By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Grayson City Council had a subdued final meeting of 2023, opening their meeting with a holiday meal and swearing in a new assistant fire chief and captain.
Grayson city councilman, and longtime fire fighter, Michael Harper took the oath of office as the new assistant fire chief of the Grayson Volunteer Fire Department vowing – as every official in the Commonwealth of Kentucky must – that he has not fought in a duel, nor served as second to anyone else engaging in a duel. (Editor’s note: This linguistic anachronism has always been my favorite bit of hearing an oath administered.)
After Harper, Andrew Smith took the same oath as he was promoted from lieutenant to the role of Captain in the fire department.
In other action council moved to fill a vacancy on the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Board of Adjustment, voting to appoint Larry Doucet to the board. That vote was not unanimous, however, with councilperson Sudy Walker voting no on the appointment following council’s conflict with Doucet at the November meeting over zoning issues.
The Board of Adjustment is not a group that meets on a regular basis, but meets as necessary to handle variance requests when they arise. For instance, if a planned development met the spirit but not the letter of the law in regard to what zoning in an area allowed, the property owner or developer could meet with the board and request a variance allowing their project to legally proceed.
Council also passed an amendment to the city ordinance relating to police coverage on second reading, and heard department reports.
The road department discussed a plan for marking broken streetlamps for repair, salt spreader needs, and road barriers for parades and other events.
Roger Dunfee, head of Grayson’s Emergency Management, gave council an update on the bid meeting for the sidewalk project – an improvement to the city transportation infrastructure that he noted has been “five years in the making.”
Council also discussed plans to print a list of individuals and businesses with unpaid back taxes. Councilperson Jennifer McGlone noted that while she was ambivalent about the idea of public shaming, council had previously voted to do so.
“We shouldn’t step back on what we promised to do,” McGlone said.
Council also discussed the possibility of supporting a dog park inside city limits. Sports park manager Grant Harper said that it would be popular among some folks, but said the biggest issue for the city to consider was liability, followed by proper maintenance and supervision of the space.
“The important thing is to do it right,” Harper said. “So, you need to make sure you have the demand, and that it’s going to be utilized (before making that investment).”
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
