"It's looking very beautiful," Girdler said.

The city completed a $2.2 million emergency water intake system on Lake Cumberland to ensure an adequate water supply for customers in the event that the lake's water table is reduced in the future due to repairs, drought, or other emergencies. The project included state grant funds and the city's own funds.

Girdler said more than $9 million has been secured to complete financing for the $15 million upgrade of the city's sewer plant. The project has been submitted to the state level for final approval, and Girdler said he's hopeful that the project will be able to move forward in time for the city to receive funds through President-elect Barack Obama's proposed stimulus package.

A $750,000 water line improvement project for Ferguson was also started in 2008. The project is expected to be completed by the summer and is being done by Somerset in cooperation with the City of Ferguson.

Also completed in 2008 were several road improvement undertakings including the a $1 million project on South Main Street. City officials decided to replace an old water line in the South Main Street area while the renovation project was already in progress. A similar renovation project on College Street was also recently completed.

Gas rates for Somerset residents and businesses remain the same

In 2008 Somerset was one of the few cities in the state to keep natural gas rates the same as the year before.

"We have a lot of elderly people and people on fixed incomes," Girdler said.

Despite the wildly changing price of fossil fuels such as natural gas over the last year, Somerset worked with its natural gas supplier to continue those lower rates and even increase net revenues to the city by more than 25 percent in an effort to help residents and industries alike save money in the face of a stagnant economy.

"We're one of the lowest in the state," Girdler said about Somerset's natural gas rates. "And we're trying to do better than that."

Girdler also said the city has worked with a local industry and major employer to lower the transmission rate for natural gas to 50 percent. While Girdler declined to say which industry that was, he said the action was done in hopes that the industry would be able to remain in the area and provide valuable jobs to local individuals.

Girdler said the city also lowered natural gas rates for the Somerset School System and the Pulaski County School System by 10 percent in 2008 to help those systems stay afloat while they undergo deep cutbacks to their budgets as part of Governor Steve Beshear's plan to help the state claw its way back from a deficit of more than $4 billion dollars.

Up, up and away

2008 also saw the first commercial air commuter service come to Somerset -- and Air Azul held its first inaugural flight at the end of December to officially celebrate the new service.

"I think they (Air Azul customers) are going to be very pleased with it (the commuter service)," said Girdler, who was one of several local officials to ride on the first inaugural flight.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Air Azul -- or Locair -- was established in 1993, and has been operating on demand flights since that time.