Mayor’s Message

********** Summary of the November 11, 2019 Bellemeade City Commission meeting.

Commissioners Susan Jarl, James Martin, and Andrew Miller, City Treasurer Geri Huff , and I were present.

Commissioner Susan Jarl reported about the results of the children’s Halloween party which was an overwhelming success. There were well over 100 children present. Congratulations to her and a group of volunteers which she assembled to put the event together. If you have other ideas for events for the children of Bellemeade, please contact her.

Commissioner Andrew Miller presented an ordinance proposal regarding the creation of non-mandatory working meetings strictly for the purpose of informing and educating commission members and staff. The proposal passed unanimously and will become law once it has been published as required by statute.  The meetings are open to the public and will be held the first Monday of each month.

Even though the Commission has used a certain method of conducting its meetings for five or six years now, nothing has ever been put in writing. I presented a proposal to establish a written protocol for the conduct of the Commission meetings. The proposal will be presented for Second Reading at the next Commission meeting.

The Commission discussed the bad state of repair of both the street pavement and the speed humps on North Chadwick Road. North Chadwick Road is a Metro Road, therefore Metro government has the responsibility of maintaining the street. They have done little or nothing to meet that responsibility despite almost constant contact. If the condition of the street is of concern to you, please call Metro Public Works and Councilwoman Marilyn Parker’s office and voice your opinion about the sad condition of the street. The paint on the speed humps has deteriorated so badly that it is difficult to see that they are even there in the daytime and impossible to see at night. Commissioners will continue to urge Metro to do its job on their street in our city.

**********NOTICE:  Bellemeade City Commission shall conduct a Special Called Meeting at 107 North Chadwick Road, Louisville, Kentucky 40223, on September 16, 2019, at 6:00 pm for sole purpose of First Reading of a proposed change to the 2019 Tax Ordinance amending due and past due dates.   The Order of Business shall be devoted entirely to reading a proposed amendment into the Record without discussion at that time.

**********NOTICE:  Bellemeade City Commission shall conduct a Special Called Meeting at 107 North Chadwick Road, Louisville, Kentucky 40223, on September 17, 2019, at 6:00 pm for sole purpose of Second Reading of a proposed change to the 2019 Tax Ordinance amending due and past due dates.   The Order of Business shall be devoted entirely to Second Reading, adoption, amendment or rejection of the proposed amendment.

Thus far this year Bellemeade increased sanitation services, increased police protection, increased the budget for snow removal, added community events to our services, and budgeted additional funds to upgrade our two Shelbyville Road entrances. Additionally, the Commission is considering pre-treating and plowing Charing Cross Road and Bellemeade on the same schedule as North Chadwick Road.

. ***********Mr. James Martin was appointed in accord with Kentucky Revised Statutes in Special Called Meeting on August 12, 2019 by Bellemeade City Commission to fill the vacant Commission seat.

***********Should Bellemeade control North Chadwick Road or should it continue to deteriorate under Metro control?  Please email comments to mayor.bellemeade@gmail.com

**********NOTICE:Bellemeade City Commission shall conduct a Special Called Meeting at 107 North Chadwick Road, Louisville, Kentucky 40223, on August 12, 2019, at 6:00 pm to address the vacancy on the Commission. 

********Applications to be appointed to the Bellemeade City Commission to fill the vacancy that shall occur on August 31, 2019, were received from Mr. James Martin and Mr. Ben Zickel. Mister Martin has resided on Dorchester Road for the past six years; he ran for the Commission last year and lost by a very small margin. Mister Zickel of Holliswood Road is new to Bellemeade, but not to Louisville. He established residency in mid-August of last year.

********** Summary of Bellemeade City Commission Regular monthly meeting July 8, 2019. The City Commission had its first meeting at the new library. Three proposed ordinances were presented for First Reading. Date of Second Reading will be announced.

With regrets, the Commission accepted the resignation letter from Commissioner Jennifer Gardner. Ms. Gardner has been a dedicated Public Safety Commissioner, but the travel requirements of her new job have made it increasingly difficult to stay on top of Commission activity. Thank you Jennifer Gardner for your service. Anyone interested in filling the vacancy please email name, resume, and contact information to mayor.bellemeade@gmail.com prior to August 1, 2019.

