State of the City of Owingsville from Mayor Gary Hunt

Greetings, from Owingsville City Hall. As I conclude my sixth year serving as Mayor I am reminded of what my parents told me many times. They said the older you get, the faster time seems to go. Well, I must be getting older because time seems to just fly by these days. 2016 was another good year for our city. We were able to remain fiscally strong, grow our assets, and improve on several areas in our community. This was accomplished by receiving grant funds and watching our spending and not by tax hikes. I believe it’s not always a matter of how much money you have; it’s how you manage what you have. As we wrap up 2016, I would like to summarize for you some of the highlights of the year.

We were able to negotiate new city franchises with Delta Gas, Kentucky Utilities, Time Warner Cable and Windstream. The city’s franchise with all four of these companies was set to expire in 2016. You can be assured that the city’s interest remains protected and valued in all of the new franchise contracts.

In January, the city accepted two new streets into the city’s street system. Greentree Drive and Maze Avenue were accepted as dedicated streets for the city of Owingsville. Also, in January, the city closed out the $3 million dollar Waste Water Pretreatment Plant project. The plant is working great and has permitted CTI to expand their facilities.

The city continued to work with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on needed improvements at the intersection of Kendall Springs Road and East Highway 36. Contracts have been signed and work should begin on this project in the spring. The increased traffic on Kendall Springs Road going to and from the Industrial Park was the impetus for this project. The Transportation Cabinet has also confirmed that U.S. 60 that runs east and west through Owingsville will be milled and repaved in 2017.

City Council was presented with another strong audit report in April representing the city’s financial standing.

April has traditionally been considered as “Clean Up” month and the city continued to offer the free trash pick-up days for its citizens.

The annual May Day celebration was held the second Saturday in May and our citizens did a fantastic job beautifying our town for this event.

The new 400,000 gallon water tank located on Kendall Springs Road was put into service in June. This new tank was necessary to provide CTI with the water supply they need to operate and allow for future expansion. A new sewer line was constructed along the west side of Slate Avenue and put into service in September. This project was necessary in order to better distribute the amount of sewage being carried to the sewer plant. The new line is working as planned and many of the problems associated with the line on the east side of Slate Avenue should be alleviated. This project cost the city approximately $50,000.

Another project that is ongoing and should be completed early in 2017 is the expansion and update of the city’s Pretreatment Plant that services Custom Foods. After two years of operation, engineers have devised ways to make the plant more efficient in removing the industrial waste coming from the Custom Foods plant. This upgrade is costing approximately $1.5 million and is being completely funded by Custom Foods. Because of all the water and sewer infrastructure improvements, Custom Foods has been able to expand to the point that it now employees more than 500 workers with future expansions expected.

In the spring the Ohio River Foundation contacted the city with a proposal to fund the total cost of removing the Lion’s Club dam. This dam was built by the city in 1954 to supply the city with water. After supplying its own water for 50 years, the city decided in 2004 to purchase water from Cave Run Lake through the Bath County Water District. This gave the city an unlimited supply of water and allowed for industrial growth. Custom Foods could not exist in Owingsville if we hadn’t switched the manner in which we got our water.

The old concrete dam constructed in 1954 has begun to breach in places which will require costly repair and is a high risk liability to its owner, the City of Owingsville. The city offered to transfer ownership of the dam over to the property owner, Owingsville Lions Club, in May and June. After it was clear that the Lions Club had no desire to take ownership of the dam and the city had no future need of the dam,

City Council decided in July to accept Ohio River Foundation’s grant proposal and move forward with removal of the dam and cleanup of the dam area. An extensive permitting process has been taking place since then with all the agencies involved with the state’s waterways. The permitting process is nearing its end and construction bids for removal will be accepted soon and awarded. Once this is done, the actual removal of the old dam should only take a couple weeks, weather permitting.

Once removed, the stream will return to its original natural flow, kayaking and boating will be possible in the area, and the State Fish and Wildlife Commission says that fishing will greatly improve. The city will be rid of a tremendous liability and potential expense, and most importantly, it could prevent a terrible tragedy involving serious injury or loss of life from occurring in the future. In September, I met with the Bath County School Board and proposed forming a partnership between the city and the school system whereas local residents would have access to the Owingsville Elementary playground in the evenings, weekends, and summertime when school is not in session. In return, the city would apply for a T.A.P. grant to put new sidewalks in the vicinity of the playground, add and maintain a trash receptacle and bike rack by the playground gate, and provide increased police patrols in the area. The OES principal welcomed the proposal and stated that his school was focusing on giving back to the community this year and this project would be a good way for that to occur. It was also mentioned that a new asphalt track has been installed around the perimeter of the playground and that this could be a place for those who bring children to play on the playground to participate in physical activity themselves. Board members voted unanimously in support of the partnership and for the city to move forward with the T.A.P. grant application to install the sidewalks in the spring. I want to thank Superintendent Tackett and the school board for supporting this proposal as I believe the final result will be a Win-Win for the school district, city, parents, and children. In small communities where funding is always a hindrance, it is vital that various entities work together to provide quality services for its citizens. This now means that a kid’s playground, tennis courts, swimming pool, and track are all in close proximity for residents to use. Our city has never had an inside location to store road salt for use during the winter months. We have constructed a new Salt Bin beside our sewer plant on Kendall Springs Road. This 20’ x 30’ building will be used entirely for this purpose and will save the city money by eliminating the loss of salt from being stored outside and allow us to get volume discounts by purchasing larger amounts of salt at one time.

