Mayor William H. Thomason said the money will be available after Jan. 1, and construction on the walk will begin in the spring, “and we hope to finish the sidewalk, the new fire station and the park in the same project.”
Gibson also said the state will contribute between $50,000 and $60,000 for landscaping at the Leitchfield exit off Ford Parkway. That money, too, would become available in January.
Residents living along Brandenburg Road had signed a petition (51 names) but said there was no need to submit it after Gibson's announcement.
The council also got the results of a survey of businesses around The Square about cutting or leaving the ornamental pear trees standing.
Shelia Puckett, the city employee who did the survey, said the majority of business owners wanted the trees to remain. The council, however, did approve a request from Leitchfield Deposit Bank to remove the trees in front of the bank.
Councilman Leon Shaw asked if a “truck route” sign could be posted at the south entrance to the byway, “since many truckers don't know about it and are still driving through town.”
The state highway department has to approve signs, the speed limits and traffic lights on the byway, but the city agreed to ask for the sign. Public Works Director Darrell Harrell said a highway department study of the speed limit proposal (a slower speed along the old East Lake Drive) should begin within a week. He said the traffic light study would follow on the heels of of the speed limit study.
The council approved allowing the Grayson County Homemakers to use about six parking spaces on The Square for an “old-fashioned pie auction,” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11.
The council said the event would be allowed without a permit if the activity did not block traffic moving around The Square, and Shirley Hale, Homemakers president, said it would not.
President Shirley Hale said the proceeds from the sale would go to scholarships and to send children to 4-H camp.
The proposed Sister City project with Brazil came up again for discussion. City Clerk-Treasurer Kerry White said he had contacted Bowling Green and Elizabeth-town, both involved in the program. He said Bowling Green had been budgeting $30,000 a year, but in its upcoming budget the amount had been cut to $22,550.
The council took no action on the matter Monday, but some council members indicated they were not impressed, and asked what the benefits would be for the money spent.
The benefits were not immediately clear, but said the idea was similar to the student exchange program, one that improves international relations on a personal level. The council promised to look at the proposal again at budget time next spring “when we have a better idea of how the economy's going.”
In other action, the council:
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