CITY OF ST. MATTHEWS
Council Meeting Minutes
May 13, 2025
A meeting of the St. Matthews City Council was held in-person on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Richard Tonini. The following people were present:
MAYOR
Richard J. Tonini
CITY COUNCIL
Councilmember Bernie Bowling Councilmember Tim Holland (absent)
Councilmember Sarah Landes Councilmember Mary Jo Nay
Councilmember Frank Flynn Councilmember Amy Olson
Councilmember Nathan Hernandez Councilmember Jackie Vanetti
OTHER OFFICIALS
John Singler – St. Matthews City Attorney
Judi Kassebaum – St. Matthews City Clerk
Chief Barry Wilkerson – St. Matthews Police Department
Kenan Stratman – St. Matthews Public Work Director
Shawn Weatherholt – IT Director
Sargeant George Jetter – St. Matthews Police Department
Major Eddie Jones – St. Matthews Police Department
Officer Billy Cundiff – St. Matthews Police Department
Officer Dexter Pitts – St. Matthews Police Department
OTHER ATTENDEES
Kate Leitner – Eline Library
Cathi Clark – ResidentJ
osh Suiter – CEO, The Chamber St. Matthews
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was accomplished followed by the roll call of attendance. Councilmember Holland was absent.
A motion was made by Councilmember Landes to approve the minutes from the April 22, 2025, council meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Olson. Upon Voice Vote: (6-0) the motion carried.
A motion was made by Councilmember Landes to approve the minutes from the April 29, 2025, caucus meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Olson. Upon Voice Vote: (5-0) the motion carried.
PUBLIC MEETING COMMENTS
Kate Leitner, Manager of the Eline/St. Matthews Branch of the Library gave the following report:·
Stephen King Book Discussion Group: Wednesday, May 14, 2025 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm EDT
· Movie Discussion Group: Thursday, May 15, 2025 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT
· Meet St. Matthews City Council: Saturday, May 17, 2025 10:30 am – 11:30 am EDT
· Night Owls Book Discussion: Tuesday, May 20, 2025 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm EDT
· Intro to Writing Workshop: Wednesday, May 21, 2025 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm EDT
· D&D at the Library: Thursday, May 22, 2025 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm EDT
· English Conversation Club: Every Week on Mondays, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm English
· Teen Life Skills: Job Readiness: Tuesday, May 20, 2025 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm EDT
· Storytimes: Wednesdays 10:15 Baby & 11:15 Toddler; Thursdays 10:15 Preschool & 11:15 Family
Josh Suiter, CEO The Chamber St. Matthews, informed the council that several local chambers are forming an alliance to have a stronger voice. July 18 is the Chamber golf scramble at Eagle Creek. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Chamber Foundation. June 18 the business luncheon will be at Junior Achievement Biztown from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm.
PENDING BUSINESS
No pending business was discussed.
NEW BUSINESS
Shawn Weatherholt, IT Director, told the council about upcoming budget items regarding IT and the police car laptops. Because Microsoft 10 is going away, several computers will have to be replaced as they currently do not support Microsoft 11. This includes 36 units for police cars for a total of $219,222 and PC’s at City Hall for about $1,500 each. Replacing firewalls is expected to cost $25,000 – $30,000. The budget also includes money for a document management system.
Kenan Stratman, Public Works Director, listed several items in the Public Works budget. The current budget is $250,00 for restrooms in Community Park, this item should be carried over to the next fiscal year. A baseball master plan, as discussed at the caucus meeting, is $75,000. Warwick Park Phases II and III will roll over to the next fiscal year and should be just over $5 million. Stream Bank Stabilization is $950,000. Revised electric at Brown Park will start after the 75th Anniversary Celebration and come in at $350,000. Miscellaneous equipment and repairs is budgeted for $320,000. The installation of EV charging stations at City Hall will be this summer and cost $65,000.
The front of The Arterburn remodel has been delayed but should start in June. The Trinity Hills project is half-completed, and several residents have complimented the progress. $1 million is the budget for this project.
