Hopkinsville City Council approved incentives for Rural King to establish itself in the Bradford Square Mall and heard the yearly audit report at Tuesday’s meeting.
A grant in the amount of $1.5 million was approved to go towards the Rural King project, which is set to redevelop and renovate the Bradford Square Mall, along with establishing Rural King as its anchor store. Also approved was a tax incentive for Rural King, including authorizing AJM, Hopkinsville KY LLC to retain through a rebate eighty percent of any increase in ad valorem tax revenue otherwise derived by the city.
The project is expected to create roughly 170 new jobs, with a company investment of $7.4 million into the property.
Kerry Fort with York, Neal and Associates presented the audit report, saying it received a ‘clean’ opinion on all sections, and he complimented the city finance department on their record-keeping and transparency through the process.
In closing comments, Ward 2 Councilmember Kimberly McCarley announced she will not be seeking re-election, thanking her fellow citizens for giving her the honor to represent them for many years.
In other action, council voted to close portions East 5th Street, East 6th Street, East 11th Street, and East 12th Street at the railroad crossings, as part of the ongoing CSX project to close some crossings in the city limits and renovate other existing crossings.