Due to renovations in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall, the meeting was held at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, Crounse Hall, Room 101 (4810 Alben Barkley Drive). All of the November and December City Commission meetings have been held at WKCTC due to the renovation project. The City of Paducah appreciates WKCTC’s generosity in hosting the meetings.
Duke of Paducah
Mayor George Bray presented a Duke of Paducah to Dann D. Patterson. Retired Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham nominated Patterson for the Duke award. The application listed the various organizations in which Patterson has volunteered his time in addition to his service on the Barkley Regional Airport Board and the Paducah Human Rights Commission.
Paducah-McCracken County 911 Radio Upgrade
The Paducah Board of Commissioners approved an agreement with Communications International for the 911 radio system, a significant public safety infrastructure project. The radio system for the 911 Center needs to be replaced and has been called functionally obsolete. During a joint City-County meeting held December 11, both governmental bodies discussed the project and the McCracken County Fiscal Court approved the agreement. At that joint meeting, Mayor George Bray voiced his appreciation of the city and county working together to replace the aging radio system for the benefit of city and county citizens. He called it a “momentous day.”
This $10,013,436.64 agreement will upgrade the Paducah-McCracken County 911 radio system which includes equipment for five radio towers, consoles for the 911 Communications Center with backup consoles at the McCracken County Emergency Operations Center, and portable radio units for first responders. Out of that $10 million total, the system infrastructure upgrades equal more than $7.67 million which will be split equally between the City and County as outlined in a 2021 agreement. The remaining costs are the portable radio units for City and County agencies.
The project schedule will be finalized at upcoming design review meetings, but the preliminary schedule estimates completion in March 2025.
Also at this meeting, the Board approved a Municipal Order to amend the agreement with 911 project consultant, Federal Engineering, for professional consulting work for the implementation, testing, and final cutover of the 911 radio system upgrade.
Next steps for this project include determining the governing structure for the 911 system, which is currently owned by the City and managed under the Paducah Police Department. Plus, the City and County will be working to determine a structure to fund the 911 costs. There have been discussions on levying a water meter fee or a parcel fee.
Background:
In August 2021, the City and County approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a partnership to upgrade the 911 system including the creation of a joint oversight committee which met numerous times in 2022 to provide recommendations. Also in the MOU, the City and County agree to be equal partners in the capital expenditures to upgrade the equipment.
In December 2022, the City of Paducah and McCracken County issued a request for proposals for the project with proposals opened in March 2023. An eight-member City and County team evaluated the proposals with the unanimous determination to move forward with Communications International. In July 2023, an intent to award letter was issued to Communications International. Since that time, there has been a significant process to develop the master contract for the project which was adopted at this meeting.
Amend Paducah’s Code of Ethics Ordinance
The Paducah Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance amending Chapter 2 of Paducah’s Code of Ordinances regarding the Code of Ethics. Paducah is working toward becoming a Certified City of Ethics through the Kentucky League of Cities (KLC). This program recognizes cities and city officials that have adopted principles and procedures that offer guidance on ethical issues and a mechanism to resolve complaints at the local level.
In June, as part of KLC’s application requirements, Paducah adopted a resolution establishing the six ethics principles to govern the conduct of city officials and employees. In October, the City authorized an agreement with KLC which includes the reviewing and updating of Paducah’s ethics ordinance to ensure that it meets the standards set out in KRS 65.003. In consultation with KLC and the City’s attorney, the Board approved amendments to Paducah’s Code of Ethics. These changes include
- Updating definitions including the addition of domestic partner as a family member;
- Amending dollar limits related to gifts and honoraria from $100 to $200;
- Updating sections related to Confidential Information;
- Defining violations of the Ethics Code as misconduct;
- Adding new sections related to Withdrawal from Participation, Endorsements, Meeting Attendance, Social Media, E-mail & Text Messages, Incompatible Offices, Equal Employment, Conduct, and City Policies & Ordinances;
- Expanding the requirement for financial interest statements to department-head-level directors;
- Setting a regular meeting date for the Board of Ethics;
- Updating and simplifying the process of filing complaints and the procedure for holding hearings.