Most of the other discussion centered around whether or not Bellemeade should accept Metro’s offer to turn North Chadwick Road over to us. The Commission authorized Mayor Miller and Commissioner Miller to negotiate the proposal with Metro.

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Summary of City Commission Meeting June 10, 2019

Commissioners Susan Jarl and Andrew Miller and Mayor John W Miller were present,
Three Ordinances received Second Reading and passed unaimnously:
 
      The Mayor was authorized to enter into a franchise   
       agreement with MCIMetro Transmisson Services;
 
       Budget for Fiscal Year 2019-2022 was approved;
 
       Staff and Commission Education Program was approved.
 
During the resident concerns part of the meeting, Ms. Wellman stated that she had heard rumors about a tax increase.  Little or no stock is put in rumors, but it was pointed out that Metro Mayor Fischer had asked for a 300% increase in the insurance premium tax.  That rate did not change for 2019.
 
The meeting adjourned on a peaceful note.
 
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Collection of yard waste in Bellemeade has become a major problem for Rumpke.  There are specifications in our contract with Rumpke that, if enforced, could result in some yard waste NOT being picked up in the future.
 
Some residences had as many as five large cans of yard waste standing as tall as six feet out for Rumpke to collect.  Those will not fit in the opening in the truck and have to be broken down by the Rumpke employees.  There were obviously instances of landscape contractors tearing out shrubbery and leaving it for Bellemeade to haul off.   One residence had nine cans of torn out shrubbery. There were overweight containers filled with construction materials on  my street.
 
It is NOT Bellemeade’s responsibility to haul off material left behind by commercial contractors. 
 
If this problem continues, Rumpke could well abide by the letter of the contract and stop picking up oversized bundles, root balls, overweight containers, containers with debris sticking out two feet above the top of the container. and limit pickup to two large or three small containers per residence. 

Trash Pick Up:

Trash collection is provided for residents by the City of Bellemeade. Recycle, trash, and yard waste are picked up every Tuesday.  See the Announcements page on this web site for holiday delay dates.

Each residence should have two large Rumpke containers, a brown one marked Rumpke for trash and a smaller green one marked recycle. Please do NOT place yard waste in either of these containers.  If you are a new resident and do not find  containers at your home, please contact mayor.bellemeade@gmail.com.

Recycle items must be placed INSIDE the green recycle container.   Items left outside the container will be picked up by the trash truck.

Yard waste may be placed in a container or paper leaf bags that you provide;  please mark the containers clearly with YARD WASTE lettering.  Limbs must be cut to four feet or less and tied in bundles small enough for one man to handle.

You may place your containers and yard waste by the edge of the street on Monday night and retrieve the empties on Tuesday night. Please do not obstruct the right of way by putting the containers on the pavement.

Large items such as furniture, mattresses, etc. may be picked by arrangement with Rumpke.  There is a charge for this extra service.tors.

********We have been getting complaints about boats parked in front yards, garbage left sitting on the street for a week, neighbors erecting fences and connecting to a neighbor’s fence without permission, cutting a neighbor’s shrubbery because it had grown across the property line, barking or unrestrained dogs, vehicles parking on the grass, roaming cats killing birds and burying poop in flower beds, dog walkers not picking up  droppings, buildings erected without proper permit or too close to the property line, speeders and stop sign violators. and other various and sundry complaints.
 
Many of those are Metro code violations.  Try to resolve those issues in a neighborly manner; yes, I know that some people can be unreasonable and very rude when confronted concerning property matters (fortunately most don’t).  If personal contact does not work,  call MetroCall 311 and report the alleged violation.  Then contact the appropriate City Commission member to get us to follow up.
 
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
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Summary; City Commission Meeting May 13, 2019

All commission members were present.

Four ordinance proposals on the Agenda were presented for First Reading.  Second Reading for the Fanchise Agreement with MCImetro Transmission services, the FY 2019-2020 Budget proposal, and the Commission and Staff Education Plan will be in June.  The  2019 Tax Ordinance will be presented for Second Reading after final assessment information has been received from the PVA Office.

A raise in salary for the City Clerk and City Treasurer was approved.  Commencing July 1, 2019, the salary for each shall be $200.00 per month.

