Tourism officials say Sander’s Park now about 85 percent complete

Officials are hoping that principal construction on a downtown Corbin park dedicated to Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Harland Sanders can be complete in less than a month once cold weather breaks for good.

According to Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission member Alan Onkst, work on the park has been hit or miss of late due to cold weather, but some progress has been made.

Decorative railing was installed around the perimeter of the park last month. And signs at the entryways to the park have also been completed.

Contracts are in place for the construction of step and a handicap accessibility ramp.

“I’d say we are about 80 to 85 percent complete with it right now,” Onkst said this week, noting a few other items need to be addressed.

For one, he said the Commission is hoping to receive some assistance from the city so that an alleyway between the park and the outside wall of the nearby Elks lodge can be paved.

Also, landscaping work by Laurel Gardens — which will be, perhaps, the most visually striking part of the project — is slated to begin soon.

The last order of business will then be placement of the centerpiece of the park — a large, bronze statue of Colonel Sanders himself.

Suzie Razmus, a member of the city’s Board of Commissioners, is also chairperson of Friends of the Colonel — a non-profit organization dedicated to the construction of the park. She said the group had raised about $27,000 of the $47,000 needed to purchase the statue, but cost overruns on the park nearly erased those fundraising gains. The Tourism Commission took over control and primary funding of the park project last year in order to finish it out.

The park actually belongs to the Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission.

Razmus said Tuesday that fundraising efforts for the statue would begin again in earnest once construction work on the park is complete. Most of the money raised so far has been through the sale of personalized bricks, pavers and plaques that will be installed in the park.

“It’s a process, but we knew it would be,” Razmus said. “I think when people see how nice it’s going to be, I’m hoping some more will step up and buy the $2,500 plaques.”

She added that she is hoping Yum! Brands, the Louisville-based corporation that owns the KFC trademark, will help out with the purchase of the statue as well.

“I think it’s all about tapping into the people that are interested in the project.”

Information about donating to the project can be found online at www.buildthecolonel.com.

An artist and concept has already been chosen for the statue. Razmus said once the money is raised, sculpting and installation would take three to four months.