Clinton Fiscal Court held its second consecutive special meeting on its regular meeting date and time last Thursday, October 16 at 5 p.m. However, the meeting was changed from a regular session to a call meeting due to the location from the courthouse to the County Road Department building. In September, the meeting was held at the EMS facility.

All members were present for the 35-minute meeting with the exception of Magistrate Patty Guinn, who was absent due to a family medical situation.

The primary discussion at the meeting came near the end of the session and pertained to the county road department, in specifics, the readiness for the upcoming winter season and the need for some new vehicles for the department to help phase out some older, high mileage trucks that are now in use.

Road Foreman Jim Pennycuff addressed the court about the issues, saying on a scale of one to 10 as to the conditions of the fleet on hand, he would give it about a four. He noted the vehicles practically all that have around 150,000 miles and a few well over 240,000 miles and the upkeep was expensive on the older model trucks.

A list of the road department’s fleet of dump (snow) trucks and everyday use trucks and service trucks were given to the magistrates. The newest model of any is in the mid-to late 90s model and some in the early 90s category.

Despite the age of the truck and repairs having to be made on some, Pennycuff assured the court members and others present his department would be “ready when the first snow falls.” He added that in, for example, a six-inch snowfall, it takes about 12 hours and 50 tons of road salt to plow and salt the number of county roads.

The county has an agreement for 300 tons of road salt to be used this winter season, according to Judge/Executive Lyle Huff, who said he was bringing the road department needs to the court now for them and whoever his successor may be, to consider in the future.

Magistrate Ricky Craig said he would like to see the road department be able to purchase an updated vehicle at least once per year, to keep the fleet in good shape.

Judge Huff said, that in his opinion, one way to save money to help fund this would be to “quit graveling bus turnarounds.” He said that would save a lot of money annually and added he felt the school district had a large enough tax base to do that work themselves.

Both Huff and Pennycuff agreed the county was not obligated to gravel the bus turnarounds on private driveways, with the road foreman saying the laws read the county “may” do that work, but doesn’t say it has to.

Judge Huff also recommended using the model of vehicles that neighboring Pickett County and others use for snow plow trucks, that being a smaller 3/4 ton type vehicle that can more easily maneuver on smaller county roads. Those vehicles have a plow on the front and salt spreader on the rear. Pennycuff said that Pulaski County currently has six of those type trucks and Wayne County has two or three.

The judge said the road department fund had about $100,000 they could use to fund updated equipment, including trucks and snow trucks.

Pennycuff said he would donate a snow plow himself if the county could purchase a dump truck, adding the department really needed one new dump truck and one new service vehicle.

After discussing the matter, the court agreed to have the judge and road foreman obtain some quotes to present to the court for the price of vehicles and present them later, probably at a call meeting of the court which will be announced in the coming days.

The court also took up some other issues at the meeting, including approving the treasurer’s report, monthly and quarterly reports and fund transfers and voted to pay claims and bills.

During the treasurer’s report, County Treasurer Dallas Sidwell, when discussing the end-of-the-year financial outlook, noted the county owed Equity Group-Keystone Foods, LLC $40,000 in excess taxes that company had paid over the past years in federal taxes.

Sidwell said that the tax revenue from employee taxes paid this year by Equity Group would be used to pay back the company for the taxes they had overpaid.

In a letter dated October 9 to the county from Michael O’Mara, Corporate Tax officials with Keystone, it noted, “The taxpayer filed previous Clinton County Net Profits Fee Returns under Equity Group Kentucky, LLC, a single member LLC and a disregarded entity for federal purposes. Equity Group Kentucky, LLC is 100 percent owned by MFG (USA) Holdings, Inc., a corporation for federal purposes. Equity Group Kentucky, LLC has always had nexus in Clinton County. Subsequently, it was determined that Keystone Foods, LLC, another single member LLC 100 percent owned by MFG (USA) Holdings, Inc., has nexus in Clinton County as well. Therefore, the taxpayer will now file the Clinton County Net Profits License Fee Return under the consolidated entity, MFG (USA) Holdings, Inc., which is consistent with the taxpayer’s Kentucky filing obligation, Form 720. (The tax return was attached.)

The correspondence concluded: “The taxpayer had an overpayment applied to their 2013 Clinton County Net Profits License Fee Return in the amount of $175 on the previously filed Equity Group Kentucky, LLC return. They also made Q2, Q3, and Q4 estimated tax payments for the 2013 tax year in the amounts of $17,000, $12,000, and $11,000 respectively. There is no tax due for the 2013 tax year. Therefore, the taxpayer is requesting that all monies on account for the 2013 tax year ($40,175) be refunded.”

Also during the meeting, it was announced via a letter from Harry S. Carver, Office of State Grants with the Department of Local Government, that they had received the completion report for all the improvements recently made to the Twin Lakes Wellness Center and has deemed that grant project closed.

In other business, the court:

* Approved first reading of an ordinance setting electrical inspection fees.

* Voted to have County Attorney Michael Rains begin the process to close a portion of the old Alvin Logan Road.

* Voted to hire an individual, at $150, to clean the courthouse during the Foothills Festival weekend.

* Voted to reappoint Nancy Mims and Dr. Charles R. Daley to the County Extension Service board.

* Set Friday, December 19 as the annual employee Christmas dinner, which will be held at the Community Center at 6 p.m., following a special meeting of the court at 5 p.m. and authorized Judge Huff to negotiate with a vendor to cater the meal.

* Prior to the meeting being called to order, Albany Mayor Nicky Smith invited the court members to the ribbon cutting ceremony held this past Monday at the new Albany Fire Station and thanked the court for its assistance with allowing for the property to be used for that project.

The court is expected to hold a call meeting later this month to discuss the road department vehicles and other issues with the next regular meeting of the court being scheduled for November 20.