I am always happy to hear from constituents.  To make meeting with me in person more convenient, I hold office hours at various places around District 9, in addition to our regular, evening D9 Community Conversations.  On Thursday, November 29, from 10:00 a.m. – Noon, I’ll be at the Jewish Family & Career Center, 2821 Klempner Way. Please stop by with any questions or concerns. You can also call anytime at 574-1109 or email me.

Join your neighbors and police officers for pancakes and conversation today, Thursday, November 29 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Kroger, 2200 Brownsboro Road. No agenda or speeches, just a chance to ask questions, voice concerns and get to know the officers in your neighborhood. Questions, please contact LMPD at 574-7636.

MSD has started performing geotechnical exploration work on Grinstead Drive between Lexington Road and I-64 as part of the I-64 and Grinstead CSO Interceptor Project. This work will involve six 6-inch boring holes to locate an abandoned bridge/culvert under Grinstead Drive, so MSD engineers can design the trenchless portion of the CSO conveyance sewer.

This work will involve temporary lane closures from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. each day. The work is estimated to take two weeks and should conclude on December 10, 2018.

There will be traffic signage and barriers present while the work is being performed. Traffic will be allowed in both directions throughout the phase of this project.

Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) has opened a survey to gather input from parents, students and community members as the district reviews and considers changes to its student assignment plan. The survey runs through Friday, Dec. 21.

Information from the survey, and from a series of community listening sessions held earlier in November, will help form a recommendation to the Jefferson County Board of Education in early 2019. Changes to the plan would begin being implemented in the 2020-21 school year.

The district reviews its student assignment plan every five to seven years and makes changes as necessary. Since the current student assignment plan was approved, multiple factors have changed, including population shifts and changing student demographics; passage of a racial equity policy; a districtwide review of JCPS facilities and magnet programs and policies; and the state audit.

The survey is available here and you are encouraged to complete it. In addition, students, parents and community members will be selected at random to complete the survey, making sure to include respondents from specific groups and organizations to ensure an accurate report.

Just Creations, 2722 Frankfort Avenue, is partnering with local not-for-profit organizations to host Holiday Shopping Nights. Shop from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on the below nights and Just Creations will donate 15% of the evening’s sales to the following groups. For more information please visit www.justcreations.org or call the store at 897-7319.

• Thursday, November 29 Kentucky Refugee Ministries
• Friday, November 30 Louisville Classical Academy
• Monday, December 3 CrossRoads Ministry
• Tuesday, December 4 Catholic Enrichment Center
• Wednesday, December 5 Peace Education Program
• Thursday, December 6 Senior Paws Rescue
• Friday, December 7 Assumption High School Fair Trade Committee
• Monday, December 10 Michael Youth Ministry
• Tuesday, December 11 YouthBuild Louisville
• Wednesday, December 12 Third Lutheran Church
• Thursday, December 13 Spirit of Sophia

It’s not too late to make your voice heard on how Louisville deals with trees in new developments.  In response to the passage of a Metro Council resolution, Louisville Metro’s Planning & Design Services, the city’s agency responsible for reviewing development applications and ensuring they align with our planning and zoning regulations, is holding meetings to engage with the public on an update of Chapter 10 of the Land Development Code. Chapter 10 concerns trees, landscaping and open space.

The resolution passed by Metro Council on October 11 asked the Planning Commission to review the Land Development Code and to review the tree preservation and planting requirements to preserve and increase Louisville’s tree canopy. The updates to Chapter 10 of the Land Development Code will only affect tree canopy requirements for development applications submitted to Planning & Design Services. The update follows a tree ordinance aimed at preserving and increasing the tree canopy on public rights of way, which was passed by Metro Council in 2017.

The meetings will take place at the following dates, locations and times:

• December 4: Portland branch of the Louisville Free Public Library (3305 Northwestern Parkway) from 6-8 p.m.
• December 11: East Government Center (200 N. Juneau Drive) from 6-8 p.m.

Proposed changes to Chapter 10 of the Land Development Code are due to Metro Council by March 1, 2019. Changes related to tree requirements were last reviewed in 2014. Increases to preservation and planting requirement were deferred at that time pending the completion of an Urban Tree Canopy Assessment. The Assessment was complete in 2015 and showed a loss in tree canopy from 2004 to 2012 and predicted further losses without changes to City requirements.

For more information and a public comment form, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/planning-design/land-development-code-chapter-10-update.

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. 

• UCHM 23^rd Annual Santa Sprint & Stroll
  UCHM's 23^rd Annual Santa Sprint & Stroll will take place on Saturday, December 1. Join community members for a 5K (3.1 miles) run or walk along historic Frankfort Avenue to benefit the vital community programs at UCHM.  Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. with the race starting at 9:00 a.m. at Barret Traditional Middle School, 2561 Grinstead Drive. More information and registration is here.
• St. Mark’s Annual Christmas Bazaar
  St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2822 Frankfort Avenue, will host their annual Christmas Bazaar from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Enjoy a white elephant and book sale, golden treasure gifts, bake sale, silent auction, pictures with Santa from 10:00 – Noon and chili and hot dogs.
• Olde Tyme Christmas
  The Frankfort Avenue Business Association (FABA) is hosting the annual Olde Tyme Christmas event along Frankfort Avenue. It includes free trolley rides from Noon - 8:30 p.m.; and free horse and carriage rides at Kennedy Park from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

• Light Up St. Matthews – Brown Park, 1000 Browns Lane
  Light Up St. Matthews has been a tradition for decades for hundreds of residents and visitors to St. Matthews. The event is scheduled from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. Enjoy the lighting of Brown Park for the holiday season, pictures with Santa until 5:30 p.m., train rides, cookies, hot cocoa, ice skating and more.
• Annual Victorian Christmas Tea – 3110 Lexington Road
  Whitehall House & Gardens will host its annual Victorian Christmas Tea at 2:45 p.m. The event will feature Irish tea and a delicious array of tasty sweets and savory tea sandwiches served in a proper formal setting. Tea will be served promptly at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $40 per person. Space is limited and reservations are required. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact Whitehall at 897-2944 or email whitehall@historichomes.org.

Trees were late to turn colors and lose their leaves this year but there are plenty of leaves now. Remember that leaves set out for curbside pickup in Jefferson County cannot be in plastic bags. Instead, use compostable paper yard waste bags or reusable containers. Better yet, mulch leaves into your lawn.

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 now through Saturday, December 1. 

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 through December 1:

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

On Friday, December 7, 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 mammograms at United Crescent Hill Ministries (UCHM), 150 S. State 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.

Louisville Metro Solid Waste Management will be suspending the collection of yard waste in the Urban Services District (USD) beginning on January 19 through March 11, 2019. Individuals may request collection as needed during this time through MetroCall at 574-5000.

For the past several years, the District 9 office has hosted a tax preparation site 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! We hope you’ll consider joining our team!

If you are interested in volunteering for the 2018 tax season (January-April 2019) please contact www.labcservices.org or call 574-5687. The first volunteer training will be offered in December. Volunteers are needed to help prepare taxes AND greet clients. Click here to view a list of available positions. Click here to fill out a volunteer form.