With Kentucky’s 2024 primary election approaching, the Hopkinsville League of Women Voters hosted their third round of Hopkinsville City Council candidate forums on Thursday where Republican Ward 10 incumbent Steve Keel and candidate Mike Velez Sr. tackled questions regarding community matters.
The pair answered questions regarding wages for city staff, Bluegrass Splash water park, homelessness and much more.
The moderator starting the debate by asking Keel and Velez how they will ensure that city staff wages and benefits remain competitive. Both agreed that maintaining competitive wages is important for the city to retain their staff.
Keel says he feels as though the city is already doing a good job of providing competitive wages by relying on wage and benefit information from the Kentucky League of Cities and looking into what neighboring cities are offering.
The following question posed to the pair was regarding Bluegrass Splash and their plans for it in the future. Velez says they should focus on retaining and improving the water park because it’s an asset to the community and something the children enjoy.
Turning toward homeless, the pair were asked how they would address the homeless populations that come from neighboring counties. Keel says he would like to address homelessness on a regional scale, but first he would like to create a joint commission with Christian County Fiscal Court so that the city and the county have a unified voice.
In regards to the same question, Velez says it seems like Hopkinsville has more resources available for the homeless population in comparison to neighboring communities which has resulted in an inflow of homeless people into the city.
Along with Keel, Velez says he wants to address homelessness on a regional scale and set up a system where Hopkinsville can receive support from communities that have homeless people that have relocated to Hopkinsville.
The full Ward 10 Republican debate is available on Facebook at League of Women Voters – Hopkinsville, KY. Keel and Velez will go head-to-head on this year’s primary election ballot on May 21.