OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Elizabethtown City Council Regular Meeting – August 22, 2025

City Council Meetings — Friday, August 22, 2025
BodyElizabethtown, Kentucky
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateFriday, August 22, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 23:12

Transcript — Verbatim
0:30

Welcome everyone to Elizabethtown City Council regular meeting for August 18th, 2025.

0:35

And if you would bow your head with me for a prayer.

0:38

Heavenly Father, we come before you today with great excitement.

0:44

And when I say great excitement, all of the blessings that you've bestowed on not just this honorable body and city government, but this city in general and our community.

0:53

You see dirt turning everywhere.

0:55

You see opportunities arising for lots of our people.

0:58

And it's just a great place to live and be and raise your family and live and work.

1:03

And one of the main reasons for that, and you know this is because we have great people that work for our city.

1:09

And they're represented here today in this in this room, and we're very proud of the promotions that we're about to do.

1:16

We're very proud of the votes that we're about to make to continue to bless this city.

1:20

And we're just so grateful for the opportunities that we have, and they're all provided by you.

1:24

And please watch over our folks, keep them safe, watch over our citizens, and continue to bless this great city.

1:31

And we'll we'll do the best that we can to represent you and do it in your honor.

1:34

And it's in your son's name we pray.

1:36

Amen.

1:44

And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

1:59

Okay, we're gonna start off with approval of minutes for August 4th, 2025.

2:04

Got a motion and a second.

2:05

All in favor?

2:06

Aye.

2:07

Opposed.

2:08

Seeing none, motion carries.

2:10

At this time, I would like to introduce the 2025 police chief of the year in the state of Kentucky voted on by the Kentucky Association Chief of Police.

2:25

He should have known that I was gonna get that in there.

2:28

And he's got some important work to do.

2:30

And Marty, you got a comment on that?

2:32

Yep, Chief, just because you are now chief of the year, you get an extra 10 minutes without any hassle from Don Hill.

2:41

Yes.

2:42

Well, Micah actually approved the Corvette after that.

2:45

Oh, okay.

2:52

What's great is we have an opportunity.

2:54

I guess it was last week we talked in just the other side of this room about the bittersweet uh ceremony that we celebrated with Chris Denham and him retiring.

3:03

Well tonight there's nothing bitter about why we're here.

3:05

We're here to celebrate the promotion of two great leaders.

3:09

The the title supervisor gets thrown quite a bit, and that's accurate.

3:13

Uh you see a lot of supervisors in this room right now, but we don't take that as the primary responsibility of what we do.

3:19

And what that is is leaders.

3:22

Leaders because we have a number of our personnel from EPD here today.

3:27

And whether they were rank or whether they're just within the rank and file and sworn a civilian, we challenge all of our people to be leaders.

3:34

But today's formal recognition of the first step into leadership for Dietrich.

3:39

Um I don't know why you said DJ for Coop.

3:42

We only have one coup.

3:43

We have two Coopers over there.

3:44

We only have one coup.

3:45

And for Sean, his next step into leadership for the police department.

3:51

And I can tell you that the time that I have been here, both of these individuals have excelled in everything that we've asked them to do.

3:58

And I'm excited just to be a small part of them being able to be here tonight to welcome their families.

4:03

And if you look around and you see the number of personnel you have from the department, I think that's a true reflection of the character of these two men and what they mean to this department because you can have a lot of ceremonies and some people can come and some can't, but at a time when we're starting to transition to do these recognitions at City Council.

4:22

Most of the people you see now don't charge us over time, please for anybody there.

4:27

Uh but they're here after their normal work hours.

4:29

And that's because they're gonna see not only two leaders, two supervisors, but two friends uh accept this this promotion that they've earned through hard work and dedication.

4:41

So without any further ado, I know the mayor's gonna get them sworn in uh in their new position.

4:46

So Sean, if you Dan will go ahead and get you all over first.

4:52

We're gonna do them both at the same time if you don't mind to come up, Cooper.

4:54

All right.

4:54

Come on, Cooper.

4:55

Hang on, after I swear a minute if you'll if you'll pin them, that'd be perfect.

4:58

But you're welcome to walk up here and stand with you, Mr.

5:00

Vice Premier.

5:05

So we're going to swear as Sean Kofer in is assistant chief.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning And Development██████████████████████████████████34%
Procedural██████████████████████████26%
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████25%
Personnel Matters█████████9%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Elizabethtown City Council Regular Meeting – August 22, 2025

Note: The meeting transcript indicates the meeting was held on August 18, 2025, but the provided date for this summary is August 22, 2025. This discrepancy is noted but the instructed date is used in the title.

The Elizabethtown City Council held a regular meeting on the date above, covering a range of legislative and administrative actions including zoning amendments, property acquisitions, park improvements, and personnel appointments. The meeting opened with a prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and approval of the minutes from August 4, 2025.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of minutes from August 4, 2025 – passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were recorded during the open session.

