Commissioners hear progress on Cherry Civic Center renovation

The Paducah Board of Commissioners met Tuesday with Mayor Pro-tem Sandra Wilson presiding in the absence of Mayor George Bray. 

Director of Parks and Recreation Amie Clark updated the board on the Robert Cherry Civic Center Renovation Project. Clark said 65 percent of needed renovations are complete. Among the project's highlights are updates to the community center area. It can hold as many as 256 seated patrons. It also has a catering kitchen, audio-visual connectivity, office space for the several Parks and Recreation administrative employees mainly during the week, keyless entry, improved landscaping, and parking layout.

Completition is expected by the end of the calendar year. A tentative open house is being planned for January. The idea is to make the rental calendar available for accepting March reservations soon.

Civic center rental fees haven't changed in a decade, and Clark proposed an updated schedule of fees: $750 for Monday through Thursday; $1,200 for Friday and Saturday with no Sunday rentals offered. The city might offer the option of a reduced rate of $500 to rent the facility for five hours or less. Holiday rentals likely would be $1,500 per day.
Non-profits would get a 10 percent discount and a 50 percent deposit would be required at the time of reservation, as well as a $500 refundable deposit.

The Parks and Recreation Department also will provide staff support for Civic Center events. After receiving more input, a revised fee schedule will be presented for the commission's approval.

City Manager Daron Jordan clarified recent dialogue concerning the Showroom Lounge, located at the back of the Convention Center. The entire lounge area will not be reroofed. Neverthless, however, there's a roof section level with the Convention Center that will be replaced with costs the city covers. 

Benefits Advisor DJ Story of HUB International shared the City of Paducah’s 2024 health insurance plan through Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, serving as the city’s third-party administrator. Participants will not have any changes to their health insurance premiums for 2024. The city has maintained the same health insurance premium rates consecutively for 12 years. Dental and vision premiums will stay the same as this year's. To comply with Internal Revenue Service minimums, deductibles for the health insurance plans will change. The City of Paducah self-insures, meaning premiums employees paid into the plan are used to pay the claims.

Grants Administrator Hope Reasons updated recent applications. Last fiscal year, the city submitted 23 applications. So far, 17 have been awarded, four were denied, and the city still waits to hear about the other two. The city now manages $19.7 million in grant funding.

During this past quarter, the city submitted five applications, requesting some  $6.8 million. Market House Theatre, the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, National Quilt Museum, and the Housing Authority of Paducah used funding they received through the city’s Grant-in-Aid funding process.

Concerning the Hotel Metropolitan’s Purple Room Project which won a $55,000 African American Cultural Heritage Foundation grant, the building's exterior was painted, new windows installed, and a concrete floor poured.

The board approved a Municipal Order accepting an $81,885 Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant to update Keiler Park’s playground at 2900 Broadway. The board also approved a GameTime Playground Grant requesting up to $80,000 toward the purchase of inclusive and accessible playground equipment.