Fourman leaning toward not running for re-election

By CHRIS HARRIS, Staff Writer

Burnside — Chuck Fourman has seen a lot in his time as mayor of Burnside.

How much more he sees depends on what 2010 has in store.

Fourman, who was first elected to head up “the only town on Lake Cumberland” in November of 2006, told the Commonwealth Journal that he would most likely not seek re-election for the position.

Still, Fourman didn’t totally rule out the possibility. At this point, however, Fourman would only have until 4 p.m. Tuesday, January 26 — the deadline for candidates to file in Pulaski County.

“I’m going to have to see how things go,” said Fourman, “and how much time I have.”

Fourman admits that he “took on too much” responsibility in the course of his mayoral duties — Fourman also owns and operates one of the key vacation destinations in the Lake Cumberland area, Villager Resorts; he’s also driven a bus for the Pulaski County School System and participated in a number of community activities — and he might welcome a chance to slow down.

“I’m spending too much time away from my business and family,” said Fourman.

“So I’m leaning toward not running again,” he added. “I’m not sure yet, but we’ll have to see what happens.”

Comparatively speaking, Burnside has seen more active years than 2009. Major changes in the community have transformed the once-sleepy southern Pulaski hamlet into a center of attention within the county’s borders over the last few years.

Still, that doesn’t mean the year that was should be considered without highlights — or at least talking points.



The Sewer System

After a decade or more of planning and the beginning of construction in 2006, the Burnside sewer project has almost reached completion. The goal of hooking up every resident and business within the city to a wastewater treatment system has been a longstanding dream of Burnside officials.

About 440 customers currently have sewer access. Another 73 will join upon the completion of “Phase II.” This stage of the sewer project just got underway in the last couple of months and will focus on customers along Ky. 90 — primarily those north of the highway, but some south as well, including a portion of the Cumberland Heights subdivision.

“Phase II” is expected to be completed in about six month’s time. The end result will be that almost all of the Burnside community will be using the sewer system by 2010 — a much-anticipated event for a project that took its roots in the town’s imagination four mayors ago.

“We need to get them hooked up,” said Fourman of the customers served by the current construction.

Cumberland Heights was the source of another sewer-related challenge for Burnside. A pump station sitting right on the edge of the neighborhood was emitting a powerfully unpleasant odor in the summertime, resulting in public complaints from the subdivision’s residents.

Fourman said that the town has been working on a number of solutions, including trying new chemicals and more frequent wash-downs for the pump.

Other factors have helped to at least lessen the problem for the time being. In cold weather months, the smell has proven to be not quite as strong and offensive. The trick, then, is to have the problem solved by the time summer rolls back around. Phase II is expected to contribute to that solution by increasing sewage flow in Burnside, meaning the wastewater will be moving more and not sitting stagnant, which is when it turns particularly smelly.

“We’re doing all we can, we’re coming up with new ideas to better the quality of the smell around the pump station,” Fourman told the Commonwealth Journal. “It’s just taken time to put these things in place.”

One of those building blocks moved into place now is Richard Troxtell, the new wastewater manager. Following the termination of Charles Bryant this past year, Burnside had operated without a specific individual tasked with overseeing the city’s sewer needs until October, when Troxtell was brought on board. At November’s city council meeting, Troxtell immediately began putting forth ideas on how to help the foul smell dilemma, meaning some hope is on the horizon for a cleaner, more fresh-smelling Burnside.

Burnside Island

As if there wasn’t enough expansion already, Burnside’s sewer department got one huge customer in 2009 — General Burnside Island. The state park had operated for decades with its own in-house wastewater treatment system, but when local State Rep. Tommy Turner visited the city council in September, he had dire news.

The Burnside Island plant, the responsibility of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, was “old and dilapidated,” and likely to fail at any time. That could have meant an environment catastrophe for the park — and all of Burnside by extension.

