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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Louisville Metro Appropriations Committee Meeting - September 16, 2026

Metro Council & Committees — Wednesday, September 16, 2026

BodyLouisville, Kentucky

SessionMetro Council & Committees

DateWednesday, September 16, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 30:07

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0:18

All right, hello.

0:19

I am Councilman Jonathan Joseph, Chair of the Appropriations Committee.

0:22

This is a regular meeting of the appropriations committee on September 16th, 2026.

0:27

It is currently 305 p.m.

0:29

This meeting is being held pursuant to KRS 61.826 in Council Rule 5.8 with me as my Vice Chair Marilyn Parker and joining us in chambers are committee members uh Councilman Herndon, Councilman Leninger, Councilman Syme, Councilwoman Shanklin, and Councilwoman Hawkins.

0:46

We also are joined virtually by Councilman Winkler.

0:49

We do have a quorum, and we will begin.

0:51

The first item of business is an ordinance appropriating 28,500 from neighborhood development funds in the following manner.

0:58

10,000 dollars each from districts 22 and 24, 5,000 from District 20 and 3500 from District 10 through the Office of Management Management and Budget to the Fern Creek Fire Protection District for costs associated with the purchase of hazardous material response equipment.

1:11

This comes to us from Councilman Bratcher.

1:13

Do we have a motion?

1:15

Properly moved.

1:16

Hello.

1:17

Hi, how are you doing?

1:18

I'm John Bingham with uh Councilman Bratcher's office.

1:22

And yes, we have compiled uh some of the funds, most of the funds from various districts.

1:30

Uh the districts that are directly impacted by Fern Creek Fire Protection is are uh district two, 10, 20, 22, 23, and 24.

1:41

Uh although we'd be glad to have uh support from any district across the board.

1:46

Uh this is specifically for a response trailer as well as for level A hazmat entry ensembles and an Indian Springs leak kit.

1:58

The combination is roughly about 40,000 dollars, and so far we have 28,500 toward that, which will certainly help them.

2:08

So uh we appreciate the consideration and look forward to this being able to move forward and uh help them with the funding.

2:17

Okay, thank you.

2:18

Are there any questions or concerns?

2:24

Councilman, District 13 would like to add 500 to the request.

2:34

So we need to take a motion to amend a second.

2:38

All in favor?

2:40

Any opposed?

2:42

Okay, hearing none, uh we will now take this to a roll call vote.

2:52

Councilman Winkler.

2:54

Yes, yes.

2:59

Chair Joseph, you have seven yes votes.

3:01

Thank you.

3:01

Legislation passes and will be added to old business.

3:04

Thank you.

3:04

Item number two is an ordinance appropriating fifty thousand dollars from District One neighborhood development funds, Blueville Parks and Recreation to fund the District One Park Activities Account for the following community events to be held between September and December 2026.

3:16

Algonquin Music Festival, Parkland Day, Pumpkins in the Park, Turkey Day giveaway, juice bowl parade and community event, light up park duval, and Christmas over District 1.

3:25

This item comes to us from Councilwoman Hawkins.

3:27

Do we have a motion?

3:29

Second, thank you.

3:30

Properly moved.

3:31

Councilwoman, would you like to speak to this?

3:33

Of course I would.

3:34

First, I want to make a correction on the record.

3:36

Um I am not doing the juice bowl parade.

3:39

Uh Councilwoman Purvis, I believe, is doing that parade.

3:44

I will be hosting the juice bowl itself.

3:46

So I want to make sure that we're clear on that part.

3:49

Um and everybody know that I invest a lot in parts.

3:53

I do a lot for the community, and this is probably the um second or third annual year every year that I do these events.

4:01

Um want to say thank you for the support.

4:04

Uh hopefully I can get everybody support on this.

4:06

Thank you.

4:08

All right, thank you.

4:09

Um we have questions first, and then we are gonna need to take an amendment to change the language.

4:15

Uh so do you councilman?

4:16

Do you have a question?

4:17

So move to change the language.

4:20

And just to be clear, do you the language that you want removed is um this yes, it's later, and this is Sonia Harvey, the clerk.

4:27

We are removing parade and from the title.