The next step is for KLC to provide training for the Paducah Board of Commissioners, the Board of Ethics, and the City Leadership Team. This will qualify the City of Paducah for inclusion as a Certified City of Ethics.
Pavement Management Program Update
Maegan Mansfield with Bacon Farmer Workman Engineering & Testing (BFW) provided an update on BFW’s contract with the City for a pavement management system. The City approved a multi-year contract in November 2021 with BFW to perform pavement inspections on City streets using the PAVER software program.
The detailed pavement inspection program actually began in 2018 with the inspection of all 223 lane miles of Paducah’s streets and the assignment of a rating based on various factors. The rating is called the Pavement Condition Index, a number between 0 and 100 with streets in good condition receiving higher numbers. Streets receiving a rating of 65 or lower need rehabilitation. This recent contract includes the inspection of 20 percent of the streets each year and the development of street rehabilitation plans.
For 2023, Mansfield said that 44 percent of the streets have a poor or failed rating and added that the rate of street deterioration is outpacing the street rehabilitation plan. At this time, BFW is developing the 2024-2026 Street Rehabilitation Plan for the City.
Mansfield explained that it costs, on average, approximately $635,000 per mile to completely rehabilitate a street including drainage and sidewalks. For the current fiscal year, the City set aside $2 million for street rehabilitation. Mayor Bray would like the City to determine a phased-in plan to increase the street ratings so that the rehabilitation efforts will begin to outpace the rate of deterioration.
Christmas Parade Award Presentations
Director of Parks & Recreation Amie Clark and Recreation Superintendent Taylor Morsching presented awards to the first-place winners in the six categories for the 2023 Christmas Parade. The parade was held December 2 in downtown Paducah with the theme Wild West-ern Kentucky. The first-place winners are as follows:
- Themed Float – Drake Lighting
- Religious Float – Northside Church
- Non-Float – Goodwin Farms
- School Float – Paducah Middle School
- Drill Team – Center Stage Dance Academy
- Band – McCracken County High School Band
Boards and Commissions
- Reappointment of Dann Patterson and appointment of Kevin Kauffeld to the Barkley Regional Airport Authority Board.
- Appointment of Jacquelyn Carruthers to the Paducah-McCracken County Senior Citizens Board.
- Reappointment of Sara Bradley, Kelm Burchard, and Glenn Denton to the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau Board of Directors.
- Appointment of Benny Heady to the Commissioners of Water Works.
Additional Meeting Information
- Municipal Order approved accepting the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security grant in the amount of $29,100. The funds will be used to purchase an enclosed trailer for the Bomb Squad.
- Municipal Order approved for a contract modification with Midstates Construction for the Robert Cherry Civic Center. The modification adds ADA concrete parking stalls, entry ramps, and parking lot subgrade repairs. The modification also adds 60 days to the contract with substantial completion scheduled for late February.
- Municipal Order approved to adopt a death benefit plan for eligible City retirees.
- Ordinance approved amending Section 126-76 of the Paducah Code of Ordinances as recommended by the Paducah Planning Commission. The text amendments relate to sign regulations.
- Ordinance approved for a non-exclusive, ten-year telecommunications franchise agreement with Ritter Communications.
- Ordinance approved amending the definition of “Project” in the Series 2020A Bond Ordinance. This bond was issued for the purposes of constructing a municipal sports and recreation facility. Since that time, the Commission has decided to use the funds to support the Paducah Sports Park (outdoor sports complex), Barkley Regional Airport’s new terminal and facilities, new equipment for the Paducah/McCracken County Public Safety Radio Communications System, and additional projects deemed necessary by the Board of Commissioners.
- Ordinance introduced to provide an easement to the Paducah-McCracken Joint Sewer Agency on city-owned property located near the wastewater treatment plan.
###
