By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Grayson City Council met for their rescheduled regular meeting on Tuesday, February 18. The regular meeting was initially scheduled for February 11, but could not be held on that date due to inclement weather.
The council heard from a representative of the Commission on Special Needs and Aging, who made the council aware of available autism training for first responders. The two-hour training is approved by the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services and Kentucky Fire Commission State Fire Rescue Training for two Continuing Education (CE)/Contact Hours and is designed to help first responders be better prepared to deal with the challenges of those with autism or on the autism spectrum.
The training explains autism, as well as the characteristics and the spectrum of how these characteristics are expressed among individuals with autism. It also helps first responders to identify frequently used terms, interventions, and the common types and titles of caregivers. The training is also designed to help first responders learn how to interact with individuals with autism including communication strategies. Learning de-escalation strategies and identifying available autism resources is also a key part of the two-hour training.
The council also heard from the director of the utilities commission, Gerald Haney. Haney spoke to the council about the downtown cast iron pipe removal and replacement that began last year.
“We have wanted to do this for a number of years, and we finally reached the point where we have bid the project,” Haney said.
The three bids received were from Boca Enterprises in Hager Hill for $1,450,199.87, BP Pipeline in Quincy for $1,353,440, and from Opell Excavating in Ashland for $1,233,615. Haney said the bids were accurate but required checking before being finalized.
The pipe Haney discussed is the oldest pipe in the City of Grayson and had been installed in 1931. And although it might look good from the outside, he explained, the inside of the pipe had become quite constricted over the years. This restriction can cause problems with firefighting in the city due to reduced water flow, as well as other issues, he said. The pipe will be replaced with the same size pipe only in plastic and will dramatically increase that flow.
“All the customers that are affected will remain on the old line until the new line is installed and tested, and then we will move them over slowly one at a time,” Haney explained the process. “The old line will be cut, capped, and abandoned in place,” he said. “It will also be drained, and there won’t be any pressure on the old lines after we put the mechanical caps in place.”
The process does not involve the city sewer, only the water supply lines.
“As they go, we will be cutting a trench, and for every meter they will be cutting a smaller trench,” Haney told the council. “That will be blacktopped as it goes. Then when this is done there will be a two-inch overlay over the full width of the street. It’s a great thing for the water system and the city because we will be eliminating a lot of problems.”
There have been fifteen leaks so far this year in the affected area, Haney said.
Haney said he will be in contact with the contractor and notify dispatch so residents will be informed of what road is going to be closed and when.
“We also have a Grayson Utilities App that can be downloaded to your phone, and we will be posting that information there as well,” he said.
“It’s a five-month project, 150 days, and there will be some weather days I’m sure,” Haney said. “And they won’t be working at all beginning Thursday of Memorial Day weekend.”
Haney said there is approximately $650,000 in grant money left over from the Robert and Mary site, and an additional $350,000 in revenue bonds from the Integrity Water Project. Those funds, combined with capital improvement funds, will pay for the project.
“I don’t want to leave any of this undone,” Haney said. “I want to do it all.”
In other business council discussed the lease agreement with Enterprise Rentals for police cars. In the agreement Enterprise will buy four five-year-old police cruisers the city already owns that are out of warranty, and that money will be credited toward the lease. The cars are fully equipped, minus the radios that will be repurposed from the current vehicles. The new cars are 2023 models but come with a full factory warranty.
The council voted to approve the lease using money from the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Fund until the current year budget, after which the expense will be picked up by the police department.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
