The public hearing had been called for 7 p.m., but instead of reading the proposed ordinance and then asking for public comments, magistrates went into their regular business of the night.
One of the first items discussed was the passage of a $1.73 million general budget; an $829,806 road budget, $287,316 for the county jail and $55, 000 for the LGEA fund. There were no objections or comments by the Magistrates before giving their nod of approval.
“We now have a budget,” commented Judge Executive Berlin Moore, “ We’re ahead of the state.”
Moore then asked Magistrates to pass on first reading a proposed ordinance regulating adult oriented business that may have plans to locate in Trigg County. “All we want is to have some control,” Moore said. “We can’t keep them out.”
The Judge incorrectly stated that Cadiz officials had brought to him a similar ordinance for consideration. However, that ordinance was one being considered by the joint County/City Planning Commission, the legal authority for such ordinances in both the county and city.
He noted, however, that ordinance had wording relating to zoning and that Trigg County, outside the city limits of Cadiz, does not have any regulations regarding zoning. “Richard Nelson feels like this is a better ordinance,” Moore said in referring to Nelson, a member of the state wide Family Foundation and resident of Trigg County.
County attorney H. B. Quinn informed magistrates he had prepared the ordinance “a week after Richard came to the court, as opposed to what was reported in some media.” Quinn was apparently referring to statements in The Cadiz Record that more than two months had passed and he had not yet acted on a request by the joint planning commission.
A copy of the ordinance was not available for to the public at the meeting, but Magistrates gave unanimous approval.
Magistrates approved a bid of$139,305 from the Rogers Group for the paving of four roads in the county. West Kentucky Pavers also bid on the project, but their bid was $181,665.
With the vote of approval, the county will pay for the paving of Grigsby Lane at a cost of $37,470; a side road adjacent to U.S. Hwy 68 for $49,503; Rockcastle-Lakeshore road for $10,760 and Corinth Church Road for $41,572.
The Hwy. 68 project is the road that turns right just past the Hale sawmill and runs parallel to Hwy. 68 until it reenters the main road near Canton One-Stop. Each of the roads will receive an inch and a half of asphalt with the exception of Corinth Church Road. That road, where Moore resides, will receive two inches.
State road funds will be used to pay for the project with the exception of just over $29,000. That money will come from Trigg County road funs.
In a housecleaning matter, Magistrates corrected the names of several roads being used on the E-911 maps that had different names than those on state maps. According to Moore the apparent snafu came about when the former E-911 coordinator did not report the changes to the proper state officials. “We’re trying to correct a map so that everybody will have the same names,” Moore explained.
Although the county budget was passed earlier in the evening, Moore warned Magistrates of an impending rise in the county medical insurance rates. “We’re going to have to do something because of the sky-rocketing health care,” Moore said. The county is expecting to face a rate increase of up to 19 percent when its present coverage ends June 30.
He cautioned magistrates they should “prepare for a long meeting” when he has representatives of several health insurance companies to come to the county to offer proposals. “It’s too complicated for me to explain to you,” he said of the health care issue.
As a warning, he noted that if all county employees chose to participate in the current health insurance coverage, the county would face an increase of about $73,000.
Moore said he would call a special meeting as quickly as he could in June to hear proposals.