This past summer, Trade Days was held in Owingsville the first Saturday of the month. I wish to thank Tom Byron for his role in getting this started and I look forward to seeing this event grow bigger and better this coming summer.

The city hosted three parades this year. The May Day, Homecoming and Christmas parades were great successes and I thank all those who helped in planning and carrying out these parades.

The city held its annual Veterans Day and Volunteer of the Year Celebration Nov. 11. It was a beautiful day with more than 500 in attendance as we honored our county’s veterans and the 2016 Volunteer of the Year, J.R. Jones. Thanks to all the participants and sponsors of this very worthy program the city has each year. Sonny Rawlings has organized the Volunteer of the Year recognition since its inception.

Ribbon cutting ceremonies were held in 2016 for the opening of Sterling Health Solutions, 360 Auto Body Shop and ACE Hardware. Each of these new businesses offers our citizens the opportunity to shop local and save on the number of out-of-town trips made.

Each year the city attempts to replace old outdated equipment that is experiencing high repair costs with newer equipment that will be under warranty for an extended period of time.

This year I am proud to say that we have been able to purchase a new pickup truck for the water/sewer department and a new police cruiser. We are also presently in the process of obtaining a new SUV for our canine officer, Bud Lyons and our extremely efficient drug dog, Searcy, to use in the upcoming year. This purchase is being made possible through a grant from USDA.

I will be announcing a new Sidewalk Replacement Program in early spring. Property owners are responsible for the condition of public sidewalks on their property. As part of this program, the city will demolish and remove the old sidewalk if the property owner will pay to have a new sidewalk installed. This is a voluntary program that will cut the cost of the sidewalk replacement for the property owner substantially and improve the appearance and safety of our sidewalks.

I wish to thank our City Council members who served during 2016. I am looking forward to working with our new council in 2017 that will include new members Linda Barber, Laura Ellen Goodpaster and Ed McDaniel and returning members Charles Adkins, Chris Crockett and Gary Bealert.

I thank the three outgoing members – Nancy Purvis, Greg Brooks and Jim Davis – for their service to our community. Our city is blessed to have a fantastic group of individuals working for it. They make my job much easier and also much more enjoyable.

Our current city staff consists of City Clerk Cathy Conway, Utilities Clerk Melissa Hodge, Police Chief Todd Tout, Asst. Police Chief John Sutherland, Officer Bud Lyons, Officer Justin Sutherland, Officer David Adams, Publics Works Superintendent Steve Faudere, Asst. Public Works Superintendent Jimmy Neal Robinson, Mike Jones, Josh Cline, Building Inspector Bobby Carpenter, City Attorney Earl Rogers III, City CPA Doug Moore, and Fire Chief Rob Kiskaden. I wish to sincerely thank all these individuals for their dedication and excellent work they do for our city.

I consider serving as mayor as being both an honor and a privilege. I wish I could always make decisions that pleased everyone but we all know that is impossible. I do, however, want to assure you that every decision I make is what I consider to be in the best interest of our town. As tempting as it is to make a “popular “ decision, I promise you that as long as you put your trust in me to serve as mayor, I will strive to make the “right” decision regardless of its popularity.

I love our small town and the people who reside here and will never stop trying to make it the best location anywhere to live, work, and raise a family. I visited the local funeral homes many times this year to say a final good-bye to several of our citizens. Each of these trips makes me realize more and more how precious each day is in our lives. It is my goal each day to do something or say something that might make a positive impact in the lives of my family and/or my community.

As I conclude my State of the City article for 2016 I want to wish a very Happy New Year to each of you and to former city mayors Don Kincaid and Marshall Coyle whom I appreciate more and more each day I serve as mayor. I also wish to thank my family and friends who knew me and played a role in my upbringing here in Owingsville. I believe we are all by-products of our past and I feel so fortunate to have grown up in a small, nurturing community like Owingsville.

As we step into 2017, I do so with much optimism. I would certainly covet your prayers as we travel through this New Year together.