★ ★ ★PUBLICRECORDJUL 22 2026

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Louisville Metro Appropriations Committee Meeting - July 22, 2026

Metro Council & Committees — Wednesday, July 22, 2026

BodyLouisville, Kentucky

SessionMetro Council & Committees

DateWednesday, July 22, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 25:36

Transcript — VerbatimClick a line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

We're so thankful that we don't have to bring in water or use any type of like bottled water for that process.

0:06

We're proud to give Matsapai the Made with Pure Tap seal of approval.

0:09

Thank you for your commitment to quality and for using Mobile Pure Tap.

0:13

Cheers.

0:27

Yes, a professional such as an architect or engineer or a property owner can apply for the permit without selecting a contractor.

0:36

However, the permit won't be issued by our department until a licensed contractor is selected and verified.

0:43

We can only issue permits to contractors who are licensed or verified property owners.

0:49

So it's a good idea to have some research before applying for a permit and find a contractor who is licensed by searching online.

1:06

Hi, I'm Christopher Grimes with TetraTech.

1:09

This is a groundwater monitoring well.

1:12

Today we are going to yank it out of the ground and properly abandon it.

1:16

That's just the fancy term for pulling the well out of the ground after it's no longer of use and returning the ground to as close to a natural state that we can.

1:26

We've got our guys coming up with a drill rig right now, a GeoProbe.

1:30

We're gonna pop the lid on this.

1:32

This well here, it goes down to the water table and it allows us access to get groundwater data.

1:38

And we would know if there's any kind of contamination, anything that you don't want in the groundwater, we would be able to find with that process.

1:44

The data has come back clean, all good.

1:46

They gave us the approval to pop these out of the ground and seal the ground up.

1:50

We're gonna pull out what is the casing of the well.

1:53

It's a two-inch PVC pipe that goes down sort of like a drinking straw down to the water table.

1:59

Now that we've got the PVC out, we are going to hook up the auger bits and we're gonna start drilling down and removing the soil that was directly around the casing in the ground.

2:10

We drilled down almost to that five feet, add another bit on top, drill down to another five feet until we've reached the bottom of the well.

2:23

Get out the dirt.

2:27

And now we're pulling an auger bit out, and as you pull that out, there's dirt that comes out with it.

2:32

We're scooping that up with a shovel or picking it off with our hands and putting it into the 55 gallon drum there where it'll reside until we send it off to a lab and the lab tells us what's in it.

2:44

Of course we don't know until we get our analytical results back.

2:50

We're gonna take bentonite chips.

2:52

Bentonite is a type of clay, it's a hydrating play.

2:55

It swells whenever water gets inside of it.

2:58

Once the bentonite is hydrated, it forms a really tight seal.

3:02

Just cut the bags open, let gravity take the chips down the hole.

3:08

This is the final step in the process.

3:11

Just putting a little topsoil on it for a little beautification.

3:14

And eventually grass is gonna grow right over top and you'll never know it was there.

3:18

And that's the last process in abandoning a groundwater monitoring well.

3:26

Get out the dirt.

3:29

I'm Michelle Mutt, and this is my partner, Katie Riser, and we are here at Club Pilates Highlands.

3:37

We opened Club Pilates Highlands in January.

3:41

We are located at 2200 Bardstown Road on the corner of Dundee and Bardstown at the Douglas Loop.

3:50

We are open seven days a week.

3:53

We have classes as early as 6 a.m.

3:56

and as late as 6.30 p.m.

3:58

We have 64 classes a week and counting.

4:01

Our clients range anywhere from 14 to 90 years old.

4:06

So if you're asking or wondering who Pilates is for, it's for everybody.

4:10

Pilates, we use our own body weight.

4:13

We use that to strengthen our muscles, to link them, to stretch.

4:18

And as I learned through Pilates, and you will learn too when you come in, everything starts from the core.

4:23

So there's a lot of Metro TV, 30 seconds.

5:05

Yeah.

5:06

Metro TV, 30 seconds.

5:22

All right.

5:22

Hello, I'm Councilman Jonathan Joseph, Chair of the Appropriations Committee.

5:26

This is a regular meeting of the Appropriations Committee on July 22nd, 2026.

5:31

It is 3 p.m.

5:33

This meeting is being held pursuant to KRS 61.826 in Council Rule 5.8.

5:39

With me in chambers, we have Councilman Herndon, Councilman Leninger, Councilman Sim, Councilwoman Shanklin, Councilman Bratcher.

5:52

And we have a excused absence from Vice Chair Parker.

5:58

We do have enough members for a quorum.

