OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Elizabethtown City Council Work Session - January 12, 2026

City Council Meetings — Wednesday, January 14, 2026
BodyElizabethtown, Kentucky
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateWednesday, January 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 38:24

Transcript — Verbatim
0:22

Good afternoon, everyone.

0:23

We'll call the meeting to order and welcome everyone to the Elizabethtown City Council work session for January 12th, 2026.

0:30

And I'd like to ask Councilmember Tony Bishop if he'd lead us in the invitation, please.

1:06

And if you would zoom in the pledge of allegiance, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

1:14

And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:27

Madam Clerk, if you would please call roll.

1:31

Yes, sir.

1:32

Councilmember Bishop.

1:34

Here.

1:37

Here.

1:38

Isaacs.

1:39

Here.

1:40

Springsteen.

1:42

Here.

1:44

Tyler.

1:45

Here.

1:45

We have a quorum mayor.

1:47

Thank you, ma'am.

1:48

And Councilmember Jones is out of town today, so he sends his regrets.

1:53

And so we will start our meeting with a wastewater department update.

1:57

Corey Bond is our director, and Corey, you get the pleasure of being the first person to present in our new chambers.

2:03

Yes, this is very exciting.

2:05

It was an honor to be the first one in the new chamber.

2:07

It's very nice.

2:09

Hopefully everything goes well.

2:11

Alright, so just a little introduction.

2:13

We've done this each year, but just a little bit more about me.

2:16

Um I'm a University of Louisville graduate from the engineering program there, bachelor's and masters from chemical engineering.

2:23

Uh started with the city in 2016, so this will be my tenth year with the city.

2:27

Looking forward to at least 10 more.

2:35

Last year I reported that we were uh at 11 and we had one vacancy for chief operator, and we promoted from within, Jesse Arnold.

2:42

He uh passed his class four wastewater certification license last year and has moved up into that role and has been doing great for the past year.

2:50

We also hired two new employees last year with some people moving out of the department, and they started roughly in March.

2:57

And then also uh more of a happy note to report also.

3:01

We have now passed 10 years of the wastewater plant with no lost time accidents.

3:06

So we're today marks day 3,715.

3:10

So knock on wood, hopefully there's 10 more of those as well.

3:15

Um a little bit of an operational update on the department.

3:19

Uh we treated uh 2.9 billion gallons of water last year, up from the previous year.

3:25

Our average is around 8 million gallons a day this past year, whereas the previous year it was seven.

3:30

We are at 62 percent of our capacity.

3:33

Um, some of that can be attributed to the amount of rain we had last year.

3:37

We had very large amounts.

3:39

I think we're at 62 inches roughly, whereas the previous year we're around 50.

3:45

Um let's see, we're currently rated at 13 million gallons a day with our peak capacity at 29, and as I mentioned with those storms, uh, we also stayed at for three full days last year at our peak capacity.

3:58

We were maxed out during those April storms, and also during that storm, we had a uh incident where our berm was uh broken.

4:06

We had a hole in the berm where the creek was flooding into the plant, and luckily with the help of public works and some other departments, we were able to stop that, and we are looking to repair that hopefully in the coming months.

4:16

Uh one of the things I have for you in looking forward in our department.

4:20

Uh, here in the next few weeks to a month, we will hopefully have an ad municipal order before you to do those repairs.

4:27

It wasn't particularly budgeted because that was right during the time we were doing the budget, and that incident happened, so it wasn't prepared for, but we will hopefully be able to have room and it would potentially carry over into next time, but hopefully we have it fixed before then.

4:42

Uh much larger note, the expansion.

4:46

As you all know, we have uh been contracted with JTL to do our facility plan, and we had that completed late last year in November, and we have submitted that to the state for their review, hoping to have their review in the next few months and approved.

5:00

We look to go into the design phase here in the next few months again with JTL to start looking to see how we can go about our design.

5:06

The current anticipation is to expand from 13 to roughly 19, so a six million gallon per day expansion.

