Florence City Council April 22
All City Council members and Mayor Aubuchon-Metzger were present. The agenda did not match up with the speakers and appeared to have been changed as the sequence was off for the first three points of action.
AGENDA POINT 5 – CVG Airport is going through a leadership change. The new CEO, Larry Crowder, was introduced. VP of Public Affairs Seth Cutter provided an overview of CVG:
$150 million annual budget; $1 billion investment in next five years; 16,000 employees and impacts 55,000 jobs in the area; serves 9.2 million passengers; incoming jets support 65% cargo and 35% passenger traffic; 7th-largest cargo airport in the US, including super hubs for DHL (handles international and domestic cargo) and Amazon; $10.5 billion area impact; covers 7,000 acres; four runways. Future expansion will involve Amazon, DHL, new hangar row, global logistics park, terminal modernization, and noise reduction updates. Runway 18/36C will be closed April 7 to June for rehabilitation.
AGENDA POINT 6 – Saint Elizabeth Healthcare thanked and honored firefighters Sami Corbin and John Abdon, who provided prompt care to a stroke victim, resulting in a better outcome for the victim.
AGENDA POINT 7 – Firefighters Day (May 4) and Week (May 18-24) were recognized by the city and pictures were taken of participating firefighters in the City of Florence.
AGENDA POINT 8 – Daniel Shaffer, VP at Moreton Capital Markets, gave a presentation on the city’s investments and current state of the financial markets. The City of Florence is currently in a strong position due to KRS requirements and tight short-term management of taxpayer funds. The presentation addressed
Liberation Day April 2 regarding tariffs: due to a 90-day pause, all tariffs are currently 10% except China at 145%. Tariffs are causing uncertainty in the markets due to the difficulty forecasting long term; the stock market dropped but has recovered.
Inflation: ideal level, established in 1996, is 2%; inflation is currently dropping. The Federal Reserve is managing its dual role of maximizing employment and maintaining stable prices. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates 11 times from March 2022 to July 2023; current rate average is 4.33%, which Shaffer noted is not normal, as rates are usually much lower.
AGENDA POINT 9 – First reading for the Bluegrass Cannacare LLC proposal to change the zoning requirement from C2 to C3 for 6809 Burlington Pike in Florence. Passed 5-1, with Councilwoman Cable the only no vote after she initially considering abstaining. However, the mayor and the city attorney stated she could not legally abstain. Cable stated she did not approve of the site due to additional traffic at the Burlington Pike and Turfway intersection.
AGENDA POINT 10 – First reading for the Brew Team Coffee proposal for 7303 Turfway next to Chipotle. Passed 5-1 with Councilwoman Cable the only no vote. Ms. Cable stated she did not approve of the site due to additional traffic at the Burlington Pike and Turfway intersection, including interstate on/off ramps, rush hour traffic, and church traffic in the area. The Brew Team Coffee entrance/exits will be onto Turfway, creating traffic slowdowns.
AGENDA POINT 11 – With Chief Mallory’s support, the city is giving an older 2017 Ford Police Interceptor to the Rockcastle Sheriff’s Department. Due to economic issues in that county, the Rockcastle department has issues financing necessary equipment.