Nov 06, 2025 Parks and Sustainability Committee

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30S METRO TV.

[Call to Order]

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[Roll Call]

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AND JOINING US TODAY IS COUNCILMAN JEFF HUDSON. THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD PURSUANT TO CARE 61.26 AND COUNCIL RULE FIVE, A READ IN FULL. FIRST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS ORDINANCE

[1. O-264-25     AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE LOUISVILLE/JEFFERSON COUNTY METRO GOVERNMENT CODE OF ORDINANCES (“LMCO”) SECTION 42.31 TO PROHIBIT OVERNIGHT PARKING IN METRO PARKS. Action Required By: April 30, 2026 Sponsors: Jeff Hudson (R-23) ]

THANK YOU. CHAIR, THIS THIS IS A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD, EASY AMENDMENT TO AN EXISTING ORDINANCE THAT JUST PROHIBITS SIMPLY PROHIBITS PARKING IN A METRO PARK BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 11 P.M. TO 6 A.M. IT IT CAME ABOUT. BECAUSE THERE WERE TRACTOR TRAILERS PARKING IN THE.

GRAVEL PARKING LOT FOR THE HORSE TRAILS AT MCNEELY LAKE PARK. AND I DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS NO ORDINANCE PROHIBITING IT. SO WITH THE HELP OF THE COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, WE GOT THAT RECTIFIED. AND I WOULD APPRECIATE, SUPPORT AND BE WILLING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ANYONE MIGHT HAVE. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN HUDSON, ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? ANYBODY? YES, COUNCILWOMAN. RUBY. SO I'M JUST READING THE DEFINITION OF WHAT YOU GOT FOR MOTOR VEHICLES. AND IT SAYS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF VANS, TOUR BUSSES, PICKUP TRUCKS AND SCHOOL BUSSES, NOW, ALL THE GOLF COURSES GET REGULAR DELIVERIES OF BEER. THOSE BIG BEER TRUCKS ARE GOING ON THOSE PARKS. AND I DON'T SEE THAT ONE MENTIONED IN HERE. WHERE DOES IT FALL? SO I THINK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE EXISTING DEFINITIONS. YEAH, RIGHT. JUST I KNOW THAT'S NOT YOUR THING, BUT I'M JUST READING IT HERE AND IT'S NOT EVEN IN THERE. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO RESPOND TO THAT COUNCIL. ARE YOU. YEAH. IF YOU COULD RECOGNIZE COUNTY ATTORNEY. YES. COUNTY ATTORNEY. THANK YOU. NICOLE PANG FROM JEFFERSON COUNTY'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. IT SPECIFIES THAT ANY VEHICLES THAT HAVE PERMISSION FROM PARKS CAN CONTINUE TO USE THE PARK ROADS. AND THOSE TRUCKS ARE TYPICALLY NOT OVERNIGHTING. THEY'RE JUST DROPPING THINGS OFF. AND SO PARKS IS AWARE, YOU KNOW, LIKE AT IROQUOIS, WHEN THEY HAVE CONCERTS, THEY HAVE LARGE BUSSES COMING IN AND TOUR TOUR GROUPS. SO AS LONG AS THEY HAVE PERMISSION FROM PARKS AND THEY ARE SERVING A PURPOSE OF BRINGING THINGS TO THE GOLF COURSES, THAT WOULDN'T BE A PROBLEM. WE'RE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN PEOPLE PARKING WHILE PARKING THERE OVERNIGHT WHILE THE PARKS ARE CLOSED. UNDERSTOOD. THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS? ANYBODY ELSE THIS GOES FOR A ROL CALL. VOTE BRINGS UP. CHAIR.

