By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1
Glasgow has a finance staff member, and requests for proposals for development of the former Johnson property along Cleveland Avenue may come next week.
Those are a couple of the highlights from Tuesday evening’s regular meeting of the Glasgow Common Council Finance Committee that also included discussion of other capital projects and purchases the city has had in progress and the significant tardiness of the audit report on the city’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.
The panel was joined by Victoria Simmons, who began her role Aug. 11 as city treasurer. The Glasgow High School alumna also earned a degree in accounting, with a minor in finance, from Western Kentucky University and has accumulated more than 150 hours’ worth of continuing education credits, enough to sit for the exam to be a certified public accountant, should she choose to do so, she said.
For the past six years, she handled the payroll for Barren County Schools, and before that, she was the corporate tax accountant for Camping World for six years. Those jobs came after she worked in the City of Bowling Green’s finance department while she was working on her WKU degree.
Councilman Terry Bunnell, who chairs the group, welcomed Simmons and invited her to introduce herself.
“I’m excited to be here – a lot to learn and I look forward to it,” she told the four committee members and others present, who also included a fifth councilman who is not on the committee, after sharing the basics about herself.
Bunnell asked whether she’d been able to gather information for an update on the city’s financial status.
“I’ve been here a week. Still working on things. Still a lot to learn,” Simmons said. “Next month I plan to bring a better snapshot. Um, bear with me as I learn; I just ask for grace. I’m still looking into numbers and things like that.”
Royse noted they had found a couple of things that hadn’t been billed for yet, so those invoices have now been distributed.
He told Glasgow News 1 that he planned to have Simmons participate in the hiring process for a new finance officer. More than 30 people applied, and the list has been narrowed somewhat, he said. He hoped to have some interviews scheduled for next week.
The former city treasurer, Stephanie Garrett, retired last month, and the finance officer, Madi Griffin, resigned last month.
Nick Hurt, occupational tax administrator, reported that a total of $57.83 in occupational payroll taxes had been collected in July by HdL Companies, with which the city contracts to identify companies that should be paying occupational license and net profit fees but haven’t. Once payments start from any particular company, the funds collected from that company are split equally between HdL and the city for two years, after which the city gets 100 percent. The month-to-month amounts fluctuate greatly.
The mayor provided updates on several city projects, starting with the support wall on the West Main Street property, a portion of which was just recently deeded to the city by the Barren County Fiscal Court. The wall braces the ground beneath an adjacent city-owned parking lot, but the structure has deteriorated significantly through the years.
Royse said the design for the property is under review now. He later specified to Glasgow News 1 that it will be a replacement of the wall rather than repair.
“We didn’t want to design the wall until we got the property, and now, as of the last council meeting, we were deeded the property,” he said. “Now we own the amount of the wall that we need to do it, so that’s going to be coming up.”
He continued ticking off the projects in no particular order.
A timeline has been provided for construction of a bridge over the stream on the “back” side of the Glasgow Regional Landfill property, from which clay dirt will be moved to the landfill for covering as needed. He said it’s supposed to be completed by the end of November.
That parcel of land is a protected habitat for the Indiana bat, Royse has told GN1 previously, “so you can’t just go in there and start blowing things up.” The necessary protections have been incorporated into the design and construction plans, he said.
The federal grant funding for the project had previously been paused by the current federal administration but the OK to begin was finally received. The city has to spend the money first and submit documentation for reimbursement from the grant.
Royse reiterated information that has already been reported about the status of American Legion Park construction that includes a new aquatic center. The new expected completion time for this phase of the park overhaul is around the first part of September; an open house will be scheduled in the fall.
The farmers market facility is supposed to be completed in October. He said that one of the latest delays was that some materials had been incorrectly ordered and that has now been corrected. Crews are supposed to be working double time now to help make up for some of the lost time and get the project completed on time.
The restrictions and covenants to be followed by any developers of the former Johnson property the city purchased last year – nearly 162 acres along Cleveland Avenue – have been approved after months of reviews and revisions, Royse said, so the city is almost ready to advertise a request for proposals for residential and retail development. The other primary purpose for the property is recreation, and the city previously committed 15 acres for an indoor sports complex the county government wants to build.
“I feel good about where we’re going to be,” Royse said, later adding that estimates for asbestos abatement at the former Johnson home have been received, so the city can get that and the subsequent demolition done relatively soon.
After the meeting concluded, the mayor said he thinks the RFP could be distributed as soon as early next week.
The ramp from North Race Street to the city’s parking structure has reopened and the design process for the pedestrian bridge that connects the structure, including its elevator, to the north side of Glasgow Public Square, is the next step, he said.
At Bunnell’s request, Royse also updated those present on a couple of significant capital expenses, both of which were in last year’s budget and were transferred to this fiscal year’s plan. A new dump truck that had been ordered has now been delivered to the landfill, he said. And the new fire truck that is under construction is expected next month.
The committee’s next regular meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 16 in the council conference room on Floor 2 of the Luska J. Twyman Municipal Building.
