Dear Residents,

I hope this finds all of you doing well. The first item to bring to your attention is our new city contract with Ring.com. Councilman Craig Theis has done a fabulous job overseeing this. The program officially started on August 15th and will run until September 29 or until the funding limit is reached. The link to get started was previously shared on Facebook, the city website and the city block watch email. However, if for some reason you didn’t see it, please go to stregispark.net. Under the RECENT NEWS column, you will see the announcement of the Ring.com partnership dated August 8, 2019. After clicking on that article, you will see “How to Participate” about half way down. From there, simply go to the second bullet point that says residents must apply via an application and click on the link. For any questions or follow up, please feel free to email councilman Craig Theis at Craigtheis@gmail.com. Again, thank you Councilman Theis for all of your hard work with this!

Next, I wanted to let you know that some of our city roads will be repaved starting on September 16th and will completed no later than October 22nd. We made sure to plan around the annual City Wide yard sale that takes place on September 7th. In regards to the yard sale, we will be placing “No Parking” Signs out on Thursday, September 5th. Please make sure to obey the signs. Officers will be writing tickets and having cars towed accordingly. Also, not only during the garage sale, but at all times, there is to be no side-by-side parking within city limits. For example, if one person is parked on one side of the street, please do not park directly across from them on the other side of the street. That makes it very difficult for traffic flow, especially emergency vehicles.

Last but not least, the Tree Board has done a FANTASTIC JOB planting new trees and making sure everyone knows about our City-Wide Tree Maintenance Program. However, they are asking me to remind everyone that many of the new trees they have helped plant over the last couple of years are in need of pruning. Pruning instructions have been sent out in previous newsletters and can also be found at RetreeThePark.com. If you have trouble finding that link or have any further questions in general or specifically about pruning, please email Joe Hinkle at joerunjoe@gmail.com.

Remember, the City of St. Regis Park is a great place to live. Together, we will make it even better!

Sincerely,

Brandt Davis, Mayor

Dear Citizens,

I hope this finds all of you doing well. By the time you receive this, school will be out for the summer, pools will be open and summer fun will be in full swing. I hope all of you have a really fun, safe summer. Please make sure to pay extra attention as we will have more children riding bikes, walking, and playing since school is out.

As far as safety is concerned, I have been asked by Councilman Jeff Weis to remind everyone to wear reflective gear and use lighting while walking/riding in
the early morning hours or at night. He said that he has seen several people in the early morning hours without reflective gear or lighting and it was really difficult to see them. Also in relationship to walking, etc. a neighbor has asked that I remind everyone to pick up after their dogs. She has noticed several times where there is dog feces in her yard from someone not picking up after their pet. Please be courteous and do so.

Also in regards to safety, City Councilman Craig Theis is heading up an effort to partner with Ring (Ring.com) to provide discounts to citizens on security products. Please see the attached insert. With this program, Ring would give citizens $50 off and the City would give and additional $50 toward the purchase. Our hope would be that a lot of residents would get at a minimum, one Ring Doorbell. Anything in addition to that would be “icing on the cake” so to speak. We believe if at least 200 homes had these, word would spread quickly amongst thieves that SRP is not a place they want to be. The thieves wouldn’t know
who has them and who doesn’t, so in essence, the entire neighborhood would benefit. If you go to Ring.com, you will see that they also have smart lighting, security cameras and “The neighborhood watch” app. We would also try to negotiate with some electric companies to give a discount on installations. If you are interested in this potential program, please contact Councilman Theis so he can gauge everyone’s interest. His email is Craigtheis@gmail.com.

Councilman Louie Schweickhardt has asked if anyone would like to help him put flags out for the 4th of July. If you or your family are interested in helping, please contact Council Schweickhardt at 639-7731. Also, if you are planning on having summer picnics, gatherings, etc. we ask that you please use “no parking signs” on one side of the street for smooth traffic flow. In order to get these signs, again please contact Councilman Schweickhardt at 639-7731 and he will get them to you.

