Parking Spaces

After several delays caused by bad weather that slowed down another construction project, the Clark County Health Department is finally ready to begin construction of a new parking lot on the upper side of its facility on Professional Avenue. At a special called meeting Tuesday, the Board of Health approved a bid of $117,852.32 by Woodall Construction of Lexington to build the long-awaited parking lot, which will alleviate some of the building's current parking woes and provide easier access to the main entrance.

During Monday’s meeting, the Nicholasville City Commission authorized Mayor Russ Meyer to sign a commercial lease agreement between the city of Nicholasville and United Bank. This will allow the general public to park in the bank’s parking lot during the duration of the downtown streetscape project. “It will be opened to the public,” Meyer said. “I think it will be a great thing in the days to come through our downtown renovation project.” The parking lot will provide 22 additional parking spaces downtown.

Dear Editor, Good luck with finding a parking space at the Boyle County courthouse these days. No visitors are welcome in the parking lots situated on the left side and behind the courthouse. All parking spaces undesignated are "Permit parking only. " There are a few parking spaces on the street. Good luck with that. It is true the city owns some parking spaces in the lot between Sherwin-Williams and Subway, but they also are permit parking only. Well, what about the old Save-a-Lot the city purchased?

Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center is beginning the first phase of its expansion project with the widening of Figg Alley. A small number of visitor parking spaces will be impacted by the project beginning Sunday. Figg Alley is at the south end of the hospital's visitor parking lot at the corner of Third Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. The southernmost row of parking spaces will be used to widen Figg Alley. Beginning Sunday, a fence will be erected at the south end of the parking lot and the exit will be closed.

(Sun photo by James Mann) Construction workers with Walker Construction Company of Mount Sterling excavate the site for the new Save-A-Lot store at the intersection of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Ecton Road. The new store will be 20,000 square feet and will have approximately 108 parking spaces. The current Save-A-Lot in Shoppers Village will close when the new store opens in 2008.

Art Napier with Harris Construction Company of Winchester works on one of three parking lots around the new Kroger Youth Soccer Complex under construction on Van Meter Road. The new complex is expected to be ready for use in the spring of 2008. The complex will feature six soccer fields and more than 100 parking spaces. The roadway into the complex will be one way to avoid traffic problems. The project is expected to cost approximately $412,000.

Centre College has purchased the Ethington Building Supply property on Harding Street near campus for $325,000. John Cuny, Centre's vice president of finance, said the three tracts include the lumber company building and other structures near the viaduct and railroad crossing. "We're going to use some of the buildings for facilities management ground crews, and use what's already there for additional parking," Cuny said. More parking spaces are needed while construction of Pearl Hall, a new residence hall on Main Street, is under way. "Parking is one of those issues that never goes away, and new spaces are always welcome," said Cuny.

LIBERTY - The City Council gave its support Wednesday to a proposal to purchase the former Kentuckian Theatre on Hustonville Street for an arts center. The city's Renaissance Kentucky Committee will apply for funds as defined in the 2003 Downtown Revitalization Project to buy the former theatre and refurbish it for a community arts center. The Casey County Arts Council and The 21st Century Learning Center are working with the Renaissance committee on the project. "The Arts Center will enhance the marketing effort to bring consumers to the downtown area and will save this historic building for a more productive use for the community," according to a resolution approved by the City Council.

Parking in downtown Danville is going to get much worse before it gets better with the new parking garage, so the City Commission took steps Monday to create more spaces. Commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with demolition of the old Save-A-Lot building next to City Hall on Main Street so the area can be paved and turned into additional parking. Work to tear down the building should begin within a month, Mayor John W.D. Bowling said, provided there are no surprises with asbestos.

Mayor John W.D. Bowling spoke at a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the new parking garage, which was named the Alex W. Stevens Intermodal Parking and Transit Facility. It will be built on the corner of Third and Walnut streets. Here are some facts about the parking garage: 162,278 square feet $6,654,553 price of design and construction. Funded with $1 million in state grants, $1.71 million federal transportation grants, and $393,000 raised from Third Street Development Corp.

