August 21, 2024
Dear Neighbor,
As we all get settled back into the school year, there are still several opportunities to enjoy some summertime fun in our community. There are still tickets available for the Louisville Bats game on Sept. 4. See the link below for more information. You can also catch a movie at the Louisville Zoo, or enjoy one of Louisville's many parks open to the public.
Speaking of back-to-school, LMPD is currently hiring traffic guards. While there have been shortages in previous years, with additional car rider traffic at many schools in JCPS, the need for additional help keeping our young people safe getting to school is more present this year. There is more information at the link below. Please feel free to forward this opportunity (or anything in this eNewsletter) to anyone you know who might be interested.
Below are several opportunities to provide feedback to government agencies about your views on important ways we can move our city forward. Vision Zero Louisville, our part of a national effort to improve safety on our streets for all modes of transportation, is looking for feedback on speeding in our community. Please take a moment to fill out their survey so those teams can serve our district better.
TARC is also looking for feedback on three proposals regarding route changes in 2025. We have already seen service reductions due to a projected budget shortfall at TARC. While there may be some solutions proposed to the financial issues in the coming months, the reality is here now. Your voice - particularly if you or those you know use TARC for essential travel - can make a difference in how this community is served by our public transportation network.
Finally, if you or someone you know is struggling because of the high cost of energy during the summer months, please take a look at the LIHEAP summer subsidy, which is open until Sept. 13. This program provides some relief for high energy costs to those who qualify.
Enjoy your week,
 Brent T. Ackerson
26th District Councilman
The Louisville Bats will host another community night, providing tickets, hot dogs, and soft drinks. Up to 300 tickets will be made available per Metro Council district.
Wednesday, September 4th. The Louisville bats will distribute RSVP links to council members and their staff may distribute the links to individuals or groups or complete the form on behalf of organizations. Examples include mentoring organizations, social service agencies, underprivileged kids' groups, and many more.
Forms will be monitored and will close once each district has reached their maximum capacity of 300 tickets – Please advise groups or individuals to request their tickets in advance to ensure availability!
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 Trees are one of the most effective ways to deal with heat stress and improve air quality and public health. Louisville is in the process of developing an urban forest master plan to improve its trees and tree canopy so that all Louisville residents have access to the benefits that trees provide.
Please consider providing input this summer.
Invite us over: We'd love to come meet with your club, group, or neighborhood association at your next gathering. We can share more about the project and Louisville tree canopy, and you can make sure your priorities and concerns are heard. Contact morgan@treeslouisville.org to schedule.
Attend one of the upcoming workshops listed below.
Take the Louisville Urban Forest survey.
Movie Nights in the Oasis Field
The Zoo is celebrating the summer with a movie series under the stars! Enjoy Late-Night Date Night features or Cinema Safari films for the younger set. Join the Zoo staff in the Oasis Field at sundown to watch on our giant inflatable screen. Gates opens at 8 p.m. The movies start at sundown. Tickets are $5 for non-members, free for Zoo members. Tickets must be purchased at the gate and cannot be purchased online. Concessions will be available for purchase. Guests are encouraged to pack their own blankets and lawn chairs.
Cinema Safari is sponsored by Great Clips
- September 13: “Haunted Mansion”
 Louisville, KY. – Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Summer Subsidy is here to help Kentucky households offset summer cooling costs. Enrollment starts July 16 and runs until September 13, 2024, or until designated funds are depleted, on a first-come, first-serve basis.
The Summer Subsidy Component provides households with incomes up to 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines a one-time benefit ranging from $50 to $250 depending on income levels and housing category. Benefits are paid directly to the household’s electric vendor.
Jefferson County residents wishing to apply may schedule an appointment utilizing the automated appointment system. Appointments can be scheduled by phone by calling (502) 991-8391 or online at louisvilleky.cascheduler.com. The toll-free service is currently open and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
All applicants will be required to supply the following documentation at time of application:
- Proof of Social Security Number or Permanent Residence card (Green Card) for each member of the household.
- Proof of income from the preceding month for all members of the household.
- Most current electric bill, statement from your landlord if electric is included in your rent, statement from utility company if you participate in a Pre-Pay Electric Program.
- The account number and name on the account for main heating fuel sources and electric bill.
The Summer Subsidy does not require a disconnect notice or past due bill. The benefit can be applied as a credit on your account. Assistance received during previous LIHEAP components does not affect a household's eligibility.
For more descriptions about LIHEAP income eligibility and other instructions, visit https://louisvilleky.gov/LIHEAP. Residents may also call the automated LIHEAP information line at (502) 991-8391 or visit www.louisvilleky.cascheduler.com.
The Louisville Metro Office of Resilience and Community Services (RCS) serves as the administering agency of the Louisville Metro Community Action Agency.
Kentucky’s Community Action Agencies operate LIHEAP in partnership with Community Action Kentucky and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services who receive the funding as a pass-through block grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information about LIHEAP, including contact information for all local Community Action agencies, please visit the Community Action Kentucky website at www.CAPKY.org.
he Metro Youth Cabinet is a one-year advisory board to the Mayor and Metro Council. Louisville resident youth ages 16-24, who are invested in preventing youth violence have an opportunity to learn to increase advocacy skills, be more civically engaged in their communities, and give insight on issues that impact our city.
