This December marks the end of my first term as your mayor.  While it has hardly been an uneventful year – nor, for that matter, an uneventful five years – it has been personally gratifying for me and, I hope, one of progress for our City.

Whatever we accomplished could not have been done without the help and assistance of so many. Chief among them, as so many of you know, is our outstanding City Administrator Ann Simms. No job is too large or too small, or too inconvenient as to time, for Ann to take on and accomplish. She also has the almost impossible task of keeping me organized. Every citizen of our City should be thankful I was able to convince Ann to take the Administrator’s job more than three years ago.

If you know your Rudyard Kipling, you will recall his writing about the “thin red line of heroes” in praising the unsung members of the British army. So, too, have we a line of heroes in City Clerk Phyllis O’Donnell, City Secretary Anne Brunner and Police Clerk Patricia Smith. It is a “thin” line too: many days the calls and visits are overwhelming in sheer number and complexity. Prospect is growing (thankfully, primarily, residentially) and that means more residents to serve, more builders to work with, more lost delivery people and more houses to watch when owners are on vacation. Phyllis, Anne and Patricia keep it all together and still have plenty of time to smile. I am not sure what we would do without them.

Our “part-time” employees sometimes seem as if they are full-time. Woody Smither, the City Engineer, seems to know where every pipe in Prospect is located. He is in charge of supervision of all the construction as well. It keeps him rather busy. Zane Kaiser, our City Handyman, keeps the “little things” from becoming big things. Whether it is a crooked sign, a stopped-up storm water drain or a “peculiar odor,” Zane is the one to call.

Our “other” part-time employee is John Evans, the City Attorney. Dubbed Prospect’s “fixture” by a reporter last year, his background, as well as legal expertise, has been invaluable.

Others seem like part of the staff. Tom Shane, president of Edwards Landscaping, takes so much personal interest in Prospect we should probably pay him a retainer. Gary Lawrence, who does most of our major contracting work, seems to be around constantly. Pat Durham, who built our gazebo, not only gave us a good deal, but excellent workmanship.

We had a raft of Prospect residents who contributed their time to our City. Fran Berg, Robert Bevins, Scott Buckingham and Nancy Sander have worked on our Ordinance Enforcement Board; for the third straight year, Cornelia Yankovich has been editing our Newsletter; Harry Hardin, who has been so helpful, even on a moment’s notice; and Ben Cissell, who, as President of Hunting Creek Country Club, has worked so well with us to the benefit of both the club and all our residents. Indeed, I could fill this entire report with names of people who have contributed to our City in the last year and still leave some out.

How pleased you should be with your elected City Council members! The time, energy and interest Raymond Burse, Nan Milliman, Alan Simon, Harold Smith, Sandy Tucci and Lee Zimmerman contribute is amazing. I cannot recall a single occasion in the past two years I have called on any one of them for help and failed to receive it.

Every one of them has a “day job” as well as their City position. Yet Zimmerman took two days away from his business to help interview candidates for Police Chief; Tucci volunteered to not only head the budget committee along with Smith, but she is now working on the Prospect Development Study, along with Simon, who, as you know, is practically the sole reason our Fourth of July Community Celebration is so successful. Burse has plunged in head first to solve several sticky negotiation sessions; his talents and abilities amaze me. And if it’s an “engineering” problem, you’ll be sure to find Smith in his boots sloshing through water and mud to help figure out what’s wrong.

 

The Police Department: A Year of Transition

Lt. Mike Day was named to be Chief of Police in October, following an extensive regional search. Sgt. Larry Johnson was promoted to fill the lieutenant’s position. The City also hired two new officers, Terry Butrum and Troy Cammack and is in the process of filling a vacant position.

With the retirement of Chief Lewis Nugent, Day became acting chief until his permanent appointment. He was the unanimous choice of a five-member review board. With the appointment of new leadership, the Department has rededicated itself to the concept of Community Oriented Policing, or COP. Nowhere has this been more in evidence than on Halloween – our officers were practically besieged by Trick-Or-Treaters for the candy they had in their cars. This, combined with the fact that it was the “most quiet” Halloween we have had in years speaks volumes for the COP concept.

Perhaps no one on the force is as COP-oriented as Officer Elgin Price. He organized the 3-on-3 basketball tournament this summer; he successfully solicited Teddy Bears from WalMart which our officers now carry with them for young children who may be injured or frightened; and he solved several crimes primarily by his contacts within our community. Price and Lt. Johnson wrote the first grant application from the Department in memory: which we hope will bring us federal funds in 1999 to hire an additional officer.

 

Our Sewer District: To Become Reality

Your City solicited your input as to whether we should organize and operate our own regional sewer district in the future, separate from MSD. A resounding 73 percent of those participating in the straw poll said we should.

