City of Hawesville Achieves Audit Closure Following Multi-Year Backlog
By Jennifer Wimmer
A major breakthrough for the City of Hawesville has been achieved, as all of the audits are now completed! The current administration, under Mayor Rob McCormick’s leadership, has spent over $125K to get these finalized. They have been working non-stop since McCormick began in January of 2023.
This major achievement has required many hours of work, and will unfreeze state funding. A sigh of relief and tears of joy accompany this triumph. The city will now have access to their vendor numbers in order to move forward with urgent repairs and projects.
“It’s been two and a half years of this term to get these audits caught up, and we’re done, finally. So now our state funding is released and we’re happy,” McCormick said. “The audits would normally only cost you $8-9K a year, but with it being so far back that we had to go, it was just extra money and there was nothing we could do about it. We were able to scrape and find the money to pay for them. We have a park grant out there that we can now receive funds from, and start on our city park (next to the Hawesville Fire Station). We have a storm water treatment plant that now we can receive our state funding for, and start on that. It’s just going to make things so much nicer to actually be receiving our state funding like we should’ve been for years. We haven’t calculated everything out to a T yet, but it’s going to be a nice windfall for the city to have that come in. We’re all just very pleased with that.”
Many projects, including plans for beginning construction on the park in downtown Hawesville, have been on hold until all this was finalized. Dollars will now be able to flow, including approximately $180K in KYTC Municipal Road Aid funding. Released funds will empower the city to continue to pursue its revitalization goals while prioritizing critical projects requiring immediate action.
“We will get exact numbers here in the next two weeks. We’ve been running the city like a business,” he said, “and that’s what we had to do. When I took office, I knew it was going to be a challenge but this much of a challenge was a little more than expected. We had past debts when we took office that dated all the way back to 2016, and we have paid all those off. We’ve been working diligently. It’s just been a blessing to get this caught up. The only thing I’ve done since I’ve taken office, is surround myself with a great team. I had to get the right people around me to be able to perform these tasks. City Manager Jake Powers and City Clerk Amy Roberts have been a blessing in what they’ve brought to the table, and have been able to get done. These audits wouldn’t be done at this time if it wasn’t for my team.”
The city administration has devoted countless additional hours to expedite this process. Their families have sacrificed along with them in this so they could see it through, and have provided them with support and encouragement.
“My wife, Lisa, is a very understanding wife,” McCormick expressed. “She’s been a lot of support. After 41 years of marriage, we’re still a team… And now we’re going to continue to work forward in making Hawesville a better place. Some exciting things are getting ready to happen too. We have some investors that want to invest some major money in the City of Hawesville.”
Hawesville is the county seat, and a Welcome City from Indiana into Kentucky. A tremendous amount of work has gone into making the city thrive again, which has included help from many community volunteers. The people are ready to see this progress continue, and for the city to return to the way it was years ago, and even surpass that success. These dreams can become a reality now that the necessary funding will soon be released. So, expect some great things like what you may remember from growing up here in past decades, and get ready for an even more abundant future in this small town, and in Hancock County.
“That’s what we want to get back to,” he said. “I’m transparent, and I feel like the city needs to know what’s going on at all times. I’ve been talking to Mike Boling (HC Circuit Court Clerk), and he’s going to reach out to my authority figures. Mike has been a tremendous help. I will be in the office all day Thursday (August 7th) at City Hall, and Mike and I are going to send out an email with our funding number attached to it, asking for a quick release of some of our grant funding and things, to go on and get us started. We expect that to happen with the help of our governor’s Senior Advisor, Rocky Adkins, and Governor Beshear. Representative Scott Lewis has been a lot of help too, and so has Senator Gary Boswell. We owe them thanks. It looks like we’re finally at a point that we don’t have to worry about where the funds are going to come from. It’s just very exciting.”
Residents fondly recall a livelier city with a movie theater and more shops and restaurants, urging the return of such amenities to enhance community life. Citizens, both young and old, have vocalized during the town hall meetings over the last couple of years that they are extremely hopeful about reviving community pride as well. The people envision the City of Hawesville with thriving businesses and abundant opportunities. They also want more local activities and places to engage, encouraging youth to remain and raise their families here.
“The key is believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He’s going to give us great things. And He’s done that for us; He’s provided for us,” McCormick said. “I think He’s got a special place for us in the future. This city has got to be a God-based city. We need the Lord Jesus in our city, to help. And it’s proven; He does that every day… Here in the next few weeks, you’re going to be seeing some announcements that are really going to trigger putting Hawesville where it needs to be, moving forward. And we’re not going to stop; We’re going to keep pushing to move forward.”
He and his administration have, without a doubt, caused the momentum to really get going toward achieving the success in the city that so many have been praying for.
“It’s like the old song we used to sing at church, ‘It only takes a spark to get a fire going.’ So, maybe I’ve been, partially, some of the spark that’s gotten that fire going again. I’m proud and honored to be that spark, to be honest,” McCormick noted. “I couldn’t ask for a better team. These audits being complete — it’s really going to open up the possibilities for Hawesville. God puts the tools in our hand, and what we do with those tools is our decision. We can actually move forward now with what we said we wanted to do the whole time. The state is working with us very strongly. I couldn’t be more elated.”
They are planning on having something special, such as cake and ice cream, at the August council meeting to celebrate. And they are eager to schedule another Town Hall Meeting soon for the community to attend and learn more about what’s in store for the future of Hawesville.
“We’ve had the opportunity to get one house cleaned up in Hawesville, and it looks like in the near future we’ll have two more done. We’re tickled about that. People took pride, years ago. You’ve got to start by creating pride. I think we did a good job of that, early on, because people started taking pride in their yards more and doing things in Hawesville,” he said. “After pride, you have to progress, and that’s what we’ve been doing, is inching forward. Then after you start progressing, it’s time to persevere. Those are the three p’s that I strive to live by in my management positions. And I have a team that has been bound and determined to do that. It’s taken all of us in this community to do that. Our Town Hall Meetings are very well attended. We’re blessed to have really good people that care about the city.”
Last month’s council meeting minutes revealed major flooding issues in neighborhoods in the city due to record rainfall this year. This administration has been overwhelmed with challenges, compounding pressures to finalize ongoing audits.
“Now that our state funding is being released, that’s going to make it easier to do those things. We have a project on Donna Lou Lane, of some ditching work that needs to be done. We’ll be able to get to that and other such projects in the next, hopefully, 2-4 weeks,” McCormick added. “Those will be major improvements to move the water out of those subdivisions without it flooding those yards… My dad passed in 1988, at 53-years-old. He was a head deacon at Hawesville Baptist Church. I was raised that way — to give. I’m just glad I’ve had the opportunity to give to Hawesville, and I hope that continues. I’m not going to back off; I can promise you that. I’ll just find something else we’ve got to sprint toward. Donn Wimmer (my late father, former publisher) was a major supporter of this administration. He would bring me old Clarions in and say, ‘I need you to read that this week, and next week I’m going to come back, and you’re going to tell me what you read.’ It may have been a Clarion from 1970. He just kept me on my toes, and he was a great motivator. He always gave me good advice, as far as bringing unity back. He really wanted the city to grow again. He wanted the city to go back to the God-fearing people it was, at one time. Donn was just such a mentor to me, and I try to pass on the wisdom he shared with me to my grandkids and my kids, and the youth when I see them around.”
Upcoming Meetings
The next Hawesville City Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 12th at 6:30 p.m. The next Code Enforcement Board meeting will be on Monday, August 18th at 1:30pm. Both are held at Hawesville City Hall.
