intersection with KY Route 17 on Kyles Lane from 35 mph to 25 mph, Scott Kimmich reporting:  Sometime ago the fiscal court was involved with the Planning Commission in litigation in which the Planning Commission approved a curb cut for a development in Ft. Wright based on a 35 mph speed limit on Kyles Lane.  It was based on the yellow sign speed limit; the recommended speed is 25 and the posted speed is 35.  When it was revealed the speed limit is 35, it wound up in litigation because the speed is too high for sight distance for the development.

The city has been involved in litigation with the Planning Commission and we are also involved inasmuch as we insure the Planning Commission.  Settlement was reached in the case in which all of the parties agreed to pay toward the settlement.  In reviewing engineering estimates with our county engineer and with the engineer retained to work on the project, the cost of the project continues to escalate.

One of the landowners that is affected also contacted us and the grade that is being proposed for the driveway is inadequate for a handicapped resident living on the property who uses a motorized wheelchair that cannot be driven up the driveway.  A myriad of problems has been found and in conversations with the Transportation Cabinet, they indicated their willingness upon resolution of the fiscal court to review reducing the speed limit to 25 mph that would negate the cutting of the hillside and the structure of a retaining wall.  It is being requested of the court to ask them to evaluate that as a means by which to reduce the speed and the need to construct a retaining wall, and in essence, save both the city and the Planning Commission what is considered to be a considerable sum of money.

Before this resolution is acted upon, the city administrator of Ft. Wright is here and may have some issues to discuss.

Mr. Larry Klein, City Administrator of Ft. Wright, came forward and introduced Ft. Wright Police Chief Dan Kreinest.  He said they were there to act as representatives of the city to officially, strongly oppose this resolution for a number of reasons.  At no point was the city a party to the lawsuit or involved in the litigation that was between the Planning Commission and the property owner and his engineer.  This is the part of Kyles Lane that goes from the city building and over the hill past St. Charles and down to Walt's Hitching Post to Kentucky 17.  This is a state road inside the city limits of Ft. Wright for the most part.  The city was unaware of this resolution until yesterday when a telephone call was received from a newspaper, and to our knowledge, there has not been an engineering study done to warrant the speed reduction.  In 1997 or ´98, the city did a speed study of that area using our police department and found at that time it did not meet the warrants required by the state to lower the speed limit.  A policeman cannot be posted in this area at all times to enforce the 25 mph limit.  The city does not think this speed limit is safe and understands the problem with the developer of the 14 houses that are going to be built.  It is a cul-de-sac with 14 building lots, one of which is being constructed.  The curb cut is near a sharp rise in the road and when you attempt to turn out of the curb cut looking to the right, your sight distance is really restricted because of the rise in the road.  Thus, the requirement is to lower the rise in the road to increase the sight distance to make it safer.

The city does not think that passing a law of reducing the speed limit is going to make people drive slower.  There is no other development on this road except for some single family houses.  The city also thinks the road should be fixed which would make it safer for everyone involved, and we are very concerned that slow moving garbage trucks, school buses, etc., whatever is pulling out of that street and if someone is coming up over that rise in the road very quickly, is going to crash into one of those vehicles.  The police chief is here and can attest to the city's position and our concerns.

Police Chief Kreinest said he addressed this issue when it first came before the Planning Commission and the city opposed it then and does now.  Lowering the speed limit below what traffic flows will cause problems.  At the very least, a traffic study would need to be done before reducing the speed limit.  The police will be the ones working the accidents and feel that we will be the ones having the problems.  It really is a safety issue with one steep hill coming down one side and a sight distance at the crest of the hill on the other side, and the city feels that this is not the safe thing to do because it will give people a false sense of security.

Mr. Klein said it is understood the property on Hidden Valley Drive is a very difficult piece of property to purchase and develop.  By difficult, it is meant that it is expensive and very difficult to meet the Planning Commission rules for sight distance and safety.  It is thought these are sound rules and the solution is, as the lawsuit settlement alluded to, the road defects and not just lowering the speed limit so that the calculation works on the sight distance.

Commissioner Humpert said he drives this road at least twice a week and there are a couple of spots on the road where you cannot go 35 miles an hour.  There is a reverse bend that is off camber and there is a spot on the road that is slipping down the hill that is in bad shape and, if you go 35 through either of these two areas, you would be in trouble.  He asked Mr. Klein if this was also his interpretation.

