Marathon to remove trees along pipeline behind Woodford County park; work to begin mid-November

Woodford County's parks director told the fiscal court on Wednesday that Marathon will remove vegetation and trees along the property line behind the county park where a pipeline runs, and that work is expected to begin in mid-November and last four to five weeks.

Director Rich Pictor said the pipeline dates to the early 1960s and runs parallel to the back of county property; Marathon representatives told the county the corridor had grown over and they must remove trees and vegetation to access the pipeline. Pictor said the work will not negatively affect the mountain-bike trail that runs nearby and that there should remain a buffer between the trail and adjacent farmland once the work is complete.

Pictor cautioned court members that the work will not be performed by the county but by Marathon, that landowner agreements and coordination were necessary, and that state timing requirements tied to bat habitats meant the work would not start until mid-November. "Expect this to happen somewhere about the November to start, and it could take 4 to 5 weeks," Pictor said. He advised magistrates to expect constituent phone calls and said photos and mapping of the pipeline corridor were shared with court members.

The court also approved a memorandum of agreement and deed restriction related to the Hunter Town Community Interpretive Park and voted to move forward with ribbon-cutting ceremonies scheduled for Nov. 3 at Russell Avenue Park and Hunter Town Park.

Ending: Parks staff will notify the public and respond to inquiries; the court encouraged staff to keep members informed of timing and any impacts to park access during the vegetation-removal work.