Please remain standing.

We'll have our invitation by our city manager Mike Land.

Let us pray.

Father, we come to you this evening thanking you for the day and Lord for what you've given us.

And Lord, uh, our thoughts go to those that have lost uh service members in our military due to the conflict that's going on.

I pray that you'd be with those families tonight.

And uh Lord give them the uh comfort and the care that they need watch over.

And Lord, uh we just pray for our country that you would uh help us and uh help those that are making decisions to make the right ones.

And Lord, uh we just pray for our country that you would uh help us and uh Lord help those that are making decisions to make the right ones and then Lord, even at this level.

We pray tonight as we look at the business of the city and the things that are going on that the Lord uh guide and direct us, uh Lord, uh give us some wisdom and the uh decisions that are made.

May you be honored glorified through all that we do.

We love you this evening.

We thank you for your mercy and your goodness in Jesus' name.

I pray.

Amen.

Please be excited.

Call the meeting to order.

Um item number two, departmental agency reports A through E.

Is there anything anyone would like to highlight?

If not, I'll accept the motion for departmental agency report.

Motion by Commissioner Cox.

Is there a second?

Second by Commissioner Chenault.

All in favor, aye.

Aye.

Any opposed by like sign?

Motion carries item three, A, and B.

What I have asked Alicia to do is the work session is Alicia's gonna be doing that.

So she's gonna include item 3A and 3B since they're informational items only in her presentation.

So, Ms.

Martin, it's all yours.

So, informational item A, Winchester Fire EMS received official notifications from the Kentucky Board of Emergency Emergency Medical Services that the fiscal year 2026-2027 ambulance block grant application was reviewed and approved, and this was $9,920 for EMS medical supply lockers.

So, congratulations to Whitey.

Um, and then informational item B, Mayor Reed attended a um and along with some representatives from WMU attended the uh Congressman Barr's Community Project Funding Event where it was announced that WMU will receive one million dollars in federal funding for their Hancock Creek watershed sanitary sewer project.

So Mayor Reed was able to make some remarks, and it was a wonderful event for her to interface with Congressman Barr as we are now preparing our new community project funding request.

So it was a great event to attend.

Okay.

Okay.

Well, thank you guys so much for the opportunity to give you a year one up.

Your investment in a coordinated grant operation has produced both in numbers and the capacity that we've been able to build this year.

When I stepped into this role about a year ago, I feel like my objective was pretty clear.

I needed to find the money for your projects.

And I'm really excited to let you guys know about the progress we've made in just one year.

So straight to the numbers.

We submitted a total of 36 grant applications this year.

17 of those were awarded.

11 were not awarded, eight were still awaiting decision.

The total dollars requested was 10 million, a little over 10.6 million dollars in total funds requested.

Total dollars awarded, just over 3.5 million.

And we're still waiting to hear back on another 5.2 million.

That represents significant investment in our community, external investment activity for our community.

And you know, I I was directly responsible for about two million dollars of the 3.5 awarded.

Uh, the rest the remaining of that was due in large part to two grants that our city manager Mike Flynn applied for for our bridge projects, the Jackson Street Bridge Project, and then the Martin Luther King Junior Bridge project.

And then the remainder was um several grants that Miss Jeannie Gwynn was able to secure for the fire or for it, the police department.

She does excellent work and she has been a wonderful mentor for me this year.

So I was I gave you a spreadsheet of all 36 opportunities that we um applied for this year.

The column important to me is the very end column, the names for all of the people who coordinated with me on these grants.

I want you guys to see this and understand that grants really are a team effort.

This position has been nice, it centralizes the coordination and the strategy, but it is the expertise and the initiative of our departments that make our grant application successful, and we have a wonderful team.

And I feel like we've worked really well together.

Beyond just the numbers, I've been really excited about the infrastructure that we've been able to create, and not physical infrastructure, but our operational infrastructure.

We implemented this year a centralized grant tracking system.

