Corbin Code Board tells two businesses to either get license or close

Two Corbin businesses have been ordered to either pay for their annual city business license or close.

The move came during the regular monthly meeting of the city’s Code Enforcement Board Monday afternoon. During the meeting, Corbin Code Enforcement Officer Frank Burke said Gentry Auto Repair and Kretzer painting were the only two businesses in the city that had not obtained their annual business license.

Kretzer’s Painting, he said, had been delinquent in prior years obtaining a license.

The city requires all companies or individuals doing business in the city to obtain a license annually. They range in cost, depending on the type of business, from $100 to $1,000. Retail businesses pay for a license based on gross sales.

Both Gentry Auto Repair and Kretzer’s Painting were issued citations for failing to obtain the licenses. They were supposed to get them before the end of April.

“I delivered the notices to both of them in person, so I know they are aware that they are supposed to get them,” Burke told members of the Code Enforcement Board.

Board chairman Trent Knuckles said typically, in past years, the board had given businesses that had failed to obtain a license a month to do so or close.

An order by the board can be enforced through local courts.

The board voted unanimously to fine Gentry Auto Repair $100 and raise the fine for Kretzer’s Painting to the maximum allowed, and gave both businesses 30 days to obtain licenses or cease operation.

A third business, Kids Kingdom, had also been cited for failing to obtain a license for 2015, but Burke said it recently closed.
In other business, the board:

Amy Scott, owner of a residence at 1108 S. Kentucky Ave., was fined $500 for lack of property maintenance. Burke said the city had incurred over $500 worth of expense for mowing the property this year, and added that he planned to place a lien on the property in order to collect fines and fees.

A second property, at 505 Oak Street, is owned by a company — E.H. Pooled-114-LP out of Texas. Burke said a certified letter containing a citation notifying the company of property maintenance violations had been accepted. The company was fined $500 by the board.

• Discussed a recommendation made to the city’s Board of Commissioners in September to restrict placement of signs by businesses outside of the area on utility poles and easements.

Board member Ricky Lynch said it had been suggested that fines be instituted to deter such behavior, but he had yet seen any action taken on the recommendation.

Knuckles said he had presented city commissioners with a letter outlining the board’s suggestions, but had heard no feedback.
The board voted to draft another letter to the commission asking to revisit the issue.