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2011 State of the county, state of the city addresses
By Ed Waggener Times are getting better. The Chamber of Commerce was assured that by the annual report of the Adair County Judge Executive and Mayor of the City of Columbia, KY to the Chamber with their respective state of the county, state of the city report. Judge Melton gives first report Adair County Judge Ann Melton gave a detailed report on the State of the County, which included listings of her two proudest achievements and her choice for the two biggest failings in the county today. She's proudest, she said, of the road work and the 911 center. "I'll tell you," she said, "I like to build roads. I like blacktop. I even like to go out and smell the blacktop when it's being laid." She said that it is always a good feeling when blacktop is laid on a road for the first time, and told of one such occasion on Neat Hollow Road. She said that while the work was going on, she talked to a lifetime resident of the road, Earl Neat, who said to her as the work was in progress, "You know, Sis, I never thought I'd live to see the day to see this. I thought I'd be living on a gravel road all my life." The Adair 911 Center, she said, was her other proudest achievement. "We've got two dispatchers on duty around the clock," she said, "there's an office for the County Emergency Management Director, and we now have an office in the building for a coroner. If you're ever over there in an emergency, like the flooding last year, you'll see just how much it means to our people." Judge Melton said that she and Mayor Harris are working on a plan, right now, which will streamline the management of the 911 center with joint city county oversight. She also said that for the two biggest failures for the county, she is hoping for increasing cooperation with the City. Our two biggest failures, she said, are in not having a better parks and in not yet having a senior citizens center. She's hopeful that the parks problem will be addressed by the new City-County Parks and Recreation Board. The county named it's share of the board members for Parks and Recreation at its January meeting. The City is expected to follow with its members being named in February. Judge Melton said that Adair County is one of only two counties in the Lake Cumberland Area Development District without a Senior Citizens Center, and that is something she hopes will be changing soon. She singled out the new Adair County Jailer Rick Wilson in addressing the problems at the jail. She said that the Animal Shelter is doing well, and that the Adair Recycling Center is now on an upswing. At one point, when prices were highest, the recycling operation was almost a break even affair. Then prices sank. "Now prices for recycled material is going up again. She said that preserving the old courthouse is a big project, but it looks like the silent phase of the fund raising effort is well underway, and that this centerpiece of downtown will be saved. Mayor Harris makes working together a theme Mayor Mark Harris made a spirit of cooperation a major theme. He agreed with Judge Melton that the Courthouse must be saved. "I can't imagine Columbia without that building," he said. "The way I look at it. It's my courthouse too. It's the nucleus of our town. I live in Columbia, but I live in Adair County as well. The city will be working with the county to preserve it." Mayor Harris said that he's already working to bring the Main Street program for revitalization to downtown. And he promised to work to improve the beauty of the city. His main focus, he said, will be to bring more jobs to Columbia and Adair County. He said he will be looking at ways to improve decrepit buildings, or see that they are torn down. He said that he fully supports the PRIDE program, and will work with the county in PRIDE initiatives. Ron Heath outlines program for Chamber of Commerce President Ron Heath made introductory remarks about Chamber goals for the coming year. Major initiatives will be in the following areas:
An optimistic note was struck by the corporate sponsor for the event, R.L. Walker, himself a former County Judge Executive, who declared that the economy has turned around, he's seeing movement in the real estate market, and 2011 is going to be a better year. Walker said that in his 39 years in the real estate business, the past two years have seen the most mortgage foreclosures of all that time. But that, he said, is behind us. The worst thing to watch for now, he said, is interest rate increases, which can be avoided by buying now. Question and answer session In a question and answer session which followed the meeting, Rev. Joe Payne asked if there has been any move toward consolidation of the City and County. Judge Melton said that there had not been. "Maybe that is something we can look forward to in the future," she said, "but so long as both city and county are able to have the money to provide services, and they both continue to do a good job, I don't see it happening very soon." This story was posted on 2011-01-18 21:23:36
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 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
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