Fiscal Court approves 2 percent pay increase for county employees

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, June 21, 2016, 7 p.m. — County employees will see a 2 percent across the board pay increase for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2016.

Magistrate Jeff Lear.

Nelson Fiscal Court approved the pay increase Tuesday morning at its regular meeting. The court also approved a new vendor for the county employees life insurance, dental and vision coverage, and short-term disability. Judge Executive Dean Watts said there will be no additional out-of-pocket costs to employees.

DRB CHANGES. The court approved first reading of an ordinance that will streamline the process to approve new commercial buildings in Nelson County.

The county’s commercial design standards require commercial buildings to submit site plans in order to insure new buildings meet the design guidelines.

Planning commission director Jan Johnston-Crowe said the approval process can take as long as a month and a half from the time an application is filed to its final approval. The changes will allow administrative approval of applications that meet the design standards.

The change will allow faster approval of applications that don’t really need to wait for the design review board’s approval. As an example, she noted that a drug store’s recent design review application met all necessary standards, but required the board to meet for fewer than five minutes for its approval.

The administrative reviews will be conducted by a panel of three that will include the planning commission director, the planning commission chair, and the mayor or county judge, or their representative.

Magistrate Jerry Hahn.

ALCOHOL PACKAGE SALES. The court approved first reading of an ordinance that will allow stores that sell alcohol by the package — retailers like liquor stores and minit marts — to begin sales at 6 a.m. on Sundays.

The change follows a similar move by the City of Bardstown. The change means the county ordinance will match state alcohol sales laws.

STATE ROAD MONEY. The court approved the county road aid agreement that paves the way for the county to receive $1.31 million in state road funds in the next fiscal year beginning July 1.

The money goes toward the repair and maintenance of county roads. Watts noted the amount is about $200,000 less that last year. The reduction is due to a drop in gas tax revenues, he told the court.

AMBULANCE ISSUES. EMS Director Joe Prewitt told the court that one of its ambulance was recently damaged by a fire that was contained to the engine compartment and cab areas. The main ambulance portion was not damaged, and Prewitt said that its possible re-use will be determined after the insurance company examines the claim.

Magistrate Keith Metcalfe.

Prewitt also told the court that one of its older ambulances had transmission problems, and finding a replacement required going out-of-state. Prewitt warned that other finding repair parts for its older ambulances is a growing problem.

NEW LANDFILL MANAGER. John Greenwell was introduced as the county’s new landfill manager and engineer. The existing landfill manager, Brad Spalding, will move to the position of county engineer in order to replace longtime county engineer Jim Lemieux, who is retiring later this year.

BOTLAND WEATHER SIREN. EMA director Joe Prewitt told the court that the new weather siren in Botland will be tested at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 29. The new siren does not rotate, and is significantly louder that existing sirens, he said.

In other business, the court:

— approved final reading on an amendment of the fiscal year 2015-16 budget;

— approved paving requests for Masden Lane, Tewell Creek Lane and North Drive;

— heard that the Justice Center’s geothermal cooling system is not working effectively and may require some additional cooling equipment. Lemieux told the court that cooling large buildings using geothermal wells can be difficult to accomplish effectively.

— heard a recommendation from Fifth District Magistrate Jerry Hahn to close Murphy Lane in the wake of the recent failure of the road surface. Lemeiux said the creek adjacent to the road has undercut the road, and repairing it will be difficult and expensive. No decision was made.

— held a closed executive session to discuss a proposal from a business or commercial entity. No action was taken.

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