OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Paducah City Commission Meeting - July 28, 2026

City Commission — Tuesday, July 28, 2026
BodyPaducah, Kentucky
SessionCity Commission
DateTuesday, July 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 54:54

Transcript — Verbatim
1:16

Everybody.

1:17

Um probably about 40 years ago I went to the Olympic Games for the first time in a long time ever, and one of the things I was most impressed with, I bought tickets ahead of time, and every single event started exactly when it said it was going to.

1:36

So I'm kind of a I'm passionate about starting our uh our meetings on time.

1:41

Welcome everybody.

1:43

Uh I'll go ahead and call this meeting to order on July 28th and ask the city clerk to call roll.

1:49

Commissioner Henderson.

1:50

Present.

1:51

Commissioner Smith.

1:52

Here.

1:52

Commissioner Thomas.

1:53

Present.

1:54

Commissioner Wilson.

1:55

Present.

1:55

Mayor Bray.

1:56

Present.

1:58

I'd ask uh Commissioner Smith to do the invocation, and then we'll remain standing for the pledge of allegiance.

2:08

Father, we thank you for your grace and goodness.

2:11

May your face continually shine upon us so that your ways may be known in our communities.

2:18

I'm in.

2:19

I'm in.

2:21

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

2:26

And to the Republic.

2:29

One nation.

2:30

Under God.

2:31

Indivisible with liberty and justice for City Manager.

2:45

Are there any additions or deletions to the agenda?

2:47

Mayor, none this evening.

2:50

Okay, we'll move right to the consent agenda.

2:52

Items on the consent agenda are considered to be routine by the Board of Commissioners, and they're enacted by one motion and one vote.

3:03

There will be no separate discussion of those items unless a board member so requests, in which event we will remove that item from the agenda and consider it separately.

3:23

Approved minutes for the July 14th, 2026 Board of Commissioners meeting, receive and file documents.

3:28

Reappointment of Jenna Dawson and Latoya Richardson to the Baduka Human Rights Commission.

3:33

Said term shall expire July 29th, 2029.

3:35

Reappointment of Bonnie Koblitz to the tree advisory board.

3:38

Said term shall expire July 26, 2030.

3:41

Appointment of Deborah Calhoun to the Baduca River Pro Riverfront Development Advisory Board to replace Paul Gore, whose term has expired.

3:50

Said term shall expire June 25th, 2030.

3:53

Personnel actions.

5:01

So moved.

5:02

Second call roll.

5:05

Commissioner Henderson.

5:08

Aye.

5:08

Commissioner Thomas.

5:09

Commissioner Wilson.

5:10

Aye.

5:11

Mayor Bray.

5:12

Aye.

5:14

So we have one municipal order to approve tonight.

5:18

And I'll ask the city clerk to go ahead and read that.

5:21

And then I would invite Michelle Smolin and Chris Yarber to come up and tell us about it.

5:31

I proposed motion of the Board of Commissioners to adopt a municipal order entitled and municipal order authorizing and directing the mayor to execute a lease agreement between the WC Young Community Center and the City of Paducah for lease of the WC Young Community Center located at 505 South 8th Street Paducah, Kentucky.

5:46

I moved.

5:47

Second.

5:50

Good evening, Mayor, Commissioner, City Manager, and City Clerk.

5:53

I'm joined with our public works director, Chris Yarber and Erica Hudson, who is the board with the WC Young Community Board Chair, I guess I should say.

6:17

So I'll talk a little bit about the lease.

6:19

I'll turn it over to Chris to talk about the um project, and then Erica can say anything that she'd like to add.

6:25

So the proposed agreement is a three-year lease with a two-year renewal option.

6:30

So the intent is to provide stability for both parties while giving us flexibility to kind of renew the terms.

