City council debates, then approves $2,000 donation to Buttermilk Festival

Former mayor Bill Sheckles spoke the council at Tuesday’s council meeting on behalf of an application for a donation to help support the Buttermilk Festival. In May, a donation application died for lack of council support.

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, July 12, 2016, 11 p.m. — After considerable debate, the Bardstown City Council reversed a decision it made in May and approved a $2,000 donation to the Buttermilk Days Foundation for this year’s Buttermilk Festival.

In May, a request to the council from the Buttermilk Days Foundation died for lack of action in the wake of new donation guidelines the council approved earlier this year.

The donation guidelines — adopted from the Kentucky League of Cities handbook — set certain conditions a donation must meet in order to be approved.

Councilman Roland Williams, left and City Attorney Tim Butler talk prior to the start of Tuesday’s city council meeting.

The guideline’s sticking points included a requirement that the city must control the organization and how the money will be spent; and the city must benefit from the donation; and the activity must be one in which the city could independently engage.

The requested funds would be used for event staff for parking, security and traffic flow, former Bardstown mayor and foundation contact person Bill Sheckles told the council. As Buttermilk Days has grown, so has the need for security and for event help to deal with parking and traffic, he said.

Buttermilk Days growth and success “are another venue for making Bardstown one of the most beautiful small towns that we have,” he said.

Councilman Bill Buckman suggested that the festival turn to the tourist commission for funding.

“(The festival) is no longer a small town thing and its grown beyond the (council’s) contingency fund,” he said.

Councilman Fred Hagan said the festival was a great one, but he was concerned the request still didn’t meet the criteria.

Mayor John Royalty suggested the festival’s donation — if approved — could be used to help pay overtime for city police officers to assist with security. The city could not provide officers for security at no cost to the festival, he said. If it did, then it would also need to do so for the other festivals.

Councilwoman Kecia Copeland called on the council to approve the request, noting the community’s long record of support for the festival and its record of successful growth without a major incident.

“There’s many businesses out there that support this festival — why can’t the city support it?”

The donation guidelines the council passed earlier this year are just that — guidelines, she said.

“It’s time to get on board,” she said. “Our nation’s in peril and this is not the time to deny something like this.”

The council approved the donation in a 5-1 vote with Buckman casting the vote against approval.

In other business, the council:

— approved a Design Review Board recommendation for an application to build a 4,000 sq. ft. commercial kennel on Pennebaker Avenue in the Stephen Foster Industrial Park.

— gave final approval to an ordinance streamlining the approval for new commercial business buildings. The measure will allow administrative approvals for buildings that meet the design standards.

— approve first reading of an ordinance to allow distilled spirits warehouses on tracts of less than 100 acres but more than 20 acres provided the requirements for them are met.

— approved request for water and sewer services for Phase V of Hunter’s Ridge subdivision;

— approved a request to close Xavier Drive for the 2016 Old Kentucky Home bike tour on Sept. 10.

— approved the Joint City-County Planning Commission’s 2016-17 budget.

— reappointed Councilman Bobby Simpson to the Bardstown Industrial Development Corp. board.

NEXT UP. The council will meet next on Tuesday, July 27, 2016.

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