Trigg County’s Local Emergency Planning Commission convened Friday morning, with a special guest bringing an important regional message.
The Land Between the Lakes area advisor since October 2023, Jim McCoy said it was easy to often fall into a feeling of separation between LBL and the communities near it.
He continues to have other plans.
McCoy called 2025 a “busy, busy year” for LBL, and that the full vision isn’t possible without Trigg County buy-in.
LBL, he added, currently pumps in more than $2 billion into the regional economy.
One current concern that overlaps both LBL and Trigg County officials: Energy Lake Drive.
Branching off of U.S. 68/80 and just past Canton and the Lake Barkley Bridge, City of Cadiz Police Chief Tyler Thomas told McCoy that his office is frequently called for solutions when it is closed for damage and repairs.
And that includes now, when spring storms swept through west Kentucky and did a number on the popular pathway.
McCoy said the answer to its current repair is complex.
Congress also still has to pass a budget, too, and until then, Thomas and McCoy said they have encouraged motorists to detour elsewhere along the Trace — which both parties know is “inconvenient” and adds quite a bit of mileage to a day-trip.
There is a small chance, McCoy said, for earlier funding to come at the regional level through a disaster code with the Federal Highway Administration.
He added, though, that the worst case scenario is “a year.”
In other LEPC news:
— Trigg County Emergency Management Director David Bryant confirmed that the Pennyrile Area Development District already has a major drone for use in its nine-county “Area 2” region. It can be used for local fire, EMS and police efforts, and Bryant added it’s “bigger” than the one Trigg County currently uses.
— LEPC members accepted an undisclosed grant valued at $868.14, which will serve as the agency’s budget for the next fiscal year.
