Williams: Mayor asked him to change his vote on 911 agreement
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, 11 p.m. — Bardstown Mayor John Royalty defended the email he sent to magistrates last Friday that asked them to turn away the city council’s 911 dispatch proposal it approved Thursday to send to Nelson Fiscal Court as its best and final offer.
From left, Councilman Roland Williams and City Attorney Tim Butler.
“That message was — in my opinion — no different from what (Judge Executive) Dean Watts has sent in emails to each and every one of you all,” Royalty told the council. “There’s no difference than you going to talk to Dean Watts or any of the magistrates.”
Councilman Roland Williams said Royalty’s email to the magistrates was an “unprecedented” attempt to circumvent the council’s 911 proposal to Nelson Fiscal Court.
Williams also said Royalty contacted him after the council’s vote last Thursday and asked him to reconsider his vote in regard to the proposed 911 agreement — a request Williams said he refused.
Councilman Francis Lydian said that the mayor’s actions were disrespectful, and asked City Clark Barbie Bryant to enter his statement into the meeting’s official record.
Commenting on the 911 agreement approved earlier in the day by Nelson Fiscal Court, Councilman Bill Buckman did not hide his doubts about making the new agreement work. He asked the council point black why they wanted to remain part of the joint dispatch center.
He explained that the city will have to pay more in order to remain part of the joint dispatch center. The council voted in favor of the 911 agreement even after hearing city police and fire representatives who voiced concerns about the dispatching center’s service and communications quality. He was critical of the lack of a plan to address the existing technical and procedural issues with dispatch.
Councilman Bill Buckman questions the council regarding the 911 agreement he opposed.
“There’s more animosity out there than you can stand,” Buckman said. “If we’re going to stay together, we need a plan to stop this, reconcile these problems and try to mend what we got.”
Councilwoman Kecia Copeland told Buckman the cause of the animosity began on the city’s part and has continued with negative remarks toward the dispatch board and dispatchers.
“Things have changed and we have to give (dispatch) a chance to rectify things,” she said.
Copeland said she is hearing from firefighters and police officers who are telling her the issues are not as extensive as have been suggested.
Williams said with the new agreement it was time move beyond the controversy. “We’re partners in this and its time to move forward,” he said.
With a new agreement in place, Councilman Bobby Simpson said both sides need to start over fresh and address the issues and problems.
WEST FLAGET DRAINAGE. Longtime West Flaget resident Ann Rosalie Ballard told the council about a problem she and neighbors have regarding water standing in the gutter in the 200 block of West Flaget Avenue.
Since the city repaved Flaget, drainage has worsened when it rains. Ballard also said a neighbor is pumping water from a basement to the street, and that water is standing in the gutter. A house down the street from Ballard has moss growing in the gutter and its a mosquito hazard, she said.
Sump pumps aren’t allowed to pump water into the sewer system, Larry Hamilton, public works director told the council. The problem is the lack of a storm drain to handle the water along the street. The fix is to add storm drainage to handle the water and tie that drain into an existing storm drain in the alley behind the Medica Pharmacy building.
Hamilton said he is working to draw up the plans for a project to address the issue in the area. If the city can do the work in-house it will control the costs and make the project affordable, he said.
In other business, the council —
— discussed a travel and training reimbursement policy
— heard an update on changes needed in the city’s alcohol beverage control ordinances.
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