Fiscal Court Recap: January 27, 2020

Judge Executive Wil Cannon at the January 27th nightly Fiscal Court meeting.

Moriah Peterson, story and photo:
Edmonson County Fiscal Court met on Monday, January 27, 2020 at one of the two annual night meetings in the Edmonson County Courthouse. In addition to magistrates voting unanimously for Edmonson County to become a Second Amendment Sanctuary, county offices gave reports in addition to other business being discussed at the session.

​Road Report: County Road Supervisor Greg Carroll reported that Willie Webb Bridge is still under water. The new signs for high water have been received, which are equipped with lights and will show how deep the water is over bridges in the county. 

EM Director Report: EM Director Terry Massey reported a total of 13 local runs by emergency personnel.
 
Sheriff Report: Sheriff Shane Doyle reported that he will be having surgery this Thursday due to an injury he sustained while taking a fugitive into custody in October. Despite months of physical therapy he reported that doctors say he still needs surgery. Sheriff Doyle said that recovery will be extensive and he will out of the office for at least a few weeks.  

“I have a very capable staff and I fully trust them to continue to take care of our county,” stated Doyle.

He said the Sheriff’s Office has received a new truck and is waiting for it to be outfitted with police equipment. Doyle also included the recent tragic house fire in his report and stated that the investigation is being handled by the state fire marshal and KSP. 

Doyle closed his report by giving the magistrates a felony indictment numbers report from 2011 through 2014, from information obtained by the Edmonson County Circuit Clerk's Office. The report showed that 433 total cases were handled by local law enforcement in the county; 37% of those were handled by the Sheriff's Office, for a total of 161 cases. From 2015 to 2019, he said there were 704 felony cases in the county, which was a 62% increase of total cases.

These numbers were in contrast of Judge Executive Wil Cannon's claim at the last fiscal court meeting where he said the amount of activity and calls for services for the Sheriff's Office haven't changed much over the years.

Doyle said out of those 704 felony cases, the sheriff's office handled 77% of those (541) during the time that Doyle has been Sheriff. He noted that while other local law enforcement agency case numbers are holding steady or dropping, the Sheriff’s Office workload is steadily increasing. He also clarified that he nor his office was claiming that previous administrations did a lesser or poorer job than his office, but simply that the case numbers were much higher for whatever reason, and that his office was the one having to work them. He also noted that the numbers he provided were available to the public from both his office and the Circuit Clerk's Office.

​Doyle said after the meeting that the numbers he provided to fiscal court prove that any claim that the Sheriff's Office isn't significantly busier now than ever is incorrect.

County Attorney Report: County Attorney Greg Vincent gave an update on the Park Mammoth Case. He reported that the property has sold, but no money from the sale has been distributed.
 
County Clerk Report: Kevin Alexander reported that there are no local races in May, but the school board and city races will hold elections in the fall. He also noted that the Clerk’s office has applied for a grant to transfer some larger paper plats to digital format along with restoration for some.

He also informed the court that any Edmonson County resident planning to fly domestically, or wishes to have access to federal buildings and military bases must obtain a Real ID/ Driver’s License by October 1st. All residents will have to go to the Bowling Green location to receive this license. Clerk Alexander also reported that the Excess Fees for 2019 are $374,424 and in the last five years as County Clerk total Excess Fees are 1.1 million dollars. All this money goes back to county for Fiscal Court to use accordingly.  
 
Parks & Rec Report: A.B Webb reported several items on behalf of Parks and Rec: 1. Youth league basketball is set to wrap up mid-February, 2. The annual Easter egg hunt is scheduled for April 11th. 3. New LED lights will be installed soon and the mowers are getting ready for the summer season. Webb also praised all the work that has been put into the Disk Golf course by its coordinators. He said last year 900 players came to the course to play.

Tourism Report: Rhonda Clemmons stated that the office’s review is up to date. There will be lunch and learn on March 4th on small business development. The class $10 and includes lunch. The event will take place at the Mammoth Cave Lodge. Room and Rec tax bills have been distributed and those payments have been received. The planning commission meeting will take place February 11th at 7pm at the planning office.

In other county business, the fiscal court also:

• Approved to allow the County Attorney to make decisions regarding the opioid case.
• Approved Resolution EC 20-06, law enforcement protection program application.
• Approved to appoint Lauren McReynolds to Local Board of Health. She will complete the current term that ends December 31, 2020.

 
The next Fiscal Court meeting will be February 10, 2020 at 9am. ​