Everything in place for Judicial Center

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April 4, 2008

By SUSAN WHEELDON, Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Fri Apr 04, 2008, 07:10 PM EDT

Somerset — The Pulaski County Fiscal Court now owns the last piece of property needed to build the Pulaski County Judicial Center.

The court acquired the land at 100 South Central Ave., located on the corner of South Central Avenue and Market Street, on March 27. The two tracts of land, previously owned by Terry and Lorri Mills, was bought for $185,000.

The Mills property was the only property that the county had not closed upon.

Pulaski County Judge-executive Barty Bullock, who is chairman of the judicial development board, said currently geo-technical surveys/environmental studies are being performed by an agency called Shields, looking into the conditions of the buildings before demolition begins.

The chairman of the board said the utilities in that area also have to be relocated before demolition can begin.

“Hopefully we will be able to begin the demolition process soon,” said Bullock, who added he wished they were already at that point.

Lorie Hines, who serves as secretary of the judicial development board, noted they are also currently working to get the city streets that will be closed for the project deeded to the county. She said Deputy Judge Donnie Girdler is working with Mayor Eddie Girdler and his different department heads on the relocation process of the utilities.

Hines said Shields will be on site April 11 and 12 completing the geo-technical survey and taking samples to see if there are any hazardous materials in the buildings before demolition begins. She said if any such materials are found they would need to be included in the demolition package.

“As soon as Shields finishes the report, we can take bids for a demolition package,” said Hines.

She said a survey of what is under the surface of the properties also has to be taken.

Meanwhile, architect Hugh Bennett with Bennett and Rosser, said they are moving along as quickly as they can at this point. Bennett said though people can’t see much happening, there is “a huge amount happening behind the scenes.”

The architect said he is continuing to work on the design and he believes once the environmental study is completed, demolition should begin in the near future.

The judicial complex will be located in the area of Market Street and South Maple Street, in downtown Somerset. The plan took properties that were along the downtown Fountain Square and South Maple Streets, along with Market Street.

Properties which have been purchased for the judicial center include the former storefronts of The Pink Bee, Kasandra’s Pie Barn, God’s Food Pantry, Brandywine Studios, Ron Wilson’s office, the Smith Staples building, Coldiron offices, the Salutsky building, David Rogers Photography, The Mills building, Southern Office Supply, Bowan building and the First and Farmers Bank drive-thru.

The Pulaski County Judicial Center project was one of the 18 judicial center projects authorized by the 2005 General Assembly and funded by the 2006 General Assembly. The original project plan was for a 77,000-square-foot judicial center with an estimated total project cost of $22.4 million.

People can see a multi-media rendering of what the new Judicial Center will look like from different angles of downtown by visiting “You Tube” on the Internet. Upon going to the site, type in “Pulaski County Judicial Center” and the video clip will come up.

The next planning and development board meeting will be held at 5 p.m. on April 22.

Members of the Judicial Planning and Development Board include Bullock, chair; circuit clerk George Flynn, vice chair; magistrate Mike Wilson; circuit judge Jeffrey Burdette; attorney John Prather Jr.; and Sarah Boswell Dent, representing the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).

The purpose of the board is to ensure that county and court officials have input on all aspects of the project.

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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.”

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