So any grant opportunity that the city or its departments are applying for, I'm going to keep within my department in that tracking system that I gave you all.

Also have a real-time project list.

So I think you've you've received that, I think, in last meetings packet.

But we have now a record of our active, our proposed, our pending projects and where they stand for your reference if you ever need them.

And we also have a structured grant calendar.

So what I've done is I've I've kind of laid out what a year and grants look like.

That way I can give our chiefs or our department heads a couple months advanced notice when I'm going to need the data and the information to make our grant applications really competitive and successful.

So it's really taking a more proactive approach rather than reacting to these deadlines and trying to put something together for them.

And then another thing I've really tried this this year to do is build strategic relationships.

Now I've really intentionally tried at the state and federal funding agencies to find a contact and really work, especially with our department for local government, which is you know, they administer much of the federal monies that come to the state.

So they've been a wonderful uh partner for me to make.

Um, and then also strategically improving our relations with our legislative delegation, both at the state and the federal level.

And I'm gonna argue more importantly, their staff who do the groundwork to move our projects forward.

So we have wonderful relationships there.

And then now I'm also building regional partnerships.

We have some really good friends in the city of Richmond who are, you know, just one example, but they really are teaching me some best practices, and maybe that's somewhere where we do partner on a grant opportunity in the future.

But that's something I'm exploring and will be exciting as we move into year two.

So both of these areas are just positioning Winchester to be organized, responsive, reliable, building those relationships.

That's the foundation of our grant operation.

Well, moving into year two.

Thank you.

Um, I have some focuses.

One area of focus is for me is leveraging on our performance.

So funders evaluate risk, right?

They look closely at our past performance.

They invest where they see organization readiness and follow-through.

And because of the systems that we've built and the projects that we have successfully executed, we are no longer approaching opportunities as first-time applicants.

We are entering as a proven partner.

And this, a great example of this is in the City County Bridge Improvement Program.

As you all know, in the first cycle of 2025, we successfully completed the Jackson Street Bridge project.

Thanks to our team, huge shout out to all involved, Jesse, Brian, Alicia, Mike, Bruce, our contractor.

I mean, they all work together to deliver the project efficiently, steward the funds responsibly, and they demonstrated that our city can manage investment effectively.

And this positioning helped us secure 750,000 more dollars from this same program for the Martin Luther King Junior Bridge project.

And this this is how a mature grant operation functions.

You deliver successfully, you build the trust, and then you leverage that trust into continued investment.

So we are hoping to see this same strategy applied to the transportation alternatives program or the TAP grant that we've applied for for phases two and street of the main street project.

Phase one was completed on time and under budget, and that track record strengthens our competitive competitiveness for that continued funding.

Another focus in year two is going to be earmarked funding or just gener proactive legislative advocacy in general.

So, in addition to competitive grants, we're also pursuing some earmarked funding at both the state and the federal levels.

And Airmark funding refers to project-specific appropriations that are included in state and federal spending bills once the budgets are passed into law.

Chief Whitley and I have already submitted documentation to Representative Dotson, Representative Elkins requesting state funding support for a new fire station and/or station improvements.

We will also be submitting similar documentation to Congressman Barr and Senator McConnell in what they call their community project program, um, community project funding program, which is their version of the earmark earmarked funding.

Um, these efforts are part of a broader strategy.

We're looking beyond grants.

How can we strategically get these large capital projects funded?

Which leads me to my last focus, um, which we're going to have to focus on is coordinated investment because the reality is in today's environment, our major capital projects rarely get funded through one single funding source.

To compete effectively, we're gonna have to package funding opportunities.

A strong example of how we're doing that is through the Martin Luther King Jr.

Infrastructure Improvement Project.

So we've talked about the bridge.

This is the bridge is actually one component of a larger project, uh, which is that corridor to include some pedestrian improvements uh um as well as a roundabout at the intersection of shoppers and MLK.

And um as I've mentioned, we secured the $750,000 for the bridge portion of that project.

