KENTON COUNTY FISCAL COURT

M I N U T E S

SEPTEMBER 11, 2007, 9:00 A.M.

The regular meeting of the Kenton County Fiscal Court was called to order at the Independence Courthouse.  Present at the meeting were Judge Executive Ralph A. Drees; Commissioners Dan Humpert, Kris Knochelmann and Sara Voelker; Deputy Judge Executive Scott Kimmich; County Attorney Garry Edmondson; County Treasurer Jerry Knochelmann; Human Resources Director Joe Shriver; Public Safety Director Bill Dorsey; Police Chief Ed Butler; Public Works Director Joe Murphy; Jailer Terry Carl; Special Projects Manager Ralph Bailey; Assistant County Attorney Stacy Hege; Court Reporter Cathy Johnston; and Guests.

Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance

The invocation was given and pledge of allegiance led by Commissioner Dan Humpert­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Approval of Minutes

Judge Drees asked the court for approval of the minutes dated August 28, 2007.  Commissioner Knochelmann made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Voelker.  The motion was unanimously approved with the vote of aye except for Commissioner Humpert who was present but not voting because he had not attended the meeting.

Delegations

There were not any delegations present to appear before the court.

General Business

Request authorization for County Judge Executive Ralph Drees to execute contract with Judge Douglas Stephens to facilitate development of programs to reduce jail population/address recidivism:  Judge Drees said the court members had in their packet a copy of the outline of what Judge Stephens would do to reduce costs in the detention center and to address recidivism at a cost of $100 per hour for time spent on the project.  Judge Drees said he thought this was more than reasonable considering the money that could be saved.  With the court's agreement, Judge Stephens will decide how this program should be worked out and how the court can save the most money and how to best help the county.

Commissioner Humpert said he also thought this would be money well spent and the county could conceivably save hundreds of thousands of dollars in the future.  Judge Drees said that also in the future a larger detention center would not have to be built when this program becomes successful.

Commissioner Humpert made the motion to approve; seconded by Commissioner Knochelmann and the motion unanimously passed with a roll call vote of Commissioner Humpert, yes; Commissioner Voelker, yes; Commissioner Knochelmann, yes and Judge Drees, yes.

Request authorization for County Judge Executive Ralph Drees to enter into a contract for architectural services contingent upon review by the county attorney (contract to be presented at the fiscal court meeting):  Judge Drees said the court would come back to this item later in the meeting.

Resolutions

Resolution 07-20

Resolution to authorize application for Kentucky's "Ready, Set, Success" program grant:  Mr. Kimmich said that Boone County has had a very successful rate with this preschool program that is designed to improve the health and learning schools of minor children.  The United Way is working upon setting up a similar model called the "Ready, Set, Success" program and they are asking Kenton County to put up $5,000 for a $12,000 grant to start putting one of these programs together in Kenton County.  Basically, the same way Boone County's program started was with a small grant and they now have about 15 organizations participating in early learning development programs.

Commissioner Humpert said this sounds very ambitious for the amount of money the county is spending and asked if all of this could be done on $17,000.  Mr. Kimmich said he thought they were looking for partners and resources from others in Kenton County and a lot of the leg work has already been done.

Commissioner Voelker made the motion for approval with a second from Commissioner Humpert and the motion unanimously passed with a roll call vote of Commissioner Voelker, yes; Commissioner Knochelmann, yes; Commissioner Humpert, yes; and Judge Drees, yes.

Ordinances

Public hearing for adoption of Ordinance 225.47:  Mr. Kimmich said the legal notice did appear in the paper stating the tax rates for 2007 and there were no written or oral communications received in the Judge Executive's office prior to this meeting.  There was also no one in the audience that wished to speak at the public hearing so Commissioner Voelker made the motion to close it; seconded by Commissioner Knochelmann and the hearing was declared closed.

Ordinance No. 225.47

Second reading of ordinance relating to the levy and adoption of 2007 tax rates on real and personal property to provide revenue for expenditure in the current fiscal year:  Commissioner Humpert made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Knochelmann and the motion unanimously passed with a roll call vote of Commissioner Knochelmann, yes; Commissioner Humpert, yes; Commissioner Voelker, yes; and Judge Drees, yes.

Consent Agenda

Claims List-County Treasurer Jerry Knochelmann:  Commissioner Knochelmann said that on page two was an item under info technology for development on line for $5,000 to Revize LLC and asked what this charge was for and Mr. Knochelmann said he would get back to the Commissioner to let him know.  He said the other item was on page seven under arts and cultural that there was a draw for Murphy Catton, Inc. in the amount of $8,887.55 and asked what this amount was for, and Mr. Knochelmann said that it was for Behringer-Crawford that was drawn from state money.  Judge Drees asked if this was paid directly to Murphy Catton and Mr. Knochelmann said yes and the state will reimburse the county.