6:00

The first item of business is an ordinance appropriating $10,000 from District 3 Neighborhood Development Funds to Metro Parks to fund the Gyms Not Jails program to be held June 23rd to August 4th, 2026 at the South Louisville Community Center.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████49%

Youth Programs█████████████14%

Parks and Recreation████████████13%

Water And Wastewater Management████████9%

Engineering And Infrastructure████████9%

Public Safety██████6%

Summary of Proceedings

Louisville Metro Appropriations Committee Meeting - July 22, 2026

The Appropriations Committee of the Louisville Metro Council met on July 22, 2026, at 3:00 PM in Council Chambers and virtually. Chair Jonathan Joseph (R-12) presided. A quorum was present with 6 members (Joseph, Shanklin, Herndon, Lyninger, Seum Jr., Winkler) and Vice Chair Parker excused. The committee reviewed 17 funding appropriations from Neighborhood Development Funds (NDF) and Capital Infrastructure Funds (CIF), approving all but one item. Several ordinances were advanced to the Metro Council consent calendar or old business for the July 30, 2026 meeting.

Consent Calendar

O-183-26 (District 3): $10,000 to Metro Parks for the Gyms Not Jails boxing program (June 23 – Aug 4, 2026) at South Louisville Community Center. Approved 5-0 (Winkler absent, Parker excused).
O-191-26 (District 10): $25,000 to Metro Parks for four community events (Back to School Bash, Community Day, H.O.R.S.E. Tournament, Slabfest). Approved 6-0 (Parker excused).
O-192-26 (District 6): $9,922 to Metro Parks for Jazz in Central Park (Aug 23, 2026). Approved 6-0 (Parker excused).
O-189-26 (District 13): $10,000 to Fairdale Fair Community United for the 2026 Fairdale Fair (Oct 1-3). Approved 6-0 (Parker excused).

Public Comments & Testimony

No public testimony was given. Only council members and legislative assistants spoke on behalf of the appropriations.

Discussion Items

O-183-26: Ben Harlan (District 3 Legislative Assistant) described the program as free boxing lessons (non-sparring) for youth, with funds for coaches and equipment. Committee Member Lyninger commended the initiative.
NDF072226PF05 (District 5): $3,260 to Portland Festival, Inc. for port-a-potties. Carmen Washington (District 5 Legislative Assistant) praised the new organizers and invited members to next year’s festival. Approved by voice vote.
CIF072226PW05 (District 5): $188 for an honorary street sign for Julio Rodriguez at Duncan and 36th Streets. Approved by voice vote.
NDF072226BNA08 (District 8): $2,120 to Belknap Neighborhood Association for an AED and tower at 2200 Bardstown Road. Approved by voice vote.
CIF072226PW08 (District 8): $516.10 for two “Police Parking Only 24 Hours” signs at 1058 Bardstown Road. Approved by voice vote.
NDF072226PW09a (District 9): $73 for a street light shield near 3517 St. Germaine Court. Approved by voice vote.
NDF072226PW09b (District 9): $120 for a street light shield near 2732 Shippen Avenue. Approved by voice vote.
O-191-26: Council Member Raymond (D-10) spoke, noting the ordinance bundles funding for multiple recurring events to increase efficiency. Approved to consent calendar.
O-181-26 (Districts 15, 3, and others): $18,000 (with a goal of $21,000) to Friends of Nicole 50/50 Mentoring Collaborative for the Crisp Wyandotte Career Readiness and Beautification Project. Amy Luckett (District 15 Legislative Assistant) explained the program helps young adults with beautification projects. She noted the appropriation took longer than expected and invited additional contributions. The motion passed 6-0 and was sent to old business. (Note: Agenda listed $18,000 from D15 and D3; minutes show $21,000 goal with additional districts; transcript confirms $18,000 committed.)
O-190-26 (District 15, amended): Originally $10,000 for Ministries United of South Central Louisville for the Jim King Senior Wellness Center. Amy Luckett reported a $5,000 commitment from District 10 (Council Member Raymond) and stated $3,000 more was needed. The committee voted to amend the ordinance to add $5,000 from District 10, bringing the total to $15,000. The amended ordinance passed 6-0 and was sent to old business.
NDF072226SCLT04 (District 4): $4,000 to Smoketown Community Land Trust for a skating rink at the Smoketown Block Party (Aug 1, 2026). Committee Member Herndon noted the block party celebrates four new infill houses. Shanklin asked if the rink was brought in; Herndon confirmed it was. Approved by voice vote.
NDF072226PSSF04 (District 4): $1,500 to Platinum Shears Scholarship Foundation for the Platinum Scholars Beauty Pathway Program as part of the Life Skills for Youth initiative. Herndon said it is the only hair school west of 9th Street, covering materials for a scholarship student. Approved by voice vote.
NDF072226LMPD04 (District 4): $1,000 to Louisville Metro Police 1st Division for the National Night Out event (Aug 4, 2026) at Waterfront Park. Herndon noted the location change from 28th and Broadway. Approved by voice vote.
CIF072226PW04 (District 4): $188 for an honorary street sign for Mitzi McCauley Wilson at 12th and Jefferson Streets. Herndon highlighted Wilson’s long-time organizing for Beecher Terrace Day. Approved by voice vote.
O-192-26: Committee Member Lyninger (D-6) spoke, describing Jazz in Central Park as a long-standing tradition, with this year’s event on Aug 23. He thanked organizer T.S. Elliott. Approved to consent calendar.
O-189-26: Committee Member Seum (R-13) noted the Fairdale Fair is fully funded through his office and invited colleagues to attend Oct 1-3. Approved to consent calendar.
CIF072226PW18 (District 18): $60,000 for sidewalk drainage and installation at Lowe Road. This item was held in committee without discussion due to the absence of sponsor Vice Chair Parker. It will be taken up at the next Appropriations Committee meeting.