Boyle County Public Library will work with Pearson & Peters Architects PLC of Lexington to expand parking and enhance green space at the library, with design work expected by the end of this year and construction in the spring. The library board purchased two properties along Fourth Street and at Fourth and Broadway in December. After an extensive, long-range planning process that culminated in June, the library is moving to increase accessibility. The new parking spaces will be wider than those in the current parking lot, and the board is considering the use of permeable paving to allow environmentally-friendly draining.

After several delays caused by bad weather that slowed down another construction project, the Clark County Health Department is finally ready to begin construction of a new parking lot on the upper side of its facility on Professional Avenue. At a special called meeting Tuesday, the Board of Health approved a bid of $117,852.32 by Woodall Construction of Lexington to build the long-awaited parking lot, which will alleviate some of the building's current parking woes and provide easier access to the main entrance.

Little Cardinals should have been in review To the editor: I would have liked to see a mention of the Clark County Football Li’l Cards in the year in review of Clark County sports. I understand that they didn’t play in the Winchester Civitan for third- and fourth-graders, but the team, coaches and players were from here in Winchester. Your readers would have probably enjoyed learning how this team lost one game all season and won the Super Bowl game.

What is it with all the people who consistently abuse handicap parking spaces? Why is it so much more difficult for them to walk another 50 feet to get into the store? How many of us have seen someone park in a reserved parking space, reach into some obscure location within their vehicle, draw out a handicap parking tag, place it on their rearview mirror and then casually exit their vehicle and walk — totally unimpaired — inside? It is absolutely maddening that there are people out there so insensitive to the needs of truly challenged others that they will gladly and willingly take up parking spaces for their own selfish use. It is equally maddening that very few of us will accost — not physically, of course — one of these selfish individuals and ask them why they would do such a thing.

During Monday’s meeting, the Nicholasville City Commission authorized Mayor Russ Meyer to sign a commercial lease agreement between the city of Nicholasville and United Bank. This will allow the general public to park in the bank’s parking lot during the duration of the downtown streetscape project. “It will be opened to the public,” Meyer said. “I think it will be a great thing in the days to come through our downtown renovation project.” The parking lot will provide 22 additional parking spaces downtown.

MAYFIELD (AP) — A group of Somali natives is petitioning to open a new mosque in a western Kentucky town where the opposition isn’t religious — it’s parking based. The Paducah Sun reports the 150 Muslims want the mosque in a neighborhood where four Christian churches are located within six blocks of the proposed site in Mayfield. One of the people pushing the mosque, 22-year-old Abdi Mohamed, says the mosque would be part of a proposed Somali Community Center.

City and county officials are faced with a rather sticky problem right now trying to determine the best course for creating additional parking in the downtown area while weighing the desire to maintain the architectural fabric of the area. With the purchase of the Ark of Mercy property and the Stone property to the west (adjacent to Wall Alley) a great opportunity exists to establish parking that would primarily be for the use of employees of the courthouse and the Judicial Center.

The Garrard County Fiscal Court acquired on Tuesday the final piece of land it needs to proceed with construction of a new Garrard County Judicial Center. The city of Lancaster handed over a small alleyway next to the courthouse, giving the Fiscal Court ownership of all the land that will be used for the judicial center, said Garrard County Judge-Executive John Wilson. Groundbreaking for the center will be in the second week of August, Wilson said. Construction is expected to be complete in winter 2010.

Aaron's, a national chain whose stores sell and lease-to-own furniture, appliances and electronics, will locate a store on Hustonvlle Road in Danville. Danville-Boyle County Planning and Zoning Commission approved a site plan for the store Wednesday. The store will be built at 1404 Hustonville Road, next to Crawford Insurance Agency, on property owned by Realtor and developer Bill McAnly. The new building will encompass about 8,000 square feet and have 25 parking spaces.

POLICE AND FIRE REPORTS WINCHESTER POLICE Charged - Jakki Frazier, 20, of 250 Oxford Drive, Apt. 17, was charged Tuesday with theft by unlawful taking under $300. Reports - At 4:29 p.m. Tuesday, Paul Barker of 480 Ritz Court reported that he was assaulted by a known male in the middle of the road. The case was referred to the county attorney. - At 9:36 p.m. Tuesday, Bobby Hall of 475 Ritz Court reported that he was struck in the mouth by a known male.