By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 — The county’s Bulky Item Pickup broke a record in the amount of items it collected this year — 7,196 cubic yards, according to Solid Waste Coordinator John Greenwell.
The overall disposal cost this year — not including tires — was $60,717, which is the highest cost for the pickup since $61,451 in 2017.
Thanks to favorable weather and the work of the inmate crews from the Nelson County Correctional Center, the pickup finished a day early, Greenwell said.
The court agreed the Nelson County Landfill will continue to offer free access to county residents as part of bulky item pickup through Saturday, April 25, 2026.
DISPATCH SOFTWARE DEBATE. Nelson Fiscal Court approved paying for a “bridge” that will connect the Nelson County Dispatch Center’s new dispatch software with the archived data it has stored from a different software vendor. That vendor — Central Square — has years of call data and other sheriff’s office records archived.
As of yet, the new software has yet to be able to access the Central Square data archives.
The data includes years worth of information that includes officer’s responses to calls for service; vehicle maintenance logs; and internal files related to work by the department’s officers and detectives.
The discussion by Fiscal Court led to revelations that the dispatch software vendor, 10-8, has yet to live up to its promises to meet the needs of the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office.
Magistrate Keith Metcalfe reminded the court that in its motion to approve the purchase of 10-8’s dispatch software, that motion included a deadline for the company to have the sheriff’s office issues resolved.
Sheriff Ramon Pineiroa told the court that has yet to happen. Pineiroa said he had no issue with Judge-Executive Tim Hutchins or Fiscal Court — his issue is with 10-8 to follow through with what it promised.
The contract the court approved to purchase 10-8’s dispatch software apparently did not include the deadline regarding the sheriff’s office data issues. Right now, the sheriff’s office is still relying on the old software.
The sheriff’s office has a maintenance contract with Central Square that expires later this year. If 10-8 fails to accommodate the sheriff’s office needs by then, the county will need to pay for another year’s maintenance to continue to access its data on the Central Square server.
When the court first looked at 10-8’s proposal for dispatch software, Pineiroa spoke up and said the software did not meet the sheriff’s office needs at the time, which is why the court included a deadline for the company to complete its work.
According to Brad Metcalf, the county’s emergency management director, the “bridge” 10-8 proposes will link 10-8’s software with Central Square. The company said they will have the work completed in 60 days.
Fiscal Court approved the $7,820 contract for the bridge, which is designed to be a temporary fix, Metcalf told the court.
Dispatch Director Shawn Gaither had some harsh words for the court over the court’s decision-making process regarding its purchase of the software that directly impacts the center and the employees he oversees.
“We needed a new CAD (Computer Assisted Dispatch software) but 10-8 didn’t meet all of the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office needs.”
As dispatch director, “I should have been included all of those discussions,” he said of the meetings about the selection of the dispatch software. He described being left out of the decision-making process as “a slap in the face.”
Despite the promises of the software vendor — and Fiscal Court’s deadline it imposed when it approved the purchase — the company has yet to meet the sheriff’s office needs. The “bridge” the court approved to pay for is a temporary fix.
WOODLAWN SPRINGS REZONING APPEAL. After an executive session, Judge Hutchins and the magistrates began a discussion or what action they wished to take after Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms ruled against Fiscal Court’s decision in a 2025 rezoning case regarding property in the Woodlawn Springs subdivision.
The recommendation for the rezoning was approved by the planning commision, and Fiscal Court was petitioned to review the commission’s approval.
Fiscal Court reviewed the commission’s data and voted denied the rezoning request in a 3-2 vote. The appeal of that decision involved doing so in Nelson Circuit Court.
Judge Simms ruled against Fiscal Court’s decision to deny the rezoning, leaving Fiscal Court with two courses of action.
The first was to appeal Simms’ ruling to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The second option was for Fiscal Court to reconsider the matter, and to conduct its own public hearing and accept new testimony and data regarding the rezoning request.
Magistrate Jeff Lear suggested the court conduct a new public hearing to determine if there was new evidence available in regard to the zoning request. After discussion, the court voted unanimously to move forward with a full public hearing on the matter. A date for the hearing has not been set.
In other business, the court —
- approved a resolution regarding the county funding transportation for non-public school children. The state has reimbursed the county for up to 100 percent of those costs for the past several years.
- voted to reject the single bid the county received for the old library building on court square. The county received one bid of $500,000 for the property, which is less than half of what had been anticipated. Hutchins said he will working to market the property and find a suitable buyer.
- voted to expand the Nelson County Airport Board from six to 10 members, with two new members appointed by city and two appointed by county government. The magistrates voted to appoint Rick Pfost to a two-year term and David Whalen Clark to a four-year term on the air board.
- approved appointment of Wayne Clark to the tax assessment appeals board.
- announced a low bid of $312,736.50 from Hale Contracting, a subsidiary of Mago, for grading work for Lot 1 in the Nelson County Industrial Park. The court will take up awarding the bid at a future meeting.
- approved a proclamation regarding Child Abuse Awareness Month.
NEXT UP. Nelson Fiscal Court next meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in the second floor meeting room of the Old Courthouse.
-30-
