By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
The City of Olive Hill held a special meeting on May 26, due to a necessary rescheduling of the regular monthly meeting. The council learned through the engineer’s report that the city’s water department had no major current issues and was operating in the black. Some discussion was made about pumps, and Mayor Jerry Callihan informed the council that he had found someone who might potentially be able to rebuild water department sewer grinder pumps which could save the city money in the future. Olive Hill currently operates nearly a dozen of these pumps, Callihan said.
The purchase of the pumps in question, should it be necessary, would be an expense of $4,000 per pump. Callihan told the council that he had also learned of a maintenance program for the particular pump style that would allow the city to pay $7 per month flat rate that will go into a fund specifically to be used to offset possible future repairs on those pumps. No decision was made at the meeting, and discussion was planned for the next scheduled meeting.
State Representative Patrick Flannery and State Senator Robin Webb attended the special meeting and presented the city with a $2.8 million state appropriation for the City of Olive Hill.
“This is for water and to help offset the water loss,” Flannery told the council. “This is for a substantial project, and it is something Robin and I worked very hard on.”
“This stuff is very competitive,” Flannery explained. “It’s not something you just pull out a piece of paper, and something happens. That’s not really how this works. But we know this is something that has plagued the city for a while, and this is sorely needed. This is something the mayor and the staff have talked to Robin and I about back in the fall.”
“So, we are very excited about this,” Flannery said. “And we are happy to announce it.”
Webb said that Callihan knew a lot about water and Olive Hill’s needs.
“We have had several meetings,” Webb told the council. “And I have to give kudos to the water department because they had a plan. They presented to me a plan with numbers and data to support those numbers.”
Webb went on to say that everyone involved seemed highly motivated to solve the current problems and knew what was required to do so.
“If you don’t have water, you can’t grow. And it’s important, and your residents deserve a reasonable rate. It has been a struggle,” Webb said of the issues the city has faced. “And I can’t say enough that I made this my number one priority for Carter County. Water, next to our people, is the most important thing we have.”
Webb said that she and Flannery appreciated both the commitment and the diligence in preparing the information by the city.
“And when you bring us in,” she said, referencing the meetings, “then it makes our job so much easier, and we feel like we represent you all a lot better.”
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
