HRC: Revised human rights ordinance draft heading to B’town city council

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

HRC members, from left, Michael Yadon, Amelia Clements, Carrie Stivers and Michael Greenwell, met Tuesday evening at the Nelson County Public Library. Future meetings will take place at noon on the first Tuesday of the month at the library.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015, 11 a.m. — The Bardstown-Nelson County Human Rights Commission agreed Tuesday night to change the wording of a proposed update to the joint city-county human rights ordinance.

The commission agreed to remove the parenthetical phrase, “(real or perceived)” from wording referring to gender identity. The phrase was part of an earlier draft of the proposed ordinance update.

The update the commission finalized Tuesday are the first changes to the joint city-county human rights ordinance since 1987. The commission members told Councilwoman Kecia Copeland they hope the proposed update would be on the agenda of the next Bardstown City Council meeting March 10.

COMMISSION CONFRONTATION. After a verbal confrontation with a new member of the HRC, commission member Luke Barlowe was asked by its executive committee to apologize or face being removed.

At a special-called meeting in February, Barlowe allegedly made derogatory comments to newly appointed commission member Amelia Clements. HRC Chair Kathy Reed said she hoped Barlowe would attend the meeting and apologize in person to Clements for what she referred to as “his outburst.”

Reed said the executive committee had agreed that Barlowe would apologize to Clements or it would ask the legislative body that appointed him to replace him.

Commission member Michael Greenwell said Barlowe did stop by the meeting room in advance of the meeting and dropped off a box of checks and the treasurer’s paperwork. His status as a commission member remained unclear during the meeting. Other local media reported Barlowe planned to exit the commission.

Clements asked Reed to let Barlowe know she wished him well. “I really sorry for what happened, and I don’t hold anything against him,” she told Reed.

SPECIAL MEETING NOTICE. Reed apologized to the committee for the fact that notice of the special-called meeting last month did not reach everyone it should have.

Reed said she thought she put the information on the local newspaper’s website. Some people received the notice and others did not.

In other business, the commission:

— approved a five-year plan that includes plans to promote the National Safe Place program;

— voted to move its meeting times to noon on the first Tuesday of each month at the main branch of the Nelson County Public Library;

— entered into a closed executive session to discuss a complaint.

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