Fiscal Court Recap: County Tax Rates Go Down

Darren Doyle, story:
Edmonson County tax payers will see a little break on their property taxes this year as the today's Edmonson County Fiscal Court approved the second reading of the 2023 county tax rates.

The rates went down from 13.7 cents per $100 of value to 13.2 cents after today's approval. The compensating rate for 2023 is 12.7, set by the state. 13.2 is the highest that can be set without a recall vote, which is a break for taxpayers.

County Seeks New Parks Program Director
It was announced at today's meeting that John Kiernan is stepping down from the role of Edmonson County Parks and Rec Program Administrator/Director. Kiernan has served in the role since 2018. Judge/Executive Scott Lindsey said that the county is now in search of a new program director, with interviews scheduled for next week.

Green River (Mammoth Cave) Ferry Update
Judge/Executive Scott Lindsey read portions from a letter written to Edmonson County Fiscal Court from Mammoth Cave National Park Superintendent Barclay Tremble in a response to a petition with hundreds of names from Edmonson County and the surrounding area requesting that ferry operation hours be extended.

Ferry operation used to run from 6AM to 10PM but recently was shortened to 6AM to 6PM. A petition was started by local resident Nelson Sanders, who said churchgoers in the area were having to drive miles around the area as a result of the shortened operation hours. The Fiscal Court wrote a letter to MCNP asking to extend the hours back to the original period.

Judge Lindsey read portions of the letter where Tremble discussed budget cuts and not enough manpower to operate the ferry at the requested 16hr interval; however, he agreed in the letter to allow a 6AM to 8PM operation, which is 14hrs per day, every day.

Lindsey said "It's not what we wanted, but it's better than what we had."

That would allow nightly church attendees ferry usage upon arriving to service, which is normally 7PM, but would still require them to drive an alternate route upon exit.
 
Lindsey also updated the court on the status on Sunfish/Roundhill Road, which has unchanged since a Muhlenberg County man drove off the end of a closed portion of the road in April of this year, due to a construction project that's been ongoing for months. The county is seeking FEMA funding to help with the costly repair of the road.

"I don't want to accuse anybody of anything," said Judge Lindsey, "but it seems like it's gone to the state level and just stopped."

The site can be accessed from two different routes: the first is to turn onto Sunfish-Round Hill Road from HWY 70 (Morgantown Road); the other is from HWY 187 onto Sunfish-Roundhill Road. The road remains closed at the construction site.

Magistrates voted to once again table the reapportionment discussion. No motion was made at the July 10th  Edmonson County Fiscal Court meeting to approve the first reading of ordinance EC 23-21, which was to approve the recommended reapportionment, a step required by law every ten years, after the census. Magistrates said they were meeting on the topic later today. The item will be discussed at the next fiscal court meeting.

The court also voted to:

• Approve Jason Alexander Notary Bond #4908382.
• Approve Leah Geary Notary Bond #4908381.
• Acknowledge BGWC July Shelter Directors Report.
• Acknowledge Dog Control July CAD Incident Report.
• Approve Resolution EC23-22, Fiscal Year 24 FLEX Agreement.
• Approve Fiscal Year 24 Litter Abatement Grant application.
• Approve EVAPAR Preventative Maintenance Agreement- Grassland Generator.
• Approve Edmonson County Extension District 2023 Tax Rates (no change from last year)

The next fiscal court meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 28th at 9AM.