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A Monthly Summary of
News and Events in Old Louisville |
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Volume 29, Issue 8 |
August 2007 |
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2nd Annual Music in Councilman George Unseld,
along with Legacies Unlimited, will be sponsoring the 2nd Annual
Music in Central Park Festival and Tennis Tournament August 24-26,
2007. Friday night’s entertainment is “OLD SCHOOL” with national
headliner Ronnie Laws; Saturday night is jazz and funk with Tom
Brown instrumentalist on horn of Funkin in Jamaica fame; Sunday will
conclude with top local artists of Gospel. Deadline to sign up for
the Tennis Tournament is August 18th. Last years crowd drew over
2,000 fans during the weekend.
TOURLOUISVILLE TO ADD WALKING TOUR TO ITS REPERTOIRE
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First Sunday Music Concert
The Old Louisville Neighborhood Council’s 2007
“Sunday Concerts in Central Park” series will commence on
Sunday, June 3rd. The Concerts are scheduled from 4:00PM to
5:30PM with the exception of the concert offered during the St.
James Court Art Show weekend when the concert will be held from
2:00PM to 3:30P |
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 Garden
Buddies!Need some help in the garden? We’ll do the work for you! Weeding, planting, mulching, deadheading, light pruning, etc. Call Joan or Linda 634-3813 • 635-1251 |
Editorial Policy: Letters and articles submitted to The Old Louisville Journal may be edited with regard to space and/or content. Letters to the Editor must be signed with a verifiable signature and address |
In
addition to its regular driven ghost tours and historical tours,
TourLouisville will start offering a weekly walking tour of Old
Louisville. The 90-minute tour will depart the Visitors Center in
Old Louisville at 218 West Oak Street Saturday mornings at 11:00 and
the cost will be $15 per person. The informative tours, led by a
knowledgeable Old Louisville resident, are designed to showcase the
colorful history and wonderful architecture of our unique
neighborhood. Particpants will learn about important structures
along Millionaire’s Row on Third Street and will then walk through
the charming Belgravia and St James Court area before discovering
the charms of Floral Terrace and Ormsby Avenue. For more information
call 502.637.2922 
Dear Editor:
On May 9th, supporters of the Louisville Free Public Library announced an initiative to place, on this November’s ballot, a vote to increase Jefferson County’s occupational tax by two tenths of one percent to raise $38.9 million to revamp a library system that was once one of the nation’s best but which has, in recent years, fallen on hard times.
Many communities - most, in fact - struggle to fund their “community assets” - especially these days of tighter budgets all around. Most strive to solve one problem at a time, like the library proposal or, just last year, the Louisville Orchestra funding shortfall. A smaller number, however, have boldly decided to address funding issues for multiple projects simultaneously as part of a grander, more comprehensive package, sometimes called Quality of Life initiatives.
Seattle, Denver and Pittsburgh among them, these communities have enacted far-reaching, tax-supported programs that establish funding mechanisms through which a multitude of projects are supported, enabling each community to provide an ongoing revenue stream to support everything from parks to zoos to sports facilities to light rail systems to the arts.
Louisville should do the same.
Not only would the successful implementation of such an initiative make us instantly more competitive, I believe that a grander program would actually have a better chance of passage since, unlike the narrow focus of the library proposal, almost every voter would likely have a special affinity for one or more of the numerous beneficiaries of a broader plan.
The effort, energy, money and political capital it would take to get the library tax passed would be not be significantly different from that needed to pass a much broader, more visionary alternative - so why not go for the gusto?
Further, the Library vote, successful or not, would effectively poison the well for any other initiative down the road. Once that political capital was spent, it is unlikely that anyone would dare consider another attempt for anything else in the foreseeable future.
Raising the occupational tax rate by five tenths instead of two, for example, would garner $99.5 million annually. Or, another alternative, adding a penny to the sales tax in Jefferson County would garner at least $100,000,000 per year according to University of Louisville economist Paul Coomes. Many consider the sales tax option to be less regressive since only those who spend actually pay the tax therefore reducing the burden on folks with lower incomes.
