Hello everyone.
It was cold this morning and it looks like we’re going to get some snow in north
central Kentucky this weekend. It’s not likely that any of it will stick, but
we are nearing mid-November so it’s not impossible. As a child, I loved playing
in the snow. Then when I started driving in it, it was fun too, at least for a
little while. Now, I am concerned with keeping streets clean and the cost to
taxpayers.
The availability of salt is becoming scarce which translate into the cost shooting through the roof. As of right now, the city of Bedford has been buying the salt through Bedford Hardware in the form of 50 pound bags. The hardware store has secured at least 3/4 ton for us. With that little bit of salt, you should understand Bedford doesn’t have a lot of streets and they are small streets. Some streets are part county, part city and when the safety of others is concerned it does not matter where the boundaries are located. The point is people drive on these streets so they need to be cleared and salted.
For the previous 30 plus years, the city has been fortunate to have a gentleman by the name of Jimmy Jennings to clean our streets. Mr. Jennings was hired back in the early 1980’s to be the sewer plant manager. His job responsibilities grew beyond keeping the sewer plant going and he was basically the city maintenance/sewer plant manager/snow plow driver. I think you get the picture that I am describing Jimmy as a jack of all trades and he was good at all of them. Unfortunately, Jimmy retired from the city this past spring. He was a great asset to the city of Bedford for many years.
The streets of Bedford will now be cleaned by David Richmond. David has been the caretaker of the Bedford Cemetery for the last five years. He has exceeded the expectations in keeping the cemetery mowed and looking great. I have no doubt that he will continue to do an excellent job plowing snow and putting down salt this winter.
Yesterday, I took part in a webinar through Kentucky League of Cities. The topic was ‘Open Meetings.’ Although I feel like I know all the open meetings laws in Kentucky, it was a nice refresher course for me. I think transparency is paramount in any form of government. Reviewing the laws will help keep me in check come January.
The availability of salt is becoming scarce which translate into the cost shooting through the roof. As of right now, the city of Bedford has been buying the salt through Bedford Hardware in the form of 50 pound bags. The hardware store has secured at least 3/4 ton for us. With that little bit of salt, you should understand Bedford doesn’t have a lot of streets and they are small streets. Some streets are part county, part city and when the safety of others is concerned it does not matter where the boundaries are located. The point is people drive on these streets so they need to be cleared and salted.
For the previous 30 plus years, the city has been fortunate to have a gentleman by the name of Jimmy Jennings to clean our streets. Mr. Jennings was hired back in the early 1980’s to be the sewer plant manager. His job responsibilities grew beyond keeping the sewer plant going and he was basically the city maintenance/sewer plant manager/snow plow driver. I think you get the picture that I am describing Jimmy as a jack of all trades and he was good at all of them. Unfortunately, Jimmy retired from the city this past spring. He was a great asset to the city of Bedford for many years.
The streets of Bedford will now be cleaned by David Richmond. David has been the caretaker of the Bedford Cemetery for the last five years. He has exceeded the expectations in keeping the cemetery mowed and looking great. I have no doubt that he will continue to do an excellent job plowing snow and putting down salt this winter.
Yesterday, I took part in a webinar through Kentucky League of Cities. The topic was ‘Open Meetings.’ Although I feel like I know all the open meetings laws in Kentucky, it was a nice refresher course for me. I think transparency is paramount in any form of government. Reviewing the laws will help keep me in check come January.
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