The election is days away and you can vote in either of two ways.  Voters who will be outside Jefferson County on Election Day are among those who can vote by in-person absentee.  More information about voting absentee is here: http://www.elections.jeffersoncountyclerk.org/absentee_voting.shtml.

If you qualify to vote by absentee ballot, you can do that now at the Jefferson County Clerk’s Election Center, which has moved to 701 West Ormsby Avenue, Suite 301.  In-house absentee voting is available for qualified individuals today and tomorrow, November 3 and 4, from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, on Saturday, November 5 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm., and on Monday, November 7 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Election Day voting is from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8. If you want to check your polling place or see a sample ballot, you can do that here: http://ags2.lojic.org/WhereDoIVote/. Exercise your right to vote this fall! 

Many Seneca Park walking path users have contacted me about uneven surfaces and potential  tripping hazards on the path.  We're happy to report that some of them have been eliminated in recent work. About one-third  of the path has been repaved in the last few months.   The work has taken place in two phases, both on the western end of the path.  Additional sections will be repaved as funds become available. 

The improvements to the heavily used 1.2 Mile walking path are the second major effort at Seneca Park this year.  The ten tennis courts there were renovated earlier this year.   Our parks have suffered from years of deferred maintenance.  The budget Metro Council passed this year substantially increased funds for work in our parks.  There is much more to do but we are glad to see these improvements to Seneca Park. 

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has issued a final report on its corridor study for Chenoweth Lane, from Shelbyville Road to Brownsboro Road. The report recommends sidewalk improvements throughout the area, which I support. Drainage improvements would also be made.

From the railroad tracks to Massie Avenue, curbs and gutters are proposed, with the northern section, from Massie to Brownsboro Road, retaining a more rural character. Three-lane widening, which was opposed by me, a citizens group, STOP The Widening of Chenoweth Lane, and the vast majority of others submitting comments, is NOT recommended and neither is the addition of left-turn lanes at any intersection. Bicycle lanes are also not recommended. The study is at this link: http://transportation.ky.gov/Planni…/…/Project-Details.aspx…

Thanks to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for taking- and listening to- much public input in this process. The next step is Phase I Design work.

Louisville Water Company’s (LWC) proposal for a stand-by electric generator and access road at its Crescent Hill Water Treatment Plant on Frankfort Avenue went before the Planning Commission’s  Development Review Committee on Wednesday, November 2.  The committee concluded that LWC’s plan was in substantial compliance with the community’s Comprehensive Plan but suggested changes be made so as to minimize the project’s impact on pedestrians along Frankfort Avenue.  Among the suggested changes was reducing the width of the new access road across from Hillcrest Avenue and working to minimize any disruption to pedestrians while construction of the access road occurs.  A motion with the approval and those suggested changes passed unanimously. I spoke about the road and the pedestrian issues at the meeting.   

At a prior public meeting, Louisville Water announced that it had modified the design of the proposed building, adding stonework and other features to make it resemble a building on the property which dates to 1926.  In addition, the proposed building will now have a more environmentally-friendly white roof and a proposed fence has been pushed back from Frankfort Avenue to allow more accessible green space along the sidewalk.  Those changes were suggested by neighbors at an earlier public meeting and in follow-up communications.  In addition, an exit-only drive across from Hillcrest Avenue is now proposed to be constructed of historic concrete mix, rather than asphalt.  The changes are projected to add nearly $800,000 to the cost of the project. 

LWC hopes to begin construction of the project in 2017. 

The Fall holiday season means many pumpkins must be disposed of in Louisville once their days as decoration are over. This year Metro Public Works (MPW) has a special request for residents: Don’t trash that pumpkin!

MPW’s Solid Waste Division wants citizens to put their real pumpkins out with their regular yard waste for collection instead of putting them in the garbage. That will allow crews to recycle the pumpkins, along with yard waste, into mulch to be reused in landscaping and gardening. It will help make Louisville look good and prevent the gourds from taking up landfill space.

Pumpkins must be free of decoration other than coloring. This program applies to residents of the Urban Services District (old City of Louisville boundaries). Customers of other Jefferson County municipalities and of private haulers should check with them regarding pumpkin disposal.

Yard waste is collected on the same day as recycling. To find the recycling date for a particular address, type the address into the MyLouisville tool at the bottom of the Louisvilleky.gov website or click here.

We’d like to feature your sustainability story - a resident or business doing good things for the environment.  Riding the bus, bicycling, walking, gardening and more - our eNews will feature practices which can benefit all of us.  Send your story to Bill Hollander or Kyle Ethridge. 

