Williamsburg now has a new city attorney.
During Monday’s regular monthly meeting, the Williamsburg City Council accepted the resignation of city attorney Josh Lowe and voted to hire Ryan Lawson as the new city attorney.
Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison said that Lowe resigned because his overall workload was becoming more than he could do. He had been city attorney since October 2024.
Lowe also serves as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Whitley and McCreary counties in addition to serving as an assistant county attorney in both counties, Harrison noted.
“We kind of hit him with several things. He felt like he couldn’t do us justice, so he needed to back off. He was a wonderful city attorney,” Harrison said.
Harrison said that since the city had a few matters needing attention, he decided to bypass a formal hiring process and reached out to Lawson, who had previously expressed interest in serving as city attorney.
Lawson is the owner of the 1818 Law Firm in Williamsburg. Both he and his wife are Whitley County natives.
Also, during Monday’s meeting, Harrison announced that he would have the first reading of an ordinance prepared for September’s meeting, which would allow some UTVs or side-by-sides on Williamsburg roadways.
A new state law took effect on June 27 that allows UTVs (side-by-sides) to drive on most city streets, but the law gives local governments the power to opt-in or opt-out of allowing that to happen.
In order to be on city or county roadways, the side-by-sides must meet several requirements.
According to the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo), to be street-legal these vehicles must be equipped with one or more headlamps, tail lamps, brake lamps, reflectors, electric turn signals, a braking system other than a parking brake, a horn or other warning device, a working muffler, and rearview mirrors.
In addition, these vehicles will be required to have a windshield, unless the operator wears eye protection while operating the vehicle, a speedometer, and a roll bar or roll cage. Multi-passenger vehicles will also be required to have a seatbelt assembly that conforms to federal motor vehicle safety standards.
Harrison said that the city is looking at various sample ordinances and is trying to tweak its ordinance for local needs.
The Kentucky League of Cities has sent Williamsburg a model ordinance and have made a few suggestions.
Harrison said that as silly as it sounds, one of the suggestions from the Kentucky League of Cities is prohibiting train horns on side-by-sides, which has been an issue in some places.
Harrison said that the city is also going to look at its golf cart ordinance and update it requiring that people operating golf carts on city streets have a valid operator’s license to drive a motor vehicle.
In addition, during the meeting Williamsburg Tourism Director Alvin Sharpe announced that street closures for Old Fashioned Trading Days would begin on the evening of Sept. 2 and run through the conclusion of the festival on Sept. 6.
Streets that will be closed include Main Street from Second Street to Fourth Street, Sycamore Street (which is between the courthouse and the old post office) from Second Street to Third Street, Cumberland Avenue from Fifth Street to Second Street, and Third Street from Cumberland Avenue to Sycamore Street.
