WQXE NEWS

The Elizabethtown City Council met for their second meeting of the month Monday.

The council approved a zoning map amendment for 712 College Street Road that changes the property from R-3 to R-6/C-2, allowing for commercial and multi-family residential development. The council also approved the 2024-2025 city budget. The budget includes about $149.9 million in total funds available and about $119.7 million in total expenditures. Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory thanked department heads and city staff for their work on a budget that he said is responsible but ambitious.

“We are at a different time in our city’s history, and we have a lot of things that we need to make sure that we stay ahead of, and this budget allows us to reinvest in our community to be able to accomplish those goals and to keep this what I consider the best city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Gregory said.

First readings were held on ordinances that amend the city’s sewer use ordinance and approve the operation of medical cannabis facilities in the city. Both will go up for approval on their second readings at the next council meeting.

The council approved several municipal orders including bids related to paving that were awarded to Scotty’s Contracting and Stone, a $110,000 proposal from MCCI LLC for the implementation of online permitting software for the city, and a $91,300 contract for roofing contractor Bluegrass Brothers to replace the canopy on Elizabethtown City Hall which is often damaged by trucks turning onto U.S. 62.

“We’re going to a different method,” Gregory said. “They’re going to take the canopy down, put the band board around it, and it’s going to be basically flush with the brick which will alleviate that issue in the future, so that’s what that project is. That’s what we’re headed towards now.”

Following a closed session, the council approved the appointment of Bobby Tabb to complete the term of late Council Member Bill Wiseman. A release from the city says Tabb, who previously served a term on the council from 2016 to 2017, will be sworn in by Mayor Gregory Tuesday and assume responsibilities on the council immediately.

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet July 8.

National Pollinator Week runs now through June 23, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is doing their part to assist critters and help the environment. 

The KYTC says since 2015 crews have seeded more than 100 habitat sites across the commonwealth, covering about 200 acres along Kentucky interstates, parkways, and other state-owned rights of way.

The multi-year effort to plant nectar-rich flowers and native plants supports pollinators that are key to crop production. The habitats attract birds, bees, butterflies, and other creatures that drink nectar or feed off pollen, which transports grains from plant to plant and helps maintain a stable food supply.

Pollinator sites can be seen along many roadside areas including fields between interstate lanes and exit ramps, alongside multi-lane parkways, and around four-lane highways. Additional pollinator habitats have been added to construction of Interstate 69, and monarch butterfly waystations have been installed at welcome centers and rest areas.

Hardin County has several pollinator habitats located along Interstate 65 and the Western Kentucky Parkway. An interactive map of all locations in the state and more information on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s ecology program can be found on the KYTC’s website.

Hardin County Animal Care and Control Director Mike McNutt says the Hardin County Animal Shelter is in desperate need of adopters as the shelter continues to deal with capacity issues.

“If you’re ready to make a commitment to an animal, please come see us,” McNutt said. “We have zero space on the adoption floor. Animals are coming in at an alarming rate, and it’s this way across the nation.”

McNutt says the Hardin County pet community is a strong one, and he is looking for people potentially looking to join that community.

“It is filled with wonderful people,” McNutt said. “It’s filled with wonderful veterinarians. There are some wonderful vets here that work with people every day, and we can’t do what we do without the vets doing what they do in the community, so if you have room in your home, you have room in your heart, please come out and give us a hand.”

McNutt says while the situation is dire, only people that are ready to make the long-term commitment necessary for raising an animal should apply.

“I don’t want somebody coming in and taking a dog home for the weekend and then bringing it back,” McNutt said. “That does not help us. That does not help any shelter. There is no such thing as a perfect animal. When you take it home, you have to help that animal become acclimated to your home, and that can take six months to 18 months.”

The Hardin County Animal Shelter is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at 220 Peterson Drive in Elizabethtown. Contact the shelter or visit their Facebook page for more information.