BY MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
GLASGOW NEWS 1
Barren County Fiscal Court heard a presentation from a potential fleet management vendor on Tuesday morning relatively early its special-called meeting.
Chuck Hill said that approximately two and a half years ago, General Motors approached Bachman Chevrolet, one of three dealers across the nation, about offering a “total fleet management solution.”
Bachman Business Solutions offers a three-pronged approach to vehicle fleet management, he said, and he emphasized that a customer could take part in all of it or one or more portions of it. Cycling – or rotating vehicles in and out of the fleet on an organized schedule, was the first prong. Telematics, which monitors what’s happening with the vehicle from when it needs an oil change to tracking its location, was the next. And leasing with a possible managed maintenance program was the final prong.
He spoke for about 10 minutes about the advantages of their program and answered a few questions, after which Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd said, “We’ll be in touch.”
Other than this presentation, a wide host of topics were covered during the fiscal court’s first “actual” meeting this year, as the judge-executive put it, referring to the full agenda. It had been postponed from the regular meeting date of Jan. 17, making it their third special-called meeting, to allow more time for certain records to be prepared.
Many of the items were relatively routine matters that are addressed on a monthly basis or needed to be included at the beginning an administration with a new judge-executive. For example, approval of the monthly financial statement, quarterly reports, payment of claims and transfer of funds, and the annual maximum amount to be used for the county clerk’s – though there was some confusion and discussion on this one — and the sheriff’s staff members.
Garland GIlliam, emergency management director, listens during Tuesday morning’s Barren County Fiscal Court meeting. During the meeting, he was approved to serve as the judge-executive’s proxy on the board of directors for Barren-Metcalfe Emergency Medical Services, where he had worked since 2008 before accepting his current position. MELINDA J. OVERSTREET / GLASGOW NEWS 1
Multiple appointments were made, starting with Wes Kinslow as a member of the Special Barren County Ambulance Taxing District board of directors, to finish the term of Ann Christie, who had resigned. Byrd told members of the media after the meeting that Kinslow is chief of the South Barren Volunteer Fire Department, so the appointment had no connection with his being Magistrate Marty Kinslow’s son.
“Wes has extensive experience in emergency services,” she said, adding that he also does a lot in the community.
Byrd appointed Garland Gilliam, the newly hired emergency management director, as her proxy to serve on the board of directors for Ambulance Service Corp., which does business as Barren-Metcalfe Emergency Medical Services. Gilliam is a critical-care paramedic who had worked for the ambulance service since 2008, leaving the position to which he’d climbed there as assistant director/chief operations officer to accept the role with Glasgow-Barren County Emergency Management.
Byrd also has a seat on the 911 governing board for the Barren-Metcalfe Emergency Communications Center by virtue of the office, and the fiscal court has another seat as well. Byrd appointed Magistrate Ronnie Stinson, who is chief of Park City’s volunteer fire department, to serve with her there.
Magistrate Tim Coomer, who chairs the Transportation Committee, explained and the fiscal court subsequently voted on several items the committee had discussed at its meeting earlier in the morning. That information will be reported separately by Glasgow News 1.
Chris Jennings, the new parks and recreation director for Barren County, announces at the conclusion of Tuesday’s Barren County Fiscal Court meeting that he has planned a meeting for the general public so he can introduce himself to members of the community and answer questions about upcoming programming. That meeting is at 5 p.m. Feb. 1 in Fiscal Court Chambers on the third floor of the Barren County Government Center. MELINDA J. OVERSTREET / GLASGOW NEWS 1
The fiscal court also was in closed session for approximately 35 to 40 minutes with regard to possible litigation. No action in relation to that was taken once the open session resumed.
When provided the opportunity for closing remarks, Chris Jennings, the county’s new parks and recreation director, announced that he has planned a public meeting to take place at 5 p.m. Feb. 1 there in Fiscal Court Chambers on the third floor of the Barren County Government Center.
He said the purpose for the meeting was for him to introduce himself and answer questions there may be regarding, for example, plans for the spring league and for Jackie Browning Park.
Byrd said they have some big things coming and they want to continue having a strong parks and recreation program and wanted to seek input as well.
All members present at the meeting, and all votes taken were unanimous.
Possible open meetings violation
Glasgow News 1 told Byrd after the meeting about a concern that the Kentucky Open Meetings Act was violated. A few items on which the fiscal court voted had not been on the agenda distributed before the required 24 hours prior to a scheduled special meeting time. A later agenda sent to media Monday evening – a little more than 12 hours prior – included two new items that were adopted as part of the orders of the day at the beginning of the meeting, and two other items were introduced and approved in the course of the meeting.
Byrd agreed right away to add those items to the agenda for a special meeting anticipated for early next week to be redone, to ensure the votes are proper. None of the items – including the one to change the fiscal court meeting date to fourth Tuesdays of the month rather than third Tuesdays — were of such an urgent nature that they couldn’t wait until then.
The meeting next week was going to be to take care of some financial items that could not be prepared in time for Tuesday’s meeting due to an unexpected transition from one county treasurer to another.
NOTE: An incorrect sentence regarding the judge-executive’s role with the Ambulance Service Corp. board has been removed from the original posting.
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