By Fiona Morgan

fiona@amnews.com

The Fiscal Court voted at its meeting Tuesday to allocate $6,000 to sponsor a new Christmas event.

Lahannah Bonagofski, who co-owns the Copper and Oak restaurant in Danville, is starting a new event called Small Town Christmas. It will be a one-day festival in downtown Danville and will be free for all ages.

Bonagofski said she got the idea from taking her kids to Christmas events in Louisville and Lexington, and believes that Danville should have a local Christmas event that supports businesses and brings people together.

She said the event will be modeled after Bayou and Brass during the Brass Band Festival. It would be at Weisiger Park and would close down Main Street between Third and Fourth streets. There will be live music, vendors, food trucks, and kids activities. Bonagofski said they’ll look for regional bands with larger followings in order to bring more people in, and expand their reach.

The event will be in addition to the Danville Christmas Parade. Bonagofski said she is working with the Christmas parade committee and others in the community to make sure things aren’t done twice, and so everyone works in unison. The CVB will help with marketing, and other money will come from private sponsorships.

“I’m excited about this, I think it’ll be a great addition to downtown and my district,” Magistrate Jamey Gay said.

Magistrates said they usually only allocate money during the budget process in the spring, but since it’s a new event with limited time to plan, they still made an allocation. They requested that she go through the appropriations process next year.

Bonagofski said the event will happen every year, and after this first one they will form a committee and board, and request money from the county and city during next year’s regular budget appropriation process.

In other business, the court:

• Heard a year-end report on the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Tim Montgomery from the CVB board said they ended the fiscal year with $251,000 in the bank, of which $135,000 was ARPA money. Their year to date revenue is $292,000 with ARPA funds of $138,000.

Montgomery said they spent most of that money on advertising and employees. He said their three employees have recently attended training and seminars, and they are seeking out the best ways to use the advertising money.

• Agreed to split the cost of a new motor for the dead animal removal truck with the Conservation District. The Conservation District bought the truck, but is letting the county use it. The county will pay $9,609 toward the new motor.

• Appointed Cay Shawler to the Fire Board. This is to fill a vacancy when Jennifer Taylor resigned after six years. Shawler will complete that unexpired term, which ends June 30, 2024. Shawler has lived and worked in Boyle County for 40 years mainly in the health field.

• Appointed Paul Dean to the Ethics Board for an unexpired term ending November 30, 2024. Previous member Rebecca Kernodle resigned, but is staying on as an alternate. Dean is the representative for Perryville, in order to still have all the cities represented on the board. He has an accounting degree from EKU, and has worked many jobs in the accounting and finance field.

• Recognized I.T. Director Bill Nichols for National I.T. Professionals Day. Bottom declared Sept. 19 as Bill Nichols Appreciation Day in Boyle County, and thanked him for his dedicated work on the county’s technology.

• Made proclamations for Constitution Week and National Suicide Prevention.