Each initiative in each city is like a fingerprint; unique to local needs, local desires and local or state governmental structures and limitations. Some have a time limit and some are perpetual. They can be based upon property, occupational or sales taxes or some combination.
As an example for consideration, I would like to share some details of the Allegheny Regional Asset District in Pittsburgh primarily because it included, from its inception, funding for a wide variety of programs and projects, large and small – including libraries.
Created in 1994, the Allegheny Regional Asset District is a special purpose unit of local government but has no independent taxing authority. Allegheny County was authorized by the Pennsylvania Legislature to levy a 1% sales tax in addition to the state sales tax in order to fund the activities of the District and provide funds for county and local government tax reform. Allegheny County is not able to increase the tax levy without additional state approval.
Jefferson County would also have to get legislative approval for a broader plan based upon the occupational tax. Some say that permission is unlikely to be granted. They forget, however, that twice in the last 5 years the Legislature did exactly that with Merger in 2002 and the hotel tax in the 2007 session. The sales tax option, while less regressive, would also require a constitutional amendment. Amendment language for a “local option” is currently under consideration.
One important note regarding the Pittsburg plan: of those taxes collected in Allegheny County, 25% goes directly to County government and 25% goes to the other municipal governments within Allegheny County – a component that we would likely choose not to emulate.
The remaining 50%, which is directly relevant to this conversation, goes to the Asset District and is distributed to libraries, parks, sports facilities and civic, cultural and recreational entities of all sizes.
That distribution is made by a Board of Directors composed of four persons appointed by the County Chief Executive, two appointed by the Mayor of Pittsburgh and one person elected by those six appointees. Each proposed allocation requires the support of six of the seven Board members.
The Board also appoints a 27-person Advisory Board to provide public input and comment on policies and procedures for maximum accountability.
The final budget allocation for 2006 totaled $74 million of which 31% supported libraries, 27% for parks, 10% for special facilities (zoo, aviary, conservatory), 22% for sports facilities and 9% for art and cultural organizations.
In the eleven years of its existence, the Allegheny Regional Asset District has distributed over $826 million to almost 150 projects and organizations. Little wonder Pittsburgh’s star has been consistently rising.
We would need to follow a similar path in this state. Unlike California and Oregon, and similar to Pennsylvania, Kentucky is not a referendum state. In order to attain the ability to vote on such a tax, Jefferson County would first need to be granted permission to do so by the General Assembly either for a single opportunity on a single issue like merger or, as many would prefer, to have the ongoing opportunity, the local option, in place as needs occur.
Yes, it would take longer than the library tax vote planned for this Fall, but the payoff would be worth the wait.
If a program is presented to the public properly, if the long-term benefits are clearly demonstrated and if the subsequent expenditures are very detailed, many believe that the public would respond favorably. Thirty-four years ago, the last time we passed a tax increase by referendum to create TARC, Mayor Harvey Sloane and County Judge Executive Todd Hollenbach led just such an effort.
Almost two decades ago, the people of Kentucky, hardly a tax-and-spend state, voted to raise the state sales tax by a penny, primarily to benefit our educational system. A compelling case was made and Kentuckians responded. And, we will again. As a community, a state or a nation, we have to decide what we want and then we have to pay for it. Initiatives like the Allegheny Regional Asset District, and others like it across the nation, provide a template for our future.
Louisville has spent the better part of a generation sticking its toe in the water while other communities have left us in their wake. Isn’t it time that we jumped in, body and soul, and made the big splash we need and deserve?
