Council hears benefits of needle exchange program, approves pay scales
Councilman Roland Williams, at right, listens while Lincoln Trail Health Department director of public health Sara Jo Best discusses the presentation she was going to give at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, 12:15 a.m. — Kentucky leads the nation in the number of new Hepatitis C infections, and Nelson County’s infection rate is the second highest among the eight counties in the Lincoln Trail Area Development District.
Sara Joe Best answers questions regarding her presentation that explained the benefits to public health that needle and syringe exchange programs offer to communities.
The increase, according to a presentation by Lincoln Trail Health Department representatives at Tuesday’s city council meeting, can be attributed to the spread of blood-bourne pathogens by the sharing of needles and syringes by intravenous drug users.
Reducing the spread of disease is the goal of needle and syringe exchange programs, according to Sara Jo Best, the Lincoln Trail Health Department director of public health.
Best’s presentation was not a proposal, but simply an effort to educate the council about the health benefits a needle exchange program can be to a population that is at extreme risk of spreading blood-borne diseases.
Syringe and needle exchange programs do not encourage illegal drug use or increase the number of drug users, she said. The programs are often the first contact that addicts may have with an agency that can help them find treatment and other needed social services.
Seventy-four counties in Kentucky are in some phase of the approval or education process now, and 12 counties already have exchange programs in operation.
The benefits to the community are numerous, she explained. The exchange program eliminates reuse of dirty needles and syringes and stops the spread of communicable disease. A dollar spent in prevention translates into $7 saved on HIV treatment alone, she said.
“It meets people where they are, and gives them access to help when they are ready.”
Councilman Bobby Simpson reviews documents on his iPad during Tuesday’s council meeting.
CITY EMPLOYEE PAY RANGES. The council gave final approve of the city’s classification and compensation plan, which establishes the pay grades for every job title, and the pay range for each grade. Annual salaries are based on a 40-hour work week.
The lowest pay grade — 101 — has a pay range of $23,168 to $34,752 annually, or $11.14 to $16.71 per hour. Only three job titles are in this lowest pay range — janitor (part-time), Sanitation Work I, and Lake Patrol (part-time).
The highest pay grade — 130 — has a pay range of $95,363 to $143,044. There are no city employees receiving this pay grade currently.
The highest current employee listed in the document is that of Director of Public Works & Engineering, whose job’s pay grade is 128, covering a range of $86,497 to $129,746 annual. This position is exempt one that receives no overtime pay.
Other job titles at the upper end of the pay ranges include Grade 126 for City Electrical Engineer, $78,455 to 117,683 annual salary; Grade 125 for City Civil Engineer, $74,719 to $112,079 annual salary; Grade 123, Systems Engineer, $67,773 to 101,659 annual salary; Grade 122, Human Resources Director, Chief Financial Officer and Electrical Superintendent, $64,545 to $96,818 annual salary; and Grade 121, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Superintendent of Public Works, and Cable Superintendent, $61,472 to $92,208 annual salary.
HISTORIC REVIEW BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS. The council approved the Historic Review Board’s recommendations on the following certificates of appropriateness:
COA -16-55. Wanda Green applicant/owner, 211 East Flaget Ave. Approval of landscape plan with conditions.
COA -16-59. Mary Carey, applicant/owner, 116 North Third St. Approval to paint a mural at the rear of the building.
COA-16-61. Caitlin Ballard, owner/applicant. Approval to paint the fence a cream color.
COA-16-64. Karen Brewer, applicant, C. Paul McCoy, owner, 208 North Third St., approval for new signage and to paint the front of the store.
COA-16-65. Vance and Cheryl Marquis, applicants/owners, 415 North Third St., approval to remove the existing sidewalk and replace it with the approved design.
COA-16-67 Eric Cecil, applicant, Paul McCoy, owner, 210 North Third St., approval of new signage and an A-frame sign.
COA-16-68 Tom Durbin, applicant, Ms. Hurst, owner, 104 East Broadway St., approval to add a screened-in porch.
COA-16-71 Buddy Gulden, applicant, Pikey Conway, owner, 226 North Third St., approval to install a temporary tent at the rear of the property until Oct. 31, 2016.
COA-16-73 Jim Kelley Applicant/Owner, 101-103 West Stephen Foster Ave., approval to paint the west-facing wall and install signage.
COA-16-74, 75, 76, 77, 78 and 83. Mr. and Mrs. Lance Blanford, applicants/owners, 402 North Third St., approval to: remove a tree at the rear of the property if required during foundation work (with preservation coordinator approval); remove a tree at the front of the property; paint stucco fence, brick and wooden fence; paint the front door black; add a glass storm door to the front entrance; and add lava rock landscaping.
In other business, the council:
— approved a request for a $1,000 donation from the Bardstown Mainstreet Program. The donation will come out of the city council’s contingency fund.
— approved a zoning regulation amendment to put back in a list of dimensions and area requirements that were inadvertently left out when the regulations were reformatted.
— approve an ordinance that allows the city to claim the 911 fee within the city limits that was recently enacted by Nelson Fiscal Court.
— authorized the mayor to sign an annexation agreement for the land where the new Luxco distillery is locating on KY 245.
— approved revisions to the city’s cemetery monument guide.
NEXT UP. The Bardstown City Council’s next meeting is its working session set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2016. The meeting is open to the public.
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