By Scott White
Woodford Sun Staff
Report for America corps member
The Versailles City Council heard a status report on two major works projects from Director of Public Works Bart Miller at its regular meeting Tuesday.
The first presentation was on a significant road crossing and sidewalk project at the intersection of Tyrone Pike and Beasley Road, the entrance into Woodford County Park and all it houses, such as the Falling Springs Recreational Center, Woodford County Ag Building, the Woodford County Senior Citizens Center and Community Stadium.
The crossing of Tyrone Pike has long been identified as hazardous, as well as the lack of any sidewalk along Beasley Road.
The project described by Miller will begin with a new sidewalk spur on Falling Springs Road as it ends at Tyrone, which will allow for a signalized pedestrian crossing of Tyrone onto Beasley. It will then continue along the eastern side of Beasley, where it will cross to the western side at the Senior Center. This will allow that intersection of Beasley with the entrances into the Falling Springs and Ag Building parking lots to now be a three-way stop. The sidewalk will then continue on the western side of Beasley, arcing behind the Senior Center where it will finally join the path to the stadium.
Miller said the sidewalk will be 10 feet wide.
“I got the idea of this when I saw a man walking up Beasley from Tyrone, and I took a picture,” Miller said while displaying the photo on the screen during his PowerPoint. “So, here’s why we are doing it, so people have safe pathways.”
Miller explained the process to design, bid and then construct the project was complex. It required working with the R.J. Corman Railroad Group since it crossed a working rail, getting Columbia Gas to move some vent pipes and moving an existing fence on Beasley. All of this was accomplished.
“This is a really good result given what all had to be dealt with,” Mayor Laura Dake said. “I know you’ve been working on this a long time.”
The total cost of this project is $110,000. However, Miller said the city is hopeful of winning a grant, which will cut the cost to the city in half. He also said both city and county workers will be doing in-kind work to keep the total project cost down.
Councilmember Lisa Johnson noted this is a big improvement, particularly at large events held at Community Stadium such as the Fourth of July fireworks and Woodford County High School graduation, where many attendees, including herself, park on Falling Springs Boulevard and walk to the stadium.
The other major project is the Wilson Avenue sidewalk and drainage system work.
The problem with those sidewalks, which are not complete and make walking difficult despite being close to downtown, has been longstanding. The need for a solution rose to the top of the city’s sidewalk “to do” list following Dake’s leadership on the Walkability Study while she was a councilmember three years ago.
The project will construct complete ADA-compliant sidewalks and mitigate drainage issues on the entirety of Wilson Avenue. The total cost will be $500,000, which includes engineering, construction and inspection costs. The contract has been awarded to Excel Construction, which, as Miller pointed out, successfully handled the sidewalk project on Huntertown Road and High Street.
Miller also pointed out that grant money significantly lowered the cost to the city. Via a federal Transportation Alternatives Program grant, 80 percent, or $400,000, of the total cost will be paid.
Miller had other good news on this project. The formal grant’s “Notice to Proceed” is expected this week, so all of the work is likely to be complete within 90 days.
Dake said this will significantly enhance the ability of Wilson Avenue residents to access downtown and Lexington Street businesses by being able to safely walk.
Miller concluded his presentation by informing the City Council that the annual road paving project list work is scheduled to begin in mid-September. He also said the contractors performing the work will repair existing utility cuts in the pavement, which have been required over the last few months.
Property tax rate
The City Council voted unanimously to hear the first reading of the ordinance setting the property tax rate for the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year.
The council decided to retain the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year rate of .049 (49 cents) on $100 of taxable property.
Reynolds explained that by retaining the same rate as last year, just under $100,000 of new revenue will be generated over last year’s total. Reynolds said this was the most financially responsible approach to take.
Councilmember Fred Siegelman confirmed with Reynolds that since the proposal had yet to go through the council’s Finance Committee and was only being shown to council at the meeting, changes to the rate could still be made by council. Reynolds said if this does occur, then a new rate would need a new first reading, but it could be accomplished.
Siegelman clarifications
During his turn on “Councilmembers Miscellaneous,” Siegelman clarified two actions he took at the last council meeting on Aug. 4.
Siegelman voted “no” on a planning and zoning text amendment which contained the ban on construction of any data centers in Versailles. He made it clear that he agreed with the ban on data centers. “Of course I am against them,” he said.
He clarified that he voted “no” out of concerns about how other parts of the proposed text amendments, unrelated to the data center ban, could impact plans of a local prominent business. The name of the business was not revealed at the Aug. 4 meeting, nor did Siegelman reveal it at this meeting.
Planning Director Steve Hunter, at the last meeting, told the council he was unaware of any proposed plans related to the buildings he believed were being referenced; and said, if there were any such proposals, the text amendments would have no impact since the procedures for any work on buildings in the historic downtown area are well-known and would apply regardless of the text amendments.
The other clarification Siegelman made was in relation to his “no” vote on Dake’s proposal to create a new assistant director position in the Utilities Department, led by Director Mitzi Delius.
Siegelman explained that he spoke with Delius after the last meeting to assure her it was not personal, but he was looking to save “$50 to 70,000” in new salary and benefits for a new person instead of hiring an internal person or simply adding “some new duties if the person could do them and get a (salary) bump.” Siegelman said he would just like to avoid backfilling the position of an internally promoted candidate.
At the last meeting, City Clerk Elizabeth Reynolds explained to Siegelman, when he made that point, that she understood Delius was considering an internal candidate. However, if that internal candidate was named as the new assistant director, then a new person would need to be hired to fill the newly created vacant spot caused by the internal promotion.
Contract
The council approved a contract with Glynn Young Nurseries of Nicholasville for $6,945 for the purchase of 31 trees made up of Lucas Hornbeams, Eastern Redbuds and Red Obelisk Beeches. This is the execution of the request for proposals approved at a prior council meeting in which the decision was made to remove all existing Main Street trees and replace them with these specific types.
In response to a question from Councilmember Ann Miller, Director Miller said there would be no warranty covering the trees since the city will do the planting with the assistance of the Woodford County Master Gardeners.