Ken Herndon
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 Yard
ServiceMowing, Trimming, Blowing, Raking, Tilling, and Small Tree Service. Call Joe at 635-1251 or 377-6600 |
Adventures In New Kentucky Cooking
David Dominé’s latest project, “ADVENTURES IN NEW KENTUCKY COOKING with the Bluegrass Peasant,” has gone to print and should hit the shelves sometime in September. The 184-page, hardcover book features color photographs and more than a hundred recipes showcasing the bounty of Kentucky kitchens and local farmers. David is a food writer and restaurant reviewer for Kentucky Monthly and Arts Across Kentucky magazines, and he has put together this collection of unique recipes after years of traveling the back roads and byways of his adopted state in search of the perfect meal. Popular recipes include Bourbonnais filet mignon, white corn and hominy fritters, bourbon bleu cheese slaw, white asparagus vinaigrette with country ham crumbles, butter lettuce with Benedictine dressing, sorghum-wheat rolls, Four Roses apple kuchen and raspberry bourbon shrub. To purchase your autographed copy, stop by the Visitors Center in Historic Old Louisville at 218 West Oak Street (502.637.2922) or check your favorite bookseller. Watch the Old Louisville Journal and local newspapers for dates of upcoming signings and appearances.
For more information, contact McClanahan Publishing House at (800)544-6959 or books@kybooks.com.
ISBN 978-0-913383-97-1 Price: $24.95
Toonerville Fundraiser
The Toonerville Trolley Neighborhood Association is selling Note Cards using its logo and tagline – Old Louisville’s East End – to assist with neighborhood-wide improvements, such as purchasing and installing “Old Louisville” trash receptacles. The blank inside note cards w/envelopes come packaged 10/each to a shrink-wrapped set and sell for $10/set: $7.50/set to members of the Toonerville Trolley Neighborhood Association.
The cards can be purchased at both Carmichael’s Bookstores, or contact Dennis Lisack at 635-7503.
If it’s Wednesday – between 7:00PM and 10:00PM…we invite you to join us for a walk on Oak Street.
Initiated by Mr. Lee Jones of the Oak Street Hardware Store we have started to walk along Oak Street: it has been fun. We have offered to escort folks from the senior Homes, the Puritan, the Baptist Towers and the Hildebrand House. We’ve met old familiar faces/neighbors. We’ve met new ones as well.
The word is spreading by mouth and via a multilayer E-mail Tree.
From time to time special events are being offered by either the local restaurants or by others interested in making this a social success for all.
We are working on improving wheel chair access where it is needed.
Often we are joined by walking police officers when their time permits. Major Green is a very familiar face on the sidewalks of Oak Street, indeed.
Mostly we are having fun, we are getting exercise and we are irritating those unwanted elements/panhandlers. We are also patronizing our local businesses on Oak Street.
Please join us, won’t you?
Walk your dogs!
Helga, Mr. Lee’s secretary or, as he calls me,
“his Wednesday Night wife”
TOURLOUISVILLE NEEDS YOU!
Do you have a commercial driver’s license? Are you interested in helping show off your neighborhood to the many tourists who are checking out the sights in America’s Largest Victorian Neighborhood? If so, please contact David Domine at 502.718.2764 and volunteer your services as driver of TourLouisville’s 22-seat tour bus. Drivers are especially needed for the ‘Friday evening Ghost Tour of Old Louisville’ from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and the Friday and Saturday ‘Mansions and Milestones’ tour from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Are you a natural storyteller? Do you have acting skills? TourLouisville also needs volunteer tour guides and interpreters for its various tours. Training will be provided. Call now and help make your neighborhood a better place!
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BJB |
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Notes from the Crime and Safety committee
By Helga UlrichReport Graffiti – procedure
Please be timely in reporting any graffiti as it is often gang related; it is undesirable and should be removed or covered up within days that it appears.
Call Metrocall at 311 or write to Metrocall@louisvilleky.gov about ALL Graffiti.
As with most complaints Metrocall logs and forwards to the appropriate department for resolution and you will get a service request number that you can follow up.
FYI there are different departments within Louisville Metro that will be removing/covering up graffiti so it is important to report graffiti exactly where it is located
I confirmed that it is not legal to cover up graffiti on either private property (owner can consider this as much defacing as the graffiti itself) and based on what the manager of Facility Management (Matt Riggs) told me NOT legal to paint over graffiti yourself.
