Downtown streets closed for judicial center work

Local News

Related Photos

June 25, 2008

By SUSAN WHEELDON, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Wed Jun 25, 2008, 10:18 PM EDT

As progress continues toward the new judicial center being built, two downtown streets were closed yesterday to make way for the building’s construction.

Gib Gosser, executive director of the Downtown Somerset Development Corporation, said a section of East Market Street between Main and Maple Streets and all of Zachary Way were closed and fenced off as workers begin removing buildings in that area as part of the $22.4 million project.

Gosser said because of the closure of the streets, traffic will need to detour around the area using Spring and Maple Streets to reconnect to Market Street east of the area.

“The two streets will be permanently closed as the massive project will eventually cover the entire area,” said Gosser.

Gosser said the front facade of the 77,000-square-foot building will be located on the area that’s now Market Street. Gosser added that Zachary Way and the buildings east of that short street will become a large public plaza in front of the new Judicial Center.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the Pulaski County Development Board, which oversees the judicial center being built, met Tuesday evening.

During the meeting, Garland Vanhook, general manager of facilities for the Administrative Office of the Courts, said he believed they were ahead of schedule on the contract documents to bid the project and he believed they would be done around Labor Day. Vanhook said he expected it would be around the first of October when they would open the bids for the judicial center to be built.

At last month’s meeting, the board decided to work on negotiating with the two contractors who bid on demolition, as even the lowest bid was 32 percent off budget.

The lowest bid at last month’s meeting was $496,212. However, after negotiations, the price came down to $437,281 and Weddle Enterprises was awarded the contract for demolition of the buildings, streets and sidewalks of the affected area.

They expect their work to be completed around Sept. 1.

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 those streets and downtown Fountain Square.

Properties which were 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.

Members of the Judicial Planning and Development Board include Pulaski County Judge-executive Barty 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.

In other business:

• The board approved issuing a deed of correction to First and Farmers after surveys peeled off a few feet that should have stayed with First and Farmers.

• Architect Hugh Bennett told the board he had met with the Administrative Office of the Courts and gone into detail on the plan layouts and there were one or two areas where minor adjustments had been asked for and they had been corrected or are being corrected.

Text Only

Local News

Visitors rave about beauty of Lake Cumberland in May
May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Mopar Mania to highlight Cruise
May 25, 2012 1 Photo
‘Dry’ forces concerned about wet signs
May 25, 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
Pine Knot man leads law enforcement on chase
May 22, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Related Photos

Downtown streets closed for judicial center work

Site Map