The sports spotlight will shine on D9’s Eva Bandman Park for international cycling this weekend, as the Derby City Cup returns for a 10th year. Both days of cyclo-cross events for elite athletes will include Category 1 and Category 2 races sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the governing body for the sport of cycling. Derby City Cup is one of eight events in the country that offers C1 races for women and men on the USA Cycling Professional Cyclo-cross Calendar (Pro CX), the highest level of professional cyclo-cross racing in the United States.

Managed by the Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) and Cadence Sports, the Derby City Cup expects to attract more than 1,200 cyclists to compete in 60 categorized cyclo-cross races. Both days will feature the Mudfund UCI Elite Junior races for men, ages 17-18. Derby City Cup is one of four events in the country that offers UCI-sanctioned races for 17-18 year olds for both days of racing.

In 2009, Louisville Metro government made a significant investment in the 60-acre Eva Bandman Park to create a world class cyclo-cross course that includes a permanent fly-over and many sport-specific features. Designed by one of the top course designers in the business, Eva Bandman Park offers scenic views of downtown Louisville and the Ohio River. It hosted the 2013 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, and the 2012 and 2013 UCI Cyclo-cross Masters World Championships. Its signature limestone stairs run-up area is located adjacent to the food truck area. Spectators will also enjoy commentary by race announcers and all-day music. Admission is free for spectators. Parking inside the park is $5 per car. There is no parking along River Road or along the entrance to the park.

For a detailed schedule of events, click here. 

Louisville Metro residents not mulching autumn leaves into their lawns or using curbside collection will have the option to dispose of them at one of three drop-off sites beginning November 8 through December 3. Drop-off will not be available on November 24 and 25 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Only loose leaves will be accepted. Containers used to bring leaves to the drop-off sites must be disposed of off-site by residents.

Leaf drop off sites:

• Public Works Yard, 10500 Lower River Road (enter from Bethany Lane), Tuesday – Saturday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• Public Works East District Operations Center, 595 Hubbards Lane, Tuesday – Saturday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• Public Works Waste Reduction Center, 636 Meriwether Avenue, Tuesday – Friday:  9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday:  9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Join in celebrating the publication of "We Can Hear You Just Fine: Clarifications from the Kentucky School for the Blind" and get your book signed by the authors on Thursday, November 10 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Clifton Center, 2117 Payne Street. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees will enjoy readings by the authors, remarks by Congressman John Yarmuth, Gary Mudd of the American Printing House for the Blind, and Louisville Story Program staff.

During the 2015-16 school year, the Louisville Story Program worked closely with seven students from the Kentucky School for the Blind in daily afterschool writing workshops to help them write about their lives and experiences. The students also developed oral histories based on interviews they conducted with others in their lives. Their hard work culminated in "We Can Hear You Just Fine: Clarifications from the Kentucky School for the Blind," the nation’s first professionally published nonfiction anthology written by blind and visually impaired teenagers. The essays in We Can Hear You Just Fine offer vivid, incisive and illuminating portraits of their lives. They cover a range of topics: the travails and triumphs of visual impairment, the difficulties of marginalization, the decision to leave home to attend the Kentucky School for the Blind, learning to live with schizoaffective disorder, the rapid life changes attending pregnancy and childbirth, pastoral recollections of rural communities, an autodidact’s path to producing his own internet radio show, and the relief of finding community and achieving independence. Their book highlights the particularities of their lives, but also serves as a poignant reminder that the desire for acceptance and dignity, and the drive to succeed and make meaning in the world, is common to all of us.

District 9 is happy to make this event possible at the Clifton Center. Please join us!

We are always happy to hear from constituents.  To make meeting with us in person more convenient, we’ll be holding office hours at various places around District 9, in addition to our regular, evening D9 Community Conversations.  On Tuesday, November 15, from 10:00 a.m. – Noon, we’ll be at the Kentucky School for the Blind, 1867 Frankfort Avenue. Please stop by with any questions or concerns. You can also call anytime at 574-1109 or email me. 

MSD will host an Advanced Design Meeting concerning the I-64 & Grinstead CSO (Combined Sewer Overflow) Basin on Tuesday, November 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana Building, 2115 Lexington Road. At this meeting, MSD will provide information about the advanced design phase of the project and offer you an opportunity to provide input concerning the project. This basin will greatly lessen the occurrence of combined sewer overflows – untreated sewage – entering Beargrass Creek during rain events.

If you are unable to attend, you may take the meeting survey – available a few days after the meeting – online at http://tinyurl.com/MSDI-64Grinstead3

Thanks to all who attended the public meeting at the Clifton Center on October 17 to discuss the Beargrass Creek Trail Conceptual Shared Use Path and Ecological Restoration Plan. Please see links to the project documents here. To share your comments on this plan with Metro Parks and Recreation staff, please click here. 

The third and final public meeting will likely be held within the next few months. Metro Parks will be sure to update everyone as to when the meeting will take place. 