It was reiterated during the “Resident Concerns” section of the
Agenda that Bellemeade City Commission is not responsible for managing citizen committees. Members of all committees recognized by the Commission must be appointed and/or removed by the Mayor upon recommendation by a Commissioner. Beyond that, citizen committees are self reliant. Any committee that becomes non-functioning because of the absence of resident participation may be dissolved. The Commission recently rescinded the Beautification Ordinance after four years of fruitlessly trying to fill the seven seats on the Beautification Committee. The seven member stipulation had been mandated by the Beautification Ordinance itself. Interest had waned to the extent that none of the seven seats were filled.

The meeting ended peacefully.

Summary of April 8, 2019, City Commission Meeting

All Commission members were present.

Representatives of Network Eng. & Ops.|Verizon Enterprise Solutions explained the work they are currently doing along Shelbyville Road.

Tom Cole presented a report from the Bellemeade Budget Committee.

First Reading of the FY 2019-2022 Budget Ordinance and accompanying tax ordinance will be done at the May meeting.

Commissioner Jarl reported that the Arbor Day Event is set to go.

Commissioner Elliott and Mayor Miller reported that they had been contacted by a resident who said he was very disappointed in the appearance of the city owned property.  He stated that he would support a property and LGPT tax increase for an extensive upgrade of the city owned property at the Bellemeade Road and  North Chadwick Road entrances from Shelbyville Road and the circle in Woodcleft.  The resident did not attend the meeting to provide further details.

No new business was transacted.

The meeting ended peacefully.

Summary of March 22, 2019, City of Bellemeade Commission Special Called Meeting:All Commission Members were present.  The purpose of the meeting was for Second Reading of the Local Government Premium Tax Ordinance.  Ordinance # 2019-2 was adopted unanimously.  The tax rate remained unchanged.

Meeting adjourned at 5:37 pm

Summary of March 11, 2019, City of Bellemeade Commission Regular Monthly Meeting:

Commissioners Andrew Miller, Bob Elliott, Susan Jarl, Mayor John W Miller, and Ethics Committee Chair Dianne Wolfe were present.

Commissioner Miller reported that he had contacted Metro several times about the worsening condition of the pavement on North Chadwick Road.

Special called meeting was announced for March 22, 2019, at 5:30 pm for Second Reading of the Local Government Premium Tax Ordinance.  Meeting will be held at 107 North Chadwick Road, Louisville. Kentucky 40223.  The LGPT  Ordinance will be the only item of business on the Agenda.

Commissioner Elliott reported on the maintenance plan for the Bellemeade owned properties.

The Commission appropriated funds for food and drinks for an Arbor Day “block party” proposed by Commissioner Jarl.  If you are a Bellemeade resident, please try to attend.  Additional details will be posted at a later date. Look for the signs posted throughout the City.

In response to a question from Commissioner Jarl, Mayor Miller reiterated that residents are welcome to submit items for the Newsletter.  The Newsletter is published quarterly and has been normally used for publications of ordinances, public meeting notices, and other notices required by law.  Other non-business and non-political articles must be submitted to our Bellemeade City Clerk.  Items may be edited and published on a “space available” basis. The deadline for submission of articles for the next Newsletter is April 10, 2019.

The meeting adjourned on a peaceful note.

Bellemeade City Commission Special Meeting5:30 p.m.. Friday, March 22, 2019, at 107 North Chadwick Road, Louisville, Kentucky 40223-2801 for Second Reading Insurance Premium Tax Ordinance.

Clarification on the LGPT (Local Government Premium Tax) that Metro Mayor Fischer has proposed.

#1:  If any of the eighty some odd small cities in Jefferson County does NOT increase their rate by ordinance (which requires two readings) to match the Metro increase, the residents of that city will still have the tax imposed on the specified policy premiums, BUT the difference will go to Metro and NOT to the city whose residents are paying the premium tax including the Metro increase.

 

#2:  The Metro proposal doe NOT increase the LGPT on automobile insurance policy premiums at the moment.  That obviously could change..

 

##:  In order the receive the money from the increase, cities increasing the tax must notify the Commonwealth Insurance Commissioner not later than March 23, otherwise the increase will still go to Metro.

 

#5:  A few cities saw this coming and have already had First Reading of ordinances matching the Metro increase and shall hold Second Reading in sufficient time to notify the Insurance Commissioner.  Please see Summary February 11, 2019, Bellemeade City Commission meeting below.

