[9:40] And um

[9:42] we don't have a lengthy agenda,

[9:46] but we will need executive session.

[9:49] And uh that's mine. Thank you. I'd like

[9:52] to ask everyone to turn their phones on

[9:54] silent or turn them off. And uh at this

[9:58] time I would like to ask Kilman if he

[10:00] Kilman you would you like to do the

[10:01] invocation for us?

[10:04] >> Come on up Hillman. We'd like to ask

[10:05] former magistrate Hilman Dots if he'd

[10:07] come up here and do the invocation for

[10:08] us.

[10:18] Let's bow our heads please.

[10:21] Our most gracious and heavenly father,

[10:26] we are in your presence tonight, Lord.

[10:28] And we ask that you go with this court

[10:32] and bless them, Lord, and give them the

[10:35] knowledge that they need to make wise

[10:38] decision for our county.

[10:40] Lord, we just pray for this county. We

[10:42] pray for our country.

[10:45] And we pray for all our employees that

[10:48] work each day, Lord, to provide us with

[10:51] safe

[10:53] and good things that we need we need in

[10:56] our county.

[10:59] Father, we just thank you so much that

[11:03] you are our leader and our guide. We ask

[11:07] you to teach us, Lord, to love one

[11:10] another like you loved us.

[11:13] Regardless, Father, of what political

[11:17] side you're on,

[11:19] we ask you to teach us to love,

[11:22] not hate. As get us away from fighting

[11:26] our neighbors and our families, Lord,

[11:28] over this political world, Lord, and

[11:31] bring us back together to where we can

[11:33] work and benefit through you, Lord. And

[11:37] without you, we can do anything,

[11:41] Lord. And we just thank you for the

[11:43] opportunity you've gave us tonight to

[11:46] come and see what we are looking at in

[11:50] our county, Lord. And we pray that you'd

[11:52] just be with us and bless us and look

[11:54] over us. We ask all this in your name.

[11:57] Amen.

[11:57] >> Amen.

[11:59] >> Madam clerk, please call the role.

[12:01] >> Judge Jones,

[12:01] >> present.

[12:02] >> Commissioner Scott,

[12:03] >> present.

[12:03] >> Commissioner Atkins,

[12:04] >> present.

[12:04] >> Commissioner Lewis,

[12:05] >> present.

[12:06] >> We have Corum. We are ready to proceed.

[12:09] Uh, I'd like to ask Greg Fan if he'd

[12:11] lead us in the pledge of

[12:12] >> allegiance.

[12:18] To the flag of the United States of

[12:20] America, to the republic for it stands,

[12:25] one nation under God, indivisible, with

[12:28] liberty and justice for all.

[12:36] Is there a motion to approve the minutes

[12:38] of the September 18th meeting?

[12:41] >> Motion.

[12:43] >> A motion. Is there a second?

[12:45] >> Second.

[12:46] >> Motion second by Commissioner Atkins.

[12:48] Madam Cler, please call the role.

[12:50] >> Commissioner Scott,

[12:51] >> yes.

[12:52] >> Commissioner Atkins, yes.

[12:53] >> Commissioner Lewis,

[12:54] >> yes.

[12:54] >> Judge Jones,

[12:55] >> yes. Uh at this time, the next item is

[12:59] the adoption of resolution approving the

[13:00] execution of the rural secondary program

[13:02] agreement between the fiscal court and

[13:04] the transportation cabinet department of

[13:06] rural municipal aid accepting all roads

[13:08] and streets referred to there and as

[13:09] being part of the county road system.

[13:12] Um,

[13:14] I'm not sure that last part is needed,

[13:16] but anyway, Vince, would you and Lindsay

[13:19] like to come up and uh address the court

[13:23] and u

[13:30] if you would just introduce yourself so

[13:32] that way the public that's watching will

[13:34] know who u

[13:36] who's here and what you're doing.

[13:40] I

[13:41] >> guess it's on.

[13:43] I'm Vince Hayes. I'm the pipewell

[13:45] section engineer for KYTC District 12

[13:48] here in Pike County. We Lindsay Lockhart

[13:51] and I oversee construction and

[13:53] maintenance of our road our state

[13:54] roadways

[13:56] uh here in Pike County. Um and I'll let

[13:59] Lindsay introduce herself and kind of go

[14:01] into the program and why we had a sort

[14:04] of a delay. This usually comes out in

[14:06] spring, but

[14:07] >> yeah, this is the money that we usually

[14:08] get around April or May, but our budget

[14:10] hasn't been what we've anticipated this

[14:13] year. So, the anticipated aotment for

[14:16] the 2026 2027 year is one uh 1,963,800

[14:23] and that's split up between maintenance

[14:25] of traffic for state roads. We're going

[14:27] to be getting $894,000

[14:30] of flex funds which the county gets is

[14:32] $322,000

[14:35] and the balance for the remaining

[14:36] projects for the state is 747,499.

[14:42] With that, we're going to be paving KY

[14:44] 611 uh poor bottom road from 195 to 23.

[14:48] We're going to be paving left fork of

[14:50] Long for Road from 1469 to Left Fork of

[14:53] Long for County Road and KY 3415 Little

[14:57] Robinson Creek from 122 to Newsome

[15:00] Branch Road.

[15:02] >> All right. So, um just to just to uh

[15:05] just to touch on this,

[15:08] the legislature has not been kind to the

[15:11] transportation cabinet.

[15:13] And I see Lindsay shaking her head on

[15:15] that. You know, when you elect people to

[15:18] go to Frankfurt, and I learned this, a

[15:22] lot of the decisions that you make have

[15:23] a direct impact impact on counties and

[15:26] municipalities.

[15:28] And just so the public knows, we get we

[15:31] were getting close to about almost three

[15:33] million a year from the state that went

[15:36] directly to our county road department.

[15:40] And that money really doesn't probably

[15:44] doesn't even cover salaries.

[15:46] Uh and then the rest of it is is

[15:48] subsidized by the fiscal court. And when

[15:51] you have somewhere Vince, you may know

[15:54] this number. Uh county roads probably a

[15:56] thousand miles of county roads

[15:57] >> at least.

[15:58] Is that where you agree with

[15:59] that?

[16:00] >> Yeah.

[16:00] >> And you know, we're still trying there's

[16:03] still issues come up about where the

[16:04] roads were taken in in the 1980s or 90s

[16:07] that there may not even be records on,

[16:10] but that the county's maintained these

[16:11] roads for years. and the public uh you

[16:16] know we get calls all the time about you

[16:18] know a state road people don't realize

[16:20] that the county doesn't have

[16:21] jurisdiction over state or federal

[16:23] highways and likewise the state doesn't

[16:25] have jurisdiction over county roads but

[16:28] the gas tax that we all pay and I call

[16:30] it the birthday tax because I'm getting

[16:31] ready to pay it uh when we license our

[16:33] cars the uh the motor vehicle usage tax

[16:38] that funds our highway construction

[16:41] program and Um, this year our county

[16:45] road aid went from 2.9 million to 2.4

[16:50] million. We lost about I can't remember

[16:52] the exact amount. I was about half a

[16:54] million dollars.

[16:56] And um then looking at the flex funds,

[17:01] uh, they're down almost not quite 100,

[17:04] probably 170,000 or so. We were getting

[17:06] about 4, was it 450, 495 a year?

[17:10] >> Seems right. And uh now that's down to

[17:13] 322,000. And to put that in perspective,

[17:18] 322,000 would do what? Maybe five miles

[17:21] of road black top Fabian. Four four to

[17:23] five miles.

[17:24] >> Yeah.

[17:25] >> So uh when you have a,000 miles of

[17:28] county roads and before I came in and

[17:31] what we've been able to budget,

[17:33] we've paved somewhere we say around 400

[17:36] miles since I've been judge. We were

[17:38] probably doing about maybe 10 to 15

[17:41] miles a year before that.

