The city of Muldraugh held their first city council meeting of the year on Monday. As always, the meeting began with a prayer and the pledge of allegiance before moving into departmental reports and old business.
Mayor Lee announced that the city plans to interview candidates to fill in the vacant PD spots, a chief of police and officer. Due to code enforcement not being present, the mayor summarized the work being done on her behalf. Overall, buildings left vacant, vandalized, or trashed and fined many times will be taken care of more seriously than just citations. According to Mayor Lee, the plan is to take these matters to district court and deal with them on a higher level. Due to the new building development, a 2-inch flush hydrant was installed at the end of Park Ridge Road for ground stabilization. The city still experiences sewer problems on the residential side due to the amount of rainfall which the council talked about in depth. In conclusion, these problems are not seen as an environmental concern but still plan to be handled.
A second reading for ordinance 390, an amendment to chapter 50 regarding garbage and refuse rate increase, was heard. The council accepted the second reading. A second reading to repeal the policy and procedure handbook to make it a living document was heard. The council accepted the second reading. After the readings, new business was discussed. First on the agenda was accepting a business license request for the old dollar general building to be turned into a sports store, with custom cabinets sold in the back. Council member Kelley made a motion to accept the request under the circumstance that everything passes inspection. Mayor Lee then tasked the city council members to appoint someone to fill the vacant council seat. The mayor explained the 30-day window to fill the vacant spot and their responsibility to do so before the next city council meeting in Feb.
Mayor Lee announced that the city has received a rate increase from the water supplier. A $2.18 increase will be placed on drinking water. This is the first rate increase Muldraugh has had on drinking water in 12-14 years and the city fought against a $6 increase. Other projects within the city were brought up. The update regarding the Basham’s Apartment project was not what the city had hoped for. Those in charge of the project keep getting bounced around and this delays progress. It is also likely the entire interior will need to be redone, but despite the setbacks, there are still plans to move forward after the weather breaks. The building project on the north end of town has started. They are currently doing ground stabilization and utility construction now. The plan is to have the buildings framed up within two months and in 15 months, the entire project will be completed assuming there are no hiccups. The new apartment building will have 73 units, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Mayor Lee hopes to build a splash park in front of City Hall if the grant is approved. The park will be built in between the current playground and basketball court, equipped with a small picnic area. Other recreational projects were discussed, such as a walking trail at the end of town. The plan is to cut out the trail in the next couple of months while the trees have no foliage. The plan is to make the trail big enough to get an ATV or other vehicles through in case of emergencies.
Budgeting plans were brought up during the meeting. The council was encouraged to think about the budgeting for the next upcoming city council meetings and to think about certain big budget items. One of those items being a way to fund a new fire apparatus for the city as the newest model the city currently has is a 1999 truck. Discussions were had about the expensive needs for the city and how to fund the upgrades needed to upkeep the city in the future. Potentially raising taxes were mentioned but nothing was discussed, however, nothing was decided or finalized. The meeting ended shortly after, giving the council decisions to ponder before the next council meeting.
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