Tuesday night’s Cadiz City Council meeting brought with it the full spectrum of local government, and the difficulties that lie within governing the many versus the few.
First and foremost, after careful consideration and research from new City Administration Officer Jack Lingenfelter, council members voted unanimously in approval of a new $5 monthly flat “sewer user fee.”
Set to impact more than 1,300 homeowners and businesses for the foreseeable future, Lingenfelter said the Cadiz Fire Department and Sewer Department are in “dire straits,” facing critical upgrade needs — and a lack of cash flow to do so. A street sweeper, he said, is high on a priority list but would cost more than $250,000, and officials are not allowed to use ad valorem taxes for such purchases, while new pipes, pumps and sewer station have already been discussed.
According to state law, and confirmed by City Attorney Allen Wilson, this fee can be rescinded, but while it is collected, it goes into a separate account from the general fund and can only be designated for specific uses like key grant matching considerations, general sewer infrastructure improvements and needed expansion. The fee can be increased, decreased or removed altogether, and a “temporary” tag can be as short as a year and as long as forever.
In all, Lingenfelter said collections would currently generate roughly $5,000 monthly and $60,000 annually — allowing for the city to pay for any small notes of sewer construction, repair and/or growth.
Furthermore, Lingenfelter said it was time to explore taking the 4% compensating rate on property valuations, while putting the difference toward capital improvements for Cadiz. He confirmed the Fire Department had its service downgraded two months ago — meaning that, in some cases, homeowner’s insurance regulations may not be met if services were dispatched.
Lingenfelter’s conversation with the council was sandwiched between residents of Rhett Boulevard, Amber Lane and Chasity Drive voicing their concerns about a potential 38-home subdivision being constructed along East Noel Drive, and the defending brainchild behind the proposed construction in Ty Ellegood and Landon Barrow of Murray’s Melior Development.
On one side of the scale, Kentucky Homes Realty Principal Broker Kelly Mitchell was one of many speaking — including her mother, Linda, and former Planning & Zoning Commissioner Josh Adams — against 10-year city tax abatement, the land’s annexation and, in theory, the project’s arrival.
She gave six reasons why:
1) It’s “unacceptable” to give tax exemptions to for-profit developers that “will not be investing in the community.”
2) The developer has never built anything “of this scale or nature.”
3) They have already been denied a tax exemption by the county.
4) That it’s “deeply unfair” to every existing landlord and property owner in Cadiz, who invest in the community without tax breaks.
5) That there are serious and costly infrastructure concerns with risks of flooding, increased street maintenance and lost property values.
6) And that the land’s original owner, Dennis Thomas, “knew it was unbuildable,” and that a retention pond there would potentially create a sinkhole.
On the other side, Ellegood and Barrow said they wanted to do things “the right way,” by contacting City Council and working through the annexation and infrastructure processes. Ellegood re-confirmed the homes were based on income brackets that must be met for qualification, much like Emma’s Rose, while Barrow said he had worked with many projects of this nature before — most notably in Hopkinsville, The Flats near Huck’s — and that Cadiz has a “major need” for this type of housing.
Barrow also went on to say that the abatement would help clear their suggested $160,000 sewer investment — which would require an average 3,800 gallons of water a day for the units. He also stated he had already looked at one other piece of land for this development, across from Pennyrile Electric, only to be denied its sale.
In the end, with the development’s federal paperwork deadline set for mid-August, city council members never made a motion to accept abatement and annexation recommendations — nullifying the project as it stands now.
Every member — Brenda Price, Craig Stallons, Bob Noel, Susie Hendricks, Susan Bryant and Todd Wallace — expressed being in “a tough position,” in which the community needed more development like this, but perhaps not in this specific location.
Finally, Mayor Todd King said he received a distressing phone call this past weekend — in which an unnamed caller referred to the City of Cadiz as “junky.”
King specifically stated that the residents of Cerulean Road have phoned “non-stop” about the former PJ Lumber Company — which essentially lies in ruins — and that other locations are “in trouble.”
Lingenfelter and Wilson said several ordinances pre-date the Code Enforcement Board, and that major changes — with stricter penalties, adjusted time constraints and criminal charges — could be on the way.
Susan Bryant, on tax abatement:
Todd Wallace, on planning and zoning, and a tough decision:
Citizens concerned about potential flooding on East Noel:
Susie Hendricks, Susan Bryant and Jack Lingenfelter talk about Code Enforcement fines:
The Full Cadiz City Council Meeting:
