BY MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
FOR GLASGOW NEWS 1
It may not come as a surprise to many here that Barren County ranks No. 1 in beef production in Kentucky, but according to a proclamation signed by Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd and read aloud during Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Barren County Fiscal Court, this county is also No. 1 east of the Mississippi River.
The document proclaiming May as Beef Month in this county states that the county has than 34,000 head of cattle, adding that “now more than ever, it is important to shop locally so we can continue to support local farmers and families to keep Barren County’s economy thriving.”
Nationally, beef is the largest agriculture industry, with the highest cash receipts, and Kentucky produced 727 million pounds of beef in 2022, valued at more than $1 billion, according to the proclamation.
Several members of the Barren County Cattlemen’s Association were present at the meeting and posed for photos with the members of the fiscal court.
Among the other announcements during the meeting, Byrd said that Gov. Andy Beshear is scheduled to be at the Barren County Family YMCA at 4:15 p.m. Thursday for some check presentations, including funding for improvements to the low-water ford on Ritter’s Mill Road.
She noted in addition that that bidding had begun in the county’s online-only surplus-property auction at the Mills Real Estate and Auction Co. website, and the auction closes at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Actions
The fiscal court also had another guest. Blake Williams, transportation engineering supervisor for maintenance activities for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in Barren, Edmonson and Metcalfe counties, announced that the county’s projected Rural Secondary Road Program allotment for the coming fiscal year is $1,731,619, with carryover from the prior year at a negative $152,642, making the total funds available $1,578,977.
Of that, $658,000 is set aside for routine maintenance and traffic provisions for the roughly 145.5 miles of rural secondary roads at $4,523 per mile. Resurfacing of 5.5 miles of Ky. 3179, also known as Oil Well Road, between its intersections with Ky. 87 and Ky. 1318 is the one specific project with monies set aside from this funding — $574,653, and the rest is budgeted as “flex funds” for projects to be identified later as needed.
The fiscal court unanimously voted to accept these funds as proposed.
Other action items as part of the departmental/committee progress reports and afterward included the following, with all members present and all votes unanimous for approval except where noted:
— the county monthly financial report, the county attorney’s monthly settlement report and the sheriff’s fee report, all for April and all subject to audit;
— all bids on roadwork supplies reviewed by the committee, even where there were two bids, so a backup would be available if one place happened to not have enough in stock;
— a $13,600 bid from Kevin Bradshaw Fencing for chain-link fencing around a portion of the exterior of the recently acquired property at East College and South Franklin streets, and a bid for $27,534 to coat the roof of what was referred to as Section A – the front area – of that same property with a 20-year warranty, from Omega Commercial Roofing;
— payment of claims as presented and transfer of funds;
— hiring of Brian Pickerel, full time at $60,000 per year, for marketing work, with about $15,000 of that from the county and the rest to be shared among the incorporated cities therein and Barren Inc., and hiring of Barry Garrett to work as needed doing maintenance at the Barren County Government Center for $25/hour, with both scheduled to begin July 3, just after the new fiscal year begins
— appointment of Brian Brown to the Barren County Ambulance Service Taxing District to finish the unexpired term of Jason Chenoweth;
— appointment of Dwayne Pierce, in a 5-2 vote, to the Property Valuation Administrator Appeals Board;
— a donation of $3,000 to the Barren River Area Child Advocacy Center;
— a donation of $15,000 to Cave City for construction of a pickle ball court as part of a public-private partnership;
— a donation of $7,500 to Park City to assist with cleaning up recently acquired property intended for an amphitheater;
— first reading of ordinance adopting updates to the administrative code;
— returning the regular meeting of the fiscal court to third Tuesdays of each month;
— authorizing application for a grant for video arraignment equipment for the jail;
— reimbursement of unspent litter abatement grant funds,
The agenda had called for a vote on the appointment of John London to fill the vacant position of constable for District 4, but Byrd said she had learned the vote was unnecessary, as she has the sole authority to make that appointment. London was sworn in at the conclusion of the meeting.
FYIs
Informational items mentioned as part of those reports included:
— The county clerk’s office executed 21 passport applications in April, the biggest month since they started offering the service in 2019, and County Clerk Helena Chase Birdwell said passport approvals from the federal government are taking longer right now – up to eight weeks, so she strongly encouraged potential travelers to plan ahead and allow extra time before getting their trips scheduled.
— Birdwell said voter turnout was 15 percent, or 5,034 voters.
— Jamie DeGroft, road supervisor, said the Road Department was able to finish, as of May 17, cleaning up all the debris in rights of way from the March 3 windstorm damage, with 489 loads of material. “Out of 53 business days, 44 of those days were spent cleaning trees up,” he said, including several trees that fell subsequent to the initial incident.. The department is about 75 percent finished with the first mowing cycle, amid other roadway maintenance activities.
— Parks and recreation director Chris Jennings said Mother Nature hadn’t been too kind in the past month, as the youth teams have had to cancel close to 100 games, but he and the rest of the staff are in the process of scheduling make-up days with an extension of the regular season. Even with that, gate and concession fees revenue was more than $22,000.
— Jailer Aaron Shirley said fee intake last month was $13,090.58, with 247 booked in and 272 released.
He cited April statistics for roadside trash pickup by inmates, followed by the year-to-date numbers of 755 miles of roadway, 5,750 bags of trash, 222 tires and 37 animal carcasses in 25,816 hours.
— The new communications system was being installed at the jail as he was speaking.
— The Transportation Committee changed its regular meeting time to 7:30 a.m. the third Monday of each month, and it’s looking into the possibility of having a fuel tank installed at the county road barn so personnel don’t have to go to Industrial Drive to get it, although that location could also be used when they’re closer to it. Magistrate Tim Coomer, who chairs the committee, said a rough estimate of that cost is $9,000 to $10,000, so options are still being explored, but he felt the county could recup that cost in a few years.
“That time traveling across town could be time spent on the roads,” Coomer said.
— He said the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is requesting that the county accepts maintenance responsibility for a portion of what is now Ky. 90 east of Glasgow that will essentially be bypassed by new road construction. He said they’ll need to make that decision in the next month or two.
The fiscal court’s next meeting is at 9 a.m. June 20 in Fiscal Court Chambers on the third floor of the Barren County Government Center, 117 N. Public Square, Glasgow.
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