 

#6.   The LGPT is one of the few sources that Bellemeade has to provide funds for paving Bellemeade streets, snow removal, garbage and recycle collection, street lights, police protection, maintenance of city owned property, and miscellaneous services.

  1. Summary of February 11, 2019, City of Bellemeade Commission meeting:

All Commission members were present.

Metro is responsible for maintaining North Chadwick Road.  Street Commissioner Andrew Miller reported he had contacted Metro about the potholes on the street.

The Commission voted to join the Kentucky League of Cites.  Commissioner Susan Jarl was appointed to oversee the membership process.   The Commission approved the reimbursement of the Annual KLC Conference fee for Commissioner Jarl.

City Treasurer Geri Huff presented the results of the annual independent audit which showed satisfactory accounting of city funds.

BEAUTIFICATION ORDINANCE; CITY OF BELLEMEADE, KENTUCKY, ORDINANCE # 2, SERIES # 2008, as Amended October 11, 2010 was rescinded by passage of Ordinance #1 Series #2019.

First Reading of Ordinance for increase in the Local Government Premium Tax (LGPT) aka the insurance premium tax to remain in line with Metro was presented.  Second Reading will be in the March meeting.

The hourly rate of compensation paid to Neighborhood Security and Asset Protection  (NSAP) officers was raised from $35.00 an hour to $40.00 per hour for the remainder of FY 2018-19.  Recommendations were made to increase the number of hours allocated for NSAP patrols in the FY 2019-20 budget at an additional annual cost of twenty six hundred dollars ($2600.00).  Recommendation will be forwarded to the Budget Committee.

The Commission voted to replace three street signs on South Hampton Road with signs displaying the legal name of the street.

Discussion was held to initiate changing Commission meetings to a location with access to restrooms and more space for visitors.  The Commission shall pursue moving meetings to the new 40,000-square-foot Northeast Regional Library located on Bellevoir Circle off Ormsby Station Road near the Northeast YMCA.

Training was conducted on the new Email Notification System.  Fewer than 180 people have signed up to receiver notices.

The meeting adjourned on a peaceful note.

The following is a synopsis of the January 14, 2019, Bellemeade City Commission Meeting.

The tax year shown on the current tax bills is incorrect. The property tax for which you have been billed is based on the January 1, 2018, PVA assessment.  Therefore the  tax is for tax year 2018, not 2019.  The Commission voted to send a correction notice to each property owner.

Commissioner appointments were made by the Mayor.  The Commission elected Andrew Miller to fill the vacated Mayor Pro Tempore position.

Advisory Committees for Budget, Official Communications, Streets, Public Safety, Community Events, and Public Lands were created to advise the mayor and commissioners on resident needs and wants in each area.  The committees were created to allow residents to voice concerns on Bellemeade city government to help the Commission chart courses of action.  Residents wishing to volunteer their time to meet periodically to discuss the needs may contact a commissioner or email mayor.bellemeade@gmail.com.  The committees shall be comprised of three to eleven residents who shall elect their own chair and determine the time and date for their meetings. Commissioners shall not be members of Advisory Committees.

Authorization was given to Andrew Miller, Street Commissioner, to spend up to $900.00 for replacement / repair street signs and street posts.

First Reading of Ordinance to Repeal Beautification Ordinance was presented by Commissioner Gardner and City Attorney Steve Porter.

Proposal to join the Kentucky League of Cities was tabled.  Commissioners Miller and Jarl will explore the cost and benefits and bring a proposal to the February meeting.

Commissioner Jarl presented comments and motion to set August 17 as the Yard Sale date with rain date August 24.

Commissioner Miller was authorized to begin the One Way Alert System. The individuals who shall be authorized to send notices shall be trained following the February meeting.

Commissioner Jarl was appointed to review the insurance premium tax to insure that Bellemeade was properly receiving the premium tax paid on insurance policies rather than it being sent to Metro.  Several residents have reported that their policy shows the premium tax was sent to Louisville.  By law, it is the responsibility of the insurance company to send the tax to the city of residence, and if, for whatever reason, the tax is sent to the wrong city, the insurance company must send the tax to the correct city and then attempt to get back the money sent to the wrong city.  

