Fiscal Court Report: Driver's Licenses Could Move To County Clerk's Office, Park Mammoth Owners' Bankruptcy Discussed

County Office Reports, MCNP Superintendent Speaks, More:

​Darren Doyle, story:
Edmonson County Fiscal Court was held on Monday, June 10, 2019 in the upstairs courtroom of the courthouse, where the focus of discussion was the voted increase for Edmonson County fire dues.​ 

County Attorney Greg Vincent informed the court that the Fortress Group, DBA Park Mammoth Resort, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which is a reorganization of debt.  Vincent told the court that during the chapter 11 reorganization process, all debts and interests are frozen so that bankruptcy court can evaluate the filing business' plan to pay off current debts.

Vincent said that once the county files their claim with bankruptcy court, the county is almost guaranteed to be paid the money owed. He said generally, all taxes due come before other debts. In March, the county won a judgement against Park Mammoth for $66,000 owed in overdue Room and Recreation taxes. Room tax is revenue for county tourism and the rec tax goes to Parks and Rec.

The Park Mammoth property was recently advertised for sale at auction but is no longer being advertised due to the bankruptcy filing. 

The Edmonson Voice obtained a released statement from The Fortress Group, Inc., that outlined their current plan.

The statement said the group voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 21, 2019. The statement also said: "The Company intends to use the proceedings to restructure and strengthen its balance sheet and achieve a more sustainable debt profile, while continuing to provide shooting sports, golf and hotel accommodations to its customers frequenting the resort from all over the world well into the future."

​The statement concluded with: "Improving The Fortress Group, Inc. balance sheet will help position the company for long-term success and enable it to be a better business partner to the community, its vendor, and its customers. The Fortress Group, Inc. is confident that it can emerge as a stronger, more competitive company with the financial flexibility to invest in innovation and growth to expand its market-leading positions and create solutions and services that will meet our customer needs today and well into the future."

The entire released statement can be read in full by clicking here.

Driver's License services could be moved:
County Clerk Kevin Alexander informed the fiscal court that renewing or obtaining driver's licenses could possibly be moved from the circuit court's office to the county clerk's.

Alexander said that judges would prefer that be the case, since driver's license services are non-court related. 

"I don't know when this might be, but if that happens, we're not looking forward to it," he said. He added that it would  require more space, resources, and labor for his already busy office to accommodate driver's license services and that he's already inquired about available office space in the Community Center that was formerly occupied by the Head Start Program, which recently moved.

Alexander said a decision would be made at the state level anywhere from six months from now to a few years.   

County offices gave the following reports:

Road Report: County Road Foreman Greg Carroll said crews had recently completed paving Crump Road and have moved to Oak Hill Road to replace tiles before blacktopping there, in addition to several other roads in District 2. He also reported that his department had purchased a new washer/dryer among other items that Aramark had formerly supplied. Carroll said the department has spent $5200 on the new laundry and uniform configuration, which is a drastic change from their current $17,000 in uniform budget. County Attorney Greg Vincent reported that he had officially submitted the county's request to cancel the current Aramark contract, due to over billing of services used and improper billing of services not used by the county.

Sheriff Report: Sheriff Shane Doyle said the last two weeks have been extremely busy due to the increased summer activity. He discussed a recent stolen gun arrest and the medal presentation to 7-year old Logan Powell, first reported by the Edmonson Voice, which also made headlines in all other major news outlets in the area.

He also announced that Deputy Stoney Phillips will be leaving the Edmonson County Sheriff's Office to accept a position at Warren County Sheriff's Office. Doyle said he has been very fortunate to keep most of his staff during his time as Sheriff, despite most every other surrounding county being able to offer better pay and benefits. He said that Phillips got a significant pay increase plus hazardous duty retirement. He said until Edmonson County can better compete with surrounding law enforcement agencies, this could occur more often in the future. He ended his report by crediting his office staff for clean audits, and as a result, the office qualifies for what is called an "agreed upon procedure," which is a much simpler and easier audit process with the state.

​Jailer Report: Jailer Hank Vincent reported 20 county inmates housed at Hart County Jail with two on home incarceration.

Mammoth Cave Superintendent Barclay Trimble spoke to the court regarding park updates. He said the park had experienced 57k kids in various programs and camps so far this year. He also said local river use continues to increase since the Lock and Dam 6 removal, and that new rock had been placed at Houchens Ferry boat ramp. He also discussed how Nolin River is now accessible to paddle crafts, but that some problems remain for motor boats. He added that Green River Ferry is shutting down on Monday and will remain closed for approximately 5 months. An entire new ferry will be installed, which will be able to carry more weight (12 tons) and will feature better ramp extensions to help in low water conditions.

Material road bids: Park City Stone, Martin Marietta (formerly Rinker), and Scotty’s Contracting and Stone submitted sealed bids for stone and asphalt mix.  Judge Cannon recommended all bids on stone be accepted, according to the location of current ongoing work. A motion was made and passed, and the asphalt bid from Scotty’s was the only one submitted,  so another motion was made to accept that bid, which passed. 

The court also:

• approved to accept Compass Minerals, Salt Auction bid at $95.25 per ton for 200 tons of road salt
• approved road department a $150 allowance for work boots, per employee, per year

​The next fiscal court meeting is scheduled for Monday June 24, 2019 at 9am.