By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
During their regular meeting last month, the Carter County Fiscal Court moved to help the city of Grayson fund an ice skating rink for the holiday season with opioid abatement funds.
The court voted on funds for the ice skating rink, as proposed by Grayson Tourism. Rene Parsons spoke to the court, informing them that Grayson Tourism Director Lana Axtell had reached out to her to determine if the rink could be funded through opioid settlement money. Parsons informed the court that due to the fact that it could be used year-round, and help with rehabilitation, it did fall under the statutes that regulate how those funds can be spent.
The total cost of the project, Parsons informed the court, would be in excess of sixty thousand dollars. But Grayson Tourism was only asking the Fiscal Court to contribute fifteen thousand, with the balance of the needed funds being supplied by the City of Grayson and Grayson Tourism. The money requested was a one-time investment, and the City of Grayson Tourism would be responsible for all costs after the initial collaboration of funds. The Fiscal Court voted unanimously to contribute the requested funds.
The ice rink was opened for use by the public on Saturday.
As part of the scheduled business for that November 11 meeting the county also worked to resolve current issues with Buck Road. After hearing from both affected residents on the county road, it was voted that the road would remain on the county maintenance register. The disputed turnaround would be reestablished based upon the previously recorded location and be of ordinance directed dimensions. In other business, the court voted to approve the Genesis CDBG Contract.
The Carter County Fiscal Court held their regular December meeting on Monday evening, with all magistrates in attendance. The first item on the agenda for the December meeting were the public hearings for Nicholas Road, Matthew Hill, and Kitchen Cemetery Number 2 to be removed from the county maintenance schedule. All roads were voted to be removed in part or in total from the schedule. The court voted to adopt Title 6, and a bid of $220,000 from Lesher Trucking was accepted for a Mack triaxle truck the county had moved to surplus for sale. The bid met the reserve the court had set for the vehicle.
The court also approved the Sheriff’s State Advancement Application, and approved the judge executive to sign the application. The Sheriff’s State Advancement Bond was also approved, as was the Sheriff’s 2025 budget. The bond is a yearly process which helps the sheriff’s department operate during the early months of the year and is repaid each year without a carryover balance of any sort.
The court also discussed the need for a CDL driver due to the fact that one of the drivers working for the county will be retiring at the beginning of the year, and there is another driver who is expected to be retiring sometime during 2025. The position will be advertised in the newspaper for at least two weeks, and the court hopes to interview potential candidates and make a decision at the next scheduled Fiscal Court meeting. All qualifications and other details will be made available in the posting for the position.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