Here are examples where you might find graffiti and who will remove it or cover it up:
· On private property — IP&L or Facility Management which is part of Public Works
· On Street signs, the electrical boxes that control traffic lights, the column and sides of Railroad overpasses — Facility management
· On the upper support beams of railroad crossings – the Railroads are responsible
· On fire Hydrants — the fire department
· On Bus stops — TARC
· On Power Poles — LG&E
August Calendar
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1 Oak Street Neighborhood Walk
7:00-10:00 p.m.
Old Lou Farm Works Mkt, 3-6pm; Walnut St. Ch. lot
2
ZALU 7p.m. OLIC
3
TourLouisville
2:30pm Mansion & Milestones Tour, $25, 637.2922
7:30pm Ghost Tour, $25, 637.2922
4 TourLouisville 11:00am Old Louisville Walking Tour, $15, 637.2922
2:30pm Mansion & Milestones Tour, $25, 637.2922
5
Concert in Central
Park, 4:00-5:30 pm
6
7
8
Oak Street Neighborhood Walk
7:00-10:00 p.m.
Old Lou Farm Works Mkt, 3-6pm; Walnut St. Ch. lot
9
PIC Meeting
7:00 p.m.
OLIC
10
TourLouisville
2:30pm Mansion & Milestones Tour, $25, 637.2922
7:30pm Ghost Tour, $25, 637.2922
11 TourLouisville 11:00am Old Louisville Walking Tour, $15, 637.2922
2:30pm Mansion & Milestones Tour, $25, 637.2922
12
13
14
15 3rd St. NA, 7p.m.
Oak Street Neighborhood Walk
7:00-10:00 p.m.
Old Lou Farm Works Mkt, 3-6pm; Walnut St. Ch. lot
16
Toonerville NA
St. Philip Chapel,
7 p.m.
17
TourLouisville
2:30pm Mansion & Milestones Tour, $25, 637.2922
7:30pm Ghost Tour, $25, 637.2922
18 TourLouisville 11:00am Old Louisville Walking Tour, $15, 637.2922
2:30pm Mansion & Milestones Tour, $25, 637.2922
19
20
Crime & Safety
7 p.m., OLIC
21
22 CPW NA,
7:00 p.m.
Haskins Hall
Oak Street Walk
7:00-10:00 p.m.
Old Lou Farm Works Mkt, 3-6pm; Walnut St. Ch. lot
23
24
2nd Annual Music in Central Park Festival and Tennis Tournament
"OLD SCHOOL" Concert 7p.m.
25
2nd Annual Music in Central Park Festival and Tennis Tournament
Jazz & Funk Concert 7p.m.
26 2nd Annual Music in Central Park Festival and Tennis
Gospel Concert 5p.m.
SSNA 5:00
Kling Center
27 Project PickUp
Week
28 OLIC 6
OLNC 7
29
Old Lou Farm Works Mkt, 3-6pm; Walnut St. Ch. lot
30
31
TourLouisville
2:30pm Mansion & Milestones Tour, $25, 637.2922
7:30pm Ghost Tour, $25, 637.2922
The Old Louisville Journal is published monthly by the Old Louisville Information Center, Inc. (OLIC), a 501(c)(3) corporation, incorporated in 1984, for the purpose of receiving tax deductible contributions. OLIC is affiliated with the Old Louisville Neighborhood Council (OLNC), a 501 (c) (4) non-profit association incorporated in 1976 to serve as the recognized voice of the Old Louisville Neighborhood.
Submit Journal
contributions to the Editor:
Old Louisville Information Center
1340 S. Fourth St., Louisville, KY 40208.
Phone: (502) 635-5244
E-mail: olnc@bellsouth.net
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Please submit “Letters to the Editor” to the above address.
The 15th of each month is deadline for submission of all ads and articles.
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