Fiscal Court: County Receives $297K Grant For Lincoln Fire Department Sub Station

Darren Doyle, story and photos
Judge Cannon reported that the county had received a Community Development Fund Block Grant in the amount around $297,000 that will allow the Lincoln Fire Department to add a satellite location (or sub station) in the area. The Lincoln district is the largest in the county and Cannon said a new sub station would have huge advantages to the area, including faster response time and possible lower insurance rates for area residents.

The county was denied the grant back in December of 2015 but applied again as soon as the opportunity was available. Cannon said he received the letter from Governor Bevin's office last week that approved this year's grant.

Judge Wil Cannon signs documents at the April 25, 2016 Fiscal Ct meeting.

Also at the Monday, April 25th fiscal court meeting, County Road Foreman Ray Page reported that his crew had been busy paving various areas. Judge Wil Cannon also reported his office had received a call complimenting Page and the road crew for recent work completed on J.O. Davis Road. Cannon said it was important to note that folks are sometimes ready to call and complain about something, but rarely to call and commend any departments.

Sheriff Shane Doyle reported that Det. Wally Ritter's vehicle had been taken to a local repair shop for issues that the truck was having in the wheel. The repair shop said that it looked like someone had purposely loosened all the lug nuts on Ritter's vehicle, which could have been disastrous. The incident caused other damage to the wheel and is currently being repaired.

Sheriff Shane Doyle reported that a donation along with a grant had recently allowed him to not only purchase body cameras for his deputies, which you can read about by clicking here.

Parks and Rec Program Administrator Greg Hudson reported on a huge Pro Disc Golf that was held over the weekend at Chalybeate Park. Hudson said over 14 states were represented and the event seemed to be a success. He said he was looking forward to hosting more major events at the park.

He also reported that the little league baseball and softball seasons were underway and had seen a successful start. Hudson said he feels like Parks and Rec is an all-out community service that is trying to help the county year round, working with everyone. "It seems that we're making progress with the rest of the organizations in the community," he said. "We're improving our cooperation with all local organizations so we all can get the most from our individual programs, but for the same good."

L-R: Magistrates Buck Simmons, Edd Rich, and Joe Durbin hear discussion at Fiscal Court Meeting.

• Jailer Hank Vincent reported that were currently 25 county inmates lodged in the Hart County Jail, which is a bit lower than the 30 or so inmates it currently has. Vincent said the county remains bogged down with inmate medical bills, ranging anywhere from toothaches to chest pains. The county is liable for any medical expenses accrued by any inmate in custody.
• Hellervik Oil representative Jim Brown spoke about the company's continuing plans to build a new gas plant somewhere in the 31 W area of the county, which would be in Mag. Clark Wood's district. Brown said Hellervik has been working with realtors about property already discussed as well as new property that has recently come available.
• ​In addition to approving various excess fees and reports, the court also agreed to change the speed limit of Palm Road near Nolin Dam from 35mph to 20mph. "The road is very crooked and I spoke with a citizen about lowering the limit," said Mag. Johnny Brooks. "We need to lower it to 20mph." The changed passed unanimously. ​

L-R: Magistrates Mark Woosley, Johnny Brooks, Clark Wood, and Road Foreman Ray Page along with County Treasurer Margret Skaggs listen to discussion at Fiscal Court.

During the last meeting, a representative from United Way of Southern Ky requested $7500 from the county to help fund the organization's new "2-1-1" Help Call System that would be a system for Edmonson County residents that could direct people to job openings, health care questions, education possibilities, and more. Judge Cannon said he liked the idea, but because of an already strapped budget, contributing to the program would force cuts somewhere else, something he didn't think was a good idea. The court disapproved the funding at this time.

• Judge Cannon also spoke about the new emergency radio upgrade that was discussed back in February of this year. The system was originally estimated at a $100K cost but the latest projections showed a price of around $123K. The county will have to borrow the amount in order to fund the upgrade, but Judge Cannon said the current system is obsolete and the upgrade was a neccessity.

Emergency Management Director Pat Prunty said some estimates had exceeded $200K, but he felt like the one proposed to the court from Motorola of Bowling Green was the best option. The court agreed to accept Motorola's bid and move forward with the upgrade that would take place in June or July.

​Prunty also reported that the county had also recieved a CMRS Grant in the amount of $56,792 which will be used for upgrading county mapping and digitizing records. 

• The court also approved a 25mph speed limit on Monroe Wilson Road in the Wingfield community. Mag. Buck Simmons said the road is only around 200 yards long and needs a 25mph speed limit. The court approved the change.
• Tourism and Chamber Director Rhonda Clemmons reported that the new Chamber website built by Studio DD Media had already been a success and new business had already purchased memberships through the site. She also said the Chamber and Tourism Commission were working hard on upcoming events and she reported on the recent Trail Town Program meeting. 

​She also reported on outstanding room and rec taxes and on some past due accounts which had been paid. She said Park Mammoth had paid their current quartly taxes and around $8,000 in back taxes. She said Blue Holler Off Road Park, which is now out of business, last made a payment in January, but the amount was for their October 2015 taxes. She estimated that the park still owes around $1000 to the county and asked the court what steps they'd like to take in order to collect.

Judge Cannon said that the park had broken the law by not paying the taxes and said the court would proceed to file a legal complaint through the County Attorney in order to properly collect the amount owed.

• County Attorney J.B. Hines reported that there will be a new Assistant County Attorney hired soon. Hines said the new assistant has experience in bankruptcy, organization, and open record meeting laws. He said the new assistant would also work on collecting delinquent property taxes. Hines also said a new website was being built for his office in order to better serve the people of the county. He said bench warrants will be posted on the site as well as other relevant legal information that would benefit folks that use the office's services.
• County Clerk Kevin Alexander reported that absentee voting had begun in his office for the May 17th primary election. He also reported that coming up this May will mark one year since his office started opening on Saturdays. He said he was very happy with the way that the new hours had gone so far and that citizens seemed to take advantage of the new opportunity. He also gave credit to PVA Kyle White's office in his cooperation with the Clerk's office as well as a Clerk's office employee Anne Vincent for her recent outstanding work in the office. 
• Judge Cannon reported that changes had been made to his office's Windstream phone service. The county had been paying for five phone lines in their plan, but he said they never worked. He said that the plan had been lowered to two lines, but the second line rarely worked. The plan has recently been changed to one line only. "Windstream can't seem to get our phones working properly, so why are we paying for a line that doesn't work?" he said. "If we had another phone option here, we'd change in a heartbeat, unfortunately, we're stuck with Windstream."

The next Fiscal Court meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, May 9, 2016.