Fiscal court approves communication upgrades, paving requests for District 4
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 –– Nelson Fiscal Court held its final meeting of the fiscal year to take care of year-end housekeeping and approve projects related to road paving and communications.
District 2 Magistrate Sam Hutchins examines documents prior to the start of Tuesday’s special-called meeting of Nelson Fiscal Court.
The court quickly granted its approval of the final amendment to the Fiscal Year 2017 budget.
COMMUNICATIONS UPGRADES. The court approved a request to fund $13,000 in upgrades to the county’s public service communications infrastructure.
The upgrades include adding a repeater, antenna and needed equipment at a site in Bloomfield and linking it to existing radio towers in New Haven and Bardstown. The radio system will allow the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office to better communicate across the county, particularly in areas where coverage by radio and cellular phone is spotty.
LANDFILL COMPACTOR. The court, Solid Waste Coordinator John Greenwell and County Road Engineer Brad Spalding discussed finding the most cost-effective way the county can replace one of the compactors used in operating the county’s landfill.
One of the compactors caught on fire recently after a hydraulic hose burst, and it was a total loss. Greenwell is looking for leads on a used compactor that can be found at a good price.
Watts asked about compactors manufactured by Rex; used Rex compactors are available for less than half the price of other compactors.
Magistrate Keith Metcalfe and Judge Executive Dean Watts talk prior to the start of Tuesday’s meeting.
Rex no longer makes compactors, though they are still available on the used market. When repairs are needed, locating the necessary repair parts may be an issue, Spalding said. The diesel engines used in Rex compactors are also more expensive to rebuild, he said.
“If it was my own money, I wouldn’t buy that unit, I would buy Caterpillar,” Spalding said.
Greenwell said he will bring additional used equipment listings to the next fiscal court meeting.
DISTRICT 4 PAVING. District 4 Magistrate Jeff Lear presented road paving requests that totaled $213,490.
Lear’s road paving requests included the following roads:
– Cedar Grove Road from KY 523 to the county line, approximately 8,500 linear feet.
– Lynn Court, approximately 675 feet.
– King Road, from Whiteside Road to the county line, about 7,519 linear feet.
– Grigsby Lane, from Crenshaw lane to US31E.
– Walnut Creek subdivision roads to include Walnut Creek Drive, Holly Creek Court, North and South Coxs Creek Lane; Iron Creek Circle and Simmental Creek Ridge.
– Tom Walker Lane
– Thompson Hill Road.
Judge Executive Dean Watts said the funding to cover the costs included Lear’s $120,000 annual paving allocation and a discretionary fund the magistrates can request when their district paving needs go beyond the available funds.
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