OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Elizabeth City Council Meeting - January 20, 2026

City Council Meetings — Tuesday, January 20, 2026
BodyElizabethtown, Kentucky
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateTuesday, January 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 23:57

Transcript — Verbatim
1:09

Good afternoon.

1:10

I'll call to order Elizabeth Town City Council regular meeting for January 20th, 2026.

1:15

And I'd like to ask Councilmember Marty Fulkerson if he lead us in the invitation, please.

1:20

Let's pray.

1:22

Father, we're so grateful for the blessings that you give us, the blessings of living in this great community for the men and women who wear the logo of the city of Etown and strive to provide quality services to all of our residents.

1:35

And Father, during this time, we're reminded that there are those in need.

1:38

There's a cold weather we experience, or those are here in our community that may not have a place that's warm to lay their heads at night.

1:46

And so Father, we thank you then pray that we'll be a community that will do outreach to provide those services.

1:53

And some of them are just basic needs during this time.

1:57

Father, thank you as we are blessed, and we continue to be able to prosper in this community.

2:02

We pray that all we do will bring you glory and to the benefit of our citizens.

2:06

It's in your son's mighty name that we pray.

2:09

Amen.

2:18

And to the Republic for the same one nation under God.

2:31

Madam Clerk, if you would please call roll.

2:35

Yes, sir.

2:36

Council member Bishop.

2:38

Fulkerson.

2:39

Here.

2:40

Isaac's here.

2:43

Jones.

2:44

Here.

2:45

Springsteen.

2:46

Here.

2:48

Tyler here.

2:50

Mayor, we have a quorum.

2:52

Thank you, ma'am.

2:53

And I will take a motion and a second for approval of minutes on January 5th, 2025.

2:59

Second.

3:00

I have a first and a second.

3:01

All in favor.

3:03

Opposed.

3:04

Seeing none motion carries.

3:06

And I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you Heather Cochran, who's a partner with RFHPLC, who's going to talk to you all about our annual audit report.

3:16

Welcome.

3:17

Thank you all for having me.

3:19

Uh you should have in front of you, I believe, a bound audited financial statement and probably a secondary letter that we issue to you all.

3:28

So I'm going to take you all through that.

3:29

This is your June 30th, 2025 audit, which we just finished up.

3:35

Normally we would probably have presented in December, but due to some federal guidance that we were waiting on in order to do your uniform guidance or single audit on your federal funds, it was delayed just a little bit.

3:45

So that's why we're kind of here in January this year.

3:52

Within that report, these are your audited financial statements.

5:02

So this past year, 2025, because you all had a federal project going on, you all spent more than $750,000 in federal money.

5:11

That requires you to have this other compliance audit every year.

5:15

So when you do that, you have to have that audit.

5:17

So if you look at page 69 on the second paragraph, you'll see, in our opinion, the city complied in all material respects with the compliance requirements referred to above.

5:28

So basically that means we did this federal audit.

5:37

Now we did have a few matters that are in those two letters, and I'll point you to where those are outlined.

5:44

That is on page.

5:47

Starting on page 73.

5:50

So page 73, 74, and 75, we did have some recommendations.

5:56

It didn't, it didn't mean that you didn't get a clean opinion.

5:59

You still got a clean opinion, but we did have some recommendations on things that you could do differently.

6:04

So the first item relates to what we said audit adjustments.

6:08

So we had a few audit adjustments related to federal grants.

6:13

And what that means is it wasn't that you were doing anything wrong, it just didn't quite meet generally accepted accounting principles in regards to the timing of when things should be recognized.

6:24

So for a federal project, if you spend the money and you have a grant that's going to reimburse you, regardless of when you're getting that money, it should be recorded as revenue in the same year the money is spent.

6:34

In this case, it was happening where it was recording more on a cash, you know, the money's coming in, we're gonna record it when the cash comes in.

6:41

And for generally accepted accounting principles, you need to match those up.

