[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6561336,"mediaKeyId","3291345-aac2e2eb2c96d1c2b0e24dda87868628","parentId",3291345,"title","Richmond City Commission adopts vacant-property, tobacco and multiple administrative orders; holds first reading on recovery-residence rules","audioSeconds",664,"startMs",1502000,"endMs",2166000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3291345-aac2e2eb2c96d1c2b0e24dda87868628&start=1502&end=2166","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3291345-aac2e2eb2c96d1c2b0e24dda87868628/thumbnail_1502000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6561336/Richmond-City/Madison-County/Kentucky/Richmond-City-Commission-adopts-vacant-property-tobacco-and-multiple-administrative-orders-holds-first-reading-on-recovery-residence-rules","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6561336-a1a1649c0122811270dedc243f48aa0c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771182267&Signature=UVWBvl1zsJn5yK1LH7fFMwe6S1--QRLikAaIAW4al7H~jVWTtVVQlCnG8GA4wGYbCIRPP34xwsDNE5w-4hqkISwBy8yqe51SNGeBDvEVGOo6aPrij~jjagqs4sHw3DpZ20U3bnQvpNPQYHb5MOT-q~PtKaHJzidEEBYuWtiEpRU9HSBZavyH4G1e~zlD6qpDF2M1X~VkLog3ctgluyyXUrbudLTWf8CccD-HhLTJo4rG7j2Qji-m4yQImo~zbG-oWt0yIlpR1s-IPlGa4zhF71BjZV3JUq3TGZJwuXlPOuPgPgrDJZqOLXhveIfQ2KcdQ4eKU6oSKcCXAni-37t8iA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Richmond, KY","date","2025-05-13T20:16:11Z","article","At a Richmond City Board of Commissioners meeting, the commission approved a package of ordinances, personnel actions, contracts and purchases affecting downtown property maintenance, public health policy and municipal operations.

The commission voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 25-12, which establishes an abandoned-and-vacant property registration program for the Richmond Historic District. The ordinance requires owners to register vacant properties (residential registration carries no fee; commercial vacancies in the historical district face graduated fees up to $3,500 for five to nine years vacant), requires visible contact postings and establishes maintenance standards for exterior and structural safety. City staff told commissioners the ordinance is intended to discourage long-term blight and encourage re-use.

The commission also adopted Ordinance 25-13, an amendment to the city’s smoking ordinance that adds an exemption for a qualifying “retail tobacco store.” The ordinance defines a retail tobacco store as an establishment that generates greater than 40% of annual local gross sales from the sale of leaf tobacco products and accessories, excludes online sales from that calculation, and permits random city audits of qualifying businesses. Commissioners said the change is intended to allow cigar bars and similar specialty retailers while ensuring consumer disclosure.

Commissioners held a first reading of Ordinance 25-14, a proposed regulatory framework requiring certification and operational standards for recovery residences (sober living). The ordinance references state certification models (Oxford House, National Alliance for Recovery Residences) and cites Kentucky home-rule authority and recently enacted state rules (KRS 222 provisions cited by the city attorney). The measure was introduced and will return for second reading at the next regular meeting; no adoption vote occurred at this meeting.

Votes at a glance (selected items):
- Ordinance 25-12 (abandoned/vacant property registration) — outcome: approved (5–0). Commissioners who voted yes: Commissioner Goble; Commissioner Newby; Commissioner Brewer; Commissioner Cole; Mayor Blythe.
- Ordinance 25-13 (amend smoking ordinance: retail tobacco store exemption) — outcome: approved (5–0).
- Ordinance 25-14 (recovery residences certification) — outcome: first reading (no final vote; second reading scheduled at next regular meeting).

Personnel, contracts and operational orders approved (all recorded as adopted unless noted): hires and transfers for administration, police, public works and parks (Orders 25-70 through 25-73); municipal road aid co-op contract acceptance (Order 25-74); change order No. 4 on the Richmond Regional Sports Complex Phase 1 to add concrete approach aprons at a creek bridge ($28,700) (Order 25-75); an interlocal agreement to establish a consolidated emergency management agency with Madison County and Berea (Order 25-76); vehicle purchases for parks and grounds (truck and ATV, Orders 25-77); personnel reclassifications and promotions (Order 25-78); a residential lease with a city employee for property at 976 Battlefield Memorial Highway (monthly rent $500; city stated fair-market rent $1,000; the rent difference was described in the order as a taxable benefit) (Order 25-79); surplus property disposition via govdeals.com (Order 25-80); an additional codes-enforcement hire (Order 25-81); appointment of Peggy Brooks Thompson to the Madison County Ambulance Board as the city’s representative (Order 25-82); and an employment termination for an employee in the Section 8 department, Angela Causey (Order 25-83).

