Muldraugh city council holds last meeting of 2006 By KAREN KENNEDY The Muldraugh City Council held its last regular meeting for 2006 on Dec. 11. Present were Mayor Danny Joe Tate and councilmen Donnie Basham, Irvin Davis, Ron Heschke, and Curtis Kelley. Public works director Anthony Lee reported city work was going fairly smoothly, with no major problems. Mayor Tate noted that the amount of water the city is buying versus selling is out of line, with the city having bought about 300,000 gallons more than sold. It’s not yet clear if the problem lies in faulty lines or illegal hookups or a combination of the two, and Mayor Tate and city clerk Caroline Cline are in the process of checking into it. Police chief Joe Wood reported twice as much activity in November than usual, due to the police force really stepping up in the enforcement of stop signs and speed limits. Tate stated he is interested in trying to obtain some of the old sheriff’s department vehicles, with the hope they might be donated to the city. In any case, both Tate and council agreed some better police vehicles are sorely needed. Chief Wood approached the city about purchasing his own, brand new police vehicle and said he would pay for the vehicle out of his own pocket. The city would be responsible for the gas, maintenance, and insurance. In order to take advantage of the police discount, the city would actually purchase the vehicle, and Wood would have the monthly car payments automatically deducted from his paycheck. Curtis Kelley made a motion to draw up a contract to allow this vehicle arrangement between Wood and the city but stipulated that an attorney should review the contract before the final arrangements are agreed upon. Ron Heschke seconded the motion, with all voting in favor. One bid was received for the city’s 1992 pickup truck. The bid was submitted by Jimmy Miller and was for $250. Ron Heschke made a motion, seconded by Irvin Davis, to sell the pickup truck to Miller. The discussion that followed centered around Tate’s claim that he’d hoped to get more money for the truck and his idea that keeping and using the truck is worth more to the city than selling it at that price. A roll call vote resulted in a tie, with Tate breaking the tie and the city voting to keep and continue to use the pickup truck. Tate talked about a storm shelter grant that has been approved for the city. The $1.3 million grant will build a storm shelter for 80 percent of the population of the city, with five square feet allotted per person. The shelter will also be handicapped accessible. Mayor Tate talked about how several years ago the city had to cut the blacktop at Golden Manor and that the city never paid to have it fixed because of a lawsuit with Sue Cummings – the owner of Golden Manor – and because Cummings was behind on paying for her business license. The lawsuit was thrown out of federal court, and circuit court ruled in the city’s favor. In addition, Cummings is now paid up on her business license. In which case, said Tate, he now feels the city should pay Cummings for the blacktop repair, which costs about $3,200 or $3,400. Ron Heschke made a motion to pay Cummings, with a second made by Donnie Basham. All voted in favor. Council voted to approve the business license for Chili Bowl Restaurant and Diner, to be located at 622 South Dixie in the old Kentucky Fried Chicken building. A holiday dinner was held for the residents of Muldraugh on Dec.15 at the firehouse. Mr. Beatty had donated turkeys and other donations and monetary collections came in from various sources. Just shy of 400 people came out for the dinner last year. A breakfast with Santa was sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary and held at the firehouse on Dec. 16.
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