KENTON COUNTY FISCAL COURT

March 9, 2004

MINUTES

The regular meeting of the Kenton County Fiscal Court was called to order at 9:10 a.m. at the Independence Courthouse.  Those in attendance were Judge Ralph A. Drees; Commissioners Dan Humpert, Barbara Black and Adam Koenig; Kenton County Attorney Garry Edmondson; Police Chief Bill Dorsey; Emergency Management Director Ed Burk; Interim Animal Shelter Director Dan Evans; Public Works Director Joe Murphy; County Road Engineer Charlie Meyer; Court Reporter Cathy Johnston; and Guest Rob Ziegler.

The Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance was led by Commissioner Barbara Black.

Minutes:

Judge Drees asked if there were any questions or comments regarding the minutes of the February 24 meeting.  There being none, he asked for a motion for approval.  Commissioner Black made the motion the minutes be approved with Commissioner Humpert's second.  The minutes were unanimously approved following roll call.

Delegations:

There were not any guests present to address the court.

Finance and County Budgets:

County Treasurer Ivan Frye reporting:  Announced the claims list had previously been submitted for the consideration of the court and asked for questions.  There being no questions, it was asked that the court acknowledge that the February monthly report had been distributed.

Old Business:

There was not any old business to bring before the court.

New Business:

Permission to seek bids for uniforms except for police and jail, Deputy Judge Scott Kimmich reporting:  Mr. Kimmich said that over the past several years the situation was that every department has chosen their own uniform selection.  In a meeting with the treasurer and purchasing officer, the decision was made that in everyone's best interest from a budgetary standpoint, the labor positions across county government would be in a similar style to keep the cost down.  We are asking for permission to go to bid for those uniforms on a rental basis.

Judge Drees asked for a motion to grant this permission.  Commissioner Humpert made the motion with Commissioner Koenig's second for the consent to go to bid.  The motion was unanimously approved upon roll call.

Handout No. 04-10:  Authorize Kenton County Judge-Executive to sign agreement with Glenhurst Development, LLC for construction and maintenance services to Hogrefe Road, Scott Kimmich reporting:  Mr. Kimmich stated there were a number of developments going in this area.  The developer is in the process of fixing the section of the road directly adjacent to his property but there is no requirement for additional work on the rest of the county's roadway.  The Public Works Department has negotiated a contract with Mr. Berling, as the lead member of Glenhurst Development, where we will provide the material and he will provide the labor so that when this project is complete, the entire road will be resurfaced and there will not be a section left out in the middle which is the county's portion torn up as a result of construction.  This is a cooperative agreement bringing the developer and the county together to ensure this roadway is brought back up to standard upon completion of the project.  Mr. Meyer and Mr. Murphy are here to answer any questions.

Commissioner Humpert said he had driven over the road when it had been talked about a couple of years ago and at that time it appeared to him the state was doing part of the construction and it looked as though that part of the road would be completely rehabbed.  It looked as though the developer was going to do the other part of the road and he did not see where any part of the road needed to be completed by the court.

Mr. Meyer said that at approximately 1200 feet, about one-quarter of a mile, the state portion ended.

Commissioner Humpert said, this being the case, it would not take a lot of money to complete the road.

Mr. Meyer answered the county's portion is estimated to be less than $70,000 including preparation of the sub-base, eight inches of blacktop base, one and one-half inches of surface, curb and gutters, and the sidewalk on one side.  This section is the older one and if we don't do this, by the time they finish developing we will have spent a fortune patching it and we will have a patched road.

Judge Drees asked if the road abutted Charles Berling's property line.

Mr. Meyers answered no that his property is on the back side of this.

Commissioner Black asked if there is a schedule as to when this will happen in relation to when the development will actually be finished.  Will this be done after the development is finished or will it be torn up again?

Mr. Meyers said this should be done now and put the curb and gutter in and build the sidewalk and surface up to the base course.  When the development is done, come in and put on the surface course so you can correct any problems.  There will be something that looks finished and new when you are done.  If this is not done now, we will always be patching it and the citizens who live out there will always be calling about the condition of the road.

Commissioner Black asked if Glenhurst had done their portion.

Mr. Meyers said where the 1200-foot section ends, there is a section they are in the process of rebuilding and it is almost up to the base course and most of the curb and gutter is on in this area.

Judge Drees said this could be years and Mr. Meyers stated he thought they would put the surface all the way back in once they get it developed.

Commissioner Black asked if this would be more than a year and Mr. Meyers said this would probably be a seven-year development and the coat would be needed before that time.

Commissioner Black also asked for the estimated date of the final coat.