Cabinet Members Receive:
- Insight into Local Government
- Leadership Development skills
- Learn collaborative/group processes
- Opportunity to meet leaders throughout government, community, faith, and corporate organizations
- Gain knowledge of city violence prevention efforts
- Attendance to various events and activities
- Have voices/thoughts/opinions be heard
- Resume building experiences
- Ability to inform and impact others on a large scale
- 40+ community service hours
- $1,000 yearly stipend
Online survey available through September 30
As part of Vision Zero Louisville – the city’s transportation safety initiative that prioritizes the prevention of fatal and serious injury crashes – partners of the initiative, including Louisville Metro Public Works and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, announced today that they are raising awareness about the relationship between speed, speeding and safety, as well as seeking public input on speeding and speed management in the community. Louisville residents are invited to share their experiences and opinions in a brief online survey, which is available through September 30, 2024.
The survey results – coupled with crash data, current local conditions, and a peer review of cities leading the way in terms of speed management and Vision Zero – will help shape Louisville’s first-ever Speed Management Plan. This plan is a multifaceted and balanced effort to manage speeds on non-interstate streets through roadway design, intersection design, modernizing policies and practices related to speed limits, and enforcement.
“The effects of speeding are deadly, and drivers on Louisville’s High Injury Network, where a majority of fatal and serious injury crashes occur, should be especially aware of their speed,” said Lt. Craig Browning, commander of LMPD’s Traffic Unit. “This Speed Management Plan is the right thing to do, and this community-informed effort will help us look at feasible and effective solutions to address speeding as we work toward our vision of zero roadway deaths by 2050.”
Vision Zero Louisville’s speeding survey coincides with a media blitz by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), as part the agency’s year-round Speeding Catches Up With You campaign focused on speed prevention on our nation’s roads. Studies show higher speeds result in greater impact at the time of a crash, which leads to more severe injuries and deaths. NHTSA reports speeding contributes to more than 25% of all traffic-related deaths nationwide.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: In 2022, Louisville Metro Council passed an ordinance calling for zero roadway deaths by 2050 through the Vision Zero Louisville transportation safety initiative. The initiative is managed by Louisville Metro Public Works, in partnership with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which in July reminded Kentuckians to slow down this summer through its “Not So Fast, KY” speed enforcement campaign. Vision Zero Louisville promotes a multi-layered approach to saving lives, including redesigning roadways to encourage appropriate speeds and improving trauma-related care for crash victims. For more information, visit visionzerolouisville.org
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TARC has formally launched TARC 2025, a planning process and community conversation to determine what TARC will look like in the coming years.
Faced with significant financial challenges, TARC will use TARC 2025 to proactively address the looming fiscal cliff and create a reliable and effective transit system.
TARC 2025 will solicit direct input from the community to create an updated TARC transit network that can better meet the community’s goals and priorities – within the level of the funding TARC expects over the next 5 to 10 years.
Public phase of TARC 2025 network redesign now live
From July 30 through September 12, Louisville region residents can evaluate three different concepts of what a redesigned TARC transit network could look like. These concepts are not actual proposals. But public feedback about the concepts will directly inform draft proposals to be released later this fall.
Two of the concepts will assume that TARC will not receive any additional operating revenue and will have to implement service reductions of up to 50 percent compared to what was offered in Spring 2024. With service cuts that significant, determining TARC’s top priorities will be critical.
- The “Coverage” concept will show what TARC might look like if it used its limited resources to prioritize maintaining existing coverage. In this concept, while there are theoretically more places that a bus route will run on, those buses are spread out, meaning they wouldn’t come as often.
- The “Ridership” concept will show what TARC might look like if it used its limited resources to prioritize frequent and reliable service in areas with the greatest potential for high ridership. In that concept, waits for a bus would be short where bus service exists. The downside is that fewer overall areas would have service.
- A third concept, the “Growth” concept, shows what TARC could look like if additional funding for service was available. It maximizes service in areas of high ridership potential and maintains most of the existing coverage. This concept shows what Louisville transit would look like if the region prioritized meeting more of the unmet transit needs of the community and invested to position the system for future growth.
You can learn more about the concepts on the TARC 2025 concepts page.
Tell us what you think TARC should do! Take our survey about the concepts.
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If you are a high school senior or an undergraduate at an area college or university, check out the internship job description on the website. We are looking for two interns with interests in urban agriculture, urban forestry, environmental education, and nonprofits. These 10-hour-per-week internships, including additional hours for Saturday events, provide a manageable commitment for students. Both internships begin in early November and continue through the end of the school year, offering a comprehensive learning experience. We request that all interested parties send a letter of intent (outlining what they would like to learn and gain from the internship and what skills they can bring), skills resume with their social media handles, and two letters of reference with contact information of people who have worked with them on a project or other job in the past. The deadline to apply is October 1st. Please send all application materials to info@louisvillegrows.org.
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If you are interested in volunteering for one of Louisville Metro Government's Boards or Commissions, now is the time to start. By being a part of a board or commission, you will offer your time and your talents to improve the quality of life in our community.
There are approximately 100 boards and commissions with many areas of interest, including business and economic development, land planning, parks and recreation, public health and public safety.
Visit the website to learn more and apply!
Our office routinely publishes information on upcoming public meetings and regarding planning and zoning cases in and around District 26. Our posting in this forum is not an official notice. This list may not be comprehensive nor does it include other zoning matters decided upon by zoning authorities other than Louisville Metro Government.
While we intended to expand the scope of our zoning notices, our office reverted to the former policy of relaying the information we receive from Planning and Zoning. We are limited by ordinance and state law to provide the publicly available information.
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