By Dennis Brown

Rains over a 36 hour period across the area resulted in flooding and damage to homes, roadways and utilities. Those rains on May 1 and 2 caused creeks and streams to overflow their banks and find their way into several homes.

An estimated six inches of rain fell in Lewis County during that weekend resulting in numerous road closures and the cancellation of classes for Lewis County students on Monday, May 3.

 “I remain in close contact with federal officials, including conversations with President Barack Obama and other White House officials, as well as Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano,” said Gov. Steve Beshear on Friday.

“They have pledged their assistance, and I will continue to work to ensure Kentuckians get the support they need to recover from this disaster.”

Water was reported in several homes, primarily along Kinniconick Creek, in Lewis County. FEMA officials were in Lewis County on Friday to perform individual assessments and begin the task of funneling aid funding to the county to pay for damages caused by the flood waters.

Judge Executive Steve Applegate accompanied FEMA personnel on Friday as they began preliminary damage assessments (PDA) here.

The PDA teams which made visits to the most heavily hit counties Friday include personnel from local emergency management, local elected officials, Kentucky Division of Emergency Management (KyEM), Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), Kentucky Department of Public Health , Kentucky National Guard (KyNG) and FEMA.

Beshear applauded the people working to help Kentuckians recover from the storm. “I am especially grateful for the help of our local officials and emergency management workers – I

appreciate their quick response and long hours,” Beshear said. “I know our citizens are thankful for their efforts as well.”

High water forced the closures of several sections of state and county roadways in Lewis County Sunday and well into Monday. Kentucky Routes 344, 989, 1021, 3311 and 377 were closed to through traffic. Sections of Kentucky Rt. 59 were reduced to one lane Sunday afternoon.

Applegate estimated damages in excess of $200,000 to culverts, bridges and roadways in the county.

He said all road department employees were deployed as rain continued to fall on Sunday and workers continued to clear debris from roadways throughout the week. He said others were contracted to help in making repairs as quickly as possible.

Applegate declared a State of Emergency for the county on Monday morning. Applegate said it is the first step in a process to receive state and federal funds to help with the repairs.

Applegate said damage was spread across the county and didn’t seem to be limited to particular locations in the county as previous floods had been. He said eight homes reportedly received severe damage from the rushing flood waters along creeks. He added that a sawmill operator had reported losing $15,000 worth of logs when they were carried away by the flood water.

Electric Plant Board Superintendent Eric Bloomfield said there were a few power outages as a result of some trees and limbs coming into contact with power lines. He said some water lines running beneath creeks had been washed out and had to be repaired. Those resulted in some boil water advisories being issued.

Applegate said he urges anyone who owns property damaged by the flood to contact his office so officials can report it to the proper agencies. He said property owners may be eligible for assistance as a result of the flood.

Vanceburg City Council heard the first reading of an ordinance last week which, if adopted, will reinstate payments to the city from the Electric Plant Board.

The ordinance was read during the regular council meeting on Monday. It states that the payment will “serve as a return on the City’s investment in the Electric Plant Board.

The ordinance calls for annual payments totaling six percent of the total fund equity of the Electric Plant Board as of the June 30, 1996 Audit. The equity amount, according to the audit, is $7,530,545.00.

The amount would be payable in 12 monthly installments of $37,652.73 and would begin on June 1.

The ordinance also calls for the Plant Board to contribute “the sum of $110,087.73, for the months of February through may of 2010, wherein said payments were not received and the sum of $4,500.00 for costs incurred in legal fees and expenses related to the research of this issue.”

The ordinance further states that . . .”after the establishment of proper reserves, if any, and after complying with the above provisions of KRS 96.810(1), any surplus of proceeds shall be devoted solely to the reduction of rates by the Electric Plant Board.”

The ordinance also calls for the Plant Board to furnish monthly information and reports regarding the funding, income, receipts, disbursements and expenses of the Plant Board. The Plant Board’s auditor will also be chosen annually by Vanceburg City Council, if the ordinance is adopted following the second reading.

The ordinance also states the Plant Board will charge the city and all departments for any electric service at the rates applicable to regular customers, except late fee charges will not be applicable. The ordinance would not require the city to pay for natural gas, water or sewer provided by the Plant Board.

Plant Board members and Plant Board Superintendent Eric Bloomfield were present for the meeting to hear a presentation concerning the Combined Sewer Project by Kevin Cornette with Buffalo Trace. Council member Roy Lawson was not able to attend the meeting due to illness and Plant Board member Gayle Massie was also unable to attend.

Council had scheduled a special meeting for Noon on Thursday, May 6, for the purpose of holding the second reading of the ordinance. The Plant Board scheduled a special meeting for 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5, for the purpose of discussing pending litigation. Both of those meetings were cancelled before they were set to convene.

The Plant Board had followed the recommendation of auditor, Greg Caudill with Caudill and Associates CPAs in Portsmouth, Ohio, to cease annual payments-in-lieu of taxes to the City of Vanceburg each year and to begin charging the city for utilities it consumes. Caudill cited Kentucky statutes in the recommendations outlined in the audit report submitted to Plant Board members.

The payments to the city totaled $289,740 for fiscal 2008-09 and the monthly utility bills the city now pays to the utility company come to about $7,000 a month.

Bloomfield said the Plant Board and its management were not included in any discussions concerning the ordinance and had no prior notice of the first reading of the ordinance.If the ordinance is adopted, the Electric Plant Board will pay the city the amount of $37,652 each month ($451,832.76 annually) going forward.

Bloomfield said the payment spelled out in the ordinance is 55 percent more than the previous monthly payment of $24,145.

“The attorneys for the City and the Electric Plant Board have differing opinions on what the statutes permit regarding payments from the Electric Plant Board to the City,” he said.

“The Electric Plant Board has asked the City to cooperate with them in seeking an opinion from the Attorney General’s Office in order to clarify the issue and ensure compliance with Kentucky law,” Bloomfield added.

Mayor Angie Patton said the payments from the city owned Plant Board comprise about one-third of the general fund and without the payments many services to the residents would be greatly reduced or eliminated. 

She said the city’s police and fire departments would be among the first to suffer from the funding reduction. City employees could see a reduction in benefits and there could be layoffs if the revenue isn’t reinstated or other sources aren’t found.

Council had earlier dropped the annual clean-up event and cut back on mowing and trimming in the city citing the costs as a reason.

The Plant Board has been making payments to the city since 1996 after the city owned utility system was reorganized as a result of a lawsuit concerning an electric coverage area at St. Paul.

Another meeting to hold the second reading of the ordinance had not been scheduled by press time. The next regular meeting of Vanceburg City Council will be at 5:30 p.m. June 7.

In other business last week, Kevin Cornette with Buffalo Trace ADD told council members a Community Development Block Grant of $500,000 has been approved toward the construction of a fire house/community center for the city.

He told council members that approval of an application for $225,000 Rural Development is anticipated. The grant portion of the amount will be $75,000 and $150,000 will be a low interest loan.

Cornette had told council members the project should be completed in time to allow the city to apply for another Community Development Block Grant to help pay for improvements to the city’s sewer system.

The improvements, which will separate the storm drain system from the sanitary sewer system, are mandated by court order and are expected to cost about $6 million. Work on the project is expected to get underway this fall.