Beech Tree News Network

Butler County Fiscal Court held a called meeting on Thursday, September 13, at 2:30pm.  Magistrates Stevie Givens, David Whittinghill, Chad Tyree, and Johnny Tuck were in attendance.  The first item on the agenda was a discussion of the Rochester Ferry House. Chad Tyree provided a picture of the ferry house and a list of improvements that needed to be done to the house.

“The house needs gutters, windows, and the electric service needs to be upgraded,” said Tyree.

According to Tyree, the work can be down for around $3,500 to $4,000. Butler Judge-Executive David Fields stated that although Butler County could not require Ohio County to assist with the cost, but since the ferry is jointly owned and operated by both counties, he felt they (Ohio County) maybe willing to share the cost of repairing the ferry house.

David Whittinghill made a motion to table the repairs until Ohio County could be contacted. The motion passed 4-0.

Emergency Management Director Terry Hunt reported to the court the number of radios, portables, and repeaters needed to meet the FCC required updates. The total cost for the upgrade is $5,000.

Butler County Sheriff Scottie Ward addressed the court concerning the 2011 state advancement for the sheriff’s office.  According to Ward, he received conflicting information from the state and auditors as to the repayment of the state advancement.  The court approved an allotment of $23,987.64 to the sheriff’s department, which will be returned to the county in excess fees from the sheriff’s department.

The court approved litter abatement of $602 to the Butler County Middle School Girls basketball team. 

“They covered 6.2 miles, picked up 56 bags of trash, and a computer,” said Kim Phelps.

The final action was to approve the bills to date to be paid.