Fiscal Court Recap: BG/WC Humane Society Agreement Approved; Rescue Squad Affiliation Agreement Discontinued

Madison Doyle, story:
Edmonson County Fiscal Court met this morning, February 27, 2023. Judge/Executive Scott Lindsey called the meeting to order. Multiple county department heads gave simple, updated reports since the last fiscal court meeting, and the court quickly moved into new business.

The first item of new business was to approve the Bowling Green Warren County (BGWC) Humane Society Animal Shelter Agreement. Judge Lindsey said "They [Humane Society] are doing us a huge favor by letting us do this another year with the amount of dogs we have going up there. Every time I talk to them, they do suggest to me that we move forward with building an animal shelter or finding another place to go, because it truly is a huge burden for them."

Judge Lindsey stated that he plans to travel to a couple different counties in similar size to Edmonson County who have their own animal shelters, and see what it costs to maintain them.

"I'm going to their fiscal courts and Judge/Executives exactly what they voted on; how did they plan for this? These are the questions we need to be asking because, I don't want to spend more money than necessary, but when it comes to building an animal shelter, it needs to be done right," said Lindsey.

The court also voted not to renew the affiliation agreement with the Brownsville Edmonson County Rescue Squad. County Attorney Adam Turner stated that the Rescue Squad cannot operate without approval from the court.

"We were talking at the Emergency Services Meeting, and we decided it would be best to have the court say on record we do not want to approve this renewal," Turner said. "I will have to do some more research on this later on, but I believe in Chapter 39-F, there is an enabling statue that states that they cannot operate without the affiliation agreement."

Turner went on to explain that the current affiliation agreement with the Brownsville Rescue Squad expired at the end of year in 2022, so technically speaking, they should not be in operation right now.

Emergency Management Director Terry Massey shared his thoughts on why he felt this was the right decision for Edmonson County.

"I'm not malice against any of those guys, or just eager to get rid of them, but this is a liability issue for the county," Massey started. "When we call them out to help, it's just a free-for-all. We just can't have that."

Massey also said this won't leave the county without a search and rescue team. He says they are looking to sign a new affiliation agreement with a tri-county search and rescue team very soon. The vote to not renew the current affiliation agreement was unanimous, excluding District 4 Magistrate Mickey Johnson who was not present at today's meeting.

The court also voted to formally acknowledged the Edmonson County Wildcat and Lady Cat Basketball Teams on their District Championship wins last week.

"This is the first time in Edmonson County School history that both our girls' and boys' teams have won this title in the same year, and I want them to know how proud we are of them and their hard work, and most importantly the way they represent Edmonson County," Judge Lindsey said.

The court also voted to:

• Approve Edmonson County Road Department Groundwater Protection Plan.
• Approve 2023 Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant Application, County Contribution $50,000 and Recreation Tax Committee Contribution $50,000.
• Approve FY24 Jail Budget.
• Acknowledge BGWC January Shelter Directors Report.
• Approve Sheriff’s January Fee Report, pending final audit.
• Approve Sheriff’s January Franchise Tax Report, pending final audit.
• Approve Sheriff’s January County Property Tax Report, pending final audit.
• Approve Sheriff’s January Fire Protection Tax Report, pending final audit.
• Acknowledge Tourism FY24 Budget.
• Approve to appoint Kim Polson to Tourism Board effective 2/27/23 for a 2 year term, expiring 12/31/2024.
• Approve Sheriff's 4th Quarter Report, pending final audit.

The next fiscal court meeting will be Monday, March 13, 2023 at 9 am.