After some serious number crunching and bargaining, the city managed to work out a deal with the state to provide sewer access to the island. Burnside officials had wanted to hammer out a long term deal that wouldn’t pass on the extra cost of treating Burnside Island to current Burnside sewer users, and would also put the state on the hook for any needed repairs or maintenance. The state agreed to both of those conditions, paving the way for a deal between the two governmental entities.

The deal proved beneficial for both parties. Burnside’s willingness to play ball suggests that the state may be more receptive in handing out grants to the town in the future. Additionally, a healthy Burnside Island means a healthier economy for Burnside, as it’s one of the key tourism hubs for a tourism-minded town, and much like Phase II, the additional flow will make Burnside’s sewer run more smoothly.

“We’re going to get started here in 2010 hooking up Burnside Island (with sewer access),” said Fourman. “It will benefit the island, and we’ll see a benefit out of it too.”

Burnside Island’s sewer plant isn’t the only one in need of an upgrade — the control panels in Burnside’s water plant were also wearing out from old age. However, the city is going out for funding from the state’s Rural Development office to replace the facility’s 12-year-old control board and valves, meaning Burnside citizens shouldn’t have to worry about running out of running water anytime soon.

Much talk about a proposed state lodge swirled around Burnside Island in past years, but the chatter had died down in 2009. However, in September, Turner said the state still has some interest in developing the island. Turner suggested that with a lodge and the recent $7.25 million upgrade to the island’s golf course, the park could become a golfer’s dream resort. Whether those dreams will come true or not remains to be seen in the future — possibly in 2010.

Civic Changes

Avid readers in Burnside’s borders may not have a Borders — or a Barnes & Noble, or Joseph-Beth — but they do have a new library. In March, the Burnside branch of the Pulaski County Public Library system moved into a new 4,000-square-foot facility located on E. French Avenue, only a scant few blocks down from the old location.

The new library features a community room and 15 parking spaces — as well as plenty of good reading material.

It’s just one brick in what is quickly becoming a new face of Burnside. The fire department moved this past August into a nearby building — and between the two is the space where the new city hall will eventually sit.

“The county assisted us with building (the new fire house),” said Fourman. “It’s about three or four times bigger, and better than what we had before.”

Fourman said he’d also like to see an EMS unit stationed conveniently in the fire house to make for quicker access to patients in southern Pulaski County.

The old fire station located behind City Hall on South U.S. 27 will soon be home to the Burnside Police station and the city utilities office. The two entities will only be moving across the street from their current location, but since Burnside owns the big white building housing City Hall, the city won’t have to pay rent for the police and utilities offices as they do right now.

“We’re currently working on remodeling the old fire station,” said Fourman, who expects the move to be made by April.

“We’ll be a lot better off financially (not paying rent),” he added. “In a year or two, we’ll start saving money.”

Burnside Police

The Burnside Police Department already experienced one change this year; the retirement of Chief Eddie Glover. The longtime Pulaski lawman’s five-year stint with Burnside’s boys in blue is fondly remembered by Fourman.

“We hated to see (Glover) go,” said Fourman, “but we knew he had to do what he wanted to do, which was to retire.”

Into those shoes stepped Craig Whitaker, a former deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department. A Burnside native, Whitaker worked with the sheriff’s department since 1996, and has also worked in security at Woodson Bend Resort.

“The new chief is working out real well,” said Fourman. “Craig Whitaker is doing a fine job. He’s kind of picking up where the old chief left off.”

The police department also hired a new officer this year to replace Jeff Casada, who moved on to the state parks department. Matthew L. Brown was sworn in this past November, bringing the total sum of the Burnside Police force to three officers and Chief Whitaker.

This spring, the BPD expect to buy a new police cruiser, replacing an older model with about 170,000 miles on it. The department will be operating with four vehicles, and new computers will be added to the cars as well. These projects depend on the city securing enough grant money, but Fourman expects that the cash will come through.

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