Fiscal Court Recap: September 10, 2018

County Offices Give Reports, Discuss Hiring of New Emergency Management Director

Darren Doyle, story:
Edmonson County Fiscal Court met on Monday, September 10, 2018 in the upstairs courtroom at the Edmonson County Courthouse.
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Road Report: County Road Foreman Ray Page said crews have worked on various projects to accommodate bus garage since the start of school and that the work had gone smoothly. He said county mowing crews had completed work on the north side of the county and several repairs and maintenance items have been performed on mowing equipment. The county later voted to purchase a new pickup truck for the department.

Sheriff Report: Sheriff Shane Doyle discussed the felony theft arrest which he said turned out to be a stolen motorcycle case where two other fugitives were captured in process. He said that Grayson County Sheriff's Office was able to make a major drug arrests as a result of that investigation. He also discussed what he said was a good working relationship with all the surrounding law enforcement agencies, including Grayon's Sheriff, Norman Chaffins. He added that he was proud of his appointment by the governor to KLEC. 

Jailer Report: Jailer Hank Vincent reported that there were currently 21 county inmates housed in the Hart County Jail. He discussed an issue on one of their transport vehicles overheating. The court later discussed the purchase of a Dodge Ram truck for the jailer's use, but Sheriff Shane Doyle said the state contract price for a new vehicle isn't much more than what the budget amount was for a used one, which was $17,500. Magistrates agreed to wait until the next fiscal year to explore those options and Jailer Vincent agreed.

​County Clerk: County Clerk Kevin Alexander said his office is preparing for the upcoming General Election, which will be held on November 6th. The ballots have been approved and machines are being set today in preparation. He said that absentee ballots will be coming soon and encouraged those that will vote absentee to go ahead and request their ballots, so they will be sent as soon as they are available. He said there had been mail delays in the past. He concluded by announcing that tomorrow is the annual delinquent tax sale, which is scheduled for 11am in the old fiscal court meeting room. He said the Clerk's office will be closing at 10am for the sale and will stay closed for about an hour.

Parks and Rec: Director A.B. Webb said that soccer is rolling along smoothly and the backstop project for the baseball and softball fields is still in works. He also said the horseshoe tournament finished this weekend under the shelter at Chalybeate Park. He reported vandalism at all three parks where troublemakers are stopping up toilets and causing damage. While cameras are installed, he said the angle of the cameras cause the frame to appear unclear and that different placement of the cameras or the addition of more cameras was in the works.

The county also:

• Recognized the Administrative Office of the Courts to make improvements to the courthouse involving the Judge's chamber and storage. The state will fund the changes.
• Approved purchase of a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer from Carroll Brothers for Emergency Management for $5,000. The state will reimburse $2,500 of that amount
• Approved the addition of Rhonda Clemmons as a full-time county employee with benefits for her roles with county tourism and the planning commission. County will receive reimbursement for 75% of her salary from tourism and planning commission
• Approved a $1,400 concrete improvement project in the courtyard at the courthouse for the tourism kiosk and separation from the Community Center HVAC units and courtyard.

The court went into closed session to discuss the hiring of a new county Emergency Management Director since the resignation of Rob McGuffey, who left for family reasons. Two applicants are being considered: Mr. Terry "Moose" Massey, and Mrs. Ashley Ritter. Both have emergency service training in various fields. No decision was made today but the court agreed to discuss further at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, September 24th at 9am.