Stivers: Corbin annexation proposal delayed until at least next year

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers said earlier this year he planned to introduce legislation that would allow Corbin to annex into portions of Laurel County. He didn’t do so. No he says the proposal has been delayed until 2018.

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, still plans to introduce legislation at some point that could allow Corbin to annex into Laurel County, it just won’t happen this year.

In late January, Stivers, who represents Whitley County in the Kentucky General Assembly, told the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce that wanted to introduce legislation that would allow Corbin to annex land in Laurel County with the approval of the Laurel County Fiscal Court.

“If the city wanted to annex one acre, the fiscal court would have to approve that. If the city wanted to do a second annexation, it would have to go back to the fiscal court,” Stivers explained.

The annexation would take place along the roadways and any property owners would have to petition the city to be annexed.

“Any resident that didn’t want to be annexed in could decide not to,” Stivers said.

Stivers proposed legislation won’t happen until at least next year though.

Stivers said Saturday evening prior to the start of the Fifth District Lincoln Day Banquet that he has met with Laurel County Fiscal Court members trying to do some education about what such legislation would do and how it would work.

“It still seems as if there is a lot of misunderstanding about what is out there. The fiscal court I don’t think felt comfortable with it,” Stivers said.

“I still truly want to do it. It got to the point to where we were in such a short session with such big issues and a lack of ability to educate people on what it really did that I had to hold it in my pocket again.”

Stivers said that he does plan to meet with boards of education, fiscal courts, city councils and some local individuals to talk about it.

“At another date when we get into the session next year I plan to try it again,” Stivers said. “They will have had a couple of years to look at it, understand it and know what it means. I think it will mean a lot in the way of development and potential jobs.”

Stivers said he believes he could get the bill through the state legislature, but that it doesn’t help the relationship with people in this area if he tries to just force it on them.

The key is educating people so there is a comfortable level and not distrust, he noted.

“For whatever reason – it goes long before we were ever of leadership age – there has always been some type of distrust about somebody is trying to get something over,” Stivers said. “Truly we need to kind of blur the lines and understand what is best from a regional standpoint. If we could have a $100 million investment and 200 or 300 jobs created that helps everybody.”