URGENT! URGENT! URGENT!
We have a serious problem in our City with black and turkey buzzards. These birds have the ability to cause property damage, damage to our animals and are a health hazard. The birds appeared in the City approximately 60 days ago and the feeling is that their normal roosting place was probably disturbed by a new subdivision or construction site. For the last several weeks after consultation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, we have been using pyrotechnics to try to move these nuisance birds out of our City. The birds are several hundred in number and have been roosting on houses in our City and are currently also roosting on the high-tension tower at Travois Road and U.S. 42. Jim Graven, our Public Works and Code Enforcement Director, has been in constant contact with the Department of Agriculture on this situation. The time to move these birds is at dusk when they roost, and we are told that if we continue to do this, they will move on to another roost. They feed on dead animals, and with our wooded areas and deer population, they might be around for a while.
If you encounter these birds in any of your trees, please contact Jim Graven or any of your Councilmen at once. Please take this seriously, because the property damage can be extensive, in addition to the health risk.
Please refer to the 5-page attachment (click here) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which tells you everything you ever want to know about vultures! Please pay special attention to the second page on property damage and health and safety threats.
WELCOME TO SPRING
Having told you about our avian invasion, we want to officially welcome spring in Indian Hills! (We know it is not quite time for spring on our calendar, but it is only a few weeks away.)
Other than the vultures, it has been a pretty quiet winter in our City. In fact, at our last Council meeting in February, our Police Chief Kelly Spratt reported that there were no arrests in our City in the month of January. In addition, because of the weather and a very mild winter, we have not had the expenditures that we had budgeted for snow removal. This makes up for some of the tremendous costs we had last year for these purposes.
CONGRATULATIONS, COUNCILMAN RIC CUSICK
Speaking of our last City Council meeting, your Board was very pleased to congratulate our Councilman Ric Cusick on being appointed Director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics in Washington D. C., heading an independent executive agency that reports directly to the White House. This is a tremendous honor for Ric who has been a very dedicated Council member in our City for a number of years. We wish him the best in this highly visible national post.
YARD SALE ORDINANCE UPDATED
In 2004 the Council passed a yard sale Ordinance 04-01 relating to the regulation of yard sales in Indian Hills. A recent fiasco at an estate sale on Hempstead Road has caused your City Council to revisit this ordinance. The Council discussed yard sales in general and why neighbors should have to contend with cars parked in their yards, leaving ruts. Also, Our Police Department had to spend hours controlling traffic to see that vehicles did not park on both sides of the narrow street, blocking the street for any emergency vehicles.
The Council will have the final reading of Ordinance 06-02 at the March 16 City Council meeting. This ordinance will require a deposit of $500 for a permit to have a yard / estate / garage / etc. sale. $300 of this will be refunded to the permit holder if there is no damage to the street and rights-of-way bordering thereon by those attending the sale. Any repairs will be deducted from that $300 of deposit and the balance refunded to the permit holder. $200 of the deposit fee is non-refundable and will be used by the City to provide police surveillance, security and patrolling during the sale, including the handling of traffic (this will generally require an extra officer on duty at the time of the sale). Any violation of this ordinance is subject to a civil penalty in the amount of $1,000.
OTHER ITEMS
- As spring approaches and we think about additions to our homes, pools, fences, etc., do not forget all of these actions need permits which can be obtained by contacting Works Director Jim Graven or any of your Council members.
- We are starting work on the budget for the July 1, 2006-June 30, 2007 fiscal year, and we always mention the importance of letting your insurance company know that insurance premium taxes should be sent to the "City of Indian Hills." This is an important item for the City in that it amounts to about $100,000 in revenue that we do not have to collect in taxes from our residents. This is an insurance premium tax which is automatically deducted, but, if you do not tell your insurance carrier to send it to Indian Hills, the money goes to Metro Government, which provides none of your services. So please tell your insurance companies to remit insurance premium tax to
CITY OF INDIAN HILLS
P. 0. Box 6289
Louisville, KY 40206-6289
[If you have access to Microsoft WORD you may download a WORD document that will print a full sheet of remittance notification labels on Avery 8160 labels (or equivalent) by clicking here and saving the WORD file to your PC]
DELINQUENT CITY TAXES
Speaking of taxes, we still have some delinquent taxes for the current year and those residents will receive a letter shortly listing delinquent tax plus penalty and interest. Formal liens will be filed for those who do not pay. It is always amazing to see that the delinquent list includes many of the same residents from year to year.
