Pol Watchers

Boulder trip: Day one schedule

Attendees of Commerce Lexington’s trip to Boulder will hit the ground running as soon as they arrive Wednesday morning.

The charter airplane is scheduled to land at Denver International Airport at 9:15 a.m. (MST).

Attendees will begin to get a feel for Boulder — the eight-largest city in Colorado with a population of 103,673 — during the bus ride to the city.

The first session, “Live It,” will give everyone the opportunity to experience Boulder by bike, foot or bus.

There are five different walking tours and two different bus tours scheduled. Mayor Jim Newberry is one of 40 people signed up for a bike tour.

In the afternoon, attendees will hear from Guy Huguelet, president and CEO of Adecco of Central Kentucky and chairman of Commerce Lexington; Mark Ruzzin, the mayor of Boulder; Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

There is also an optional innovation session at the Boulder Innovation Center which was established in 2005 to suport Boulder’s entrepreneurs.

The opening night reception is at Rembrandt Yard, an art facility in downtown Boulder with more than 7,000-square-feet of gallery space on two floors.

- Michelle Ku

Boulder trip: Gray flying separately

When attendees of Commerce Lexington’s trip to Boulder settled into their seats on the charter plane this morning, Vice Mayor Jim Gray wasn’t among the group.

Gray, who is heading to Boulder, gave up his seat on the charter plane at the request of Mayor Jim Newberry. Instead of the charter, Gray is taking a commercial flight out of Blue Grass Airport.

After looking at the preliminary list of trip attendees, Newberry noticed that 13 of the 15 Urban County Council members were going, Newberry said. “It struck me as though we needed to make some kind of arrangements for local government to continue in the unlikely event that something happened to the airplane.”

So during a council work session, Newberry passed a note to Gray, Councilwoman Linda Gorton and Councilman Chuck Ellinger II that said one of the four of them needed to travel separately.

“I asked them if any of them had any particular preference,” Newberry said. “Jim agreed to do it. So when he agreed, that was the end of the conversation.”

Asking someone to fly separately was simply a precautionary measure, Newberry said. “I don’t like to think about it, but I appreciated his willingness to travel separately.”

- Michelle Ku

Boulder trip: How much is it costing the city?

Most of the 18 city officials who will be in Boulder for Commerce Lexington’s leadership visit will be there on the city’s dime.

In all, the city is spending $22,225 on the trips of 15 city officials. That total does not include other incidentals, such as parking at Blue Grass Airport and meals that aren’t included as part of the trip.

The city is paying $1,575 a person for Mayor Jim Newberry, Chief of Staff Shaye Rabold, Economic Development Director Joe Kelly, and police Chief Anthany Beatty to go to Boulder. The cost covers a single room and airfare on the private charter.

The cost of General Services Commissioner Kimra Cole’s trip is $1,350, which covers a double room and airfare on the private charter.

The trips of Urban County Councilmen Julian Beard, Don Blevins Jr., Dick DeCamp, Chuck Ellinger II, Jay McChord, David Stevens and Kevin Stinnett are costing the city $1,575 each for a single room and airfare on the private charter.

The city is paying $1,350 each for the trips of Councilwomen Linda Gorton and Andrea James. The cost covers a double room and airfare on the private charter.
Councilman George Myers is also going to be in Boulder, at a cost of $850 for a double room without airfare.

Vice Mayor Jim Gray and Councilmen Tom Blues and Richard Moloney’s trips to Boulder are either being paid for by the companies they work for or by themselves.

- Michelle Ku

Boulder trip: Who's who of Lexington

The list of people who will be in Boulder, Colo., over the next three days for Commerce Lexington’s annual leadership visit reads like a who’s who of Lexington.

Mayor Jim Newberry, 13 of the 15 members of the Urban County Council, University of Kentucky President Lee Todd and police Chief Anthany Beatty, are among the more than 200 community leaders going on the trip.

The leadership visit provides community leaders with an opportunity to learn about programs other cities have implemented and to consider whether they would work in Lexington, said Bob Quick, president and CEO of Commerce Lexington.