On the municipal road-aid contract (Order 25-74), the written order text references a figure of $2,025.26 as part of the order packet; during discussion the mayor stated the municipal-aid funds due the city this year total $808,515.90 and described the typical three-payment schedule (60%/30%/10%). The transcript contains both figures; the commission adopted the order. Commissioners said the municipal-aid funding will be used for paving, sidewalks and related street work and that councilmembers should forward suggested streets for consideration later in the summer.

All adoption votes recorded in the meeting for ordinances and orders listed above were recorded as unanimous in the transcript. Where an item was only introduced for first reading (Ordinance 25-14), the commission did not vote to adopt that ordinance at this meeting.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Commission Meeting 2025-5-13","oneSentenceSummary","At a Richmond City Board of Commissioners meeting, the commission approved a package of ordinances, personnel actions, contracts and purchases affecting downtown property maintenance, public health policy and municipal operations.","taxTitle","Richmond City, Madison County, Kentucky","taxId",51048,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6561338,"Madison County Health Department tells Richmond commissioners its harm-reduction program cut local overdose-related calls and boosted syringe returns",496,1016000,1512000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3291345-aac2e2eb2c96d1c2b0e24dda87868628&start=1016&end=1512","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3291345-aac2e2eb2c96d1c2b0e24dda87868628/thumbnail_1016000.jpg","/articles/6561338/Richmond-City/Madison-County/Kentucky/Madison-County-Health-Department-tells-Richmond-commissioners-its-harm-reduction-program-cut-local-overdose-related-calls-and-boosted-syringe-returns","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6561338-23f854a8490b9de198c2fa86618fc170/orig.mp4?Expires=1771182267&Signature=XVHXLswxc5UM0b-TRDMshDjSXnVb5OVjAYAp-xaxI7yGKfn5L8t83hnL6lLsQk5QX9IQfHqIw0chF4oouDmmy209jraNqQpHxV8Fo0cwbVmC~bItFLwABcD0ML5vwI2GUdOmZlINw7l3jZws1uPvARpmBdGj6clNoYE5gX3fm55OrfsI1UTM~bePmMAnjbs2hWVby9X95y5ji1O7qAe9BIveL2y9uwhoJCobTy~VTKksha~G8RAczAnONdEB2NDbGfAk8uNlqa3rKLPRq4o8eT65gPqd1hbwGoBhHfYcuDLW4MbC-NbQEsZ2uM0cfwlVQrvY8doDkvw4b~XZ0epDVw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Shannon Drummond, harm-reduction program coordinator at the Madison County Health Department, told the Richmond City Board of Commissioners that the county program served more than 400 participants in 2024 and achieved a 96% syringe return rate.

The presentation, given during the commission’s public meeting, outlined clinical and public-health outcomes the program links to its services, which include sterile-syringe distribution, naloxone (overdose reversal) distribution, HIV testing, education and active referrals to housing, food, insurance and treatment providers. “We make the phone call with them. We tell them what to expect,” Drummond said, describing the program’s approach to supporting clients through concrete navigation help.

Drummond said the county disposed of more than 70,000 syringes properly last year — “most of them in Richmond, Kentucky” — and reported a roughly 41% decrease in local overdose deaths from about five per month in 2023 to about three per month in 2024. She also said Madison County saw a 29% decline in emergency medical services runs for overdoses over the same period. “So what we’re doing here is working,” she told commissioners.

Drummond gave three short client vignettes to illustrate outcomes: a person who reduced injection frequency from about 10 times a day to cessation of program use after steady reductions; a person whose emergency department visits dropped after education and safer practices; and a pregnant client who was linked to a recovery coach, entered treatment and retained custody of her child.

The coordinator emphasized that syringe services are one part of a broader recovery ecosystem and said the program pairs sterile supplies with relationship-building and referrals. She named AmeriCorps and Voices of Hope as embedded community partners and said the program is data-driven and follows recognized best practices.

Commissioners did not take formal action on the presentation; it was presented for information and community health context.

","Shannon Drummond told the Richmond City Commission that Madison County’s harm-reduction program served more than 400 people in 2024, achieved a 96% syringe return rate and saw local overdose deaths fall about 41% year-over-year; the program distributes sterile supplies, naloxone and connects people to services.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Richmond City Commission adopts vacant-property, tobacco and multiple administrative orders; holds first reading on recovery-residence rules

Madison County Health Department tells Richmond commissioners its harm-reduction program cut local overdose-related calls and boosted syringe returns