Snow removal policy was unchanged; no recommendations from residents were presented.

Newsletter articles should be sent electronically to bellemeadecityclerk@gmail.com no later than January 15.

JOHN W MILLER, Mayor

Ladies and Gentlemen:

On New Years Day, 2019, I became Mayor, City of Bellemeade, Kentucky, after having served as City Commissioner for three terms, mostly as Public Safety Commissioner, and lately as Mayor Pro Tempore.

My thanks and praise go to my good friend, Reverend Larry Odom-Groh, for ten very successful years as Mayor, Cit Commission y of Bellemeade. What a blessing it has been for Bellemeade to have had his service. We sometimes disagreed, but we remained friends. Godspeed, Larry, and thank you.

My thanks also to the Public Safety Committee for the advice and assistance they gave me as commissioner. As Public Safety Commissioner, I asked the City Commission to create the committee years ago to assist and advise me on public safety matters. The folks who stepped up to the task did a great job, thank you.

As mayor, I will work to give more residents more voice in all areas of Bellemeade government. The first effort will be by creating additional advisory committees such as Budget, Community Events, Official Communications, Public Lands, and Streets and Street Lights. This is the opportunity for all residents to inject their thoughts PRIOR to the vote and decision. I often read comments on Facebook by people who are critical of something done or not done by Bellemeade City Commission. I personally invite each of those critics to volunteer to serve on one of the advisory committees.

Please support the commissioners in the role in which they will serve Bellemeade: Jennifer Gardner, Public Safety; Susan Jarl, Community Events; Bob Elliott, Public Lands; and Andrew Miller, Streets and Street Lights and Official Communications. Let then know your thoughts up front. They serve for no pay; they deserve an equal amount of criticism. They do deserve our support and our thanks.

May I also remind each of you that Bellemeade has an official website that is regularly updated. It is the only online place to get the facts as opposed to Facebook misinformation. The site provides information ranging from a city map, City Commission Agenda and Minutes of Meetings, Information for residents, homes for sale, general announcements, trash collection, and more.

On a personal note, I had only planned to maybe run for a fourth term as commissioner. I ran for mayor because no one else would and because a lot of people asked me to run. It must be remembered that for Bellemeade to remain an independent city, residents must elect a full city commission and mayor at each regular election. Otherwise, the area will be annexed by Metro, Hurstbourne, Lyndon, or some other larger Home Rule city. I ran for mayor, in part, to help prevent such a takeover despite the fact that I was fighting Stage 3 lung cancer. On April 25th, I had surgery to remove a seven centimeter (baseball size) malignant pleural tumor and over half of my left lung.  I successfully weathered chemotherapy and radiation treatments in the following months. My last PET Scan indicated that there is no visible cancer remaining in my body. I thank God for that. My thanks to the many residents who helped me through that. Going forward, I welcome all of your advice and assistance as I embark, actually as WE embark, on this new challenge. Thank you.

JOHN W MILLER, Mayor
City of Bellemeade, Kentucky

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One Last Time

This is my last day as Mayor of Bellemeade and at Midnight I will end my ten year plus service and a second later John Miller will begin his service as your mayor. It is a good day for both of us. My prayer for the city of Bellemeade is for many blessings, joy and peace for all the citizens of our fair city.  I will hold you in my heart and follow you on facebook.

God bless you and farewell.

Mayor Larry Odom-Groh

Mayor’s Message December  2018

Monday night was my last commission meeting as your mayor and it has been a great joy for me to serve the City of Bellemeade. In over ten years I  have never missed a commission meeting.

Following up on last months meeting I contacted Rumpke about change our agreement from Recycle every other week to every week starting January first. It will double the cost of recycle from $2 per household to $4 per household. The commission agreed to the cost and the change will be made.

Commissioner Gardner suggested that the Beautification program had run its course and made a motion to delete the program. As that was done by ordinance it will need to be changed by ordinance. The new commission will discuss a proposed new ordinance at the January meeting.

2019-20 commission assignments were discussed and Mayor elect Miller will officially make those appointments at the January meeting.

The new commission was sworn in by city attorney Steve at the end of the meeting to take effect on January first.

Then I was present with several very nice gifts by the commission for which I am very thankful.

 Larry Odom-Groh

Mayor