Tourism board votes down train art project

The Corbin Tourism Commission met on Monday and despite Chairman Steve McBurney calling it business as usual some of their financial decisions may be signs of the economic times.

The Board heard two new requests for funding, one from Main Street Manager Sharae Myers and one from Corbin Lady Redhounds softball coach Chris Hart, but denied each of them, while on the other end of the spectrum, agreed to give $2,257 to a local company as reimbursement for money spent during an open house ceremony and decided to fork over $15,000 to repair the Civic Center sewage problems..

Main Street Manager Sharae Myers’ request for $5,000 to help fund a public art project involving three-foot high poly-resin trains proposed by the Main Street Program was squashed when just two Board members (Suzie Razmus and Betty Comer) voted to go ahead with the funding, while Nick Greiwe, Sudhir Patel, Wes Tipton and Jackie Willis opposed the measure. McBurney did not have to vote.

Tipton blamed the slumping economy for his opinion on the project, stating that he felt the Commission may need to be careful with it’s spending right now.

“I am a little concerned with the economy,” Tipton said. “Sooner or later, I think we are going to be looking at helping with the expo center.

“I just think at some point, the city is going to look to us for some payment,” he added. “We have to consider that this is not a brick-and-mortar project.”

Suzie Razmus, on the other hand, said she felt it was important to move ahead with the project based on past relationships between CSX and the City of Corbin, adding that the money requested was by no means going to solve any problems that come up with the Expo Center.

“I do think it is important that we act on this because relationships between CSX and Corbin has been tenuous in the past,” Razmus said. “Five-thousand dollars is not going to pay for the Expo Center.
“I am more concerned with good will and showing downtown businesses that we support them,” she added. “I think this would be money well spent.”

Meanwhile, the Commission did not consider Hart’s request, citing one of the group’s policies as the reason they were unable to give the money. Hart’s request was for $700 to sponsor T-shirts for this year’s Cumberland Falls Invitational Softball Tournament, which were to be sold for a profit.
According to what Tipton quoted as the Tourism Commission’s policy, ‘funds are not to be used to subsidize any profit making activity.’

In other business, the group voted to go ahead with sewer repairs on the Civic Center grounds, despite the cost more than doubling.

Initially, repairs were expected to cost in the neighborhood of $6,500, but after further inspection and meeting with the Whitley County Health Department, it was deemed that the current amount of septic lines were not up to code. The plumber hired to do the job in question, resubmitted an estimate to bring the system up to code that cost the Board more than $15,000.

The group agreed unanimously that the work had to be done.

“It’s a lot of money, but it is something we have to do,” Tipton said.
As for the Sofcoast request for $2,257, which was made by Bob Terrell at the November meeting and was initially for $1,995, Board members had previously stated that they did not believe it was within the Board’s guidelines to issue a check to a private company for this type of thing.

Despite expressing concerns regarding the legality of giving funds to Sofcoast during December’s meeting, McBurney said the Commission had made arrangements with the Corbin Industrial Development Commission to act as a pass through for the funds, meaning that the Tourism Commission would issue a check to the CIDC, who would then pass the funds on to Sofcoast.
Despite the questions raised previously, McBurney said the group had disbursed funds in that manner before.

“We have always given, but it has always been through the CIDC,” McBurney said. “What that is, when new businesses come into town, as kind of a good gesture, we will help with food and things like that.

“The thing was that we could only make the check out to the CIDC and not directly to Sofcoast,” he added.
McBurney said the money was to be specifically used for reimbursement of refreshments.

In other business, the Board agreed to rent the Community room to Weight Watchers on Tuesday evenings at a rate of $30, which is discounted considering the usual rate is $75. They also voted not to move ahead with plans to hire MSE to develop blueprints for a welcome center, which would have cost the Commission around $8,000.