Clinton Fiscal Court held a special call meeting Tuesday morning, November 19 in lieu of its regular meeting scheduled for November 21 due to court members having to attend a conference in Louisville that began on Wednesday of this week. All court members were present for the 45-minute session.

Prior to calling the meeting to order, Judge/Executive Lyle Huff said that because the meeting was a special session and only items on the agenda could be discussed, he allowed a local resident confined to a wheel chair, Jason Brown, do discuss and request some actions be taken on the road he resides on.

Brown explained to the court that the small road he lives on has heavy traffic and there has been a lot of problems with speeding. He further explained that a trained dog he had owned had been run over on the road and he himself had come close to being hit while on the road going to check his mail.

Brown requested the county put up speed bumps, similar to those now on roadways near the new bypass and post a minimum speed limit in the area for safety reasons.

County Attorney Michael Rains, who was in district court Tuesday morning and unable to attend, did send a written opinion that the county could seek to have speed bumps put on roads and judge Huff noted that action could be taken on the matter when the county attorney is able to attend and during a meeting where official action could be taken.

After approving the monthly treasurer’s report and fund transfers, the court approved a 2013-14 fiscal year budget amendment to accept a total of $88,000 in grant funds, including $33,000 from Homeland Security and $50,000 toward the purchase of a new ambulance.

The court then voted to pay claims and bills, following some questions by magistrates.

Magistrate Terry Buster questioned the high electric bill at the road department building. Judge Huff said he had been informed by the RECC that a higher wattage security light had been in place for the past five years and they (RECC) were billing the county for two of those years and will apparently be replacing the light with a lower power, which should get the bill for the building back to where it should be.

Sheriff Rick Riddle then briefly explained a proposal of an interlocal agreement between Clinton and the counties of Russell and Wayne, that would allow law enforcement for each county closest to an emergency call, to go ahead and legally answer the call.

The sheriff gave an example of the Rowena area in which a portion lies in Russell County, but Clinton County responders are much closer and can respond much quicker in an emergency. There are several smaller boundary areas connecting all three counties.

The interlocal agreement, which the court passed by unanimous vote, states in part:

“…the geographic areas of Clinton (Wayne and Russell) are such that frequently it is necessary to cross jurisdictional boundaries in order to travel from one part of a county to another part of the same county.

“KRS 65.255 provides for cooperative action in the utilization of peace officers, and police department members, while in the performance of their duties under the interlocal agreement while outside their own jurisdiction, shall have the full power of arrest and all powers they possess in their own jurisdiction, and shall have the same immunities and privileges as if the duties were performed in their own jurisdictions.

“There is evidence that criminal activity exists in and throughout the entire (three county) area, that such illegal activity is detrimental to the health and general welfare of the populous of the entire area, and that such illegal activity regularly crosses jurisdictional boundaries and that law enforcement can achieve its greatest impact in combating this illegal activity by way of interlocal cooperation whereby all three sheriff’s offices, jurisdictional and law enforcement powers may be exercised in each county by members of their respective departments and sheriff’s offices.”

Following action on the interlocal agreement between the three counties’ sheriff’s departments, the court voted to appoint Laura Hatfield to the Recreation/Park Board to fill out the unexpired term of Margaret Brown, who recently resigned citing health reasons.

State Senator Sara Beth Gregory had been scheduled on the agenda to address the court but had informed Judge Huff the previous day she would be out-of-town and not be able to attend.

Judge Huff, however, said Senator Gregory had requested the court to further look into applying for additional discretionary funding from the Rural Secondary Road Fund and suggested magistrates make a list of roads in most need of repairs. He said additional funds to the county might be a “significant amount.”

The court then set the county employee Christmas dinner for Thursday, December 19. The dinner, which will be held at the Community Center, will follow the court’s regular meeting which will be held at 5 p.m.

A brief 15-minute session on personnel was then conducted but no action was taken by the court upon returning to open session.