[17:44] Uh these roads don't take long to get in

[17:47] bad shape. And I give you example. Uh we

[17:49] pave pounding mill four years ago maybe.

[17:53] >> Sounds right.

[17:54] >> And spent over $400,000 paving it. And

[17:58] now we got people complaining about

[17:59] potholes. problem is, as Fabian

[18:02] explained it to me, when you put salt on

[18:04] these roads, it goes, you probably

[18:07] explained this better than I can, the

[18:09] salt actually permeates through the

[18:10] black top, goes down to the to the base,

[18:13] >> and makes weak spots.

[18:14] >> Y

[18:15] >> So, you have no choice but to put salt

[18:17] on them. Uh but when you spend $400,000

[18:21] on a road and then turn around five

[18:24] years later,

[18:25] um and we have to put a lot of salt on

[18:27] pounding mill because it's so steep.

[18:31] Um

[18:33] there's going to have to be some type of

[18:35] system change going forward. I won't be

[18:38] here. But when the new court comes in

[18:42] here and they see how little money that

[18:45] you really have to do this job, maybe

[18:48] it'll open some eyes. And you know,

[18:51] we're sending people to Frankfurt who

[18:53] don't realize it, but the decisions that

[18:55] they make when they cut public

[18:57] transportation funding, it affects all

[18:59] of us. It affects school buses that have

[19:01] to be on the roads calling our kids. Uh

[19:04] people who have to get up early and go

[19:06] to work and even it impacts our road our

[19:08] road crews as you all know

[19:11] the people who go out on the on the

[19:13] plows and the salt trucks. They put

[19:16] their lives on the line because they're

[19:17] the first ones out and uh it's a

[19:20] dangerous job. But um I want to just say

[19:23] I probably won't have an opportunity to

[19:25] say this if you would just convey to

[19:26] Mary and the rest of the staff at the uh

[19:30] at district at the district office. Um

[19:35] it's been a pleasure working with you.

[19:36] We appreciate everything that you all

[19:38] done um and that the district office has

[19:41] done. Um the Basher administration's

[19:44] been great to Pike County. A lot of

[19:46] people don't realize how much work that

[19:48] they've helped us get done. And uh I

[19:51] don't care if you're Republican or

[19:53] Democrat, we all drive on the same roads

[19:55] and the Basher administration has really stepped up to help Pike County. A

[20:00] lot of people out there don't know that.

[20:02] Um but we've also had great people who

[20:05] live here in the community that work at

[20:07] the transportation cabinet and uh I just

[20:11] personally want to thank all of you if

[20:12] you would just pass that message on to

[20:14] everybody.

[20:16] Um,

[20:19] with that being said, just to make

[20:20] clear, part of the money, the number you

[20:23] just talked about

[20:25] will be used for rural and secondary

[20:27] roads. Those are state highways.

[20:30] >> And the part that actually comes back to

[20:31] the county roads are the 322,000

[20:35] in flex funds.

[20:36] >> That's correct.

[20:37] >> Okay. So, um,

[20:42] we have the, uh, Is there anything else

[20:44] you all like to add to that or anything?

[20:49] >> So, we have the agreement that we have

[20:51] to execute and it would be my motion to

[20:55] adopt the resolution approving the

[20:57] execution of the rule and secondary rule

[21:00] secondary program agreement between the

[21:01] fiscal court and the transportation

[21:04] cabinet. Is there a second?

[21:05] >> Second.

[21:06] We have a second by Commissioner Atkins.

[21:08] Any questions or discussions?

[21:11] Seeing none, Madam Cler, please call the

[21:13] role.

[21:13] >> Commissioner Scott, yes.

[21:14] >> Commissioner Atkins, yes.

[21:16] >> Commissioner Lewis,

[21:16] >> yes.

[21:17] >> Judge D.

[21:19] >> Thank you all very much. Thank you guys.

[21:20] >> Thank you.

[21:23] >> Next item is authorization to execute

[21:26] the transportation cabinet division of

[21:28] maintenance agreement to be performed in

[21:30] conjunction with governmental agencies.

[21:31] This is the agreement that allows us to

[21:34] purchase up to 750 tons of salt

[21:38] at 12938 per ton with a $142 per ton

[21:43] handling fee and a onetime

[21:46] administrative fee of $97.15

[21:48] on emergency basis in the event that we

[21:52] run short of salt and can't get it,

[21:54] which was an issue that uh that the

[21:57] entire eastern United States had to deal

[21:59] with last winter. The price last year

[22:02] was $11843

[22:04] per ton. So, um, this just gives us a

[22:08] source of salt if they have it available

[22:10] and we can't get it. So, is there a

[22:12] motion to authorize execution of the

[22:15] agreement as stated?

[22:16] >> I'll make a motion.

[22:18] >> Motion by Commissioner Lewis. Is there a

[22:19] second?

[22:20] >> Second.

[22:21] by Commissioner Scott. Any

[22:23] question or discussion? See none. Madam

[22:25] Cler, please call the role.

[22:26] >> Commissioner Scott, yes.

[22:27] >> Commissioner Atkins, yes.

[22:29] >> Commissioner Lewis,

[22:29] >> yes. Judge Jones.

[22:31] >> Yes.

[22:50] Huh?

[22:53] We don't have the contract yet. Okay.

[22:54] Yeah, we don't have the contract yet.

[22:56] So, at some point, uh, hopefully we'll

[22:59] get that here in the next few days.

[23:03] Next item is the approval of

[23:05] appointments to the Cooperative

[23:06] Extension District. It would be uh my

[23:09] motion to appoint Eddie Coleman and Joy

[23:12] Collins to three-year terms that will

[23:14] begin January 1st, 2027. Is there a

[23:17] second?

[23:18] >> Second.

[23:19] by Commissioner Lewis. Any

[23:20] question or discussion? Seeing none,

[23:22] madam clerk, please call the role.

[23:23] >> Commissioner Scott,

[23:24] >> yes.

[23:24] >> Commissioner Atkins,

[23:25] >> yes. Commissioner Lewis.

[23:27] >> Yes.

[23:27] >> Judge Jones.

[23:28] >> Yes. Next item is

[23:32] approval for recreational license

[23:34] agreement with Rightway Land Company, a

[23:36] Rightway Land LLC for the uh trail

[23:40] system. Royy's prepared at the

[23:42] agreements for Flatwoods. This is they

[23:44] own some property up there near the

[23:45] current trail. It would be my motion to

[23:49] um uh approve the recreational license

[23:51] agreement.

[23:54] >> I'll second. We have a motion. We have a

[23:56] second. Any question or discussion?

[23:57] Seeing none, madam cler, please call the

[23:59] role.

[23:59] >> Commissioner Scott,

[24:00] >> yes.

[24:00] >> Commissioner Atkins,

[24:01] >> yes.

[24:02] >> Commissioner Lewis,

[24:02] >> yes.

[24:03] >> Judge Jones,

[24:04] >> yes.

[24:10] » All right, Greg, you've got one item. I

[24:12] think that's for public works for Paul.

[24:20] We had a uh bid opening on September

[24:23] 18th on bid number 36-20

[24:27] 2641 2026 or newer crew cab truck. This

[24:31] is for public works. We had one bid is

[24:34] from Walter Chevrolet. Bid price of

[24:36] $45,100.

[24:39] truck meets all the specs that were put

[24:40] in the bid package and it's my

[24:42] recommendation that we award the bid to

[24:43] Walter Chevrolet for a bid amount of

[24:45] $45,100

[24:47] and authorizes uh the treasur to issue a

[24:50] check for the same amount.

[24:51] >> Is there a motion as stated by Mr.

[24:53] Fannon to purchase this?

[24:55] >> This is on the this is on our capital

[24:57] plan.

[25:00] >> This is under bid number 36-2026. Is

[25:02] there a motion?

[25:08] This will be for the public works

[25:09] department.

[25:10] >> Yes, sir.

[25:10] >> And bought in Pike County.

