Clinton County Fiscal Court held its monthly meeting last Thursday evening, September 15 with all members present. The meeting lasted almost two hours and included a 50-minute closed session on personnel.

The court first voted to pay claims and bills and then County Clerk Jim Elmore briefly addressed the court.

Elmore noted that by state statute, a county clerk “can or cannot” take (fiscal) court meeting minutes, adding he had done so since he had been in office because he enjoyed doing it. However, he noted that due to being short-handed in his office, he felt he needed to step down from recording fiscal court meeting minutes and recommended the court hire Aaron Kate (Katie) Parrish as court recorder at $90 per month.

A motion was made by Magistrate Patty Guinn to hire Parrish, with the motion passing 6-0.

The court then approved the monthly treasurer’s report; fund transfers; second reading of a budget amendment adding last fiscal year’s carryover funds, as well as first reading of a budget amendment to include state reimbursed truck license fees and additional county road aid funding.

Alan Anderson, President and CEO of South Kentucky RECC then addressed the court and some local electricians from area businesses that do electrical work, about the electric co-op’s decision to cease doing electrical inspections for newly constructed buildings in the South Kentucky RECC service area.

Anderson noted that the cooperative had lost revenue in that particular area of doing electrical inspections over the past few years and estimated losing around $100,000 this year. He said the RECC board had already decided to cease that particular service by the end of this year.

With South Kentucky no longer providing the service, it is apparently left up to each county fiscal court in the service area to provide an electrical inspector. “It is left up to the county as to who they place to do the inspections,” Anderson said.

Some individual inspectors will apparently form their own companies and a nearby inspector, Jackie Spears of Burkesville, seemed to be a general consensus as to whom local electricians felt would do the best job.

The inspector for each county would recommend the fee they charge, with approval by the fiscal court, which in turn would also have to be notified of any rate changes in the future.

Judge/Executive Lyle Huff told the local electrical workers that the court would hold a meeting with Spears and themselves to help work out details and in the meantime, requested County Attorney Michael Rains begin working on some type of contract for a electrical inspector, with input from the local people involved in installing electric service to structures.

The court, on a motion by Magistrate Ricky Craig, then approved second reading of an amendment to the county road specifications ordinance.

Judge Huff informed the court that only two bids had been received for the construction work on the Hwy. 350 bridge project in the Cartwright Community near Stony Point Church and both were too high.

Magistrate Guinn made motions to reject both bids and re-advertise the project, both of which passed by unanimous vote.

The court then approved, basically, first reading of the magisterial reapportionment ordinance, compiled by the Lake Cumberland Area Development District.

Judge Huff said that due to the inability of the Department of Local Government to produce an ordinance (to go by), the court needed to approve the map and written description compiled by the AD District, subject to it being inclusive to the ordinance itself.

County Attorney Michael Rains said that the ordinance needed to be adopted within 60 days from the date the local reapportionment committee presented its final report to fiscal court, which was on August 16.

A first reading of the ordinance is set for October 5, at 8:00 p.m. and a special meeting for October 12 to have final reading will be held.

The court then discussed the poor condition of some voting houses in the county–there are nine total–with Magistrate Ricky Craig saying one (Cave Springs) was about to fall.

Over the past few months, jail inmates have been used to work to make repairs to some of the county voting houses prior to the November election.

It was noted, however, that the voting house at Cave Springs was about beyond repair and Judge Huff said that if enough repairs could be made to get it through the fall election, the county would probably opt to take it down and build a new one.

County Treasurer Dallas Sidwell said some LGEA (Local Government Economic Assistance) funds may be able to be used to help build a voting house and in the meantime the county will check on possible grants to help fund a new building.

The court then entered into closed session on personnel and upon returning to open session took the following actions:

* Voted to hire Tammy Whittenburg as part-time deputy jailer at $8.50 per hour.

* Voted to reinstate Tammy Dodson as temporary dispatcher at 911 on an as-needed basis at the same rate of pay she had received when she had worked there before.

* Vote to hire Corey Lovelace and Laramie Scott, also as temporary part-time dispatchers at 911 on an as-needed basis at $8.50 per hour.

The court will have a call meeting on October 12 at 8:30 a.m. for second reading on the magisterial reapportionment ordinance, with the next regular meeting scheduled for October 20 at 5 p.m.