The city of Henderson is looking to ready a tract of land on Barret Boulevard ready for retail development.
The city was recently notified that part of a 35-acre city-owned parcel was in the flood plain. Construction work of the nearby I-69 had caused 1/3 of the 35 acres to be in the flood plain, said Assistant City Manager Buzzy Newman at Tuesday’s city commission meeting.
Newman said that doesn’t prohibit construction from occurring on the land but it would be more expensive.
He said he’d like to have bids ready for the mass grading job in the spring with work to be done in the summer and shovel ready in the fall.
There are also five acres connected that the city also owns and can be used for development.
“If it’s leveled out and out of the flood plain, we’ll be good to go with some kind of retailers,” Commissioner Robert Pruitt said.
Mayor Brad Staton said that getting one retail store on that property could cause a domino effect. Once one goes in, plus the others already at Hoffman Plaza, more will want to build.
“It’s probably the beginning of an overall master plan,” said Newman. “Not only for Barret Boulevard but all the properties that encompass I-69.”
Community policing house
The Henderson City Commission on Tuesday was supportive of a plan to build a house at 106 Letcher St. where a Henderson Police Department officer will live as part of a community policing program.
The preliminary design is for a three-bedroom, two-bath house, according to Jeannie Quattrochi, a project coordinator with the city.
The cost is going to be about $200,000-$220,000, according to officials.
Housing a police officer live in a city-owned home in the neighborhood is a project that came out of the first year of the Inner City Improvement Plan. The officer would not pay to live there.
The city has run into some roadblocks in accomplishing the project. Last year, officials learned that a residence that had been designated as the home was full of asbestos and it was demolished.
The current proposal is for the 1,400 square foot home to be built in the same location.
Staton said he’s not shying away from the cost because the property will appreciate, and if the city doesn’t want to continue the program in the future, it could sell the house and recoup the money and more.
Staton asked city staff to bring back some bids and move forward on the project.
“I’d like to get the ground broken this year if we can,” the mayor said.
In other news, the city commission:
- Honored south Middle School Student Brycen Gish with the Community Spotlight award. Bryson Gish, now a student at South Middle School, suggested the city install emergency safety poles in playground areas as a way for kids who don’t have a cell phone to call for help if in danger. It’s an initiative the city is looking to implement.
- Honored Sam Lingerfelt, the city’s safety and training coordinator, who was scheduled to retire on Friday, Feb. 27. Lingerfelt has been with the city for more than 36 years in several different roles. In his first stint, he worked as a firefighter in the Henderson Fire Department. Next, he worked for 10 years as the safety department, before moving into the sanitation department for four years and finally moving back to safety, where he’s been for five years, he said. Staton said that Lingerfelt’s retirement party on Tuesday was the “most well attended retirement party in the history of Henderson, Ky., just about.” “I know we’ve made great strides all over the city,” Lingerfelt said.
- Recognized new employee, Preston Roberts, a Utility System Worker III for the Henderson Water Utility.
- Approved $30,000 funding to Audubon Kids Zone to fund two projects that have come from the Inner City Improvement Plan. In one, QPR training, AKZ’s Charles Haygan will offer the suicide awareness and prevention classes to as many as they can, Haygan said. QPR stands for “Question. Persuade. Refer.” The city funded $5,000 for books and materials. In a second project that the city funded $25,000, residents of the East End will originate smaller-scale projects to improve the neighborhood.
- Heard a first reading and gave unanimous preliminary approval for a new ordinance that would allow special purpose vehicles to operate on city streets. Read the ordinance here and here.
- Approved a resolution that allows residents who meet financial requirements to access $200 from a fund to help with utility bills. The $200 can only be used towards the water portion of the utility. The fund, which has about $30,000 in it, was created last year for help with residents’ catch-up bills that came after a Henderson Water Utility billing error. Read that resolution here.
