By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Olive Hill City Council opened their meeting by adopting a resolution accepting a new contract for purchasing electric power. The resolution set forth the terms for purchasing the city’s electric power from the Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency (KYMEA). The KYMEA is, according to their website, “a joint public agency” formed a decade ago when “ten municipal electric utilities entered into an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement” to form the organization. Member cities include Frankfort, Berea, Paris, Owensboro, and Corbin, among others.
The resolution passed on a vote of three to one, with council members Kirk Wilburn, Eric Rayburn, and Shane Tackett voting aye, and councilman Tony Williams voting no. Councilman Chris Bledsoe was not present for the meeting, and councilwoman Shannon Leadingham arrived late, missing the vote on the KYMEA resolution.
Council also approved the second reading of an ordinance allowing remote participation in public meetings. In addition to allowing councilmembers to appear and participate remotely, the ordinance sets the requirements for such participation – including clear audio connections.
Council also approved the drafting of a letter authorizing the mayor to open a bank account for the tourism tax fund, and held a discussion with the new engineer on the progress at the water plant. There was also a colorful interaction with an individual who offered Mayor Jerry Callihan the opportunity to step down before he ran against him in the next election. The individual accused Callihan of either misusing or misappropriating city funds, though no specific instances or examples were provided. He also declined Callihan’s invitation to speak with the press about his concerns or any evidence of misused funds he might have. He then accused the local newspaper of being party to Callihan’s corruption before taking his leave.
Before closing public comments council heard from West Carter High School student Brody McCleese, with the high school’s Community Problem Solving Group. McCleese was there to update the city on plans they have for creating Narcan distribution centers around the city. Council members expressed concerns about potential for liability, children getting into the containers and wasting the lifesaving drug, and the potential theft of solar panels intended to power climate control to keep the medicine at stable temperatures. Council asked McCleese to come back again with four potential locations for the boxes, as well as alternates.
Chris Blankenship, who is the academic sponsor for the Community Problem Solving Group explained that the club is an off-shoot of the Academic Team, which he also sponsors. He said the group’s current push for Narcan stations is informed by a theme that uses the acronym MYTHS, which stands for Make Your Time Here Safe. The students, Blankenship said, took that theme and decided to focus on overdose prevention awareness.
As their final piece of business for the evening council approved the purchase of a pump for the water plant at a cost of $41,000. Callihan told council it was both the low bid, and the recommendation of the new engineers on the water plant project.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
