Council approves grant application to extend multi-use path on KY 245
City Civil Engineer Jessica Filiatreau explains the proposed multi-use path that could be built if the city’s application for a grant is approved.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, 11 p.m. — The Bardstown City Council approved giving the mayor the authority to move forward to seek a grant that would fund construction of a multi-use path along John Rowan Boulevard from Bloomfield Road to Chambers Boulevard.
The multi-use path would be similar to the one that was added when East John Rowan (KY 245) was widened from Bloomfield Road to Springfield Road.
The new path would connect with the existing one that ends just west of Bloomfield Road along KY 245. City Civil Engineer Jessica Filiatreau said that once the path was completed, the multi-use path could also connect with the sidewalks on Templin via Chambers Boulevard.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to capitalize on some grant money and do something good for the community,” she told the council.
The initial estimates for the project total approximately $690,000. The resolution the council approved was the city’s commitment to pay 20 percent of the project’s costs, which Filiatreau said would most likely be spread across more than one budget year.
Mayor John Royalty told the council that the need for a safe, paved walking/riding path is evident by the paths that pedestrians have worn down to dirt along the areas of East John Rowan.
RELAY FOR LIFE DONATION. The council voted to approve a request for a $1,500 donation from the city coffers for Nelson County Relay for Life, which is a fundraiser that raises money for the American Cancer Society.
The official Relay for Life event is set for Saturday, May 13, 2017, however, the county organization will launch its fundraising drive on Friday, Oct. 28, 2016, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month with an event called “Bras Down Bardstown.” The event is patterned after a similar fundraiser conducted by Relay for Life supporters in Fargo, N.D.
The council voted 5-1 to approve the donation to Relay for Life, with Councilman Fred Hagan objecting to the request citing the council’s own guidelines for such donations.
The guidelines state that “The expenditure must primarily benefit the public at-large rather than just an individual or private entity.”
Relay for Life is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, and as such, it falls outside the guidelines the council established for consideration of donation requests, Hagan said.
“I’m looking for something a little more specific to benefit to the citizens of Bardstown,” he said.
Hagan was the only vote against the request.
In other business, the council:
— heard a report from Larry Green regarding the question of the outdoor murals in the city limits. The current sign ordinance exclude murals — even those that do not include a commercial message, Green said. Rather than simply approve murals without regulation, the city would create a task force to examine how other communities regulate murals for ideas on how Bardstown may wish to handle them. The council’s consensus was the idea was worth studying.
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