There's a lot to discuss in the coming months

In previous speeches, I have spent a lot of time focusing on our past year’s achievements and being a member of the good politician’s club, it is crucial that I mention a few examples. First and foremost is the construction of our natural gas line being at 60 percent complete and slated to be finished by July of this year.
Another is the purchase of our speculative building by Main Street, LLC., a local company owned by Curtis and Debbie Sigretto. The building will house office and storage space for Halloween Express and the Elk Creek Winery. It is very rewarding to have local people make such a big investment to provide more jobs for Owen Countians.
With a strong commitment from Kentucky American Water, we continue with our water line expansion and upgrades to our existing system. With the completion of this Phase III project over 80 percent of our county will be covered with clean drinking water.
Also, pending Public Service Commission approval, Owen County will be home to a multi-million dollar water treatment plant that will eventually serve Owen County, as well as the Central Kentucky Region.
We have seen our chamber membership grow to over 100 strong, proving even more what a vital group this has become to our county.
These are just a few examples of what has happened, but what I truly want to focus on, is what is going to happen as we enter this year.
We start a new administration with three new members of the Fiscal Court, along with a four-term magistrate in Bobby Gaines.
We are in these positions because of the voters of this county. We are in these positions to serve the best interest of the citizens of our districts that make up the entire county. I refer to a statement made by former U.S. Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine in her 1950 “Declaration of Conscience” speech: she says, “My creed is that public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a complete dedication to the people and to the nation with full recognition that every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration, that constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought, that smears are not only to be expected but fought, that honor is to be earned, not bought.”
I have always believed that a major part of our job as elected officials is to consider any new ideas that are suggested to us. It is true that many of these ideas might not work due to many valid reasons, but to toss aside ideas like today’s garbage and never consider them, is not what our citizen’s deserve.
That is why I am so excited about all of the work that has evolved from our original county assessment from 2003.
We have seen suggestions and comments from over 2,000 residents from the Owen 20/20 surveys. Recommendations from the growth-management committee were made in January. We just heard final recommendations from the Owen 20/20 sub-committees. We will hear preliminary ideas from University of Kentucky students regarding our land-use plan. It is being sponsored by the leadership classes that this chamber made possible. As elected officials –– and please know that I put myself at the top of the list –– we must take these ideas seriously, when it comes to laying out a course of action in trying to implement some of these ideas.
Just as much as these new ideas excite me, I am even more excited about the number of new people that have chosen to be involved in this process of looking at our future.
Please know that all of you who have participated have an even more important job, in my opinion, as we elected officials have. That job is making sure, we (elected officials) are accountable for exploring, considering and hopefully implementing some of these ideas that have been brought forth.
Yes, the reality is that money dictates what will happen, but we should not let that deter us, as leaders, from looking at every possible source for funding. My commitment to you as judge-executive is that these recommendations will not be ignored and I hope that the members of the Fiscal Court will make that same commitment.
Over the next few weeks, as we begin to write our budget for the upcoming year, I am going to ask the Fiscal Court to begin to review a draft of proposed subdivision regulations to be considered and hopefully implemented by July 1st.
This was one of the recommendations made to the Fiscal Court by the growth-management committee. This proposed draft can be found on our Web site at www.owencounty.ky.gov.
Any suggestions from the public would be greatly appreciated. I am also going to ask the Fiscal Court to review the enforcements of our nuisance ordinance and our dog ordinance and ask them to consider allowing citations to be written on the spot by proper authorities. Our new process implemented this past year has helped, but more improvements need to be made.
Broadband availability still remains a very high priority to me. It is very clear that this service is just as important as any other basic service that is provided in the county. In today’s world, economic growth and quality of life are both directly connected to having access to high-speed Internet. I am anxiously awaiting AT&T’s report on their expansion plans due to us in April. Another area of continued interest is the development and construction of a community center that would serve both senior residents, as well as our youth. We have heard this recommendation many times over the past few months and I believe that this is an idea that we can make happen. My closing comments have to do with an area that I believe that we must explore to create even more of an economic opportunity for our county.
The area of tourism is quickly becoming something that we can market to areas all around us. Within an hour’s drive sits a population of approximately 3 million people. These people are looking for opportunities for recreation, which we can offer with the private investments of businesses like Perry Park Golf Resort, Pheasant Ridge Hunt Club, Elk Creek Winery, Elk Creek Hunt Club, Kentucky Jamboree hosted by the Robinson Family, Fairway Golf Course, our local artisans and areas of agri-tourism. We are giving these people the opportunity to spend some quality family time right here in Owen County. We must do everything we can to take advantage of the resources we have.
I am very excited about the strength of our county. The main source of that strength is its people and I am very proud to represent such a strong group of dedicated and committed individuals, who prove everyday how proud they are to call Owen County their home.
As your judge-executive, I am very excited about the actions that we will take during this administration, but with that same level of excitement comes the same level of fear and worry about the actions we won’t take. Our future is too important to shy away from the tough decisions that could come before us as a Fiscal Court and I ask all the magistrates to enter each debate and discussion with an open mind and be willing to listen to all comments on both sides of the issues at hand. Our citizens deserve nothing less.