5:14

I know with a lot of the uh uncertainty and things we've heard from the community.

5:19

Not sure how much we really need to do, but the goal and plan is to do this in phases.

5:24

So the first phase of the expansion will be a new admin building and a few new equipment that we need in order to meet new regulations that are put forth by the state, and then we can also phase in later on the actual expansion of capacity.

5:43

So where we know we have to do some things now, we can start on that and hold off to know if we need to expand more or potentially less, depending on what happens with the industries in our area and our continued growth.

5:57

And as I mentioned, uh berm repair, we're hoping to start that here in the next few weeks, or at least the bidding of it.

6:04

And only other thing really to mention that I can think of is the uh new rates.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Works█████████████████████████25%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████17%
Airport Management██████████████14%
Water And Wastewater Management█████████████13%
Procedural██████████10%
Transportation Safety█████5%
Public Engagement█████5%
Parks And Recreation████4%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Elizabethtown City Council Work Session - January 12, 2026

This work session provided operational updates from the Wastewater Department and the City Administrator regarding ongoing infrastructure projects, followed by a financial update and bridge funding request from the Airport Board. The meeting concluded with a public comment regarding a neighborhood stormwater analysis and a brief closing statement on recent weekend emergency incidents before moving into executive session.

Consent Calendar

  • No routine consent items were formally presented or voted on during this work session.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Judy Elliott (Harvard Drive): Expressed concern regarding the lack of response to her October inquiry and the delay in the St. John Estate stormwater infrastructure analysis, which she was informed would begin in June. She sought an update on the project timeline.
    • City Response: Councilmember Isaacs stated that an engineering analysis group is currently working on the neighborhood project to determine the best path forward. He directed the city staff (Rita) to contact the resident immediately to provide specific timeline details.

Discussion Items

  • Wastewater Department Update (Director Corey Bond)

    • Operational Statistics: Reported treating 2.9 billion gallons in the previous year (average 8 million gallons/day, up from 7 million), currently operating at 62% capacity due to high rainfall (62 inches vs. 50 the prior year).
    • Safety Record: Celebrated 3,715 days (10 years) without a lost-time accident.
    • Incidents: Discussed a berm breach during April storms that required emergency repair; an administrative order for the repair is expected soon.
    • Expansion Plan: Presented a facility plan to expand capacity from 13 million to 19 million gallons/day (a 6 million gallon increase).
    • Cost Estimates: Councilmember Bishop noted that while a conservative estimate is $15 million per million gallons, the current estimated total for the expansion is approximately $120 million due to rising prices.
    • Funding & Rates: Confirmed new rates implemented July 1st are functioning well without significant public backlash, though Water District 2 receives the inquiries.

  • City Administrator Project Update (Ed Pope)

    • Commerce Drive & Music Venue: Construction is progressing on curbs and base asphalt; waterline approval received from the Division of Water. Street lighting conduit installation will be led by No Lynn, with future maintenance contracted to them.
    • Sinkholes & Karst Topography: Confirmed that geotechnical core drilling (20+ borings) was conducted prior to commencing work, but sinkholes were still discovered during excavation due to the region's karst topography. The extra cost for mitigation was covered by contingency funds, potentially impacting other value-engineered improvements.
    • Other Construction:
      • Fire station nearing completion (Jenkins Essex ending end of month).
      • Police station progressing (structural steel up, roof installed after soil remediation).
      • Lichfield Road/South Ring sewer upgrades complete; final grant drawdown being processed.
      • Parks Department: American Legion Park and Freeman Lake restrooms under construction; parking lot funding via $1M state grant.
    • New Projects: Village Drive and Foxboro Estates drainage projects mobilized to start. Pear Orchard Road Northwest project finalized property acquisition. "Safe Streets for All" grants secured for College Street (funded) and East Dixie corridor (pending grant agreement).

