Court paves way for road funds; cuts speed limit on South St. Gregory Church Road
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 — Nelson Fiscal Court approved agreements with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet that will net the county a total of $1.43 million in money for maintenance of the county’s roads.
The court unanimously approved signing the County Road Aid agreement, which will provide the county with three disbursements of totaling approximately $1.34 million. The second agreement the court approved provides an additional $143,728 for maintenance in unincorporated urban areas of the county.
The money comes from the county’s share of the gas tax, which provides funding to the counties for maintenance of their roads and bridges.
COMMUNITY CLINIC. Margaret Neal, director of the Community Clinic, provided Fiscal Court with an update on the clinic’s services to the disabled and working poor.
The clinic offers free medical care and dental services for those who qualify, Neal explained.
After the implementation of Obamacare, the need for free medical services declined. However the need for the clinic’s dental services continues to grow, Neal explained.
The clinic is funded by donations and largely staffed by volunteers. The clinic recieves about $400,000 in drug donations from pharmaceutical companies.
ANIMAL SHELTER. Watts told the court that he has interviewed several individuals for new county-funded jobs at the Nelson County Animal Shelter. The local humane society did not want to renew its contract with the county to operate the shelter.
The county will hire one full-time and two part-time employees to operate the shelter in addition to the current animal control officer.
Watts said he hopes to hire the employees by the end of May.
JOINT CITY-COUNTY AIR BOARD. Watts told the court that the joint city-county air board was being expanded from six members to 10, with the city and county each appointing two additional members.
The goal is to get what Watts explained is “new blood and enthusiasm” to the board.
The court approved appointing Tim Filiatreau and Kerry Pulliam to the air board as the county’s new appointees.
SPEED LIMIT REDUCED. The court approved a request to reduce the speed limit on South St. Gregory Church Road from 35 mph to 25 mph for the road’s entire length.
According to Lee Mattingly, the assistant road supervisor, a congested nine-tenths section of the road has 45 entrances and four sharp turns. The speed reduction is aimed at improving safety.
BULKY ITEM PICKUP. The pickup continues to collect bulky items in the county’s third pickup area, which includes the northwestern quadrant of the county north of the Bluegrass Parkway and west of the new US31E north of Bardstown.
According to John Greenwell, the county’s solid waste coordinator, the seventh week of the pickup collection is running close to the same level as last year. The county saw a significant increase in the number of tires picked us so far — 7,335 versus 5,005 tires at the same time in 2018.
While the pickup is under way, county residents can still haul their own bulky items to the landfill and dump them at no charge.
Garbage routes in both the City of Bardstown and in the county will run on schedule on Good Friday.
In other business, the court:
— accepted the County Cooperative Extension Service budget for 2019-20. The extension service is largely funded by local tax dollars. The expected income from local taxes for 2019-20 is $380,101.
— scheduled a special Fiscal Court meeting for 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 30, 2019 to review the proposed 2019-2020 county budget.
— approved the purchase of new uniforms for the Nelson County Jail employees at a cost of $8,431 for shirts, pants and belts.
— approved a request to extend the county’s contract with Joe Boone to provide cover dirt for the county landfill.
— heard that a state meeting on the revisions of US150 between Parkway Drive and the county line is set for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at Parkway Baptist Church. The meeting is open to the public.
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