Former state senator’s name removed from Corbin Arena signs

City leaders say former State Senate President David L. Williams’ name has been removed from signs at the town’s Arena because of what they see as a lack of support over an occupational tax dispute with the Knox County Fiscal Court.

While former Kentucky State Senate President David L. Williams still has his name on official paperwork for Corbin’s 5,000-seat arena, city officials are doing their best to erase any vestiges of him from the facility.

Williams’ name has been removed from most signs at The Arena in response to what some local leaders see as a lack of support for the town during his last days as a State Senator. He served as District 16 State Senator from 1987 until earlier this month when he resigned and accepted an appointment from Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear to fill a judgeship vacancy in the 40th Judicial Circuit.

Corbin City Commissioner Joe "Butch" White said it was a mistake to ever name The Arena after Williams because he never secured enough state funding to finish the facility.

"If you are going to name something for somebody, you should name it because they furnished enough to finish the whole thing," White said. "Corbin has made some bad decisions in the past in prior administrations. It’s now up to the current city commissioners and the new city commissioners coming in to make the best out of those decisions."

"[Building] The Arena was not a bad decision," White said. "How it was constructed and who handled it … I think was a bad decision."

Initially, the Arena was projected to cost between $12 and $15 million. During a meeting with Corbin leaders prior to construction, Williams suggested that it needed to be built on a grander scale. City leaders say he made a promise of more money to follow.

The Arena ended up costing nearly double those early projections in the final tally.

In 2005, prior to construction, the city’s Board of Commissioners voted nearly unanimously to name The Arena after Williams. The lone holdout was former city commissioner Bruce Farris.

In the next election cycle, Farris garnered the most votes among all commission candidates. In 2010, he failed to retain his seat after suffering a debilitating stroke.

Former Corbin Mayor Amos Miller said he did not want to comment on the decision to name The Arena after Williams.

But current City Commissioner Joe Shelton, who is one of only two current commissioners to have voted on the decision to name The Arena after Williams, said he now feels Farris’ view turned out to be correct.

"Hindsight is always 20/20 I guess," Shelton said. "At the time he had been very supportive and he was helpful as far as getting The Arena and working hard on it."

Shelton said he, and other city leaders, wanted to remove Williams’ name from arena signs in response to what they saw as a lack of support from the former senator in the ongoing fight over occupational tax revenues between Corbin and the Knox County Fiscal Court.

After years of court battles, Corbin was on the precipice of collecting all the occupational taxes levied in the Knox County portion of Corbin. An amendment to a tax amnesty bill was introduced by Kentucky State Senator Robert Stivers that would thwart those legal victories. Stivers’ district includes Knox County. Williams was one of a handful of legislators that voted against the bill, but Shelton says he feels the former senator’s opposition was token and meaningless.

"We weren’t happy in the support we got from Williams over the Knox County Occupational tax situation," Shelton said. "We just felt he did not exactly come to the aid of the city of Corbin. He didn’t make any comments about it and wouldn’t really speak out. He wasn’t aggressive enough."

Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney said the situation right now is kind of "touchy," and noted that The Arena still officially bears Williams’ name on legal paperwork. City leaders were apparently advised by City Attorney Bob Hammons that it would be too difficult to truly remove Williams’ name because of financing agreements for the facility.

The Arena opened in March 2009. The city borrowed roughly $15 million to complete the project.

Attempts to contact Williams for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.