[25:12] >> Yes. From Walter Chevrolet.

[25:17] » I'll make a motion.

[25:18] >> I'll make a second. Madam Cler, please

[25:20] call the role.

[25:21] >> Commissioner Scott,

[25:22] >> yes.

[25:22] >> Commissioner Atkins,

[25:23] >> yes.

[25:24] >> Commissioner Lewis,

[25:25] >> yes.

[25:25] >> Judge Jones,

[25:26] >> it's good we bought it in town.

[25:30] >> That's all I have, Judge. Yeah.

[25:32] >> Yeah.

[25:40] All right,

[25:42] Fabian, you got anything you just want

[25:44] me just

[25:44] >> All right. Is there a motion to approve

[25:46] the completed and scheduled work orders?

[25:50] >> Motion.

[25:51] >> Got a motion. Is there a second? We have

[25:52] a motion second. Madam clerk, please

[25:54] call the role.

[25:54] >> Commissioner Scott,

[25:55] >> yes.

[25:56] >> Commissioner Atkins,

[25:56] >> yes.

[25:57] >> Commissioner Lewis,

[25:58] >> yes.

[25:58] >> Judge Jones,

[25:59] >> yes. Next item is uh treasur's business.

[26:02] Sharon, would you just read all these in

[26:04] one motion so we can get out of here?

[26:06] >> Yes, of course. Uh, acknowledge

[26:07] sheriff's official receipt for the 2026

[26:10] property tax bills. Authorized payment

[26:12] to poll workers for the 2026 November

[26:14] general election. Authorize a new

[26:16] postage machine contract with Pittney

[26:18] Bose. Authorized payment to KO insurance

[26:21] agency for $7,14127

[26:25] for the treasures bond. Authorize the

[26:27] following interfer

[26:30] 2026. Transfer $500,000 from the general

[26:33] fund to solid waste. Authorize a check

[26:35] from the consolidated bank account to

[26:37] the solid waste bank account in the

[26:39] amount of 500,000. Authorize checks for

[26:41] lodging, registration, and expenses for

[26:43] anyone who needs to attend the KO

[26:45] conference at the central bank center in

[26:47] Lexington on November 17th through the

[26:49] 20th, 2026.

[26:51] >> Is there a motion to authorize the

[26:53] treasures business as stated?

[26:54] >> Motion.

[26:56] >> A motion. Is there a second?

[26:57] >> Second.

[26:58] by Commissioner Lewis. Madam

[26:59] clerk, please call the role.

[27:00] Commissioner Scott,

[27:01] >> yes.

[27:01] >> Commissioner Atkins,

[27:02] >> yes.

[27:03] >> Commissioner Lewis,

[27:03] >> yes.

[27:04] >> Judge Jones,

[27:05] >> yes. Um, next item is um we do have a

[27:10] quick need for executive session for

[27:11] personnel matters. Uh, Mr. Danny, would

[27:15] you please instruct the public on the

[27:16] relevant provisions of Kentucky open

[27:18] meeting law as it pertains to the entry

[27:19] into executive session?

[27:25] Judge, uh, the court is allowed to go in

[27:27] executive session under KRS61.810

[27:32] under paragraph C to discuss proposed

[27:35] pending litigation and paragraph F to

[27:37] discuss specific personnel matters.

[27:39] >> All right. Is there a motion to enter

[27:40] into executive session?

[27:42] >> Motion.

[27:43] >> We have a motion. Is there a second?

[27:45] >> Second.

[27:45] >> We have a motion second. Mer, please

[27:47] call the role.

[27:48] >> Commissioner Scott?

[27:48] >> Yes.

[27:49] >> Commissioner Atkins?

[27:50] >> Yes.

[27:50] >> Commissioner Lewis?

[27:51] >> Yes.

[27:51] >> Judge Jones?

[27:52] >> Yes. will be uh in recess and return to

[27:55] call the chair.

[1:35:31] I'll make a motion to adjourn from

[1:35:32] executive session. Is there a second?

[1:35:36] >> Second.

[1:35:36] >> We have a motion second. Madam clerk,

[1:35:38] please call the role.

[1:35:39] >> Commissioner Scott,

[1:35:40] >> yes.

[1:35:40] >> Commissioner Atkins,

[1:35:41] >> yes.

[1:35:42] >> Commissioner Lewis,

[1:35:45] >> Judge Jones,

[1:35:46] >> yes. Uh, at this time, it's my motion to

[1:35:49] acknowledge the resignation of Chuck

[1:35:51] Moley as solid waste coordinator. He'll

[1:35:54] remain as solid waste manager at the

[1:35:56] same um I'm sorry

[1:36:00] acknowledge Chuck Mley resigned as solid

[1:36:02] waste coordinator remain solid waste

[1:36:04] manager at the same 5A rate of pay

[1:36:07] effective 91826

[1:36:10] um approval to acknowledge and to

[1:36:13] correct David West not Daniel West uh at

[1:36:16] the maintenance garage a 2H rate of pay

[1:36:18] effective 92726

[1:36:21] to acknowledge retirement of CJ Childers

[1:36:24] effective 93026.

[1:36:26] CJ's given over 30 years of his life to

[1:36:28] the uh service to the county uh fire,

[1:36:32] you know, with the fire service um

[1:36:35] emergency management and 911. And we're

[1:36:38] going to miss CJ. Um approval to

[1:36:41] acknowledge moving Nathaniel Atkins uh

[1:36:44] from loader to CDL driver to 4 rate of

[1:36:47] pay effective 92826.

[1:36:50] to acknowledge hiring Brian Bunch as a

[1:36:52] loader at 28 rate of pay effective

[1:36:54] 92526.

[1:36:56] Toa acknowledge the resignation of Aiden

[1:36:58] Arnett effective 93026

[1:37:01] and to acknowledge hiring Jeremiah

[1:37:02] Wallace solid waste loader

[1:37:06] at a 28 rate of pay effective 93026 is

[1:37:09] her second.

[1:37:11] >> Second by Commissioner Scott. Any

[1:37:13] question or discussion? See Madam Cler,

[1:37:14] please call the RO.

[1:37:15] >> Commissioner Scott,

[1:37:16] >> yes.

[1:37:16] >> Commissioner Atkins,

[1:37:18] >> yes.

[1:37:18] >> Commissioner Lewis,

[1:37:19] >> yes. Judge Towns.

[1:37:20] >> Yes. All right. Public comment. We have

[1:37:22] Earl Thcker signed up. Earl, uh, is he

[1:37:24] here? You have the three minutes under

[1:37:26] the administrative code.

[1:37:43] Okay. Thank you, Court, for uh, letting

[1:37:45] me uh, do a little bit of speaking. and

[1:37:47] I'm a independent candidate for uh

[1:37:50] magistrate over in district five.

[1:37:53] >> Earl, I would I would just like to point

[1:37:54] out that Pike TV, we can't have

[1:37:57] political speeches, I don't think,

[1:37:58] without making it under the FCC

[1:38:01] uh without making every We're getting a

[1:38:03] thumbs up back here. You can't make a

[1:38:04] political speech here. That's not the

[1:38:05] purpose of this. Uh you can only address

[1:38:09] an issue that's uh before the court. Uh

[1:38:12] it would be an FCC violation. We'd have

[1:38:14] to make it available to every candidate.

[1:38:17] So, you can't you can't give a political

[1:38:19] speech. If you want to address an issue,

[1:38:21] uh you may you may do that, but you've

[1:38:23] got three minutes.

