Grinch Village, annexation of Immanuel Baptist Church discussed by Corbin City Commission

A Grinch Village, annexation of Immanuel Baptist Church into the Corbin city limits, and the paving of sidewalks were all items on the agenda for Monday’s monthly Corbin City Commission meeting.

Kaleen Turner, a representative with the Corbin Arts and Literary League, proposed having a Grinch Village in NIBROC Park in conjunction with the Corbin Christmas open house on Nov. 17 from noon – 5 p.m.

The Arts and Literary League will provide the labor and manpower to run the village, and requested that the city provide $270 to purchase the wood and materials to make the Grinch Village.

“Hopefully this is something we can build on year to year,” Turner noted.

Commissioner Andrew Pennington suggested contacting some local merchants about possibly getting some of the building materials donated.

The city commission voted unanimously to authorize the event, and provide $270 in funding for it.

The Corbin Tourism Commission has agreed to provide hot chocolate for the open house.

Also during Monday’s meeting, the city commission approved the first reading of an ordinance annexing Immanuel Baptist Church into the city limits along with the right of way along Browning Acres Road (Ky. 2989) between the church and Ky. 312. The property will be zoned R-2 for two-family dwellings.

A second reading of the ordinance hasn’t been scheduled yet, but will likely take place at next month’s regularly scheduled city commission meeting.

Possible annexation of the property was discussed during a Corbin City Commission meeting in January after the church requested that the property be annexed in order to have improved fire and police capacities.

A group of property owners, who live along Browning Acres Road between Ky. 312 and the church, were present at the January meeting opposing the annexation and not wanting the roadway annexed for fear it would potentially subject them to paying city taxes and place them under city zoning regulations.

After the January meeting, Sandra Reeves, a local attorney representing the nine property owners, said the group would file suit, if necessary, to try and prevent the annexation, and would try to put a referendum on the ballot, if need be, claiming the annexation is corridor annexation, which isn’t in conformity with the statute.

The city has previously done similar annexation along a roadway in several areas including: Ohler Road, Ky. 312, Fifth Street Road and the Corbin bypass, which resulted in no litigation.

No one spoke out during Monday’s meeting regarding the annexation issue.

Discussion of the annexation issue wasn’t an item listed on the agenda for Monday’s meeting, but during regular monthly meetings, the commission can discuss and vote on items not specifically listed on the agenda.

In addition during Monday’s meeting, Corbin City Manager Marlon Sams announced that a handful of sidewalks would soon be repaved, including:

• Sidewalks along Kentucky Avenue between 9^th and 10^th streets on the left hand side of the street only. A set of steps will be removed to make the sidewalk handicap accessible.
• Sidewalks between Ford Street and Caldwell Street on the right side only.
• Sidewalks on Poplar Avenue between 6^th and 8^th Street.
• Sidewalks along Engineer Street near Vaughn Avenue.

In other business, the commission:

• Set the 2019 real property tax rate at 31.9 cents per $100 of assessed value, and the personal property tax rate at 40.92 cents per $100 of assessed value. Both rates were slight decreases from last year when the real property tax rate was 32.0 cents per $100 of assessed value, and the personal property tax rate was 41.6 cents per $100 of assessed value.
• Approved the first reading of an ordinance establishing a no-parking zone for a portion of Adkins Street, and another ordinance establishing a new stop sign at the intersection of Eighth Street and Poplar Avenue.
• Received an update on a repaving project for the London-Corbin Airport. Airport representative Mark Singer noted that the project was originally only supposed to be a $1.85 million repaving over the top of the existing runway. Because engineering requirements have changed since the airport was first built, the existing blacktop will have to be milled and a new layer of blacktop put down instead. The bid to repave the runway is now $5.1 million with the airport responsible for $90,000 in matching money.