Residents urge Hopkinsville to use opioid settlement funds for recovery services; council authorizes settlement participation

Multiple Hopkinsville residents and recovery-service providers urged the city to direct opioid settlement funds toward recovery community services, and the City Council subsequently authorized the mayor to sign a participation agreement for the opioid settlement.

At the start of public comment, Shane Adamov, transitional living director, urged council to emulate Calloway County’s use of opioid settlement funds to build a recovery community center with peer support specialists, transportation vans and harm-reduction programs. "The first 48 hours are the most crucial," Adamov said, arguing that funds "should not be used for police cruisers" but instead to "go back into the recovery community." (Shane Adamov)

Joe Foster, who identified himself as a long-term recovery resident and operator of a sober living house in Hopkinsville, reinforced that plea and urged council to invest abatement and settlement monies in recovery housing and services rather than other expenditures. "I have a sober living house here in Hopkinsville…There’s not enough" treatment capacity locally, he said. (Joe Foster)

Council later moved into a closed session on pending litigation. After returning, the council took a motion and authorized the mayor to execute the opioid settlement participation agreement; the authorization was approved by voice vote. The meeting record shows the motion and second were made and the council voted 'aye' to authorize the mayor to sign the agreement. The authorization enables Hopkinsville to participate in the statewide/local settlement process; it does not by itself allocate settlement proceeds to specific programs or establish an advisory board.

During council comments, members said they were "still looking into" creating an advisory board or committee to oversee the opioid settlement funds and would consult the city attorney before reporting back. No specific spending plan, dollar amount, or schedule for distribution was announced during the meeting.

Next steps noted by council included follow-up with the city attorney about governance of the funds and a future report back to council on the advisory structure and potential uses.