Mr. Klein answered that it was the location where the curb cut is that is of the greatest concern.  Commissioner Humpert said this was right after the off camber curve which is a terrible curve to try to go 35 miles an hour.  Mr. Klein said this was a challenge but the area in question is where the curb cut is adjacent to the unusual rise in the road that precludes your sight distance.  It is thought that residential traffic coming in and out of this street pulling out slow to go left up the hill will probably be taken by surprise by people who are not driving the 25 mph speed limit.  As our speed study indicated, five percent were already driving at 35 or above.  Commissioner Humpert said he would argue that 35 is unsafe and that you should not be driving 35 mph and it should be reduced to 25 mph.  Mr. Klein said this would mean that 85 percent of the people on the road would receive a ticket.  Commissioner Humpert suggested that after receiving a ticket, maybe they will slow down.  Mr. Klein said it would take an awful effort of the police department to do this, and typically, the state does not lower speed limits unless certain conditions are met.  One is that the traffic is driving more slowly because of development where there are a lot of curb cuts and 85 percent of the people are driving at that rate or lower.

Chief Kreinest said that this plan was initially submitted to the Northern Kentucky Planning Commission by the developer as a 25 mph speed limit.  The speed limit on Kyles Lane for 46 years has been 35 mph and has never changed.  The error was definitely on their part and the problem is that the traffic coming up the hill and cresting at the hill crest has a sight distance problem if there is someone speeding.  That is a straight stretch of the road and it is level up to a point.  At the crest of the hill if there are people pulling out and turning left, they will be turning into traffic that is going in excess of 35 mph.  The traffic coming down the hill is less of a problem because most traffic will slow down coming down around the bend.  There are occasional accidents because some people do try to make the bend, but this is not a high accident area except in the winter months if there is snow on the ground.

Commissioner Black said she agreed with Commissioner Humpert with the situation of this road.  On some of our curvy roads the speed limit is being lowered because of development and it is always a challenge to police when these limits are lowered.  It was also her opinion that the speed limit should not be 35 mph on this road anyway, regardless of the rise that is also a factor.  There is consistency in the decision of going from 35 to 25 because there are a lot of other roads that had to be lowered because of safety concerns.  She also stated she felt the court should go on record as recommending the lower speed and let the state do a study to see if they agree.  If people are going too fast, they should receive a ticket and this is a safety concern and it behooves us to think of safety first for the residents of the subdivision.

Commissioner Humpert asked if the county could assist the Ft. Wright police if the mph gets lowered from 35 to 25.  Deputy Judge Kimmich said that if the state study comes back and says the speed limit should be reduced, we could assist the city.  If the state comes back and says that it still does not meet the criteria and should not be reduced, the Area Planning Commission and developer's attorney will have to proceed in paying the cost of the hill cut.

Commissioner Koenig said he felt as though he did not understand the entire issue.  He said he would feel better driving there and seeing exactly what it is and that he was somewhat partial to the argument that, just because you lower the speed limit, it does not mean people are going to drive this way.  If you want to make it safe for the people living there and driving Kyles Lane, perhaps it needs to be lowered to be sure this happens. He stated he would feel better if he went there and drove past it a few times before he agreed, and said he would be in favor of voting for a resolution for it to be studied but not asking them to lower the speed limit without looking at it.

Commissioner Humpert asked if it was the recommendation to lower the speed limit that would initiate the study.  Mr. Kimmich said this was correct.  Commissioner Koenig asked if the state does these studies on their own and Mr. Kimmich answered that if they have reason to believe significant alterations in traffic flow have occurred, they will undertake the study.  In this particular case, a letter was sent to the secretary asking that it be evaluated and we received a reply that the fiscal court needs to adopt a formal resolution on which they will initiate a study.