6:41

So it's our approach that we are continuing our approach with other leases of partnering with them to share responsibility in the upkeep and the maintenance of the facility.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation██████████████████18%
Procedural█████████████████17%
Economic Development█████████████████17%
Community Engagement██████████10%
Urban Renewal██████████10%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%
Fiscal Sustainability████████8%
Racial Equity██████6%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Paducah City Commission Meeting - July 28, 2026

On July 28, 2026, the Paducah Board of Commissioners met to discuss routine consent items, a lease renewal and renovation of the WC Young Community Center, a resolution recognizing August 8th as Emancipation Day, two ordinances for adoption (annexation and telecommunications franchise), two ordinance introductions (interlocal agreement for speculative industrial building and bond issuance), and a presentation on the 100th anniversary of Noble Park. The meeting concluded with an executive session for litigation discussion.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from July 14, 2026 meeting.
  • Reappointed Jenna Dawson and Latoya Richardson to the Paducah Human Rights Commission (terms expire July 29, 2029).
  • Reappointed Bonnie Koblitz to the Tree Advisory Board (term expires July 26, 2030).
  • Appointed Deborah Calhoun to the Paducah Riverfront Development Advisory Board, replacing Paul Gore (term expires June 25, 2030).
  • Approved routine personnel actions.

Municipal Order: WC Young Community Center Lease

  • Michelle Smolin, Chris Yarber (Public Works Director), and Erica Hudson (WC Young Community Center Board Chair) presented a three-year lease with a two-year renewal option.
  • Chris Yarber announced a complete renovation of the facility, estimated at $125,000-$130,000, to be performed by city maintenance staff. Renovations include floor leveling, kitchen remodel, new ceiling, lighting, bathrooms, and flooring. Work is expected to start after August 8, 2026 and be completed by June 2027.
  • Mayor Bray noted that the lease had expired years ago and that the city and board worked together to renew it and plan upgrades.
  • Commissioner Wilson asked about maintenance responsibilities: the city handles major mechanical systems (HVAC, plumbing, electric) and roof/foundation repairs; the community center is responsible for smaller items up to $1,500 (increased from $1,000). The city will cover costs exceeding that amount.
  • The motion passed unanimously.

Resolution: Recognition of August 8th as Emancipation Day

  • Mayor Bray moved to adopt a resolution formally recognizing August 8th of each year as Emancipation Day in Paducah. He noted that the effort was led by Jeffrey Williams and received community alignment.
  • The resolution passed unanimously.
  • Commissioner Smith expressed pride in making history and thanked the community for supporting the resolution.

Ordinances Adopted (Second Reading)

  • Annexation: Consensual annexation of two properties at 435 and 485 Burger Road, totaling approximately 30.78 acres. The property owners requested annexation. Passed unanimously.
  • Telecommunications Franchise: Granting a non-exclusive 10-year franchise to Windstream KDL LLC for telecommunications facilities in public rights-of-way. Passed unanimously.

Ordinances Introduced (First Reading)

  • Interlocal Agreement with Industrial Development Authority (IDA): Audra (city staff) presented an ordinance approving an interlocal agreement for construction of a 100,000 square foot speculative industrial building at 5700 Commerce Drive. The city received a $2 million KPDI grant and will provide up to $6 million in local funding. IDA will manage construction and marketing.
    • Commissioner Smith raised a concern: if the building sells for more than the city's investment, the surplus should be credited to the city rather than remaining with the IDA (a 50-50 city-county entity). He requested an amendment to protect city funds.
    • Bruce (IDA representative) said the IDA would likely oppose that amendment, noting the city is effectively acting as a lender and a bank does not profit from a borrower's sale. He also noted the net proceeds from the bond sale would be about $5.1 million after costs.
    • Discussion ensued about timeline and the ability to amend. City Manager suggested that if no action is taken on the first reading, it can be reintroduced later. The commission agreed to leave the motion as a first reading and discuss amendments later.
  • Bond Ordinance: Authorizing issuance of up to $6 million in general obligation notes (taxable, Series 2026A) to finance the city's share of the industrial building project. The notes will have a three-year term with interest-only payments, callable after one year. Sale is scheduled for August 20, 2026 with closing on September 3, 2026. Passed first reading.

