District 4 Weekly E-News ⚜️

 Monday, June 21, 2021

Councilman Jecorey Arthur and Legislative Assistant Brianna Wright

COUNCILMAN

Peace. This week we will be finishing, then voting on the fiscal year 2022 budget. If you sent comments, asked questions, or engaged in some other way — you are appreciated. If we want change, we have to start in our own homes. This year we had almost a thousand public comments submitted. Let's triple this number next year. What can we do to better engage people in the process?

A few highlights for the upcoming fiscal year:

  • $279,400 for the Another Way Program, a service for people experiencing houselessness to do paid work, get case management, and free meals
  • $2.5 million earmarked in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund budget to develop housing for families making 30% area median income and below, the lowest level of income with the greatest need, including people experiencing houselessness 
  • $2,895,700 transferred from LMPD to Emergency Services for the 911 Call Prioritization & Deflection Program
  • $4.5 million for the Office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods
  • $3 million for scholarships for low-income students going to any Kentucky Community & Technical College or Simmons College of Kentucky

There is plenty more to be proud of. You can see the final budget Thursday night when we pass it. The current amendments can be viewed from our recent budget hearing here.

You can view FY22 public budget comments here.

You can submit comments about the American Rescue Plan Act here.

P.S. We'll be announcing summer events soon so make sure to keep up with us on socials.

THANK YOU,
Councilman Jecorey Arthur


COVID

For assistance in relation to hardships due to COVID click here.

For information about COVID facts, testing, vaccines and more click here.

For in depth updates on COVID in Louisville, including total deaths and confirmed cases click here.

A website has launched to offer the family and friends of Kentuckians lost to COVID an opportunity to memorialize their loved ones by writing and sharing stories. To view the virtual memorial click here


CIVICS

Legislation

  1. Cathedral Commons Forgiveness Ordinance — This affordable housing project in Downtown Louisville has requested to have a $500,000 loan forgiven or risk foreclosure. We have sponsored this ordinance to support keeping the 40 residents here housed. It passed out of the Budget Committee and will go to the full council Thursday.
  2. Crown Act Ordinance — This passed out of the Equity and Inclusion Committee and will go the full council Thursday.
  3. Historically Black Neighborhoods Ordinance — We're in the process of making a displacement assessment to look at rent increase estimates, property value increases estimates, and affordability. This will go along with our ordinance to keep people from being forced out of their neighborhoods. If you have ideas for what should go in it let us know. We'll host a public forum after the council break to discuss before filing.
  4. Fair Housing Ordinance — We are amending this ordinance because landlords are using a loophole to discriminate against people with Section 8 vouchers.
  5. Homeless Protection Ordinance — This was tabled until council returns from break in mid-July.

All of our sponsored legislation can be viewed here.

Upcoming Council Meetings

You can watch council meetings on Facebook, Metro TV, Spectrum Cable Channel 184, or AT&T U-Verse Channel 9. The agendas can be found here.


CONNECT 4

We want everyone in District 4 to be connected through civic engagement:

  1. Are your neighbors signed up for our newsletter? We have about 3,900 of 26,000 constituents on our e-news. 
  2. Will you attend our next town hall? It's every third Saturday from 10:00-11:00 AM.
  3. What type of legislation does your neighborhood need?

District 4 Monthly Town Hall

In case you missed it — watch our latest monthly town hall on Facebook or YouTube.

Next: Tuesday, July 20th 5:00-6:00 PM

Topic: Affordable Housing

Video-In: https://louisvilleky.webex.com/louisvilleky/j.php?MTID=m1c97a4fe12285d0167edc61ca6c6e10c

Call-In: +1-415-655-0001

Access Code: 160 139 6581

To invite your neighbors download our flier here.

District 4 Summer Activities

To help us organize please take this 3-question survey. If there are multiple people in your household feel free to have each person fill it out. We'll start booking events soon.


CITY

Office of Resilience and Community Services and Neighborhood Place

Louisville Metro Office of Resilience and Community Services and Neighborhood Place locations are now open to the public for face-to-face appointments. For more information click here.

Free Electric Fan Distribution for Older Adults and Disabled Individuals

Thanks to the generosity of local businesses, community organizations, and residents, hundreds of electric fans have been collected to provide heat relief for older adults and people with disabilities. For more information click here.

Diversity Recruitment Fair

There will be a Downtown Diversity Recruitment Fair this week. If you are interested in working downtown click here. To participate as an employer click here.  

Virtual Career Fair

There will be a showcase of available employment opportunities for Registered Apprenticeship and more this week. For more information click here.

Lunch and Learn: Down Payment Assistance

The Office of Housing will host representatives from Republic Bank and the Louisville Metro Housing Authority on this Lunch and Learn. For more information click here.

Louisville Grows AmeriCorps VISTA Positions

Louisville Grows is looking for AmeriCorps VISTAs to join the Louisville Grows team in August! AmeriCorps VISTAs can be a part of their mission to grow greener, healthier neighborhoods. They are in search of a Volunteer Coordinator, Communication Coordinator, and a Development Coordinator.

The Louisville Zoo

Following the new COVID-19 guidelines from the CDC and in alignment with Governor Beshear’s rescinded mandates, the Louisville Zoo is now operating at full capacity for all members and guests. For more information click here.

Department of Justice Announces Investigation of the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government and Louisville Metro Police Department

The investigation will be led by the department’s Civil Rights Division and conducted by career attorneys and staff in the Civil Rights Division and in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky. Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the Department of Justice via email at Community.Louisville@usdoj.gov or by phone at 1-844-920-1460. Individuals can also report civil rights violations regarding this or other matters using the Civil Rights Division’s reporting portal, available at www.civilrights.justice.gov.

To learn more about the investigation click here.


COMMUNITY

Online Neighborhood Informational Meeting

This will be an informal meeting to give you the opportunity to review the proposed plan and discuss the proposal with the applicant or his/her representative. For more information click here.

Alcoholic Beverage Control

An Alcoholic Beverage License is being applied for, located at 1346 and 1348 A&B River Road. For more information click here.

An Alcoholic Beverage License is being applied for, located at 104 South Preston Street. For more information click here.

Butchertown, Phoenix Hill, and NuLu Neighborhood Plan

The Butchertown, Phoenix Hill, and NuLu Neighborhood Plan will look at these three communities to create a guiding document for future growth. Just east of downtown, the 6.3-square-mile study area includes some of the most vibrant and unique communities in Louisville. Historic homes, vibrant corridors, hospital campuses, social services, and world-class parks all come together to create one of the most livable parts of the city. To learn more and give feed back click here.

Smoketown Neighborhood Plan

Since the revitalization of the Smoketown Neighborhood Association (SNA) five years ago, SNA has been a fierce advocate for the residents of Smoketown. To contribute to the plan click here.

Downtown

The Downtown Revitalization Team is a group formed to determine new ways to bring people and businesses back downtown following declines in business heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic. If you want to join meetings or review past ones please click here.

Broadway All The Way

Our city is planning to create a safe, vibrant, multimodal corridor that meets the needs of all citizens, especially those that live along Broadway, and that will serve as a robust catalyst for economic development throughout Louisville. Please click here to provide feedback.