  • Airport Board Update (Chairman Carl Swope)

    • Completed Projects: Privately funded corporate hangar finished; terminal building project (state/fed funded) on track for late-spring ribbon cutting.
    • TEA Hangar Project: A $2.5 million project facing a funding gap. The board took a "leap of faith" to start phase one, but site mitigation costs added $200,000 in unanticipated expenses, and completion occurred sooner than expected, delaying eligibility for the next federal grant round.
    • Funding Request: Requested $600,000 in bridge/gap funding from the city to complete the project over the next 18 months, with repayment expected once new state/federal grants are awarded in spring.
    • Council Position: Council members expressed understanding of the complex FAA funding mechanisms (typically 90% federal, 10% local/state) and approved moving forward with drafting an agreement for the bridge funding.

Key Outcomes

  • Project Cost Clarity: Established that the wastewater expansion to 19 million gallons is estimated at $120 million.
  • Airport Bridge Funding: The Council agreed in principle to provide the Airport Board with $600,000 in bridge funding for the TEA hangar project; staff (Ken) was directed to formalize the agreement.
  • Public Engagement: Staff pledged to contact Judy Elliott the following day to provide the timeline for the St. John Estate stormwater analysis.
  • Legislative Action: Motion carried to close the meeting into executive session (KRS 61.810) to discuss future real estate acquisitions and specific economic development proposals, with no vote to be taken.
  • Scheduling: Next regular meeting set for January 20, 2026, at 4:30 PM, as the January 13 meeting was cancelled for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. We'll call the meeting to order and welcome everyone to the Elizabethtown City Council work session for January 12th, 2026. And I'd like to ask Councilmember Tony Bishop if he'd lead us in the invitation, please. And if you would zoom in the pledge of allegiance, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Madam Clerk, if you would please call roll. Yes, sir. Councilmember Bishop. Here. Here. Isaacs. Here. Springsteen. Here. Tyler. Here. We have a quorum mayor. Thank you, ma'am. And Councilmember Jones is out of town today, so he sends his regrets. And so we will start our meeting with a wastewater department update. Corey Bond is our director, and Corey, you get the pleasure of being the first person to present in our new chambers. Yes, this is very exciting. It was an honor to be the first one in the new chamber. It's very nice. Hopefully everything goes well. Alright, so just a little introduction. We've done this each year, but just a little bit more about me. Um I'm a University of Louisville graduate from the engineering program there, bachelor's and masters from chemical engineering. Uh started with the city in 2016, so this will be my tenth year with the city. Looking forward to at least 10 more. Last year I reported that we were uh at 11 and we had one vacancy for chief operator, and we promoted from within, Jesse Arnold. He uh passed his class four wastewater certification license last year and has moved up into that role and has been doing great for the past year. We also hired two new employees last year with some people moving out of the department, and they started roughly in March. And then also uh more of a happy note to report also. We have now passed 10 years of the wastewater plant with no lost time accidents. So we're today marks day 3,715. So knock on wood, hopefully there's 10 more of those as well. Um a little bit of an operational update on the department. Uh we treated uh 2.9 billion gallons of water last year, up from the previous year. Our average is around 8 million gallons a day this past year, whereas the previous year it was seven. We are at 62 percent of our capacity. Um, some of that can be attributed to the amount of rain we had last year. We had very large amounts. I think we're at 62 inches roughly, whereas the previous year we're around 50. Um let's see, we're currently rated at 13 million gallons a day with our peak capacity at 29, and as I mentioned with those storms, uh, we also stayed at for three full days last year at our peak capacity. We were maxed out during those April storms, and also during that storm, we had a uh incident where our berm was uh broken. We had a hole in the berm where the creek was flooding into the plant, and luckily with the help of public works and some other departments, we were able to stop that, and we are looking to repair that hopefully in the coming months. Uh one of the things I have for you in looking forward in our department. Uh, here in the next few weeks to a month, we will hopefully have an ad municipal order before you to do those repairs. It wasn't particularly budgeted because that was right during the time we were doing the budget, and that incident happened, so it wasn't prepared for, but we will hopefully be able to have room and it would potentially carry over into next time, but hopefully we have it fixed before then.

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