YOU HAVE SIX YES VOTES. THANK YOU. AND THIS WILL GO TO CONSENT. IS THAT RIGHT? THANK

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[2. R-131-25     A RESOLUTION ENCOURAGING LOCAL BUSINESSES, SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, AND STATE REGULATORS TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF SINGLE-USE PLASTIC BAGS WITHIN LOUISVILLE/JEFFERSON COUNTY METRO GOVERNMENT. Action Required By: April 30, 2026 Sponsors: JP Lyninger (D-6) ]

SORRY, I'M ASLEEP TODAY. ANYBODY IN MOTION? NO. ALL RIGHT. SECOND MOVED. AND, COUNCILMAN KLINGER. THANK YOU. CHAIR. THIS WAS A PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT HAD BEEN BROUGHT TO OUR OFFICE. REQUEST BY CONSTITUENTS. YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE IN YOUR DISTRICTS, BUT IN OUR DISTRICTS, THE PROLIFERATION OF SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM IN OUR DISTRICT. IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE THE URBAN TUMBLEWEEDS. AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE SEEN IN OTHER LOCATIONS THAT THE REDUCTION, DISCOURAGEMENT, PROHIBITION, WHATEVER ENDS UP HAPPENING OUT OF THIS, OF SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS LEADS TO A MUCH CLEANER LOCAL ENVIRONMENT. AND OF COURSE, THERE'S EVERY SORT OF ECOLOGICAL REASON FOR US TO FOLLOW SUIT, AND IT ENDS UP NOT BEING A A HUGE BURDEN ON OTHER MUNICIPALITIES. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT LOCAL BUSINESSES, SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE HAVE BROUGHT UP TO ME IS, YOU KNOW, THE THE LARGEST PURVEYOR OF THESE PLASTIC BAGS OR GROCERY STORES. WE HAVE SEVERAL GROCERY STORE CHAINS IN LOUISVILLE THAT ALREADY DON'T HAVE PLASTIC BAGS, AND IT DOESN'T SEEM TO HARM THEIR BOTTOM LINE. ULTIMATELY, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE THE POWER TO LEGISLATE ON OUR OWN, WHICH IS WHY THIS IS A RESOLUTION ENCOURAGING RATHER THAN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING. BUT THE EXPLORATION OF DIFFERENT ENTITIES THAT DO HAVE OVERSIGHT OF THIS ITEM. SO I WOULD URGE YOUR SUPPORT. ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? OKAY.

COUNCILWOMAN RUBY AND COUNCILWOMAN PARKER OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I'LL KEEP MY COMMENTS BRIEF, BUT JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THIS PROBLEM LOOKS LIKE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOMEBODY WHO'S REALLY PAYING ATTENTION. I WENT INTO KROGER THE OTHER DAY, AND I WENT INTO THE SECTION WHERE THEY'VE GOT THE THE VITAMINS AND EVERYTHING THAT THEY KEEP SEPARATED. AND SO I HAD TO CHECK OUT WITH THE CASHIER, AND I'M CARRYING MY OWN LITTLE BAG, AND SHE GRABS EVERYTHING AND PROCEEDS TO PUT TWO BOTTLES OF GAVISCON IN A DOUBLE BAG AND THEN PUT EVERYTHING ELSE IN DOUBLE BAG. SO I WALKED OUT OF THERE WITH STUFF THAT I COULD HAVE CARRIED IN ONE BAG IN SIX BAGS, AND THAT'S JUST NOT A GOOD, SENSIBLE USE OF OUR RESOURCES. I FOUND THAT TO BE VERY FRUSTRATING, AND JUST WATCHING THE WAY SHE WAS DOING IT WAS RATHER SHOCKING. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN PARKER. OKAY, I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. ONE, IF YOU DON'T USE PLASTIC BAGS, WHAT DO YOU USE? AND THEN IN OUR PARK SYSTEM, A LOT OF PEOPLE CARRY PLASTIC BAGS FOR THEIR PUPPIES. AND WE HAVE THE WASTE MANAGEMENT STATIONS FOR PLASTIC BAGS TO PUT THE DOGGY WASTE IN. SO WHAT WILL THOSE FOLKS DO AS WELL? SO THIS IS A THIS WOULD BE TO ENCOURAGE THE REDUCTION OF USE OF SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS BY BY COMMERCIAL ENTITIES. IF PEOPLE WERE TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE DOGGIE WASTE BAGS IN, YOU KNOW, IN OUR PARKS, IN OUR STREETS, THAT'S NOT ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO REGULATE AND SOMETHING WE COULDN'T REALLY REGULATE. NONE OF THESE INDUSTRIES OR BODIES COULD EITHER. WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT WE WOULD USE INSTEAD OF SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS IN, SAY, GROCERY STORES, IT WOULD BE REUSABLE PLASTIC BAGS LIKE THE TOTES OR OTHER OTHER WAYS THAT YOU CAN CARRY THE GROCERIES OUT. BUT THIS THIS IS NOT ABOUT TRYING TO STOP DOGGIE WASTE BAGS THAT THOSE THOSE WOULDN'T BE EFFECTIVE. SO WHO USES PLASTIC BAGS? A LOT OF IT IS TAKEOUT FROM RESTAURANTS, BUT BY BY FAR BY A HUGE MARGIN. THE NUMBER ONE USE OF SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS ARE GROCERY RETAIL. COUNCILWOMAN, DO YOU WANT TO FOLLOW UP? COUNCILMAN PARKER? WELL, I'M JUST. OKAY, SO I THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST FOR METRO GOVERNMENT. PUBLIC PLACES COULD NOT USE PLASTIC BAGS IN THIS ORDINANCE, SO. BUT ARE YOU SAYING ALL OF JEFFERSON COUNTY. SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE THE EFFECTIVE CLAUSE, SECTION ONE COUNCIL HEREBY ENCOURAGES LOCAL BUSINESSES TO RECONSIDER THE USE OF SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS,