We then leverage that state commitment to apply for $527,000 uh through an ARC Appalachian Regional Commission grant.

And I'm excited to tell the commission tonight that our ARC application has been approved.

Pending submission of some final documentation.

So tonight I'm going to be asking you to um for your approval to submit that third and final piece of this funding puzzle, which is the grant application uh for the matching funds of that.

So coordinated investment.

This is how we're gonna have to work moving forward, and we're doing it.

We're really learning how to do it.

We're building layered funding structures that move projects from concept to construction, and this is just kind of in a nutshell some of my focus for year two.

So if we want to compete at a higher level, there are two key areas where the commission support is critical.

First, dedicated matching funds.

Many of the competitive grant programs require local investment.

Having matched dollars identified allows us to move quickly and makes our applications that much more competitive.

The second thing I would encourage you is to think about some engineering and design funding in budget discussions.

Projects that are shovel ready, meaning engineering is completed.

We have firm cost estimates, environmental clearances.

That just dramatically improves the competitiveness of our applications.

Now, engineering costs are not typically reimbursable, and that means the city has to invest these up front.

However, that investment demonstrates commitment, it reduces the funders' risk, and it really sets us up competitively.

So it's a strategic upfront investment, but the long-term return can be huge.

And in conclusion, I received uh this this email from assistant by our chief Nick Riggs, and I got his permission to use it.

Uh, he wrote in an email to me recently.

Final thought.

I hope everyone understands that grant writing rarely produces instant results.

I hope all can see how much groundwork you are doing for what I feel are going to be massive future results.

And this captured year one for me perfectly.

Year one really was about laying groundwork.

Year two is going to be about leveraging that success.

And then with the execution of these projects and with your commitment, the years ahead are going to be about scale.

It's going to be out growing this operation.

I want you as a commission to know this.

We are building a reputation as a city that delivers.

And that reputation is one of our most valuable assets in securing outside funding.

So thank you to Mike and his leadership and our team and the commission.

Thank you guys so much for setting us up in that way.

I look forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead.

And brought in the dollars that you brought in.

I think you've applied for anything and everything that moves.

Yes.

And uh, and that's awesome.

And I like your point about shovel ready, but as we've discussed many times, not just shovel ready, but build ready.

And we have projects ready to go in the hopper, and that is so so so important.

And we thank you for what you've done for this first year and look forward to year two and beyond with projects.

Yes.

Any questions, you're doing a great job.

Any project priorities you have, let Mike know, and I'll find some money.

All your little taglines on each slide.

Uh moving from reactive to strategic is a key standout for me.

And I think that in a time that we were looking at a compensation study and results of that and bringing in a new position, you have very much shown that that position was worthwhile.

So thank you.

Yes, thank you guys.

Well, just I really appreciate besides what she she's done with this and other stuff.

She's also and and I'm sure you you done this with other nonprofits too, like the one open.

I I I would draw to draw me an email and say, hey, your group might be eligible for this.

Yes, I still have to do the grant, but I also know that if I get stuck, I could call and say, hey, why did I do here?

Absolutely.

And I baby rules with the I do read I do routine research.

So if there's an opportunity, I find that.

Um I think could fit the need of one of our nonprofits.

I definitely share it with them.

I can't write it for them, but I will help guide them along the way in whatever they need.

Um kind of back in item or two who knows where is the Hancock Greek watershed, not to jump.

Van meter.

Thank you.

Sorry, Alicia.

No, don't you rockwell area.

Thank you.

Uh sorry, Alicia.

Know where the Hadcock Valley subdivision is.

Yeah.

Off of it's where Rockwell Road and Clickville Road merge.

Okay.

Thank you.

Sorry to take my commissioner.

Oh, I was just like to say well done from Storm.

Thank you.

Good job.

Proves we needed somebody.

It says prove we needed somebody desperately.

I think at the time best I remember a year ago, you had a couple other offers, and uh we took your arm and bent it backwards and said cities where you want to be Alicia.

