Pardue Park delay explained to Hopkinsville City Council, street renaming policy solidified

At the July 2 Hopkinsville City Council meeting, another update on the city's newest park was given, and the proposed street renaming policy was approved by council members.

HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – At the July 2 Hopkinsville City Council meeting, another update on the city’s newest park was given, and the proposed street renaming policy was approved by council members.

“There is a lot to Pardue Lane park,” said Mellisa Clayton during a presentation to the council. “We want you guys to know this project has not fallen by the wayside. We are doing everything we can to push things forward.”

Hopkinsville Mayor J.R. Knight explained that the groundbreaking for the new park was supposed to be back in April 2024. The Hopkinsville Rotary Club has already received the naming rights and donated $100,000 for ADA accessible playground equipment. Unforeseen grant delays have stalled the process, and the timeline is still up in the air.

Before this meeting, no update had been given about the status of the park since May, when Public Works Director Mike Perry explained the continued issues. The delay is caused by a Rails and Trails grant for $100,000 that would be allocated for the construction of trails and sidewalks at the park. With potential bids for this portion of the park estimated to be about $1.6 million, the grant would only cover a fraction of the cost.

Clayton proposed a few options to the council regarding next steps, including beginning the bid process and construction on segmented areas of the park not affected by the grant, finding a different way to cover the cost without the grant, or simply wait. It was decided by the council that they would move further discussion of their options to the upcoming Committee of the Whole meeting.

Street renaming policy

A municipal order with new guidelines on street renaming sparked discussion between council members during the meeting. The order reads, “This policy aims to set consistent standards for renaming city streets. It provides citizens with a chance to honor individuals who have made notable contributions to the community.”

The original proposed guidelines included a section preventing people from naming streets after people who are still living. The Committee of the Whole successfully amended the guidelines at last month’s meeting to allow streets to be named after both living and deceased individuals.

One of the new guidelines includes limiting the characters to 14, council member Natasha Frances gave a motion to extend it to 16 characters, but it failed to pass.

After the municipal order passed, council member Steve Keel separately suggested the council should attempt to find other ways to honor individuals without going through the process of renaming a street. “It’s a whole lot less work for everybody,” Keel told the council.

He suggested putting up signs along roadways without renaming them to honor individuals could get the same desired result. The council agreed to discuss it with Public Works.