6:45

So that very first recommendation is just to say you all need to do that, okay?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Works█████████████████████████████29%
Budget Equity Analysis███████████████████████23%
Zoning And Development█████████████13%
Procedural██████████10%
Homelessness██████████10%
Parks and Recreation████████8%
Community Engagement███████7%
Summary of Proceedings

Elizabeth City Council Meeting - January 20, 2026

The Elizabeth City Council held its regular meeting on January 20, 2026, opening with a prayer and roll call to establish a quorum. The session featured the presentation of the June 30, 2025, annual audit, which received a clean opinion despite minor accounting recommendations. The Council unanimously approved five municipal orders regarding zoning amendments, airport bridge loans, street light installations, and property acquisition. Informational updates were provided on the "Christmas in the Park" event attendance and preparations for upcoming winter weather. The meeting concluded with the Council moving into closed session to deliberate on real property transactions.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of minutes from the January 5, 2025 meeting (Motion carried: 6 for, 0 opposed).
  • First reading of Ordinance No. 2026: Amends the official zoning map for 614-622 Pearl Orchard Road from Suburban Residential (R2) to Urban Residential (R3) to allow single-unit homes and zero-lot-line duplexes; found in agreement with the comprehensive plan.
  • Adoption of Municipal Order No. 2026: Approves a promissory note with the Elizabeth City Airport Board for a bridge loan not to exceed $600,000 for a tea hangar building; payable in full without interest by January 1, 2028. (Motion carried: 6 for, 0 opposed).
  • Adoption of Municipal Order No. 2026: Authorizes a contract with Nolan Rural Electric Cooperative for the installation and maintenance of decorative street lights along Commerce Drive within the current budget; future maintenance on a time and material basis. (Motion carried: 6 for, 0 opposed).
  • Adoption of Municipal Order No. 2026: Authorizes the purchase of the property at 607 Moore Drive from Michael Miller for $12,000 to support housing opportunities and open space in the Glendale Hill neighborhood; requires a title report and Phase I environmental review. (Motion carried: 6 for, 0 opposed).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Councilmember Tyler (representing the community) noted that the Harden County Animal Shelter has vouchers for one bale of straw for residents unable to bring large animals inside during the cold, but encouraged others to purchase bales at Lowe's for $6-$7 to provide windbreaks and nesting for pets. Councilmember Tyler expressed a strong position that straw "is really really good and can save an animal's life" if owners care for their pets.
  • Councilmember Bishop personally celebrated the 81st birthday of Mr. Michael Bell, a de facto mayor of the Glendale area and pastor for over 50 years, who is known for sending messages of encouragement. Councilmember Bishop expressed a position of deep appreciation and friendship toward Mr. Bell.

Discussion Items

  • 2025 Annual Audit Presentation (Heather Cochran, RFHPLC):
    • Presented the June 30, 2025, audited financial statements. The Council received a "clean opinion," the highest auditing distinction.
    • Recommendations Issued:
      • Accounting Principles: Auditor Cochran stated that the City must align revenue recognition with the year expenses were incurred for federal grants (accrual method) rather than when cash is received. Councilmember Bishop questioned the logic of "counting income that you don't have," while Cochran and others affirmed this is a standard Generally Accepted Accounting Principle (GAAP) requirement for federal compliance.
      • Schedules: The City must update the "schedule of expenditure of federal awards" to reflect adjustments made for the timing difference.
      • Procurement Policies: The City needs to "beef up" written purchasing policies to explicitly include specific requirements mandated by federal guidelines, even though the City was already complying in practice.
    • Self-Insurance: Cochran noted the City transferred about $2 million regarding self-insurance, which was roughly $2 million short of the actual amount needed, prompting a recommendation to reassess rates for the next year. Councilmember Bishop and others expressed a position that while the methodology is difficult to "fix," the Finance Department is "doing the best you can."
    • Departmental Performance: Councilmembers Fulkerson and others expressed strong support and appreciation for the Finance Department (Jeff Hawkins and Cyril Burr), describing them as "fabulous," "great," and the "special teams," noting they receive less recognition than other departments.
  • City Council Information Items (Mayor):
    • Christmas in the Park: The Mayor reported a position of pride regarding the event, citing approximately 75,000 attendees (based on 30,000 cars at 2.5 people per car) and $45,000 in donations.
    • Winter Weather: The Mayor stated that public works are prepared for a potential winter storm with predictions ranging from 2 to 12 inches, expressing a position that the city is ready to clear streets "without any issue or hiccups."

