Mayor addresses State of the City

By Mayor Gary M. Hunt

Greetings from the Owingsville Mayor’s office. I find it hard to believe that I am beginning my tenth year serving as our city’s mayor. Each year has brought about new and exciting challenges for our city. It has always been my goal to make our town a safe, business-friendly, and attractive community to live in and raise a family. 2019 was another year where we experienced many positive changes in our community. As we prepare for 2020, I would like to summarize some of the city highlights from the past year.

Our city’s finances are audited each year by an independent auditing agency. Again this year at the March City Council meeting the city was given a superb financial finding by the agency. Even though we continue to experience substantial increases in property/health insurance, retirement, and utilities we have balanced our budget each year without any major tax increases. This has been accomplished through a combination of ways – receiving grant funds, partnering with other local and state agencies, and watching our spending. I have always been a fiscal conservative and believe in treating the city’s money like I would my own. As we begin 2020, our city is fiscally strong.

We have a low unemployment rate here in the city due to several new businesses that have opened and the continued presence of Custom Foods, our largest industrial plant. Addiction Recovery Care (ARC) and Liberty Mart opened during the past year adding several jobs. Many other smaller businesses opened adding additional job opportunities. I am currently working with some local property owners attempting to locate businesses here in the city. It is my hope that 2020 will see more new businesses open in our area.

During this past year we saw several improvements in our roadways. The Kendall Springs Road and East Highway 36 intersection construction was finished and has been a vast improvement to traffic in that area. In addition to that, approximately $100,000 was spent paving some of the city streets in need of repair. This is a never-ending process and we are already evaluating those streets that will be addressed in the coming year.

Spring is always an exciting time in our town. April is traditionally considered as “Clean Up” month and the city offers two free trash pick-up days for its citizens. Citizens begin preparing for our largest annual festival, May Day. The May Day celebration is always held on the second Saturday in May. This is also considered as our town’s first “Trade Days” for the summer. Ian Corbin does an outstanding job coordinating this event during the Summer and Fall months. I am so proud of all the property improvements that have taken place over the past few months here in our city. Every improvement adds to the beauty of our community.

The city received a TAP (Transportation Alternative Program) grant to repair a bad section of sidewalk on Slate Avenue and install new sidewalks around the O.E.S. Playground and to the Swimming Pool. We are getting a $60,000 grant to assist in this project. Also, in the upcoming year, we have received a loan/grant from Rural Development to do some much-needed upgrading to City Hall. The City Hall building is now 30 years old. The police department space will be expanded, concrete sidewalks and the fire department driveway entrance will be replaced, an electronic sign installed along Main Street, outside monitoring cameras installed, and some windows and doors replaced.

Owingsville again hosted the May Day, Homecoming, and Christmas parades. They were all great successes and I thank all those who helped coordinate them. This year’s Veterans Day and Volunteer of the Year Celebration was held Nov. 11. Due to weather issues, it was held indoors at the Owingsville First Church of God. It was a great success as we honored approximately 60 veterans and the county Volunteer of the Year, John Wills. A big thanks to all who participated in this event, especially the Bath County High School Band directed by Rob Rawlings. Sonny Rawlings organizes the Volunteer of the Year recognition and has since its inception.

During the next several months, a new Justice Center will be built in Owingsville. The state approved $9.3 million in funding in its 2018-2019 budget as part of the 2018-20 biennial capital projects budget for the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). A local committee was formed and have had several meetings thus far. The project is moving along smoothly and is now at the “Site Procurement” stage. The committee will be deciding on the location for the center in the very near future. I have seen several of these new justice centers in other communities and can testify that they are all very attractive buildings. I believe this addition to our community will only add to its beauty. I’m excited and eager to see construction begin.

On November 21st, the school system held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new renovation project at the high school. The 12+ million dollar project has given us a state of the art facility to assist in educating our young people. Bath County now has a first class educational and athletic facility for our students to attend. I am especially looking forward to the new 800 seat auditorium. It is equipped with all the modern equipment useful in venues such as this. I believe we will see more and more community events scheduled for our area because of this new addition. Plans are underway for the 2020 May Day Pageant to be held in the new auditorium. Congratulations to Supt. Harvey Tackett and the school board for all your efforts and your vision in getting this all accomplished.

