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Games tells city council area growth goes beyond BOSK

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When Elizabethtown-Hardin County Industrial Foundation President Andy Games gave an economic development update to the Elizabethtown City Council Monday, he said the projected economic impact of BlueOval SK has been discussed, but E-Town’s growth goes further.

“I kind of tell people, take BOSK out of the equation, and we here at E-Town have three-quarters of $1 billion worth of investment currently under construction in the park between Whiskey House, Lotte, and Advanced Nano Products or ANP InterTech, so that’s exciting,” Games said.

Games said that growth is not reserved for new development, with existing companies also making strides.

“Flex finished an expansion, Fischbach finished an expansion, WL Plastics finalized their purchase on some land on West Park Road, and there are plans to build another factory for WL Plastics,” Games said. “I’m not sure when that’s going to come on, but they did finalize their land purchase with us. Soudal and Altec, Altec’s always growing, and Soudall is looking at doing an expansion as well.”

With the successes comes some challenges. Games said the industrial foundation has been working with Akebono Brake Corporation after the announcement that they will be closing their Elizabethtown operation.

“They are committed through December 2025,” Games said. “They’re a longstanding partner here with our community, but we are working closely with them as that day comes. I’ve spoken to many of those employees that have called about wanting to know what options are when they get done in December, and I said ‘don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get a job, I promise you.’”

Games said the industrial foundation is working with Akebono on finding a buyer for their building, and the foundation has been working to identify possible properties for future development.

Learn more about the Elizabethtown-Hardin County Industrial Foundation on their website.

Hardin County Fiscal Court approves budget, hears updates

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The Hardin County Fiscal Court met for their first meeting of the month Tuesday.

The fiscal court approved the county’s 2024-2025 budget ordinance, which was up for its second reading. The ordinance was approved on a 5-4 vote. No further discussion was held on the budget at this meeting, but at the previous reading the magistrates that voted against the budget expressed concern with using funds from the BlueOval SK Pilot Agreement to cover the budget deficit.

Deputy Judge-Executive Vicki Meredith reported on the county’s Public Works Department. Meredith said the county’s monthly shredding events continue to be well-attended with 224 bags shredded so far this year. The county’s recycling program is also well-used, with 30 trailer runs in March and 44 in April. The Hardin County Conservation District presented the county with a check for $5,000 for its dead animal removal program, which Meredith said has seen 76 animals removed so far this year.

“The point of this is to try to make sure that deceased farm animals are disposed of properly,” Meredith said. “Often, historically, they could be pulled to the back part of the farm or placed close to a stream or in a sinkhole and that’s just not appropriate, so we really commend all the farmers and property owners throughout Hardin County for working with us on this program.”

County Director of Planning Adam King said so far this year 163 building permits have been issued, 33 new plats have been recorded, and 52 new lots have been recorded. King also said the county’s new comprehensive plan has been well-received.

“We’re really excited about this document,” King said. “We’ve used it now at a few meetings, and it has a lot more meat on everything to justify zone change decisions. I think this document is going to serve us well for years to come.”

King said the comprehensive plan has been submitted for a state planning award.

Several magistrates took a moment to acknowledge the 36th anniversary of the May 14, 1988, Carrollton bus collision, and asked residents to remember the families of the 27 victims.

“We do need to continually remind the young people of the consequences of their decisions,” said Magistrate Fred Clem. “And those families, continue to remember them as well.”

The Hardin County Fiscal Court will next meet May 28.

Elizabethtown City Council meets for special meeting

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The Elizabethtown City Council met for a special meeting Monday.

The council approved two zoning map amendments on their second readings. The first changed 1203 and 1205 Saint John Road from R-5 to R-6. The second changed 806 North Miles Street from R-4 to R-5. The first reading was held on a zoning change for 1121 through 1131 Alex Drive from C-3 to R-6, as well as an annexation request for 8.8 acres on South Wilson Road from Hardin County to be zoned C-3. All of these items were recommended for approval by the city’s planning commission.

The council approved a municipal order accepting CIMA Energy’s bid to supply natural gas for the city.

