Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Harlan City Council met for their regular meeting recently, discussing current projects, including a sidewalk construction, a façade grant application and paving city streets.

Harlan City Mayor Joe Meadors updated the panel on the sidewalk project at the beginning of the meeting.

“We worked last week on Cumberland Avenue; we’ve gotten just about all of the tree stumps up,” Meadors said. “We’re ready to start tomorrow morning. That should go fairly quickly down there (Cumberland Avenue). We’ll be down there probably three or four weeks depending on the weather. But I think it will really be a nice improvement for that area of town.”

Meadors told the council he was unsure when the crew would begin pouring concrete, however, they may be ready to pour some sidewalk by the end of the week.

The council also heard about a façade grant application from the owner of a downtown building. The city has offered the façade grant to improve the outside appearance of downtown buildings.

“They are proposing to install three traditional awnings,” Meadors said. “There’s a lot of interest in this (grant).”

Meadors asked the council for input on the application.

Council member Ann Hensley pointed out the application included installation work.

“I thought we had said we were not going to pay for labor?” Hensley said.

Meadors suggested approving only the material costs portion of the application.

“I’m assuming the material and labor would be pretty close to even,” Meadors said. “Do you want to approve up to $1,500?”

Meadors pointed out he is very happy with the interest downtown building owners have had in the façade grant.

“I hope we can find some more money to do some more with,” Meadors said.

Following some further discussion, the council passed a motion to award $1,500 for the grant applicant. The motion passed with no opposition.

Meadors also updated the panel on paving work in the downtown area.

“The good news is, we’re through paving,” Meadors said. “That gets everything in downtown paved with the exception of Clover Street from Second Street up to the elementary school, Third Street has not been paved…we just about got everything.”

Meadors said he plans to ask the state for additional discretional funding to address the issue.

“What we’re dealing with now is grass cutting,” Meadors said. “We’ll be concentrating on the for the next little while.”