By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
During the Glasgow City Council meeting earlier in the week, one item on the agenda that was discussed was a joint resolution between Barren County and the city of Glasgow that amended an interlocal agreement between the two.
According to the resolution, the original interlocal agreement was put in place in June of 2013 and amended again in 2016. The agreement deals with “inspection services” provided by the county. In addition to the other paragraphs of the resolution that deal with fees and licenses, the document also states that the city “shall furnish one of the required employee positions within the building inspector’s office” so they will qualify for “expanded jurisdiction.”
Kevin Myatt, planning director of the Joint City-County Planning Commission, said expanded jurisdiction allows the county to do building inspections that would normally have to go to the state office in Frankfort, such as a light manufacturing plant or any other building that has more than 99 occupants.
“And that number changes based on the use of the building,” Myatt said.
Myatt said the process of applying for expanded jurisdiction usually takes a year. However, he said they have already begun keeping the appropriate documents. Officially they will begin the year trial period on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
“You have to apply to the state to prove to them that you can do state-level jobs,” Myatt said. “Typically that’s a one year process. There’s no guarantee that the state is going to relinquish that, but the amount of stress they have going on right now, with the amount of jobs they have to review across the state, it’s considerable.”
Currently, one state inspector covers anywhere from 11 to 13 counties. With such a workload, Myatt said, the process for new buildings to be approved by the state can take anywhere from two to four months, in stark contrast to the 48 hours it takes for the county to inspect the same job.
“What this does is, hopefully, streamlines a lot of those state jobs that have to go up there and sit in review for maybe a few months at a time,” Myatt said. “It keeps it local so we can do the same review process as the state does, however the turnaround time is significantly shorter.”
It takes a minimum of three inspectors locally to be in place for expanded jurisdiction to be approved. Myatt said, the inspectors are working through “levels” that will certify them to inspect things like mechanical, electrical and HVAC. The only caveat to that is plumbing inspections, he said.
“Any kind of plumbing inspections will always go through the state,” Myatt said. “That’ll never be done locally.”
Myatt said they did not yet have a set fee schedule for inspections, but he said he “had no doubt” they would “definitely be cheaper and quicker.”
“Everything is still in the early stages,” Myatt added. “Hopefully, this time next year, we’re at a spot where the state will give at least Barren County and Glasgow over to expanded jurisdiction.”
This is a natural next step for the economic boom he expects to see in the near future, he said.
Though he said “things can change drastically” and there’s no crystal ball to accurately predict the future, the development occurring along Interstate 65, specifically in Glendale and Nashville, will drastically change the county and surrounding areas.
For example, Glendale’s new electric battery factory is set to bring roughly 5,000 new jobs into the area. Myatt said that number does not include the employees’ partners and children. A lot of those people, he said, are likely to choose to live in surrounding areas and commute rather than live in Glendale.
This will create a domino effect between residents and business.
“What we’re anticipating is seeing that residential boom happen and whatever follows,” Myatt said. “There’s no chicken and egg, they’re both eggs for us, so if you get a lot of people to come and live here …, commercial and industrial places see that and then they want to come locate here.”
One positive sign of this growth is the Buc-ee’s that recently broke ground in Smiths Grove, he said.
“Wherever a Buc-ee’s locates I can promise you, with 100 percent certainty, growth follows,” Myatt said. “Buc-ee’s rarely locate in a spot where there’s no growth.”
Myatt said this is truly a “once in a generation” series of economic developments that will change Glasgow and Barren County for the better.
“Short of a worldwide catastrophe, this region is going to expand commercially, industrially and residentially,” Myatt said. “All three factors are going to happen.”
“It’s already started,” he added.
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