Discussion Items

  • Police Chief of the Year Recognition: The council recognized Chief T. Thompson as the 2025 Kentucky Police Chief of the Year, awarded by the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police. Council members praised his leadership and the department's character.
  • Police Promotions: Sean Kofer was sworn in as Assistant Chief, and Dietrich Cooper was promoted from Patrolman to Sergeant. The ceremony was held publicly for the first time at a council meeting, with many department members attending voluntarily after hours.
  • Ordinance 18-2025 – Sign Amendments: Second reading to amend Title 15 of the Code of Ordinances regarding general sign standards. Passed 6-0.
  • Ordinance 20-2025 – Rezone 202 North Main Street: Changed zoning from Urban Residential General (R4) to Downtown Mixed Use (C5) to allow office use. Passed 6-0.
  • Ordinance 21-2025 – Rezone 201 North Main Street: Changed zoning from Neighborhood Office (C1) to Downtown Mixed Use (C5) to allow office use. Passed 6-0.
  • Ordinance 22-2025 – Annexation at 1331 Hayden School Road: Annexed property into city limits, zoned Suburban Residential (R2) per Planning Commission recommendation. Owners gave written consent. Passed 6-0.
  • Municipal Order 49-2025 – Property Purchase at 111 Pair Orchard Road NW: Authorized purchase from R&L Reynolds LLC for $125,000, including title report and Phase 1 environmental review, to facilitate street and sidewalk improvements along the Pear Orchard Road corridor. Passed unanimously.
  • Municipal Order 50-2025 – American Legion Park Improvements Bid: Accepted the bid from BCD Incorporated for $1,149,898, with change order authority up to $172,485. Councilmember questioned the timeline; the low bidder initially offered 140 days but later agreed to a 170–180 day schedule to meet the city's goal of completion by February–March 2025. The project includes a pavilion, and all bidders used the same supplier for the pavilion package. Passed unanimously.
  • Municipal Order 52-2025 – Planning Commission Appointment: Alicia Jenkins appointed to the Planning Commission for a term expiring June 20, 2028. The vote was 4–2 (Councilmembers Bishop, Isaacs, Jones, Tyler in favor; Fulkerson and Springsteen opposed). Motion carried.
  • Municipal Order 53-2025 – Interlocal Agreement with Tourism Bureau: Authorized an agreement with the Elizabethtown Tourism and Convention Bureau for an outdoor music venue along Commerce Drive, establishing financial responsibilities for bond payments. Passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • All ordinances and municipal orders listed above were adopted or approved as noted.
  • Council entered closed session pursuant to KRS 61.810(6) to discuss potential acquisition or sale of real property and personnel matters. No action was reported following the closed session.
  • Councilmembers made informal announcements about upcoming events and expressed pride in departmental achievements.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome everyone to Elizabethtown City Council regular meeting for August 18th, 2025. And if you would bow your head with me for a prayer. Heavenly Father, we come before you today with great excitement. And when I say great excitement, all of the blessings that you've bestowed on not just this honorable body and city government, but this city in general and our community. You see dirt turning everywhere. You see opportunities arising for lots of our people. And it's just a great place to live and be and raise your family and live and work. And one of the main reasons for that, and you know this is because we have great people that work for our city. And they're represented here today in this in this room, and we're very proud of the promotions that we're about to do. We're very proud of the votes that we're about to make to continue to bless this city. And we're just so grateful for the opportunities that we have, and they're all provided by you. And please watch over our folks, keep them safe, watch over our citizens, and continue to bless this great city. And we'll we'll do the best that we can to represent you and do it in your honor. And it's in your son's name we pray. Amen. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, we're gonna start off with approval of minutes for August 4th, 2025. Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed. Seeing none, motion carries. At this time, I would like to introduce the 2025 police chief of the year in the state of Kentucky voted on by the Kentucky Association Chief of Police. He should have known that I was gonna get that in there. And he's got some important work to do. And Marty, you got a comment on that? Yep, Chief, just because you are now chief of the year, you get an extra 10 minutes without any hassle from Don Hill. Yes. Well, Micah actually approved the Corvette after that. Oh, okay. What's great is we have an opportunity. I guess it was last week we talked in just the other side of this room about the bittersweet uh ceremony that we celebrated with Chris Denham and him retiring. Well tonight there's nothing bitter about why we're here. We're here to celebrate the promotion of two great leaders. The the title supervisor gets thrown quite a bit, and that's accurate. Uh you see a lot of supervisors in this room right now, but we don't take that as the primary responsibility of what we do. And what that is is leaders. Leaders because we have a number of our personnel from EPD here today. And whether they were rank or whether they're just within the rank and file and sworn a civilian, we challenge all of our people to be leaders. But today's formal recognition of the first step into leadership for Dietrich. Um I don't know why you said DJ for Coop. We only have one coup. We have two Coopers over there. We only have one coup. And for Sean, his next step into leadership for the police department. And I can tell you that the time that I have been here, both of these individuals have excelled in everything that we've asked them to do. And I'm excited just to be a small part of them being able to be here tonight to welcome their families. And if you look around and you see the number of personnel you have from the department, I think that's a true reflection of the character of these two men and what they mean to this department because you can have a lot of ceremonies and some people can come and some can't, but at a time when we're starting to transition to do these recognitions at City Council. Most of the people you see now don't charge us over time, please for anybody there. Uh but they're here after their normal work hours.

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