By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Edgewood City Council member Dale Henson served the city of Edgewood as a councilmember for the last time Monday night.
Henson looked on as his fellow councilmembers were sworn in for another term, with Scott Spille filling his empty seat, and his smile was fond, as if he were reliving his 28 years on council.
“Yes, I am going to miss being on council,” he commented after the meeting. “It has been so much a part of my life. I expect to be spending my Monday nights with my wife Karen, and my family.”
Henson brought pictures he had saved from 28 years ago, where a very young Dale Henson took the oath of office from a very young Mayor John Link. Henson was chosen from other candidates at the time to fill the seat left by Dave Sogar when he took a job at the city.
“We moved here in 1991, and I became a councilmember in 1995,” Henson remembered. “We had looked for a house everywhere, but Edgewood was the only city where the people who were selling their houses told us that they were moving to another house in Edgewood. That made us think, this must be a very special city if people don’t want to move out of it. That’s the same with us — we won’t move out of Edgewood either.”
He recalled that when he became a councilman his children were 5 and 11, and now they are grown with children of their own.
“Without my family’s support, I could not have done this for 28 years, and I thank them for giving me the opportunity to make our community better,” he said.
Once again, Dale Henson stood in the front of the room with Mayor John Link, not to begin his council career, but to end it.
But there were prizes.
Mayor Link read a proclamation noting 28 years of service, and declaring December 20 to be Dale Henson day in the city. He also received a key to the city and another plaque commemorating his service.
Link acknowledged that there were times when they all disagreed on things, but he said in the end they all agreed on things for the good of the citizens.
Henson stated that it wasn’t an easy decision for him to not run for reelection after 28 years.
“There have been a lot of changes in the city since I’ve been here,” he said. “For the most part the changes have been good. We built this city building, which will last the citizens for many decades to come. We brought the fire department into th folds of the city from being in a fire district. We built Freedom Park, we built the Senior Center, we built the White House Event Center, and we keep updating the recreational facilities. I also believe a lot of things have stayed the same. The tax structure is the same, and the tax rate is virtually the same as it was in 1995. And yet we continue to provide the same services that we have to our citizens.”
Henson urged the new council to continue to get along and have civil discussions when they don’t agree on everything.
“Just remember, the success of this council is the success of the city of Edgewood,” he said. “I’ll be watching!”