A 'sneaky way to create relationships', plus a concert to support JAG program
And Comprehensive Plan 2025 talks are here -- time to speak up for your community
Council Briefs
A pair of proclamations, a clever and caring mom, a passionate and outspoken student, an advocate for protecting children from their abusers, and a team of first responders were among those who addressed Council at this week’s second regularly scheduled meeting of the month.
Proclamations
There were no public comments this week, although, notably, the room was fairly full of citizens, many of whom attended the meeting in part or in full, to witness their respective organization be recognized by Mayor Bruce Fraley.
Along with Madison County and the City of Richmond, Fraley declared this month to be Child Abuse Prevention Month. He welcomed the region’s CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) executive director, Victoria Benge, to accept the proclamation, and to address Council. Benge said that last year in the state, more than 300 children were known to have been abused, and many continue to suffer. CASA is a national organization. CASA of the Wilderness Trail overseen by Benge, serves Madison, Clark, Estill, Owsley, and Lee counties.
It’s also National Safety Telecommunications Week, which is a long-winded way of saying “Thank your local 911 operator.” As Wendy Lynch, director of our County’s 911 services, likes to say about her team of operators, “Their best day is someone’s worst.” Fraley presented Lynch with the proclamation, also being commemorated countywide.
Special Needs Gala
After thanking Councilmembers for their dedication and service, Nicole Ingold spoke about her role as the mother of a teen with autism, and explained that she founded the Special Needs Gala for all children in the area who have moderate to severe disabilities, so that her son Ryan, age 17, and others like him could experience what dressing up for and attending a dance is like.
This year’s gala will be the fourth annual one, and will be held on Friday, May 2, from 6 PM to 8 PM, at the Russell Acton Folk Center. The City is involved in the gala at many levels: Police, Parks, and Tourism are all helping to host the event.
Ingold said she especially focused on involving the police because she wanted her son to be known and protected by authorities through a familiarity with and an understanding of her sons’s specific needs. Working with the rest of the City, she said was “a sneaky way to create relationships.”
For more information about the Gala, contact Nicole Ingold on Facebook.
JAG: Jobs for America’s Graduates
Berea Community School freshman, Delaney LeMaster, next addressed Council to describe the importance of the school’s chapter of Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG), a program of about 120 students that was axed to help ease the school district’s finances woes.
Susie Harris, the JAG program director at Community School, told The Edge in an interview after the meeting that JAG is project-based learning, and is similar to vocational school in that it teaches real world occupational skills.
LeMaster detailed how participating in JAG had helped her develop confidence in herself, and give her focus and ambition, such that she is now a delegate to the statewide JAG program.
She invited Council to attend a fundraiser to help restore JAG. A concert will be held at Union Church (200 Prospect Street) also on Friday, May 2, from 5:30PM to 7:30PM. Admission is $20 for adults and $10 for students. Contact information is forthcoming, LeMaster said. When she’d finished speaking, LeMaster received much applause and comments from Council about her poise and passion.
Appointments
Andrew Gardner, a state transportation department employee, was named by Fraley to the Zoning Adjustment Board. Peggy Baker was reappointed by the mayor to the Ethics Board, and Diane Kerby was reappointed as an alternate member of the Ethics Board.
In addition, Fraley acknowledged Martin Richards in the audience, and said he’d asked Richards to serve on the Comprehensive Plan 2025 committee. Richards is the vice chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Fraley also acknowledged Bill West, chair of the Tourism Commission, and Donna Angel, director of business development for the City, who were also in audience, and said they too will serve on the Plan’s committee.
Resolutions
Neighborhoods near the Berea Bypass (Hwy 956) are one step closer to being directly connected to the new road thanks to a unanimous resolution by Council to apply for a federal grant that possibly could pay for building a connector road. The project is named the Kenway Extension for Community Safety and Mobility. If funds are dispersed to the City, they could be available as early as 2026. The application will go through the office of Congressman Andy Barr (R).
Council also unanimously approved a resolution that permits Fraley to apply for federal grants also to be obtained by Barr on behalf of Berea, as a municipal participant with three other local governments in the region — Scott and Madison counties, and Fayette Urban County Government — in building the Central Kentucky Business Park off Menelaus Road. The money is intended for infrastructure and development.
Ordinances
Council also heard the second reading of Ordinance 05-2005. Having had two weeks to consider whether there should be a hardback collection memorializing their recent achievements, they unanimously concurred there should be. As a result, a supplemental Book of Ordinances will soon be forthcoming. This development was first detailed here.