[1:38:24] >> Okay. Then, I wasn't going to make a

[1:38:26] political speech. The only thing I was

[1:38:29] doing was introducing myself. And I do

[1:38:32] have uh you know, being out there, you

[1:38:34] know, I've seen road conditions that

[1:38:36] throughout the county and especially in

[1:38:38] that district five. But I've seen some

[1:38:40] good work done out there and uh it's

[1:38:44] come over in uh Big Card Creek. I think

[1:38:47] FEMA

[1:38:49] uh did that one. Maybe Bezac did the

[1:38:51] paving. And another one was up in Fed's

[1:38:54] Creek from uh

[1:38:56] from Dick's Fork up uh up the road going

[1:39:01] toward uh Papa. And that was good paving

[1:39:05] too by the county. They did a fine job

[1:39:06] paving. But what I didn't understand was

[1:39:10] why we went from beyond the uh road that

[1:39:15] pulled off the three houses onto the top

[1:39:18] of the mountain going down into papa

[1:39:20] when the only thing can get through

[1:39:21] there is a side by side or a

[1:39:23] four-wheeler. We could have better use

[1:39:26] that asphalt. I think paving mley which

[1:39:29] people told me has not been paved in 20

[1:39:32] to 30 years and it's full of potholes

[1:39:35] and I'm sure that Jones Fork got paved

[1:39:38] and got their potholes place replaced

[1:39:42] with asphalt. I'm sure you know the

[1:39:44] people there appreciated that. And uh

[1:39:49] I've mentioned Mley Fork and the only

[1:39:51] other thing that I'd like to see done

[1:39:55] with the other court that's coming up,

[1:39:57] I'd like to see one of these two regular

[1:39:59] meetings be held out into the districts

[1:40:03] where people that live out there, they'd

[1:40:05] have the opportunity to come and uh

[1:40:08] present their concerns or give their

[1:40:10] remarks to the county government coming

[1:40:13] to their their back doors. And we have

[1:40:16] plenty of buildings out there that uh

[1:40:18] would accommodate the meetings. And you

[1:40:21] a lot of these people, you know, the

[1:40:22] work, they can't get to these meetings

[1:40:23] like this. So, I don't see no problem in

[1:40:27] having one of the uh two meetings,

[1:40:30] regular meetings held out there each

[1:40:33] month. Of course, you know, we'd have to

[1:40:35] approve it by the new judge executive

[1:40:38] and the other uh the other magistrates

[1:40:41] that are serving on the new court. But

[1:40:44] that's all I had to say. I did not

[1:40:46] intend to make no public speeches. I do

[1:40:48] that other ways.

[1:40:52] All right. Next, we have Hman Dodson.

[1:41:18] Judge, I'd like to thank you and the

[1:41:20] court for giving me the OB opportunity

[1:41:23] to speak on behalf of the uh people in

[1:41:29] our community at Phelps. We have an

[1:41:32] ambulance service over there which

[1:41:34] you're very well aware of that you and

[1:41:37] the court had put a trailer in there a

[1:41:40] few years ago to provide the needs for

[1:41:43] the people

[1:41:45] to have ambulance service

[1:41:49] and you know it's an empty trailer

[1:41:51] there's hardly anybody there and we have

[1:41:54] so many elderly and sick people in the

[1:41:57] Philips and surrounding areas that need

[1:42:00] the amnless service so bad and I didn't

[1:42:03] know what kind of agreement that you and

[1:42:06] the court had with the amnless service

[1:42:09] over there. So that's the reason I'm

[1:42:11] here. I've got a petition here signed

[1:42:15] about 15 pages of it and I'd like to

[1:42:17] present it to the court and I'm planning

[1:42:20] on taking a copy of it to the uh senator

[1:42:24] and where else we can go. But I don't

[1:42:27] know if y'all could do anything to help

[1:42:30] us or not, but you know, I I leave that

[1:42:33] up to you and the court to decide what

[1:42:35] we need to do next. I know you were all

[1:42:38] in favor of putting the trailer in there

[1:42:40] and and providing the services. And

[1:42:43] Freddy, you know, you were behind that

[1:42:45] 100%.

[1:42:47] >> Oh, absolutely. You know, Hillman, we

[1:42:49] had uh if I may, you know, my dad, if it

[1:42:52] hadn't been for Sid Lester and him

[1:42:54] having an ambulance service in Phelps at

[1:42:56] the time, my dad had a heart attack in

[1:42:58] August of 2013, he wouldn't have lived

[1:43:00] to get to P. Well, Sid Lester uh saved

[1:43:03] his life. And now we have a huge problem

[1:43:07] not just in not just in Phelps but it's

[1:43:11] it it's every part of the county because

[1:43:13] if you look at the 911 data uh there's

[1:43:16] times when there's simply not a unit

[1:43:20] available

[1:43:21] and some people want to say well it's

[1:43:24] got to do with a certificate of need it

[1:43:26] really

[1:43:27] there's it's a multiaceted problem

[1:43:30] nationally there is a shortage of EMTs

[1:43:32] and paramedics

[1:43:34] And my opinion is when the state moved

[1:43:38] uh paramedic training to uh be

[1:43:42] affiliated now it has to be under a

[1:43:44] community college or in in a college

[1:43:47] system and it's just driven the cost up.

[1:43:49] Used to be a local hospital or fire

[1:43:52] department could put a paramedic class

[1:43:54] on. They can't do that now. And the cost

[1:43:56] to get and time to get a paramedic

[1:43:59] certificate, for instance, is about the

[1:44:01] same as it is to get an RN degree,

[1:44:03] two-year RN. And

[1:44:07] now you're seeing hospitals hire

[1:44:08] paramedics and even EMTs. There's just a

[1:44:12] huge shortage. They can't staff the

[1:44:13] ambulances. The deal we had,

[1:44:16] we looked at all the data. I think N

[1:44:18] back there somewhere. We looked at all

[1:44:21] the response times to get a unit because

[1:44:23] Lifeguard has got um the uh certificate

[1:44:28] of need for Phelps.

[1:44:30] And there was a group of high school

[1:44:33] students that did a really good job

[1:44:35] putting a a project together, but their

[1:44:38] data was not accurate in terms of how

[1:44:39] many calls actually come out of that

[1:44:41] area. And

[1:44:46] essentially

[1:44:48] uh

[1:44:50] there's the the ambulance services are

[1:44:52] so short staffed they can't staff and

[1:44:56] the state needs to find a way to address

[1:44:58] that. Then you take the fact that all

[1:45:01] the Medicaid cuts, particularly the

[1:45:03] Medicaid cuts that are going to take

[1:45:04] place in the next year, year and a half

[1:45:08] that come in with the nearly

[1:45:11] $900 billion cut in Medicaid. Kucky's

[1:45:14] going to lose, according to Governor

[1:45:15] Basher, about 2.1 billion a year in

[1:45:17] federal Medicaid funds. That's going to

[1:45:19] hit your ambulance services.

[1:45:22] Um, if you live out in the county like I

[1:45:24] do, like you do, it's a matter of life

[1:45:26] or death because you know if you can't

[1:45:28] get an ambulance,

[1:45:30] um, and I mean there's a lot of

[1:45:32] accidents, traumatic injuries,

[1:45:34] illnesses, seizures, heart attacks.