Judge Drees asked Mr. Frye if he knew what the $5,000 amount was for under info technology and he said it was the annual license fee for a program that information technology uses to generate reports and the county's website.

There being no further questions, Judge Drees said warrants will be issued and the bills paid.

Administrative Actions

Handout No. 07-73

Approval of the sale of ten various properties to Habitat for Humanity for a total sum of $43,909, Ralph Bailey reporting::  Mr. Bailey said these properties were properly advertised and the only bid received was from Habitat for the 10 properties.  The property on Garrard was also advertised but no bids were received.  Commissioner Knochelmann made the motion to accept with a second from Commissioner Voelker and the motion passed with a roll call vote of Commissioner Humpert, yes; Commissioner Voelker, yes; Commissioner Knochelmann, yes; and Judge Drees, yes.

Handout No. 07-74

Acknowledgement of UPS agreement to settle occupational license fee refund issue, Ivan Frye reporting:  Judge Drees said that UPS had been very cooperative and good to work with and the county shares the responsibility for the over payment.  The cities were also very cooperative.

Mr. Frye said that UPS did not necessarily agree that their first year of 2002 fell outside of the refund period but they agreed to forego that and accept payment for the last two years on the amount equal to the last two years of over payment.  This allows the county to have a lot easier burden of collecting the money from the cities and for a total of $520,000, all claims will be cleared.  The county really appreciates the cities coming forward with the money.

Judge Drees thanked Mr. Frye for the work that was put in on this and said it was a sticky situation because the cities had received more money than they should have and it had to be returned.

Commissioner Knochelmann asked what the amount was for 2002 and Mr. Frye answered that it was $167,000.  Judge Drees said he thought the cities were happy to get this cleared up and UPS did forego the extra money.  Mr. Kimmich said that inasmuch as this is actually the settlement of a case that very likely would have gone to court, it would be appropriate for the court to make a motion to acknowledge receipt of the Judge's letter, as well as the letter from UPS saying that all parties agree to the final settlement and the court confirms the Judge's action of authorizing him to send a check.

Commissioner Voelker made the motion to accept; seconded by Commissioner Humpert and the motion unanimously passed with a voice vote of aye.  Judge Drees asked Mr. Frye when the check would be mailed and he answered that it was on the claims list and would be mailed today.

Handout No. 07-75

Request approval to award motor vehicle repair parts bid to Rim & Wheel Service, Inc., Alexandria Auto Parts and Kentucky Motor Service:  Commissioner Knochelmann made the motion to accept and Commissioner Humpert seconded the motion.  The motion unanimously passed with a roll call vote of Commissioner Humpert, yes; Commissioner Voelker, yes; Commissioner Knochelmann, yes; and Judge Drees, yes.

Handout No. 07-76

Request approval to extend office supplies contract to Staples Business Advantage:  Commissioner Knochelmann made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Voelker and the motion unanimously passed with a roll call vote of Commissioner Voelker, yes; Commissioner Knochelmann, yes; Commissioner Humpert, yes; and Judge Drees, yes.

Executive Orders

Executive Order No. 07-97

Approval of resignation of Brett Finnell from the Department of Fleet Management, effective September 14, 2007:  Commissioner Voelker moved for approval with a second from Commissioner Humpert and the motion unanimously passed with the vote of aye.

Executive Order No. 07-98

Approval of appointment of Scott Holten as equipment operator for the Parks & Recreation Department, effective September 17, 2007:  Commissioner Humpert made the motion for approval with a second from Commissioner Voelker and the motion unanimously passed with the aye vote.

Judge Drees said Mr. Brandstetter had come into the courtroom and he would like to address the issue of the item for architectural service for the detention center.

Request authorization for County Judge Executive Ralph Drees to enter into a contract for architectural services contingent upon review by the county attorney (contract to be presented at the fiscal court meeting):  Judge Drees said Mr. Brandstetter had a contract that the county attorney had not yet perused and said he would like to get approval of it subject to the county attorney's approval and his recommendations.  Judge Drees said they had also worked with Mr. Bill Martin to decipher what the contract says and there were some changes made.  The contract is for six percent of the construction cost of $36,000,000 and if it goes over $36,000,000, the county has to pay an additional four percent on the part that goes over.

Mr. Brandstetter said that this is a standard industry contract that dovetails into the other contract forms that will be used with the construction manager or the other contractors, as well as suppliers.  All of these contract forms stick together and it has been around since 1917.  In this case, we started out working with the airport engineering department and they do a lot of capital projects.  Mr. Edmondson and I will get together and we will be able to work through this.

Judge Drees said this is a contract to work with the architect to design the facility and not the actual area.  There has been some preliminary engineering done on the Mary Laidley site and from all indications of the engineering part, it could work.  He cautioned anyone from considering this a final decision as more work will be necessary before any final decision can be made.