Ordinance 06-2025 was also given a second reading, which Council passed 8 to 0, meaning citizen use of the Berea Industrial Park is conditional to whatever light manufacturing and warehousing needs come first.
Dept head report: Codes and Planning
Amanda Haney, who administers the City’s codes and planning affairs, told Council that Ridgewood Villas, a development of 42 townhouses now going up near Exit 77 of I-75, as is an expansion of White House Clinic, as they put in a bus garage and expand their parking lot. Meanwhile, on Richmond Road N., an AutoZone is going up across from the CircleK, near the intersection of Glades Rd. Also, the industry, EQI, has also expanded its footprint in the Industrial Park. Lastly, the Edwards Building currently under construction on Berea College’s campus.
Brian Reed, the City’s building codes manager, passed his commercial plumbing inspections test, bringing him one step closer to his master code official credential. Brian Maniscalco, meanwhile, the City’s building mechanical inspector, received the state’s highest level of certification in mechanical and building plan review and inspection. Matthew Thomas, GIS technician for the City, received his certified floodplain manager certification and completed a state required floodwater mapping program. She thanked her entire staff for being team players when the office gets busy.
“Mega-rain events” we’ve experienced lately, according to Haney, tested the various drainage areas and flood prevention techniques required of developers, and all readily passed, she said. “What we are doing is working,” she said.
There are 105 single family permits currently open in town, and 15 commercial projects.
Comprehensive Plan 2025
Haney said that the City has now contracted with EHI Consultants, a community planning firm with offices throughout Kentucky, to manage Berea’s Comprehensive Plan 2025 project. It’s a 10-20 year outlook on what direction Bereans want land use and economic development to take, among other aspects of our community.
“We want to hear from everyone,” Haney said, whether you are a life-long Berean or new to town, speak up, she said.
There will be several public input sessions, the first of which will be on Thursday May 15, probably at 6PM (watch this space for confirmation of the time), at the new Berea Gallery and Event Center next to the Pavilion. Refreshments will be provided. '
Per a question from Councilmember Teresa Scenters, Haney said that the past years has seen the Codes department looking into ways to increase affordable housing in the City, and has offered smaller lot sizes so builders can fit five residential lots per acre, up from four.
Fraley said that Haney’s leadership means our City’s codes department is so well trained.
City administrator report
City administrator Shawn Sandlin thanked Haney and all City Hall workers for helping him in his new role as administrator. He also thanked citizens for their engagement in City Hall affairs. “I look forward to coming to work every day,” he said.
Next, he shared that there was only one bid for work on the Ellipse Street shared use path, and it was from Allen Co., coming in at $393,300.11 for a project that will extend the path from the corner of Walnut Grove and Ellipse streets to Ellipse Street and Laurel Drive. This was significantly under the projected budget of $553,000, according to Sandlin.
Allen Co. was also the only bidder for resurfacing 3.15 miles of road, at $504,189.30. “Not a lot for half a million dollars, but different widths of streets determine the tonnage on that,” Sandlin said.
The opening of the police department’s shooting range off Estridge Road has been delayed by weather but should be done the next few weeks.
Public Works is starting work on Bridge Avenue curbs and gutters to improve drainage, Sandlin said.
Sandlin also shared the stink news that the Community Pool will not open this summer due to many weather and supply delays, as reported here. “The pool season will look a little different,” he said.
Mayor and Council comments
Fraley: expressed his disappointment in the pool situation.
Scenters: reminded folks to get their junk out on the street for the spring clean-up next week.
Katie Startzman: is disappointed that LeMaster had to make her impassioned speech, but is glad there is a way now (the concert) to support the JAG program. Also, that she was participating in a day-long event arranged by Angel to help small businesses in town that included a lunch and multiple speakers.
John Payne: thanked the Parks and Public Works departments for removing three tons of debris that had flooded Tilley Dog Park, the result of the torrential rains earlier this month. Also, the next Parks meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 22, in the City Annex Building.
Steve Davis: agreed with Startzman on the JAG program and called on everyone to support them.
Jerry Little: told folks not to throw grass cuttings in the street and warned that it’s not only dangerous for motorcyclists, but it clogs up the drains and makes flooding worse. Also, for spring clean-up, don’t put your junk in the gutter.
Caudill: is still recovering from the news about the pool.
Ronnie Terrill: noted that Public Works and Utilities did a good job cleaning up after all the recent storms.
City Council meetings are every first and third Tuesday of the month and are held in the City Annex Building at 304 Chestnut Street at 6:30 PM. You can also attend remotely by watching the City’s YouTube channel.
Thank you for this detailed report!