Clinton Fiscal Court held its regular monthly meeting last Thursday evening, March 17 with all members present. The court dealt with budgets and had a discussion on the problem of illegal dump sites in the county, among other items of business.

The court first approved the monthly treasurer’s report and fund transfers before taking up the issue of paying claims and bills. Following some questions about some of the bills presented, a motion to approve them as presented passed 5-0 with Magistrate Ricky Craig abstaining.

The court got some good news early on in the meeting when approving two office settlements for the last year, with both being approved on unanimous votes.

County Clerk Shelia Booher presented the court with a check in the amount of $15,000 in excess fees from her office, with an additional $2,000 to come later after audits are complete.

Also, Cindy Thrasher, with the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, also turned over $355 to the county in excess fees from that office last year.

A budget amendment was then presented to the court, resulting in a split vote.

The amendment dealt with a state grant the county has received to clean up illegal dump sites, as well as the Tourism Commission ordinance, which includes a three percent transient fee to be added to lodging establishments in the county to help fund tourism promotion.

All court members were in favor of the illegal dump clean-up grant, but half the court opposed the amendment due to the proposed transient fee.

Magistrate Hershell Key made the motion to approve the budget amendment, with Magistrates Johnny Russell and Terry Buster also voting yes and Magistrates Craig, Mickey Riddle and Patty Guinn voting no. Judge/Executive Richard Armstrong broke the tie with a yes vote to approve.

(The vote was the same as the ordinance that established the Tourist Commission and imposing the transient fee earlier this year.)

Solid Waste Coordinator Rick Stearns then presented the annual Solid Waste collection report for the court’s review. The county has received $149,000 in grant funds to help clean up illegal dumps, with the most major project being the Blue Ridge dump site that is expected to cost around $90,000.

Stearns noted that some smaller dump sites have been cleaned by county employees and jail inmates and that “six or seven” bids were expected on the clean-up of the Blue Ridge site. He also announced that there will be Tire Amnesty days this year for local residents to discard unwanted used tires. Those days are scheduled for April 15 and 16, with more details to be published in a later issue.

The Solid Waste Management report led to a discussion among Stearns and the court about the major problem of illegal dumping in Clinton County, both on public and private property.

“The (illegal) dumping problem is county wide and we are going to have to deal with it,” Stearns told the court last week. He added that more residents needed to start taking trash collection service that is available to all county residents.

Trying to actually catch someone dumping illegally is a problem, Stearns admitted, but indicated putting some teeth into existing laws for those who are found dumping trash would be one way to discourage dumping. He also noted that even trash dumped on private property, if those dump sites are in plain site of the public, should be treated the same as illegal dumping.

“We could fine people, or even put them in jail if they are caught,” he continued, adding that the problem is an expense to the county by having to use resources and manpower to clean up the dump sites. He asked magistrates for any ideas or input on how to reduce the scope of the problem.

Judge’s office secretary Penny Jo Stearns then informed the court that the Kentucky Department of Transportation has informed that office that the county would receive approximately $184,406 in FLEX aid road funds this year and asked each magistrate to compile a list of roads in their district in most need of repair.

Judge Armstrong also requested court members not to submit “repeat” roads that have already been repaired recently, but to “try and pick different roads” for consideration.

The court then voted unanimously to approve a resolution to apply for another recycling grant–probably in the range of $75,000–which would be used to purchase additional and needed equipment at the recycle center. The recycle center, since it began last year, has seen some positive results and it has been generally well accepted by the community.

The final item of business on the agenda also caused some discussion and a delay of a vote, that being the appointment of members to the Industrial Development Authority (IDA).

Judge Armstrong said the IDA office had sent a list of three current members for re-appointment to the board for either two or three-year terms, including Glenn Ray Smith, Randy Speck and Debbie Brown. Apparently those member’s terms expired in January, but since the IDA board only meets every other month (not meeting in January), the re-appointment requests were not made until now.

Magistrate Craig, who has long advocated appointing new and different members to boards, said that boards usually appointed the same members over and over, some who serve on different boards. He said he felt the IDA board should have announced vacant positions in advance and publicly asked anyone else who may want to serve, to have a chance to submit their names for consideration.

Most court members agreed with Craig’s assessment, and although each reiterated they had nothing personal against any current member nominated, the general feeling was that the IDA, and all boards that require court approval, should post vacancies and ask other members of the public if they are willing to serve on a particular board.

Following a brief discussion, Magistrate Key made a motion to “not accept” the recommendations “at this time” but to request judge Armstrong to contact the IDA and ask them to advertise the vacant seats in case anyone else showed an interest in serving. The motion passed by unanimous vote.

The court is expected to hold a special meeting either late this month or in early April to open bids from contractors on the illegal dump clean-up at Blue Ridge and possible other issues, with the next regular meeting of the court being scheduled for Thursday, April 21 at 5 p.m. All court meetings are open to the public.