Nelson Fiscal Court reviews snow removal, holiday garbage collection, road repairs
The members of Nelson Fiscal Court listen to reports from department heads during Tuesday morning’s court meeting.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2016, 3 p.m. — Nelson Fiscal Court officially approved Dean Watts’ decision to name solid waste director Brad Spalding as the new county engineer. The court approved Spalding’s appointment at Tuesday’s Nelson Fiscal Court meeting.
He replaces former county engineer Jim Lemieux who recently retired. Lemieux was honored for his years of service to the county at last month’s fiscal court meeting.
ROADS REPAIRED. Murphy Lane and Green Chapel Roads are both open to traffic once again after both were closed for several months following a failure of the surface of both roads. Murphy Lane still needs asphalt paving, which may not come until warmer weather due to the asphalt plant shutting down due to cold weather conditions.
Spalding said that if asphalt is available during a break in the weather, he will try to get a layer of asphalt on the repaired area on Murphy Lane.
EMS RECORD RUNS MONDAY. The county-owned EMS ambulance service had its busiest day of the calendar year on Monday, EMS Director Joe Prewitt told the court.
The service had 43 calls for service with four ambulances. That total included 12 non-emergency transfers from Flaget Memorial Hospital to other hospitals and facilities, and two emergency transfers. The service also responded to four calls for drug overdoses.
Prewitt praised the EMS crews for their hard work keeping up with the calls for service and for completing the transfers, which are time-consuming due to travel time.
HOLIDAY GARBAGE PICKUP. There are no changes to the county’s garbage pickup schedule this week and Dec. 26-30, Spalding told the court. The landfill will be closed on Saturday, Christmas Eve, but will be open on its regular schedule Saturday, Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve.
SNOW REMOVAL PRIORITY. Spalding gave the court the county’s snow removal plan for the community months.
He noted that most major roads in the county are state roads and the state is responsible for salting and snow removal.
On county-maintained roads, crews will apply a 2-to-1 mixture of sand and salt depending on the temperature. Salt alone is used on hills and curves and straight stretches as required.
PAVED ROADS: Roads will be plowed when required – typically when snow is 2 inches deep or more.
CHIP SEAL ROADS. Roads plowed when snow is 2 to 2-1/2 inches deep.
GRAVEL ROADS. Roads plowed with snow is deeper than 4 inches.
Spalding said that the state recently released its map showing the priorities it will have for snow removal this year, noting that the priority of some roads may have changed. Updates to the state’s map for Nelson County snow/ice removal can be found here (a new window will open).
In other business, Nelson Fiscal Court:
— approved a resolution recognizing the Nelson County Property Valuation Administrator’s office work required to invoice the county’s new E-911 fee on property tax bills. In exchange for the work — valued at $4,410 — the county assigned the PVA office a used county-owned pickup truck for their use. Fiscal court will maintain ownership and maintenance on the truck.
— approved the Nelson County Clerk’s budget, including an overall cap on clerk’s office salaries and benefits of about $648,000. The budget allows room for raises but does not guaranteed them, Nelson County Clerk Elaine Filiatreau told the court.
NEXT UP. Nelson Fiscal Court’s next regular meeting is 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017.
-30-