CITY WEBSITE
We have changed the front page of the newsletter somewhat to include our website address. While we have mentioned it in previous newsletters, we have now included it in a prominent spot for everyone to see. Our new Councilman Joel Deming asked why this was not on our newsletter, and we agreed with him that it should be included. This website contains much good information such as the City budget, a history of the City, meeting schedules, Police Department phone numbers and even several years of past newsletters.
F.Y.I.
The Louisville Water Company is in the early planning stages of building a chemical processing and storage facility on Reservoir Park, which adjoins a current settling basin located in the vicinity of Frankfort Avenue and Hillcrest. There have been a number of concerns expressed, included an article in the Courier-Journal on February 10, 2006, another on February 27 and another on March 2. There are concerns about safety and its potential effect on the surrounding areas that would include Indian Hills. We are sure that you will want to know more information about this issue; the opponents of this site have created the website http:\\www.savereservoirpark.org.
GARBAGE, RECYCLING AND YARD WASTE
The City of Indian Hills contracts with Rumpke for our sanitation purposes. Garbage pickup is at the rear of the residence; curbside recycling, and curbside yard waste pickup are also included in our contract. Rumpke will do the collection on Tuesdays of each week. You may wish to keep this article for future reference.
- Garbage Collection: Up to 3 cans of garbage will be picked up in the rear of your home every Tuesday. Any amount over 3 cans must be taken to the curb for pickup. Be sure that your trash is located outside your garage on collection day. If your garage is visible to the street, keep the cans in the garage out of public view at all other times. It is Rumpke's policy to collect one large item in addition to the regular household trash. Examples include unwanted furniture, appliances (except for refrigerators), etc. This extra junk pickup should be placed at the curb, preferably after dark on the previous evening.
- Recycling: Bins with lids are provided to each household to hold. These bins are to be placed at the curb each Tuesday morning (be sure to use the lids to keep paper from blowing throughout the neighborhood). The following items can be placed in the bins:
- Plastic bottles and jars #1 through #7 Newspapers, including advertising insertsTelephone booksMagazines and catalogues that are no thicker than one inchOffice and computer paperPaperboard and beverage carrying casesGift boxes, cereal boxes, cake mix boxes, etc. (No delivery pizza boxes)Glass bottles and jars, all colors as well as clear Tin, steel, bi-metal food cansAluminum cansAluminum foil and foil food containersCorrugated cardboard bundles two feet by two feet
- Yard Waste: Yard waste pickup will occur every Tuesday. The collection schedule will be from March until the end of November. It will resume the first Tuesday in March. Tree limbs must be cut into sections no longer than 4 feet lengths and bundled with twine or wire. Leaves, plans, weeds, etc. can be placed in any container of your choice.
[Note - Also see Waste Management and our Quick Reference]
COPS CORNER
By Col. Kelly W. Spratt, Chief of Police
Information Update - The Indian Hills Police Department is in the process of updating its database of resident information. We are asking for interested residents to complete the attached form and return it by mail or fax (return information is located on the bottom of the form). This is completely voluntary. All information will be transferred into the Department's computer database, with the completed forms shredded after entry. This data is used solely for the purposes of house watch and emergency contact information.
Officer Roger Calhoun - In January, the Indian Hills Police Department hired Roger Calhoun as a full-time Police Officer. Officer Calhoun began his career with the Jefferson County Police Department in 1985, and retired from the Louisville Metro Police Department last year. Officer Calhoun has extensive patrol experience and is a valuable asset to the Department.
Retired Officer Ruril "Judge" Lowhorn - Retired Officer Lowborn recently underwent surgery to remove one of his kidneys. He is recovering well with the help of his wife, Donna, who is a current Police Officer with our Department. Please keep the Lowhorns in your thoughts and prayers.
Click here for a more easily printable version of the following form.
ADDRESS:_____________________________________________________________________________________
RESIDENT'S LAST NAME:_________________________________________________________________________
RESIDENT'S FIRST NAME(S):______________________________________________________________________
HOME PHONE:__________________________________________________________________________________
WORK PHONE:__________________________________________________________________________________
CELL PHONE:___________________________________________________________________________________
EMERGENCY CONTACT #1 NAME:__________________________________________________________________
EMERGENCY CONTACT #1 PHONE:_________________________________________________________________
EMERGENCY CONTACT #2 NAME:__________________________________________________________________
ENERGENCY CONTACT #2 PHONE:_________________________________________________________________
ALARM COMPANY NAME:_________________________________________________________________________
ALARM COMPANY PHONE:________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL: ___________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
RETURN TO:
INDIAN HILLS POLICE DEPARTMENT
3738 RIVER ROAD
LOUISVILLE, KY 40207
OR BY
FAX # 895-0005