Louisa City Council approves engineer for sidewalk project
Lawrence County Humane Society member Beverly Pack asked the Louisa City Council for financial support for the organization’s feline spay/neuter programs. BSN photo/Brenda Hardwick
By TONY FYFFE
BSN Editor
LOUISA — Choosing an engineer for an upcoming sidewalk project and a request for money for a feline spay/neuter program were the main topics at the Louisa City Council’s first meeting of the new year last Tuesday, Jan. 10.
Council members picked Bluegrass Engineering of Lexington to be the engineer for a sidewalk project that will stretch from the Gene Wilson Boulevard area to Rt. 644, where a current sidewalk ends.
Bluegrass and S & S Engineers of Charleston, W.Va., were the only two firms to submit requests for qualifications for the project, according to Mayor Harold Slone, who said that Bluegrass has a representative who lives in Louisa.
Slone said he would meet with the representative to negotiate the cost and a contract, and report back to council members for final approval.
In other business, Lawrence County Humane Society member Beverly Pack addressed the council with a report on the Low-Income Assistance Cat Spay and Neuter Program and the Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) Program.
Pack said the Low-Income Assistance Cat Spay and Neuter Program helps Lawrence County residents get their personal cats spayed and neutered. The TNR Program is for free-roaming community cats, she said.
“These really benefit our community and our citizens,” Pack said. “We have a lot of people who cannot afford to get their pets fixed, and by having these programs, we’re able to stop a countless number of unwanted litters each year.”
Pack said that since she began the programs in 2016, more than 2,000 cats have been spayed or neutered countywide.
Donations from city and county governments are matched by Two Mauds, Inc., a New York City-based animal foundation, Pack said.
The Louisa City Council donated $500 last year, and Pack asked members if they would contribute again this year.
A motion to donate $1,000 was approved by council members, with Slone saying that the amount could be “line-itemed” so Pack would not have to come back and ask for it every year. He said the issue would be considered during budget talks later in the year.
The council also approved adjustments to the current fiscal year budget and a resolution adopting the FIVCO Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
Council members also went into executive session to discuss potential property acquisition, but no action was reported.