It has been awhile since my last State of the Union…Union, KY update, and I would like to take this opportunity to update you on our beautiful city. We have had a lot of important achievements in Union over the past three years.
Solomon
- The new Route 536/Mt. Zion Road is now underway. We hope for an early 2019 completion. As a result of action by local, county and state officials, this project was placed back onto the 2017-18 State’s Budget and not postponed to the 2020-21 Budget as the State planned to do.
- Our administration has stimulated a lot of business growth in Union, with the addition of the new Kroger Marketplace, new restaurants, bars and other small businesses expanding to historic Union…those now open and those planned to be open in the near future.
- Our administration is focused on responsible growth while maintaining a small-town feel….where businesses are welcome and citizens can work, play and shop. Union is uniquely positioned to provide business locations that have 21st Century models. Our motto is… “We can manage growth or it can manage us. We choose to responsibly manage growth!”
- Lastly, the most important achievement was to bring professional staffing to Union. A full-time City Administrator and Director of Communications/Operations now lead day-to-day business activities and operations. I hope you have noticed how responsive our staff is to serving the Union citizens and the professional level of service they provide.
We are now focused on converting the old town plan into a new Union town. We know that the community desires a meeting place, with options for various events and creative spaces to encourage community interaction. With our growing community, it is obvious we need to look at a new city building as well as a new community center.
Our current thinking is to combine a new city building with a new community center, creating a “center of the universe” in Union for our citizens. We know you want to have a place to gather with your family, friends and neighbors, and our priority for the next five years is to make that a reality.
I have been blessed with Commissioners Bryan Miller, John Mefford, Jeremy Ramage, and Eric Dulaney for the past two years. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention Ken Heil, who served as a commissioner for the first two years of our administration. Over the past three years, our administration has always made fair, timely and objective decisions, and has worked together well as team in a solid spirit-of-cooperation. Over the next five years, we plan to continue that practice to better manage this beautiful city we call Union.
