OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Elizabethtown City Council Regular Meeting – April 20, 2026

City Council Meetings — Monday, April 20, 2026
BodyElizabethtown, Kentucky
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateMonday, April 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 26:44

Transcript — Verbatim
0:40

Welcome everyone to Elizabeth Town City Council regular meeting for April 20th, 2026.

0:46

I will now call the meeting to order and ask Councilmember Julia Springsteen if he she'd lead us an invitation, please.

0:56

Let us pray.

0:58

Heavenly Father, we gather this evening as servants of this community, entrusted with the welfare of our neighbors.

1:03

Grant us clear minds and open hearts as we deliberate together.

1:06

Where there's disagreement, give us patience, where there's complexity, give us discernment, where there is need, give us the will to act with compassion and courage.

1:14

May all that we do this night be worthy of the people we serve and pleasing in your sight.

1:18

Protect also our first responders in military as they go about their duty, protecting us and our country.

1:24

In your name we pray.

1:25

Amen.

1:26

And if you join us from the Pledge of Allegiance, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

1:34

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

1:57

Yes, sir.

1:59

Councilmember Bishop.

2:00

Here.

2:01

Fulkerson.

2:02

Present.

2:04

Isaac's here.

2:06

Jones.

2:08

Here.

2:09

Springsteen.

2:10

Here.

2:11

Tyler.

2:12

Here.

2:13

Mayor, you have a quorum.

2:15

Thank you, ma'am.

2:15

And we'll start with approval of minutes from April 13th, 2026.

2:19

If I can get a motion and second.

2:22

Y'all beat Marty that time.

2:25

All in favor.

2:27

Opposed.

2:28

Seeing none motion carries.

2:30

We do have some recognitions that we would like to make tonight.

2:34

Uh a couple special people that work for our planning department.

2:37

And Aaron or Jeff, if you all would one of you all come up and explain their accomplishments to us, please.

2:47

Yeah, we'd love to explain their accomplishments.

2:50

So first we'll start with Mason Druin.

2:52

Mason is a commercial inspector in our department, and he is officially now a level three building inspector.

3:00

So what that means is Mason now uh not only can inspect every building in the city limits, but he also can do plan review.

3:10

So uh it's a very important uh qualification for uh Mason to get to in our department.

3:16

So um I do want to point out that Mason was given when hired one year from start date to achieve a level two inspector, and he took it above and beyond and achieved level three in a year and five months.

3:29

So also point out that there's not been one inspector in the city of Elizabeth Town that has become a level three faster than Mason.

3:37

So uh we are beyond proud of Mason and his hard work and dedication.

3:42

So do you all ever have you all reminded Randy of that?

3:52

No comment.

3:57

Yeah, good work.

3:58

And then we also have Todd Williams, uh, who is now a official licensed electrical inspector uh for the city of Elizabeth Town.

4:07

So Todd, uh, much to his surprise, he did not realize at first that he was gonna have to take the test because he thought he was already qualified.

4:15

So uh you can imagine surprise when he found out I haven't taken a test in a long time, so now I gotta pass this test.

4:22

So Todd took it upon himself to to study and get the materials and he passed it with flying colors uh about a month ago.

4:29

So we are proud of Todd and Todd is now our second official uh licensed inspector for electrical uh inspections in the city and and uh we're we're beyond proud of Todd so for achieving that.

4:41

So Todd, same thing, we're glad to have you and you do a great job in spite of having to work with Todd Vaughn.

4:53

You've come a long way.

4:55

And I'm glad that you went back to school for a little while.

4:58

I'll hope it wasn't too big of a shock.

5:01

You like what I did there?

5:05

I think I'm gonna oh we do need to get a picture.

5:08

Yeah, yeah, they we do have family for both of them here.

5:11

So if they want to come up and yeah, that'd be great.

5:14

Come on up.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████████████████38%
Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████████21%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████18%
Public Engagement█████████████████17%
Personnel Matters██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Elizabethtown City Council Regular Meeting – April 20, 2026

The Elizabethtown City Council held its regular meeting on April 20, 2026, at 8:24 PM (based on the source timestamp). The meeting opened with an invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, and roll call. All council members were present: Bishop, Fulkerson, Isaacs, Jones, Springsteen, and Tyler. The minutes from the April 13, 2026 meeting were approved unanimously.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of minutes from April 13, 2026 – motion carried without opposition.