4:29

We have updated the packet completely to remove that also, and there will be no funding for that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Engagement████████████████████████████28%

Fire Safety███████████11%

Transportation Safety███████████11%

Arts And Culture███████████11%

Environmental Protection██████████10%

Zoo Funding█████████9%

Procedural██████6%

Parks and Recreation██████6%

Community Engagement█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Louisville Metro Appropriations Committee Meeting - September 16, 2026

The Appropriations Committee of the Louisville Metro Council, chaired by Councilman Jonathan "JJ" Joseph (R-12), met on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 3:05 PM. The meeting was held in Council Chambers with virtual participation from Councilman Markus Winkler (D-17). A quorum was established with seven members present: Chair Joseph, Vice Chair Marilyn Parker (R-18), and Committee Members Barbara Shanklin (D-2), Ken Herndon (D-4), JP Lyninger (D-6), Dan Seum Jr. (R-13), and Markus Winkler. Non-committee member Tammy Hawkins (D-1) also attended. The committee considered 17 appropriation items, including ordinances, Neighborhood Development Fund (NDF) requests, and Capital Infrastructure Fund (CIF) requests. Several items were amended on the floor to add additional funding from other districts. The meeting was adjourned at 3:34 PM.

Consent Calendar

O-262-26: Ordinance appropriating $14,668.54 from NDFs ($7,334.27 each from Districts 2 and 5) to Louisville Gas & Electric on behalf of Elderserve, Inc. to prevent a disruption in utility service. Approved by a roll call vote (6-0-1, Councilman Winkler absent). Sent to Consent Calendar.
O-249-26: Ordinance appropriating $10,000 from District 26 NDF to the Office of Arts and Creative Industries for a public mural project at 3705 Klondike Lane. Approved by roll call (7-0). Sent to Consent Calendar.

Discussion Items

O-254-26 (Hazardous Materials Response Equipment): Ordinance initially appropriating $28,500 from NDFs (Districts 22, 24, 20, 10) for Fern Creek Fire Protection District to purchase a response trailer, level A hazmat ensembles, and a leak kit. Amended to add $500 from District 13 for a new total of $29,000. Approved by roll call (7-0) and sent to Old Business.
O-255-26 (District 1 Park Activities): Ordinance appropriating $50,000 from District 1 NDF to Louisville Parks and Recreation for seven community events (Algonquin Music Festival, Parkland Day, Pumpkins in the Park, Turkey Day Give-A-Way, Juice Bowl community event, Light Up Park DuValle, and Christmas Over District 1). Councilmember Hawkins corrected that the Juice Bowl Parade is not part of her events. Amended to remove the words "parade and" from the title. Discussion ensued about the use of park activity accounts; the budget office noted no final decision to eliminate such accounts. Approved by roll call (7-0) and sent to Old Business.
NDF091626TL03 (TreesLouisville): $5,000 from District 3 NDF to TreesLouisville, Inc. for a community-wide tree planting day (November 14, 2026) in the Jacob neighborhood, covering tree purchases and volunteer lunches. Approved by voice vote.
CIF091626PW09a (Speed Humps on McCready Ave): $18,024 from District 9 CIF for installation of four speed humps and seven sign posts (14 signs) on McCready Avenue. Approved by voice vote.
CIF091626PW09b (Speed Humps on Hull St): $8,696 from District 9 CIF for installation of two speed humps and three sign posts (6 signs) on Hull Street near Breckinridge Franklin Elementary. Committee Member Shanklin commented on the high volume of speed bump requests. Approved by voice vote.
NDF091626ZOOm (Boo at the Zoo): $5,000 from NDFs ($2,500 each from Districts 10 and 19) to Louisville Zoo for candy costs for their annual Boo at the Zoo event (October 2026). Approved by voice vote.
CONDF091626SFMm (Taste of Africa): $3,250 from NDFs (Districts 3, 10, 21, 15) to See Forward Ministries Corporation for sponsorship of the Taste of Africa fundraising event (October 23, 2026). Amended to add $500 from District 6 (sponsorship level provided 8 tickets), new total $3,750. Approved by voice vote.
NDF091626MP14 (District 14 Park Account): $5,000 from District 14 NDF to Louisville Parks and Recreation for events including Southwest Festival, rescheduled movie nights, and Trunk or Treat (September-December 2026). Approved by voice vote.
CIF091626PW16 (Sidewalk Repairs on Trail Ridge Rd): $30,000 from District 16 CIF for full depth sidewalk repairs on Trail Ridge Road. Approved by voice vote.
O-256-26 (Americana Community Center): Ordinance appropriating $8,000 from NDFs (Districts 21, 10, 15, 9, 13) to Americana Community Center, Inc. for FY27 operational costs. A legislative aide emphasized the center's role in assisting immigrants and refugees. Approved by roll call (7-0) and sent to Old Business.
CIF091626PW21 (Huston Quin Park Parking Lot): $30,000 from District 21 CIF to Public Works for design and construction of a parking lot (25 spaces plus 2 ADA spaces) at 4105 South 1st Street for Huston Quin Park. Approved by voice vote.
O-257-26 (Artist-in-Residence Program): Ordinance initially appropriating $5,500 from NDFs (Districts 24 and 13) for the Louisville Free Public Library's Collider artist-in-residence program at South Central Regional Library. The program served 618 residents in 2026 and 4,874 over nine years. Amended to add $500 from District 2 and $250 from District 20 for a new total of $6,250. Approved by roll call (7-0) and sent to Old Business.
NDF091626BS26 (Beautification at Ross Blvd & Hikes Ln): $2,410 from District 26 NDF through Brightside, Inc. to Sermersheim Landscape Company for beautification of an island at Ross Boulevard and Hikes Lane. Approved by voice vote.
NDF091626BS02 (Beautification at Kilmer Blvd & E Indian Trail): $1,185 from District 2 NDF through Brightside, Inc. to Luv-It Landscaping for landscaping a newly constructed curb/flowerbed in the median. Committee Member Shanklin noted the previous planter was often hit by cars and the new stone planter will be more durable. Approved by voice vote.
NDF091626GM06 (Shotgun Fest): $2,000 from District 6 NDF to Germantown Mission Inc. for the 2026 Shotgun Fest (October 17, 2026). Councilman Lininger clarified the name refers to shotgun-style houses common in Germantown. Approved by voice vote.

