Tuesday, September 27, 2011

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Police and Fire Facilities Planning

Fire Chief Steve Kyle briefed the Mayor and Commission regarding the discussions regarding the possibility of constructing a joint police/fire headquarters.  Over the past several weeks, the City Manager, and administrative staff with the police and fire departments have been meeting to discuss the development of a project to combine the police and fire headquarters.  Currently, the fire headquarters is in a facility on Washington Street that was constructed in 1967 while the police headquarters is on Broadway in a 1955 era building.  For the fire department, Chief Kyle says a spatial needs study was completed nearly four years ago that indicated the department needed a 23,000 square foot headquarters at a cost of approximately $4.3 million.  The police department has not had a spatial needs study.  Chief Kyle says that due to Paducah’s westward expansion and due to the fact that the current headquarters coverage area overlaps with two other existing stations, a new headquarters would be preferable in the Jackson Street/Lone Oak Road area.  Plus, Kyle says in the future an additional fire station to cover the western edge of Paducah would need to be constructed.  The police department operates out of a 17,000 square foot facility that is not energy efficient with a 16,000 square foot garage.  Chief Kyle says a joint headquarters could save a significant amount of money on design, site acquisition, and construction.  Kyle says, “We believe a joint facility will save up to 15 percent.”  Kyle adds, “A joint facility gives us an opportunity to share technology, space, and maybe even staff such as records management.”  The facility also would be built to be the critical center of operations in the event of an emergency.  The next step in the process is to complete a joint needs assessment.  Funds already have been earmarked for facility studies in both the police and fire departments.    

2011 County Bond Issue Interlocal Agreement

The Mayor and Commissioners approved an ordinance for an interlocal cooperation agreement to finance the 2011 Murray State University bond issue.  The County will issue $10 million in bonds to finance the construction of the Murray State University Paducah Campus off Audubon Drive in Paducah.  As part of the interlocal agreement, the City will contribute an amount not to exceed $175,000 per year toward the debt service of the County held bonds.  The anticipated annual appropriation toward the debt service includes the $175,000 from the City, $325,000 from the County, and $290,000 from Murray State University. 

Flooring for Paducah Recreation Center

The Mayor and Commissioners approved an ordinance to approve the bid in the amount of $29,787 from Aztec Flooring, Inc. to supply and install an indoor modular sports flooring at the Paducah Recreation Center.  The Paducah Recreation Center is the former Margaret Hank Life Center located at 1527 Martin Luther King, Jr.  The City finalized the purchase agreement for the Center this summer.  The facility will host classes, sports leagues, educational seminars, and various events.  A grand opening reception for the Paducah Recreation Center will be Saturday, October 29 at 4:30 p.m.

2012 Health Insurance Presentation

Greg Carlton, Senior Vice President-Benefits & Wellness with Peel & Holland, provided a preview of the City of Paducah’s 2012 health insurance plan.  As a comparison, the total City of Paducah expense for the City’s health plan for 2009 was $2,832,238 and for 2010 it was $2,721,110.  The cost for this calendar year is projected to be $2,323,275.  For 2012, Carlton expects a 1.86% increase over this year.  However, the recommendation is to keep the premiums and the city’s allocation the same as for 2011.  A municipal order was approved by the Commission that provides the same premiums for employees for 2012 as they had for the current calendar year. 

Quick Highlights:

• ·        Commissioner Gayle Kaler thanked volunteers for their work to recycle items during the BBQ on the River festival.  The Mayor and Commission thanked City staff for their work during the festival.
• ·        Two municipal orders approved to donate the city-owned vacant lots at 1142 North 13th Street and 1247 North 13th Street to the Purchase Area Development District (PADD).  PADD will use neighborhood stabilization funds (NSP) to construct a single-family home on each lot.
• ·        Ordinance approved to amend the fiscal year 2012 budget to include improvements to Compost Facility and the purchase of various vehicles.
• ·        Ordinance approved for a contract with Golden Circle Ford for the purchase and delivery of six 2011 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor Pursuit Vehicles in the amount of $148,836.
• ·        Ordinance approved for a contract with D&D Construction in the amount of $135,978 for the construction of a new single-family home at 1402 Harrison Street in the Fountain Avenue Neighborhood.  Funds from the Kentucky Housing Corporation’s GAP pool will be utilized on the home.  The City has a $300,000 line of credit with FNB for the construction of two homes.  As each home is built and sold, the homeowner, who has been pre-qualified, will be responsible for paying the borrowed money plus interest to FNB.
• ·        Ordinance approved to purchase recycling containers to be used at the GPS-Recycle Now facility at 1830 North 8th Street.  The containers will be purchased through a State contract from Pro-Trainer in the amount of $38,934.  A grant through the Kentucky Division of Waste Management will cover the majority of the cost. 
• ·        Ordinance approved to accept the 2011 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Accountability Grant in the amount of $23,121.  There is no local cash match.  The award will be used to purchase equipment for the Paducah Police Department.
• ·        Ordinance introduced (vote October 11) to close a portion of Adams Street and two alleys bounded by Clark Street on the north, Jackson Street on the south, South 31st Street on the east, and Lone Oak Road on the west.  The closures were requested by the Paducah School System for the new Paducah Middle School site.
• ·        Ordinance introduced (vote October 11) for a contract with Paducah Ford, Inc. for the purchase and delivery of a 2012 Ford F550 Crew Cab truck in the amount of $49,794.  The truck will be used by the Police Department Bomb Squad to pull their equipment trailer.
• ·        Ordinance introduced (vote October 11) for a lease agreement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky for the lease of the city-owned facility at 400 South 6th Street.  The Department of Corrections, Probation & Parole Division is leasing 6820 square feet of the facility at an annual rental charge of $10.50 per square foot.
• ·        Ordinance introduced (vote October 11) to purchase nine digital in-car cameras at a total cost of $25,315 from the London, Kentucky Police Department.  Purchasing the gently used cameras saves the City $17,840.  Grant funds will be used to pay a portion of the cost.

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