A major item discussed at the June meeting was that of issuing door-to-door permits. I wish we wouldn’t have to issue these types of permits, but legally, we can’t deny the permit if filed appropriately. However, we can LIMIT the permit, which is what we did. Instead of issuing a permit with an indefinite timeline, we limited it for the dates of 7/15/19 through 7/31/19. The permit was issued for only one company, Vivint. If this issue ever comes up again, we will also make sure we are clear on what hours are allowed within the permit. Since we are still in the city of Louisville, Vivint needs to make sure they honor the hours allowed by Louisville which are 9:00 a.m. to ½ hour before sundown as published in the Louisville Courier Journal newspaper daily or 8:00 p.m. which ever comes first. Also, no business shall be conducted on Sunday or on any local, State or National Holiday. If they come to your door outside of these hours, please remind them of the City of Louisville’s permit hours and ask them to leave. Also you are welcome to not answer your door. If you decide to answer, you may ask them to leave and politely close the door. Finally, the city attorney has said that if you have a no solicitation sign on your door, they should not be coming to your home.

Last, but not least, please mark your calendars for the SRP annual yard sale coming up. It will take place on September 7 from 8 a.m. till 1 p.m. We will also be putting out “no parking signs” for this on Thursday. Please make sure to park accordingly as the Police will be ticketing.

Remember, the City of St. Regis Park is a great place to live. Together, we will make it even better!

Sincerely,
Brandt Davis, Mayor

Dear Citizens,

With the movement of the April meeting date closer to the May meeting date, it was decided that we would provide one newsletter for both April and May.
Moving forward, we will be back in a monthly rhythm regarding the newsletter.

During the month of April, we had a great Arbor Day Celebration. Approximately 20 people showed up to celebrate the event and enjoy refreshments. Laura Armstrong is the citizen that won the ornamental tree giveaway. So far, the tree board is reporting that we are planting at least 12 new trees this spring which will bring the grand total of trees planted under the “re-tree the park” campaign to over 240. Also, the tree board currently has 15 tree maintenance requests from citizens. Overall the Tree Board is making sure that citizens of St. Regis Park will be able to enjoy plenty of shade for years to come.

At the May meeting, we had the 1st reading of our 2019-2020 annual budget. Within that budget, I am excited to announce that we have allotted $45,000 to the Tree Board to continue their planting and maintenance programs. I am also excited to announce that the council has allotted approximately $200,000 to the repair of many storm/catch basins, curbs and repaving of several roads. If any of you notice orange paint on some of the city roads, that is where the engineer has marked for the contractors to mill and pave accordingly. The City Engineer has laid out a 3 phase plan to repave the city as the phases become needed. Right now, we are going to do phase 1 of the repairs that are needed the most. After phase 1 is complete, we will be able to sit back and watch and see when phase 2 needs implemented. As of now, we wouldn’t expect phase 2 to be needed for a couple of years. With phase 1, we will also be repainting all the yellow curbs in the city and of course, painting new chevrons on the speeds humps being redone on Woodmont during phase 1. Councilman John Amback made the excellent suggestion of stopping the speed humps’ width just shy of the curbs on each side of the road to allow bicyclists to go around the speed humps without having to go over them.

Last, but not least, it is that time of the year where I need to remind all of our citizens of a couple of concerns. First, dogs are to remain on leashes at all times when outside of your home unless they are in a fenced back yard. When dogs are taken on walks, they need to be on a leash. If your dog is with you in your front yard, it needs to be on a leash. Also, when walking your dog, please be considerate of your neighbors and pick up after your dog. Next, I would encourage all of you to keep plenty of outdoor lights on at night, car doors locked and garage doors shut. Let’s do everything we can to protect ourselves from potential burglars. We have seen several examples where motion-sensing lights and ring doorbells have been great deterrents. Councilman Craig Theis is researching now, what kind of incentive program may be implemented to help citizens with the cost of home security devices and/or installation from professionals.

Remember, the City of St. Regis Park is a great place to live. Together, we will make it even better!

Sincerely,
Brandt Davis, Mayor

Dear Residents,

What an eventful month. This is the latest in the month that I have ever gotten my newsletter portion completed. Sorry for any delay. Please mark your calendar for 4/13/19. We will be having our annual Easter egg hunt at Bullitt Field at 10 a.m. For those of you who are new to the city, Bullitt Field is located at Saddle Horn Dr. at the end of Lincoln Rd.

Please be there prior to 10 a.m. as the Easter egg hunt starts promptly at 10 a.m. and only lasts about 5-10 minutes.

