Paducah City Commission Meeting - October 2, 2025: Proclamation, Animal Sales Ordinance, Police Station Property, and 911 System Update
Paducah City Commission Meeting - October 2, 2025
The Paducah Board of Commissioners met on October 2, 2025, at 5:00 PM with all five members present. The meeting included a proclamation declaring October 2025 as City Government Month, a presentation on a proposed ordinance to prohibit retail dog and cat sales, approval of consent agenda items, a municipal order to purchase property for a new police station, adoption and introduction of several ordinances, and an update on the new 911 radio system.
Proclamation: City Government Month
- Mayor George P. Bray proclaimed October 2025 as City Government Month, encouraging city officials to engage with elementary school students about local government.
Presentation and Discussion: Retail Dog and Cat Sales Prohibition
- Todd Blevins, Kentucky State Director for Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society), presented a proposal to prohibit the retail sale of dogs and cats in pet stores and outdoor venues (e.g., flea markets, parking lots).
- He emphasized the ordinance is a preventive measure (no existing Paducah store currently sells dogs/cats this way) and does not affect adoptions through shelters, direct breeder sales, or partnerships like those with PetSmart and Rural King.
- Over 500 municipalities nationwide and half a dozen in Kentucky (Elizabethtown, Frankfort, Lexington, Radcliffe, Campbell County) have passed similar ordinances. Eight states have statewide bans.
- The goal is to combat puppy mills: USDA data shows the average number of breeding dogs per licensed facility has dropped from 87 to 57 over the past decade, and 32,000 fewer dogs are suffering due to these policies.
- He cited consumer protection concerns: sick puppies from transport, exorbitant financing (e.g., 189% interest), and public health risks (Campylobacter spread from pet store puppies).
- Tracy Phelps from the McCracken County Humane Society reported on adoption partnerships: in 2024, 894 total adoptions, with 20–25% occurring through PetSmart events. She noted all animals leave spayed/neutered and vaccinated.
- Commissioners asked about: the lack of state-level action (Blevins noted state legislation on breeder standards has stalled), impact on the cat cafe (not impacted), and the status of direct breeder sales (still allowed).
- Commissioner Wilson questioned why only six Kentucky cities had passed such measures; Blevins said Kentucky tends to adopt policies later than other states.
Consent Calendar
- The consent agenda was approved unanimously (5-0) and included:
- Approval of minutes from September 15, 2025.
- Reappointment of Jonathan Perkins and appointments of Tyler Sanderson and Bonnie Koblitz to the Tree Advisory Board.
- Appointment of Lisa Humphrey to the Board of Adjustment and Jim Chapman to the Paducah Planning Commission.
- Personnel actions: amendment to Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield administrative services agreement; purchase of radios from Communications International ($273,121.04); employment agreement for Police Officer Travis Counts; Motorola contract for radio reprogramming ($237,420.22); purchase of an SUV for the Fire Department ($43,902); fleet maintenance service agreement with the City of Wycliffe; acceptance of a Community Development Block Grant ($583,406); acceptance of an Assistance to Firefighters Grant ($51,818).
Discussion Items: New Police Station Property
- The Board unanimously approved a municipal order authorizing the purchase of real property at 3047 Jackson Street (the former Modine Manufacturing plant site) for a future police station. The purchase is contingent on satisfactory environmental assessments and appraisal results. Phase one environmental testing has started. The site, across from the golf course and near Paducah Middle School, provides adequate acreage for future growth. Mayor Bray noted a new fire station may also be built nearby.
Adoption of Ordinances (Second Readings)
- Cable Franchise with Ritter Communications LLC – Approved unanimously (5-0). The non-exclusive cable franchise agreement is for a ten-year term. Commissioner Wilson raised concerns about the proliferation of fiber optic wires on utility poles; the city manager and clerk noted pole attachment guidelines are managed by Paducah Power and that they would explore inviting Paducah Power to address the commission.
- Urban Renewal and Community Development Agency – Approved unanimously (5-0). This ordinance repeals and replaces Article 6 of Chapter 35 to establish the agency separately from the Paducah Planning Commission, setting its powers, composition, terms, and meetings. Appointments to the new agency are expected to be ready for the October 21 meeting.
Introduction of Ordinances (First Readings)
- Body Piercing Amendment – Introduced to delete language prohibiting body piercing below the waist unless performed by a physician, bringing the city code into compliance with state law. Unanimously moved to introduce.
- Remote Workers Incentive Program Revision – Introduced to include self-employed persons and revise the cash incentive to $5,000 ($2,500 upon establishing residency and $2,500 one year later). The change follows recommendations from Make My Move. Currently, 26 people have taken advantage of the program, and 125 self-employed applicants had been turned away (19% of applicants). Commissioners suggested promoting the program to realtors; the city clerk agreed to arrange a presentation.
