CITY OF PROSPECT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES
December 8, 2008

(A complete transcript of this meeting is available at City Hall and on the City's Web Site, http://www.prospectky.com)

PRESENT:

Mayor Todd Eberle; Council Members Loretta Ertel, Sandra Leonard, Stuart Miles, Alan Simon, Sandra Tucci, Lee Zimmerman; Acting City Attorney Frank Chuppe; City Administrator Ann Simms; Police Chief Marvin Wilson; Recording Secretary Debra Skaggs; Court Reporter Bruce Handy.

Absent:   Council Member Sandra Leonard

Mayor Eberle called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Council Member Loretta Ertel moved approval of the minutes of the regular City Council Meeting of November 17, 2008; Council Member Alan Simon seconded; passed unanimously.

SPECIAL ORDER:

Mayor Eberle presented Lee Zimmerman with a plaque commemorating his 14 years of service as a Member of the Prospect City Council.   He expressed deep appreciation to Lee for service to the city in so many ways.   Mayor Eberle noted that Councilman Zimmerman was first appointed to the City Council on March 21, 1995 replacing Ann Simms who left the Council to accept the position of City Administrator.   Lee received the Beach Craigmyle Award, Prospect's annual public service award, in 2004; has always played a key administrative role in Prospect's 4 th of July Celebration; and has ably served on the Prospect City Council continuously since 1995.   Lee Zimmerman's deep love for Prospect was recognized.   Mayor Eberle noted his continual reliance on Lee's excellent judgment and clear understanding of what it means to be a dedicated, effective public servant.   Council Members Tucci, Ertel, Simon and Miles each expressed their appreciation for Lee's dedication to the city.   Mayor Eberle awarded the commemorative plaque, after which Councilman Zimmerman personally thanked the Mayor and all of the City Council Members, noting the particular skills each of them had brought to the city over the years.

MAYOR'S REPORT:

The 2009 city calendars have been received from the printer.   Mayor Eberle noted that they are the most attractive and most informative calendars the city has ever produced.   The calendar will be mailed to all Prospect residential and business addresses later in the week.  

Light Up Prospect was held on the evening of December 5 th and was once again very successful.   The horse drawn carriage in which "Frosty" arrived at the event and the free carriage rides which followed were an especially popular new feature this year.  

Street cleaning of all city roads was conducted last week and a springtime street cleaning will be conducted prior to the Kentucky Derby Festival.  

The Mayor and Council Members complimented the prompt response of the Prospect Police Department to alleviate traffic congestion following the closure of the River Road one-lane bridge across Harrods Creek.   The bridge is not within the Prospect city limits, but has affected traffic flows for our residents.   The City has been in contact with Louisville Metro Public Works, but at this point it is not known when the bridge may be reopened.  

The city's salt storage structure is nearing completion and the concrete flooring should be in place and sealed later this week.   Initial deliveries of road salt have been made in preparation for the winter months.  

The Prospect Forestation Board has handled several requests in the past month including approval of island plantings in Hunting Creek and the planting of several dogwood trees along U.S. 42 on public land north of City Hall during the Prospect Arborfest Celebration.   Prospect resident Patricia Holub has been working on formatting the data collected during the 2008 public tree inventory.   Mayor Eberle is working on the city's application to be certified as a "Tree City U.S.A." by the National Association of State Foresters and the Arbor Day Foundation.   The application is due December 15 th .   The Kentucky Division of Forestry has selected Prospect as one of the sites to feature during the accreditation visit to be conducted by the U.S. Forest Service on January 7 & 8, 2009.   Prospect is also working with the Kentucky Division of Forestry to assess several trees within the city which may qualify as state record trees of particular species.    

POLICE REPORT:

Police Chief Marvin Wilson presented the Council with the monthly police report and statistics.   He updated the Council on the recent series of car break-ins and attempted burglaries and noted that one of the suspects may also be involved in a break-in which occurred at his own home.   A juvenile who has been convicted regarding the car break-ins has been sentenced to perform community service for the city.   The police department has also been working on several fraud and identity theft cases over the past month.  

NEW BUSINESS:

Council Member Alan Simon moved and Council Member Loretta Ertel seconded, SECOND READING for ORDINANCE 492, SERIES 2008: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 154.05 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF PROSPECT RELATING TO FENCES SURROUNDING AND SECURING SWIMMING POOLS AND SWIMMING POOL AREAS.

Passed and adopted on unanimous vote.  

Council Member Alan Simon gave first reading to ORDINANCE 493, SERIES 2008:   AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE GENERAL FUND OF THE CITY OF PROSPECT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 2007 AND ENDING JUNE 30, 2008, SO AS TO REFLECT THE RESULTS OF THE CITY'S ANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDIT.

Council Member Alan Simon moved and Council Member Stuart Miles seconded adoption of CITY OF PROSPECT RESOLUTION NO. 3, SERIES 2008:   A RESOLUTION CONCERNING AVAILABILITY OF DEFERRED COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTS FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF PROSPECT.

The Mayor noted that the proposed deferred compensation arrangement would be administered by the Kentucky Public Employees' Deferred Compensation Authority.   It would allow employees to voluntarily defer income and would not involve any expense to the city.   Passed and adopted on a unanimous vote.  

Council Member Alan Simon noted a need to review city ordinances regarding entrance lighting to commercial areas and shopping centers.   A recent Outdoor Lighting Permit Application was granted only provisionally by the City for the U.S. Highway 42 entrances to Prospect Place Professional Center.   Council Member Simon noted some confusion as to the required types of lighting and suggested that a committee be appointed to review commercial entrance lighting.   Discussion followed.   Mayor Eberle agreed to appoint a committee to review commercial entrance lighting prior to the next council meeting.  

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

Council Member Alan Simon inquired as to progress on the issue of vegetable gardens and fences in residential areas and road right-of-way areas.   The issue was raised by a citizen expressing concern over a garden area on Indian Springs Court at the June 2008 City Council Meeting.   Mayor Eberle noted that Council Member Loretta Ertel had been conducting some background research on how that and similar situations are being addressed in other parts of the city.   There was general agreement that one particular fenced garden should not be the subject of an ordinance revision.   Mayor Eberle noted that various issues of ordinance interpretation and enforcement concerning fences have arisen in past months and it may be appropriate for all city fence ordinances to be reviewed.   The Council Members agreed that a committee should be appointed to review fence regulation and enforcement.   Mayor Eberle agreed to appoint such a committee prior to the next council meeting.        

ADJOURNMENT:

Council Member Lee Zimmerman moved to adjourn; Council Member Alan Simon seconded; passed unanimously.  

Mayor Eberle declared the meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.  

Respectfully submitted,
Debra Skaggs
Recording Secretary

Approved:
Todd B. Eberle
Mayor

ATTEST:
Ann R. Simms
City Clerk