By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The Carter County Fiscal Court voted to accept Sassafras Drive (0.13 miles) into the county road maintenance schedule at its regularly scheduled meeting on November 8. The court also held the first reading of an amendment to the transient tax ordinance (no. 8019) form 2017 to include temporary rentals or Air B&B’s. The amended ordinance will include Air B&B’s, campground sites, and any and all rentals that occur in Carter County.
“In 2017, Air B&B’s weren’t a thing,” county attorney Brian Bayes told the court. “And by adding the phrase ‘any and all,’ we are attempting to keep up with changing times.”
In other business, the court voted to appoint Ben Justice was to the Carter County Ambulance Board. Justice will be filling a vacancy left by the recent resignation of board member Carl Steagal. The court also voted to approve claims and transfers, and accepted reports from county department heads.
During the public comments section of the meeting, Todd Maynard, the Dean of Business for Kentucky Christian University, spoke to the court about his application for grant funds from the opioid abatement fund. The program for which the grant was submitted is a speaker conference that focuses on helping those who have gone through recovery from substance abuse disorder enter into leadership positions and acquire new social capital. The purpose of the grant was to help with speaker fees, and travel expenses for the speakers. Currently, there are over 30 applications for grants for the court to consider.
In related news, the court voted to approve three of the applicants to be on the Opioid Advisory Board. The newly formed board will be heavily involved in the process of accepting and vetting those organizations that apply to the county for opioid-based grants. All applicants must qualify under the current state and federal guidelines. Those approved were Breanna Adams, Victoria Judd, and Marcela Clay. The terms of the individuals appointed began immediately and will run for one year, until December 31, 2026.
The new board will recommend grant applicants to the fiscal court, and the fiscal court will then vote to either approve or deny the submitted grants. Judge executive Brandon Burton said the board will begin with three members and could potentially grow in number as more applications for that membership are processed. The fiscal court has several additional applications from individuals seeking to serve on the Opioid Advisory Board, he said, and more might apply. The three who were approved for board positions did not personally have grant applications with the court, as that could be seen as a conflict of interest.
Applications for the Opioid Advisory Board have been open for several months, and interested parties in the county can still apply for consideration. Burton said that it was important to establish the board now because several of the grant applicants were planning budgets for the upcoming year and establishing funding sources for their programs.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
