CITY BEGINS ANNEXATiON OF HWY 55 NORTH PROPERTIES

The Columbia City Council gave first reading to an ordinance that will bring several new properties located on and near Highway 55 North (Campbellsville Road) into the city limits at its regular monthly meeting Tuesday night. The new properties are 11 lots totaling 26.46 acres located on both sides of KY 55 North and along Grant Lane. The properties, which are being annexed into the city at the request of the owners, are two lots owned by Harvey-Ellis Motors, two lots owned by G & G Motors, one lot owned by Gate Petroleum, one lot owned by Joseph Pyles and Don Franklin, one lot owned by Adair County Farm Bureau, one lot owned by The Adair Progress, one lot owned by the Adair County Water District, one lot owned by William and Rosa Burton and one lot owned by Donna Hancock. The annexed area will officially become part of the city following second and final reading of the ordinance and publication in the newspaper. The council had previously approved a recommendation from the city’s planning and zoning commission that all the properties be zoned C-2 Highway Commercial, and gave second and final reading to the ordinance designating the zoning at the meeting. In other action at the council’s first meeting of the year, the council: •Voted to accept the recommendation of Monarch Engineering to award the bid for replacing water lines on Fortune, Monroe and Guardian Streets to Southern Backhoe, Inc. of Campbellsville. According to Mayor Pat Bell, Southern submitted the low bid of $38,900 for the project. •Adopted a resolution to assume ownership of 1.08 miles of the old KY 61 South from the state once the new KY 61 project is finished. The section will include the old bridge over Petty’s Fork and the roadway through the “s” curves to the junction of the new KY 61. Mayor Pat Bell said that there are three reasons for the city taking over the road: 1. The city will be running sewer lines to the area soon, and this will give them the needed right-of-way to do so. 2. The city is in the process of annexing property out to the new interchange. 3. With the city having ownership, it will be assured of keeping the road open for the residents. •Received an update from Martin Jones from the Industrial Development Authority. Jones said that he is doing research on the possibility of constructing a “spec” building at Green River Commerce Park due to the fact that “90-95 percent” of industrial prospects are seeking existing facilities. However, Jones said that he is not ready to make any type of recommendation at this time. The council also requested that Jones provide them with a detailed financial report from the authority for the past year, and asked that he attend council meetings each month to provide updates, something he agreed to do. •Approved numerous appointments as recommended by Mayor Bell. Those included: -The re-appointment of David Wells to another three-year term on the Columbia Utilities Commission. -The appointment of Jimmy “Smokey” Harper to fill the remainder of the unexpired term of the late Craig Williams on the Utilities Commission. -The appointment of June Parson as the council’s representative on the Utilities Commission. -The re-appointment of Randall Pyles and Pam Hancock to new three-year terms on the Tourism Commission. -The appointment of June Parson as the city’s representative on the Columbia Cemetery board. -The re-appointment of Charles Grimsley as the city’s representative on the Parks and Recreation board. -The appointment of Grimsley as mayor pro-tem. Tuesday night’s meeting was the first for new council member Linda Waggener. All the remaining council members – Charles Grimsley, June Parson, Edwin Taylor and Craig Dean – were also present.