By Dennis Brown

Vanceburg City Council met in regular session last week with council members voting to contribute $10,000 annually to help out with costs associated with operating the Lewis County E-911 system.

Lewis County Judge Executive Steve Applegate addressed council and asked for the monetary assistance stating that some increased staffing costs along with lower than expected revenue from the fee added to telephone bills and no income from the fee on cellular phone bills have led to the need for requesting the assistance.

Applegate said the city had been contributing $5,000 per year but because of an apparent lack of communication had not contributed during the past fiscal year. He had asked the city earlier to double the $5,000 amount.

Applegate said calls to the Vanceburg Police Department ring into the 911 dispatch office and are answered there if an officer is not available at the police department to accept the calls. In comparison, he noted, calls to the sheriff’s department are only answered by the 911 center after business hours.

He said the volume of calls being handled by the center has led to the need for an additional part-time dispatcher.

“We wouldn’t ask for it and we wouldn’t take it unless we really needed it,” he told council.

Each telephone line in the county has a $3.50 monthly fee added for 911. Kevin Cornette, with Buffalo Trace Area Development District, said there are about 5,800 telephone land-line services in the county and a portion of that goes to the telephone company for collecting the fee resulting in about $17,000 or $18,000 revenue per month for 911 operations.

He said about $225,000 is needed annually to operate the center. He noted that although a fee of 70 cents per month is charged for each cellular telephone, the county has not realized any of that money although it had been figured into the budget.

Cornette said 911 calls from cell phone users now go to the Kentucky State Police Post at Morehead and are then transferred to the local 911 center. He said the county has now requested that cell phone calls ring directly into the Lewis County 911 center and the county will be eligible for a portion of funding from those fees.

Cornette also said that cellular telephones purchased in other states will still have the monthly fee charged to the customer but the money does not go to Kentucky.

Mayor Angie Patton said that several people are dropping land-lines and utilizing only cell phones for their personal communication needs and that is resulting in fewer and lower fees making their way to the local dispatch center.

Applegate said the city could be billed monthly for their contribution and that monthly reports on the center’s operations would be sent to the city.

Council agreed to the $10,000 annual payment and Patton suggested reviewing the agreement on a regular basis. The county also makes regular contributions for 911 operations from the general fund.

In other business council heard the second reading of an ordinance outlining requirements for accepting roadways into the city road system. City Attorney John Holder said the ordinance was modeled after the one in use by the county. Council approved adoption of the ordinance.

Council approved the appointment of Jill Shumate as a commissioner on the Vanceburg Housing Authority. Shumate will replace Patty Kennard who stepped down from the position after it was found that as an employee of the city she was not able to serve in that capacity as well.

Patton announced that cleanup week for the city will run through Saturday, April 18. She noted that the county will not be doing the annual effort because they are concentrating on dump cleanup. City residents are urged to put out items for pick-up on their regular trash days but may call the city clerk to arrange for extra pick-ups if needed.

Patton said the city will be receiving $6,695 in Area Development Funds and said the funds will be used to replace carpeting in the mayor’s office, conference room and meeting room at the municipal building and for roof repairs on the building that houses Hickle’s Pool Room. The city owns the second floor of the building.

Cornette presented a proposed policy for adoption by council as the first step in applying for grant funding for a proposed community center/fire department building in the city.

He said the policy deals with voluntary acquisition of property for the building. Council adopted the policy.

Council also authorized applying for federal stimulus funding to pay for the salary of a police officer for the Vanceburg Police Department. Patton said officers are now working long shifts and an additional officer is needed at the department.

Before council adjourned the meeting, holder announced that opening day activities for Lewis County Little League will be Saturday, April 18. He said a parade in Vanceburg is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. and games are scheduled throughout the day.

East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) and the University of

Kentucky’s (UK) College of Agriculture has demonstrated how switchgrass, a warmseason

grass that is native to the state, can be used to fuel power plants.

EKPC mixed about 70 tons of processed switchgrass into the coal feedstock that is used

to fuel one of the generating units at the cooperative’s Spurlock Station in Maysville.

“We want to find out if switchgrass can be a viable supplemental fuel for our power

plants,” said Bob Marshall, president and CEO of EKPC. “Today’s test will provide

valuable information about how burning switchgrass affects our plant’s fuel-delivery

systems, boilers and emissions.”

This is believed to be the first time switchgrass has been used in Kentucky as fuel for a

power plant. The switchgrass and coal are burned in the unit’s boiler, creating steam,

which is used to turn turbine blades and generate electricity.

The test is part of an innovative four-year pilot project conducted by UK’s College of

Agriculture to determine if switchgrass can be grown sustainably and economically in

Kentucky. The project is being funded through a grant to the Kentucky Forage and

Grassland Council from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board.

“Today’s switchgrass burn, made possible by an investment from the Kentucky

Agricultural Development Fund, will provide valuable information that could enhance

Kentucky’s agricultural opportunities outlined in my recently released seven-point energy

plan,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “Energy-related research and development through

public and private partnerships should be expanded throughout the state.”

“This is just another example of how the college is working to develop a variety of

technologies for alternative energy uses,” said Scott Smith, dean of the College of

Agriculture. “We appreciate our partners, East Kentucky Power Cooperative and the

Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy, working with us toward this goal.”

UK researchers are working with 20 farmers in northeast Kentucky to evaluate options

for planting, growing, harvesting, transporting and processing the switchgrass. Each

farmer manages a five-acre plot that UK forage specialists helped them establish.

The forage specialists believe that if this project is successful, switchgrass could provide

a great opportunity for producers in this area to diversify their agricultural operations as

well as generate additional income.

“As people drive around northeastern Kentucky, they see a lot of land that lays fallow,

and those are acres that have great potential for switchgrass production because it grows

well even on marginal soils. We don’t even have to take acres out of forages for cattle

production,” said Tom Keene, UK hay marketing specialist. “The opportunity is there.”

“Kentucky farmers successfully producing switchgrass opens up tremendous

opportunities for them in the emerging biomass market,” said Ray Smith, UK forage

extension specialist. “While further research is needed to determine the economic returns

to producers, this project is allowing Kentucky farmers to be at the forefront of this

movement.”

The switchgrass was planted during the spring and matured until the first killing frost.

Seven plots were established in 2007, and the remaining 13 were planted in 2008. After

that frost, the plots were mowed, and the switchgrass was baled like hay. The bales were

transported to Spurlock Station, where UK representatives used a tub grinder to further

process the switchgrass for handling by the power plant’s coal conveyer system.

One of Spurlock Station’s generating units—the Gilbert # 3 unit—features circulating

fluidized bed technology that allows it to burn a wide range of fuels, including

switchgrass. In April, EKPC plans to bring online a second unit at Spurlock Station

featuring this technology. EKPC’s proposed Smith CFB #1 unit at Smith Station in Clark County also is planned to feature this technology.