Winchester City Commission Meeting June 2, 2026: Budget, Recovery Housing, and Personnel Actions
Winchester City Commission Meeting - June 2, 2026
The Winchester City Commission met on Tuesday evening, June 2, 2026, with Mayor [Name] presiding and Commissioners Chenault, Strode, Toole, and Cox present. The meeting covered a wide range of business including a vote on an opioid strategic plan, a water rate ordinance for splash pads, a resolution for Washington Penn incentives, a public hearing on recovery housing, approval of the FY2027 budget, and numerous personnel actions.
Consent Calendar
- Opioid Strategic Plan Vote (Redo): A motion to redo the vote on the opioid strategic plan was approved unanimously.
- Ordinance Amending Water Rate Schedules (Section 14-81.1): An ordinance adding public pools and splash pads to the water utility rate schedule was approved. Kyle Rainey of Winchester Municipal Utilities explained that the new tiered rate would provide a 55–60% reduction in water costs for qualifying city or county splash pads with a dedicated meter, without affecting residential rates. The top two tiers ($6.20 and $5.67 per 100 cubic feet) would be lowered to $2.59 across the board. The ordinance passed unanimously.
- Resolution for Washington Penn Incentives: A resolution authorizing participation in the Kentucky Business Investment (KBI) program for Washington Penn, including a local contribution of 1% of the 2.015% occupational tax, was approved unanimously.
- Ordinance – Recovery Housing Certification (First Reading): The first reading of an ordinance requiring certification of recovery residences was introduced. However, after public comment and discussion, the motion was withdrawn and the item was tabled for further revision (see Discussion Items).
- FY2027 Budget Ordinance: The annual budget for fiscal year July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 was adopted. The general fund budget totals $29,688,000 in resources and $29,517,890 in appropriations, with a surplus of $170,110. Other funds include Capital Equipment ($2,414,804), MAPS ($293,033), Room Tax ($202,502), and Other Funds ($2,495,486). The MAPS fund shows a negative balance of $450,967. Approved unanimously.
- Orders 5A–5G: All general orders were approved unanimously including: 5A Memorandum with BCTC for EMT instruction; 5B Demolition bid for Lincoln Street (H&B Construction); 5C Change order for Main Street Streetscape; 5D Agreement for sports complex feasibility study with Bluegrass Community Foundation; 5E Reappointment of Taylor Kincaid to Tourism Commission; 5F Appointment of Amanda Adams to Tourism Commission; 5G Purchase of de-ice salt for FY2027.
- Personnel Orders 6A–6Q: Seventeen personnel actions were approved unanimously, including resignations, retirements, reclassifications, promotions, and new hires for various city departments.
Public Comments & Testimony
- William Baker (22830 Street, Winchester): Speaking on behalf of Pontaville neighborhood, Baker thanked the city for denying a homeless shelter application at 133 Third Street. He requested the commission adopt an ordinance prohibiting homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation centers, and similar commercial uses in all residential neighborhoods. He asked for a timeline of first and second readings by October 20, 2026, and appointment of a point of contact for monthly follow-up. The Mayor acknowledged the request and said the city would review the proposal with legal counsel.
- Jessica Nelson (3486 Stanford Drive, Winchester): A licensed therapist in long-term recovery, Nelson provided detailed critique of the proposed recovery housing ordinance. She raised concerns that: certification requirements could be impractical under state standards; conditional use permits may violate Fair Housing Act protections for persons with disabilities; inspection authority lacks clear limits and privacy protections; short-stay fees are inconsistent with recovery realities; and open-ended conditions could invite discriminatory application. She urged the commission to differentiate between levels of sober living and to avoid imposing requirements not applied to other rental residences. The mayor and commissioners acknowledged her points and noted personal experiences with both good and bad recovery housing.
