An ongoing project with the Hopkinsville Fire Department will hopefully be completed soon, after City Council approved a budget amendment and a municipal order at Tuesday’s meeting.
The project to create a Fire Training Center in the building that was once the Hopkinsville Police Department has been underway for some time and faced several delays, mostly due to funding. The original price approved by council for the project was $330,000—due to unexpected renovation needs, that amount was used quickly.
Fire Chief Steve Futrell says mistakes were also made in the bidding process, and then bids came back higher than expected—but this $220,000 requested now will finish the project completely.
The money will be transferred from the TIF Fund into the capital fund and means the amount now put into the project is around $1 million. While most of the council agreed that neither the fire department nor Futrell—who was not chief at the time it began—are to blame, Councilman Terry Parker says they should still be concerned by that increase.
In other action, council approved an ordinance declaring Elb’s Cemetery on Hope Street abandoned, which means the city can now take legal action to gain the title to the property. By doing so, the city will become responsible for maintaining and preserving the cemetery.
Council also approved a municipal order naming the new parking lot on Sixth Street as Postell Plaza, in honor of Peter Postell, a local business owner and historical figure that played a significant role in establishing the central business district in the city over 130 years ago. The Postell building that once stood there was destroyed by fire in 2016.
New Hopkinsville Police Department Officers Joseph Bufford and Tyler Daniels were sworn in at the meeting.