Mr. Meyers said that in the negotiations we may be able to specify that we want the coat on within two years.  If you delay putting the surface on and you need to repair the road, you can repair the base and then come back and put the surface on at a later date.

Commissioner Koenig asked if this did not need to be put out to bid since it is over $20,000.  Attorney Voelker said the materials supplied for the project have already been bid and this is why we did not need to bid and we are not actually paying for the construction.

Judge Drees asked for a motion.  Commissioner Humpert moved the agreement be signed by the Judge with Commissioner Black seconding the motion.  The motion was unanimously approved upon roll call.

Handout No. 04-11:  Authorize Judge Drees to sign an agreement with Dr. Chris Wong for medical services for the Detention Center, Scott Kimmich reporting:  Dr. Wong is a principal member of the Patient First physicians' group in Florence, his fee is $75,000 and he will be there four days a week to do medical care.  He has previously served as the attending physician at the Campbell County Detention Center and they were very pleased with his services.  Dr. Wong is in a partnership with other doctors who can cover if he is not available and he has a full-time physician's assistant that works with him and is also available to us.  He comes highly recommended by the jailer and the Director of Medical Services in the jail, Ms. Pam Sams, so we are respectfully requesting approval of the contract.

Commissioner Humpert asked if the physician's assistant comes with the doctor or do we pay separately for this.

Mr. Kimmich answered the physician's assistant will attend if the doctor is unable to attend.  The physician's assistant can do many of the things the doctor can and there may be occasions when the assistant will cover for the doctor.

Commissioner Humpert then asked if the $75,000 covers the doctor and the assistant.

Mr. Kimmich said this amount was a flat fee with Dr. Wong being the principal provider with others filling in as necessary.

Attorney Voelker said the doctor is covering his malpractice, and if he gets sued, there is no out-of-pocket expenses for the county.

Attorney Edmondson said we needed to change the word doctor to physician throughout the contract.

Commissioner Koenig made the motion that the contract be approved with Commissioner Black seconding the motion.  The motion for the contract was unanimously approved following roll call.

Resolutions:

There were not any resolutions presented to the court.

Executive Orders:

Executive Order No. 04-15-Appointment of Rick Wessels as a member of the Building Appeals Board for the unexpired term of Larry Humpert, expiring August 15, 2004.

Commissioner Black made the motion that the appointment be approved with Commissioner Humpert's second.  Motion was unanimously approved upon roll call.

Executive Order No. 04-16-Resignation of David Bradley as a police officer for the Kenton County Police Department, effective April 1, 2004.

Commissioner Koenig made a motion that the resignation be accepted with Commissioner Black seconding the motion.  Upon roll call, the motion was unanimously approved.

Executive Order No. 04-17-Resignation of Steven Gay as GIS technician for the Information Technology Department, effective March 4, 2004.

Commissioner Humpert made a motion the resignation be accepted with Commissioner Koenig seconding the motion.  The motion was unanimously approved following roll call.

Executive Order No. 04-18-Appointment of various part-time positions at the Golf Courses, effective March 9, 2004.

Commissioner Black made the motion the executive order be accepted and Commissioner Koenig seconded the motion.  Following roll call vote, the motion was unanimously approved.

Citizen Address:

There were not any citizens present to address the court.

Staff Reports:

Deputy Judge Scott Kimmich-Reported he had one item to bring before the court.  He received one resolution that had been faxed to the office, and the attorney on behalf of the Kenton County Airport Board, Mr. Rob Ziegler, was in attendance to proceed with a petition for condemnation of parcel number 8243 for a runway extension.  The total process is approximately 4.488 acres and is located at 1459 Elijah Creek Road in Hebron.  This action is required by the FAA to proceed with the runway project.

Commissioner Humpert asked if the property could be outlined again.

Mr. Kimmich said the property was located at 1459 Elijah Creek Road in Hebron, Kentucky.

Commissioner Humpert asked if this was a resident or a farm.

Mr. Ziegler said a residence had been removed from the property and there was not one now located there.  There is a small commercial activity there that is a small concrete facility.  It is not a plant but there are trucks and employees come in to get the trucks and drive them away.  This is on one continuous 2.698 acres.

Judge Drees asked who was the owner of the property.

Mr. Ziegler answered that the last name was Kennedy and he did not have a first name.  The total acreage of the tract is 4.488 acres but we are only using the easement of the 2.698.  We are not buying the acreage but getting a navigation easement over it.

Commissioner Humpert asked the meaning of a navigation easement.

