Bardstown City Council approves donation to assist ‘Room At The Inn’ program
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020 — The Bardstown City Council approved a donation that will assist Bethany Haven’s operation of the Room At The Inn program.
Bethany Haven director Matt Bowman told the council that due to the COVID pandemic, many of the volunteers who have helped operate the program at churches in the community are at risk if they continue to help with the program.
According to Bardstown Mayor Dick Heaton, he and Judge Executive Dean Watts had discussed each making a donation to the program so it could hire part-time “innkeepers” who can help keep the program operating while keeping those at risk out of harm’s way.
Heaton said that the state’s Department of Local Government confirmed that the city could use some of its CARES Act money to help the program since its loss of volunteers is COVID-related.
The council agreed to donated $8,028 — half of the cost of hiring innkeepers for Room At The Inn. Nelson Fiscal Court is expected to fund the other half.
ROTARY CLOTHE-A-KID. Former city councilman Tommy Reed spoke the council regarding the Bardstown Rotary Club’s “Clothe-A-Kid” program. Formerly know as “Coat-A-Kid,” Reed said the program was expanded to try to help more families with clothing needs.
Last year the club was able to help 600 children with clothes, he said.
The club collected $12,000 in donations to make those clothes possible, with donations from local civic clubs and even the Salvation Army. With so many civic clubs’ fundraisers canceled this year due to COVID, Reed said anything the council could donate would be welcome and appreciated.
The council unanimously approved a $2,000 donation from its community development grant account.
In other business, the council:
— approved a proclamation honoring the Bethlehem Banshees soccer team as 2020 Class A champions;
— approved the recommendation of Shawn Gaither as the new E-911 Dispatch director. Gaither comes to Nelson County after 13 years at MAC in Marion County, and six years as a 911 dispatcher in Marion County.
— approved providing water and sewer service to a Oak Ridge subdivision, a new 51-lot development to be built off Filiatreau Lane near KY 605.
— approved a five-year tax moratorium request for the home at 111 South Third St., the former home of Don and Mary Ann Comer.
— awarded the bid for the new city shop building to BCD Construction. BCD had the low bid of $1,084,000.
— voted to table a mobile food vendor request from Spencer Burkhead due to questions about the mobile unit meeting all of the requirements to be a self-contained food preparation unit and qualify for a mobile food vendor permit.
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