[1:45:37] Um, but the deal we made was in order to

[1:45:40] try to cut the response time because if

[1:45:42] they're dispatching a unit from Island

[1:45:44] Creek to get to Phelps,

[1:45:46] >> right,

[1:45:46] >> by the time they get the call or

[1:45:48] particularly if it's at at, you know, over toward Woodman or

[1:45:53] Majestic,

[1:45:54] >> you're talking 40 45 minutes to get an

[1:45:56] ambulance to somebody. And when the data

[1:45:58] we looked at, and I think Neil backed me

[1:46:00] up, it was about an hour, the response

[1:46:04] time by the time a call came into 911 to

[1:46:07] get an ambulance on the scene is an

[1:46:09] hour. So talking about the golden hour,

[1:46:12] you know, the first hour to get help to

[1:46:14] somebody, your your golden hour is gone

[1:46:16] before you get an ambulance to somebody

[1:46:18] in the Peter Creek area. And um I don't

[1:46:22] have a solution to it. And I don't think

[1:46:24] there's been problems in every county in

[1:46:26] Eastern Kentucky with this. The county

[1:46:30] theoretically

[1:46:31] could put in an emergency ambulance

[1:46:34] service without

[1:46:37] a co, but you could only do emergency

[1:46:39] calls. And the problem is you're talking

[1:46:43] millions of dollars a year that the

[1:46:44] county doesn't have. And when you look

[1:46:47] at the number of emergency calls in the

[1:46:49] Phelps area, N, do you remember how many

[1:46:52] calls it was? It It's not as many

[1:46:54] emergency calls as you would think, but

[1:46:57] if you're the one that needs it, it

[1:47:00] don't matter if there's a hundred or

[1:47:01] there's a thousand of them. If you're

[1:47:02] the one that needs an ambulance or if

[1:47:03] it's somebody in your family,

[1:47:06] the state needs to address this because

[1:47:08] it's not just Pike County, it's

[1:47:10] McGofflin County, it's uh Martin County

[1:47:14] and just about every other county around

[1:47:16] here. Um

[1:47:18] I'll do whatever I can whether I'm judge

[1:47:21] or I'm out of office to try to help get

[1:47:23] something done over there. But what we

[1:47:25] tried to do is put a trailer in

[1:47:28] >> to where they could base a crew there to

[1:47:30] try to cut the response time. Now, a lot

[1:47:32] of people say, "Well, there's never an

[1:47:34] ambulance there." Well, you know, it's

[1:47:35] if it's out on a run or I mean, you

[1:47:40] know, that's a that's part of the

[1:47:41] problem. Um, we have people from

[1:47:46] uh Lifeguard and we have people from

[1:47:48] Appalachian First Response,

[1:47:51] both ambulance services, come to the

[1:47:53] meeting. if you recall, you were over

[1:47:54] there, I think. And uh they they've even

[1:47:58] got a program where they would pay for

[1:48:00] people to go get their EMT license. They

[1:48:02] would pay their tuition. They would pay

[1:48:05] their um cost of uh pay them while

[1:48:08] they're in school and guarantee them a

[1:48:09] job when they got out. They couldn't

[1:48:11] hardly get anybody to sign up for it.

[1:48:14] Um, and you know, the pay is not great

[1:48:16] for EMTs

[1:48:18] and it's a tough job when they're, you

[1:48:20] know, they're working so many hours, but

[1:48:23] you know, I know you've worked

[1:48:24] tirelessly on this issue and I'll do

[1:48:26] anything I can to help you and I'll take

[1:48:28] the the petition from you and

[1:48:40] I don't know a lot of names on this

[1:48:41] petition.

[1:48:43] I just don't know, Hillman, how we go

[1:48:45] about

[1:48:47] >> how we go about getting it done.

[1:48:48] >> Well, I didn't know whether or not you

[1:48:50] had an agreement with the ambulance

[1:48:52] service when you put the trailer in

[1:48:55] there that they would uh supply the

[1:48:57] needs. I know we had a couple guys there

[1:48:59] that night at the mate that was wanting

[1:49:00] to put their own ambulance service in at

[1:49:03] their cost, Woody Barker and Hodge

[1:49:06] Harden, and they said they didn't have a

[1:49:08] certificate of need to qualify for it.

[1:49:11] So that got shot down, but they had a

[1:49:14] building already built and they had the

[1:49:15] ambulances already located and was ready

[1:49:17] to go go forward with it. And what I was

[1:49:20] trying to say, if this company is not

[1:49:22] going to be able to provide our needs,

[1:49:24] maybe they can turn it over to somebody

[1:49:26] else that can.

[1:49:27] >> If if there's a company that's willing

[1:49:28] to to to apply for a certificate of need

[1:49:31] over there, as long as I'm judge next

[1:49:34] three months, I'll help them. If I'm out

[1:49:36] of office, I'll help them because I do

[1:49:38] think that something needs to be done.

[1:49:40] Um the problem is and let me explain

[1:49:43] people about the certificate of need

[1:49:46] because there's such a razor thin margin

[1:49:48] and we've been concerned about one of

[1:49:50] the other ambulance services. I think

[1:49:51] that's a fair statement, isn't it? We

[1:49:53] we've got some concerns about another

[1:49:55] ambulance service in the county that is

[1:50:00] there's no guarantees that it may not

[1:50:02] close because of the very reason I'm

[1:50:05] talking about the razor thin margins

[1:50:07] because Medicare and Medicaid

[1:50:09] reimbursements are so bad.

[1:50:13] The reason you have a certificate of

[1:50:15] need is if you've got five or six

[1:50:17] competing ambulance services and they're

[1:50:20] all driving the prices down and there's

[1:50:22] just not enough calls, then you end up

[1:50:24] with no ambulance service because none

[1:50:25] can afford to stay in business. That's

[1:50:27] the whole reason they've got it

[1:50:29] particularly, you know, in a rural area

[1:50:30] because it's the same reason that you

[1:50:33] can't go out here and put a surgical

[1:50:34] center in or like if I wanted to buy an

[1:50:36] MRI unit and start an MRI business, I

[1:50:39] can't do that because, you know, you

[1:50:40] suck so much money away from the

[1:50:42] hospitals, pretty soon they can't afford

[1:50:43] to run a radiology department. That's

[1:50:46] the theory behind it. But, um, you know,

[1:50:50] maybe the next court can find the money

[1:50:52] to come up. It would cost several

[1:50:56] million dollars a year to run for an

[1:50:58] emergency ambulance service. It would

[1:50:59] never pay for itself. The county would

[1:51:01] have to subsidize it. And my former

[1:51:04] deputy judge, Reggie Hickman, always

[1:51:06] said when the county was getting

[1:51:07] millions and millions of coal severance,

[1:51:10] it would have been a good idea. But

[1:51:12] we've never had this kind of problem.

[1:51:14] You know, when you had Phelps Ambulance

[1:51:16] Service, you had Elorn City Ambulance

[1:51:17] Service, you had Shelby Valley, you had

[1:51:19] Appalachin First Response, then you had

[1:51:21] the other services like, you know, uh,

[1:51:25] prior to lifeguard that that covered the

[1:51:27] rest of the county. I mean, you had, but

[1:51:29] a lot of it has to do with the Medicare

[1:51:31] and Medicaid reimbursements and the

[1:51:32] ability to hire people. But if if Woody

[1:51:36] and whoever over there is willing to do

[1:51:38] it,

[1:51:40] I would make a suggestion that they

[1:51:41] contact an attorney that has experience

[1:51:43] in doing CO applications,

[1:51:46] but I know you're you're very interested

[1:51:48] in this and your family's over there.

[1:51:50] >> They they spent a lot of money, a lot of

[1:51:52] time with trying to get a certificate of

[1:51:54] need at the time. And if this company

[1:51:58] can't do their duties and do their job,

[1:52:01] if they would render it over to somebody

[1:52:04] else to come in, you guys have got a

[1:52:06] fantastic place there at Phelps where

[1:52:09] they can meet. And it's not only Phelps,

[1:52:11] you know, we've got new areas in my

[1:52:14] district. It is in uh

[1:52:17] over in Grapevine and Feds Creek. You

[1:52:20] know, they're isolated, too. And

[1:52:22] >> we're so far away from the hospitals. If

[1:52:25] we don't get the the first little bit of

[1:52:28] medicine in people, then they ain't

[1:52:30] going to make it.

[1:52:31] >> Oh, it's it's it's a matter of life and

[1:52:33] death.

[1:52:33] >> Yeah. But I appreciate you guys and

[1:52:36] whatever you can do. You know, Freddy,

[1:52:38] you're our magistrate.

[1:52:39] >> Yeah.

[1:52:40] >> And uh appreciate whatever the court can

[1:52:42] do. And I plan on taking this on down

[1:52:45] the road. I'm gonna go talk to the

[1:52:47] senator. You said you would go with me.

