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The Elizabethtown City Council met for their final meeting of 2024 Monday evening.
Heather Cochran with RFH-PLLC reported to the council on the city’s annual audit. Cochran said the final report is waiting on some tourism numbers, but the city is looking at a “clean opinion” for their operations in 2024.
“It says, in our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly in all material respects,” Cochran said. “So, I always say, in the auditing world that’s as good as it gets. That’s what you’re looking for for your audit opinion, so that’s a clean opinion.”
Cochran said the audit found no internal control deficiencies and no instances of non-compliance. The city’s total revenue for the year came in at about $63.8 million and total expenses came in at about $59 million.
The first readings were held for three annexation requests. The properties, all to be annexed from unincorporated Hardin County, are: 154 acres at 1750 Gaither Station Road, .482 acres at 2031 Bardstown Road, and 68 acres at 1001 Ring Road and Patriot Parkway.
An ordinance changing the zoning for 3500 Leitchfield Road to Planned Neighborhood Residential was approved on its second reading. The council also approved several municipal orders including a change order for the Leitchfield Road/South Ring Road Sanitary Sewer Project, a design contract with CMW for Elizabethtown Nature Park trails, and amendments to the city’s personnel handbook.
Mayor Jeff Gregory recognized outgoing council members Bobby Tabb, Cindy Walker, and Virgil Wiloughby for their time on the council. Gregory said disagreements may happen but ultimately everybody has worked at making the city better.
“We don’t always all agree, and as matter of fact we get aggravated with each other from time to time,” Gregory said. “It’s just the truth. But we don’t take it to the next day or to the next ordinance or to the next municipal order. We get over it, and then we reset, and we work together again. And we don’t air our dirty laundry in public. We discuss things, and whoever wins wins, and you move to the next thing, and I think that’s very productive.”
New council members Tim Isaacs, Lamar Jones, and Mika Tyler were sworn in to their terms that begin in January following the council meeting.
The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet January 6.
The results of the second Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Dispensary License Lottery were announced at the Kentucky Lottery Corporation’s office Monday.
Following the initial draw on November 26, Monday’s draw awarded four licenses each to the Kentuckiana and Bluegrass regions. Excluded from those draws were Jefferson and Fayette counties, for which two licenses each were awarded.
The businesses that submitted for the lottery were required to submit their application and pay required fees ahead of the random drawing that was conducted by the lottery corporation.
“In developing our lottery process, we considered the best practices used in other states and determined this was the most fair and transparent way to build this new exciting industry in the Commonwealth, and it should be noted that other states are also adopting this approach,” said Kentucky Office of Medical Cannabis Executive Director Sam Flynn. “Because our program is rooted in patient access, it is critical that our medical cannabis business licensing framework ensures that this new industry is stable and sustainable, with an emphasis on small business, and provides product growth to meet cardholder demand.”
Three applicants from Shepherdsville were selected in the Kentuckiana region’s draw. Those businesses are DNP-DH KY LLC, KY Pristine Vistas LLC, and Pinnacle Path LLC.
Kentuckians may apply for medical cannabis cards beginning January 1. Visit kymedcan.ky.gov for more information.
Kentucky saw a wave of new voter registrations following the 2024 General Election.
The Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office says 17,056 Kentuckians registered to vote following the re-opening of registration after the November 5 election. That number includes 2,470 registrations that were made while the voter rolls were closed from October 11 through Election Day.
The Secretary of State’s Office says 9,901 voters were removed from the rolls in November. This includes 6,924 deceased voters, 1,431 that moved out of state, and 1,015 convicted felons.
Republican registrations rose by 10,096 voters in November, while independent or other registrations increased by 2,839. Democratic registrations dropped by 5,987 voters.
Statewide turnout in the November 5 election was about 59 percent, with about 2,087,000 Kentuckians casting ballots.
You can register to vote by visiting govote.ky.gov or by visiting your county clerk’s office.