After two months of uncertainty, on Monday night at the Leitchfield City Council meeting, the council voted to move forward with the relocation of the Leitchfield Police Department headquarters and City Hall to the old Rite Aid building.
Saying its time to “move on,” Mayor Rick Embry asked for a vote on the matter, with all six council members voting to move forward with the project.
Embry has been outspoken in opposing the move since taking office on January 1, but seemed ready to put the conflict with some council members behind him. As a council member in September 2018, Embry voted against the original motion to purchase the property, saying that he didn’t think it was appropriate to make such an enormous financial decision so near the end of the current city council and mayor’s terms. In October 2018, though, he voted for the issuance of a $5 million General Obligation Bond to help purchase and renovate the building.
As a councilman and since taking office, Embry steadily said he was interested in investigating whether a retailer would purchase the 14,500 square foot property, especially since the land and building were bought for $2.85 million, which is widely considered to be a good financial deal for the city.
Now though, the city will move forward in the process of renovating the interior of the building; something that may take on a sense of urgency with the announcement by Leitchfield PD Chief Bryan Langdon who said what is currently being used as an officer’s office space will be renovated into an evidence storage room. The move is being made because of the severe lack of space at LPD headquarters.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
