Hopkinsville City Council met in-person for the first time since November at Tuesday’s meeting, where they heard from multiple concerned citizens about flooding issues in the city.
Hopkinsville and Christian County was hit by flooding Sunday, and many places saw a significant amount of water, though reportedly none entered any living spaces during the event. Alison Kieth says she owns several properties that house homeless veterans and others in need near the intersection of Cox Mill Road and South Virginia Street, and she’s ready for something to be done to help protect those individuals from flooding dangers.
Community Development Services Director Steve Bourne says there were unique circumstances Sunday that led to increased flooding hazards, such as already saturated ground due to snow melt, and the Surface and Stormwater Utility is always looking into problems that arise and working to correct them. Hopkinsville Mayor Wendell Lynch says they will be looking into these specific issues, along with many others, in an effort to get them addressed. Specifically, Bourne says they intend to have the area of the ‘pit’ on Lafayette Road taken care of in the coming months, as they finish up that abatement project there.
Council approved a municipal order to install the amenities along phase two of the Greenway System in the amount of $65,522—it would go towards three emergency call boxes, benches and trash cans, fencing installation, bridge signs and six mile markers. Council members Chuck Crabtree, Tom Johnson and Jason Bell voted no, with Crabtree saying he has a hard time approving these funds when there are still flooding issues in the city.
In other action, council approved the establishment of an Energy Project Assessment District within the city that would evaluate and assess of any future energy based projects that could take place in the city limits.
Council went into closed session twice for over an hour to discuss possible economic development, with no action taken on that during the meeting.