CITY OF PROSPECT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES
November 17, 2008

(A complete transcript of this meeting is available at City Halland 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; City Attorney Grover Potts; City Administrator Ann Simms; Police Chief Marvin Wilson; Recording Secretary Ann Melton; Court Reporter Bruce Handy.

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 October 20, 2008; Council Member Sandra Leonard seconded; passed unanimously.

MAYOR'S REPORT:

Mayor Eberle congratulated all who had been elected to new two-year terms on the City Council and noted that all five incumbent members who had stood for re-election on November 4th had in fact been re-elected.   Mayor Eberle also noted that Council Member Lee Zimmerman had decided not to run for another term on the Council and expressed his deep appreciation for Lee's six terms as a dedicated Council Member.   Mayor Eberle welcomed new Council Member-elect Mike Scott who was present in the audience.     

Mayor Eberle advised the Council that the Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Prospect and Hunting Creek Country Club concerning the city's new salt storage structure had been signed by all parties.   Site preparation for the new structure is nearly complete and the cement foundation for the structure should be able to be poured within the next few weeks.   It is hoped that the structure will be completed by the end of November or early December for utilization during the upcoming winter months.  

The City's annual "Pun'kin Paint'in" event drew a large crowd on October 26th and was very well received.   Nearly 175 pumpkins were painted and the event included The Grand Costume Parade, inflatable playgrounds, Radio Disney (courtesy of Republic Bank), carriage rides, and prizes for everyone.   All City employees assisted with the event.   Next year's Pun'kin Paint'in is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, 2009.       

Prospect's first annual Arborfest was held on November 1st and was very successful.   It was combined with Mayor's Beautiful Day and the final day of the Reading Center's Fall Book Sale.   All of the activities fed off each other very well.   The primary goal of Arborfest was to convey helpful information regarding trees and urban forestation methods.   Peter Barber, Urban Forestry Partnership Coordinator with the Kentucky Division of Forestry, was on hand offering expert advice to citizens.   The City distributed Prospect-specific tree literature along with general literature from the Division of Forestry, the National Arbor Day Foundation, the International Society of Arboriculture, and other sources.   Demonstrations were held involving tree species identification, size assessment, and condition evaluation.   Two trees were planted in the open space between City Hall and the Fox Harbor neighborhood entrance.   Mayor Eberle expressed thanks to all the members of the Forestation Board who worked on planning and staffing the event.   The 2009 Arborfest will likely be conducted in the spring at Putney Pond.  

Mayor's Beautiful Day was also held on November 1st and included the traditional distribution of free flower bulbs for fall planting. This year nearly 1,500 bulbs were distributed.   The two featured varieties were Yellow Daffodil and Mountain Lavender Lily.     

The Fall Library Book Sale was conducted for Prospect residents only on Thursday, October 30th, and for the general public on Friday and Saturday, October 31st and November 1st.   Proceeds from the book sale totaled nearly $900 and will be used to benefit the library.   Mayor Eberle thanked Council Member Sandra Leonard and Reading Center Committee Chair Sarah Kelly who supervised approximately twenty volunteers in preparing for and conducting the sale.   The tentative dates next year's Spring Library Book Sale are April 23, 24 & 25, 2009.    

POLICE REPORT:

Police Chief Marvin Wilson presented the Council with the monthly police report and statistics.   He advised the Council that officers responded to a series of car break-ins and attempted burglaries on the early morning of October 6th. Later that day, two juveniles were arrested charged with the crimes.   Many of the items stolen have been returned to the owners.   The Police Department is continuing to work with citizens and Block Watch groups to prevent similar crimes and eliminate situations which offer opportunity for criminal activity.   

Chief Wilson also noted that the Police Department recently received a $40,000 grant for computers to be installed in police cars.   This is the third year in a row that the City has received such a grant.   All of Prospect's patrol cars will now be equipped with computers to assist in crime prevention and to run criminal record checks on suspects who are stopped by officers.   The dollar amount of grants received over the years by the City for in-car computers now total $77,000.

COMMENTS FROM CITIZENS AND GUESTS:

Council Member-elect Mike Scott addressed the Council noting that he is looking forward to serving as a member of the Prospect City Council when the new Council is sworn in after the first of the year.    

NEW BUSINESS:

Council Member Alan Simon gave first reading to 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.

Council Member Alan Simon noted a problem with the parking of vehicles on the roadway along Deep Creek Drive in the area of a steep hill.   Discussion followed.   It was the recommendation of the Council to place "No Parking on Hill" signs on Deep Creek Drive similar to those currently in place at the location of a steep hill on Fox Harbor Road.   In the interim, Chief Wilson noted that officers would contact the owners of the vehicles about the safety problems caused by street parking on the roadway.    

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

No unfinished business.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

Mayor Eberle indicated a need for a brief Executive Session to discuss anticipated possible litigation. Council Member Loretta Ertel made the motion to go into executive session; Council Member Lee Zimmerman seconded; passed unanimously.   The Council went into Executive Session at 7:29 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT:

Upon return from Executive Session, Mayor Eberle stated that no specific decisions had been made by the City in the Executive Session.   Council Member Alan Simon moved to adjourn; Council Member Loretta Ertel seconded; passed unanimously.

Mayor Eberle declared the meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m.  

Respectfully submitted,
Ann Melton
Recording Secretary

Approved:
Todd B. Eberle
Mayor

ATTEST:
Ann R. Simms
City Clerk