By Al Owens

Meeting in regular session last week the Lewis County Fiscal Court moved to accept bids for some annual and routine business for the 2006-07 fiscal year.

The bid of $51.28 per ton for asphalt paving from Eaton Asphalt Paving, Covington was the low bid for that work, and the court accepted that bid. Mountain Enterprises, Lexington entered a higher bid of $56.33.

Gaddis-Shamrock Inc., Columbia, and South Central Construction Company, West Union, Ohio, submitted bids for the chip/seal work, but the bids were so complicated that the court tabled action on them until next month’s session so the magistrates can determine the per mile cost from both bids.

Bulk Plants Inc., Ashland, submitted the only bid for the gas/oil contract for this fiscal year and that bid was accepted.

On a motion by First District Magistrate Milt Stanfield the court moved to change the insurance premium pay plan for the county. Previous to the move the county paid 66 percent of the premiums for health insurance, and the employees paid 33 percent. Under the newly adopted scale the county will pay 75 percent and the workers will pay 25 percent.

The court approved a resolution authorizing County Judge Executive Steve Applegate to enter into an agreement with The Governor’s Office for Local Development (GOLD) for $75,000 for the construction of a firehouse for the Lewis County Volunteer Fire Department. The building will be located on Lions Lane.

The court also approved a resolution authorizing Applegate to enter into another agreement with GOLD for $250,000 for the purchase and renovation of an E-911 Dispatch Center Building. That is the old Citizens Deposit Bank and Trust Building across the street from the Post Office on Court Street.

At the request of Lewis County Jailer Tim Underwood four employees at the Detention Center have been reclassified with changes in their pay scale.

Amy Bolander and Bonnie Ellithorpe were reclassified from full time cooks at a pay scale of $8.69 to full time Cook/Deputy Jailer with a pay scale of $9.52 per hour. Underwood explained that these two workers have received the same training as the deputies and sometimes function as such in addition to their cooking duties. At other times some of the other deputies help out in the cooking department. He said that makes the staff more flexible, and all the employees can help with all the duties at the Detention Center if necessary.

At Glen Bannister’s request he and Matt Dyer have switched positions. Bannister was reclassified from fulltime Deputy Jailer with a pay scale of $9.52 to part time Deputy Jailer with a pay scale of $8.25. Bannister will continue some of the duties he performs at the jail at no charge to the county.

Dyer was reclassified from part time Deputy Jailer with a pay scale of $8.25 to full time at $9.52.

The court approved the first reading of an ordinance for the implementation and maintenance of structure addresses and their markings for the E-911 emergency phone service within Lewis County. 

The ordinance says that any new buildings, mobile homes or structures that are assigned new numbers must have those numbers displayed in a conspicuous place by the owner or owners within 30 days after notification. Any old numbers must be removed within that same time frame. The numbers must also be legible and distinguishable from the road. Non-compliance will result in a $10 fine per day of violation.

The court approved the Lewis County Treasurer’s 2006-06 settlement and then moved to publish the annual audit in lieu of the settlement. That action will save the county about $4500.

In quick succession the court approved two appointments. Ruby Kegley’s appointment as Chairperson for the Kinniconick VFD Taxing District Board was approved. Her term will expire July 1, 2010. And the appointment of Fredia Plank as Secretary for the Kinniconick VFD Taxing District was also approved. Her term likewise will expire on July 1, 2010.

The court approved the 2005 Maximum Deputy Salaries. Although that is part of the approved budget the law requires the court to also approve the salaries.

The court then moved to approve the County Road Department Employee Drug Free Workplace and Drug testing policy. Under the policy the use of drugs and alcohol while working is prohibited. The policy also provides for the suspension or termination of violators of the policy and for random drug testing.

The court approved the advertising for bids for a bridge replacement on Rock run.

It also authorized the $30,000 purchase of the old bank building on Court Street for the prospective E-911 Dispatch Center Building.

The court approved the deed of easement for a water tank in the Tollesboro Industrial Park for the Western Lewis/Rectorville Water District.

Stanfield asked the court about adopting a road in the subdivision across the street from the Barbour & Sons Funeral Home into the county road system. The court determined that the road is on private property and cannot be maintained by the county. To have the road adopted, however, the owners can follow the proper procedures established by the court in order to get the road adopted. That means that Road Foreman Dane Howard would inspect the road and then make a recommendation to the court. If the subdivision is paved and brought up to the county’s standards then adoption into the county road system could be considered.

The county treasurer’s report shows that for the fiscal year the General Fund received $1,458,393.90 with expenditures totaling $1,435,894.39 leaving a balance of $32,499.57. The Road Fund received $1,809,674.61 with costs totaling $1,776,133.79 with a balance of $38,540.82. The Jail Fund received $181,690.26 with expenditures at $817,425.48 leaving a balance of $1,264.78. The CDBG fund totaled $869,466 with expenditures of $869,465 leaving a balance of $1.00. The animal shelter received $61,650 but no money has yet been spent leaving the balance at that amount. The court approved the treasurer’s report.