[1:52:49] >> Oh, absolutely. I first of all, thank

[1:52:52] you Hman for for bringing this up and and fighting for it because I've

[1:52:57] said for years, the last four or five

[1:53:00] years, I I've seen it on Facebook and

[1:53:02] stuff prior to me even taking cuz I've

[1:53:04] only I've not been here two years yet,

[1:53:06] but it's just humane to have a ambulance

[1:53:09] service for any community. So, one of my

[1:53:14] dealings with it was when I was in

[1:53:16] Lexington at a training, one of the

[1:53:18] upper management personnels from that

[1:53:21] ambulance service that's supposed to be

[1:53:23] in Phelps was there speaking. So, when

[1:53:26] he got done speaking, me, I asked him if

[1:53:28] he could uh give me a few minutes. I'd

[1:53:30] like to talk to him. And I started

[1:53:32] telling him, I've got an area in my

[1:53:34] district that, you know, is I mean, it

[1:53:36] don't have ambulance service. The people

[1:53:38] over there, you know, that I I've got

[1:53:40] two grandchildren lives in Phelps. you

[1:53:42] know, a son and a daughter-in-law. I

[1:53:44] mean, and he told me, he said, "Mr.

[1:53:47] Lewis, I totally understand what you're

[1:53:49] saying." He said, "I I I I truly do." He

[1:53:52] said, "You guys did give us an office

[1:53:54] over there to work out of." He said,

[1:53:56] "But let me say this." He said, "With

[1:53:58] the way the laws are and the amount of

[1:54:00] calls that we come out of there," he

[1:54:02] said, "I can't staff that with two

[1:54:04] people 24 hours a day." He said,

[1:54:06] "Because I can't afford to because the

[1:54:09] way Medicare pays." And he said, "The

[1:54:11] law requires me to have a paramedic and

[1:54:14] a driver." Um, he said, "And I'll just

[1:54:18] be honest." He said, "I I I can't afford

[1:54:19] to." He said, "I I want to," he said,

[1:54:21] "but I just can't afford to do it." And

[1:54:23] I said, "Man,

[1:54:24] >> well, you had another issue. You had

[1:54:26] another issue, too, Hillman. At one

[1:54:28] time, the ambulance service at Phelps,

[1:54:29] as I understand, it was was subsidized,

[1:54:33] you know, in part by the coal industry

[1:54:34] because they had to have an ambulance

[1:54:36] service over there."

[1:54:37] >> Yeah.

[1:54:38] Now you don't have I don't know if you

[1:54:39] maybe have one mine in the in the Phelps

[1:54:41] area operating. I think there's one over

[1:54:43] one mine.

[1:54:44] >> Yeah, we only have have one strip job I

[1:54:47] think operating but we got the tipples

[1:54:49] on

[1:54:50] >> Yeah.

[1:54:50] >> Kentucky Carbon and the other place that

[1:54:53] Phelps but uh

[1:54:54] >> you know whatever you guys could do it

[1:54:57] would be greatly appreciated. I know the

[1:54:59] people

[1:55:00] would love to have it and and Freddy a

[1:55:03] lot of the calls they don't get now

[1:55:05] people's kind of got used to when they

[1:55:08] get sick they put them in a car and try

[1:55:09] to make

[1:55:10] >> loading them up they know that there's

[1:55:12] no no need to call an ambulance because

[1:55:15] it will be an hour hour and a half out

[1:55:17] >> and by that time they could lose their

[1:55:18] love

[1:55:19] >> I totally agree with that human I I

[1:55:21] totally I'll say this anytime that you know if you want to I mean I've

[1:55:26] talked to state representatives about

[1:55:28] it, senators about it. I and and I don't

[1:55:30] understand all the paperwork and the

[1:55:33] filings and stuff like like the judge

[1:55:34] was talking about. I you know, I'll be

[1:55:36] the first to say I don't understand all

[1:55:37] that, but I don't care bit in the world.

[1:55:40] Me and you, we'll load up and we'll go

[1:55:42] down there and talk to them and and

[1:55:44] we'll do I'll do anything I can to try

[1:55:47] to get ambulance service over there. I I

[1:55:49] truly would.

[1:55:49] >> I appreciate that. until until until

[1:55:52] they fund reimbursements for ambulance

[1:55:55] providers

[1:55:57] through Medicare and Medicaid more money

[1:56:00] than they are right now. I mean, I've heard some of the numbers. I mean,

[1:56:03] >> you know, they make a run and get

[1:56:05] reimbured $150 on it or something. I

[1:56:08] mean, they're losing money on some of

[1:56:09] these runs. and you know they've got

[1:56:11] significant insurance costs, significant

[1:56:13] manpower costs,

[1:56:15] >> and you know, they hire a paramedic and

[1:56:17] then next thing you know, the hospital

[1:56:18] hires them to work in the ER with better

[1:56:20] pay and better benefits. They're gone.

[1:56:23] >> And um that's a huge problem. And I

[1:56:27] think that Big Sandy Community Technical

[1:56:28] College because I helped when I was in my first term to

[1:56:33] get a grant from the uh BB&T Foundation

[1:56:36] to help 110,000 I think. Was that right,

[1:56:39] Gene? to help start the to help Big

[1:56:41] Sandy start their uh EMT training

[1:56:44] program and I think they have since

[1:56:46] expanded it to a paramedic program. But,

[1:56:49] you know, it's just hard to get people

[1:56:50] interested in doing it.

[1:56:51] >> Yeah,

[1:56:52] >> I understand. I appreciate that. But on

[1:56:54] the I'd like to say that I want to

[1:56:57] >> say thanks to you and the court for the

[1:56:59] work you've done at the Phelps

[1:57:01] Courthouse.

[1:57:02] >> Yeah.

[1:57:03] >> You know, the renovation work. It looks

[1:57:04] like a different building and still got

[1:57:07] it there. And hopefully, you know, one

[1:57:09] of these days we might get it back in

[1:57:11] operation like it used to be because it

[1:57:13] saves the people so much time have to

[1:57:15] come over here to take care of their

[1:57:17] taxes or whatever. And

[1:57:19] >> you know, we just blessed to have it and

[1:57:23] thank y'all and you have a good day.

[1:57:25] >> Thank you.

[1:57:25] Helman.

[1:57:27] >> All right.

[1:57:29] Next item on the agenda is anything from

[1:57:32] any of the department uh supervisors? I

[1:57:35] don't see anything. William, you got

[1:57:37] anything?

[1:57:38] >> No.

[1:57:38] >> Paul, Roy, you got anything?

[1:57:40] >> I don't have anything. You all got

[1:57:41] anything, gentlemen?

[1:57:42] >> I do. I've got a question for Roy. Roy,

[1:57:44] could you update everybody about this

[1:57:46] stupid about this uh situation with the

[1:57:49] landfill lawsuit? I've been told that

[1:57:52] I'm withholding information that we all

[1:57:55] know. Let will you let the people know

[1:57:57] about this?

[1:57:59] Here is about all I could say about this

[1:58:02] point. We are in federal court in London

[1:58:06] because they closed the courthouse. They

[1:58:09] have sent being the landfills attorney

[1:58:11] have sent paperwork.

[1:58:14] What we have to do with that, it's a

[1:58:15] little bit different. People think, you

[1:58:17] know, around here if you get served

[1:58:18] locally, you know, they send the sheriff

[1:58:20] out, you get a certified letter telling

[1:58:22] you you got so many days to to, you

[1:58:25] know, file an answer in court. Federal

[1:58:27] court's a little bit different. You

[1:58:28] still have to eventually file paperwork,

[1:58:32] but there are time limits. Right now,

[1:58:34] what has happened is we have got the

[1:58:36] initial suit from the company, our

[1:58:40] companies that are suing us. what we

[1:58:42] have done and I've talked with our judge

[1:58:45] about this and we have uh an attorney

[1:58:49] that does this type of litigation, a law

[1:58:52] firm that represents us. We are in talks

[1:58:55] with our lawyer about defenses, things

[1:58:59] that we need to put in our response and

[1:59:03] we have a time frame to do that. And

[1:59:07] typically,

[1:59:08] uh it's a little bit early. You know,

[1:59:11] we're well aware of the time frame.

