And the regionals and pole vaulting are going to be this weekend, Friday.

And she had a very long training session tonight.

So she will be joining us at a later date.

Item 2B, Building Safety Month.

Want to ask all of us to come down front and Rob Jeffries to come up.

And let's go proclaim this for Rob.

Okay.

Proclamation for Building Safety Month 2026.

Whereas Winchester is committed to recognizing that our growth and strength depends on the safety and essential role our homes, buildings, and infrastructure play, both in everyday life and when disaster struck.

And whereas our confidence and the resilience of these buildings that make up our community is achieved through the devotion of vigilant guardians, building safety and fire prevention officials, architects, engineers, builders, tradespeople, design professionals, laborers, plumbers, and others in the construction industry who work year-round to ensure the safe construction of buildings.

And whereas these guardians are dedicated members of the International Code Council, ICC, a nonprofit that brings together local, state, territorial, tribal, and federal officials who are experts in the built environment to create and implement the highest quality codes to protect us in the buildings where we live, learn, work, and play.

And whereas these modern building codes include safeguards to protect the public from hazards such as hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, fires, floods, and earthquakes.

And whereas Building Safety Month is sponsored by the ICC to remind the public about the critical role of our community's largely unknown protectors of public safety, our local code officials, who assure us of safe, sustainable, and affordable buildings that are essential to our prosperity.

And whereas built the last, which is the theme for 2026, encourages us all to get involved and raise awareness about building safety on personal, local, and global scale.

And whereas each year in observance of building safety month, people all over the world are asked to consider the commitment to improve building safety, resilience, and economic investment at home and in the community, and to acknowledge the essential service provided to all of us by local, state, and federal building safety and fire prevention departments and protecting lives and property.

Now, therefore, I Joel Marie, Mayor of Winchester, Kentucky, to hereby proclaim the month of May 2026 as Building Safety Month.

Accordingly, I encourage our citizens to join us as we celebrate this momentous day, building safety month.

Thank you all for our okay.

Item three minutes from April 7th, 2026 special 430, regular 530, and April 21, 2026, regular 530 meetings.

Is there a motion?

Motion by Commissioner Cox.

Is there a second?

Second by Commissioner Toole.

Any discussion?

Additions, changes, corrections.

All in favor, aye.

Any opposed by light sign?

Minutes passed.

Item four, departmental and agency reports.

A through I is there a motion to accept the departmental and agency reports.

Motion by Commissioner Strode.

Is there a second?

Second by Commissioner Chenault.

Any discussion?

All in favor, I.

Any opposed by like sign?

Motion carries item five, A through I.

Correspondence from Cody Angel.

I just want to recognize that Cody is in the audience tonight.

Again, these are just for information.

Item B, we did have a study from Palmer Engineering to discuss the turning lanes at Lexington Avenue and the amount of uh $3,600.

Um we have some correspondence from Fire Chief Chris Whitley on item C.

Chris, would you come up just for a second and explain to us?

I think you have a dollar amount now that goes with this.

Yes, ma'am.

So I think that I communicated to you in the commission a few weeks ago or a couple commissions ago about the extraordinary efforts of the finance director, uh Alicia Mayab as well as the assistant chief of VMS Jacob Robinson in compiling these numbers.

Legislation was passed.

Um it's the annual supplemental payment program.

We knew that the city was gonna encumber funds beginning in August.

We just didn't know how much.

We now have a dollar amount to that.

Um it's a total of 476,000 dollars for the year, which equates to 119,000 dollars a quarter, and that will be forever quarter going forward.

Um, the monies that you're gonna receive in August of this year uh reflect physical year 24.

Next year it will reflect physical year 25 and so on.

So that's where we sit.

Okay, thank you.

Any questions for Chief?

Okay, thank you, Chief.

Uh, also want to highlight item D, correspondence from Alicia Martin regarding the LARP projects.

Uh Alicia, do you mind to come forward and explain that?

See if anyone has questions.

So last session, House Bill 546, State House Bill 546, establish the local assistance road program.

So this is fine, state funds to help us repave our worst roads.

So last fall, Brian helped me identify five of our worst roads that were in need of repair, and we submitted an application.

Four of our five were selected, so a total of 251,000 from the state will come to the city for those four specifically for those four projects.

So it should help offset some cost in the repaving this year.

We don't have to pay those in this fiscal year, right?

It can go we can pave them.

I think they're paying for the whole project, right?

Yes.

251,000 for those specific roads.

So yes, I think it'll have to be done in this.

But but like when we do paving in August, September, these could be done then.

