By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1
Not much had been on the agenda for Monday’s regular meeting of the Glasgow Common Council in the way of action items, but a couple of items got added by unanimous vote among the eight members who were present and the action taken on the item already listed took a bit of a U-turn.
The action item previously planned for consideration was the possibility of the city’s acceptance of property as a donation by Councilman Patrick Gaunce, the one council member absent Monday. Mayor Henry Royse said he had gotten permission from Gaunce to announce that he was in the hospital in Louisville because he had developed an infection in the knee on which he’d had recent surgeries.
At a Finance Committee meeting in December, that panel of council members gave a conditional nod to the idea of accepting the donation to the city of 210-216 W. Main St. after Gaunce said he would pay to have the asbestos in the buildings abated. The city would pay nothing for the property itself but would be responsible for any further demolition and removal of the remaining materials. Gaunce planned to report the contribution of the property, valued at roughly $70,000, on his tax returns with the hope of its decreasing any amount he may owe in federal taxes.
Before any discussion at Monday’s meeting on whether the city should accept the contribution, Councilman Terry Bunnell, who chairs the council Finance Committee, made a motion to refer the matter back to that group for further discussion. After a bit of a pause, Councilman Freddie Norris offered a second, and Councilman Joe Trigg asked that those who planned to present some information on the issue to the full council Monday be permitted to go ahead and do so. City Attorney Rich Alexander said that discussion on committing an issue to a committee is allowed by Robert’s Rules of Order, a set of rules on how meetings are to be conducted procedurally, but the discussion had to be only on the motion itself and not on the broader issue of whether the property should be accepted.
Norris asked why it needed to go back to the committee that had already forwarded it to the full council.
Bunnell said the committee needed to review some of the information available before deciding on a final recommendation.
“Are you saying,” asked Councilwoman Marna Kirkpatrick, “that you sent it to the council without having all of the information and you’ve gotten more information since then?”
Bunnell said they felt they should move forward with the information they had at the time, which was Dec. 19, but they wanted to review everything now.
After additional questions, including one from Councilman Max Marion about whether the individuals who would have spoken to the full council could attend that meeting and being assured that it is an open meeting that anyone can attend, Trigg cast the sole vote against referring the issue back to the committee.
The Finance Committee’s regular meeting is at 5:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month in the conference room that adjoins Council Chambers on Floor 2 of Glasgow City Hall.
Also during the meeting:
– Jim McGowan, superintendent of the Glasgow Department of Public Works, announced that surveying indicated additional fill material was needed before a concrete pad can be poured for the new iteration of Richardson Field in Gorin Park, because of its location near a stream, but he has been working with American Engineers Inc. to determine what is required and evaluate the options.
“The city’s going to make every effort that we can to at least install temporary bleachers in time for the first pitch of the [Glasgow High School baseball] season,” he said.
The mayor said that news was pretty exciting, because last year everyone enjoyed being able to play at the field after the stadium structure had been destroyed by fire, but the parents and other fans could not sit in the area behind home plate.
“This is going to alleviate that problem,” McGowan said.
In response to a question from Marion about when all the phases of the entire project could be done, he said he anticipated it would be by autumn.
“Before the following [ball] season would begin, though?” Marion asked.
“Most definitely,” McGowan said.
The progress update was one of the two items added to the agenda at the start of the meeting. Royse said they got the geotechnical survey report late in the day Friday.
– Royse announced before she called roll at the beginning of Monday’s meeting that City Clerk Mona Simmons has received her certification from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks and she was also voted Clerk of the Year by the Barren River Municipal Clerks Association.
– The Rev. Michael Rice, who had also provided the opening invocation for the local-government meeting, announced the events that First Baptist Church, which he pastors, is hosting to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 15. A youth-emphasis service at the church begins at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, and at noon on Jan. 15 is the traditional gathering in front of the Barren County Courthouse for prayer and brief comments to kick off a commemorative civil rights march from there to the church. The service honoring King, who was also a minister, begins at 1 p.m. at the church, 611 S. Lewis St., Glasgow, Rice said.
City Hall is among the government offices that will be closed Jan. 15 for the nationally recognized holiday that is observed on the third Monday in January in recognition of his birthdate, which was Jan. 15, 1929.
– The council agreed unanimously to go into closed session for discussion of proposed or pending litigation. It took approximately 10 minutes and no action was taken on the matter after the council resumed its open session.
– In the meeting packets, the council received for informational purposes copies of three executive orders the mayor has already issued updating two Glasgow Police Department standard operating procedures relating to motor vehicle stops and/or searches and law enforcement canines and creating a new policy regarding facial recognition technology. Council members also received the required two-week notice from the mayor of his intended appointments at the next meeting, which are:
– Glenn Pritchard to a four-year term as a Glasgow Electric Plant Board director;
– Holly Alexander, Jessica Wells and Cody Meek to one-year terms on the Plaza Theatre Advisory Board; and
– Ernie Myers to a two-year term on the Glasgow Renaissance Steering Committee.
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Committee gives conditional nod for property donation to city
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