By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Carter County Fiscal Court held its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday evening. On the agenda for the meeting were the removal of Leatherwood Fork from the county road system and adding Mabry Lane to the same. The court voted to begin the process of taking WR Loop into the county road system, with two members of the court planning to investigate it. The court also accepted a total of thirteen bids for road materials and construction, but none were voted on and will not be until the court has a sufficient amount of time to examine the bids and discuss them.
County Attorney Brian Bayes gave the opening prayer, acknowledging that the manhunt was still ongoing for the individual in the officer involved shooting in Grayson. He included a request that all first responders would be able to return home safely to their families.
The court also discussed personnel wages for certain employees of the county. The part-time position at the Carter County Animal Shelter will remain at $11 per hour, but will be eligible for the five percent increase that was voted upon for employees in the previous court meeting. The court also decided upon a raise to $15.50 for certified 911 Dispatchers. The position would start at a rate of $14.50 per hour if the dispatcher is not yet certified, then raise to the $15.50 rate once they completed the certification. Any new hire that already has the certification would begin at the pay rate of $15.50 per hour.
Carter County Jailer R.W. Boggs gave his department report to the court and cited several challenges that the detention center is currently facing or will face in the near future. One challenge Boggs pointed out to the council was the rising cost of food. Medical costs are also on the rise, mainly due to insurance for the medical workers, Boggs said. He was informed that next year the prices will increase because there were previously eight insurance companies who provided this insurance, and that number has decreased to three this year. Boggs said that recently two of those three remaining companies have announced they will no longer be providing the insurance, leaving only a single provider. Boggs said he estimated the cost would increase by a minimum of twenty percent.
County Attorney Brian Bayes informed the court that he had received a communication about the State of Kentucky approving medical cannabis and was asked to make the court aware of it. Bayes said that it was at the county’s discretion on whether or not they chose to zone for medical cannabis, but said that the zoning would “open a really big door.” Bayes told the court he has already received numerous calls from individuals about medical cannabis. Currently Carter County does not have zoning for medical cannabis.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
