McBurney to Chamber: ‘State of the city is sound’

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Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney was the featured speaker during the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon Tuesday.

If one word could encapsulate Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney’s “state of the city” speech to members of the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Tuesday it would be “progress.”

McBurney spoke to a capacity crowd at the chamber’s monthly membership luncheon, held at The Corbin Center. During his short, but revealing 15-minute address, he revealed some of the city’s accomplishments in the past year, and some of its plans for the coming year.

“The main goal of the city is to create a better quality of life for our citizens,” he said at the end of his speech. “I think we are doing that. We are very proud of what we have here.”

McBurney devoted a little time to each department of city government.

For the city’s police department, McBurney noted that the turnover rate has stabilized in the last five years leading to “one of the better police departments in the state of Kentucky.” He said the city hopes to purchase, or lease, three to five new police cruisers in the coming year, and spend funds for more gear, including bulletproof vests for officers.

He lauded the town’s fire department, and noted it is the only city between Richmond and Oak Ridge, Tenn., along I-75, with a full-time fire department. McBurney said the department has added, in recent years, to its normal duties the answering of medical calls. Last year, firefighters went on 542 medical runs.

“Those guys are to be commended,” he said. “They are the first ones there just about every time.”

Because of the changing role of the department, he said city leaders are contemplating the purchase of a smaller, more versatile “fire and rescue vehicle” to replace an older vehicle in the fire department’s fleet. It would be more suited to use for medical runs.

McBurney called workers in the city’s Public Works Department the “unsung heroes” of the city. Public Works is responsible for most day-to-day physical operations of the city: infrastructure improvements and repairs, garbage pickup, mowing, etc.

“You just take city works out of the city of Corbin for one week and you will see what kind of problem you’ve got.”

McBurney said the Public Works Department has been bolstered in recent years with more skilled laborers — concrete experts, carpenters and others – who are able to do work that was performed in year’s past by outside construction companies and independent contractors. One benefit has been on ongoing, continuous sidewalk rehabilitation and improvement program.

Public Works employees are also completing work right now on improvements to a parking lot behind the News Journal and are renovating the offices for the Chamber of Commerce.

“We can do just about anything now,” McBurney noted. “Things we used to have to bid out in the past, we can do it on our own. It’s saved us a lot of money.”

McBurney also mentioned the city’s Main Street program, which he said is going a long way toward making the town’s main thoroughfare more interesting and vibrant.

In the Recreation Department, McBurney announced plans to install a new $48,000 splash pad at the city pool. The city is applying for a grant for the project.

And in regards to the Recycling Center, currently located next to City Hall on Main Street, McBurney said city leaders are currently looking for a new building to house the center in.

“Within the last year, recycling has doubled … we’ve outgrown our building,” McBurney said. “With that kind of growth, we need to be off Main Street … we need to be accessible.”

McBurney noted that the Recycling Center is important because it reduces the amount of solid waste taken to the landfill that saves the city money. Recyclables are sold by the center to offset the cost of its operation.

McBurney ended his speech by alluding to the city’s annual audit, which he said is now complete and will be unveiled publicly next week.

Normally, the city’s audits are released in October or November.

He said the audit would show the city’s finances are “sound,” though they do have “a few little scratches, but nothing to be alarmed about.”

“Budget wise, we just have to manage and be frugal,” McBurney said.

The luncheon ended with the dispensation of door prizes and presentation of plaques to chamber of commerce members.