Commissioner Black said she did not think there had been enough change to warrant a study such as what would have happened on Route 17 since this is a small development.  A request is needed that they look at the road.  There are really two issues that need to be kept separate which is safety and the difficulties experienced by the city, the developer, the Planning Commission and the county.  This is not a county road but a state road and we have to be real careful to keep the issues separate because it is not the county's responsibility to pay for in any way a change in the rise in the road.  The county should not be drawn into this issue anymore than we have to be; therefore, it is thought we need to take a stand on the speed of the road and get the study that comes back from the state to see if they agree on it.  If they do not agree, they need to work it out with the Planning Commission and the developer, but we will be on record as saying we believe the speed needs to be lowered.  This process needs to be started and let the state, the Planning Commission and the developer work out the rise in the road.

Mr. Kimmich said the developer and the Planning Commission have worked out the situation in that if the speed remains the same, it will necessitate reconstruction of the rise in the road.  It is the settlement that has brought us to the point where we are today.  The Area Planning Commission is insured by the county self-insurance fund and every claim against that fund has an impact on our reinsurance fees and the cost we pay for insurance, and this is where the county got involved.  The Area Planning Commission's apparent omission in approving this plan was to go forward without adequate sight distance for the speed posted on the road.

Commissioner Koenig said this was important and he was for saving as much money as we can but at what cost to safety?  When you are scouting land to do a development, you have to know whether or not it is a good road on which to build a development.  There are a lot of issues in the winter since this road occasionally gets closed at that time.

Commissioner Humpert said there were two safety issues-the first issue is to lower the speed limit.  There was an accident on the road and he received a number of phone calls urging the lowering of the speed limit to 25 mph.  The callers were informed they had to go through the state to do this, but told them he would do everything he could to get it done.  Based on this information, it can now be done while we have the opportunity.  We need to seize this opportunity to lower the speed limit from 35 to 25 for safety reasons.  The second safety issue is the state of the road and we need to look at this as a separate safety issue.  We need to look at the knoll and ask the state to work on it with Ft. Wright's blessing.  Both of these issues need to be looked at for safety purposes.

Commissioner Black asked the court if they would feel more comfortable revisiting the issue on July 27 and this will also give Commissioner Koenig time to do his on sight study and will also give us time to talk to the chief.  This will be put back on the July 27 agenda and see how we can work through these issues.  Therefore, the resolution was tabled until that date.

RESOLUTION NO. 04-15-Approve the articles of amendment to the Articles of Incorporation of Kenton Housing, Inc., Scott Kimmich reporting:  The only significant change is that the current bylaws call for a 21 member board.  They have been operating with a 15 member board since the inception of Rosedale Manor.  In meeting with the officers of Rosedale and their council, Judge Drees felt it was appropriate to maintain the 15 member board but we should amend the articles of incorporation to reflect that change so that the articles of incorporation are in concert with their bond indenture.

Commissioner Black said asked for a motion and a second.  Commissioner Koenig made the motion; seconded by Commissioner Humpert.  The motion unanimously passed following roll call.

RESOLTUION NO. 04-16-Authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $2.75 million for Redwood Rehabilitation Center, Brandon Voelker reporting:  This resolution was pulled from the agenda.

RESOLUTION NO. 04-17-Authorize the County Judge to execute an interlocal agreement with Pendleton County to allow Kenton County police jurisdiction, Chief Dorsey reporting:  There are currently reciprocal agreements with the other counties that surround us, but it has come to our attention that we do not have one with Pendleton County.  We feel it is important to have this done because when we go to Pendleton County to do investigations, we need to have the authority of the law and Pendleton County is in agreement.  If this is passed here, it will be sent to their fiscal court for review and passage.  This will be consistent with the other counties in the past.

Commissioner Humpert moved for approval with Commissioner Koenig's second.  Upon roll call, the motion unanimously passed.

ORDINANCES

ORDINANCE NO. 840.7-Second reading revising animal control fees, Dan Evans reporting:  The state passed Senate Bill No. 133 that gives control to the counties for licensing animals and an ordinance needs to be put in place so the licenses can be sold.

Deputy Judge Kimmich said one of the more significant changes in this ordinance is that in the past the animal licenses were sold at the animal shelter and the county treasurer's office.  When you have just two places to sell licenses, you don't sell many.  This ordinance provides for us to enter into agreements with pet stores and veterinarians that will be able to work with us in selling dog licenses and maintain an accurate counting of the animals in our community.  Dan has done an excellent job working with the animal enthusiasts and animal groups to advance this cause.

