By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Carter County fiscal court approved a new contract with Rumpke for their solid waste disposal that could save the county significantly over the option offered by their previous provider.
The county’s existing contract with Green Valley is set to expire, and renewing that contract would cost the county almost $44 per ton for garbage disposal. However, the contract offered by Rumpke is significantly cheaper.
That proposal, for a three-year contract, would cost the county $32 a ton for the first year, $33 a ton for the second, and $34 a ton for the third. Even with the built in increases, judge executive Brandon Burton said, the change will save the county more money than continuing with Green Valley would.
Burton said Rumpke is also considering working with the county to provide recycling opportunities. This is a service that some county residents have been seeking but that the county wasn’t able to offer with their old landfill provider.
The court also moved to adopt a resolution for their 80/20 bridge project, which would enable the county to replace or repair a number of bridges by refunding 80 percent of the total cost. Road department head Jason Carroll said that the three bridges that would receive upgrades under the program were located on McDavid Road, Cooper Lane, and Alice Chalmer. Carroll told the court his department was ready to proceed at any time, once they received letters of condition back from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
In other road related news, the court moved to remove McCoy Road from the county road system. That opens the road, which is located inside Grayson city limits, to be taken into the city road system.
Carroll noted that his department has also been busy with paving and pothole repairs over the last month, in addition to other tasks. He told the court his crews have laid 100.9 tons of blacktop, 1,738 tons of cold mix blacktop, and 104.5 tons of pothole mix. This work is on top of replacing 34 road signs, laying gravel, placing stone, ditching, grading, cutting brush, and other activities.
In his report, Sheriff Jeff May noted that his department had received more than 2,000 calls in the previous months. His deputies also made 116 arrests, and successfully served 75 papers out of 143 attempts, among other tasks.
R.W. Boggs gave a brief update on the county jail, noting that they have had a small but noticeable increase in income related to increased housing of federal inmates as well as increased federal inmate and immigration transports.
Ambulance service director Rick Loperfido also announced his plans to retire to the court. He told the court that whoever took over the job would inherit a much more stable department thanks to the work of the ambulance board and staff. The search for his replacement is already underway, he said.
Loperfido also spoke on the need for a “freestanding E.R.” (emergency room) inside Grayson city limits, which would help improve response time by shortening the distance on runs. He said that even a limited number of beds would help reduce the time spent transporting patients to Morehead or Ashland, and could benefit not only residents of Carter County, but those from Elliott and Greenup as well.
In public comments, Kentucky Christian University (KCU) president Dr. Terry Allcorn noted that his school will be working with the Carter County Public Library on several projects in the new year. This includes a joint summer reading program, staffed in part by KCU students, and helping with sorting and cataloging books.
Judge executive Burton expressed his thanks on behalf of the county for the university’s involvement in improving the library and “being a good neighbor.”
Court also heard from representatives with FIVCO on their plans to improve wastewater management and flood control in Olive Hill, noting that some of those improvements could benefit county residents outside of the city limits as well.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com