Note: Commissioner Gerald Watkins was unable to attend the meeting.
City Hall Unveiling Set for May 2
Planning Director Tammara Tracy provided an overview of the upcoming City Hall Unveiling ceremony set for May 2 at 4 p.m. Tracy said, “During the renovation, people have seen the building come back to its original glory.”
The ribbon cutting will be at 4:15 with the presentation of Dogwood Trail awards at 4:45. Also during the event, there will be refreshments and music by the Paducah Singers. Numerous photographs will be on display showing the rehabilitation work in addition to images from when the building opened in the 1960s. Attendees are invited to stay at City Hall until 6:30 to visit with the elected officials, City Manager, and Leadership Team for a Meet the Team event. Then at 7 p.m., the McCracken County Public Library is holding an Evening Upstairs program featuring Historic Preservationist Melinda Winchester. Winchester will talk about City Hall’s architect, Edward Durell Stone.
Program Development Agreement with Weyland Ventures Development
The Paducah Board of Commissioners approved a Municipal Order for a 12-month Program Development Agreement between the City and Weyland Ventures Development. Under this agreement, Louisville-based Weyland Ventures will be conducting a market analysis, financial analysis, and project design for the development of the city-owned block bounded by Second Street, Broadway, North Water Street, and Jefferson Street. This block currently is a parking lot. Depending upon the findings from the analyses, the development project could include a hotel, open space, and a mixed-use residential building. Open space for functions in addition to public parking will continue to be offered in that block.
Mayor Brandi Harless and Weyland Ventures have met with various stakeholders in the downtown area over the past few weeks to hear their thoughts and concerns. Mayor Harless said, “I’m very proud that we have found a development partner that listened and will be responsive to the concerns of the community and will develop something that I think will have a lot of impact.”
The City’s goals with this prospective project within the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District are to continue the revitalization of Paducah’s downtown, increase the vibrancy of the area, add public space, improve connectivity, and diversify housing options. Mayor Harless added, “How great is it that we have a new developer interested in Paducah that wants to do this.”
The City and Weyland Ventures will work to engage and seek input from stakeholders throughout the process. Based upon the outcomes of these due diligence activities, the next step would be to negotiate a Development Agreement for a specific project. Mayor Harless said, “At the end of this, we will have some proposals put on the table.”
Change Order #2 with Huffman Construction for Floodwall Pump Station No. 2 Project
The Paducah Board of Commissioners approved a Municipal Order for Change Order # 2 with Huffman Construction for the Floodwall Pump Station # 2 Project. This change order increases the contract amount by $135,956 resulting in a new contract amount of $5,057,956 million. This change order is due to the need to replace three pumps at the pump station that could not be repaired.
The Board approved the contract with Huffman Construction in April 2018 to rehabilitate Floodwall Pump Station #2 located at 1416 North 6th Street. The project includes the replacement of discharge pipes, the rehabilitation or replacement of various mechanical components of all seven pumps and motors not previously repaired, and the replacement of the sluice gate. Pump Station #2 has the largest pumping capacity of 313,000 gallons per minute. Since it’s the first station to be activated at a local river stage of 27.5 feet, it receives the most wear-and-tear.
The City has $1.4 million in grant funds for the project which includes a $1 million Community Development Block Grant and $400,000 from Delta Regional Authority. To fund the rest of the project, the City has received a low interest loan through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) through the Kentucky Energy & Environment Cabinet and Kentucky Infrastructure Authority. There is sufficient grant and loan funding to cover the cost of the Change Order increase.
Amendment No. 1 to Engagement Agreement with Moss & Barnett for Cable Franchise Negotiations (vote May 14)
The Paducah Board of Commissioners introduced an ordinance for Amendment No. 1 to the Engagement Agreement with Moss & Barnett, a full-service law firm specializing in telecommunications law, assisting the City of Paducah in updating Chapter 22 (Cable Communications) of the Paducah Code of Ordinances and negotiating an updated franchise agreement with a 10-year term with Comcast. The franchise agreement is non-exclusive. This amendment updates the hourly rates for the senior shareholder and paralegal working with the city, removes the amount-not-to-exceed sentence, and updates the primary contact person.
Quick Highlights
- Municipal Order approved adopting the annual Administrative Plan for the Section 8 program. The Section 8 program is managed by the Housing Authority of Paducah.
- Municipal Order approved for a contract for services between the City and the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau on behalf of the American Quilter’s Society for the City to provide $25,000 for the marketing of the 2019 Spring AQS QuiltWeek.
- Ordinances approved for residential infill development agreements between the City of Paducah and Higdon Development, Inc. for the Greenway Village Phase II project and the Ridgewood Villas Phase I and II project. These agreements provide for rebates of ad valorem real property taxes (with a cap on each project) during a specified time period with the developer constructing public infrastructure including streets, gutters, and storm sewer system.
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