Fiscal Court approves grant applications, talks 911 and county cleanup

Apr. 17—Grants were a hot topic this week for Pulaski County Fiscal Court.

On Tuesday, Emergency Management/911 Director Aaron Ross asked permission on behalf of the Somerset-Pulaski County Special Response Team to apply for a radio tower grant. SRT, he explained, is applying because it's the only local agency eligible but the tower will be owned by the county and can be used by all first-responding agencies. If awarded, the grant would be 100-percent funded without a needed match. Ross added that a tower location has yet to be determined.

As part of his departmental report, Ross also asked the court to approve a bid from Ridgenet for 911 radio consoles in the amount of $93,471.13 plus a monthly maintenance fee of $375. It will be partially funded through the county fire commission with other agencies hopefully contributing to split the cost.

The court also approved a state contract through AT&T for a hardware refresh of the 911 center's phone system, which would save the county an estimated $75,000 over five years. Ross stated that the 60-month state contract would cost $25,000 up front and $5,000 per month for a total of $325,000. Had the county replaced the system on its own, it would have cost $300,000 up front and $20,000 per year in maintenance — totaling $400,000 over five years.

"It's impossible for him to get what he needs flat out," County Treasurer Joan Isaacs told magistrates, explaining that the General Fund could not afford $300,000 up front. "911 unfortunately is a fund that struggles because it is fully funded by CMRS [the Kentucky Commercial Mobile Radio Service Board] money and of course, the fiscal court....With the phone system needing to be refreshed as it does, I think it's only prudent to do this because our citizens deserve the best."

District 4 Magistrate Mark Ranshaw, who expressed concern about the amounts, asked when the money would be needed. Ross responded the replacement would take place in June at the earliest — essentially hitting the next budget cycle.

Ross added that the state NextGen 911 plan will soon move local systems to a centrally-hosted system and the county would eventually have to pay for that connection if they opted to replace the equipment on their own. "In doing this [state contract], the company is doing that connection for us," he said.

Ranshaw ultimately made the motion, which was seconded by District 2 Magistrate Mike Wilson.

Magistrates also granted the Solid Waste and Recycling Department permission to apply for a state rubber-modified asphalt (RMA) grant for repavement of Bourbon Road.

Two years ago, the county was awarded $101,490 from Kentucky's Division of Waste Management to repave a mile of Thurman Road with rubber-modified asphalt made some 800 recycled tires. Both County Solid Waste Coordinator Danny Masten and District 1 Magistrate Jason Turpen reported the project has been a success.

"There's a little bit of color difference," Masten said. "It's held up really well especially with the traffic that's been across that road."

"I know when we first did it, there was a lot of positive feedback from the residents in that area," Pulaski County Judge-Executive Steve Kelley remarked, "so I'm hoping that we'll see more of this in the future."

During his departmental report, Masten noted that spring cleanup activities start next week.

Students participating in the Triple Bag Challenge have the whole week to collect at least three bags of roadway litter, post photos to social media with the tag #TripleBagChallenge, and have the opportunity to win cash prizes or gift cards. Masten urged local students to register either through his office, 677-0320, or through Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, 677-6150.

The Somerset-Pulaski County Clean Sweep will be held next Thursday to coincide with Earth Day. "It lines up really well for the community to get out and clean up," Masten said, "especially with that weekend being the [Somernites] car show."

That Saturday, April 24, will be the Lake Cumberland cleanup — called Operation Beautification — with 13 groups also scheduled to clean up county roads. The Pulaski County Regional Recycling Center will also be open that day for residents to drop off household hazardous waste in a drive-thru setting.

"This will be our biggest cleanup of Pulaski County in one specific time frame," Masten noted. "We'll have thousands of people out on the roadways next week...It should help go a long way in cleaning up what's not already being done by the jail crews and staff that are cleaning up our highways."

In the last grant-related item on the agenda, magistrates approved a Pulaski County CV-Utility Assistance resolution. Judge Kelley explained that the Lake Cumberland ADD (Area Development District) is administering a state CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) program that will provide COVID relief funds to families who have fallen behind on utility bills.

In other business, Fiscal Court:

—approved the transfer of Eugene Harness to the position of Operator following an executive session to discuss property and personnel. The move launches a search for a new County Road Supervisor.

—approved a resolution accepting Lantern Court into the county road inventory. Judge Kelley explained that the state had the 423-feet blacktopped road off Slate Branch in District 5 since the construction of Ky. 914 and wanted to transfer it to the county for maintenance.

—approved the 2021-22 County Road Aid cooperative agreement and resolution from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

—approved the surplus of an SRT comms truck known as Haz-Mat 3. Ross advised the court that the funds resulting from the sale would be applied toward equipment for the department.

—approved the hiring of Blake Turner to operate a District 5 mower.

—received the Pulaski County Soil Conservation District's annual work plan and budget.