By Carolyn Reid
The special meeting of Falmouth City Council on Wednesday, July 26, was followed by a caucus due to the fact the mayor will not be in town for the regular caucus on August 1. City Attorney Brandon Voelker was not in attendance.
The meeting began with the news that the fire department had won a grant of over $248,000 for Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, a feat Councilperson Bobby Pettit emphasized was “an unbelievable accomplishment,” and he commended all who were involved.
Mayor Sebastian Ernst updated the council that Hermes, the project manager over the Falmouth School Center project, was in the process of getting bids for the roof, and he said he has been unable to find an entity who is comfortable appraising the Klee Farm for the next steps because the property is not yet zoned, giving appraisers no real point of reference for comparison. Councilperson Luke Price said the land would be better appraised if it were divided into residential and commercial both, and Ernst responded the range could be from $2,000 to $2 million depending on how it was appraised and what was appraised.
The discussion turned to the interlocal agreements as Councilperson Amy Hurst made the statement the city needs to figure out the contracts with Planning and Zoning. Ernst replied that City Attorney Brandon Voelker stated the city would have very few zoning changes when it took on the role. Councilperson Joyce Carson stated it is not all about the changes; it is about keeping things from coming in that should not be coming in, while Hurst reminded the council that planning and zoning also holds hearings and takes care of other inquiries. Ernst said he would get more information for council, and Hurst went on to question the other interlocal agreement contracts and where the city and county stood. “In fact,” she said, “I am all for a group meeting with fiscal court about a lot of things we need to know. Are we out or are we in? What’s our goal there?” She went on to say she thought fiscal court discussed that at their meeting Tuesday night, too.
Ernst replied, saying the cost of $19,000, he felt, was not being billed properly as a flat rate. He continued that he thought the cost of the inquiries should be passed on to the people making them.
Hurst agreed there were seven people sitting in the meeting who likely had seven different viewpoints, but she returned to the idea that the council needs to get together with the fiscal court about code enforcement, planning and zoning, and the other agreements. “Do we send letters saying we no longer are doing this? Do we send that as a group? Just because it’s not in the budget doesn’t mean we can’t change or amend that.” She repeated the council and fiscal court need to come together.
Ernst stated code enforcement and animal control are executive functions. Hurst returned to meeting and discussing with lawyers present.
Councilperson Luke Price stated the “city needs to know where it wants to be before the two governing bodies come together to talk about that agreement. They need to know where they stand and we need to know where we stand.”
“Well, where do we stand?” Carson questioned.
Price responded, “We need an attorney here to ask the questions.”
Hurst then commented council can rarely get a straight answer from the city attorney.
Price said if we don’t have a clear path the council wants to follow, a joint meeting is useless. He agreed another meeting would likely be positive if the council had a clear understanding.
Hurst agreed, and then said the council had a lot of questions that need to be answered, and Ernst asked her what those questions were, for the record, and he would work on getting a response.
At that point, Hurst and Ernst started talking over each other with Hurst stating again the groups need to discuss it together while Ernst requested the questions again. Hurst replied with the need to know about interlocal agreement dates and if payments need to be sent, if council needs to send letters, if council had to be in agreement that the city is out. “All these things need to be discussed, but we need a lawyer present to discuss them. We need to ask those questions and get answers.”
She continued, and Ernst asked her if she had no questions.
Amy replied they needed to put some thought into it. At that point, Belinda Stevens, an employee of city hall, told Hurst to let Ernst speak.
Ernst repeated, “What are your questions, Amy?” and Hurst replied, “I just said, are we still in contracts?”
At that point, Councilperson Bobby Pettit addressed Stevens. “I don’t think we should have anybody saying to let people speak up here.”
Hurst continued. “Do we have interlocal agreements we’re still in? Is our past stuff paid? Are we up-to-date on stuff? How are we on permitting and other things with code enforcement? Do we have training going on? I know there are different issues there that people have been bringing up.” She gave the example of a window being cited. “There are a lot of things that need more attention than a window.”
Ernst cautioned her not to bring up specific circumstances, but the incidents need to be brought up via email and not in open meeting.
Pettit also stated he has had information concerning the actions of Code Enforcement Officer Steve Groh, and he commented that without training, he did not believe anyone should be writing tickets. He said he had done the work for the state for eight-and-one-half years.
Ernst said Voelker had been in constant contact with Groh through the process, and none of these things have been brought up with other code enforcement officers.
Price said, “Mr. Hall was certified in the state, and Steve Hill went to schooling for code enforcement, and actually the city paid for his schooling, I believe, and the county paid for his housing. Mr. Groh needs to have some sort of training.”
Ernst responded the city has been working on that, but Kentucky League of Cities has trainings only so often. “He is following the ordinance that is part of state law. If someone gets a warning, we have an appeals process. The homes that have utilities that are not on and no one is living in them, those are lower priority. The homes that are empty and the owners are not in the area or the state, those are the ones he needs to be focusing on. The rest are to be approached and talked with. To my knowledge, no one like that has been given a citation. If he had given someone who lived in the house a warning, I would have told him not to do that.”
Pettit asked who Groh answers to, and Ernst said he answered to him, but he is working under Police Chief Marty Hart, and Hart is responsible for helping him get training. “Steve has come to me about properties, too. No one is exempt from this,” he chuckled.
Pettit and Carson spoke of a window that was cited. Carson said many windows were broken out and are not cited around town, and this one was not out. (According to later discussion, the window was replaced but had not been finished.)
Ernst once again asked that the incidents not be discussed. Voelker has, he said, told him the properties should not be discussed specifically, and Carson corrected his comment with, “No, but in general—”
Ernst continued, “If you feel there is an issue, come to me. We have to start with the worst first.” He then continued if they felt some were being cited for petty things, they should come to him.
Pettit conceded it was new, and Ernst said they are working out kinks, and they could contact Groh or City Clerk Susan Bishop, and they would respond. “There isn’t an email to city hall that will not be answered the same day.”
Council also asked about the bridge on U.S. 27, and Ernst replied the bolts and fittings need a certain number of threads, so that now needs to be corrected; meanwhile, the Shoemaker bridge needs some replacement heads that are costly. After a suggestion of buying new poles and lights, the decision was made to just replace the heads at the greater expense because of the potential involvement of the state on this project, too, which would cause more delays.
Pettit mentioned quotes on the fire hydrants, and Ernst said those were next. Price mentioned the need to install valves (strategic valves) so that most of the city can be shut off individually rather than in large sections when needed.
Hurst asked if the city had a fire contract, and Ernst stated he had a draft, but it was not signed as of yet.
Councilperson Sabrina Hazen asked if the city had any input on the wholesale water rates, and Ernst replied the last fiscal year payment came in. Price and Ernst shortly discussed the audit that can now take place.
Councilperson Darryl Ammerman commented the ball field on Main and Chapel looks better, and asked if the restroom will be in working order again. Ernst said the drains and water are good.
Carson asked for a tour of the building, and Ernst responded they could do that whenever. She asked if the mold was out, and Ernst responded it is not good in a couple spots.
Ammerman asked if the city had prices on plumbing, electricity, and other needs for the building. Ernst said an architect will need to plan that and it will have to be approved for bidding.
The next meeting of Falmouth City Council will be a regular meeting on Tuesday, August 15, at 7 p.m. The meeting is open to all, and public is invited to attend. If anyone wishes to speak, please call city hall to be put on the agenda.