We are currently in the process of advertising for bids for engineering services to plan the first stage of this project. While we expect little to happen in the next year other than planning and engineering studies, we should begin implementing the plan to remove our effluent discharge into Harrods Creek in 2000.

A roadblock to meeting those plans may occur as a result of a suit filed in November by MSD, seeking to block the plan. This suit also names the State of Kentucky as a defendant. We are somewhat mystified as to why MSD is spending public funds for this suit, which will have to be defended with public money, in the first place. Years ago, we would have sold the City’s three sewer treatment plants to MSD had it negotiated in good faith.

 

The Prospect Study: Key to the Future

In what is the most significant single action which will affect Prospect and all of us into the next century is a Land Use Study which the City is undertaking jointly with the Louisville and Jefferson County Planning Commission.

This study encompasses not only the City itself, but the entire far northern portion of Jefferson County, roughly along a line from the Ohio River to Woodhill Valley Road to Old Brownsboro Road (U.S. 22) to the Oldham County line and back to the river.

The committee, made up of two representatives from the Planning Commission, including Chairman Jack Dulworth; two representatives of the City Council, Tucci and Simon; and myself should choose a consultant by January. Ann Simms is the City’s liaison with the committee and planner David Hoeh is “on loan” to Prospect from the commission.

This study is extremely important to all of us. While, as a fourth class city, Prospect has zoning control within its own borders, such control does not exist one inch past the city limits. More important, Prospect is the only city in this area which has any direct control of zoning.

The study will look carefully at land use in this portion of the county and lay out a plan for future development which will guide the Planning Commission well into the next 20 years. Thus, we will have direct imput into land use decisions not only in our own City, but in significant areas which neighbor ours.

Additionally, the study will address transportation issues, particularly U.S. 42. Anyone who has lived here for more than a year or two cannot help but note the increasing traffic along the highway. The study’s second mission is to address this traffic and how to manage it – what the engineers call “traffic calming.” Additionally, there will be recommendations vis-a-vis the potential east end bridge.

 

The Bridge: Quiet on the Eastern Front

Mrs. Simms and I have had several meetings during the year with members of the consortium which will be performing the environmental impact study for the two proposed Kentucky-Indiana bridges and the rebuild of spaghetti junction. We are convinced our concerns will be fully and fairly considered, unlike the ORMIS study, which was an Indiana-driven political football.

We have been assurred by U.S. Rep. Anne Northup, a supporter of the east end bridge concept, that she will fully support additional federal funds to minimize any impact an east end bridge might have on Prospect. Other than that, the environmental study is just gearing up. There will be a number of opportunities for public input and we urge you to attend as many of these sessions as you can and voice your concerns. It is mandated by the federal government – which will ultimately pay to build whatever is built – that full, frank and open public comment must be considered in any study.

 

Our Infrastructure: More Improvements

Our “summer paving” program did not start until the late fall, due to the fact we used the County’s contractor and had to wait until they completed other work. We choose this route because much of the paving done this year was in areas of The Landings which had never received their “top coat” of asphalt, due to the bankruptcy of the developer, HFH. This paving means residents of the estates section of the Landings will have snow removal services this winter for the first time ever.

Our paving was not confined to The Landings. Having paved every major street which needed it in previous years, we successfully paved every street on our “needed to do” list. Going into winter, there is no street in Prospect which we currently need to pave,

We also revised our street markings throughout the City, adding turning arrows at Hunting Creek, Fox Harbor and The Landings. These arrows are designed to keep cars turning left onto U.S. 42 from blocking cars which wish to turn right.

Each traffic sign in the City that did not have one got a new metal backing this year. These backings not only make the signs look better, but will preserve them longer and make it a little more difficult to steal them. We anticipate the backings will outlast the signs themselves by quite a number of years.

 

Posies: We Do Them

The Prospect Posie Project moved into high gear during the year. We planted spring bulbs last fall and several kinds of perennials in the spring. This fall, to bring color, primarily to the subdivision entrances, we planted pansies, which were still in bloom in early December.

In reversing the City’s previous flower policy (“we don’t do posies”), it is our aim to increase the number and variety of flowers and to choose flowers which will keep our City looking good as close to year-around as possible. Over a period of years, these flower beds will be expanded.

 

Prospect’s Finances: In Good Shape

The City received its fifth good report from its annual audit in 1998.

Prospect’s General fund reserves now total $1.1 million, as compared to $334,000 since I became your mayor. Accordingly, the City Council approved my recommendation to lower property taxes from 22.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 21.25 cents per $100.

It is an easy matter to increase the surplus in the General Fund by not spending money. However, as this report – and those made in the previous four years – clearly shows, your City has expanded its services greatly during this period.

We must continue to be prudent, however. We are committed to a number of new projects, such as the City arboretum on land donated by developer Montfort Helm, and at some point in the next two years we must address two issues which have the potential for significant expenditures.