Next, please mark your calendar for 4/27/19. We will be having an Arbor Day Celebration in the Ascension Cafeteria from 1-2 pm. There will be refreshments, lots of discussions and ideas, and the opportunity to sign up for tree maintenance or to get a new tree planted. Also, there will be a drawing for one ornamental tree of significant size.

Councilman Craig Theis has put together a fantastic one-page outline on how best to sign up for REACH Alert. REACH Alert is a great system that our city has signed up for to make sure everyone can stay informed. Please see the REACH Alert attachment.

Also, I would like to thank Scout Troop 386 for attending our March meeting. They were able to earn 2 merit badges. One was for communications and the second was for citizenship in the community.

Oxmoor Country Club has asked me to let everyone know they are seeking swimmers to join their swim team. Club Membership is NOT required to join the team. It is open to swimmers 5-18 years old. The season is from May 29-July 14. Practice begins May 29. Practice is held Monday – Friday 10-11 a.m. and Tuesday -Thursday 7-8 p.m. Morning practice will begin once JCPS is out of school – June 1st. You don’t have to attend both morning and afternoon practices. Choose the practices that best fit your schedule with a minimum of 3 practices per week. There will be 5 dual meets and Championships, a swim team banquet, and weekly fun Fridays with pool games. ALL SWIMMERS WELCOME. They’ve said that you are welcome to go check them out before you commit.

Last, but not least, let me remind you that the April council meeting will be held at Ascension School located at 4600 Lynnbrook Drive on Wed April 17, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. Please enter the school through Door #12 off of the Aintree Parking Lot. Remember, the City of St. Regis Park is a great place to live. Together, we will make it even better!

Sincerely, Brandt Davis, Mayor

Dear Fellow Residents,

Hopefully the weather has decided to make up its mind by the time you receive this. I can’t recall the fluctuation in temperatures from day to day being this drastic. The good news is that I have already seen buds on trees and plants sneaking up from below the soil. Spring is right around the corner and I can’t
wait. Someone told me just the other day, that it has been 50 days since Louisville had 3 consecutive days without snow or rain. I am ready for some dry
ground and green grass.

As we move into spring, our city engineer will be doing a coring project. This will allow us to check material depths and observe the existing conditions of our roads. That way, as we plan financially, we will know exactly what needs to be done to repair our roads correctly, all the way to the sub-structure.

The Tree Board will be streamlining the tree maintenance program this spring. This will allow the city to save money and respond more quickly to citizens’ requests. The tree maintenance program has proven to be very successful in our effort to take care of the trees we currently have.

You will see on our agenda and minutes an ordinance to increase the tax on insurance policy premiums in St. Regis Park. The city is considering this increase
only because Metro Louisville has proposed raising its rate from 5% to 12.5%. If St. Regis Park does not raise its current rate of 5% to match Metro Louisville,
any increase generated by Metro Louisville goes directly to Metro Louisville, not the city of St. Regis Park. We have no control over whether Metro Louisville raises its tax on insurance premiums and by law, that increase must be paid by St. Regis Park residents. However, because state law allows St. Regis Park insurance premium taxes to offset against Metro Louisville’s insurance premium taxes, we do have the power to make sure the money stays in St. Regis Park. The ordinance we are considering does nothing, unless Metro Louisville changes its rate. If Metro Louisville does change its rate, the city of St. Regis Park’s rate will change along with it, thereby keeping the money in St. Regis Park’s budget, not Metro Louisville’s.

Last, but not least, I would like to take a moment to honor Councilman John Amback. John was recognized as “Outstanding School Volunteer” for the Archdiocese of Louisville for his service at Ascension. From the Ascension website -- “For many years, John has volunteered his time tutoring students in math before school, as well as spending six hours per week in our 4th and 5th grade math classes as an assistant. John also offers a summer Microsoft Excel class for middle school students with textbooks donated by him. As John shares his knowledge and love of mathematics with our students, they witness a man of integrity, character, passion, patience and kindness. As a result of his dedication, we have seen math scores soar and students growing in confidence: no longer saying, “I’m no good at math” or, “math is not my best subject.” We all know it takes a special kind of person to give so much without expectation and John exceeds that, “special kind” as he has become an absolute treasure to the Ascension community and beyond.”
Thanks John for all that you do for Ascension and our city!

Remember, the city of St. Regis Park is a great place to live. Together, we will make it even better!

Sincerely,
Brandt Davis, Mayor