Recognitions

  • Mason Druin (Commercial Inspector) was recognized for achieving Level 3 Building Inspector status – the fastest attainment in city history (1 year 5 months, exceeding the 1-year requirement for Level 2). He can now inspect all buildings and perform plan review.
  • Todd Williams was recognized for becoming a licensed electrical inspector, the second such inspector in the city. He passed the exam after studying extensively.
  • The council also introduced Jamie Henderson, a retired Radcliffe fire chief, who has joined the inspections and planning department.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Judy Elliott, a resident of St. John Estates, addressed the council regarding a long-standing stormwater drainage issue. She documented flooding events dating back to 2006, 2013, 2018, and 2025, noting that water has entered her home and caused property damage. She requested that the project be included in the 2026-2027 budget and asked about interim mitigation measures. She expressed frustration that despite multiple emails and public records requests, she had not received direct responses from city staff. She stated that she has installed trench drains, sump pumps, and hoses at her own expense.
  • Council members responded: Mayor Gregory acknowledged the issue and explained that the city is aware of the drainage problems in St. John Estates, but a comprehensive engineering study is needed to avoid harming downstream properties. He noted that the city attorney has been handling correspondence due to Ms. Elliott’s threat of litigation, which prevents direct staff responses. Councilmember Bishop added that the project is in the budget process, competing with other stormwater projects, and a final decision on funding will not be available until the budget is adopted in June or July. The council reiterated that they cannot fix one problem in isolation and must follow a systematic process.

Discussion Items

  • First Reading of Ordinance 8-2026 – Zoning map amendment for 1612 North Miles Street from R2 (Suburban Residential) to R3 (Urban Residential) to allow short-term rental use. The change was found consistent with the comprehensive plan. The ordinance was read by summary and moved to a future vote.
  • Municipal Order 27-2026 – Appointment of Rick Townsend to the Board of Zoning Adjustment to fill an unexpired term ending December 31, 2026. Mr. Townsend, a retired military combat veteran, was introduced by the mayor. The order was adopted unanimously.
  • Resolution 2-2026 – Amendment to the comprehensive plan to adopt the Downtown Master Plan (2026). The plan, endorsed by the Planning Commission on March 24, 2026, aims to enhance public spaces, mobility, walkability, and mixed-use cultural districts in downtown Elizabethtown. Councilmembers expressed excitement and thanked the citizen committee that developed the plan. The resolution was adopted unanimously.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes of April 13, 2026 approved.
  • Ordinance 8-2026 (zoning map amendment) received first reading; second reading and final vote will occur at a future meeting.
  • Municipal Order 27-2026 adopted, appointing Rick Townsend to the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
  • Resolution 2-2026 adopted, adding the Downtown Master Plan to the comprehensive plan.
  • The stormwater drainage issue in St. John Estates will be considered during the 2026-2027 budget process; a definitive answer on funding and timeline is expected by June/July 2026. No interim measures were promised.
  • Next regular meeting: April 27, 2026.
  • E-Scrap Recycling Event: Saturday, April 25, 2026, 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM at the AGC Automotive Plant.
  • Spring Cleanup: Ongoing; political signs in right-of-ways will be removed.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome everyone to Elizabeth Town City Council regular meeting for April 20th, 2026. I will now call the meeting to order and ask Councilmember Julia Springsteen if he she'd lead us an invitation, please. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we gather this evening as servants of this community, entrusted with the welfare of our neighbors. Grant us clear minds and open hearts as we deliberate together. Where there's disagreement, give us patience, where there's complexity, give us discernment, where there is need, give us the will to act with compassion and courage. May all that we do this night be worthy of the people we serve and pleasing in your sight. Protect also our first responders in military as they go about their duty, protecting us and our country. In your name we pray. Amen. And if you join us from the Pledge of Allegiance, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Yes, sir. Councilmember Bishop. Here. Fulkerson. Present. Isaac's here. Jones. Here. Springsteen. Here. Tyler. Here. Mayor, you have a quorum. Thank you, ma'am. And we'll start with approval of minutes from April 13th, 2026. If I can get a motion and second. Y'all beat Marty that time. All in favor. Opposed. Seeing none motion carries. We do have some recognitions that we would like to make tonight. Uh a couple special people that work for our planning department. And Aaron or Jeff, if you all would one of you all come up and explain their accomplishments to us, please. Yeah, we'd love to explain their accomplishments. So first we'll start with Mason Druin. Mason is a commercial inspector in our department, and he is officially now a level three building inspector. So what that means is Mason now uh not only can inspect every building in the city limits, but he also can do plan review. So uh it's a very important uh qualification for uh Mason to get to in our department. So um I do want to point out that Mason was given when hired one year from start date to achieve a level two inspector, and he took it above and beyond and achieved level three in a year and five months. So also point out that there's not been one inspector in the city of Elizabeth Town that has become a level three faster than Mason. So uh we are beyond proud of Mason and his hard work and dedication. So do you all ever have you all reminded Randy of that? No comment. Yeah, good work. And then we also have Todd Williams, uh, who is now a official licensed electrical inspector uh for the city of Elizabeth Town. So Todd, uh, much to his surprise, he did not realize at first that he was gonna have to take the test because he thought he was already qualified. So uh you can imagine surprise when he found out I haven't taken a test in a long time, so now I gotta pass this test. So Todd took it upon himself to to study and get the materials and he passed it with flying colors uh about a month ago.

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