The first of these is as the City continues to add more residents, the need for personnel on the City staff continues to grow. We most likely will have to consider adding both additional office help and someone to assist the City’s handyman.

Secondly, we must address the issue of the capacity of City Hall itself and the long-held desire of many residents to have a library in the City. Recognizing this, the City Council included an appropriation in the current fiscal year’s budget to study what options might be available to us with the present City Hall. This study is yet to be undertaken, but we expect it to complete by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

 

Community: Expanding Our Offerings

The gazebo at the Cowley Open Space was completed this spring and immediately saw duty with an inaugural concert by famed folk singer Turley Richards. Impresario Alan Simon also scheduled a contemporary jazz program with the Ron Hayden Group later in the year.

Our Fourth of July Community Celebration was the biggest yet and the gazebo, as we had hoped, became a focus for this event. Not only did more people come, but more stayed for the picnic and concerts. The Second Annual Mayor’s Pun’kin Paintin’ Contest had close to 50 percent more entrants than the previous year and Light Up Prospect – with the addition of the fireworks – added a real sparkle to the beginning of the Holiday Season.

We will have an expanded concert series in 1999 and, of course, Pun’kin Paintin’, the Fourth and another Light Up Prospect. We were especially gratified that the “entry fee” for Pun’kin Paintin’ was a donation to Dare To Care: we filled five boxes with food.

 

The Shopping Center: We Lost

Our eight-year battle to prevent construction of the Prospect Village Shopping Center came to an end in the Kentucky Supreme Court. We lost.

However, due to the desire of the developer and the Kroger Company to expand the original design, we were able to successfully negotiate a number of aesthetic changes, impose some restrictions and, definitely, improve the center from what had been approved so many years ago. Having negotiated these changes, the City supported an amendment to the land use plan for Prospect Village which will expand the size of the Kroger store by several thousand square feet. Rough grading of the site was completed in the late fall and we expect building to begin in the spring.

We believe Prospect Village, as now conceived, will be the most aesthetically pleasing such development in Jefferson County. Its Williamsburg style will be different than anything else around, the buffering has been expanded and lighting will be subdued. We hope to combine the positive asthetics of Prospect Village with the village “concept” for which most of the City will be zoned under Jefferson County’s Cornerstone 2020 Comprehensive Plan to upgrade all the commercial area in the City. This will be a long-term project: the time to begin is now.

As an example, the upcoming renovation of the Dairy Mart as approved by the City incorporates several aesthetic attributes which will improve that part of the City. We plan to expand this concept in the years ahead.

 

Communications: Emphasis on the Web

We consider communicating with you to be the most important thing we do in our City. One of the things we have done is increased the number of pictures and graphic elements in our monthly Newsletter to provide visual as well as editorial information.

It was a big year for the internet, too. We created our own City domain to make it easier for you to find us (at www.prospectky.com) and expanded the web site in many ways. By having our own domain, we were able to add email addresses for members of the City Council and the City staff and to improve the “look and feel” of the site. We now, for instance, have a “new residents’ page,” have added event schedule information and an easy-to-use resident feedback form where you can send in comments, suggestions and the like. Of course, we’ve jazzed up the graphics, too.

Another new initative directly linked to the web is the establishment of a Minutes mailing list. We send out copies of the City Council Minutes via email to those who request them. You can sign up for this service on the web page.

We are hard at work on a book – approved by the Council in this year’s budget – about the history of Prospect. Gayle Pressman, an award-winning former reporter for The Courier-Journal is in the process of writing the book, which looks at the City’s first 25 years. In addition to being something we feel you, as residents, want, the book should be a good tool for real estate people to help “sell” Prospect. We also hope County economic development officials will be able to use this book to show executives seeking to locate in the area what a great place Prospect is to live.

For the second year we also held our neighborhood meetings so you could tell us what you liked and what you didn’t. We intend to continue this program in the future because all of us benefit by it.

 

The Future: Challenges Ahead

Imagine not only a new century, but a new millenium as well!

I have spent quite a bit of your time telling you about many of the things we are and will be doing in the next year: the bridge, the sewer project, the land use study and the composition of the City staff. We, of course, will continue our efforts on the “bread and butter” issues such as drainage, clean streets, weed-free lots and a host of other things.

Our biggest challenge, however, may be in the area of the proposed merger of Louisville city and Jefferson County government. A legislative delegation-sponsored study group is examining this issue with the idea of bringing a recommendation to the 2000 General Assembly. As I have said before, I believe merger can work to improve many things in Jefferson County, but one thing it cannot do is deliver the kind of services you now get from the City of Prospect. Based on several meetings with legislators, Louisville, Inc. officials and others, I believe this message is obvious to a vast majority of them all. We do need to both monitor and participate in this important process, and we will. So should you.

As I prepare to begin my second term as your mayor, I would like to sincerely thank you one and all. The words of encouragement – and the criticisms – are important to me. Thank you for taking the time to care.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1998