Commissioner Black said that in Section III of the document there is a place where dog licensing was struck and dog/cat licensing was inserted.  Mr. Voelker stated that in Paragraph A, second line, where it says that "…shall have each and every dog licensed" this should read cat because that is the addition.  Under Paragraph B the date stated is July 30 and under the first reading this was done for June 30 so this could start on July 1.

Commissioner Humpert asked if the second line in Paragraph A should say "…shall each and every dog and cat licensed."  This was answered in the affirmative and changed.  He also said that June 30 should be June 30 of the following year.

Commissioner Black said for the benefit of the citizens who are listening that what we are hoping to do with the new licensing procedure is ensure that if you lose your animal, because of the ability to have the dog or cat to have an identification number, we will be able to assist in finding the owner.  It is also being encouraged that everyone have their animal microchiped.  This service is now being provided when animals are adopted and any animal shelter in our area can scan the chip and immediately tell the owner of the animal and the owner can be contacted.  This information will be on our website.  The licensing fee is reduced when an animal is adopted, and if you are willing to have them neutered and microchiped, the fee is further reduced.  These licensing fees will be better used to provide services at the shelter and use these monies to build a new adoption center.

Mr. Jim Caldwell of Independence asked to speak to the court.  He said he has a couple of concerns and would like to know what the fees are and if special consideration will be given, as the laws have done through the Departments of Agriculture and Fish and Wildlife, for hunting dogs.  It was indicated that this would be done for people who spay and neuter and this is not done with hunting dogs because they are reproduced.  It is felt that it would be discriminatory to do this for spaying and neutering if we do not want to do this to our dogs.

Commissioner Black said there was a section for commercial animal establishment licenses.  She asked Mr. Caldwell if he would be willing to personally meet with Dan Evans to talk about this item.  Mr. Caldwell said he was willing to talk with him following the meeting.  She also said that most of the items in the resolution were already in place and that the word cat had been added.  She asked Dan Evans if the fees had changed in the new ordinance.

Mr. Evans answered that the fees have come up.  He said the normal license fee through the state was $5.00 but the county now has to purchase the tags and put this into play and the cost has to be covered.  He also said he would discuss the fees with Mr. Caldwell that are payable one time and he thought this would be of benefit to everyone.  There is a commercial animal establishment license that has been in effect since 1999 and this is for anyone who buys, breeds, sells, or trains any kind of dog or animal.  If someone is breeding hunting dogs, even it is one or two per year, they are still required to have a license unless the person keeps the animal for himself.

Commissioner Black said that if Mr. Caldwell and his group were not meeting somewhere else, the county would love to have these individuals to come on board to help raise funds for the new adoption center.

Mr. Caldwell said that a lot of the hunting dogs fall under the Department of Agriculture.  He also said that if you have hunting dogs and raise one or two a year, he did not think it was fair to have to pay a commercial license fee.

Commissioner Koenig made the motion to pass the ordinance with Commissioner Humpert's second.  The motion unanimously passed following roll call.

New Agenda Items

Commissioner Black asked Deputy Judge Kimmich to explain the changes in the agenda.  Mr. Kimmich said the consent agenda is for routine business items that take place every two weeks.  They are listed for the commissioners to review individually and the items will still be discussed at the will of the commissioners.  The roll call vote is being avoided on every separate issue.  One motion will be asked for approval of the consent agenda, discuss items that commissioners deem appropriate and when discussion is completed, the clerk will call the roll on all items listed on the consent agenda that will be for all of the listed items.  If there is a particular item a commissioner wishes to discuss, this item will be taken off the list and separately voted on.  The one item that needs to be taken off the agenda item today is Handout No. 04-51 which is the settlement of the Sheriff's taxes and the issuing of the quietus.  We need to maintain a separate record of this vote and after the Sheriff takes the oath, the turning over of his tax bills.

HANDOUT NO. 04-51-Approve the 2003 tax settlement for the County Sheriff's tax collections of May, 2003 through April, 2004, and issue a quietus for the Kenton County Sheriff, Ivan Frye reporting:  Mr. Frye said he was appointed to represent the fiscal court as required by KRS to conduct a settlement which is to examine the records and collections of the sheriff to ensure that those monies have been properly disbursed.  This review has been conducted and he reported the finding that all of these monies have been accounted for and disbursed to the proper agencies.  It is recommended the fiscal court approve the 2003 tax collections of the sheriff that were collected from May, 2003 through April, 2004, at which time the settlement and sell at the courthouse door was conducted of those bills that had not been collected.  It is further recommended that a quietus be issued to the sheriff in accordance with KRS 134.310.

