Do you endorse LIFT and the Local Option Sales Tax?
I do support the Local Investments For Transformation /the use of a Local Option Sales Tax.
Whether you are in support of LIFT or not, what projects do you see as priority that could benefit from community funding?
The possibility of a public-private partnership in the development of a conference center that could host around 2500 people, that could be located on the southern end of town.
Do you see any services provided by both County and City government where it would be more cost effective to combine these efforts?
Not at this time, plus our city & county governments already work together in some respect through the use of inter-local agreements such as the city’s assistance with our Volunteer Fire Depts.
In light of potential additional cuts at Fort Knox, will you endorse funding for One Knox? If not, what are you willing to do to protect the economic contribution of Fort Knox?
Not at this time, but do support the city working with Ft. Knox more closely by investing with the CORE Committee and their lobbying ability to work with the leadership of Ft. Knox and its staff, and our legislators both in Washington & in Frankfort.
What are you recommending being done to bring new business to downtown Elizabethtown? What incentives should the City make available to existing business to expand and potential new business to come to the downtown area? Do you believe a change to the alcohol regulations should be made to stimulate interest in downtown development?
At this time, I feel it is best to get the report from the hired Downtown Consultants group City Visions to see their recommendations. I do feel though that a public-private developers shared type relationship is one way to go, such as the city providing items such to help find a creative way to put in a grease trap to help with restaurants that may want to locate downtown. As for incentives, the city has in place its Downtown Property Improvement Grant Program that can be used for potential projects such as façade improvements, signage, and structural analysis. These grants are available on a case by case basis throughout the year.
Will you be a supporter of the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce? For the Mayor office, will you attend the regular Board meetings?
I have always tried to be a supporter of our local Chamber of Commerce every since I was a member & local president of our former Junior Chamber of Commerce (E’town Jaycees). So as a city council member I will continue to be in favor of providing city support to the Chamber by providing a meeting place at the Pritchard Community Center at a reduced gratis as well as the city police department’s traffic control during chamber meetings.
The Sports Park is now a proven creator of tourism and new economic activity for this community. Do you think that our community needs other forms of entertainment in order to entice these sports teams and their parents to come back to the park in the future? Do you know if tournament entries are on the increase or decline at the Sports Park and why? What needs to be provided in terms of governance of the Sports Park and new entertainment services and amenities for the visitors in our community to ensure the continued success of the Sports Park?
I do feel that our community could provide more forms of entertainment for those that visit our Sports Park, which is why I look forward to the start of the construction of our new aquatic park. As for the tournament entries at the park, the reports and the comments that I have received from visitors to our Sports Park so far show, we are seeing a continued growth & interest in our park mostly due to I feel is the quality of the facility & the staff and the fact that we are centrally located.