[1:59:13] Typically, we would have until right

[1:59:15] before Halloween. I think the days it

[1:59:18] would be after the next court meeting,

[1:59:20] but our lawyer will probably ask for a

[1:59:22] little bit more time, which is

[1:59:23] traditional because, you know, when you

[1:59:25] get hit with all this stuff, you've got

[1:59:26] to digest it. You got to look through

[1:59:28] it. You got to sit down. Uh if you all

[1:59:31] will remember when we were having the

[1:59:33] discussions about whether or not you

[1:59:35] were thinking about rescending it and I

[1:59:36] said guys we can't talk about a lot of

[1:59:38] this stuff in open court. That still

[1:59:41] holds true because you can't let them

[1:59:44] know what we are thinking we're going to

[1:59:46] do at this point until we actually have

[1:59:49] our lawyer draw it up and file it. Now

[1:59:51] that will be done in a timely manner as

[1:59:53] permitted by the rules. Now there are

[1:59:56] probably a couple people in this

[1:59:57] courtroom that are familiar with federal

[1:59:59] court rules. Most of you are familiar

[2:00:00] with state court rules. They are

[2:00:02] entirely different. Um but we are doing

[2:00:07] what we have to do and uh I can't give

[2:00:10] any more specifics than that kind of

[2:00:13] statement. But we are aware we are doing

[2:00:16] what we need to do and when we get to

[2:00:18] the point that we can actually file

[2:00:20] stuff then you can ask me question or I will tell you all beforehand, you

[2:00:24] know, but we'd have to do that in

[2:00:26] executive session. Then once it's made

[2:00:28] public, then we can talk about it if you

[2:00:32] want to talk about it. Is that fair

[2:00:34] enough?

[2:00:34] >> Yeah. And it's safe to say though that I

[2:00:36] do not know no more about it than

[2:00:38] anybody else in Pike County. Right. I

[2:00:41] don't know nothing about this law.

[2:00:42] >> You know what I and and to we don't talk

[2:00:46] about that lawsuit every time. We've got

[2:00:47] multiple. Okay. You know, the thing is

[2:00:49] the county at any given time and the

[2:00:52] number of lawsuits because we've handled

[2:00:53] them well, I think during your all's

[2:00:55] administration have went down

[2:00:57] significantly since I started doing this

[2:00:59] job. But, you know, you all get updates,

[2:01:02] but I don't update you every time we go

[2:01:05] back there on every single thing because

[2:01:07] I kind of tell you, you know, the public

[2:01:09] knows that in the next, you know, by

[2:01:12] thanks by Thanksgiving there'll probably

[2:01:14] be more stuff out. maybe by uh

[2:01:17] Halloween. But there again, I have to

[2:01:20] allow our attorney that's filing all

[2:01:22] this stuff a chance to talk to us. And I

[2:01:26] think Ray would agree with that,

[2:01:27] wouldn't you, Ray? That you know, they

[2:01:28] talk to us quite regularly. At least E,

[2:01:30] Ray, or me or one of us. They'll call us

[2:01:32] up and and we will go through, but we

[2:01:35] can't really tell you what all our stuff

[2:01:36] is going to be till it happens.

[2:01:40] » Good enough.

[2:01:41] >> That's good enough. That's I'll judge.

[2:01:44] Okay,

[2:01:46] >> ready? Anything?

[2:01:47] >> I'd just like to uh thank everyone and

[2:01:50] our employees and stuff. And let me say

[2:01:52] this uh you know, we know election

[2:01:54] time's here and uh you know, a lot of

[2:01:57] folks is uh running for different

[2:02:00] offices. Um I think it's very important

[2:02:03] to say that you know, let's you know,

[2:02:06] thankfully that everybody wants to take

[2:02:07] part in our government. That's a

[2:02:09] wonderful thing. There's you know, we

[2:02:10] need good people to do that. Uh but

[2:02:14] let's just make sure you know everybody

[2:02:17] keep it clean. Uh stay civil. We've got

[2:02:19] enough heartache. We've got enough hurt.

[2:02:22] We've got enough problems throughout not

[2:02:24] only our county but our country then to

[2:02:27] be you know turning on each other. Let's

[2:02:30] turn to each other and work together and get through it and may the best

[2:02:34] candidate win. And um you know I never

[2:02:38] have nothing bad to say about nobody.

[2:02:40] And um and I won't. I I just don't I

[2:02:43] don't do that. That's not who I am. If I

[2:02:45] have to down a man or a woman or talk

[2:02:48] about somebody, um you know, I'm just

[2:02:51] going to go to my house and and continue

[2:02:53] to work my primary job. I'm it's not

[2:02:55] that important to me. Uh so, you know,

[2:02:59] best of luck to all the candidates. May

[2:03:02] God bless you. Uh elections and u you

[2:03:05] know, don't overpromise. I'll say that.

[2:03:07] Don't overpromise. I know I see a lot of

[2:03:09] folks saying, "I'm going to do this and

[2:03:10] I'm going to do that." It's very

[2:03:12] important that you know that, you know,

[2:03:14] once you get elected into any position,

[2:03:16] you got to go to training right off the

[2:03:18] bat in Lexington or Frankfurt and you're

[2:03:20] going to figure out really, really, quick that you're not

[2:03:24] going to do nothing u on your own. uh

[2:03:28] it's you know anything that's done uh

[2:03:30] through this county is done through and

[2:03:32] by the physical court as a majority

[2:03:34] whether it's paving a road whether you

[2:03:36] know just like Fabian's road work orders

[2:03:38] you know every road work order that he

[2:03:41] sends we have to approve it so it's not

[2:03:44] Fabian going out there making a decision

[2:03:46] okay I'm going to do this or it's not me

[2:03:48] going out there making a decision okay I

[2:03:49] want to do this that's not how the law

[2:03:52] works that's not how it works in you

[2:03:54] know uh in the state of Kentucky I and

[2:03:57] it's a team effort. U you know you so so

[2:04:00] just remember that you know don't

[2:04:03] overpromise. I tell people I'm going to

[2:04:04] do the very best I can and and and

[2:04:06] that's all that's all I can promise them

[2:04:08] you know and uh because these decisions

[2:04:11] are made by multiple people. They're

[2:04:13] just not made by one person. Um I I you

[2:04:17] know just just keep that in mind and I

[2:04:19] hope God blesses you and you have a

[2:04:21] wonderful um wonderful election.

[2:04:27] Ros, anything?

[2:04:28] >> Yeah, I got maybe a couple little things

[2:04:30] there. First, I'd like to thank all the

[2:04:32] workers and everybody for all the hard

[2:04:35] work they do, you know, and and I'd like

[2:04:38] to mention something about a tragedy

[2:04:40] that happened Friday with a buddy of

[2:04:43] mine. It's really took a pretty good

[2:04:46] hold on me. We drove up together

[2:04:50] and uh Friday

[2:04:53] he was out in the mountains and a tree

[2:04:55] fell on him. Corner said he

[2:04:57] approximately laid there seven hours he

[2:04:59] by himself

[2:05:01] >> man.

[2:05:01] >> So he passed away and uh we were real good friends you know and there put

[2:05:08] him put that me a family in prayer.

[2:05:10] >> Absolutely.

