Contract awarded for Eubank senior center

Local News

Related Photos

Bill Mardis Photo In this file photograph, Eubank Mayor Frey Todd, left, and former city clerk Victor Howson, stand at the former skating rink building to be transformed into a senior citizens center. A contract was awarded to Owens Construction Inc. of Windsor. Work on the project was scheduled to begin July 20. Photo by Bill Mardis

July 27, 2009

Local News

By BILL MARDIS, CJ Editor Emeritus The Commonwealth Journal Mon Jul 27, 2009, 08:37 AM EDT

The long-awaited and belabored senior citizens project at Eubank has taken the final step toward reality.

“They’re going to work Monday morning (July 20),” Eubank Mayor Frey Todd said late last week after Eubank City Commission awarded a $426,000 contract to Owens Construction Inc. of Windsor. The construction firm will refurbish and remodel a former skating rink at the entrance of Eubank Community Park into a facility for seniors.

The contract for the project with the Casey County construction firm was negotiated after three formal bid advertisements failed to produce a successful proposal.

Eubank Mayor Frey Todd said architects for the project –– Taylor-Whitney Architects of Lexington –– negotiated with all bidders and reached an agreement with Owens Construction. The negotiations followed the third unsuccessful bid-opening in May.

Eubank has a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant to develop the senior citizens center. Problem has been that the low proposal at each of the three formal bid-openings was above the amount available for the project. Following each unsuccessful bid-opening, architects and a project committee downsized the center to reduce the cost.

Eliminated was a planned addition at the front of the structure to house an office, rest rooms and kitchen. These facilities will be inside the original structure. A walking track is still in the plans but will be about half as large as originally envisioned.

“We just had to move inside what we planned outside (in an addition at the front) to bring the cost down,” said Todd. Despite elimination of the planned addition, a front entrance to the center will be created as a part of the downsized plans. Entrance to the skating rink was on the west side of the building.

However, the mayor emphasized that “ ... when finished, it’s going to be really nice ... it’s something the community can use.” Todd said the project should be completed in about six months.

“No way could we have done it without the grant money,” Todd pointed out. However, because it is grant funds, federal guidelines must be followed the first five years of operation, Todd said. This means operational costs must be met with donations; “ ... we can’t charge admission,” he noted.

“Somebody –– we haven’t found anybody yet –– will have to be in charge of the center to schedule activities and maintain the center,” said Todd.

Text Only

Local News

Local man airlifted after two-vehicle crash
May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Mopar Mania to highlight Cruise
May 25, 2012 1 Photo
‘Dry’ forces concerned about wet signs
May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Visitors rave about beauty of Lake Cumberland in May
May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Pulaski’s Memorial Day weekend to be packed
May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Locally-born Rotary leader Pigman dies at 78
May 24, 2012
Technology summit gets underway
May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Local Democrats diss Obama
May 23, 2012
Floyd edges incumbent in city council run-off
May 23, 2012
Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

May 22, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Related Photos

Contract awarded for Eubank senior center

Local News

Site Map