Campbell looks ahead

Turn lanes, water, sewer projects receive PADD’s top priority stamp

Last week, Judge-Executive Jimmy Campbell reviewed accomplishments during the first three years of his administration. This week, Campbell looks ahead at his wish list for this year and beyond.
“First, I guess I have to look at projects that are ongoing, and then projects that haven’t started yet have been approved,” he said. “... The material for the (7,500-square-foot) community building at Lee S. Jones park did arrive and is on site. This facility’s completion has been much anticipated by the public even to the point that some are wanting to know when it will be done so they can go ahead and reserve a date. ... Some, I understand, have already committed to have a fall event in there
“We intend to move really rapidly on it; we intend to have it usable in early 2010,” he said. “I would say, total completion on it — maybe parking lots and sidewalks probably won’t be completed in 2010, but we hope to get it usable. We may only have a gravel parking lot for a while because we are going to get a good base down for a good parking lot at some point.
“But we are going to have to let that ground settle,” he said. “So it’ll be a while before it will be totally completed, and I would say that would probably run over into 2011 at least.”
His best guess is that District 1 Fire District’s new station on Friendship Spur near Eddy Creek will be completed and equipment bought in 1010. “Don’t hold me to it,” he said, noting that it depends on approval of state permits. “It (the building) probably will be bid shortly after the first of the year.
“Then we’ll get the station up and get the equipment,” Campbell said. “It will be a full year of work to get that up and running, but after all I’ve only been in office three years, and the fire district has only been in existence for a little over a year. So we’re moving pretty quickly even though its much needed and much anticipated.”
Campbell said the Pennyrile Area Development District, on which he serves along with the judge-executives of the other eight counties, prioritizes projects in each county.
“These are projects we’ll go after in the 2010 General Assembly,” he said. “While we’ve already been told there’s not a lot of spare money there, life does go on, and infrastructure does have to be considered as a priority. It does have to be done for the welfare of the public.
“We have three projects — one is transportation that we are looking at,” he said. “This (transportation) project will be a turn and acceleration lane on (Ky.) 93 South at the Eddyville Port Authority. If you have been out there during a busy season when the grain is coming in — the big trucks taking off in either direction and having to go uphill ... you notice that is a big problem. That project was ranked (by PADD) on the top 10 priority list.
“Generally the top 10 list that comes up in the area development offices, gets some consideration” (in the General Assembly), he said. “The second project that we prioritized was our water project. ... This is a comprehensive study to determine how best to supply water to the public by using Eddyville and Kuttawa’s water treatment plants and Lyon County (Water District’s) water lines. We’re hoping to be able to connect those. That would give us a way to better supply the public should something happen to one or the other (Eddyville or Kuttawa) or should we have a need to get water from other places. Lyon County Water District also buys water from Livingston, Crittenden and Caldwell County (water districts). We also recently added Trigg (Water District). We have different sources where we can go to get water to supply the public.”
Campbell said the water project, known as Water Consortium, was ranked No. 1 by PADD.
“The next project we looked at when we were prioritizing was our sewer project,” he said. “There was some money in the 2008 General Assembly that was allocated to expand sewer lines down on (Ky.) 810 South, around Bar X Trailer Court and Wallace Trailer Court and up (Ky,) 810 North. That project was not totally funded. (PADD) has asked that the General Assembly go ahead and complete that funding cycle for that project.
“We had a No. 7 ranking on one of the projects, and I believe we had a No. 9 ranking on the transportation,” Campbell said.
One long discussed project, which Campbell hopes will begin in the spring is construction of left turn lanes at Ky. 93 and Fairview Avenue in Eddyville. Another needed project is installation of a caution light at Ky. 93 South and Ky. 293. Both were approved in 2008, and both have been engineered. And Campbell hopes they will be installed in early 2010.
Another issue is that Lyon County is one of the few counties that doesn’t receive compensation for parking from the Administrative Office of the Courts because the courts use street parking here. n the future, Campbell hopes to expand the actual parking lot to serve the court.
“This is a budget year; I will go to Frankfort,” he said. “ ... I will solicit that project to get it off the ground.”