Discussion Items
- Recovery Housing Ordinance: After introducing the first reading, the commission heard extensive public comment from Jessica Nelson and then discussed the ordinance at length. Commissioner shared a personal story of a problematic recovery house with 14 people in a 3-bedroom house, frequent police visits, and property crimes. The commissioner expressed support for regulating bad operators but cautioned against overbroad restrictions that could discriminate. The city manager suggested using Richmond’s ordinance as a model. The motion was withdrawn, and the matter was referred back to the city attorney for revision, with a target for the first meeting in July 2026.
- Presentation on Paramedic Training Program: Major James Brown of Winchester Fire & EMS presented details of a partnership with BCTC and GRC for EMT and paramedic training. Key points: Winchester Fire will teach classes as an outside contractor; students earn college credit; cost is approximately half that of internal training (e.g., $1,500 per student savings for advanced EMT); BCTC pays instructors; paramedic class planned for spring 2027. The program has already shown positive results, with ALS providers on fire trucks achieving return of spontaneous circulation in cardiac arrest cases. The presentation also highlighted the pathway from high school to career in EMS without leaving Winchester. The commission praised the program.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: FY2027 budget, Washington Penn incentives, water rate ordinance for splash pads, numerous personnel actions, Lincoln Street demolition bid, Main Street Streetscape change order, sports complex feasibility study agreement, tourism appointments, and EMT training memorandum.
- Tabled/Referred: Recovery housing ordinance was withdrawn for further revision; city attorney to present revised version at the first July 2026 meeting.
- Next Steps: City will review resident request for comprehensive zoning ordinance prohibiting shelters/rehabs in residential areas and follow up with legal advice. Demolition work on Lincoln Street expected to begin in late June after asbestos reports are filed.
Meeting Transcript
Allegiance led by Commissioner Chenal, followed by the invocation with Chief Thompson. I both believed to fly. Please remain standing. Heavenly Father, we thank you for allowing us all to be here tonight and conduct the business of the city. We just pray you be with these commissioners and lead guide and direct us through the items on this agenda tonight. Please be seated. And we'll officially call the meeting to order. Uh the commission needs to take one little piece of business here as a cleanup just for a second. We need to redo the vote uh on the opioid strategic plan. So we'll go back and put it on to this meeting. So is there a motion? Yes. Motion by Commissioner Strode. Is there a second? Second, second by Commissioner Toole. Any further discussion? All in favor, aye. Aye. Any opposed by a like sign? Motion carries. Next item I'm gonna um move down to item four B. And that is an ordinance amending section 1481. Uh including the public pool and the splash pad. And Mr. Rainey is here this evening as uh the executive director of the WMU to answer any questions that the commission might have. So Kyle, if you don't mind, you'll just come forward and explain to the commission what this is. First, thanks everybody for having us my first city initially um there were a lot of questions last year when the splash pad opened about the water rates or the water utility bills. Uh you worked pretty heavily with uh Jeff uh on the project. Made a lot of recommendations which they followed, but it still uses water. Uh I met with Commissioner Tool at one point. Um trying to get some things to go through. Um really suggestions, so we just went ahead. We wanted to help as much as we could. Water's not free, but to see what we could do uh as active members of the community to help. So we we did this uh recommendation to you guys for approval. It's tier rate, so it's hard to say all the information I had to go by, but it's probably 55 to 60 percent uh cut on water. Uh there are some limitations on who can use it, uh for obvious reasons, so it's any city or county um brand pole or slash pad that has a leader uh designated for that use. So it can be use for uh restrooms or anything has to be used just for that uh for that use. We appreciate your guys' support uh as it's a little bit to go through guys. Kyle, it's my understanding that it does not affect residential rates in any shape, form, or fashion. We're talking about bulk water rate here. So, what happens is I think I'm just going off of a budget number, not on the actual usages for the splash pad, so it's hard for me to tell. I think they'll use the first two tiers. We drop them down to the bottom tier across the board. So if you want to know the exact numbers, I don't know my head. So uh the top two tiers are uh 620 and 567. This will drop them down to 259 across the board for all of their per 100 cubic feet of water usage. Thank you. And 100 cubic feet, if my memory serves me correct, is about 700 gallons for you. Yeah, okay.
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