HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – At the July 18 Hopkinsville Committee of the Whole meeting, city council members discussed crime, potential timelines for the new Rotary Park, and an attempt was made to remove Steve Keel as chair of the committee.

Hopkinsville Police Chief Jason Newby shared a quarterly report with the committee, revealing that 711 total arrests were made in the past three months.

He detailed that the department seized 61 guns, and 16.1 ounces of methamphetamines. Newby expressed that both of these numbers are higher than they’ve seen the past.

Rotary Park taking next steps

The ongoing discussion of impending construction and grant status of Hopkinsville’s newest park continued this meeting, with action made to forward the process. The timeline for the park has continually been pushed back due to ongoing grant issues for a portion of the park.

In a previous meeting, different options were laid out including waiting an unspecified amount of time for the grant to go through or forgoing the grant and moving forward with taxpayer dollars. The mentioned grant would cover about 10% of the total cost of the park.

“It’s time to move forward with this…we’ve been waiting since 2020 to do this,” said Hopkinsville Mayor J.R. Knight to the committee. Ultimately, they unanimously passed a motion to begin the bidding process on the portion of the park that falls under the grant, while remaining hopeful that the money from the state will be granted in the meantime.

Attempt to remove Keel

As Thursday’s meeting concluded, council member Natasha Francis proposed a motion to remove council member Steve Keel as chair and appoint a new chair of the Committee of the Whole, saying that she has been waiting for a regular session to do so. Her interest in removing him was first brought up when Keel issued a public apology for unprofessional behavior during a previous meeting.

The motion to remove Keel as chair of the Committee of the Whole was not approved 3-6. Voting yes were Francis, Doug Wilcox, and Jamie Lienberger. Voting no were Donald Marsh, Travis Martin, Steve Keel, Chuck Crabtree, Bruce Smiley and Amy Craig. Matthew Handy abstained.

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