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WE WOULD WE DO NOT HAVE A MANDATE TO CONTROL THE DECISIONS THAT THAT BOARD WOULD MAKE. SAME WITH SECTION THREE. HEREBY ENCOURAGES THE KENTUCKY CABINET FOR ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, DIVISION OF WASTE MANAGEMENT TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS AND RULES THAT BAN THE SINGLE USE OF SINGLE USE PLASTIC BAGS WITHIN COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, AND THE COUNCIL CLERK SHALL DELIVER EXECUTED COPIES OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE DIRECTOR OF SAID BODY. AGAIN, WE CAN'T CONTROL WHAT THE STATE DOES. THIS WOULD JUST BE US SAYING THIS IS AN ISSUE IN LOUISVILLE, IN URBAN ENVIRONMENT, AND WE WOULD ENCOURAGE, YOU KNOW, REGULATION. COUNCILWOMAN BASS, THANK YOU FOR THAT. SO I DID A LITTLE STUDY AND JUST GOING IN ON SOME THINGS, I JUST HAVE A FEW THINGS TO TOUCH ON. SO I FOUND THAT THE STUDIES AND CALRECYCLE DATA SHOWS THAT THE PLASTIC WASTE BY WEIGHT ROSE 47% BY 2022 BECAUSE THEY WERE HEAVIER BAGS AND THEY WERE STILL ONLY USED ONCE AND THROWN AWAY. AND THEN CHICAGO. IN 2015, THE BAN FAILED BECAUSE OF THAT REASON. PAPER BAGS ALSO REQUIRE 4 TO 28 TIMES MORE RESOURCES TO PRODUCE AND TRANSPORT THAN PLASTIC BAGS, ACCORDING TO THE LIFE CYCLE STUDIES CITED BY THE RECYCLING AND ABC NEWS. AND THEN IF PAPER BAGS ARE REUSABLE BAGS AND ARE USED ONLY A FEW TIMES, THEIR CARBON AND WATER FOOTPRINT EXCEEDED THAT OF A LIGHTWEIGHT PLASTIC BAG TO REPLACE. AND THEN, I GUESS AT THE END OF THE DAY, I JUST WANTED TO JUST TELL YOU I'M GOING TO BE A NO ON THIS JUST FOR THE FACT THAT I THINK IT SHOULD BE MY CHOICE. IF IF I GO TO THE GROCERY AND I WANT TO USE PLASTIC OR PAPER, I'M ALL FOR THOSE THAT CHOOSE NOT TO. BUT IT'S A CHOICE THAT I, I DON'T WANT TO KEEP GIVING AWAY CHOICES. LESS GOVERNMENT BASICALLY. SO I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT CERTAINLY. AND I UNDERSTAND YOUR REASONING IN TERMS OF A PERSONAL LIBERTY PERSPECTIVE. I THINK THAT ESPECIALLY IF YOU LOOK AT OUR DISTRICTS THAT ARE MORE URBAN VERSUS ARE MORE SUBURBAN OR RURAL DISTRICTS, THERE'S A COMPELLING CASE FOR PUBLIC ACTION. WE HAVE ALL SORTS OF ACTIONS THAT WE WOULD MAYBE, YOU KNOW, IN A VACUUM VIEW AS SOMEONE'S PERSONAL CHOICE ABOUT WHAT KIND OF DECISIONS THEY MAKE AS A CONSUMER. BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE EFFECT ON THE REST OF THE ENVIRONMENT, WE DECIDE TO HAVE REGULATIONS FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD. AND I THINK THAT THAT RISES TO THE LEVEL HERE IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT.