Presentation: 100th Anniversary of Noble Park

  • Taylor Morrising presented events for the 100th anniversary celebration, running July 30 to August 2, 2026.
    • Thursday, July 30: Opening ceremony at 3:00 PM (shelter 10), pop-up farmers market (3:30-6:30 PM, 26 vendors), movies in the park (Back to the Future at 8:00 PM), live music (Jazz Patrol at 5:30 PM, Paducah Community Band at 6:30 PM).
    • Saturday, August 1: Yoga at 8:00 AM, history talk and arts/crafts (10:00 AM-12:00 PM), free amusement rides (4:00-8:00 PM), concerts at the amphitheater (Miss Reeves at 4:00 PM, Todd Belt at 5:00 PM, Cory Evits Band at 6:30 PM).
    • Sunday, August 2: Half-price admission to Noble Park Pool (pool closes for the season on August 2).
  • Taylor also updated on the Noble Park 100 tree planting initiative: 50 trees planted in spring, sponsorships for 49 trees raised so far. Commissioners were encouraged to sponsor trees ($19 each). Commissioner Smith offered to sponsor three. A time capsule is being prepared.
  • Mayor Bray highlighted the importance of Noble Park as a central community asset.

Executive Session

  • The Board moved into closed session to discuss proposed or pending litigation as permitted by KRS 61.810(1)(c). No action was taken after the session.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • Lease and renovation for WC Young Community Center approved unanimously.
  • Resolution recognizing August 8th as Emancipation Day adopted unanimously.
  • Annexation and Windstream franchise ordinances adopted unanimously.
  • Interlocal agreement and bond ordinances introduced as first readings; discussion on amendment deferred.
  • Presentation on Noble Park 100th anniversary received; tree sponsorships encouraged.
  • Executive session held; no action taken.

Meeting Transcript

Everybody. Um probably about 40 years ago I went to the Olympic Games for the first time in a long time ever, and one of the things I was most impressed with, I bought tickets ahead of time, and every single event started exactly when it said it was going to. So I'm kind of a I'm passionate about starting our uh our meetings on time. Welcome everybody. Uh I'll go ahead and call this meeting to order on July 28th and ask the city clerk to call roll. Commissioner Henderson. Present. Commissioner Smith. Here. Commissioner Thomas. Present. Commissioner Wilson. Present. Mayor Bray. Present. I'd ask uh Commissioner Smith to do the invocation, and then we'll remain standing for the pledge of allegiance. Father, we thank you for your grace and goodness. May your face continually shine upon us so that your ways may be known in our communities. I'm in. I'm in. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic. One nation. Under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for City Manager. Are there any additions or deletions to the agenda? Mayor, none this evening. Okay, we'll move right to the consent agenda. Items on the consent agenda are considered to be routine by the Board of Commissioners, and they're enacted by one motion and one vote. There will be no separate discussion of those items unless a board member so requests, in which event we will remove that item from the agenda and consider it separately. Approved minutes for the July 14th, 2026 Board of Commissioners meeting, receive and file documents. Reappointment of Jenna Dawson and Latoya Richardson to the Baduka Human Rights Commission. Said term shall expire July 29th, 2029. Reappointment of Bonnie Koblitz to the tree advisory board. Said term shall expire July 26, 2030. Appointment of Deborah Calhoun to the Baduca River Pro Riverfront Development Advisory Board to replace Paul Gore, whose term has expired. Said term shall expire June 25th, 2030. Personnel actions. So moved. Second call roll. Commissioner Henderson. Aye. Commissioner Thomas. Commissioner Wilson. Aye. Mayor Bray. Aye. So we have one municipal order to approve tonight. And I'll ask the city clerk to go ahead and read that. And then I would invite Michelle Smolin and Chris Yarber to come up and tell us about it.

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