“Now be it ordered that the City of Elizabethtown accepts the bid from CIMA for a two-year contract at a rate of Inside FERC Index plus .2 cents/Dth,” said City Attorney Ken Howard, reading from the municipal order.

The council also approved four municipal orders awarding Downtown Redevelopment Grants to four properties.

“Whereas the City of Elizabethtown desires to promote and support the redevelopment of downtown, and whereas the City of Elizabethtown has developed a Downtown Redevelopment Grant program to encourage private property owners to redevelop their properties,” said Howard, reading from the municipal order.

Grants awarding no more than about $43,500 for 220 West Dixie Avenue, about $46,000 for 110 South Main Street, $2,000 for 117 North Main Street, and about $2,600 for 35 Public Square were approved.

Mayor Jeff Gregory and members of the council had high praise for the E-Town Wine Fest which was held at Freeman Lake Park this past Saturday. Council Member Cindy Walker said she arrived shortly before 6 p.m. and saw a strong crowd.

“I was told that over 1,500 tickets at that time had been sold and they were still lining up behind me,” Walker said. “Beth (Pyles) and Priscilla (Scarborough) did an excellent job, the entire staff, the city, the volunteers. It was perfect.”

Extra vendors, a wider footprint, and great weather helped make the event a successful one.

The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet May 20.

Radcliff City Council meets for special meeting

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The Radcliff City Council met for a special called meeting Monday.

The council approved a $60,000 bid from Helm Construction for HVAC units at the Colvin Community Center. The council also approved a $79,000 bid from Skyler Construction for the roof at Radcliff Fire Station No. 2. That project was re-bid at the request of Council Member Jerry Brown after only one bid was initially received. Brown said he was pleased re-bidding saved the city about $10,000.

“We don’t have the luxury of a really deep budget, so we’re always looking to save money for our Radcliff taxpayers, and by re-bidding we were able to do that,” Brown said. “We saved the taxpayers thousands of dollars.”

Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland Executive Director Charles Dennis came before the council to discuss the organization’s work with 250 partner organizations across 42 counties, including 5 in Radcliff. Dennis said figures on food insecurity are expected to be released this week, which has Feeding America evaluating how to best serve those in need.

“We’re not doing away with the Backpack Program, but we’re going to be shifting to funding what we call a Feeding Kids Fund, and we have piloted a School Pantry Program,” Dennis said. “There are some instances where the need is so great that just a backpack is not going to fill that.”

Radcliff/Fort Knox Convention and Tourism Commission Treasurer Bob Moore discussed the organization’s budget, which he said is higher this year thanks to increased revenue from area hotels. Moore said the advertising budget will be increased for airports and Spotify after strong interest was seen in area attractions.

“Boundary Oak has gotten 300,000 visitors already,” Moore said. “Red Hill Cutlery talks about the turnover there, coming in to see the knife and the museum, and still the largest download of everything we have is Saunders Springs.”

The Radcliff City Council will next meet May 21.

KFW reports strong spring turkey hunting season

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Kentucky Fish and Wildlife says the spring wild turkey hunting season was a successful one. 

Hunters recorded the third highest spring turkey harvest on record for the state, with 33,460 birds brought in. That’s nine percent higher than the state’s five-year average.

The spring wild turkey season ran from April 13 through May 5. The youth-only hunt, which ran April 6 and 7, saw 2,309 turkeys harvested, which was up 25 percent from last year.

KFW says the combined total for adults and youths fell just short of numbers from the 2023 hunting season, but this was expected as the brood hatch from 2022 was not as strong as 2021.

Good weather over most of the wild turkey season calendar brought out a good number of hunters, and a lower than average amount of young male turkeys, called jakes, meant an increased number of two-year-old turkeys for hunters to look for.

You can help Kentucky Fish and Wildlife track the wild turkey population by reporting sightings of hens with young turkeys throughout July and August as part of the annual summer brood survey.

The fall wild turkey hunting season begins on September 7. Learn more by finding the current State Hunting Guide on the KFW website.