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Mayor Bill Paxton
Mayor since 2001
An Eye on Everything
Think you’ve got a long to-do list? Based on these huge city priorities, we asked Mayor Bill Paxton how he keeps on top of it all:
“You can’t concentrate only on one area – you have to keep your hands in all of it,” he says. “With the Carson Center, everyone realized that Downtown is going to survive. Now we’ve got Downtown, LowerTown, the riverfront and the greenway trail that we can market together. We have to have good jobs to keep our young people here. We’ve got to continue to watch the mall area to make sure it’s growing. We have to help our hospitals attract doctors, and so on. Each of our priorities is closely linked with the other to create an environment where people want to locate.”
The mayor admits to being an “eternal optimist,” and in fact, we all have every reason to be optimistic about our future. “I’m always thinking that things are going in the right direction,” he says. “We’ve got good people and good volunteers. It’s a good time. 2008 is going to be a great year.”
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Mayor Bill Paxton and our city commissioners took care of some significant business last year. They passed the city’s
comprehensive plan and the exciting
riverfront master plan, broke ground on the Fountain Avenue project, breathed new life into our historic downtown, laid the groundwork for new and improved roads and a new greenway trail and
cleared the air in our restaurants and bars.
This year, there’s even more on tap – projects that will forever change the landscape of Paducah, boost our quality of life and attract more business and more people to our community.
Here’s a sneak peek at the
five main priorities the mayor will cover during tomorrow’s
Chamber Power in Partnership breakfast (7:30 a.m., Executive Inn, International Room A). Scroll down further for our commissioners’ favorite projects:
1. Improve Quality of Life
This year we’ll experience even more great reasons to live and work in Paducah, especially with 3.5 miles of new
greenway trails from our Parks Department. So grab your walking and jogging shoes and get after that New Year’s resolution! Also on the list: playground upgrades, new park restrooms and a bridge that links Stuart Nelson and Noble Park. Tired of traffic? The second part of Olivet Church Road will break ground this year, thanks to $6.5 million from the state.
2. Downtown Development
Downtown is on the upswing thanks to new businesses and upgrades to existing businesses. This year we’ll celebrate the groundbreaking for a 300-room
hotel and conference space – developer proposals are due Jan. 7. The riverfront will absolutely rock as we spruce up the area between Jefferson Street and the Executive Inn with a marina and a proper dock for riverboats. Expansion plans for the wonderful
River Heritage Museum are in the works, too.
3. Vital Neighborhoods
LowerTown – and now,
Fountain Avenue – prove that partnerships among the city, local lenders, residents and developers can revitalize whole neighborhoods, boost property values, cut crime and attract more residents. The Fountain Avenue project will result 60 renovate-worthy units and lots in the $150,000 range, bringing more affordable housing to the center of our city. And renovating Kitchens Inc. into WKCTC’s new
Paducah School for the Arts will give LowerTown another nice boost.
4. Population Growth
A growing Paducah needs more people. Therefore, the commission has adopted several policies and incentives to inspire developers to create subdivisions within our city limits, thereby pushing our population numbers up. So far, 377 new residential units and lots are now available, with more to come. Each of these city priorities is key to population growth, as well.
5. Economic Development
This year we’ll see groundbreaking, relocations and expansions for several excellent employers including Southland Renewable Fuel-Biodiesel, Hunter Marine, Jamesbuilt Specialty Vessel, Western Rivers and Crounse.
Barkley Regional Airport will build a new terminal and keep working to expand air service. And on the education front, WKCTC will break ground on its
Emerging Technology Center, helping to ensure that our workforce is well trained for new jobs.
Commissioner Robert Coleman
30 years of Commissioner service dating back to 1974
1. Economic Development
I’d like to see us put forth extra efforts to attract a significant employer to Paducah this year. We need to show employers that we can support them with services like transportation, tax relief and a well-trained workforce.
2. Workforce Education
We are in a changing workforce across America, and we need to work with higher education to prepare the workforce for the new economy. Potential employers look at our education structure. I’d like to see increased cooperative efforts so that these employers see that our workforce is prepared.
3. Quality of Life
The Carson Center and LowerTown are among our most shining examples of quality of life improvements in our city. We need to continue those improvements with projects like Fountain Avenue.
Commissioner Gayle Kaler
Commissioner since 2007
1. Downtown Hotel, Convention Center and Riverfront Development
Things are happening in Paducah with our $40 million performing arts center and our award-winning artist community — plus a new art school and a $50 million riverfront in the works. We have identified three great sites for a new hotel. We also have the River Heritage Museum project and our continued recruitment of downtown business.
2. Recycling
I’d like us to secure a site for weekly drop offs while we continue working for curbside pick-ups. The numbers of people recycling through the
GPS group’s monthly collection events continue to climb.
3. Barkley Regional Airport
It is essential that we support our airport through funding and encourage state and federal funds for expansion. Our economic development depends on that airport. I also favor voluntary annexation to increase our population and tax base as well as lobbying our legislators for state programs designed to help us achieve our goals.
Commissioner Buz Smith
Commissioner since 1997
1. Neighborhood Revitalization
Many young people and folks who are downsizing are looking for quality neighborhoods with beautiful homes that they can be proud of. I will work hard to see that the Fountain Avenue project is successful as well the other neighborhoods that will follow!
2. Convention Hotel
I have been involved with – and encouraged city staff in their efforts to secure – a quality hotel developer to locate close to Downtown. This will help improve our Downtown even more, with additional retail and new and interesting restaurants.
3. Soccer Complex
A quality soccer complex sends the message that we value our young people – plus it would attract tens of thousands of tourists yearly to contribute to our economy. I want our kids to remember that Paducah was a cool place to grow up and live in, and that they’ll want to continue living here and further enriching our lives and the community.
Commissioner Gerald Watkins
Commissioner since 2007
1. Firefighters Contract
I want a contract that the firefighters can live with that’s fair. And once that is in place, we can negotiate the first lawsuit. We’ve got to treat our emergency personnel fairly. Employees are the most important resource of any organization.
2. A True 2+2 with Murray State University
I’d like to see Murray State have a major presence in McCracken County. Murray offers 50 degrees on its campus and seven in Paducah. A true 2+2 with Murray would allow students to earn their four-year degree here in Paducah.
3. Economic Development
I’ve voted in favor of economic development seed money, against the permanent 33 1/3 paytroll tax increase and continue to push to change the business license basis from gross receipts to net profit. I’m doing everything I can to help attract businesses here to create job opportunities so our young people can continue living in Paducah if they’d like to.