Key Outcomes

  • Audit Status: The City of Elizabeth received a clean opinion for the 2025 Uniform Guidance audit, with three minor recommendations accepted for implementation by the Finance Department regarding GAAP compliance, federal expenditure schedules, and written procurement policies.
  • Legislative Actions:
    • Zoning map for 614-622 Pearl Orchard Road amended to R3 (Urban Residential).
    • $600,000 interest-free promissory note approved for the Airport Board construction project.
    • Contract approved for Nolan RECC street light installation and maintenance on Commerce Drive.
    • Property purchase approved at 607 Moore Drive for $12,000.
  • Council Directives: The Council moved to closed session pursuant to C.R.S. §10-810.1 to deliberate on future acquisition or sale of real property by the city.
  • Discrepancy Note: The transcript refers to the location as "Elizabeth Town" in several instances (e.g., "Elizabeth Town City Council"), while the ordinance text refers to "Elizabeth City Council" and "Elizabethtown." The summary reflects the name used in the official ordinance text for consistency, while noting the transcript's variation.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. I'll call to order Elizabeth Town City Council regular meeting for January 20th, 2026. And I'd like to ask Councilmember Marty Fulkerson if he lead us in the invitation, please. Let's pray. Father, we're so grateful for the blessings that you give us, the blessings of living in this great community for the men and women who wear the logo of the city of Etown and strive to provide quality services to all of our residents. And Father, during this time, we're reminded that there are those in need. There's a cold weather we experience, or those are here in our community that may not have a place that's warm to lay their heads at night. And so Father, we thank you then pray that we'll be a community that will do outreach to provide those services. And some of them are just basic needs during this time. Father, thank you as we are blessed, and we continue to be able to prosper in this community. We pray that all we do will bring you glory and to the benefit of our citizens. It's in your son's mighty name that we pray. Amen. And to the Republic for the same one nation under God. Madam Clerk, if you would please call roll. Yes, sir. Council member Bishop. Fulkerson. Here. Isaac's here. Jones. Here. Springsteen. Here. Tyler here. Mayor, we have a quorum. Thank you, ma'am. And I will take a motion and a second for approval of minutes on January 5th, 2025. Second. I have a first and a second. All in favor. Opposed. Seeing none motion carries. And I would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you Heather Cochran, who's a partner with RFHPLC, who's going to talk to you all about our annual audit report. Welcome. Thank you all for having me. Uh you should have in front of you, I believe, a bound audited financial statement and probably a secondary letter that we issue to you all. So I'm going to take you all through that. This is your June 30th, 2025 audit, which we just finished up. Normally we would probably have presented in December, but due to some federal guidance that we were waiting on in order to do your uniform guidance or single audit on your federal funds, it was delayed just a little bit. So that's why we're kind of here in January this year. Within that report, these are your audited financial statements. So this past year, 2025, because you all had a federal project going on, you all spent more than $750,000 in federal money. That requires you to have this other compliance audit every year. So when you do that, you have to have that audit. So if you look at page 69 on the second paragraph, you'll see, in our opinion, the city complied in all material respects with the compliance requirements referred to above. So basically that means we did this federal audit. Now we did have a few matters that are in those two letters, and I'll point you to where those are outlined. That is on page. Starting on page 73.

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