The Future of our City

Posted on April 22, 2020 by James Martin

I let our City Commission know this month that I will not be running for re-election as Mayor in the November elections. My wife has accepted her dream job as an attending NICU Physician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital starting in August and we will be leaving Bellemeade late this summer. We bought our house here expecting this to be our forever home but sometimes life doesn’t work out exactly how you planned. I will miss this city and my neighbors greatly.

I also know we have other Commissioners who either do not plan to run again or who cannot run again for various reasons. The filing deadline is Tuesday June 2nd. Applications require filing out paperwork that can be obtained from the KY Secretary of State’s website  (the site has been running slow lately so be patient) or in-person at the Edison Center Jefferson County Board of Elections office.  I would call them to check their hours as I am not sure what they will be on any given day. Our City Clerk also has some copies available.  The paperwork involves some information about yourself, signatures from two other residents of the city and a $50 filing fee. I am happy to provide a signature for anyone who wants to run. 

The candidate requirements for a legislator (Commissioner) are as follows: Must be at least 18 years of age, a resident of the city for not less than 1 year prior to his or her election, a qualified voter in the city, and shall reside in the city throughout his term of office.  

I know it feels like we have had a lot of turnover on the Commission lately.  None of this turnover is being caused by conflict or issues within the Commission as we have all gotten along very well for the last 4 years that I have been involved. It has just been a mixture of personal issues and life getting in the way. If we are not able to field a complete Government then it would fall to the remaining Commissioners to seriously consider dissolving the Bellemeade City Government and look into joining Louisville Metro or the City of Lyndon. Certainly we would still receive city services under those scenarios but we would lose a lot of our autonomy and would see much higher tax rates.

If you ever considered being involved in city government, now is the time to get involved.  If you want more information about what is involved in being a city commissioner then reach out to me.  I am happy to have a phone call or virtual meeting to discuss it in detail.  There is a very real possibility we will need to have four new Commissioners filed to run by June 2nd.

We still have a lot of work to get done this spring and summer including our 2020-21 budget.  At this point I anticipate our May meeting will be via telepresence again.  Stay tuned for details in the coming weeks.

Thank you
Mayor Andrew Miller

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April 13th Commission Meeting details

Posted on April 12, 2020 by James Martin

The meeting will be held at 7:00 PM on Zoom.us. The Zoom meeting will be opened 5 minutes in advance at 6:55 and business will begin at 7:00.

The zoom meeting ID is 584-718-323.

To join the meeting point a web browser to zoom.us and click “Join a Meeting” in the top right corner. Then enter the meeting ID above (584-718-323) and click “Join.”

Reminder that only Commissioners and Officers will be allowed to speak during the meeting. If you have an issue you wish to discuss at the meeting reach out to myself or a Commissioner before the meeting so that one of us can raise the issue.

The agenda for the meeting is posted here.

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Commission Agenda – April 13th 2020

Posted on April 9, 2020 by James Martin

Due to the current state of emergency in KY this meeting will be held via telepresence over Zoom with details posted at bellemeade-ky.gov no less than 24 hours before the meeting.

City Of Bellemeade

Call To Order –

Approval of Minutes –

Reports –

Treasurer’s Report – Geri Huff

North Chadwick Road Repaving – Andrew Miller

Event Commissioner’s Report – Susan Jarl

New Business – 

None

Adjournment – 

The next working meeting is scheduled for May 4th 2020.  The next regular meeting is scheduled for April 11th 2020.

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April Regular Meeting

Posted on April 9, 2020 by James Martin

April’s Regular City Meeting will be held on Monday the 13th at 7PM. This will be an online only meeting with no in-person meeting place. All commissioners will be using telepresence for the meeting.

The meeting will be hosted on Zoom with the full details of the meeting ID and a link to join the meeting posted no less than 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time. Check this website for the details.

The Commission Agenda is available here.

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City Business for April

Posted on April 3, 2020 by James Martin

Due to COVID-19 city business for April will all be conducted using telepresence. At least 24 hours before the event the information to join the meeting will be posted here and sent out through email.

Our normal working meeting for April is the 6th and our regular monthly meeting is the 13th. The working meeting will be used primarily as a technology test to make sure all Commissioners are able to connect and communicate. The regular meeting will have a very light agenda to insure that residents are not left out of anything. We plan to conduct only the bare minimum required and everything else will be pushed off till May.

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Social Distancing

Posted on April 3, 2020 by James Martin

I’m not as good with words as Mayor Gabe Brown of Walton, KY and I don’t have authority to shut things down the way Mayor Greg Fischer does but what I can do is keep hammering home this message: Social distancing only works if we all do it.  One more time.  Social distancing only works if we all do it.  One person having a party on their lawn can send COVID-19 home to 6 households who can spread it to their neighbors and on and on.  Spread it to 10 people and 2 of them are going to get very sick.  Spread it to 20 and one of them is going to the hospital. It would be a shame if 90% of us are doing this right and it’s ruined by 10% of people who think they are the exception to the rule.