Deputy Judge Kimmich issued the oath to Sheriff Korzenborn that he accepted.  Sheriff Korzenborn said he had some positive comments to make about the outstanding cooperation with the other agencies when the Judge returns, and thanked the court for their indulgence.

Commissioner Humpert made the motion to accept Mr. Frye's report and to issue the Sheriff's quietus; seconded by Commissioner Koenig.  The motion was unanimously approved following roll call.

Commissioner Black asked for a motion to accept the consent agenda.  Commissioner Humpert made the motion; seconded by Commissioner Koenig.  Commissioner Black read aloud Handout No. 04-49, Authorization for Judge Executive Ralph A. Drees to sign agreement with OKI to continue regional planning activities; Handout No. 04-50, Authorization for Local Law Enforcement Block Grant funding; Handout No. 04-52, Permission to extend the contract for the facility management services with Meridian Management Corporation; Handout No. 04-53, Approve and authorize the execution by County Judge-Executive Ralph A. Drees various vendor agreements associated with the collection of county animal license fees; and Handout No. 04-54, Authorization to proceed in negotiating terms of a contract with North Key for mental health services for the Kenton County Detention Center.

Commissioner Humpert asked how the bid was for psychological services.  Mr. Kimmich answered that this was the bid.  Commissioner Humpert then asked Jailer Terry Carl how many persons responded to the bid.  Mr. Carl answered that there were four.  Commissioner Humpert asked how the county would distinguish from the requested services and the services done as part of their programming in the jail.  Mr. Carl said this would be written out and identified.

Mr. Kimmich said when the proposals were reviewed, North Key was put above others in the evaluation process because when an individual leaves the detention center and is in need of health services, it is generally through North Key that those services are provided.  By having North Key as the provider of mental health services in the facility, it is hoped that a bond will be formed between the individual and North Key to start building a lifeline so that when they get out, they will have some familiarity with the agency with whom they are dealing outside.  By having the same help both inside and outside, it is thought the jail incarceration rate will be reduced because of the care both in and out of the detention center.  The contract will be brought back before the court for a vote before final action is taken.

Commissioner Black announced that under executive orders there were listed some personnel issues for appointment of animal control officer, some resignations-one in the Treasurer's Office and seasonal employees in Public Works, and appointing seasonal employees at the Golf Courses and an equipment operator at Public Works.

Commissioner Humpert called attention to the court that the claims list was not recognized on the agenda.  No one at the court had any questions regarding the list.

Commissioner Koenig said he would like to have an explanation on the local law enforcement block grant funding.  Deputy Judge Kimmich said the grant is a federal program that is administered by the U.S. Department of Justice.  Federal regulations said that if there is a disparity in services provided for part one crimes which are felonies, murder cases, etc., the jurisdictions have to split the money.  The former state attorney general was unwilling to take the position with a county against a city.  Generally, cities are recognized by the Department of Justice as providing those first line services on part one crimes.  After a significant lobbying effort by a number of national organizations including NACo and County Executives of America, the U.S. Department of Justice has changed the guidelines and says that if there is a disparity in providing services, the parties must work it out together, and if it cannot be worked out, neither agency gets any money.  Our claim is that because we provide the prosecution and incarceration, we do have fallout for every part one crime.  Chief Dorsey went to Covington and negotiated for funds and he secured 35 percent of those funds for Kenton County and we will get a little over $14,000 this year in federal law enforcement block grants that have not previously been received.

Commissioner Koenig said he would like to commend Mr. Kimmich and Chief Dorsey for taking care of this.

Mr. Kimmich said there was one other item he wished to add to the agenda and that is Executive Order 04-64.  When the Kenton County Ethics Commission was reestablished last year, the terms were issued for members.  The minutes of the meeting set one term of office for the members and the ordinance that was adopted prescribed a different term of office.  The executive order redefines the terms of those members consistent with the ordinance that has been passed.  The Ethics Commission is aware of this, they met yesterday and are operating under the assumption that the terms set forth in this executive order are, in fact, their terms of office.  The County Attorney advised that because of the disparity in the way the ordinance was written and the executive order, we could declare it to be a clerical order and move forward.  The former minutes have been filed in the Clerk's Office for approximately a year and we wanted to create a clear paper trail of how this happened.

