Corbin officially extends into Laurel County

Jun. 22—CORBIN — History was made in Corbin Tuesday morning as city commissioners approved an annexation ordinance extending its borders officially into a third county.

Ya'll, we just made history," Corbin Mayor Suzie Razmus said during Tuesday's special-called meeting. "Thanks to Senate Bill 274 and the landowners who voluntarily wanted to be annexed, the city of Corbin is now legally and forevermore in Laurel County for the first time since the city's founding in 1902."

The City of Corbin officially annexed into Laurel County after the second reading of Ordinance 2023-4; "An Ordinance Annexing to the City Limits of Corbin, Kentucky, a certain tract of real property located at 1226 R Cledington, and establishing the zoning classification for said tract of real property owned by individual property owners."

Razmus looked back at the journey that led them to this historical moment.

"It's been a long road for us," she said. "There have been some question as to the law, and with Senate Bill 274, it gave us a clear path to annex along our city's infrastructure."

According to Mayor Razmus, Corbin has water and sewer infrastructure in Laurel County.

"With 274 becoming a reality, we were able to annex 25W to Malfunction Junction and we are going to start accepting properties who want to come in voluntarily into the city," the mayor continued.

This moment gave the city something to celebrate.

"I mean this is huge for us. This is something that should have been remedied 60 years ago when they first put the utility lines in but since it wasn't, we have had to fight really hard," Razmus said. "I feel confident that we are going to win the lawsuit and we will be found the true owners of our own utility commission and will be able to annex on our own utility lines in southern Laurel County."

The lawsuit the mayor referred to involves the two cities of Corbin and London, initiated after London annexed along Interstate 75 to Exit 29. Thought Corbin provided utilities in that area, state law previous prohibited an incorporated city from being located within more than two counties. For Corbin, that had been traditionally Whitley and Knox.

If a citizen wants to be annexed into the city of Corbin, Razmus says they are now able take action to make that a reality as long as they have city water or sewer.

"Their insurance rates will go down, they will have our fire and police protection that is very close whereas, sometimes the [Laurel] Sheriff's department do have to drive a long way," she explained.

Many people have Corbin city address and home numbers but they actually aren't in the city limits. Senate Bill 274 now has opened that door of opportunity.

"I'm really excited to see the growth that is going to happen in Southern Laurel County," Razmus said.

To request annexation into Corbin a citizen must email the City Manager Marlon Sams and request to start the process.

"They ask consent for annexation," Sams said. "They fill out a form and we will look at their property, consult with planning and zoning about adding them to the map. If planning and zoning approve the request, that is all there is to it."

Razmus says with the annexation legislation that happened with 141 last session they have an annexation task force now.

"We really don't know the future of annexation," Razmus said. "I highly encourage anyone interested in annexation get the process started because right now they have this task force, and there is a lot of uncertainty in annexation."

The city of Corbin has no expectation for any pushback.

"I don't know how there could be any pushback. The city of London has no investment in Southern Laurel County so I can't imagine they can claim something they have no investment in and far as what they have claimed right now, it is back in [Laurel Circuit] Judge [Gregory] Lay's court," Razmus said.

The City is hoping for a quicker opinion than they got the first time around.