[2:05:13] >> All right. I just want to uh just touch

[2:05:15] on a couple things. I wasn't going to

[2:05:17] say anything, but um last week uh we

[2:05:21] lost the state had a uh a tragedy that

[2:05:25] affects all of us when Trooper Hayden

[2:05:27] Phillips was murdered

[2:05:29] uh senselessly on I65 in western

[2:05:33] Kentucky. and I didn't know Trooper

[2:05:35] Phillips, but uh

[2:05:39] >> we all owe a tremendous debt of

[2:05:41] gratitude for our to our Kentucky State

[2:05:44] Police. They put their lives on the line

[2:05:45] every day. And you know, when you go out

[2:05:48] to the memorial out here on the wall

[2:05:50] down downstairs, my great-grandfather's

[2:05:52] pictures there, he got shot and killed

[2:05:54] >> at Robinson Creek by a drunk uh when he

[2:05:57] was in 1929 when my grandmother was 13

[2:06:00] years old. And it was just horrible. and

[2:06:02] her and her sisters and brothers, they

[2:06:05] carried that with them until they all

[2:06:07] passed away. It was just something they

[2:06:08] never got over. And Trooper Phillips

[2:06:12] uh had three young sons and a wife

[2:06:17] and his family just the devastation that that would I mean that that that's

[2:06:25] something that most of us

[2:06:27] cannot

[2:06:29] you know we've all everybody here has

[2:06:31] lost somebody in their life but to have

[2:06:34] that happen when somebody gets up to go

[2:06:36] to work

[2:06:37] and somebody young healthy state trooper

[2:06:40] and he's murdered for no reason by a

[2:06:43] pure piece of garbage.

[2:06:45] >> Absolutely.

[2:06:46] >> And you know, I hope that justice is

[2:06:49] swift and I hope that it is uh I hope

[2:06:54] that uh that he gets the same level of

[2:06:56] mercy that the gentleman that did this

[2:06:59] that he u that he uh he gave Trooper

[2:07:02] Phillips.

[2:07:04] uh sometimes,

[2:07:06] you know, there needs to be a tall a

[2:07:09] tall uh tree and a short rope and uh

[2:07:13] that there's nothing that that's too uh

[2:07:17] no punishment too severe in my opinion

[2:07:19] for that for this murder. Uh but I would

[2:07:22] just like to ask everyone to remember

[2:07:24] what our law enforcement officers do

[2:07:26] every time they put their uniform on.

[2:07:28] We've lost law enforcement officers

[2:07:31] uh in this community. It's had a

[2:07:33] tremendous uh uh impact on on all of us

[2:07:37] here and uh the law enforcement

[2:07:41] community. Um you know, I saw when I

[2:07:43] started getting the blue alerts

[2:07:45] u and I I'm the I'm I was the guy that

[2:07:48] sponsored that. You know, it was crazy

[2:07:50] that people were complaining about

[2:07:51] getting the blue alert messages. And I

[2:07:54] sponsored that bill when Karen, my my

[2:07:56] friend, the late Karen Leonard, called

[2:07:58] me

[2:07:59] >> and brought it to my attention after her

[2:08:01] son u Jonathan was killed in a car wreck

[2:08:05] here in Pike County in the line of duty.

[2:08:08] And um I was hoping that that's the

[2:08:11] first time I recall ever seeing the blue

[2:08:13] alert used. I was hoping it would never

[2:08:16] be used, but it worked. It served a

[2:08:18] purpose

[2:08:19] >> and uh it alerted people to the um what

[2:08:24] had happened. It alerted people to be on

[2:08:26] the lookout for the uh the perpetrator

[2:08:30] and hope it's never used again. But I

[2:08:34] would just like to ask everyone to say a

[2:08:37] prayer for the Phillips family and um to

[2:08:41] remember our law enforcement officers

[2:08:43] and first responders, our volunteer

[2:08:45] firefighters.

[2:08:46] Uh

[2:08:48] they put their lives on the line for us

[2:08:50] every single day.

[2:08:51] >> Yeah.

[2:08:52] >> And I'll even put our road crews in that

[2:08:54] because, you know, they're out there

[2:08:56] responding to to dangerous

[2:08:58] circumstances. and uh we have a county

[2:09:01] employees that that put their lives on

[2:09:03] the line for the for their uh their

[2:09:05] friends and neighbors as well. So um

[2:09:09] just again remember that family and your

[2:09:11] prayers. I wanted to wanted to me

[2:09:12] mention that because I thought u on

[2:09:15] behalf of the people of Pike County, we

[2:09:17] wanted to express our condolences to the

[2:09:18] Philips family and to the uh and all the

[2:09:20] members of the Kentucky State Police. So

[2:09:23] >> judge, I'd like to add to what you're

[2:09:24] saying that blue alert you're talking

[2:09:26] about. I was uh actually on my way to a

[2:09:29] manager's meeting in Nashville,

[2:09:30] Tennessee when that happened and that

[2:09:33] blue alert went off and I was on

[2:09:35] Cumberland Parkway right before you hit

[2:09:37] 65. And I tell you, it works because

[2:09:41] they wasn't an exit. There wasn't a wide

[2:09:44] spot. There was nowhere from there all

[2:09:46] the way to Nashville, Tennessee

[2:09:48] >> that they wasn't at least two or three

[2:09:50] cop cars sitting in the media on the

[2:09:52] road. And I mean, they was staged up.

[2:09:54] And unfortunately

[2:09:56] um I drove by um and uh seen the trooper

[2:10:02] um and uh it was it was horrible. It it

[2:10:05] was horrible. And and to see some of the

[2:10:07] stuff that I see on social media, the

[2:10:10] comments from people, it blows my mind.

[2:10:12] And I sit and I I asked God, I say, "How

[2:10:15] did we get this evil that are that

[2:10:18] people would make these types of

[2:10:20] comments and stuff on social media?" I

[2:10:23] we're living in a day where, you know,

[2:10:26] good is uh evil and evil is good, I

[2:10:28] guess, you know, to in a lot of lot of

[2:10:30] places and a lot of hearts and it's sad.

[2:10:33] So,

[2:10:35] I hope we get back to where we should be

[2:10:37] when it comes to things like this

[2:10:38] because those guys are laying it on the

[2:10:40] line for us every

[2:10:41] >> day.

[2:10:44] All right,

[2:10:45] >> Judge, let's go ahead and wrap this up

[2:10:47] so you can go finish celebrating your

[2:10:48] birthday that you spent with us. All

[2:10:51] right, William, would you like to close

[2:10:52] us out with a word of prayer

[2:10:54] >> and we'll uh

[2:10:56] >> Let us pray. Father God, we come to you

[2:10:59] tonight and Lord, we thank you for uh

[2:11:01] the decisions made here and we thank you

[2:11:02] for the guidance that you've put into

[2:11:04] this. We pray that all decisions are in

[2:11:06] your will and for the best of this

[2:11:08] county and the people there in. Lord,

[2:11:10] we'd also like to remember Trooper

[2:11:12] Phillips and and the law enforcement

[2:11:14] people and the first responders and and

[2:11:17] Lord, the firefighters and even down to

[2:11:19] the to the people that work our roads

[2:11:21] and and uh every day and that they're

[2:11:24] just out there in the middle of the road

[2:11:26] and trying to trying to make a living.

[2:11:28] And Lord, we ask that you watch over

[2:11:29] each and every one of them. Send your

[2:11:32] mercies upon us and Lord, we ask it all

[2:11:34] in the sweet name of Jesus. Amen.

[2:11:36] >> Amen.

[2:11:36] >> All right. So, as Commissioner Lewis

[2:11:39] said, all the decisions that we make are

[2:11:40] not made by one of us. It's made they're

[2:11:42] made jointly. So, uh you know, whether

[2:11:46] we enter into a contract or we vote to

[2:11:48] adjourn, I can adjourn us here tonight.

[2:11:50] So, is there a motion?

[2:11:51] >> Make a motion.

[2:11:52] >> You got a motion a second. So, madam

[2:11:54] cler, please call the role.

[2:11:55] >> Commissioner Scott, yes. Commissioner

[2:11:57] Atkins, yes. Commissioner Lewis, yes.

[2:11:59] Judge,

[2:12:00] >> we are ajourned.

Pike County Fiscal Court Meeting - October 6, 2026

Transcript