Barry Wilkerson, Chief of Police, explained why a document management system would be helpful to the police as they have over 20 cabinets of files that must be searched when completing open records requests. It would be helpful to have the documents scanned and be able to search by key words in addition to having the documents preserved. The Durango is no longer being produced as an option for police vehicles and no one will bid on Ford Explorers. Chevrolet’s Tahoe is on order for next year and will run approximately $58,000 each with an additional $14,000 in added equipment. Vehicles are being kept longer resulting in higher maintenance costs in the budget. Ammunition is also going up in price. Other agencies have increased pay, making it difficult to recruit more applicants. Jeffersontown is looking at 8% pay increases and the sheriff’s office has increased pay by 10%. St. Matthews police department is looking at ways to attract applicants to make the overall work package more attractive. Currently SMPD is fully staffed.
EXPENDITURES
Councilmember Bowling made a motion to approve the expenditures listed and have checks drawn on the city’s treasury in the amount of $ 612,602.46. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Nay.
Upon Roll Call Vote: (7-0) the motion carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
· Councilmember Hernandez noticed that Blessings in a Backpack was not on the list of applicants requesting grants.
· Councilmember Olson saw that Alley Cats was also missing from the list of applicants for grants. They have been helpful in the past to rescue cats in the neighborhood. The Outstanding Neighbor for May is Ann Tatum. As she was given her award, neighbors came out to cheer.
· Councilmember Nay gave everyone quotes received for street banners. The current budget has $5,000 set aside for street banners. Emails can be sent to Judi stating if you want or don’t want banners.
· Councilmember Flynn said health insurance costs will go up 11.4%.
CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT
There was no City Attorney report.
MAYOR’S REPORT
The Mayor talked to the council about positive pay at the bank and how it catches fraudulent checks. Positive pay saved the City money for fraudulent checks that were trying to be cashed.
ADJOURNMENT
Councilmember Olson made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Nay. Upon Voice Vote: (7-0) the motion carried, and the meeting adjourned at 8:34 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Richard Tonini, Mayor
Judi Kassebaum, City Clerk
| May 13, 2025 | |||
| BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE MAYOR DRAW WARRANTS on the City Treasury, | |||
| counter-signed by the City Clerk or Assistant City Clerk authorizing payment of the below listed invoices: | |||
| Anderson’s Sales & Service | Works – Repairs & Maintenance- Equipment | $340.28 | |
| Astro Jump of Louisville | Admin. – 75th Anniversary Celebration | $7,469.52 | |
| AT&T | All – Telephone Service | $4,760.59 | |
| Auto Zone | Works – Supplies & Materials | $182.86 | |
| Awards Center | Police – Special Events/Banquet | $689.80 | |
| Bachman Auto Group | Police – Capital Improvements – Vehicle | $53,201.00 | |
| Bill Hutchinson | Works – Repairs & Maintenance – Equipment | $210.00 | |
| Bobcat Enterprises, Inc. | Works – Repairs & Maintenance – Equipment | $2,789.02 | |
| Caroline Knop | Admin. – 75th Anniversary Celebration | $2,000.00 | |
| CDW-Government | IT – Service Contracts/Equipment Repairs | $11,193.38 | |
| Charter Communications | IT – Service Contract | $220.00 | |
| Citation Equipment, Inc. | Works – Supplies & Materials | $5.25 | |
| Clark & Riggs | Admin. – Newsletters | $3,117.00 | |
| Clifford Distributing Co., Inc. | Works – Supplies & Materials | $1,463.79 | |
| Computer Projects of IL., Inc. | Police – Service Contract – Software | $198.00 | |
| Cross Chrysler Jeep | Police – Vehicle Maintenance-Mechanical | $2,345.14 | |
| DC Elevator | Works – Maintenance Agreement | $132.30 | |
