Fiscal Court Recap: Judge Cannon To Attend Meeting About Possibilities of New Regional Jail

Darren Doyle, story:
A short item list was discussed at today's Edmonson County Fiscal Court meeting, which was held virtually. One of which was an upcoming meeting where the possibilities of a new regional jail between Edmonson, Butler, and Ohio Counties will be discussed, according to Judge Executive Wil Cannon.

The meeting, scheduled for this Thursday, May 13th was for the purpose of discussing a feasibility study for a possible new jail. Edmonson County, which has no jail, has faced budget-straining high inmate costs at Hart County Jail, the contracted facility for Edmonson County inmates. Hart County charges Edmonson County $45 per day, per inmate. That normally runs the county nearly $25,000 per month, depending on the amount of inmates at the time. Currently, the county has 17 inmates housed at the Hart County Jail, which is a bill of $765 per day.

County officials have held discussions about possibilities of building a jail here, albeit very short discussions.

in 2017, local law enforcement became frustrated with the basic "passing of the buck" when it came to housing prisoners. They experienced a number of problems from various organizations and facilities where prisoners were refused to be housed for a host of reasons; most of which were based on the blame being passed around.

A local public meeting was held at that time to discuss the possibilities of not only a new jail, but also to discuss jail possibilities that were anything other than the county's status quo. That conversation didn't go very far either, due to the same thing that stops many projects in Edmonson County: funding.

At that meeting, Judge Cannon discussed why a building a jail in Edmonson County simply wasn't possible now or in the near future, because it would have to be a 200 bed facility, and even if it were capable of somehow being built for free, the county couldn't even come close to funding the expense, the personnel, and the equipment necessary to operate such a facility. He said opening the doors to house federal inmates wouldn't be a viable solution, either because there would be competition from other jails looking to house them, too.

Today, Judge Cannon invited magistrates to attend the meeting, scheduled for Thursday of this week.

Road Report: County Road Foreman Greg Carroll discussed multiple bridges in the county being underwater due to the recent heavy rains, which caused road closings and tile work. He also said that paving was being completed in various districts as well as right-of-way mowing in various districts. He also asked magistrates to approve bid advertising for another tractor in the $30K range that needs to be replaced that will simplify mowing, to which they agreed later in the meeting.

Emergency Management Director Terry Massey discussed obtaining property owned by the county Emergency Management that he said was in the possession of the local rescue squad. Massey said the rescue squad had boats and trailers in their possession that belonged to emergency management and possibly Mammoth Cave National Park. He and County Attorney Greg Vincent discussed the possibilities of obtaining the equipment, which would require proper documentation.

The county did not renew their annual agreement with the Edmonson County Rescue Squad in April of this year, which ended the squad's affiliation with anything related to county government, fire departments, or local dispatch. The squad's commander, Dakota Yates of Roundhill, was arrested on Friday on meth and other drug charges. Rescue Squad member J.T. Carroll told the Edmonson Voice that Yates was being removed from the squad.

Sheriff Report: Sheriff Shane Doyle said his office had recently recovered several items of stolen property, which included a pickup truck and multiple trailers. He also discussed the rescue squad commander arrest that took place on Friday, and he shared information about a meeting he had with both the new chief ranger at Mammoth Cave National Park and the Corps of Engineers. He said the chief ranger offered help to the Sheriff's Office whenever needed, which was something not done by the former chief ranger. He also said his office will be doing lake patrol again this year, which is a partnership with the Corps of Engineers.

Magistrates also voted to:

• Approve BGWC April Shelter Directors Report.
• Approve to hire Truman Waddell, full time road employee at $14.00 per hour, date of hire 5/10/21.
• Approve to hire Daniel Consiglio, full time road employee at $15.00 per hour (CDL Class A), date of hire 5/10/21.
• Approve to hire Daniel Highbaugh, full time road employee at $14.00 per hour, date of hire 5/10/21.
  
• Approve to hire Jeff Clubb, full time road employee at $14.00 per hour, date of hire 5/10/21.
• Approve to advertise Tractor Bids.
  
• Acknowledge Older Americans Month 2021 Proclamation.
• Approve Ordinance EC 21-10, FY 21/22 Budget, first reading.
  

The next fiscal court meeting is scheduled to be held virtually on Monday, May 24, 2021 at 9AM.