WQXE NEWS

The Elizabethtown City Council met for a work session Monday afternoon.

Bryan Skinner of RSA Advisors presented to the council on bonding options for the outdoor music venue. Skinner reviewed the city’s current obligations and legal debt limit, and said the city has options.

“You guys are, I’ll just go ahead and say it, in great financial shape,” Skinner said. “One of the best cities, best rated cities out there. Good bond rating.”

The current estimate for the required bond is $45 million. RSA will set up a bond sale for the city after it is instructed to do so via ordinance.

Elizabethtown Stormwater Director Rita Davis presented an update on her department’s activities. Davis recounted projects completed in 2024 and upcoming projects, including working with FEMA on remapping the floodplain. Davis said the city is considering introducing a stormwater utility fee to help offset some costs.

“This is something we’ve been working with with Strand consultants to kind of look at how much money we can generate with the stormwater utility fee, so hopefully it sounded like we do a lot with what I’ve been discussing here, and that should help pay for some of these things,” Davis said.

Also meeting for a work session Monday was the Radcliff City Council. After the council took no official action during a called meeting, Radcliff Mayor JJ Duvall said one bid was submitted for city street resurfacing. Duvall said he will likely be requesting the council approve additional funding for resurfacing in order to cover additional side streets. The council discussed a resolution opposing the centralized collection of taxes. City Attorney Mike Pike said the resolution opposes proposed legislation that takes occupational tax and license fee collection away from municipalities and turns it over to the state, which Pike said the Kentucky League of Cities is “vehemently against.”

“I think it’s a bad idea if they adopt this,” Pike said. “Cities are going to get the short end of the stick. You know, we have very little means of raising revenue anyway, you guys already know that.”

The Elizabethtown City Council and the Radcliff City Council will both next meet on February 18.

The Kentucky Secretary of State’s Office continues to perform maintenance to remove deceased voters from the rolls, but voter registration in the state continues to grow. 

The Secretary of State’s Office says 5,253  new voters got registered in the month of January.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, Republican registration increased in January by 2,004 voters and independent or other registration increased by 1,406, while Democratic registration decreased by 1,202 voters. Republican registration makes up about 47 percent of the state electorate, Democratic registration makes up about 42 percent, and independent or other makes up about 11 percent.

The Secretary of State’s Office says 3,045 voters were removed from the rolls in January. That includes 2,100 deceased voters, 413 felony convicts, and 388 voters who moved out of state. Secretary of State Michael Adams says more than 440,000 voters, including more than 250,000 deceased voters, have been removed from the rolls since he took office in 2020.

Visit govote.ky.gov or contact your county clerk’s office to get registered to vote or to check your registration status.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health on Friday announced the first pediatric death from influenza in the current respiratory virus season. The death comes a month after the first pediatric death from COVID-19 of the season. 

The KDPH says most influenza and COVID-19 infections result in mild illnesses, but hospitalizations and emergency department visits related to flu have been increasing across the state. Serious symptoms such as difficult or fast breathing, seizures, bluish lips or face, fever above 104 degrees, fever or cough that improves but then returns or gets worse, or the worsening of other medical conditions require medical attention.

The KDPH says influenza vaccination rates in the state have been declining, with less than 17 percent of Kentucky children receiving a flu shot this season and 2 percent receiving the updated COVID-19 vaccine. Lincoln Trail District Health Department Public Relations Officer Melissa Philips said last week when talking about the impact respiratory virus season has had on area school districts that vaccination is one of the main defenses against illness.

“If you haven’t gotten your COVID vaccination or your flu vaccination, it’s not too late to do that,” Phillips said. “If you are somebody who qualifies for RSV, that is also a disease that’s spread through respiratory means, so all of those vaccinations are a good means of prevention.”

Health officials also encourage good health habits to help prevent the spread of illness, including staying home when sick and proper and frequent hand washing.

“I know you hear that a lot, but it is the number one way to prevent illness, so if you are ill or someone else is in the home is ill, it’s that frequent hand washing anytime you blow your nose or sneeze or use the bathroom or prepare food, any of those ways that germs are spread,” Phillips said.

Contact your healthcare provider or your local health department office for vaccination information. The most current data on respiratory virus activity in Kentucky can be found on the Cabinet for Health and Family Services website.