“They know they can get away and focus on the community and focus on interacting with people they oftentimes don’t often get to see,” Quick said. “It brings such a diverse segment of our community together and have conversation.”

Attorneys, bankers, business executives, developers, and realtors are among the list of leadership trip attendees this year.

Attendees include:

• Steve Austin, president and CEO of Bluegrass Tomorrow
• Jack Ballard, president of CMW
• Larry Bell, general manager of the Hyatt Regency
• Jim Clark, president and CEO of LexArts
• Larry Conner, chairman of the Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education
• Luther Deaton, chairman, president and CEO of Central Bank
• Renee Jackson, executive director of the downtown Lexington Corporation
• David Lord, president of the Lexington Convention and Visitors bureau
• Herb Miller, president of Columbia Gas of Kentucky
• Kathy Plomin, president and chief professional officer of the Unied Way of the Bluegrass
• Nick Rowe, president of Kentucky American Water
• Bruce Simpson, attorney
• Lenny Stoltz, executive director of the Bluegrass Area Development District
• David Switzer, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association
• Harold Tate, president and executive director of the Downtown Development Authority

In addition to Lexington leaders, attendees also come from other parts of Kentucky.

“On this trip, we’ve got quite a few people who come from other counties,” Quick said. “We took a look at the list and I was really surprised, each year we get more and more (people from outside Fayette County). I think more people in the region are starting to see the value of this.”

Some of the attendees from outside Fayette County include:

• Dave Adkisson, president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber in Frankfort
• Scott Campbell, director of the Nicholasville/Jessamine County Parks and Recreation
• Kim Menke, community relations manager with Toyota Motor Manufacturing
• Joe Reagan, president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc.

- Michelle Ku

City leaders head to Boulder, Colo.

The largest group of Lexington leaders to ever participate in a Commerce Lexington leadership visit is heading to Boulder, Colo., Wednesday.

Mayor Jim Newberry, 13 of the 15 members of the Urban County Council, University of Kentucky President Lee Todd and police Chief Anthany Beatty, are among more than 200 community members going on the trip. The two council members who aren't making the trip are Councilwoman K.C. Crosbie and Councilman Ed Lane.

The trip was so popular that all 172 seats on the charter airplane were sold out by Feb. 9. Even after offering a program-only option, there were still 55 people on the waiting list trying to get a program slot.

Commerce Lexington offered the program-only option to include as many people on the trip as possible, but there were limitations on room sizes, the size of the plane and the number of people some of the venues could handle, said Bob Quick, president and CEO of Commerce Lexington.

“This looks to be our best trip we’ve ever done and hopefully next year we can factor in all the lessons learned this year about the demand people had to go on the trip and others,” Quick said.

Boulder was chosen as the site of the 68th annual leadership visit for a number of reasons, including its parks and trails, downtown development, university relationships and how all of that ties into economic development, said Lynda Bebrowsky, Commerce Lexington’s senior vice president of marketing and member services.

“Boulder is certainly well known for its lifestyle and the kinds of amenities they have to keep people there and draw people there,” Bebrowsky said.

I'll be blogging from Boulder for the next three days. Check back here for updates.

- Michelle Ku

Newberry presents his proposed budget to the community, not just the council

Urban County Council member Linda Gorton remarked that Mayor Jim Newberry’s presentation of the proposed budget today was both new and innovative.

“It’s the first time I remember a mayor addressing the audience and the community,” Gorton said. “It’s just an innovation. It’s something new and different.”

Newberry stood with his back to the council and presented his speech to the more than 100 people sitting in the audience as well as those watching on GTV-3, the city’s cable channel.

The mayor typically stands at a podium facing the council and presents the budget to the council, said Gorton, who has been on the council for eight previous budget addresses.

“He was having a conversation and yet he still included the council, he turned around and looked at us,” Gorton said. “I’ve never seen a mayor do that.”

The length of Newberry’s speech was also different, Gorton said.

Newberry spoke for close to an hour, some budget addresses in the past have only lasted 15 minutes, she said.

