Ferguson mayor to share city’s ‘wish list’ with officials

Local News

February 9, 2009

Local News

By SUSAN WHEELDON, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Mon Feb 09, 2009, 06:52 AM EST

Though it may be small, the City of Ferguson has a wish list just like Somerset or anywhere else, and Ferguson Mayor Allen Dobbs said he plans on sending a letter to state and federal representatives to let them know the city’s needs.

“We don’t have wishes. We have needs,” said Dobbs of the city’s request.

City and county governments across the state are submitting their requests to state and federal leaders looking at President Barack Obama’s stimulus package and the possibility of new federal and state funding for approved projects.

Dobbs said the request to state and federal officials won’t be long, but both items on the list are projects the city has needed for quite some time.

The mayor said the two areas of need for the city of around 900 people are for improvements to sewer and sidewalks. To complete these two projects, the city will be requesting around $2.4 million.

Following the meeting, Dobbs said that in the City of Ferguson, 257 homes have sewer, while 153 homes are without it. Within that 153, there are 17 homes which have failing sewer systems.

Homes which currently are on the sewer system in the City of Ferguson received service in the late 1970s.

For several years, the city government has worked to get a sewer grant, but it has not been able to obtain one to complete the rest of the project.

As for sidewalks, the only street that has sidewalks in the City of Ferguson is Jacksboro Street. Mayor Dobbs said those have been there for many years and are cracking and breaking.

“What we’d like to do is put sidewalks on Murphy Avenue, new ones on Jacksboro Street, and connect them going east to west,” said Dobbs.

Dobbs said he believes if they were able to have sidewalks on city streets, it would make a safer environment for residents who might need to walk somewhere, and for children to ride bikes and walk safely.

Dobbs said he doesn’t have any idea when the money will released or for what specifically funds might be purposed, but the city will try for the two big items that are needed.

“We’ll mail the letters out and keep our fingers crossed,” said Dobbs. “If we can accomplish that, it’s two big things we’ve needed done.”

Without receiving money through a grant or from the state or federal government, Dobbs said the city would have to take out a long-term loan, possibly up to 30 years, and then decide between sidewalks and sewer.

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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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