Yeah, this has been wonderful.

It's I've learned so much over the year uh with the Chiefs and Brian, the department heads under Mike's leadership.

It's been a real learning experience, and it's just nice to feel like we can get some of that money back in our community.

So and do some fun projects, our depot street projects on the you know, it it's it's coming up, it's on my list of projects we're looking for funding for.

So our quality of life projects make people you know want to live here and stay here.

That's that's what we're gonna be looking at to use.

And the team approach where you listed it on here Stanley was saying is just that's fabulous because it takes us all working together to move the city forward.

Absolutely.

Okay, any other questions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Great job.

Thank you.

Excellent job.

Okay, let's go ahead and do comments from the mayor, commissioner, city manager, city attorney.

Is Bill on right now?

Do we know?

Oh no.

Okay.

So I'll have they ask him next.

Um, Commissioner Chanel, any comments tonight?

Okay, Commissioner Strove.

Um I have been working on rock the block.

We have rock the block dates set and bands set already.

So I think we're in real good shape.

Jill Hamlin is working on posters as we speak.

So we're starting in May and going through August.

Good.

And we even got the Friday night before Pioneer Festival set.

We're having um the Cock Republic back.

We had such a great response from them last year that we're gonna have them back.

That's a big crowd.

I don't think so right now.

Okay, Commissioner Cox.

Uh yeah, uh word camp applications were supposed to be closed last week.

I have extended that through March the 15th.

We still need like 18 uh applications.

We'd love to have more so if the kids get done in early, they they could do the job.

Also, it's regional high school basketball week.

The girls are in the their district champs again.

I will I I love to say that the boys were district runner-ups.

I think they played tonight in May from the county, and the girls played last night in the first round and beat somebody by 45 points.

I don't know.

Yeah, well, our girls are ranked number one in the state right now.

Anything else?

No, Mr.

Tool.

Um, yes, Mayor, I had some thoughts uh kind of in light of some items on our 530 agenda.

Excuse me.

I'd like the commission and I suppose the DDIF board to consider perhaps in the near future, the end of this month, end of uh spring to consider a pause to the DGIF program and grants related to the pause would be to review the process to possibly make any revisions that we think would be necessary.

Um we know that funding is getting lower, and we were able to move some monies from the last meeting.

We approved moving monies to the program.

It has been a wonderful program, and it will continue to be a wonderful program.

But I think it is my understanding, and I was not a commissioner, that my understanding was it was created to really encourage growth and proper construction and development of downtown and to do things correctly.

And I think we've been fortunate enough that the people who have used those funds have done such.

So I think that we're kind of at a turning point now where maybe a revision's necessary.

Um since Mr.

Kidd's in the audience, I'll just point out that I think he came down to talk about the beer cheese relief funds that we were really quick to move on.

And we were so quick to move on it because we wanted to get back relief, and and I understand the backlash and why the community's been upset with some of those decisions, but I think we kind of rein it all back in and take a pause and re-establish.

I I think that what we've got going in downtown after a four million dollar project, and everyone who has chose to dedicate their time and business to downtown.

It's our responsibility to make sure we're moving forward if we're supplying funds, which is a very large rarity in any city.

Be very clear on that.

Yes.

That is not a norm.

Um for it to be sustainable for the long term.

I just don't think that what we're doing now is that way.

So I don't know how it looks.

I don't serve on that committee, but I do think that we need to consider a pause to the program.

The city manager heard what you had to say, and we'll put a work group together over how you want to handle it.

Shaking her head, yes.

Um, what I'll do is um I'll get with Whitney and we'll uh determine what's there and then uh we'll establish a you know, I don't want an onslaught of applications, but setting a date and then have you know um a bunch of applications.

We'll just uh um based upon those comments.

We'll we'll make a determination, we'll bring something to the commission and uh let you know where we go from there.

