WHITLEY CITY —
Last Tuesday’s meeting of McCreary County Fiscal Court was marked not by a particular vote but by discussions not resulting in action.
Issues at the local jail were discussed throughout the session, starting with citizen participation from Daniel Lay, who acknowledged a recent stay at the McCreary County Detention Center, and urged court members to tour the facility and see the poor conditions for themselves.
“As for the old part, I wouldn’t keep animals there,” Lay said.
He also alleged that it was difficult to obtain medical treatment and complained about booking fees.
“McCreary County is a poor place and you make inmates pay for staying at the jail,” Lay said. “They can’t pay their fines; that’s why they’re there.”
Jailer Tony Ball disputed claims that the jail was unclean although he acknowledged that the facility needs paint and plumbing improvements. Ball also noted that a nurse visits the jail “once or twice a week.”
The matter came up again when Ball formally asked the court to vote on staff uniforms as well as inmate clothing. While providing for the inmates is required by Kentucky statute, the staff uniforms (which would cost $2,448 in total) were also important to the jailer.
“It gets me when other counties come in and we are in plain clothes,” Ball said, adding that he had turned over booking and commissary funds to cover the cost.
Judge-Executive Doug Stephens noted that, while the clothing has been budgeted, the jail fund is already in the hole.
“We have to wait until we have the money,” Stephens said.
Deputy Judge Andrew Powell added that the county is waiting on word from the Kentucky Department of Corrections, which is supposed to prioritize what must be fixed first. Powell assured Ball that the funds he had turned over have not been deposited or spent elsewhere.
In other news, the court had been prepared to vote on an agreement between the county and the McCreary County Housing Commission.
The agreement stemmed from the January meeting, which PVA Bruce Lominac informed the court that the housing authority, located in Pine Knot, had made a payment in lieu of taxes of $3,148 when it should have paid $12,000.
The PILT agreement had been signed by the county in February 1965 and while Lominac didn’t object to the agreement itself, he noted that the payment had been made based on incorrect tax rates.
At the time, Lominac believed that the authority was listed as a for-profit business but last week, Stephens told the court that the commission had been established in the 1960s as a quasi-governmental agency.
The judge explained that in exchange for PILT payments, the county had been charged with maintaining the site’s roads and utilities — something the county failed to do in the ensuing years.
Judge Stephens presented the court with a new agreement in which the county would not seek property taxes and the housing authority would not seek maintenance claims. While he called the agreement a “win-win,” Magistrate Roger Phillips questioned whether the site was getting a “better break” than similar establishments.
Lominac noted that Frankfort would have to approve the property as exempt, so final approval of the new agreement was tabled.
The next meeting of McCreary County Fiscal Court will be held November 13 at 5 p.m.
Local News
Fiscal court hears jail, property tax concerns
Agreement with housing authority tabled
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