City council meets PD social worker, OKs bid on Phase 1 of Mayor’s Park project

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023 — Bardstown Police Chief Kim Kraeszig introduced the department’s latest hire, Social Services Coordinator Olivia Raley, a social worker who will work with officers to assist individuals suffering from homelessness, domestic violence, and other issues.

MAYOR’S PARK. The council reviewed the long-awaited bids to begin construction at the Mayor’s Park at the corner of West Broadway and North Third Street.

The low bid of $939,750 for the site work and landscaping for the new park construction was from Haire Construction based in Jeffersontown.

Due to the higher-than-expected bids, City Engineer Jessica Filiatreau said budget restraints mean that a bathroom building will not be built on the site as part of Phase 1.

Councilman Bill Sheckes questions the wisdom of not moving forward with the bathroom building, noting that it won’t get any cheaper to build it they wait several years to build it.

Filiatureau said it was a matter of having sufficient money in the budget. Some of the work at the site will use city employees in order to save on construction costs.

Mayor Heaton noted that he expects additional donors to help with funding the project. The city has about 75 percent of the project funding. “We’re right where we need to be,” he said.

Haire Construction is currently building a clock tower in Loretto and has done considerable work in Marion County in the past.

CHRISTMAS PARADE. The council approved the needed road closures for the annual Christmas parade at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. The parade route will use the same route as in past years.

Again this year, the parade entries will line up near city hall on West Broadway.

In other business, the city council:

— approved second and final reading of the classification and compensation ordinance. The changes update cable internet job titles as well as titles for other jobs to reflect changes in personnel in City Hall.

— accepted a bit submitted by Springfield, Tenn.-based M&M Electrical Contractor Inc for overhead electric projects in the city this fiscal year. The basis of the company’s low bid was based on the hourly rates for set list of job titles and duties.

— approved a resolution regarding with the Kentucky Department of Transportation regarding the expenditure of $117,500 for asphalt street resurfacing in the city limits.

— voted to table a five-year tax moratorium request that had been approved late last year but never approved by the city and county’s governing bodies. Fiscal Court approved the moratorium request last week. City Attorney Audrey Haydon suggested tabling the measure in order to obtain additional information on the moratorium’s delay.

NEXT UP. The Bardstown City Council meets next at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023 in the council chambers next to the Rec Center gym on Xavier Drive.

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