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The Elizabethtown City Council met for their second meeting of the month Monday.
The second reading was held on ordinances setting 2026 city tax rates, all of which were approved. The tax rate for motor vehicle and watercraft is 11.6 cents per $100 assessed value, the franchise tax rate is 0.025 percent on all eligible deposits, and the tax rate for real and personal property is 10.5 cents per $100 assessed value. Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory said any increases property owners see are because of increasing property values, not increasing taxes.
“We’ve had a lot of success here in Elizabethtown here in the last several years, and that property is worth more now, and so when they get another assessment in place and your property valuation goes up, you’re going to pay more taxes, but that doesn’t mean that it’s because this legislative body raised your tax rate, because they’ve lowered it the last two years,” Gregory said.
The council also approved on second reading an ordinance rezoning 1010 and 1020 Prospect Point Drive from Neighborhood Commercial (C-2) to Regional Commercial (C-3). The zoning change came with a recommendation of approval from the Elizabethtown Planning Commission.
The council approved a municipal order approving a $70,000 professional services contract with Strand Associates Inc. for road improvement designs for Pear Orchard Road, along with an order approving a $365,000 professional services contract with Palmer Engineering for design services regarding the city’s Safe Streets for All grant funding.
“The project work will include assessment of design level needs for the East Dixie Avenue corridor and the intersection of KY 3005 and U.S. 62 West; environmental assessment; corridor improvement design to include streetscape, sidewalks, and evaluation of access management; and the development of a preliminary opinion of project costs,” said City Attorney Ken Howard, reading from the municipal order.
The council also approved a municipal order accepting a lease agreement with Warm Blessings Community Kitchen for use of city-owned property located in the former Signature HealthCARE facility on Woodland Drive, which the city is converting into a hub for area non-profits. Warm Blessings Executive Director Josh Miller thanked the city for their commitment to the organization’s mission.
“The lease and the purchase of this building is about much more than a building,” Miller said. “It’s about belief. It’s about the City of Elizabethtown believing in the mission of Warm Blessings, believing in the people that we serve, and trusting us to continue to do that work well.”
The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet September 28.
Area law enforcement agencies are among the recipients of federal grant funding aimed at combating drug trafficking.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on Monday announced the awarding of more than $2.1 million to 17 state and local agencies through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Association Grant.
According to a release from the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, the funding “will allow Kentucky’s law enforcement agencies, drug task forces, and nonprofit organizations to purchase critical resources, provide drug prevention programming to community residents, ensure officers receive specialized training, and work with individuals leaving incarceration to develop successful reentry skills.”
Among the grant recipients are the City of Elizabethtown ($56,502), the City of Radcliff ($72,959), the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force ($210,000), and the Kentucky State Police ($359,800). The release notes that the City of Radcliff will use the funding to purchase mapping and 3D laser scanning equipment, and the funding for the Greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force will support work in Breckinridge, Bullitt, Grayson, Hardin, Hart, Larue, Nelson, Meade, and Washington counties.
More information and a full list of recipients can be found at justice.ky.gov.
September 20 through 26 is National Child Passenger Safety Week, with the week serving as a reminder to parents and caregivers of how to keep children safe when riding in vehicles.
“A total of 677 children were killed in traffic crashes while riding in passenger vehicles in 2024, and over 127,000 were injured, so a pretty significant number, but on a positive side, since 1975, child restraints have saved the lives of 11,606 children under the age of five,” said Radcliff Deputy Fire Marshal Tommy Crane.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says there are four types of car seats for child passengers, with recommendations based on the size and age of a child. Children should be in a rear-facing car seat from at least birth to one year, then in a forward-facing car seat until around age four. The next stage is booster seats, for which Crane says the regulations are often overlooked.
“Four feet and nine inches tall or eight years old is what you have to go by on that, and that is actually a state law, but a good rule of thumb on booster seats when you’re ready to transition is that the shoulder belt should come across the shoulder and should not ride up on the neck of the child,” Crane said.
The installation of a car seat is also critical. If you have questions or concerns, reach out to your local police or fire department to speak with a Certified Passenger Safety Technician. Find more tips and information on the NHTSA website or at www.safekids.org.