Corbin poised to abolish Recreation Commission

The Corbin City Commission will consider a proposal next month to abolish the town’s Recreation Commission, a prelude to more direct control over the Recreation Department.
The topic was raised briefly during the commission’s monthly work session meeting Monday.
Commissioner Joe Shelton, who asked about the status of the proposal, said the move is one way to “plan for the future.”
“I think the Recreation Department is going to have a great opportunity to expand and we’d like to have some say and control over that.”
Commissioners passed a three percent restaurant tax this year, a portion of which will likely go to further fund recreation activities. The Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission, the group that administers the tax revenues, has pledged to help improve the towns aging recreation infrastructure. And the commission will likely up the ante on its funding of the Recreation Department with an influx of occupational license tax revenues.
Corbin Mayor Amos Miller said the proposal has been discussed for some time among commissioners and will be on next month’s regular meeting agenda. The meeting is scheduled for Aug. 14.
“We are going to discuss whether or not we want to make it an agency of the City of Corbin like the street department and the Police Department and the Fire Department instead of an individual board like it is now,” Miller said. “It will have some advantages that it’s not privy to now. Funding becomes easier and oversight becomes easier.”
Although the current Recreation Department is almost totally funded by the city, a separate five-member commission governs it. Currently serving on the Recreation Commission are: Tom Blair, Darrell Saunders, Wayne Willis, Dale Walker and Nick Greiwe.
Miller said the Recreation Commission was established in the 1950s by resolution in order to promote recreation in Corbin, but that time has changed the need for it.
Shelton said all the members of the Recreation Commission are in agreement with the proposed move. Marlon Sams, Director of Recreation, said he’s heard about the proposal but preferred not to comment until it is finalized.
If commissioners decide to disband the Recreation Commission, it can be done in only one vote, unlike an ordinance which must be approved twice before passage.
Commissioners also discussed replacement of the city’s seal.
Commissioner Alan Onkst said the seal has been a “problem for quite some time” and is the butt of jokes in the police department because most everything included on it “is not in the city limits.”
The round seal, brightly colored, depicts Cumberland Falls, a sign for Kentucky Fried Chicken and a boater on Laurel Lake. It has three sweeping arrows with the words “Knox” “Laurel” and “Whitley” written on them to represent the three counties in which Corbin is traditionally thought to be located, even though it is really only in two.
Corbin Police Chief Carson Mullins said the seal is difficult to reproduce correctly and does not plan to put it on the Police Department’s 10 new cruisers.
“From the day it was approved, nobody liked it,” Mullins said.
Officials say a contest was held last time to design the seal. They say they plan to go another route this time around if the seal is replaced.
Also, during the work session:
• Christina Bently, of Corbin United Effort, discussed the need for a taxi service in Corbin. She also asked for the commission’s help in planning and possibly funding a volunteer banquet.
• Commissioner Bruce Farris proposed widening some city streets by paving over grassy utility strips.
• Elizabeth Smith, a resident of 303 Ford Street, asked commissioners to consider making Ford Street one-way because of parking problems, especially during sporting events.
• Commissioners heard an update from City Manager Bill Ed Cannon regarding excavation and grading work for the Southeast Kentucky Agriculture and Exposition Center. Cannon said work is about 25 to 30 percent complete and that compaction results, so far, were “desirable.”
Before the work session, the commission held a special meeting during which it approved: a loan with Tri-County National Bank for $253,000 to pay for police cars, a trash packer and a chipper; a line of credit with Cumberland Valley National Bank for $450,000; an agreement with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in the amount of $204,000 for paving.