New city councilmember in Ward 4, Chuck Crabtree, was sworn in at Tuesday’s meeting of Hopkinsville City Council to fill the remainder of former councilman Paul Henson’s term.
Henson recently passed away following a battle with cancer, and council voted to let the city vote for the next council person that would serve there and appoint them to fill the unexpired term. He will be sworn-in again later in the year, along with other new council members, for his own term.
Mayor Wendell Lynch gave a heads up that he will be considering measures concerning adhering to the existing mask mandate in the state of Kentucky locally.
Council approved municipal orders for a grant agreement in the amount of $294,000 to go to Stanley Engineered Fastening for their expansion in Hopkinsville—which is set to create 49 new jobs—and tax incentives of 100 percent property tax rebates for the next five years. Lynch says this incentive package is tagged for major industries, but they could do something similar for smaller businesses in the future.
Christian Fiscal Court recently approved their own incentive program for the project, and a news release from the Governor’s Office made the $6 million project official Tuesday.
Mayor Lynch says he also feels confident that he will close the Hopkinsville Municipal Building and other city offices to the public, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.