Hopkinsville City Council heard a brief update Tuesday night from Police Chief Clayton Sumner about the recent shootings and recognized Pennyroyal Arts Council Executive Director Margaret Prim at the meeting.
The talk around town and on social media the past several weeks has been the number of shootings and shots fired calls in the news that is occurring in Hopkinsville. Councilman Terry Parker brought up the issue at the end of the meeting and said there is a problem in the city that needs to be recognized, determine the cause and work on a solution.
Mayor Carter Hendricks stated it’s not just Hopkinsville that is having a problem with gun violence — it is a regional problem.
Chief Sumner in a brief statement said there is no denying the city and other areas are having a lot of shootings. He added, “we have a cultural problem.”
He says it is going to take the community coming together to impact a cultural change.
Mayor Hendricks noted Sumner will be giving a full report at the Committee of the Whole meeting Thursday night.
Pennyroyal Arts Council Executive Director Margaret Prim got a big surprise. She thought she was there to present an update but instead several of her friends, coworkers and family members entered the Council Chamber from behind closed doors to show their support as Mayor Hendricks presented Prim with a plaque. He also thanked her for all her work at the Arts Council, specifically with the Alhambra Theatre renovation project.
Also at the meeting, council members approved the first reading of rezoning 1.45 acres of property on Skyline Drive at the intersection of East 9th Street and Skyline Drive and Park View Drive from a Residential District to a General Business District.
City council also approved an amendment to the Sisk Honda incentives to include the new Honda dealership, that will be constructed at the intersection of Fort Campbell Boulevard and Eagle Way, is on property owned by Overhold Properties, LLC.
The next regularly scheduled Hopkinsville City Council meeting will be held Tuesday evening, May 7, at 6:00.
