Beech Tree News Network

The Butler County Fiscal Court had its monthly meeting for November on Tuesday night. The meeting was rescheduled from Monday, November 12th because of the Veteran’s Day observance. All members were present along with several visitors. Because the meeting wasn’t regularly scheduled, the agenda was not open for additions, but visitor comments and questions were welcomed.

Linda Knight, from the VFW Ladies Auxiliary, asked to speak to the magistrates concerning the approved changes to the Courthouse lawn war memorial. Knight said because of the size of the addition it needed to be moved to the side of the sidewalk, and will flow downward to the steps coming up from street level.

The memorial bricks will be seen from the streets, and the concrete back will be decorated with military insignias, etc. A veteran in attendance, William Brown, asked what the requirements for inclusion was and was told that a person need only be a veteran.  First District Magistrate Stevie Givens asked if there would be any drain issues and was assured that the contractor had taken drainage into consideration. Knight also told Judge David Fields that existing memorial bricks would be incorporated into the new addition. Second District Magistrate Johnny Tuck moved to accept the changes with Third District Magistrate Chad Tyree seconding. The motion passed 5-0.
Larry Blacklock, representing Green River Electrical Inspections, LLC—the existing Butler County electrical inspector, spoke to the court concerning his contract. He said that new state regulations require a contract between his company and the county for his services. He said that he also does inspections in Warren and Edmonson County and that those Fiscal Courts have to make a contract with him as well, and that the matter is actually only a formality. The court voted 5-0 to extend their contract with GREI.
The Court accepted the annual resolution from the Kentucky Farm Bureau which outlines their priorities for the next year. In the resolution, KFB pledges its continued support of the following: preservation of the Rochester Dam, the addition of another agriculture teacher in the Butler County School System, countywide high-speed internet access, maintenance of rural roads, bridges, and right-of-ways, the development of transportation and industry in the county, adequate funding of the Soil Conservation District by the Fiscal Court, and the establishment of a MESONET site in Butler County.
According to Beech Tree News/WLBQ Senior Meteorologist Landon Hampton, MESONET is a statewide system of weather data reporting. It aids in forecasting and gathering historic weather data for further analysis. According to Hampton, the system would gather other data beneficial to local farmers, such as soil temperatures and moisture levels. He said this system has been “pushed for” for Butler County for some time. A meeting is scheduled for Thursday at the Butler County Extension Office to discuss a MESONET site with the Kentucky State Climatologist.
No action was needed on the resolution.
The Court next opened bids on several projects. No bids were received for Courthouse painting and trim work, nor for the replacement/repair of the front courthouse doors. County Attorney Richard J. Deye told the court estimates could be gathered from any interested contractors and presented to the court at a later date.
Two bids were received for refurbishment of the Rochester Ferry tug. The Court voted 5-0 to accept the bid of $9,095 from Barton Mechanical, Inc. The only other bid was from Green River Equipment Leasing for $19,159.84.
Next the magistrates approved annual allotments for Butler County’s Fire Departments, and to the Soil Conservation District. Each County Fire Department received $5,000 each for a total of $25,000. The Soil Conservation District received their usual $30,000 allotment. The measure passed 5-0.

The results from three road viewing committees were presented by Judge David Fields and Road Supervisor Timmy West. Hanna’s Lane was accepted into county maintenance ‘as-is’ pending acquisition of the deed. A deletion of one portion of Smith Home Cemetery Road, and the addition of another section was approved by the committee pending acquisition of a deed. The Eric Young Road was found not to be up to code and was rejected pending improvement. West will turn in a list of improvements to Judge Fields that will be passed on to the landowners.

Emergency Management Director Terry Hunt had two items of business for the Court. First, Hunt presented the updated Butler County Emergency Operations Plan to the magistrates. An updated plan is required by the state and Hunt reported that the state had approved and accepted his plan. Magistrates approved the plan with a 5-0 vote. It will go into effect after the December Fiscal Court meeting and the Tuesday night meeting served as the first reading on the ordinance.
Hunt then told the Court that Emergency Management needed $3,500 in additional funding to finish upgrading the county’s radios and repeaters. According to Hunt the county has only 55 days remaining—as of the 13th—to finish the project or face fines of up to $16,000 per day, per radio from the federal government. The radios affected include those used by all firemen, police, and rescue squad members in the county. Funding was approved by a 5-0 vote.
In other business the court approved an amendment to the 2012-13 budget, accepted the sheriff’s quarterly report, approved Occupational Tax refunds for overpayment, and approved routine bills and transfers.

The next regular meeting for the Court will be on Monday, December 10th at 10:30 a.m. at the Green River Museum in Woodbury.  A work session concerning the county personnel policy is scheduled for December 3rd at 5:30.