Real Estate Parcel Fee for the Funding of 911 Services, Maintenance, and Equipment
The Paducah Board of Commissioners approved an ordinance creating a real estate parcel fee for the funding of 911 services, maintenance, and equipment. At a previous meeting, the Board approved an interlocal cooperation agreement with McCracken County for the provision of joint 911 services. The City and County are adopting the same rate structure with the McCracken County Fiscal Court approving a similar ordinance at its meeting last night.
Currently, the 911 system is heavily subsidized from the City and County’s operating budgets since the per-month charges on landlines and cellphones are not adequate to cover 911 operational costs. Therefore, the City and County are creating a fee structure that is permitted by Kentucky Revised Statutes. Kenton County, Kentucky’s fee structure was used as a model. The City and County cannot collect more in fees than it costs to operate, maintain, and upgrade the 911 system. This ordinance removes the landline fee on phones.
This ordinance establishes an annual parcel fee on all occupied individual residential units and on all occupied individual commercial, religious, charitable, educational, and public use units located within the territorial limits of the City of Paducah. Vacant lots and unoccupied structures would not be assessed this fee. The annual parcel fees would be included on property tax bills beginning this fall with the fee structure as follows for occupied units:
- Residential Unit $45 – each house, apartment, duplex or quadplex unit, or mobile home is a separate residential unit
- Public Use Unit $35 - emergency service, governmental, religious, charitable, and educational parcels
- Super Commercial Unit (contains structure in excess of 25,000 sq. ft.) $1,550
- Large Commercial Unit (contains structure between 7,500 and 25,000 sq. ft.) $860
- Medium Commercial Unit (contains structure between 2,500 and 7,500 sq. ft.) $325
- Small Commercial Unit (structure between 1 and 2,500 sq. ft.) $210
- Parking Lot $150 – this category is for parking lots and garages
The rates will adjust annually based upon the Consumer Price Index. The due dates will be the same as the property tax due dates.
For this first year, owners of occupied rental units will be eligible to claim a rebate of $22.50 per unit against the annual fee due.
Any property owner wishing to appeal the classification or occupancy of their property must file an appeal with the City Clerk’s office by December 1 of the year for which the fee is due.
Paducah Sports Park Construction Contract Approvals
The Paducah Sports Park is a transformative project which will be constructed at the former Bluegrass Downs site and Stuart Nelson Park. Earlier this year the City and County approved the construction documents with the project placed out to bid this spring. At this meeting, the Paducah Board of Commissioners approved four bid packages related to the project as recommended by the McCracken County Sports Tourism Commission. The McCracken County Fiscal Court approved the bid packages at its meeting last night. The bid packages which total $56,966,234 are as follows:
- Field Turf – contract with Sprinturf in the amount of $6,321,087.
- Lighting – contract with Musco in the amount of $2,264,475.
- Site/Civil and Buildings – contract with A&K Construction in the amount of $47,771,839.
- Food and Beverage – contract with Stafford Smith in the amount of $608,833.
At January’s meeting, it was announced that the estimated cost of the facility would be $65 million. These approved construction bids in addition to FF&E (furniture, fixtures, and equipment), design, inspection, and miscellaneous fees, and a contingency total approximately $65 million.
However, the recent bids exceeded the expected $65 million cost leading to a need to remove some design elements at this time to reduce the project cost back to $65 million. The removed elements include the grandstand rehabilitation, the championship field adjacent to the grandstand, a small building, maintenance area, and the basketball and pickleball areas. These features could be redesigned and added at a later date.
After these deductions, the design includes five rectangular fields and four diamond-shaped fields that can be configured in a variety of ways and sizes. These multi-use, synthetic turf fields can incorporate soccer, baseball, softball, rugby, or football. Other design features include a memorial complex to Dr. Stuart Nelson, shelter and restroom facilities, concession facilities, picnic and playground areas, and a significant amount of parking.
After the construction period, the goal is for the facility to open in fall 2025. Over the past four years, the project has included research and analysis, stakeholder engagement, and master planning. The Paducah Sports Park has the following principles
- Become a regional destination for athletic tournament play.
- Provide high quality athletic experiences for the local community.
- Further develop the unique brand and identity of Paducah and McCracken County.
With an expectation of holding 35 to 40 tournaments per year, the McCracken County Sports Tourism Commission estimates that the facility could generate a local economic impact of approximately $130 million in its first five years of use.
Paducah Water Presentation
Paducah Water General Manager Jason Petersen provided an overview of the utility and the most recent fiscal year activity. Paducah Water was purchased by the City of Paducah in 1930 and is governed by a seven-member independent board. It has 56 employees and 29,500 customers (approximately 65,000 people). There are 700 miles of water main and 4700 hydrants. The utility’s total revenue for the past fiscal year was $16.06 million. Looking at growth in customers, Paducah Water is growing at approximately 0.7 percent annually; however, water consumption is falling at an average of 0.8 percent per year. Peterson says not unlike other utilities, Paducah Water is facing the following challenges: staffing due to retirement, recruitment, and retention; federal regulations; and an aging infrastructure with much of the system approaching 140 years old.
Tabling of Noise Ordinance
Mayor Pro Tem Sandra Wilson made a motion to table the noise ordinance that was introduced at the May 28 City Commission meeting. The motion passed by a 3 to 2 vote with Commissioners Henderson and Smith voting against tabling the ordinance. The ordinance introduced May 28 would repeal and replace Chapter 42, Article IV of Paducah’s Code or Ordinances regarding noise.
Appointments and Reappointments to Boards and Commissions
- Appointment of Herbert Gregory to the Paducah-McCracken County Senior Citizens Board.
- Reappointment of Charles “Chip” Boyle, Patrick White, and Joseph Benberry to the Paducah Area Transit Authority Board.
- Appointment of Jonathan Mark Davis and joint appointment of Will Cox to the Paducah-McCracken County Joint Sewer Agency Board.
- Reappointment of Mark Whitlow and joint reappointment of Alexandra Sherwood to the Paducah-McCracken County Convention Center Corporation.
- Appointment of Paul Gouriex, Uppinder Mehan, Ashlea McMillan, Elisha Winslow, and Julie Harris to the Paducah Riverfront Development Authority.
Additional Meeting Information
- Assistant City Manager Michelle Smolen introduced Interim Planning Director Carol Gault to the Board and community. Gault, a former Paducah Main Street Director and City Commissioner, began her six-month role on June 13.
- Municipal Order approved for a reimbursement agreement with Paducah Water for the South 24th Street waterline relocation project.
- Municipal Order approved accepting premiums from the Kentucky League of Cities for Workers’ Compensation, Liability Insurance, and Property Insurance coverage.
- Municipal Order approved accepting contract modification #1 with HDR, Inc. for additional professional services related to the supplemental archaeological surveying for the BUILD Grant project.
- Municipal Order approved for an interlocal participation agreement for cooperative purchasing with Buy Board, National Purchasing Cooperative.
- Municipal Order approved accepting the 2024 Kentucky 911 Services Board Grant in the amount of $99,653 with the funds to be used to purchase data capture/recording hardware and software.
- Municipal Order approved accepting the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant in the amount of $40,000 with the funds to be used to conduct cybersecurity assessments.
- Municipal Order approved to adopt the City of Paducah Title VI Program Plan. As a federal grant recipient, the City is required by the Federal Transit Administration to conform to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its amendments.
- Ordinance introduced to approve the fiscal year 2025 budget for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.
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