Key Outcomes

All 17 appropriation items were approved without opposition.
Four items were amended on the floor: O-254-26 ($28,500→$29,000, adding D13); O-255-26 (removed "parade and" from title); O-257-26 ($5,500→$6,250, adding D2 and D20); and CONDF091626SFMm ($3,250→$3,750, adding D6).
Roll call votes: O-254-26, O-255-26, O-256-26, O-257-26, O-249-26 (all 7-0); O-262-26 (6-0-1, Winkler absent). All other items approved by voice vote.
Items sent to the Consent Calendar (O-262-26, O-249-26) or Old Business (O-254-26, O-255-26, O-256-26, O-257-26) will be considered by the full Metro Council on September 24, 2026. Approved NDFs and CIFs are effective immediately.

Meeting Transcript

All right, hello. I am Councilman Jonathan Joseph, Chair of the Appropriations Committee. This is a regular meeting of the appropriations committee on September 16th, 2026. It is currently 305 p.m. This meeting is being held pursuant to KRS 61.826 in Council Rule 5.8 with me as my Vice Chair Marilyn Parker and joining us in chambers are committee members uh Councilman Herndon, Councilman Leninger, Councilman Syme, Councilwoman Shanklin, and Councilwoman Hawkins. We also are joined virtually by Councilman Winkler. We do have a quorum, and we will begin. The first item of business is an ordinance appropriating 28,500 from neighborhood development funds in the following manner. 10,000 dollars each from districts 22 and 24, 5,000 from District 20 and 3500 from District 10 through the Office of Management Management and Budget to the Fern Creek Fire Protection District for costs associated with the purchase of hazardous material response equipment. This comes to us from Councilman Bratcher. Do we have a motion? Properly moved. Hello. Hi, how are you doing? I'm John Bingham with uh Councilman Bratcher's office. And yes, we have compiled uh some of the funds, most of the funds from various districts. Uh the districts that are directly impacted by Fern Creek Fire Protection is are uh district two, 10, 20, 22, 23, and 24. Uh although we'd be glad to have uh support from any district across the board. Uh this is specifically for a response trailer as well as for level A hazmat entry ensembles and an Indian Springs leak kit. The combination is roughly about 40,000 dollars, and so far we have 28,500 toward that, which will certainly help them. So uh we appreciate the consideration and look forward to this being able to move forward and uh help them with the funding. Okay, thank you. Are there any questions or concerns? Councilman, District 13 would like to add 500 to the request. So we need to take a motion to amend a second. All in favor? Any opposed? Okay, hearing none, uh we will now take this to a roll call vote. Councilman Winkler. Yes, yes. Chair Joseph, you have seven yes votes. Thank you. Legislation passes and will be added to old business. Thank you. Item number two is an ordinance appropriating fifty thousand dollars from District One neighborhood development funds, Blueville Parks and Recreation to fund the District One Park Activities Account for the following community events to be held between September and December 2026. Algonquin Music Festival, Parkland Day, Pumpkins in the Park, Turkey Day giveaway, juice bowl parade and community event, light up park duval, and Christmas over District 1. This item comes to us from Councilwoman Hawkins. Do we have a motion? Second, thank you. Properly moved. Councilwoman, would you like to speak to this? Of course I would. First, I want to make a correction on the record. Um I am not doing the juice bowl parade. Uh Councilwoman Purvis, I believe, is doing that parade. I will be hosting the juice bowl itself. So I want to make sure that we're clear on that part. Um and everybody know that I invest a lot in parts. I do a lot for the community, and this is probably the um second or third annual year every year that I do these events. Um want to say thank you for the support.

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