Mr. Ziegler said this will give us the right to fly over the property and prohibits them from building structures up to 70 feet and allows us to discharge noise and fumes.  It also restricts certain activities such as a residence being built on the property and any other activity that would generate a lot of assemblage of people such as churches and schools.

Mr. Kimmich asked if the landowner owns 4.48 acres, why take a navigation easement of only 2.69 acres.  It seems if they put something on the other two acres, those who use it for whatever purpose will be complaining the planes are too low, the noise is too loud, the fumes smell too bad, etc.  Why not take it over the entire four acres?

Mr. Ziegler said this area is in the runway protection zone (RPZ) which is an area that is already carved out and is a little bit different than some of the areas that we have purchased before for runway expansion.  The RPZ is closer to the runway.

Commissioner Black asked if there would be any kind of circumstances, because the other two acres were not included in the easement request and, if there was something built on it would this be an issue, or is it enough of a buffer zone.

Mr. Ziegler answered that the amount required and needed under the RPZ has been gotten and no more acreage is required.

Commissioner Black asked if someone considered purchasing acreage in the future would there be any way in knowing if there is an easement on the land.

Mr. Ziegler answered that the navigation easement would be recorded and anyone purchasing property would come across this information.

Commissioner Humpert asked how the easement would be paid.

Mr. Ziegler answered it is a one-time fee.

Commissioner Black made the motion to seek approval of the condemnation and Commissioner Koenig seconded the motion.  The motion unanimously passed upon roll call.

Judge Drees asked if a price could not be agreed upon for the purchase of the property.

Mr. Ziegler said this was a special section that the Airport Board approved at their meeting because they could not agree on a price.  This allows us to go ahead with condemnation and we still need to take it to court over the price.

Human Resources Director-No report.

County Attorney's Report:

Attorney Garry Edmondson announced that on April 20 we will have the first reading of the sexually-oriented business ordinance.  The people that did the study is delaying this until April 20, when they will come and make a presentation and be prepared to answer questions.

Commissioner Humpert asked how many public hearings there would be.

Attorney Edmondson answered that it was an ordinance and there would be two readings, and Kenton and Campbell County would adopt it so it will have countywide impact.

Commissioner Humpert asked if a city could opt out of the ordinance.

Attorney Edmondson said the only way this could be done is if they adopt an even stricter one than the counties will have.

Commissioners Reports:

Commissioner Black-Said she would like to commend Garry for his leadership, especially with the follow-through on the sexually-oriented business issue.  This was brought up years ago and the court had the foresight to go ahead and begin the process before the need was there.  Many other communities are trying to deal with the affect after the fact.  When these businesses are there, they are hurting other businesses, property values in the community, the families, and it effects the bottom line for government in their ability to have successful businesses and collect the taxes on other businesses who go out of business because of the negative secondary effects of these types of establishments.  She said she wanted to thank the court for their support years ago when no one knew what a sexually-oriented business was and the fact these businesses do effect the bottom line for a county and any municipality.  It is not fair to the citizens to be proactive and provide protection.  She also said she wanted to thank the citizens for their values and the other people who helped in advisement, but especially our county attorney who jumped on this issue and, with the approval of the Judge and the Fiscal Court, brought a group in and we can now approach this from a countywide basis for Kenton and Campbell County.  We hope the news will be good news as far as additional sites that must be provided.  She expressed her gratitude to Attorney Edmondson for his leadership and the amount of the work put into this project.

She said she also appreciated the Campbell County Fiscal Court, their cities and Judge Pendery and wanted to thank all of the elected officials for being on board.  A lot more can be done to protect the citizens when we all work together as counties and put it together under a large umbrella.  It provides greater protection and ensures the future success of businesses and the health of family.  As goes the family, so goes the county.

We are looking forward to the report on April 20 and encourage people to come and ask questions.

Commissioner Humpert-Said he would also like to commend the County Attorney.  He did a great job and showed great leadership.  There is a tremendous amount of intestinal fortitude on his part to keep this going, and initially there was frustration because Campbell County was not going to go with the project.  The Campbell County Attorney also tremendously helped to get this going.  The mayor's group also helped and they also need a commendation.  There is still some frustration as to why Boone County did not jump on board and he did not understand why, because a sexually-oriented business could be put up close to the speedway in Gallatin County.

Attorney Edmondson said the ordinance now being done is the regulation and the zoning comes next.  We have a moratorium in place on the zoning.  We are continually encouraging Boone County to get involved but they are not interested and he has no idea why.

Commissioner Koenig-No report.

Executive Session:

There was no executive session called.

Adjournment:

Commissioner Humpert made the motion to adjourn and Commissioner Black seconded the motion.  The meeting adjourned with the Fiscal Court's vote of yes.