LOUSIVLLE VILLAGE BOARD MEETS (4/11/25) pg The Louisville Village Board met Thursday evening and
started with a public comment period. Resident Joe Smith addressed Mayor Steve Miller and trustees
about keeping chickens within the village. A village ordinance prohibits
chickens from being kept in town and Smith was ordered to remove them. Smith
says that he will comply with the ordinance, however due to a recent surgery,
he is not currently able to remove them and asked for an extension and board
consensus was to give him additional time to remove the chickens from his
property. Louisville American Legion Commander Roy Smith addressed the
board to ask for their support for the upcoming Veterans Walk on Saturday, May
10th. The event, to call attention to the tragedy of veteran
suicides at a rate of 6,000 per year, is an effort to end it. Smith says the
walk begins at the World War II Memorial in Flora’s Library Park at 8:00am and
then travels on Route 45 for 8 miles to the Clay County Courthouse and the
Veterans Memorial. Last year the effort included 100 walkers and raised $7,000
and they hope to beat that this year. He asked the board to consider making a
contribution and board consensus was to donate, but not until the FY2026 Budget
is adopted later this month, and the donation policy is updated. Once the
budget is approved the board is also likely to make a donation to the Clay
County Bicentennial Committee for the celebration planned on July 15 around the
courthouse square as the county celebrates its 200th birthday. Nicola Wattles addressed the board with a proposal for
helping to deal with the overpopulation of cats in Louisville. The plan is
referred to as TNR or Trap, Neuter and Release for a cost of $3,100 per year.
No action was taken. The board of trustees approved the meeting agenda and past
meeting minutes and then moved on to consider mowing bids. Proposals were
submitted by Brian Wattles and Ronald Coble. The board discussed the bids and,
in the end, awarded the contract to the low bidder Coble, once proof of
insurance is established, at a price of $255 per mowing of five village
properties including the cemetery. The vote was 4-2 with Yes votes from Scott
Ikemire, Mary Frazier, Craig Clifton and Tim Davis and No votes from Chuck Smith
and Austin Hartsey. Engineer Mike Bridges presented a supplemental resolution of
MFT funds for the Broadway and Chestnut resurfacing project with a change from
$70,000 to $90,000 which trustees approved without dissent. A little later,
Bridges noted that SCIRPDC is asking for an extension on the Pavilion Project
in Louisville as a deadline of April 30th approaches. It’s still
expected that it will be completed by the deadline, but the extension would
help ensure the grant funding is not delayed. The board also approved the bills
and discussed the façade improvement project at the former community center
that was approved at the last meeting. Trustees chose Rod Hoyt as the
contractor who also completed work on the Probation Dept. building. The board
will spend $25,000 on each side of the building to update the façade and to install
new windows. Following the heavy rains the board discussed drainage
issues in the Turner subdivision and Buttonville. Trustees are asking Mike
Bridges to come up with an estimate of what it will cost to improve drainage
with the cleaning out of ditches and culverts in the area. Before the meeting concluded, Mayor Steve Miller noted that
the K-1 Building roof project is complete. Clerk Steve Stortzum announced that
Deputy Clerk Judy Wattles is resigning, effective April 29th.
Concerning the café in the former community center, it was noted that the
village is still owed rent and utilities by the vendor in the amount of $738.
The utilities are still on because there is food in the coolers and they have
yet to remove their equipment. Miller called for a special meeting on Thursday,
April 24th. A public hearing for the FY2026 Budget will begin at
5:50pm with the special meeting to adopt the budget scheduled at 6:00pm. With
business complete, the meeting adjourned.