By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette
Councilman Roland Williams talks with Mayor Bill Sheckles prior to the start of Tuesday's council meeting. Click to enlarge.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012, 11:59 p.m. — The Bardstown City Council reviewed but took no action on proposals submitted by three companies seeking to provide health insurance broker services for city employee health insurance.
The initial report on proposals was issued at the council’s Feb. 28, 2012 meeting; and at that time, Mayor Bill Sheckles said he was ready to accept the lowest-cost proposal from Covington-based broker Sherrill Morgan, a company the city has been working with for a number of years.
After the city’s Feb. 28, 2012, meeting, a local representative for Wells Fargo — one of the three companies that submitted proposals — contacted the mayor and council to request permission to revising their proposal. Larry Green, assistant city administrator, explained the three proposals to the council Tuesday evening and how their costs compared, noting Sherrill Morgan was the least expensive broker by nearly $11,000 in annual costs.
Councilman Joe Buckman asked if the brokers all received the same information on which they based their proposals. Green said the firms were given the same information.
Sheckles noted that some of the council members may have been contacted by a Wells Fargo representative regarding the insurance proposals and a desire to resubmit a proposal. “They weren’t the low bidder, so naturally they wanted to come back and rebid it,” he said. He was not going to allow bidders to recalculate their bid, Sheckles said.
“In my way of thinking, that’s a little unethical,” he said, adding that if the practice was allowed it would defeat the bidding process. “I’m not going to let them resubmit and rebid all over again,” he said. If a company has a good product and want to bid, they should give it their best shot, he said.
The council did not need to vote on the insurance proposals as Sheckles was allowed to make the decision without the council’s vote. “I just wanted to make you all aware of this situation,” he said.
SUNDAY SALES OMISSION. The council approved first reading of an amendment to the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Ordinances regarding temporary sale of alcohol at special events on Sundays.
The city has long allowed the sale of alcohol on Sunday, but according to Mayor Bill Sheckles, the existing ordinance for the Sunday sales did not specifically include the temporary alcohol licenses issued for events like the Kentucky Bourbon Festival spirit garden.
The ABC office in Frankfort found in a review that the city ordinance did not include Sunday sales for temporary licenses. The council unanimously approved first reading of an amended ordinance.
ORDINANCES UPDATE PROJECT. Mayor Sheckles presented the council with proposed changes to Chapter 130 in the city’s ordinance book that deal with offenses against municipal ordinances.
Councilman Bobby Simpson voted against rejecting the lowest bidder and accepting a higher bid for the purchase of high-voltage circuit breakers. Click to enlarge.
The section includes a multitude of changes, deletions and additions to the section, including nearly two full pages of new verbage addressing rules for an indoor firing range as proposed by Kentucky Gun Co. owner Patrick Hayden. The ordinance also changes language that violates Kentucky law regarding how city’s may control or restrict gun use, and eliminates a 1954 ordinance that prohibits public dances on Sunday. The council did not vote on the revamped ordinance, but will take it up at a future council meeting.
NAME CHANGE APPROVED. Approved changing the name of an unfinished street on the former Monin property. The road connects KY 245 with Templin Avenue. The council approved changing the name from Mainstream Road to Lincoln Way. The street change comes as the Hodgenville-based Lincoln National Bank pursues the construction of a bank branch on the property. According to the bank’s website, the bank is looking to open their Bardstown branch in early 2013.
In other business, the council:
— Approved the purchase of new six 15 KV breakers to replace aging substation circuit breakers dating from the mid 1960s. The breakers will be installed in electrical substations at the Bartons and City Pool substations. The recommended bid was $8,000 higher of the lower bid, but city engineer Jeff Mills said the higher price provided a unit that better met the city’s electrical distribution needs. The council approved the purchase in a 5-1 vote, with councilman Bobby Simpson voting against accepting the higher bid.
— Approved the March 27, 2012, council minutes after making a change requested by councilman Fred Hagan.
— The council unanimously approved first reading of an ordinance that will allow the city’s cable TV system to offer multi-room digital video recording (DVR). The move is an attempt to meet customer requests for the service, and to keep the city’s cable system competitive with other cable TV providers. The room would allow users to pause the action on their TV and start it again in another room.
The council’s next meeting is Tuesday, April 24, 2012, in the council chambers in the city hall annex on Xavier Drive.
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