Commissioner Koenig made the motion to add this item to the consent agenda with Commissioner Humpert's second.  The motion was unanimously approved following roll call.

Commissioner Black asked for a roll call of the consent agenda that was unanimously passed.

Citizens Address

Mr. Jim Bushong asked to get a clarification and update on the notification that the county was no longer able to maintain county roads within the city limits.  He said they were never notified in writing of this decision.  The cities also want to know if this is in effect immediately upon Mr. Edmondson's ruling or is there an effective date this is to be in effect.

Mr. Kimmich said the official effective date was November, 2003, when the Supreme Court of Kentucky, not the County Attorney, ruled that it is a violation of state law to spend county funds to maintain roads within cities.  The ruling was in a Bullitt County case that said if the city annexes an area, they annex all of the roads in that area and take responsibility for them upon annexation.  The ruling was based on a 1906 state statute.  The County Attorney advised the fiscal court, which is his statutory responsibility, that the ruling is there and has advised the Treasurer that if he issues a warrant to try to pay for work done on a city street that he will object to the payment of the bill.  This puts the county in a very awkward situation and nothing has been put in writing because we are not sure what to put in writing.  In talking with the commissioners over the past three months, everyone is in agreement that we should have some type of an understanding with the cities and the question now is how do we put this together.  The most affected cities are Taylor Mill, Crescent Springs, and Independence where annexation has occurred over a period of years and the land mass of the city has grown.  We are continuing to honor the contracts we have for roadside mowing and engineering on the road slips that are in place.  The law does not say what the agreement has to be, just that there has to be one and it also says there has to be consideration.  In the county's view, the consideration for the repair of the slip is that the city is going to take it over for long term care.

Mr. Bushong asked if the county was considering having individual agreements with each city rather than an interlocal agreement.  Mr. Kimmich said each city receives road aid dollars from the state based on the linear miles of road in the city.  The number of miles of road the county is maintaining are included in the linear mileage so each city is already receiving some state money.  One of the ideas we have had is that we will do the routine maintenance in exchange for the city paying the county the equivalent of the road aid the city is receiving for that particular road and any major work would still be the responsibility of the city.  The methodology that is now in place for this service is within the letter of the law.

Mr. Frye said the county is not turning any roads back over to the city; we never had them.  The roads have belonged to the cities all of this time and the county has maintained them free of charge to those cities.  The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that these roads belong to the cities and, in fact, put the county on notice that if the County Attorney does not enforce this we will be in violation of law.  When the comment was made that he will oppose payment of the claim, that would amount to what is called an illegal claim at which time any citizen can maintain an action against the Treasurer and Judge Executive for having made such a payment and the fiscal court for approving it.  We are trying to work out some equitable agreement to take care of this.

Mr. Kimmich asked that all suggestions or comments be sent to his office at the present time and he will be spearheading the committee that will bring this issue to resolution.  Commissioner Black said the court wanted to assure the cities that we are going to work with them and receive input from them.  The cities should also recognize that within the next three to five years they will be doing major road improvements the county has previously done.

Administrative Reporting

Deputy Judge Executive – Nothing further to report.

Treasurer – The minutes should reflect that a copy of the monthly report ending June 30 has been provided to the fiscal court and will be filed into the minutes.  The year-end report will be filed when it is finished.

Human Resources Director – No report.

County Attorney's Report

Nothing further to report.

Commissioners' Reports

Commissioner Humpert – Nothing to report.

Commissioner Koenig – No report.

Commissioner Black – We are excited about the animal shelter and coming up with solutions to get the fundraising drive going for the new adoption center.  Several years ago an estate of $250,000 was left in particular to the animal shelter and that began this fund.  We are going to grow this money to come up with the money needed to build the adoption center.  We welcome any citizen or group input interested in helping.

Executive Session

No executive session was called.

Adjournment

Commissioner Humpert made the motion to adjourn; seconded by Commissioner Koenig.