Key Outcomes

17 items considered, 16 approved, 1 held.
All approved NDF and CIF items passed by voice vote or roll call as noted.
O-183-26, O-191-26, O-192-26, and O-189-26 were sent to the Consent Calendar for the July 30 Metro Council meeting.
O-181-26 and O-190-26 were sent to Old Business for further action at the July 30 Council meeting.
O-190-26 was amended to include an additional $5,000 from District 10, raising the total to $15,000.
CIF072226PW18 was held in committee until the next meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 3:20 PM.

Meeting Transcript

We're so thankful that we don't have to bring in water or use any type of like bottled water for that process. We're proud to give Matsapai the Made with Pure Tap seal of approval. Thank you for your commitment to quality and for using Mobile Pure Tap. Cheers. Yes, a professional such as an architect or engineer or a property owner can apply for the permit without selecting a contractor. However, the permit won't be issued by our department until a licensed contractor is selected and verified. We can only issue permits to contractors who are licensed or verified property owners. So it's a good idea to have some research before applying for a permit and find a contractor who is licensed by searching online. Hi, I'm Christopher Grimes with TetraTech. This is a groundwater monitoring well. Today we are going to yank it out of the ground and properly abandon it. That's just the fancy term for pulling the well out of the ground after it's no longer of use and returning the ground to as close to a natural state that we can. We've got our guys coming up with a drill rig right now, a GeoProbe. We're gonna pop the lid on this. This well here, it goes down to the water table and it allows us access to get groundwater data. And we would know if there's any kind of contamination, anything that you don't want in the groundwater, we would be able to find with that process. The data has come back clean, all good. They gave us the approval to pop these out of the ground and seal the ground up. We're gonna pull out what is the casing of the well. It's a two-inch PVC pipe that goes down sort of like a drinking straw down to the water table. Now that we've got the PVC out, we are going to hook up the auger bits and we're gonna start drilling down and removing the soil that was directly around the casing in the ground. We drilled down almost to that five feet, add another bit on top, drill down to another five feet until we've reached the bottom of the well. Get out the dirt. And now we're pulling an auger bit out, and as you pull that out, there's dirt that comes out with it. We're scooping that up with a shovel or picking it off with our hands and putting it into the 55 gallon drum there where it'll reside until we send it off to a lab and the lab tells us what's in it. Of course we don't know until we get our analytical results back. We're gonna take bentonite chips. Bentonite is a type of clay, it's a hydrating play. It swells whenever water gets inside of it. Once the bentonite is hydrated, it forms a really tight seal. Just cut the bags open, let gravity take the chips down the hole. This is the final step in the process. Just putting a little topsoil on it for a little beautification. And eventually grass is gonna grow right over top and you'll never know it was there. And that's the last process in abandoning a groundwater monitoring well. Get out the dirt. I'm Michelle Mutt, and this is my partner, Katie Riser, and we are here at Club Pilates Highlands. We opened Club Pilates Highlands in January. We are located at 2200 Bardstown Road on the corner of Dundee and Bardstown at the Douglas Loop. We are open seven days a week. We have classes as early as 6 a.m. and as late as 6.30 p.m. We have 64 classes a week and counting. Our clients range anywhere from 14 to 90 years old. So if you're asking or wondering who Pilates is for, it's for everybody. Pilates, we use our own body weight. We use that to strengthen our muscles, to link them, to stretch. And as I learned through Pilates, and you will learn too when you come in, everything starts from the core. So there's a lot of Metro TV, 30 seconds. Yeah.

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