Two Boyd commissioners bid farewell
Dec. 13—CATLETTSBURG — Two commissioners sang their swan song Tuesday afternoon at their last meeting as a commissioner of the Boyd County Fiscal Court — at least until the next term.
Come January, Jeremy Holbrook and David Salisbury will be replacing commissioners Larry Brown and Keith Watts, respectively. Holbrook, a Republican, beat Brown in the general election, while Salisbury narrowly defeated Watts in the Republican primary before resoundingly winning the general.
At Tuesday's light meeting, Judge-Executive Eric Chaney reviewed the last four years of the commission, praising the strides in economic development and the responses to COVID-19, the Great Ice Storm of 2021 and the subsequent flooding that followed.
Watts said it was a "quick four years" with all that happened over their tenure.
"The things we did will carry over for the next several years," Watts said. "It wasn't about the title for me, it was about taking care of the county. We made mistakes, but we had successes. I think if it wasn't for the alcohol vote, we wouldn't have Camp Landing or Revolutionary Racing."
Brown said he felt like the vision of the court was carried out over the last four years and most of the goals were achieved — he chalked much of that up to the employees of the county government.
"These employees care about you, the residents of Boyd County," Brown said. "When you're home in your cozy, warm home during an ice storm, they're out there working for you. They are second to none in this state."
Commissioner Randy Stapleton, who will be returning in 2023 after running unopposed, said there "will be big shoes to fill to keep this moving."
Chaney told Salisbury and Holbrook, who were sitting in the gallery, to be prepared come January to hit the ground running.
"We will be getting straight to work. It's going to be a packed agenda," Chaney said.
Here are some other highlights from the meeting:
—The fiscal court voted unanimously to adopt South Commerce Drive back into the county road system. The road, located in East Park, was donated to then-Braidy Industries, but is to be transferred back to the county by the successor company Aluminum Dynamics.
—The fiscal court voted unanimously to open a bank account for forthcoming opioid settlement monies, to perform a traffic study on Princess Drive for speed control measures, to put out to bid an automatic transfer switch for a generator at the road department and to approve the 2023 employee holiday schedule.
—Videographer Zach Daniels's cell phone went off in the middle of the meeting. At first, everyone looked at Stapleton, who is renowned for his cell phone ringing during proceedings. However, since it was not James Brown's "I Feel Good," the phone was obviously not Stapleton's. Daniels confessed to it being his phone, to which Chaney replied, "We almost went four years without your phone going off."
(606) 326-2653 — henry@dailyindependent.com