- Michelle Ku

Public hearing policy could change

The Urban County Council could be changing its procedures when it comes to holding public hearings on zone changes.

During the council’s retreat with Mayor Jim Newberry’s administration last week, the council’s role in zoning hearings was discussed.

Law Commissioner Logan Askew said he was surprised at the number of public hearings the council holds on zoning matters.

The Urban County Planning Commission is entitled to deference on the decisions it makes, Askew said. In Hopkinsville, “it was rare for the council to hold a public hearing on zoning matters.”

Before coming to Lexington, Askew had previously served as a Hopkinsville council member. He has also been the attorney for Hopkinsville’s planning commission.

When members of the public ask for a public hearing, “we feel like we have to hear it,” said Councilman Dick DeCamp. “It’s the idea that they go before the elected officials.”

Overall, the council holds public hearings on a very small percentage of the actual zone change requests, but there are a number of reasons why the hearings are held, said Councilwoman Linda Gorton.

The council generally holds public hearings if it’s a controversial zone change request, if there was a split decision of the Planning Commission, if several of the planning commissioners were absent, or if there are objectors, Gorton said.

Councilman Ed Lane said the council should hold fewer public hearings and should uphold the Planning Commission's decisions more often than it does. "We spend millions on a planning department and there are professionals on the commission," he said.

Council members agreed that public hearings should be streamlined so they don’t take all night. A policy should also be set whether it takes just one request from a citizen for a public hearing to trigger a public hearing or if it takes more than that, they said.

- Michelle Ku

Newberry previews proposed budget

Mayor Jim Newberry gave the Urban County Council a small preview of his proposed fiscal year 2008 budget today during a council and administration retreat.

Many of the items Newberry wants to fund are things that have already been discussed with the council:

• Hiring a chief information officer to oversee the city’s computer systems.
• Creating a Department of Environmental Quality to oversee the city’s solid waste functions, sanitary sewer and storm sewer systems and air quality.
• Hiring a facilitator to conduct a community visioning process.
• Trying to address the deferred maintenance in the city’s parks system.

Newberry said he was currently in the process of holding one-on-one meetings with council members to begin adding their priorities to the budget.

The proposed budget will be completed next week so it can be printed, he said.

Newberry’s budget address is scheduled for 3 p.m. April 10.

Councilwoman Linda Gorton asked if Newberry’s budget included any “big surprises.”

One year, former Mayor Teresa Isaac balanced the city’s budget by including a health tax. Last year, Isaac wanted to balance the budget by taking $4 million from the city’s rainy-day fund.

“The big surprises don’t go well with the council,” Gorton said. “They create big problems.”

At this time, the budget does not include any new taxes, Newberry said.

But Newberry was quick to add that council members will be notified if the administration uncovers something in the next week which necessitates a new tax.

Newberry said that following the budget hearings he had with division directors, the difference between the revenue projections and money requested by city departments was $50 million.

Overall, the administration is trying to take a realistic view of the projected fund balance, he said.

The city has traditionally budgeted conservative revenue projections and revenues have typically exceeded the projections by millions of dollars. The surplus for fiscal year 2006, which ended in June, was nearly $17.8 million.

Along with a more realistic view of the fund balance, the administration will come up with some sort of a deficit plan with items earmarked to be cut in case revenues don’t come in as projected, Newberry said.

There will also be a surplus spending plan if revenues are higher than anticipated, he said. “It’s an art, not a science.”

Newberry added that he was also inclined to push the budget process toward a “more transparent environment” in the future by possibly televising the hearings on GTV-3, the city’s cable channel.

In addition to the brief budget overview, the council and Newberry’s administration discussed the successes and challenges during the first 82 or so days and set priorities for the next 90 days.

Things cited as successes in the first three months include:

• Better collaboration and communication between the administration and council.
• Building respect and trust among council members, as well as with the administration.
• Efficient council meetings.
• Improved relationships with the community, General Assembly and the city’s Congressional delegation.
• Hope and excitement for the future.

