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MURRAY –  The Murray City Council on Thursday approved the purchase of two pieces of equipment for the natural gas department, as well as acceptance of park grant and other business.

The council approved the purchase of a Ditch Witch trencher for $87,308.53 and Ditch Witch boring machine for $269,060.24 from the Charles Machine Works. Jaimey Erwin, field operations manager for Murray Natural Gas, said these purchases are different from the usual bidding process because they are through a cooperative purchasing agreement the city has with Sourcewell, which he said helps save money on large purchases. He said the more expensive item, the boring machine, allows personnel to bore gas and sewer lines underneath roads, yards and driveways without cutting through the surface.

The council also approved the acceptance of a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant for Central Park, which will bring some restroom facilities into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. City Administrator Jim Osborne said Murray-Calloway County Parks Director Ryan Yates applied for the grant in 2018 under the previous city-county park board. That was three years before the council voted in September 2021 to take control of the park system.

“It is for ADA upgrades in the park,” Osborne said. “It was approved last fall, and they just got the paperwork this week. So what I need is approval for the mayor to sign to accept it. It’s $19,767, and that money will go toward a (concrete) walking path from the ADA playground to the Bailey Pavilion bathrooms … It’s going to make the toilets ADA compliant and get them to the right height, make the doors where they open out for handicap accessibility, install handrails and make alterations to the sinks in the bathrooms.”

The council also voted to approve a resolution adopting the Calloway County Area Solid Waste Management plan for 2023-27. Osborne said a committee updates the plan every five years.

“The only major change that I’m aware of in the plan is that the county is now going to take responsibility to pick up all the litter in the city and the county, as far as when they’re out collecting trash on the sides of roads and things like that,” Osborne said.

Councilman Burton Young asked what the city’s policy is for dealing with large roadkill, noting that it is currently the peak season for deer-vehicle collisions. Osborne said that when someone reports a dead animal on a city road, the street department is typically contacted to remove it.

• The City of Murray will officially recognize Halloween on Monday, Oct. 31, with trick-or-treating hours set for 5-8 p.m.

• The council heard the first reading of an ordinance codifying several 2021-22 budget amendments, which Finance Director Kim Wyatt said were needed to recognize special funds received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the COPS program, a utility project grant, park donations and expenditures from the city’s reserve funds for the construction of the new Fire Station 1 and purchase of fire department vehicles.

• The council heard the first reading for an ordinance enacting and adopting a supplement to the Code of Ordinances.

• The council heard the first reading of an ordinance to amend the city’s transient tax ordinance. Murray Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Erin Carrico explained that a new Kentucky statute that takes effect Jan. 1 allows municipalities to collect transient taxes on short-term rentals such as Airbnb, as well as cabins, lodgings, campsites, tourist camps, tourist cabins, campgrounds and recreational vehicle parks.

• The council voted to approve the appointments of Brenda Rowland to fill the late Duane Bolin’s unexpired term on the Architectural Review Board ending Aug. 22, 2025, and Councilman Dan Miller to a one-year term as chair of the city’s Tree Board.

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