After recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, the Hopkinsville City Council received a presentation concerning healthcare and approved zoning for medical cannabis facilities at their Tuesday meeting.
Hopkinsville Mayor J.R. Knight read a proclamation recognizing the month and committing the city to work toward ending domestic violence and abuse in Hopkinsville. Following the proclamation reading, Heather Lancaster the Executive Director of Sanctuary, Inc. a regional domestic violence shelter and sexual assault resource shelter, spotlighted the organization’s renewed vision.
In September, Lancaster shared that she and her staff developed the vision statement, “Survivors healed and empowered in a community free of violence.” Lancaster says the statement is a nod to the future she imagines for those who have been victims of domestic violence.
The council then recognized the 2024 class of the Mayor’s Youth Council which consists of high school juniors and seniors.
Turning toward the meeting agenda, the council received an update concerning the city’s health insurance from Higgins Insurance Agent, Mack Major. Major told the council that the city’s spending on health insurance has started to greatly exceed its funding.
Major says the council needs to reconsider how much is being spent on healthcare plans for city employees and medical inflation needs to be taken into account.
The council then approved zoning amendments for medical cannabis facilities. Cannabis processing and cultivation facilities will be established in I-2 medium industrial districts while a medical cannabis dispensary will be located in an arterial commercial district.
Along with the required zoning, no medical cannabis facility can be located within 1,000 feet of an existing school.
