Following a September that saw considerable business conducted for the community, the Cadiz City Council opened October with a lengthy report from City Administrative Officer Jack Lingenfelter Tuesday night — setting a path and offering definition for the final quarter of 2025.
Among the discussions, Lingenfelter said he and Public Works Director Craig Oakley were able to recently submit an application for a Local Assistance Road Program, or LARP, grant, which if awarded would require a 12.5% match from road aid money to fund a $400,000 extended paving plan. Lingenfelter said it would allow for Cavanaugh, Line, Spring, Albert, Wood, Amber, Third, Second, First, Mimi, West Avenue, East Noel and Wallace to receive new looks, after Wharton and other locations just got a new finish.
Kentucky League of Cities is currently reviewing the 2019 Cadiz Employee Handbook, and a first draft of the new copy has been received. Lingenfelter said positive changes could be on the way, and a scheduled sit-down for an in-person review of the document is planned for November.
To date in this fiscal year, Cadiz has received more than $78,000 in non-matching grant funds, and more is being sought.
In an effort to create outreach and a more fluid role for the community, Lingenfelter said the City of Cadiz will be moving forward by filling the On Main director position with a renewed focus on internships, and hopefully through Murray State University. Using four-month cycles and semesters, Lingenfelter said the hope would be to find and hire undergraduate and graduate students looking to expand their skills in IT work, city planning and event coordination, while encouraging future MSU graduates to seek career opportunities in Trigg County.
At present, Lingenfelter said the budgeted salary for the On Main role was being used to replace the Renaissance Center’s HVAC unit, which recently failed.
In an effort to stop taking cash payments for City of Cadiz services, Lingenfelter said his office has been looking at using an online collection vendor like Stripe for the community. Previously used for EV charging only, he added that there is a desire to have online payments, portable point-of-sale systems, and a real way to expand fundraising, festival and renaissance rentals through this application.
One bid was secured for a needed wastewater treatment plant upgrade, and it was $78,000 from KM Specialty Pumps. It included a cashier’s check for 5% of the bid in lieu of the bid bond.
City council members unanimously approved for Lingenfelter to begin exploring options for collecting delinquent utility bills and potentially delinquent local taxes.
According to Lingenfelter, the City of Cadiz hasn’t recodified its ordinances and law literature since 1999, and an early estimate from American Legal Publishing suggests a base cost of no less than $11,500 for the effort. A first draft, he said, would take at least seven months, and that the cost can be spread over two fiscal years before the task is complete. Council members approved the beginning of this process.
Lingenfelter, as well as Cadiz Mayor Todd King, confirmed that the former PJ Clark Lumber Company property already looks “20 times better” — after proprietors moved forward with site cleanup and rehabilitation efforts. The site was listed as commercial property on EXP Realty October 3, with an asking price of $500,000.
Lingenfelter also noted it was time to begin the bidding process for garbage collection services in Cadiz, as the current contract with GFL is set to expire May 2026.
And, finally, Lingenfelter said it was time for the City of Cadiz to move more into the digital world:
Cadiz Police Chief Tyler Thomas noted that for the month of September, his department investigated 13 cases, made 12 arrests and responded to more than 440 calls for service. Of the 54 traffic stops made, 44 resulted in citations.
Two open patrol positions were also filled, thanks to the hiring of Lukis Stroupe and Nathan Carter, who have already started in-house training and will begin at the academy this December. The department, Thomas said, is now fully staffed.
Furthermore, the department has been awarded a grant valued at $40,000 from the Kentucky Attorney General’s office, and will be used for the acquisition of two ballistic shields — one for the office, and one for the school district.
According to Cadiz Fire Chief Josh Holley, the city’s fire department also had a busy September — responding to 13 calls for service. Of those, two were accidents with an injury, four were brush fires, one was an assist for another agency, one was assisting an ambulance, one was for carbon monoxide, one was a structural fire, one was a vehicle fire, one was a controlled burn, and one was a welfare check.
