Fiscal Court Recap: Road Supervisor Discusses Not Plowing Snow Earlier In Week

County Said To Be In Short Supply Of Road Salt

Darren Doyle, story:
Edmonson County Fiscal Court met virtually today and other than a discussion on a proposed ordinance that would commit Edmonson County to the pre-stages of a regional jail, there were few items on today's agenda.

Among a few of the county reports given today, County Road Supervisor Greg Carroll addressed the court on why county crews did not plow snow after the snow last week. Edmonson County saw about an inch throughout the county on Sunday night and about the same amount again on Wednesday night.

In his regular report, he said plows were not out on Monday because there wasn't enough snow to justify the county trucks being out.

"Some people were complaining that we were off because of Martin Luther King Day, but that wasn't it," he said. "We didn't get enough snow to plow."

He also said that the county does not have unlimited salt supplies like the state does and that the chains placed on the tires of the county trucks are expensive to operate. He also said the crew had been low on manpower lately due to some illness, and that the road department was down to just four members recently.

Judge Executive Wil Cannon also talked to magistrates about the short salt supply for the county.

"We ordered 500 tons and we got 300 tons in December," he said. "Only 300 tons of it came and so we're still waiting on 200 tons. There's no guarantee with the crisis, of supplying this stuff, or if we're even going to get it. So I told Greg to be very careful about spreading the salt on something that might melt off that day or the next day because we may need to save it in case a bad storm comes. And so, he's being very careful with that salt in case we do get a big storm. We've got no guarantees that we're going to get that other 200 tons. Until we get it, we just gotta be careful with how we use it. So don't be too upset with him, tell people that call you that we're just trying to be careful with it for that reason."

Jailer Report: Judge Cannon reported 40 county inmates currently housed at the Hart County Jail.

County Attorney Report: County Attorney Greg Vincent updated the court on how he was looking into possible incentives from the county that could encourage larger industry to come to Edmonson County. He has been conferring with other counties and their bonding that could offer incentives to large businesses, such as the Park Mammoth revitalization project, which would bring jobs to the community.

County Clerk Report: County Clerk Kevin Alexander announced that the deadline for filing to run for office for 2022 was Tuesday, January 25th. He also noted that the ballot position drawing will be held Thursday, January 27th a 2pm at the Community Center.

Parks and Rec: Director A.B. Webb said youth league basketball was still ongoing. He also discussed a problem with people cutting across Bee Spring Park, which was causing ruts that would need to be repaired. He also added that he was looking at setting up RV campsites at Chalybeate Park. Several have inquired about the sites at past disc golf and horseshoe tournaments.

Tourism: County Tourism Director Vanessa Ulm said that the city of Brownsville had recently been the named most romantic weekend getaway in Kentucky from Thrillist Travel, an entertainment publication, which noted the Mammoth Cave and Nolin Lake area. She also said that Edmonson County Tourism was able to take advantage of a free advertising opportunity that allowed them to place a small ad with Country Living, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Day magazines. County Treasurer Tammi Willhite also added that the Tourism Board has already taken in $72K of revenue which has topped the estimated $70K annual budget only halfway through the fiscal year.
 
Judge Wil Cannon said the county had only one infraction on their recent state audit, which was failing to bid out road tiles. Those had always been purchased locally. The local retailer, Sun Valley Feed Mill agreed to join the state bidding process and the county has already corrected the error, Cannon said. The full audit will be released from the state auditor soon.

Magistrates also voted to:

• Approve Resolution EC 22-01, BGWC Animal Shelter Agreement
• Approve Resolution EC 22-03, Community Action Lease
• Approve Jailer Quarterly Report
• Approve Voting Machine Bid Advertisement
• Approve Skid Steer Purchase ($66,223 for county road department)