And and then what we'll do is is if we if we put a pause on it, then we probably should put a target date out front of it on when we're going to potentially have a uh re-establishment or re reinstate what we're doing or something like that under different potentially some different precepts and guidelines and things of that nature.

So we'll let me work with her and we'll come up with that solution, bring it back to the commission uh for consideration.

Agreed, it's time to reevaluate.

Yeah, it's been a successful program.

Everyone who doesn't have time to do it, thank you.

And the historic preservation committee has been, I think, appointed.

I think it hadn't come before us officially.

I need to talk to Bill on that when I really don't have a just to be quite honest with you.

I don't have a full grasp of all that um uh as of this date.

So uh we'll I'll take a look at that as we move forward as well.

That's a good time to, you know, yeah, too.

Yeah.

Is that all clear?

Thank you.

Okay, uh Mike, anything?

Yeah, just uh one uh one item and I might roll into something else since I got some time.

Um the uh the comments um I think there was an email sent out to you by Diane if I if I recall about the strategic plan.

And just to be honest with you, I handed out a copy of that strategic plan to uh to a gentleman today um so we could kind of know I think it's important that if you've got comments for that, please get those comments back so we can get those back to KLC and finalize that.

I think it's a good tool.

Um, it's a marker for you as a commission to know what you're doing.

Um, and then it's a marker for us as a staff to know that we're doing what you want us to do as well.

So uh if you could get those comments back, I would definitely appreciate it.

And then Mike, even if no one has comments, let Mike know that you don't, so we won't be anticipating.

Yeah, please, please, ma'am.

That's great.

Um, and then um so you guys know, I mean, and so the general public knows too.

Uh I mean, over the course of the next few weeks.

I mean, we've got a lot of things going on.

There's a lot of moving parts, but a couple of the big things that are going on that I haven't uh mentioned is that the uh uh next meeting, um, Tom Sparks will be here to present the audit so we can finalize the audit, get that done.

I don't uh um think that we have any issues uh that we're aware of, no material, nothing that's up in material comments, and that's what you're looking for is a clean audit.

So uh things look good from that perspective.

And then uh Alicia's already sent out all the uh uh requests to all the different departments.

We actually have I think police and fires are already um getting close to scheduling to come over and uh start our internal discussions on the uh budget process, uh get that rolling.

So those is a very busy time of the year for the city.

So those is a very busy time of the year for the city, and then of course that'll roll into you uh you folks as the commission to uh set up the times for we can meet and uh uh deliberate uh on the budget uh in total.

So um those are a lot of uh and then they're you know we're trying to wrap we're trying to wrap up the main street project as well.

Um the uh contractor continues to work on the uh some of the punch list items that are there.

I know you've seen them at the corner of Lexington, Maine last week.

Uh weather's not been uh the best um over the course of the last couple weeks to finish that.

We still got cleanup work and all that kind of stuff to do and review their items, and Jesse's been working with them.

We've been working with property owners.

I've been on site um multiple times during the course of the last couple of weeks with several of the property owners that are up there.

So uh do know that we're working to finalize that project and the splash park project.

Um we'll be having a ribbon cutting and an opening ceremony.

We'll set the date for all that once we get it finished and finalized.

So I don't want to set a date until until we do that.

Um so we're finalizing that while we're working on trying to get these other projects off the ground and moving.

So the next project that'll probably uh be going to be will be the Fifth Street project.

She didn't mention, but we do have a grant.

She we didn't really work on that grant as much as John Pike with Palmer did.

He's the one that uh uh secured that grant for us, so it's uh and that is stream restoration.

That's the stream restoration project, water quality project, $350,000 of grant money to do that work that's there.

So we continue to uh push and and and we'll keep our uh nose to the grindstone and and doing what we got to do to get some of these projects.

And actually, I wanted to throw one more thing out that I mentioned to Commissioner Toole before the meeting.

Um been talking about the splash park and that those are quality of life uh projects, and uh we met with the uh parks director today and his assistant and Alicia and myself, and we went out and looked at a about we looked at three different locations for potential satellite splash pads, smaller versions of what we've done.

