City council passes Alcoholic Beverages license fee waiver, hears local development update

Hopkinsville City Council approved second-reading of the Alcoholic Beverages License Fee Waiver at Tuesday’s meeting and heard an update for the Local Development Corporation.

Holly Boggess with the Downtown Renaissance District says the LDC has accomplished a lot of local projects, including the Sudden Service Station, multiple renovations to parks and buildings, along with helping fix housing issues for local residents.  She says the corporation is looking forward to the coming year and beyond, as they look to accomplish even more to help increase the quality of life in the community.

Councilmember Alethea West thanked them for their work and suggested that an incentive program be developed to encourage businesses to locate not just downtown, but inside inner city areas.

In other action, city council approved waiving the fees for Alcoholic Beverages Licenses for the 2021 calendar year for certain businesses in the city limits on second-reading, in an effort to assist businesses with recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Wendell Lynch says they will be looking into when would be safest for council meetings to resume being in-person once again, saying at the moment the spread still seems to be pretty high in the community. Councilmember Steve Keel pushed for that return to be soon, saying other city employment has not stopped and safety measures are already in place in the Municipal Building that are currently going unused. The topic was discussed for several minutes, with all councilmembers agreeing that providing the public with a way to bring forth their concerns at meeting is of utmost importance.