By Jeremy D. Wells
Carter County Times
Carter County fiscal court had a full agenda on Monday night. But before they moved on any of those items, they had an argument with a man about dirt.
Victor Mabry, who owns land on both sides of the road on Greenbrier Road off of SR 955, came to fiscal court asking for the county to return dirt removed during slip repairs or to compensate him for the lost earth. Mabry said no one approached him before they began removing the dirt. He said he wasn’t aware at first that he owned the dirt that was being removed, but said once he was aware the dirt held value for him, he approached the county about keeping it.
Jason Carroll, head of the road department, explained that after Mabry approached him about the contractors removing the soil he had the remainder of the earth – approximately 70 truckloads worth – moved to a location on Mabry’s land outside of the flood plain. Carroll said that was just under half of the total of around 200 truckloads removed as part of the slip repair.
Carroll said they had spoken with Mabry last year, and had delayed repairs at his request so he could use the road for hauling silage that he had cut. Then again so he could remove and sell some valuable trees that would have been cut during the slip repairs. He said there was no request to retain the soil at that time, and that because contact had been made at that time, and he was unaware of any further issues, he did not contact Mabry again before contractors began working on the slip repairs.
Mabry, however, felt he should have been contacted again before any work began. Judge executive Mike Malone, on the other hand, felt Mabry’s complaints were unfounded and explained the county had already delayed repairs as long as possible and had a responsibility to other residents who used the road to make the repairs before they became worse.
“If it’s in the road… we’ve got to get it out of there to use the road,” Malone said.
Mabry, however, argued that the slip didn’t result in soil entering the roadway and that he was due the dirt removed from his land.
Malone was not in the mood to debate the issue with Mabry, though, stating the dirt removed actually belonged to the contractor retained to complete the job and that the county had already gone above and beyond by hauling the remainder of the dirt to his property for him.
“We’re not paying you for the dirt. We’re not giving the dirt back. And if you don’t like it, I suggest you get an attorney,” Malone said.
Mabry responded by countering that “everyone (at the county level) walks all over us” at his end of the county.
But before he could go any further, Malone cut him off, stating, “Your three minutes are up.”
That “three minutes” refers to the three minutes for public comment granted to any citizen who has an issue to raise with the court that is not on the agenda for the evening.
Others speaking during the public comment included Johnny Holbrook, who requested that J. Porter Cemetery Road, also labeled on some maps as Porter Cemetery Road # 1, be removed from the county road system and returned to the property owner. The court moved to begin the process of removing the road from the country system, as well as to begin the process of removing King Road, off of Aden Road, from the county system at the request of property owners there.
Willis Johnson, with the Carter County Kiwanis Club, also addressed the court, requesting any assistance the county could offer toward the installation of inclusive playground equipment at the Grayson Sports Park. The installation of playground equipment that allows children of all physical ability levels to play together has been a goal of the Kiwanis club since their formation.
ARPA funds
In discussion of items on the agenda, the court heard from library director Matt Parsons, who asked the court to consider a revised budget that gave the library a modest increase in funding to help them retain talent and grow programs. Parsons explained that the next lowest funded system in Kentucky of comparable size to Carter County has a budget of over $900,000 – which far exceeds what the library is currently operating on and what Parsons is asking for. He explained that he’d never ask for such an exorbitant amount, but – like other county funded institutions, he also worried about retaining talent. He also said the Carter County Library currently serves a larger population with less resources than those other libraries as well. He said if the county did offer them extra funding from their ARPA funds or other sources they would see a significant and noticeable return on that investment through programs and community outreach.
Malone, however, said he didn’t feel like now was necessarily the time for the county to be spending more on the library.
“I don’t think this (request) could come at a worse time,” Malone said, noting that the county is still paying for cleanup from the ice storms and waiting for FEMA reimbursements for related expenses.
He also said he felt the cities should shoulder more of the burden.
“If we’re going to end up with 85 percent of the budget,” Malone said, he wouldn’t support the county paying that much.
Parsons said while it didn’t quite amount to 85 percent, and that he did also plan to approach the two cities to ask for any increase in their contributions they could afford as well, the cities’ current contributions matched their percentage of the county’s total population.
Malone said the only option he could see for funding the library – other than the current year-by-year system – was to approve a taxing district for the library. But, he said, he wouldn’t support that either because the board overseeing the district would be appointed rather than voted on.
“There are a lot of places it can get completely out of hand,” Malone said.
In other action the court approved the sheriff’s quarterly report, and discussed vehicle lease options for the department. They also moved to accept the clerk’s 2020 excess fees, accepted bids from Hudson Materials, the only contractor to submit a bid, for the oil used in cold paving, and heard department reports.
In other road related news the court approved a motion to grant Malone authority to negotiate addendums to the purchase agreements with various material supply contractors for “boilerplate ARPA regulations through the end of the fiscal year.”
Emergency responses
In E911 updates the court accepted the pay scale for E911 personnel submitted by the sheriff. The new pay scale budget of $438,760 will cover all of the service’s current personnel and payroll needs while coming in under the numbers previously suggested. The court also moved to approve E911 director Joe Lambert’s request to solicit bids for radio equipment and voice recorders required as part of the service’s equipment updates to comply with E911 regulations.
The court also heard from emergency management director Adam Stapleton, who offered a report on billing for accidents so far this year. Stapleton explained that they have billed businesses more than $35,000 this year already, with just under half of that, on average, going back to the county to cover supplies and other costs incurred during those emergency responses. The remainder was distributed to various local responding fire departments and other first responders for their costs.
Bills presented by Stapleton included a charge of over $10,000 for a semi-truck rollover and cleanup, $800 for cleanup of a reported fuel spill in a creek, approximately $12,000 for a tractor trailer fire and cleanup, and just over $13,000 on another truck accident.
The county also adopted a resolution voicing their support for Carter County EMS and their opposition to the certificate of need application filed by King’s Daughters Medical Transport.
“This court opposes the application because approval of this application would divert runs from Carter County EMS and thereby reduce revenue necessary to finance the operation of Carter County EMS and its continued viability,” the resolution reads in part. “Another ambulance provider in Carter County is not needed as Carter County EMS provides adequate coverage and response to requests from KDMS facilities.”
Gaming machines
Before adjourning, magistrate Morris Shearer raised the issue of gaming machines that have been placed in some local businesses. Shearer said he and other magistrates have been approached by constituents who voiced concerns over the gaming machines, which they feel are a form of gambling. County attorney Brian Bayes, however, said he had looked into the law and the machines in question are currently considered “skill games” which allows business owners to install the machines and issue cash payouts without violating state gambling statutes. He said right now the county can’t move to ban the machines, and they cannot issue any additional taxes on proceeds generated from the gaming machines beyond the taxes already collected from the business.
For now, it appears, the gaming machines are here to stay.
Contact the writer at editor@cartercountytimes.com