There's monies that are out there for that, and we think that we there's no guarantees on any of it, but we think that we could apply for one, get a grant grant, and we may end up being able to do potentially two of those smaller scale down versions, no maintenance, no none of that other kind of stuff that would be associated with what we've got over at uh the Eugene uh gate complex.

So hopefully we can do that.

Um we're working.

Um I can tell you your staff's working and they're doing a good job uh and what's going on here.

So looking forward to what we can do in the days ahead, warmer weather.

Okay, so if I might suggest the mic about the fed like splash pad, yes, sir.

Over where we've done the Lincoln Street thing and doing uh the other part, right?

There is nothing park-wise over there, and there's a bunch of kids that live over there, not only on Lincoln Street, but on Kentucky Street, Georgia Street, Alabama Street, and all over there.

That would be a perfect place to have some kind of a park over there.

And to be honest with you, we have discussed that very same thing.

Well, I've I mentioned that even when Chris wrote the grant for the we're definitely on our side.

For this side of the community.

Over here, yeah, we're on this side of the top.

Right.

Right.

And uh this is just a a suggestion that on the main street thing up here, where that schedule 35 pipe is there.

Yes, sir.

Yeah, they make sleeves.

Yes, sir.

Yeah, and stuff like that.

Jesse and I have discussed that.

So go on there and look a whole lot better than that green sticking there against that brick.

Do you duly know this?

Agreed.

Yes, uh yeah.

I think a flashback on it.

If you make a splash cap, I'll let you sure go ahead.

I think if you'll come up.

I think the splash pads wonderful, and I'm over there a lot.

And so thank you all for doing that.

Quality life projects is something years that we've been talking about forever.

So thank you.

It's awesome.

Uh if you're gonna we're gonna talk about splash pads again, improving parks or facilities.

Please can we can we drive right around in the truck in the warm weather uh anywhere we're doing park projects and watch the kids walking on the roads to go to the splash pad.

Um we we own you guys own a park that's right there.

How great would it be to have a sidewalk that comes all the way by the park?

So we slide there.

Um but if we're looking at alternate locations too, make sure that when you're doing that that we've got good sidewalk infrastructure so the kids aren't walking on the roads.

Exactly.

That's a safety concern.

Yeah, uh quality life stuff, walking walking trails, but in town, um that's it.

That's my note.

Thank you.

Which actually, in reflection to that, and I think it was I don't know when it was in relation to when you came on, Alicia.

I know Whitney's been a part of it and Brian and Jesse.

But the Boone Avenue project with Brandy could be that's still happening, yeah.

As far as I know, isn't it Brian?

Because I mean clearly it's winter, so we're not gonna implement all that in the winter.

Very exciting.

That's a good one too.

Thank you.

Well, I'm going.

Yes, ma'am.

And I just if everyone's finished, I just had two comments.

On everybody be aware that tomorrow there'll be a Kentucky statewide tornado drill in the morning at 10 07 a.m.

So if you hear the sirens going off, we are not in the middle of a tornado, I hope.

But the sirens will go off at 10 07 statewide tomorrow.

And then congrats to Lady Cars and uh Coach Robbie Graham for winning their 13th straight dis 40th district championship.

That's quite a feat.

So congratulations.

Okay.

Um, Mr.

City Manager, do we have anything for closed session?

No, ma'am.

Anyone on the commission have anything for closed session?

Okay.

And I can't ask Mr.

Dykeman because he's not here.

Mr.

Dykman said on the final that he didn't have any page to be at 5 30.

Okay.

He has nothing.

Okay, I'll take a motion to adjourn for 25 minutes and be back in our seats at 5 30.

Is there a motion?

Motion by Commissioner Cox.

Is there a second?

Second by Commissioner Strode.

Any discussion?

All in favor, aye.

Aye.

Any opposed by leg sign?

Motion carries.

See five minutes.

I think it's