County moving forward with purchase of bank property

During the regularly scheduled July meeting of the Knox County Fiscal Court, officials continued making progress toward occupancy of a new county administration building in downtown Barbourville.

Before the meeting’s agenda was adopted, the floor was opened for citizen comments. One Knox Countian, Betty Williams, approached the fiscal court with a petition from neighbors seeking to have road work done at Middle Fork Richland Road at Gray. The residents are requesting the road be entirely blacktopped. Williams said that both sides of the road are blacktopped, but the center is gravel, causing damage to vehicles traveling the road. Williams also mentioned that four-wheelers push the gravel to the sides of the road. “I think it would be in the (best) interest to either chip it or blacktop it,” Williams said.

Judge-Executive Mike Mitchell accepted the petition from Williams and advised the fiscal court would look into it while also adding the county was behind on road work due to recent storms.

“This has been going on for years,” said Williams. “They’ve been promising since around ’94.”

After adopting the meeting’s agenda and approving minutes from the June 24 meeting, the fiscal court approved the County Attorney’s delinquent tax report for July of $146,467.73.

The fiscal court voted to approve a motion on an option to enter into a purchase agreement for the old Commercial Bank building and its adjoining properties from Commercial Bank. The property, located on North Main Street, will be renovated and eventually become the new county administrative building.

The court also approved awarding two contracts to Akins Excavating Company Inc. for waterline installation bids to expand clean water access to areas of Stinking Creek.

The court approved a letter of interest from Summit Engineering and to enter into an agreement for Summit to provide designs and engineering plans for the new Knox County administrative building (to be located at the former Commercial Bank building), and to authorize Judge-Executive Mike Mitchell to sign any and all documents necessary for the project. 

Moving on into routine business, the court approved the County Clerk’s quarterly report, as well as the treasurer’s fiscal year 2024 year-end reports and most recent quarterly report.

The court approved a motion to accept and enter into an agreement for the 2022 EMA Grant Program and to allow the Judge-Executive to sign any and all documents necessary to execute the grant, which is for the purchase of a new Chevy Tahoe for the Emergency Management director, replacing an older vehicle, a 2016 Chevy Tahoe, which was then approved to be sold as surplus.

Two individuals, Jennifer Travers Skidmore and Charles Evans, were appointed by the fiscal court to each serve a three-year term on the county’s Tax Appeal Board. New hires for the Knox County Road Department and the Knox County Detention Center were also approved.

A resolution, 20240724-01, authorizing the Judge-Executive to apply and enter into an agreement with the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General to execute any documents deemed necessary to facilitate and administer a Taser Grant from Law Enforcement Protection Program funds.

Additionally, the court approved resolution 20240724-02, approving a memorandum of agreement between the Knox County Fiscal Court and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Transportation Cabinet, Department of Highways, in the amount of $74,000 for roadway paving on Disappointment Hollow and East Lewis Street. The resolution also allows the Judge-Executive to sign the agreement on behalf of the fiscal court.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Knox County Fiscal Court will be at 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 28, 2024 in the District Courtroom of the Knox County Courthouse.