Perryville to discontinue live-streaming meetings; Council reforms beautification committee, hears Main Street Perryville updates

Published 11:13 am Wednesday, February 8, 2023

The Perryville City Council voted to discontinue live streaming their meetings during the Feb. 2 meeting.

The town has been sharing live videos of council meetings on their Facebook page, City of Perryville Kentucky, since the Covid-19 pandemic started when meetings were closed to the public.

Mayor Carlos Miller explained that in a Perryville council meeting on Nov. 5, 2020, the council passed a motion to continue live streams of all council meetings going forward, due to low attendance.

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According to an Advocate-Messenger article published in November 2020, another reason for continuing live streams after the pandemic was that the meetings posted to Facebook often got hundreds of views.

This is far more people than can physically fit in Perryville’s City Hall. It made recorded meetings more accessible to more people, including those who are unable to attend in person or are busy during the regular meeting time.

Videos in the last two-and-a-half years have consistently gotten 100 to 300 views per meeting, with some receiving upwards of 500 views. Now, anyone wanting to attend meetings will have to go in person at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month.

Also during the Nov. 5, 2020 meeting, the city decided to purchase video and microphone equipment to produce higher-quality livestream videos.

Equipment included a camera, eight microphones, and an iPad to adjust the camera. According to the article, the equipment cost about $4,000 altogether, which was reimbursed by the state government.

The motion to discontinue live streams was made by Steve Bailey, and was passed by a five to one vote. The only no vote was Tim Simpson.

The motion is effective immediately, for the next council meeting will not be livestreamed. The council did not give a reason for discontinuing the livestreams.

Main Street events

Main Street Perryville Director Aly Huff gave an update on projects and events they are working on. They are starting an archives project to move artifacts on Merchants Row that haven’t been stored properly to a new location.

They are partnering with Friends of Perryville Battlefield to organize, catalog, and store the artifacts properly, and then will move them back to Perryville in a museum. Huff said it will be a year-long project.

“We’re excited to be putting the history first and making sure that those things are here for another 150 years-plus so that people can continue to enjoy those things that have sadly been hidden away and not taken care of,” Huff said.

There will be a new museum exhibit in April. The current one is Civil War-based only, but they are converting it to be Perryville-based. It will also have rotating exhibits.

Huff said Bargain Barn Consignment is closing this month, which is at the end of Merchants row. They plan to do some repair work on that building to start recruiting for a new business.

Soon there will be a new sign installed at the stoplight of Highway 150 and 68. Merchants Row businesses will have their names on the sign. This is to encourage people driving through to stop at those businesses.

Perryville’s current wayfinding signage, on brown signs throughout town, is getting a facelift thanks to Boyle County CVB. The replacement signs will be more modern and eye-catching.

Main Street is hosting a new “Give Love” event on April 29. The event will be in honor of Amelia Dallman, a local eight-year-old who passed away in 2021. Huff said the event is about giving back to the community. Merchants or people at the event will be required to give away items or food.

“It’s just about the love that Amelia would give,” Huff said.

Another new event starting this summer is Barrel Park Summer Nights, a free monthly family night. Huff said it’s for people to gather in town for a movie or music, food trucks, or whatever else people want.

The Turtle Derby will be July 22, a Saturday. This year’s goal is to sell 3,000 turtles instead of 2,000.

The Perryville Battlefield commemoration will be October 6 and 7. Perryville Ghost Walks have been scheduled for the whole year.

The council decided to reform the beautification committee. Mayor Carlos Miller had previously formed the committee. But he learned at a recent Kentucky League of Cities orientation that mayors cannot form committees for the city.

Councilman Rob Kernodle made the motion, seconded by Simpson, to form a beautification committee with the same chairperson, Marie Miller. The motion included that a member of the council also be appointed to the committee.

The council appointed Councilman Mike Lankford, who praised the committee for the work they did last year. He said he’s asked a local landscaper to look at the town and give suggestions on what the town can do for beautification.

In other business, the council:

• Created a three-person committee to look for land to annex into the city. Miller said the city is in desperate need of annexing more land to keep up with the growth of other towns. Members of the committee will be Kernodle, Jason Pruitt, and Chasity Caldwell.

• Passed a motion to allow Councilman Jason Pruitt to be a proxy for the council to negotiate with a property owner for possible purchase of a building for use as a firehouse.

• Amended the compensation for volunteer firefighters to now pay $25 per run per person, and that the chief compile a quarterly report by which to determine appropriate compensation.

• Passed an ordinance amending the budget for the current fiscal year to add line items like the sale of a surplus police vehicle, ARPA funds received, a cyber-security grant, and donations for police body cams and car cams, which were received in 2020 but not used for that purpose yet.