The administration’s goals over the next 90 days will be to:

• Complete the budget.
• Complete the implementation of the first phase of the city’s new financial and human resources software system.
• Complete negotiations  with the Environmental Protection Agency regarding violations of the Clean Water Act and begin to implement a corrective action plan.
• Begin to implement a management audit, including a reorganization plan and a performance measurement system.
• Begin work on a community vision process.
• Address funding issues in the police and firefighters' pension system.

- Michelle Ku

Newberry explains why he didn't attend BUILD meeting

Mayor Jim Newberry spoke for four minutes during tonight’s Urban County Council meeting as he explained to council members why they were on the receiving end of e-mails because of a decision he made not to attend a meeting of BUILD on Monday.

The interfaith group BUILD, which stands for Building a United Interfaith Lexington through Direct-Action, met on Monday to discuss its recommendations on mobile home parks and helping single, uninsured adults obtain health care.

During that meeting, BUILD organizers urged members to call the mayor’s office and express their concern about his decision not to attend the meeting because cleaning up mobile home parks is an important issue.

Following the meeting, the mayor’s office received numerous phone calls and e-mails regarding the issue of mobile home parks. Council members received copies of some of those e-mails.

“I regret that you were on the receiving end of those,” Newberry said. “I regret the situation we were in. It was just what I consider to be a case of incredibly bad timing and unfortunate timing.”

Newberry said he learned that BUILD wanted to improve conditions at mobile home parks when he met with the group on March 8.

After making some calls, he learned that the city’s Division of Code Enforcement had been working with the state Fire Marshal’s Office and the Fayette County Health Department to schedule inspections of mobile home parks, Newberry said.

“At that stage of the game, I was confronted with a dilemma,” Newberry said. “I obviously did not want to compromise those inspections by divulging the fact that they were scheduled to take place today.”

“I certainly wanted to try to cooperate with the folks at BUILD, but didn’t see how I could go to that meeting or have anybody else at that meeting and expect them to respond candidly to a series of questions about code enforcement activities in the trailer park areas,” Newberry said.

Officials from state and city agencies inspected two mobile home parks in Lexington today, looking for safety issues, fire hazards and other code violations.

Councilman Richard Moloney said he respected the job Newberry has done so far as mayor.

Previous administrations did not crack down on mobile home parks, Moloney said. “I want to commend your staff and your administration for what you’re doing. I know it’s a tough situation.”

Newberry’s comments to the council tonight were another sign of the differences between his administration and that of former Mayor Teresa Isaac.

Newberry wanted the council and Lexington residents to understand why he didn’t attend BUILD’s meeting. On the other hand, Isaac would often make decisions without explaining why she made those decisions.

- Michelle Ku

Newberry's district tours

Mayor Jim Newberry is about half-way through his tour of the Lexington's 12 Urban County Council districts.

Since January, council members have taken Newberry on a driving tour of their respective districts so Newberry can learn about the charms of each district as well as its problems and concerns. Each district visit takes about four hours.

Newberry completed two district tours this week. On Monday, he was in District 11 with Councilman Richard Moloney. He visited District 3 with Councilman Dick DeCamp this afternoon.

On the trip to the 11th District, Newberry and Moloney met with eight or nine neighborhood association presidents.

The neighborhood association presidents “took time out of their day to ride with us and to talk about particular concerns they had with their neighborhoods,” Newberry said.

At the end of the afternoon, the neighborhood association presidents, Moloney and Newberry met at a resident’s house where they talked about the 11th District for about an hour.

“It worked out exceptionally well,” Newberry said. “it was well planned and timed.”

Moloney said he appreciated that Newberry wanted to learn a bit about District 11 and hoped he enjoyed the visit.

So far, Newberry has visited District 1 with Councilwoman Andrea James, District 2 with Councilman Tom Blues and District 4 with Councilman Julian Beard former District 4 Councilwoman Linda Gorton who is now an at-large council member.

Newberry has three district tours scheduled next week: District 7 with Councilwoman K.C. Crosbie on Monday, District 8 with Councilman George Myers on Wednesday, and District 6 with Councilman Kevin Stinnett on Friday.

- Michelle Ku