In general our city has done an exceptional job.  But we have received calls and messages about people in who are still having get-togethers. Some privately, some more publicly. The City of Bellemeade has very little enforcement authority for an executive order other than to notify the state and I would think nobody wants a Sheriff’s car sitting at the end of their driveway having a talk with all their guests. Let’s not let things get to that point. I know it’s beautiful outside. I know we’re all missing our friends. I know it’s hard to keep the kids from going out. But if we do this right the first time then we won’t have to do it again in the fall.

If you don’t care about your safety or the safety of your friends and loved ones think about your neighbors and their friends and their loved ones. The difference between doing this right and doing this wrong is thousands of deaths. You are not the exception.

For everyone who is staying at home… for all of the rainbows in windows and houses lit up green.. Thank you.  Just a few more weeks hopefully. We will get through this.

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Commission Agenda – March 9th 2020

Posted on March 13, 2020 by James Martin

City Of Bellemeade

Call To Order –

Approval of Minutes –

Resident Concerns – 

Reports –

Treasurer’s Report – Geri Huff

Event Commissioner’s Report – Susan Jarl

New Business – 

Second Reading and consideration of “AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE REAPPROPRIATION OF 2019-2020 CITY FUNDS.”

Second Reading and consideration of “AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING CONTROL AND MAINTENANCE OF NORTH CHADWICK RD BETWEEN SHELBYVILLE RD AND WHIPPS MILL ROAD SO THAT CONTROL AND MAINTENANCE WILL BE BORNE BY THE CITY OF BELLEMEADE.”

Adjournment – 

The next working meeting is scheduled for April 6th 2020.  The next regular meeting is scheduled for April 13th 2020.

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Codified Ordinance

Posted on February 27, 2020 by James Martin

In January of 2020 the City of Bellemeade passed a codification ordinance to take all existing city ordinances and compile them into a code book for easy reference. In the past the city has operated with only a minute book and code book so that to find a specific ordinance you needed to know the date when it was passed and then you could search the documentation for the printed and signed copy. Some of our older ordinances did not exist in a digital format, and could only be found in this printed format. Over time a lot of those ordinances were also repealed or replaced, so knowing what the current law was meant also looking for those events as well.

From now on the City of Bellemeade will keep a code of ordinances and will update and make changes to that code as needed. The code will always be on our city website (click here) and changes will be published as required by KRS. I believe this is a major step forward for our city and will help with the continuing efforts to modernize our city government.

Note that the city of Bellemeade still does not have any ordinances related to noise, pets, building code, parking or property maintenance. All of those are Louisville Metro code and are enforced by Louisville Metro.

Take a look at our new code book and let us know what you think!

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Welcome Mike Dyer to the City Commission

Posted on February 14, 2020 by James Martin

At our regular meeting on February 10th 2020 the Commission of the City of Bellemeade selected Mike Dyer to fill the open spot on the Commission. Mike was sworn in at the meeting. Mike is a long time resident of Bellemeade who brings tremendous experience to the Commission. We anticipate him taking over the role of Public Works Commissioner in the coming months and we will be working towards that transition.

Welcome, Mike!

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Open Positions

Posted on February 4, 2020 by James Martin

The City of Bellemeade is searching for some residents to step up and take a role in our municipal government. First and foremost we need a new Commissioner. After the death of our Mayor, John Miller, a current commissioner was appointed to fill the vacancy. This left the commission one member short. We have 30 days from January 27th 2020 to fill the vacancy for the remainder of 2020. The Commission would like to either fill the vacancy or have candidates in place for consideration at our next Commission meeting on February 10th 2020. If we do not choose a new Commissioner at this meeting we would have two more weeks to schedule a special meeting to fill the spot. If you are interested in being a Commissioner for the city, please contact me (mayor@bellemeade-ky.gov or 502-417-0831) and ask about it. I am happy to give you all of the information and explain the role and what it involves. There is no compensation except being involved in the city government but the time commitment is very reasonable. Second, we need two residents to fill open spots on the ethics committee. The ethics committee is a standing committee for the city that collects paperwork and oversees ethics complaints against city officials. We have a chairperson for the committee, we simply need two other residents to fill out the committee. This post typically only requires a few hours of involvement per year, but you would need to be available if an ethics violation or complaint did arise. Again, contact me if you have questions or would be interested in serving and I can outline the role more clearly.

Other news and notes

We’re on twitter! Check out the Mayor’s twitter account at @MayorBellemeade. This is another way to make sure you see news and announcements from our website.

February’s Commission Meeting will be held on February 4th at the NE Regional Library at 7PM. The agenda is posted here. For questions about citizen involvement in regular commission meetings click here.

Come see our redesigned website. The Bellemeade website has undergone some changes recently to make it more accessible for following events. Feedback is always welcome.

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