Yes.

Okay.

Yes, and those are Pendleton, Magnolia, Early and Flanagan.

So any other questions.

Okay, thank you, Alicia.

I also wanted to highlight item G.

I did attend the Bluegrass College Academy uh graduation the other night uh for 2026.

And this is our dual credit students uh they've been taking classes at BCT.

Uh it's always rewarding to go.

I was able to speak just for a few minutes and thank the parents and the families that stand behind these kids and help them get to school and encourage them to continue their education.

So that was great.

And I do want to highlight that we uh have done a proclamation for Arbor Day, which is H and on I.

I just got back about half an hour ago from going to the home of Miss Wanda Bachman, uh, who's turning 100?

And uh she was not able to physically come down here, so we went to her home and presented the proclamation to her.

And uh I don't get to hug on very many 100-year-old folks, and it was great.

So she really really appreciated it.

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

Joe, Commissioner Chadal.

I'm good.

Okay, you're good.

Commissioner Strode.

Are we gonna have comments at the 530 minutes?

Probably not if we do them here.

Well, then I I would like to um make what I think is kind of an exciting announcement.

I went to the chamber board last week and asked if they would pay money for our boys and girls basketball teams at banners downtown.

And they said they would.

So I'm working with um Reed out to Hammerhead, and we're working with Mr.

Yeast at the high school.

So I think we're gonna Brian and I decide we'll have 10 girls and 10 boys.

So we'll have 20 total.

So I'm excited about it.

I hope you all are.

So the board immediately said yes, we'd love to do that.

Awesome.

So that's a that's a nice announcement.

And Brian and I have been downtown and walked and put out the pots and all, and he's nicely gonna move two of the old ones up to the courthouse because they don't have any on their steps.

And uh ask RJ if he'd like to, and he said yes, he would.

So um, we'll get those planted hopefully next week.

Um, that's my plan, if not next week, the first or the next week.

A lot more to plant this this year.

Isn't it bright?

Yep.

Anything else?

No, that's actually.

Do I need to procure you anything from Lowe's?

Usually when I go to the Well, I mean I need list.

Usually when I go to the garden center, Willow will give me so much off because I buy so much.

Things have changed.

They should do it the same way, but if you need any special plant, I can make sure they're there.

If you need to have all right, I may have to talk to you about that.

Okay.

Okay.

I wanted to get past Mother's Day.

Yeah, yeah.

You don't want to go out there this weekend.

Exactly.

Not without a Ford or a gun or hit fork or something.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Just uh start budget stuff Thursday this week and and uh ready for that and uh just get it over.

I think Alicia said the day, Mike, is that correct?

Probably nine to three, three thirty.

We're gonna try to be out both days, but we are Alicia's not in this meeting, she's preparing your book so you can take on so you'll have them.

Okay, and we are probably gonna need to add a third day.

We probably will probably be just a half day, maybe three hours.

Don't be surprised if we do finalize everything and then have the uh uh the ones that uh need to come in and make some presentations to us now.

Okay, Commissioner Tool.

Um, just because I know Commissioner Straight has a lot on her plate.

First drop block, next Friday, and um farmer's market opens this Saturday.

Yes, okay, Mr.

City Manager.

No, we will have one item to go to club club session over, and that'll be uh property acquisition.

Um 61810 meeting.

Okay, is Mr.

Dykeman in the very you have nothing right now?

Okay, thank you, sir.

And then I just had a couple other things I wanted to mention um yesterday.

I did a proclamation at the Generation Center for Older Americans month.

It was really cool.

They were line dancing, and Diana had made a game uh of downtown buildings, and they had to try to identify what they remembered from downtown, and it was really neat.

Some of them, like one lady said, Oh, my dad used to run the projector at Leeds Theater, and a lot of good memories were stirred up by those buildings.

So that was a fun event.

And also um Lecia and I met today with a field representative from Senator McConnell's office and very positive meeting, and uh, we're hoping for some things to come out of that meeting.

And also um Mike and I met today with the STNL development company regarding Winchester Village, and um I think you are gonna be very happy and very excited about what's coming down the pike.

So uh with that, I'll take a motion to go into closed session for property acquisition, KRS chapter 61810B.

Is there a motion?

Uh make a motion that we go to we adjourn to closed session for property acquisition KRS 60 chapter 6 61 810 B, and at the end of that closed session, we simultaneously uh adjourn that and also this section this special uh commission meeting.

Is there a second second second by Commissioner Strode?

Any further discussion?

Okay, we will now adjourn to the city manager's office.

So I get this right now.