Mayors of three cities share thoughts at Chamber luncheon By KAREN KENNEDY The mayors of all three cities in Meade County – Brandenburg, Ekron, and Muldraugh – shared their thoughts on the futures of their cities at the Jan. 25 Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Meade County Extension office in Brandenburg. Newly-elected Brandenburg mayor David Pace started off by saying what’s helped him be able to step into the job are the people who work at city hall, as well as former mayor Ronnie Joyner. Pace said he’d like to get the citizens of Brandenburg more involved in the decision making processes and running of the city and plans to soon hold a “state of the city” address as well as an open house. He noted that the beautification committee has fallen a bit short in the past, with most of the efforts completed at the riverfront. He’d like to see beautification occur on Broadway, High, and Main Streets as well as in some of the subdivisions. Sidewalks are beneficial to the community, noted Pace, and remarked that if they are in place people actually do use them. As far as Brandenburg’s water treatment plant, there are some issues, said Pace, and steps are being taken to identify and rectify water leaks with repairs or new lines. Pace mentioned some new companies have opened up in Brandenburg only to close their doors relatively soon after opening. He’s proposing something called an “incubation shop” – similar to what is done in Madison, Ind. – where an established business owner mentors a new business owner until the new business owner is up and running. “At that point, when they are ready, they’re kicked out of the nest, so to speak,” said Pace. In closing, Pace said he was speaking for all of the three mayors present when he said, “All of us mayors need your support, ideas, and challenges.” Ekron Mayor Gwynne Ison said that as a sixth class city, Ekron is a sister city to Brandenburg and Muldraugh. “I’ve asked questions, begged for help, and everyone has been helpful to the city of Ekron,” Ison said. Ekron, said Ison, has been brought into compliance of the Safe Drinking Water Act by merging with Meade County Water District and is happy to now say it offers safe drinking water to all. Ison said she is proud of the pavilion and park at the Pee Wee Reese Memorial Park, the efforts made in safe pedestrian travel, and the cleanup efforts of Derby Tank Car. “We’ve got tomorrow’s challenges,” said Ison. “…Forty-two acres of wonderful land for industry…a perfect place for the center of the community.” Muldraugh Mayor Danny Joe Tate talked about the fact that Muldraugh is completely surrounded by the Fort Knox reservation on all sides, making it a somewhat unique part of the county. Some things have happened over the past couple years, said Tate, that present challenges for the city, such as Fort Knox is privatizing its water and sewer system. This, of course, affects Muldraugh since the city is by necessity hooked into the Fort Knox system. “This new change is something of a burden on the citizens of Muldraugh, but we’ll get through it,” assured Tate. Tate said he’s pleased that the former Ford dealership is now owned by Lusk Mechanical, which will bring employees and occupational taxes back to where they need to be. Muldraugh’s sidewalk grants are exciting for the city, as is the storm shelter that will also be built through a grant and will particularly benefit those in the city who reside in mobile homes. Tate is pleased with his new city council. “We’ve got a great council, and we’ll get through our problems by working with Fiscal Court and the judge executive.” Tate ended by reminding everyone that despite the fact Muldraugh sits at the edge of the county and is completely surrounded by Fort Knox, “We are a part of Meade County.” Brandenburg Telephone Company’s Tom Hewlett wrapped up the meeting with some great door prizes provided by Brandenburg Telephone Company, the sponsor for the January meeting and luncheon. Everyone at the meeting agreed the Brandenburg Telephone Company employees did a “much better than good” job with the meal, which was truly top notch and memorable.
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