I wish to thank our City Council members who served during 2019. Council members include Linda Barber, Laura Ellen Goodpaster, Ed McDaniel, Chris Crockett, Jackie Anderson, and Steve Bashford. We are blessed to have such a dedicated group of individuals serving on this council. The City of Owingsville has the best group of city workers of any city in the state. They certainly make my job much easier. Our staff consists of City Clerk Cathy Conway, Utilities Clerk Melissa Hodge, Police Chief Todd Tout, Assistant Police Chief John Sutherland, Officer Justin Sutherland, Officer Billy Rudd, Officer David Adams, School Resource Officer Johnny Botts, Public Works Supt. Steve Faudere, Assistant Public Works Supt. Jimmy Neal Robinson, Daniel Goldie, Adam Crockett, Building Inspector Bobby Carpenter, City Attorney Earl Rogers III, City CPA Doug Moore, Owingsville Housing Authority Director Lance Davis, Fire Chief Chris Hall, and Assistant Fire Chief Derek Ellington. Due to the high efficiency level of our voluntary fire department, the city’s Public Fire Protection Classification Rating was lowered from a “6” to a “4”. This is a remarkable improvement and will save our citizens several dollars on their homeowner’s policy. I am also very appreciative for the 40 local citizens who serve on our city boards and committees. They all donate their time and energy helping our city. Finally, I want to thank my family for all their support they give me in doing my job as Mayor. This job requires many hours away from home during the day, evenings, and weekends. It is definitely not an 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday-Friday job. Serving as Mayor is a 24 hour/7 day a week job. I understand this and am always available and open to assist any citizen whenever my help is needed. My family also understands this and supports me 100 percent. My wife, Christina, and step-son, Wyatt, always back me and assist me in any way I need them.

A major accomp-lishment for our community occurred this past Spring as the Minihan saddle was designated by the State Legislature as the “Official Saddle of Kentucky”. Eugene Minihan handmade these saddles during the late 1800s and early 1900s right here in Owingsville on North Court Street. The saddle became world famous and today is a collector’s item. I want to thank our State Senator Albert Robinson and State Representative Matt Koch for their valuable assistance in helping to get this done. Sen. Robinson, Rep. Koch, and I spent several days in Frankfort convincing the legislature to make this designation. In a state known for its horses, such as Kentucky, this is quite an accomplishment and honor.

Owingsville now serves as home to the new Bath County History Museum. This project has been in the works for the past couple years and a ribbon cutting ceremony was held this past November to officially mark its opening. A huge thanks to Brent Frizzell and his committee for all their hard work on this project. It is a wonderful addition to our city and county and will only grow bigger and better each year. It is located upstairs in the old court house.

In January of 2019, the City of Owingsville and the Bath County Schools partnered together to place a School Resource Officer in the high school. Johnny Botts was hired for the position which was also extended to include Owingsville Elementary as well. Later in the year, the school system also partnered with the Bath County Sheriff’s Department to hire Larry Bowling to serve as a School Resource Officer for the Bath County Middle School and Crossroad’s Elementary. I commend the school system for taking this step. It is everyone’s goal to provide our young people a safe environment in which to learn.

As I watch the news on television and read about all the events going on in our nation and world, I feel so fortunate and blessed to call Owingsville my home. What makes our community so special is the people who live here. We still wave when we pass each other in a car, assemble together when one of our friends loses a loved one, attend fund raisers to help our neighbors make it through hard times, believe in and support our young people, and finally, our citizens believe that life is what we make it. In almost all cases, we determine our own fate by the decisions we make and the actions and reactions we take. As we all begin a new year, I want to thank you for everything you do to help make our community a great place to live. I also pledge to you that I will work hard in 2020 to help our town continue on the successful path we are currently on. I ask that you keep our community and me in your daily prayers. May God continue to bless our nation and our community.