| Delta Dental of Kentucky, Inc. | All – Dental Insurance (Two Months) | $13,269.16 | |
| Derby Fire Services | Works/Police-Equip. Main./Service Contracts | $2,626.46 | |
| Duplicator Sales & Service | Admin. – Office Supplies | $238.21 | |
| Enterprise Fleet Management | Police – Vehicle Leases | $15,295.78 | |
| E-Z Construction Company | Works-Capital Improvements-Trinity Hills Ditch | $136,737.65 | |
| Family Tree Service | Works – Tree Removal Back of 500 Kentucky | $2,100.00 | |
| Farley Printing | Admin. – Printing Envelopes | $1,628.32 | |
| First Financial Bank | All – Multiple | $6,799.63 | |
| Five Star Breaktime Solutions | Admin. – Supplies & Materials | $213.67 | |
| Frank Otte Nursery | Parks – Plantings | $319.20 | |
| Galls | Police – Uniforms | $366.23 | |
| Great American Financial Services | Admin./Police – Service Contract/Copies | $238.04 | |
| Guardian Insurance Company | Police – Long/Short/Life Insurance | $11,394.36 | |
| HDR Engineering, Inc. | Works – Trinity Hills Ditch Project | $1,552.50 | |
| Home Depot Credit Services | Works/Police – Supplies & Materials | $7,248.98 | |
| Jim’s Body Shop | Police – Repairs & Maintenance-Body Work | $1,000.00 | |
| Lewis Seed Company | Works – Supplies & Materials | $140.24 | |
| LG&E | Works – Electric/Gas | $36,341.14 | |
| Louisville Gas & Electric | Police – Contract Services – Investigative | $500.14 | |
| Louisville Mulch & Stone | Works – Supplies & Materials | $2,457.00 | |
| Louisville Water Company | Works – Water Services | $2,726.19 | |
| Lynn Imaging | Parks – Arterburn Access Control Project | $1,500.00 | |
| Media Events, Inc. | Admin. – 75th Anniversary Celebration | $30,000.00 | |
| Miller Company | Police – Service Contract – Copies | $216.80 | |
| Moreno Express | Admin. – Newsletters | $3,052.03 | |
| Motorola Solutions, Inc. | Police – Capital Improvements -Equipment | $14,850.00 | |
| MPI Printing | Police – Special Events/Banquet | $462.00 | |
| NAPA Auto Parts | Police/Works – Supplies & Materials | $312.78 | |
| Nugent Sand Company | Works – Supplies & Materials | $113.00 | |
| OpenGov, Inc. | IT – Contracted Services | $887.66 | |
| Oxmoor Ford | Police – Vehicle Main. – Mechanical | $5,587.85 | |
| PNC Bank | All – Multiple | $1,498.86 | |
| Porta Kleen | Parks – Portalets | $946.70 | |
| Premier Fleet Graphics | Police – CI-Vehicles; Supplies & Materials | $2,137.00 | |
| Qk4 | Parks -CI-Arterburn Restrooms Project | $10,000.00 | |
| Quality Inn | Police – Travel/Training | $390.00 | |
| RCS Communications | Police/Works-Repairs & Main.-Radios/Truck | $6,253.07 | |
| Rumpke | Works – Garbage Contract | $130,595.58 | |
| Saf-Ti-Co | Works – Supplies & Materials | $275.18 | |
| Security Systems, Inc. | Works – Monitoring | $38.00 | |
| Singler & Ritsert | Admin. – April Attorney Fees | $6,294.00 | |
| Sparkle Brite Car Wash | Police – Vehicle Main. – Car Washes | $948.00 | |
| Stephens & Lawson PSC | Admin. – April Services | $1,015.00 | |
| St. Matthews Ace Hardware | Works – Supplies & Materials | $503.54 | |
| St. Matthews Exterminating | Parks – Pest Control | $163.00 | |
| Tires Plus Total Car Care | Police – Vehicle Main. – Mechanical/Routine | $5,823.77 | |
| Total Office Products & Service | Police – Office Supplies | $143.95 | |
| Trugreen | Parks – Weed Control | $206.00 | |
| Valvoline | Police/Works – Vehicle Main.-Preventative | $501.60 | |
| Welders Supply Company | Works – Supplies & Materials | $32.75 | |
| Willis Klein | Works – Supplies & Materials | $203.74 | |
| Wilson Equipment Co. | Works – Repairs & Maintenance – Equipment | $5,981.09 | |
| MAPS | |||
| Flynn Brothers | Works – Cold Patch | $359.95 | |
| Precision Concrete Cutting of KY | Works – Sidewalks | $45,198.70 | |
| VOLL FIELD ACCOUNT | |||
| Wallitsch Nursery | Parks – Repairs & Maintenance-Baseball Field | $1,509.82 | |
| Reimbursements and Payments | |||
| Austin, Elizabeth | Admin. – Contract Services | $192.00 | |
| Robinson, Charles | Reimbursement Training Expenses | $898.21 | |
| TOTAL | $612,602.46 | ||
