Work is progressing on the new Russell Springs municipal building, which will house city hall, according to city employee Jeremy Coffey.

Framework is currently underway and the shell of the new building can now be clearly seen in the lot on the north end of Main Street.

While the city is serving as the project's general contractor, bid winners have been working on their allocated portions for several week's now.

"Everything has been going good," Coffey said. He said workers are preparing to get a roof over the building so that city employees can begin working inside the building as cold weather begins.

"We're just trying to beat mother nature right now," Coffey said. "We're taking advantage of as many good days as we can."

The city hired local contractors for much of the project during a city council meeting last month.

The bidding of the erection of the building went to Eric's Ceiling and Wall System with a bid of $34,340.

Hubbard's Building Supply was awarded the bid for materials at $63,921.19 plus an additional $10,000 for doors now that the project is underway.

In the electrical bids, Quantum Electric's bid of $22,900 was accepted and Gary Leis Plumbing got the plumbing job with a bid of $6,850.

Antle's Heating and Cooling was awarded the HVAC bid on the project for natural gas at a price of $25,000.

Also, Robertson Truss won the job for trusses on the project with a bid of $13,776.

The remaining work will be completed by city employees, a move that will cut construction costs, according to the Mayor Hollis DeHart.

The mayor had expressed a desire to keep the city's money "as close to home" as possible, and got his wish with bid winners general being from the Lake Cumberland area.

DeHart said earlier this year it was his wish to see the new building under roof by winter so that city workers could work throughout the cold-weather months on the interior of the building.

With work at its current stage, it appears that DeHart's wishes will come true, barring any setbacks.

Coffey said the city is targeting an early 2010 completion date for the new municipal building.

The building of the new city hall on Main Street comes on the heel's of the city's Main St. beautification project that began earlier this year.

In March, Russell Springs city employees began construction on the new decorative and street lighting on the north side of Main St. The project on that side of the roadway was finished over the summer.

Now, colored and stamped concrete work can be seen around the base of the poles on that side.

That project ranged between $3,000-$5,000 and was part of the efforts of the city's downtown revitalization committee to beautify and shore up the town's looks.

One reason for the new lighting was to change the aesthetics of the street and rearrange the electric lines for optimum use as well as putting new electric plugs beside each new pole, which will be used during the city's Fall Fest this weekend and next month's Christmas parade.

With the beautification project and the building of the new municipal building, city leaders have said they will continue to shore up Main St. and the rest of downtown in hopes of luring new businesses and industries to an area that was once a booming, thriving portion of town.