'One brick at a time': Ashland City Commissioner brings building keepsake to meeting
Aug. 11—ASHLAND — While the agenda was light, one city commissioner had a heavy item to discuss at Thursday's regular meeting.
Beginning with the statement, "you can only eat an elephant one bite at time," commissioner Marty Gute said, "You can only tear down the Ashland Oil building one brick at a time."
He then held up a brick, reportedly from 1401 Winchester Ave.
He proceeded to lay down accolades for O'Rourke Construction for the safe and efficient destruction of the dilapidated crown jewel of the city.
"There hasn't been one communion cup damaged at the Episcopal Church," Gute said. "I want to give them kudos for that."
Here are some other highlights from the meeting:
—Mayor Matt Perkins highlighted the assistance the city has given affected communities in southeastern Kentucky in the recent floods. More details on this effort will appear in a community roundup in the weekend edition.
—The city commission finalized the vote on renaming the Riverfront Park. The area near the boat launch will be called The Port of Ashland and the area with the statues will be called Poage Landing.
—The commission voted on first reading to award a $655,260 contract to the Southern Ohio Trenching and Excavating for sidewalk replacement in downtown. City Engineer Steve Cole said the replacements are for sidewalks on Carter Avenue and the side streets, stating engineering is still in the works for a street rehab on Winchester.
—The commission voted on first for $2.6 million worth of asphalt, an increase of $633,150 over last year for bids due to record inflation. City Manager Mike Graese said a paving schedule will be released soon on the city website and 13 1/2 miles of city streets are on the list. Gute raised a concern about manholes jarring motorists because they weren't raised high enough after paving. Cole said there appeared to be an oversight and will look into getting it fixed.
(606) 326-2653 — henry@dailyindependent.com