- Budget Amendment for CDBG Grant – Introduced to appropriate $583,406 in Community Development Block Grant funds for the fiscal year 2025-2026, following HUD approval of the consolidated plan.
Discussion Item: 911 Radio System Update
- Police Chief Brian Laird provided an update on the new 911 radio system project. Key points:
- Weekly project meetings have been held with Communications International (vendor), Federal Engineering (consultant), and city/county staff.
- About 55% of the project has been paid out via milestone payments.
- Completed: tower leases for expansion from one to five towers; upgraded phone and radio recording systems; two new dispatch workstations; pre-installation testing in Texas and Florida; tower site inspections.
- A generator with propane tank will support at least 72 hours of operation during power outages.
- Next steps: antenna installation in October 2025; equipment installation in the 911 center and shelters in November; training starting then.
- Go-live expected in the January–February 2026 time frame, with parallel system operation initially.
- Final testing (to ensure 95% reliability with foliage) is planned for May 2026; 5% of payment will be held back until that is complete.
- Chief Laird praised the 911 manager for responding to a query with well-documented data, noting a recent call was dispatched in 43 seconds.
City Manager Comments
- The federal government shutdown is not expected to directly impact city services, though there may be delays in federal grant reimbursements. The city is not reliant on federal funds for core operations.
- The building at Third and Jefferson was demolished by the private landowner at their own expense, after the structure fell into disrepair. The city plans to introduce an ordinance to address vacant and deteriorating buildings to prevent future situations.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous approvals (5-0) for: consent agenda items; the police station property purchase (contingent on environmental/appraisal); adoption of the Ritter Communications cable franchise ordinance; adoption of the urban renewal agency ordinance; introduction of the three ordinances (body piercing, remote worker incentive, budget amendment) for future readings.
- The commission took no formal vote on the pet sales ordinance proposal; it will be taken under advisement for potential first reading at a future meeting.
- The 911 radio system update was received; no action required.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everybody. It is five o'clock, straight up and down. So I'll go ahead and call this meeting to order on October 2nd, 2025, and ask uh our city clerk to please call roll. Commissioner Henderson. Present. Commissioner Smith. Here. Commissioner Thomas. Present. Commissioner Wilson, present. Commissioner Mayor Bray. Present. I'll ask Commissioner Thomas to do the invocation, and we'll remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. We praise you and we thank you. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it is one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. And whereas City Government Month calls on city officials to get involved in their local schools and in educating and engaging elementary school students in city government. Now therefore, I, George P. Bray, Mayor of Paducah, Kentucky, hereby declare October 2025 as city government month. And just as a quick follow-up to that, since I've been elected since I got elected the first time. I've been in many elementary schools, uh talking to fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Um just trying to educate, I get the craziest questions about uh, you know, people, these kids like to ask the mayor, you know, the first one is like, how old are you? And uh, you know, I mean, it's just some, you know, kids will say the darndest things, right? I mean, but I I will have to say it warms my heart, and I know that uh Commissioner Thomas has been to an elementary school, maybe um I maybe all of us have, you know, but you know, this um uh recognizing a city government month is something that's very important for our our kids, you know, as they are getting educated in the elementary schools and understand uh the importance of government. Mayor, one of the questions I got was are you older than I am? Am I older than you? Yeah. What'd you say? I said absolutely. You should have taken the fifth. Okay, um tonight we have a presentation uh from Todd Blovin Blevins. Hi, Todd. Hello, Mayor. Who is uh Kentucky State Director? Uh State Affairs for the Humane World for Animals, which is formerly known as the Humane Society. Yes, sir, it's a very long name, uh, especially when you add the formerly to it. But you can think of me as the state director for the National Humane Society. Okay, great. Well, it's great to have you, and I know that uh uh Todd has a presentation and he wants to talk about something that he's that he's uh pitching to all of us commissioners uh so I turn it over to you. I do. Uh am I able to let's see, have you got this uh Claudia? Or I was just gonna put it in the full mode here before I kind of get underway. Um First Mayor, I actually want to uh I want to throw a little bit of a curveball because I myself am a former uh practitioner of local government. Um so I am a former assistant city manager for a small town called Yorktown, Indiana by Muncie, if you guys know where that is. Uh it we had about 10,000 people, but uh needless to say, fan of local government and the civic process, so thank you all for what you do. Uh but now in my current role, uh, yes, as you said, I am the Kentucky State Director for an organization called Humane World for Animals. Uh and I'm no stranger to Paducah. I've run into chief layered at probably the past four or five police chiefs association conferences because one of the things we do is animal cruelty training for law enforcement, because as he will tell you, they are not getting that in the academy. So we try to offer that as a as an auxiliary training so that everybody uh when when you run into animal cruelty out on the street, you're you're able to uh to to do you know something about it.
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