I'M GOING TO SPEAK FOR A SECOND ON THIS. SO IN IN COMING FROM DYLAN, SOME SIMILAR LEGISLATION LIKE THIS IN THE PAST, TO ME, WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE IS, IS MORE OF LIKE A HIDDEN TAX. AND ALSO STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT IN, YOU KNOW, IN LOS ANGELES THERE WAS A BAN SIMILAR TO THE SORT THAT ZONES THAT EXPERIENCE. THE BAN SHOWED A 6% LOWER SALES AND A 10% DROP IN EMPLOYMENT, WHILE OUTSIDE OF THE BAN INCREASED IN GAINS WITH SALES AND EMPLOYMENT. SO TO ME, IT SOUNDS MORE OF A BEHAVIORAL ISSUE RATHER THAN A BAG ISSUE, WHETHER IT'S IN DISTRICT 25 OR DISTRICT SIX OR DISTRICT 14 OR DISTRICT 21, I THINK WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF THE BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF THAT. AND YOU CAN'T BLAME THE BAG FOR. JOE THROWING IT ON THE STREET. YOU HAVE TO DO A BETTER JOB OF EDUCATING JOE, OF WHY IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO THROW IT ON THE STREET, BUT I WILL MOVE FORWARD TO COUNCILWOMAN PARKER, I JUST WANTED TO REMIND PEOPLE, TOO, THAT LIKE THE GROCERY STORES, IF THEY'RE THE WORST OFFENDERS, THEY ALSO RECYCLE THEIR BAGS.

SO YOU'RE YOU'RE YOU CAN ALWAYS TAKE YOUR BAGS BACK AND RECYCLE THEM. BUT I TEND TO RECYCLE MY OWN BAGS. I, I NEVER THROW AWAY MY PLASTIC BAGS. I PUT THEM IN MY GARBAGE CANS BECAUSE I'M

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[3. R-137-25     A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ACCEPT A CASH DONATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $211,581.35 AS BENEFICIARY OF TWO ANNUITIES BELONGING TO RONALD SCHAGENE TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION. Action Required By: April 30, 2026 Sponsors: Dan Seum, Jr. (R-13) ]

AGAIN, WE HAVE NO IDEA WHO THIS INDIVIDUAL IS OR THE STORY OR THE RELATIONSHIP THAT THIS INDIVIDUAL HAD WITH JEFFERSON MEMORIAL FOREST, BUT WE ARE EXTREMELY HUMBLED TO BE TO ACCEPT THE FUNDS TO BE USED FOR IMPROVEMENTS ON JMF. THANK YOU. I'M SURE COUNCILMAN SYME IS GOING TO BE ECSTATIC TO HEAR THIS AND BE EXCITED TO HELP IMPROVE JMF. AS IT IS, IT IS A A HISTORIC, WONDERFUL 7000 ACRE SITE IN THIS CITY AND WE CAN CAPITALIZE ON THAT. SO ANY OTHER QUESTIONS IN REGARDS TO THE ACCEPTANCE OF THIS? ALL IN FAVOR SAY I, I. IMPOSED AND THE RESOLUTION PASSES. THANK YOU. THANK YOU ALL. AND I THINK THAT IS ALL FOR OUR BUSINESS. DO WE

[Adjournment Note: Agendas are followed at the discretion of the Chair. While an item may be listed, it does not mean all items will be heard and/or acted upon by the Committee.]

THANK YOU ALL.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.