Brian Traugott (Photo by Melissa Patrick)
After serving as the mayor of Versailles for 11 years, Mayor Brian Traugott has resigned from the position, effective Oct. 1. Traugott is leaving to become the Kentucky League of Cities (KLC) chief member services officer, effective Oct. 21.
Traugott told the Sun in an interview that his resignation had more to do with opportunity than displeasure with the job.
“I had already told anybody who asked that I didn’t intend to run again, so I became open to opportunities outside of City Hall and one came up and the timing was now, so I had to decide whether to take it or not,” he said. “And I love Kentucky League of Cities. I love local government. I love serving cities, helping cities. I have a great relationship with a lot of mayors across the state. So, it just was, it’s more of an opportunity elsewhere than displeasure here.”
He added, “I certainly love this job. It’s the greatest job in the world and to be able to have an impact, what I hope is an oversized impact — history will tell, but . . . It’s been an honor,” he said.
“Mayor Traugott’s history of innovation and leadership is a perfect fit for the Kentucky League of Cities. . . . We are thrilled to have him on board,” KLC Executive Director/CEO J.D. Chaney said in a news release.
Traugott made the announcement at the end of the Aug. 20 Versailles City Council meeting council meeting – to the surprise of the council members. He then passed out a KLC press release about his new position and said he would have more to say about it in future meetings.
After the meeting, Versailles City Attorney Bill Moore explained that when a mayor resigns, the city council has 30 days to appoint a successor. If they fail to agree, he said the governor must appoint someone. Further, he said anyone can be chosen to be the next mayor as long as they are a city resident; it does not have to be a city council member. If no appointment is made by the city council, Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Johnson will assume that role until the governor makes his appointment.
Moore added that because it is too late to be put on the November ballot, the mayor’s successor will hold that position until the next election cycle. He said the last time this happened was when then-Mayor Fred Siegelman resigned and Traugott, who was then on the city council, was appointed to fill the balance of his term.
“The city has been so fortunate to have him serve as mayor,” said Moore. “We’re really going to miss him. He’s been a true leader for the community, for the city and for the community as a whole. . . . His shoes will be very difficult to fill.”
Food pantry
Councilmember Gary Jones made a motion to take the Food Pantry for Woodford County Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) “off the table,” which passed unanimously. The MOA had been tabled at the Aug. 6 meeting to allow council members time to learn more about it.
The food pantry MOA involves an agreement between the City of Versailles, the Woodford County Fiscal Court and the City of Midway to jointly fund the executive director position of the food pantry in the amount of $75,000 a year. In the first year, the cost would be split equally between the county and Versailles. Thereafter, the cost would be split between the county paying 50%, Versailles paying 45% and Midway paying 5%. The new director would either be a county employee or an independent contractor.
Funding for the position is needed because Executive Director Sharon Hardin, who has led the pantry for 20 years without pay, will be retiring Dec. 31.
Councilmember Lisa Johnson made a motion to approve the MOA with an amendment limiting the contract to two years. It passed on a vote of 4-2, with Councilmembers Gary Jones and Mary Bradley voting against it.
Johnson first said the council “absolutely supports the food pantry” before noting that this change was only about policy.
“Nonprofits are to run their board, not the local government,” she said. Later adding, “Every single person at this table has support for the food pantry and what it does. This is about process, and it’s about doing the right thing because there are 15 to 20 other socially important nonprofits in this community. And for a governmental entity to say . . . that the city is going to pay 50 percent of a county government employee’s salary –it sends the wrong message to the other nonprofits who are doing good work in this community.”
Councilmember Ann Miller agreed. “I don’t think we’re ever against funding the food pantry. It’s just the vehicle in which we’re doing it,” said Miller. “It should be to the food pantry board that we give the fund, not to another government entity for a government employee, and I think that’s where we kind of hesitated. And I think this is a good compromise to get us through and give them the confidence to move forward and serve the community as they want to, need to.”
Traugott responded by saying, “What would have made it a better compromise is if we had a tentative agreement with them, with the judge and or a majority of the fiscal court before this is voted on, because that’s what gives me heartburn.”
Traugott cautioned earlier in the meeting that the fiscal court and the City of Midway had already approved it as it is written. “This adds another level of delay,” he said.
