Lawrence County Fiscal Court Gets Fiscal…
By Susan Salyer
On Tuesday August 16th, 2022 the Lawrence County Fiscal Court held a
Regularly Scheduled Monthly Meeting at the Lawrence County Courthouse at
10:00AM at the upstairs courtroom. LC Judge Executive Phil Carter was in attendance along with LC Magistrates John Scaggs, Mouse Halcomb, Rick Blackburn and David Pinson. LC Attorney Brad Derifield, LC Clerk Chris Jobe and Deputy Clerk Crystal Smith were also in attendance along with County Surveyor Mike Shapaka.
AGENDA
1. Opening Prayer
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Call Meeting to Order
4. Approve Minutes of the July 19th Regular Meeting – Motion by Rick Blackburn 2nd by David Pinson. No discussion. None opposed.
5. Approve Minutes of the July 28th Special Meeting – Motion by Mouse Halcomb 2nd by John Scaggs. No discussion. None opposed.
6. Approve Treasurers 21/22 Settlement – Motion by Rick Blackburn 2nd by David Pinson. No discussion. None opposed.
7. Approve Bills – Motion by Mouse Halcomb 2nd by John Scaggs. No discussion. None opposed.
8. Accept Treasurer’s Report – Motion by Rick Blackburn 2nd by Mouse Halcomb. No discussion. None opposed.
9. Approve 1st Reading of Budget Amendment #1 – Motion by David Pinson 2nd by Mouse Halcomb. No discussion. None opposed.
10. Approve Tourism Budget – Tabled, Motion by Rick Blackburn 2nd by Mouse Halcomb. Discussion from LC Tourism Chairman Wes Kingsmore and LC Clerk Chris Jobe about Budget for LC Tourism getting completed by Monday August 22, 2022. The tourism budget must me balanced before county is eligible for a $43,000 grant. Tourism Treasurer Brenda Hardwick said at this week’s Tourism Commission meeting that the commission is actually in the black by at least $15,000, but the expenditures and deposits have not been reconciled in the books so members are currently in the process of doing that and the grant should be good.
11. Approve Resolution for CDBG/CD Grant – Motion by Rick Blackburn 2nd by Mouse Halcomb. No amount given. Discussion by Deputy Judge Vince Doty. None opposed
12. Approve Donation for Bicentennial Septemberfest – Discussion from Deputy Judge Vince Doty who said “The County usually donates $2,000-$3,000 for Septemberfest, this year Septemberfest has some Big Headliners and is requesting $5,000 donation from Lawrence County Fiscal Court. Motion by John Scaggs, 2nd by Rick Blackburn. None opposed.
13. Approve Payment Agreement on Guardianship Evaluations – Deputy Judge Vince Doty and LC Attorney Brad Derifield discussed some of the payments are from 2019. The total was $12,400 payable to Pathways. Motion by David Pinson 2nd by Rick Blackburn.
14. Public Comments – Judge Phil Carter said, “Patriot has taken over HealthNet Ambulance Service.” He did not give a reason for the switch or if the county has to approve the new service which is out of Ironton, Ohio. Lazer staff reached out to Patriot EMS for comment, no comment has been received at time of published story. We found this on the Patriot FB page:
The vision, mission and values of Patriot EMS are not simply words; they are a direction we strive for in all our activities.”
Also…
Lawrence Co. Schools chief Rob Fletcher was in attendance to announce that the BOE has used the “compensating rate” for taxes which means no raise this year. He also said earlier this week that the schools are making progress with all the high school home activities now on internet, for a fee of $175 you can watch all the home games in all sports commentated by local radio personality Wendall Feltner. (The Lazer has asked for access to the channel as taxpayers but received no reply). Fletcher also mentioned the astroturf being added for all the playing fields and other improvements the school system is making…
Also…
Tourism chairman Wes Kingsmore addressed the court and reported on progress on the $43,000 state grant. “We’re going to have the budget done by next Monday,” he said. “We are also carrying on our other efforts at the same time.”
15. Adjourn- Motion by David Pinson 2nd by Mouse Halcomb.
We will add a comment from Patriot (when we get one) and explain the CDBG grant later today.
Robbie Fletcher, what about the Track? I don’t think anything has been done to it since the early 2000’s
.01% raise for the teachers (what a joke) but more importantly we get new turf. Sounds about right……….
As a parent of an athlete who has played on both turf and grass, there will be more injuries on turf. It’s extremely hot too. We have beautiful grass fields. I will never understand the obsession with turf.