By Al Owens

Meeting in regular session last week the Vanceburg City Council approved the second readings of two ordinances making them officially effective.

The first ordinance establishes the salaries of the mayor and members of the city council. The mayor’s salary was set at $20,000 per year, and the salaries for the council members at $2400 per year.

The second ordinance deals with the structure addresses and marking connected with E-911. It applies to any new buildings, structures or mobile homes including when they are relocated. When an address is assigned the owner or owners have 30 days to display the new address numbers in a conspicuous place and to also remove any old numbers. They are to be legible and easily read from the street. Noncompliance will result in a fine not less than $10 for every day of violation.

The council also moved to increase its contribution to the E-911 program to the county from $5,000 this year to $10,000. That contribution will be evaluated on an annual basis because the cost of operating E-911 may fluctuate.

Mayor William T. “Bill Tom” Cooper clarified before the motion that the city already supports the county a great deal through the county taxes paid by city residents and through other programs the city is involved in. He noted that for some of those taxes the city receives no services such as paving streets in return. Cooper also noted that the city fire department often goes outside the city limits to help fight fires in the county.

The council approved the re-appointment of Jack Prater to the local utility commission.

The council adopted a resolution authorizing Cooper to enter into an agreement with the Governor’s Office of Local Development in order to receive $200,000 for the purchase and renovation of the old Carter House.

Cooper announced that a letter from the state has informed him that the city will not this year receive the funding for the Safe Routes to School Program. The city had applied for $250,000 to fund that project, but the letter said that due to the overwhelming number of quality applications the funding would not be given to Vanceburg in the current funding cycle. The letter also encouraged the city to reapply for the funding to build new sidewalks on the south side of town.

Fire Chief James “Bubbles” Switzer” asked the mayor to look over the insurance for the city vehicles because some of the policies he is reviewing have a significant difference in the cost. The mayor said he would certainly do so.

Cooper also announced that the architects for the Commercial Hotel renovation project failed to send in some necessary paper work on time, and a stop order has been issued on that project. The work will resume shortly but the completion date has now been set back to sometime in September.

By Al Owens

The Lewis County Board of Education met in regular session last week and learned that the Administrative Retreat for professional development will be held for three days beginning Wednesday, July 12. Brad Hughes from the Kentucky School Board Association (KSBA) will attend and speak on “Media Strategies and Public Relations.”

Superintendent Maurice Reeder Jr. told the board that he has received several complimentary comments about the appearance of the school grounds. He said those remarks came from both inside and outside the county. He lauded the maintenance done in the school district.

Reeder said that the principals give him a summer time list of the maintenance they would like to see at their respective schools. He noted that some of the maintenance work included painting the lockers, sealing some parking areas and striping them off and replacing some of the blacktop with concrete where the busses travel. All those projects cannot be done in one year so the work is prioritized.

The board approved the second reading of the new Policies and Procedures. That information is updated each year and approved by the school board. Any changes made are minor and simply reflect the directives from the state, but they are tweaked to fit the district’s specific needs.

The board approved a BG-1 for a new Lewis County baseball field.

Reeder said, “We’ve worked on the football field, the lockers and the girls’ softball field. Now we would like to see our district have a baseball field that we can be proud of.”

The field will be moved down under the hill, and the current site can then be used for expansion or some other project.

Reeder told the board that developing the baseball field would take two or three years and will be done in phases. Phase I will cost $120,000 for site development and will be for the installation of the poles and lighting.

The board approved the Phase II Design Development Documents for the Tollesboro Elementary School. Reeder, with assistance from Kevin Duff, showed the board the blueprints of the new project that will be constructed in front of the current building and will include administrative offices and some new restrooms.

Related to that same project the board also approved a BG-2 for Phase II. Reeder said that the new addition would have a metal roof. A BG-3 for that project was also approved. It shows the project cost of $1,120,000.

The bids for the Central Elementary Roof Project were opened on Friday, July 7. The project is for a new foam roof on part of the building in addition to two new heating and air conditioning units. The low bid of $87,800 came from General Heating and Air Conditioning, Flatwoods, KY and was accepted. The board also approved the financial page for that project. The total cost will come to $104,592.

The board approved the first increase in school food services meal prices in several years.

The board approved participation in the KISTA program in order to buy new busses.

Then the board approved the purchase of ten new busses this year with no new bus purchases for the next three years. That action was taken because after this school year the state is requiring the school boards to buy busses with new engines that use more expensive low sulfur fuel, and the cost for each bus will increase by $6,000 in addition to the increased fuel costs. By buying ten busses before the price increase the board will save over $60,000 over the next three years.