Councilmember Gary Jones disagreed with Johnson’s argument that the council had only recently learned about this MOA, having received the information on Aug. 2, discussed it on Aug. 6, and had a work session on it the following week. Jones said it had been discussed at some length at a May finance committee meeting.
The changes to the MOA will have to now be re-approved by the fiscal court and the City of Midway. Johnson said that this should be a quick turnaround because each of these bodies meet in the next two weeks.
During public comments, Michael McLane, encouraged the council to stop delaying this funding. “There is a very real possibility that after the first of January, if you don’t get this figured out, that the food pantry will close.”
Lillie Cox, a food pantry volunteer, also spoke to the urgency of filling the position so that the new hire could have time to train.
Park Street closing
Rich Pictor, executive director of the Versailles County Parks and Recreation, told the council that Park Street will be closed for about two months to through traffic starting Aug. 27. The street will be closed to all but those who need to access the Head Start building and the library parking lot. The closing is related to the renovations going on at Big Spring Park.
Bradley asked if some of the playground equipment could be sent to the small park in Russelltown. Pictor said the equipment is too large to send there. However, he added, “ We can look for some smaller purchasing, some smaller pieces.”
Taxes decreased
The council gave final approval to the new real property, personal property and motor vehicle and watercraft tax rates.
The real property tax rate is 5 cents on every $100 of real property assessed value; the personal property tax rate is 10 cents on every $100 assessed value; and the motor vehicle and watercraft tax rate is 12 cents on every $100 assessed value.
Traugott took several minutes to point out that the city had far exceeded the county in the reduction of these taxes.
“The county reduced their rate by three-tenths of a cent. . . we dropped it five-tenths,” he said.
Water and Sewer Adjustments
The council gave final approval to the annual adjustment of water and sewer rates, effective with the meter reading for the month of July 2024. The minimum charge per 1,000 gallons of water within the city is $9.05; the minimum charge per 1,000 gallons of water outside the city is $10.98. The minimum charge for sewer within the city is $14.45; the minimum charge for sewer outside the city is $18.59.
Bart Miller, public works director, noted that the ordinance shows the rates from six years ago in comparison, which means the increase from last year is much smaller than is shown in the document because the rates increase by 2 percent each year.
Stop signs
The council approved seven new stop signs to be added at Chinoe Road and School House Road. They will be installed in October.
Other business
The council approved a resolution to award a non-exclusive franchise to Spectrum Mid-America, LLC for a term of 10 years for a cable television system within the confines of the city.
The council approved a bid to H.G. Mays Corporation for $246,548.60 for the milling and resurfacing of city streets. It also approved three bids from Dixon Electric to use money from the Legacy Partner Fund to improve the electricity needs at the Downtown Market and Entertainment Center, in the amounts of $7,350, $15,255, and $6,775. It also approved $22,875 for a fence, from the same fund.
It also approved bids for the Versailles Fire Department Station 1 renovation project, including one for Ruggles Sign for $17,100 for signage and another for Epoxy Hero for 17,000 for concrete coating. It also approved $27,952.77 to Hager for cabinets. In addition, the council approved change orders related to windows/doors in the amount of $6,009, to upgrade bunkroom doors from hollow core doors to solid core for $1,452, and to credit $33,171 for cabinets.
The council also opened the discussion about implementing a downtown tax increment financing (TIF) district, with no decisions made about it.
The council also approved a promissory note between the Versailles General Fund and the Versailles Enterprise Fund.
TKC Distilling Company sale complete
Traugott announced that the $7.1 million sale to TKC Distilling company was complete. This sale involved the Edgewood Farm property. He added that Standardbred horse operation has a groundbreaking on Monday afternoon.
Ken Kerkhoff resigns
Ken Kerkhoff, chair of the Downtown Revitalization Committee, has resigned his position per a letter read by Councilmember Laura Dake, who sits on the committee. His resignation is effective Aug. 31.
“Serving in this role has been an immensely rewarding experience, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside all of you in creating something truly special for our community,” he wrote.
National Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms award
Police Chief Mike Murray reported that Assistant Chief Rob Young and Detective Nathan Craig have been selected as recipients, along with members of the investigative team, of the 2024 Johnny Massingale Award, a national Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms award. The award was recommended for their work on the Bryan Carroll case. They will be recognized in an award ceremony in Washington, D.C. in September.