Mr. Brandstetter asked the court to look at the bottom of page 12 of the agreement where it will specifically show what the Judge is talking about.  It says under pre-design services that the architect will assist in final site selection.  Judge Drees said this is an additional $20,000 over and above the contract.

Commissioner Voelker said she would like to see Judge Drees', Mr. Brandstetter's and Attorney Edmondson's changes that were done from the original contract as quickly as possible.  Commissioner Humpert said he did not see a timeline on the contract and asked if there was one.  Mr. Brandstetter said that officially in the document they had 48 months and there is a provision that says if the work is not done in 48 months, some of those hourly rate provisions might be re-examined.  If we are asked to do additional services, the hourly rates that would be used as the basis for those services are used as a baseline.  As far as the actual project is concerned, we are looking at approximately a year for design and bidding and another 18 months for construction.  Commissioner Humpert said he would like to see those dates in the contract.

Mr. Brandstetter said when going through the interview process, they were asked what an estimated schedule would be and a schedule was provided at that time starting in the middle of September and moving on through design and construction.  Several assumptions had to be made at the time.  The architect cannot guarantee when all of the work will be done because most of it is in control of the fiscal court.  We are on schedule right now.  Commissioner Humpert said he would like to have a time frame in the contract of 12 months for design and 18 months for construction.  Commissioner Knochelmann said the court had interviewed others and Brandstetter Carroll came out on top and the one thing he was very, very happy with was the rate of six percent with a cap of 36 and this was at or below what the rate is today.  Mr. Brandstetter said the county was very fortunate in having the resources available in engineering and the leadership department.

Commissioner Humpert asked what the last jail was that Mr. Brandstetter had worked for and he answered Campbell County.  Judge Drees said that was difficult to work with because it was a very tight site.  Judge Drees said he was asking for preliminary approval today and at the next meeting this could be ratified depending upon agreement with the county attorney and his comments.

Commissioner Humpert made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Voelker and the motion was unanimously approved with Commissioner Voelker voting yes; Commissioner Knochelmann, yes; Commissioner Humpert, yes; and Judge Drees, yes.

Mr. Kimmich asked Mr. Brandstetter if there was a way his staff could take the initial contract and do cross out and red line where the Judge's and county attorney's changes have been made so the copy received for final review will have what was originally proposed and the changes that have been made.  Mr. Brandstetter answered yes that his firm could do this.

Citizens Address

There were not any citizens present that wanted to address the court.

Administrative Reporting

DEPUTY JUDGE EXECUTIVE-Scott Kimmich:  The next meeting is set for September 25 and there is a schedule conflict on that evening and it is being asked that the fiscal court convene at 4:00 p.m. on that day instead of the 7:00 p.m. time.  A formal motion is being asked that the 7:00 p.m. meeting be canceled and the Judge will issue a special call for a meeting at 4:00 p.m. that afternoon and notify in advance of the agenda items.

Commissioner Voelker made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Humpert and the motion unanimously passed with the vote of aye.

COUNTY TREASURER-Jerry Knochelmann:  Nothing to report.

HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR-Joe Shriver:  Nothing to report.

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

Commissioners' Reports

COMMISSIONER DAN HUMPERT-Nothing to report.

COMMISSIONER SARA VOELKER-Nothing to report.

COMMISSIONER KRIS KNOCHELMANN-Nothing to report.

Judge-Executive's Report

Judge Drees said he did not have anything further to report.

Executive Session

Judge Drees said an executive session is requested pursuant to KRS 61.810(1-B) to discuss the acquisition of property located on Mary Laidley Drive for the potential development of a detention center for Kenton County.

Commissioner Humpert made the motion with a second from Commissioner Voelker and the court went into executive session with the unanimous vote of aye.

Upon completion of the executive session, Commissioner Knochelmann made the motion to return to regular court session; seconded by Commissioner Voelker and the court returned to session with a unanimous vote of aye.

Deputy Judge Executive Kimmich presented a motion to authorize County Judge Executive Ralph A. Drees to negotiate an option(s) for the acquisition of property located at Mary Laidley Drive for the express purpose of constructing a detention center facility.  Mr. Kimmich confirmed with the county attorney that the motion was accurate as stated and Mr. Edmondson concurred.

Commissioner Knochelmann moved for approval and Commissioner Humpert seconded the motion.  The motion was approved with a roll call vote of Commissioner Humpert, yes; Commissioner Voelker, yes; Commissioner Knochelmann, yes; and Judge Drees, yes.

Adjournment

Since there was no further business to come before the court, Commissioner Humpert made the motion to adjourn; seconded by Commissioner Knochelmann.  The motion was unanimously approved with the vote of aye.