The Board began the meeting by opening the floor to the public. Lee County School Board courteously requested “a supplemental appropriation in the amount of $860,000 with no local match.” The board approved this request – adopted on May 12, 2009 – and established resolution with the Board of Education concerning the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 Budget. The requested funds are to be paid into “a partially self-funded health insurance fund by the School Board and require no funds from the Lee County Board of Supervisors.” The revised Lee County School Board Appropriation will increase the fiscal year budget from $44,446,752.95 to $45,306,752.95.
In addition, Douglas Graham requested a special use permit to construct a mini-storage facility on approximately two acres in an A-1, Agricultural District in the Gibson Station area during the public hearing. The Board approved Graham’s request for construction on the property, which is located one mile East of Boone’s BP Station on the South side of Route 58.
Bobby Lane of the Public Service Authority updated the board on water/sewer service projects throughout Lee County. The PSA recently obtained funding for the water projects of Ingle’s Chapel, Old Woodway Road and the Blackwater community.
“Lee County has been very successful in its efforts to provide water and waste water services to the residents of Lee County and we continue to be successful,” stated Lane. “I will report to you, however, that it is becoming more and more difficult to provide positive cash flow for our projects.”
Lane went on to express that it is necessary to have “participation from almost everyone in the community in order to make these projects go and the Public Service Authority Board continues to work on that.”
Lane also discussed the purpose of user agreements, and explained the significance of public responsibility/decency.
“When people sign up for water and sign user agreements, they need to mean it,” said Lane. “They need to sign them with the full intent of using the water and paying for the water.”
The PSA financially suffers when user agreements are broken and left unpaid. “Our citizens need to understand the importance of signing these user agreements, and they need to know that the only way when can do these water projects is if they sign up, and if they use water,” said Lane.
Also during the regular meeting, the following items were approved:
• Last meeting minutes, monthly refunds and disbursements
• Treasurer’s Report, budget transfers, payroll issues and monthly appropriations
• New Board Appointments approved: A.J. Hatmaker and Charles Wynn appointed to the Industrial Development Authority, Mike Mooney appointed to Woodway Water Authority and Joyce Williams appointed the Board of Zoning Appeals.
• The Board approved pay request for High Temperature Linings in the amount of $19,466.00 for repairs to the fire-training burn structure
• Jail demolition bids were approved by the board and awarded to the E. Luke Green Company of Strawberry Plains, Tennessee
• The Board discussed Rural Development funding for vehicle bid specifications, in order to acquire nine police cruisers and one general use vehicle through a lease/purchase agreement. The County will assess several factors other than price to determine which bid is in the best interest of community.
• The Board approved final Airport AWOS Pay Request in the amount of $28,760.20 for the installation of the Automated Weather Observation System at the airport
VDOT Jonesville Residency Engineer James Parsons asked the board to approve a proposed resolution which gives the transportation office “more leeway” in the construction of Route 775, near the Rose Hill area, which is currently on the Six-Year Plan.
“We don’t have any more money that we can put on this project since the Unpaved Road Projects Funding has gone to zero,” said Parsons. “We are going to scale it down a little bit. We’re going to try to get the best road we can.”
VDOT plans to do some minimal widening and service the road accordingly. The Board approved the Rural Rustic Resolution, and agreed to “relax standards” in order to efficiently complete roadway repairs for Route 775, Poor Valley Road, in a timely manner.
Adam Young is a staff writer for the Middlesboro Daily News. Contact him via e-mail at ayoung@middlesborodailynews.com.
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