For the past several years, the District 9 office has hosted a mobile tax preparation site at United Crescent Hill Ministries, offering free tax preparation to individuals and families under a certain income bracket. Each year we depend on volunteers to help prepare taxes and greet clients at our mobile site. We have a few dedicated volunteers that help us out every year, but we need more! This year we’d like to offer additional tax preparation dates and hope you’ll consider joining our team! If you are interested in volunteering for the 2016 tax season (February-April 2017) please contact Kyle Ethridge or call 574-1109. The first volunteer training will be offered in December. Volunteers are needed to help prepare taxes AND greet clients.

On Friday, December 9, from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm, the 9th District office, in partnership with U of L Hospital and the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, will offer FREE mammograms at the Clifton Center, 2117 Payne Street.  To make an appointment please contact my office at 574-3908.  Mammograms are for women age 40 and over. There is no cost to eligible women without insurance.  Women with insurance will need to bring their card so a claim may be filed. 

This is intended to clarify the rules on when garbage is allowed to be set out for collection, and when the emptied carts must be removed from the curb. These rules apply to collection in the Urban Services District (old City of Louisville boundaries).

Collection Schedule

• Residential garbage is collected once per week on a Monday-Friday schedule.
• If you don't know your garbage day, click here to enter your address in the MyLouisville tool to find out. 
• Garbage must be set at the curb or the alley no later than 6 AM on collection day, but no earlier than 4 PM the day before collection day.
• All containers must be removed from the street or alley no later than 4 PM the day after collection.
• Failure to observe these rules will result in a fine of at least $50.
• There is no garbage collection on Metro Government holidays.
• When a holiday falls on a weekday, all collections for that day (garbage, yard waste, and recyclables) will occur the following day. All collections for the remainder of the week are delayed for one day.

Click here for the full list of garbage guidelines. 

A new automated telephone and online appointment system that will help clients schedule appointments to apply for home energy assistance was recently launched. LIHEAP, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, is a federally funded, income-based program that provides financial help to low-income households in meeting the costs of heating their home. LIHEAP assistance is a one-time benefit, paid to the heating vendor. The LIHEAP Subsidy Component operates through Dec. 9, 2016, or until funding is depleted, whichever comes first. 

Residents are required to get an appointment to apply, and in the past, they had to stand in line for that part of the process and then return for the appointment itself. But this year, Community Services is launching a new automated service for LIHEAP appointment scheduling. Citizens will be able to make appointments by calling (502) 991-8391 or by going to http://www.louisvilleky.cascheduler.com.

Citizens seeking an appointment will be able to get needed information and to schedule an appointment. The system, which will operate 24-hours per day, seven days a week, provides a confirmation number indicating that an appointment was successfully scheduled.

Also new this year: Four Neighborhood Place sites will be open for LIHEAP application appointments, in addition to the Newburg Community Center/East (4810 Exeter Ave.) and the Southwest Government Center (7219 Dixie Highway).

• Northwest Neighborhood Place/Academy at Shawnee, 4018 W Market St.
• South Central Neighborhood Place, 4255 Hazelwood Ave.
• Neighborhood Place Ujima/Duvalle Education Center, 3610 Bohne Ave.
• Neighborhood Place/Bridges of Hope, 1411 Algonquin Pkwy.

Appointments will no longer be made at the Urban Government Center at 810 Barret Avenue, which is closing.

For the Subsidy Phase of LIHEAP, residents can apply regardless of the status of their utility bills. Applicants must be Louisville Metro/Jefferson County residents with a household income at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. They must also provide the following documentation at the time of their appointment.

• Proof of all household income for the preceding month (Food Stamp award letter, Social Security Award letter, pay stubs, etc. or proof of $0 income. Note: Zero Income forms are available at the Community Services office at 701 W. Ormsby Ave., Suite 201 or by clicking here.)
• Proof of Social Security number or Permanent Residence card (Green Card) for each member of the household.
• Most current heating bill; or statement from your landlord if heating expenses are included in your rent; or statement from your utility company if you participate in a pre-pay electric program. Please bring the account number and name on the account for main heating fuel sources and electric.

Individuals who are unable to apply for this program in person may send a representative on their behalf with a note including the applicant’s signature and phone number. Call 574-1157 for more details on how this process works. Residents who are homebound and who are unable to send a representative may call 502-485-7230 ext. 2239.

Callers who require more information can contact MetroCall 311 by simply dialing 311 or 574-5000, email metro.call@louisvilleky.gov, visit the website’s On Line Customer Service or Live Chat at http://www.louisvilleky.gov/metrocall, tweet @LouMetro311, or download the free Mobile 311 app from the website.  Residents can also call Metro United Way’s 2-1-1 help referral service.