In Jan. 17-23, 2008 issue
By Greg Wells
Times Journal Managing Editor
editor@tjrcn.com

JAMESTOWN - The members of the fiscal court approved adding another full time position at the county's recycling center during their regular monthly meeting Monday.

The decision will add $14,560 plus full time benefits including insurance and retirement, which will cost at least $300 a month according to one magistrate.

That brings the increase to $18,160 for that office.

County Judge-Executive Mickey Garner was questioned on that department's income.

"Approximately what are we getting in receipts from the recycling center," Magistrate Greg Popplewell asked. "How much are the receipts were getting every month."

Garner said the county was getting between $2,100 and $3,000 a month from the recycling company they sell the materials to.

Given $3,000 a month, according to what the judge said, the recycling center brings in $36,000 in a year.

There is already one full time worker at the center, in addition to another who splits his time between that center and his duties as dog warden and road worker who serve there when conditions are too bad for them to work on roads.

Previously the person just hired had been on a job training program that paid between 50 and 75 percent of her wages and there were no benefits.

Others on the court questioned whether the county would be better served by using prisoners for that work, but that met with resistance from Garner.

Magistrate Ron Johnson made the motion to approve the new employee and it was seconded by Robertson.

In the end the court agreed to hire the woman as a full time county employee with only Popplewell voting in opposition.

He said he was not ready to approve it because he didn't feel that the court had been fully briefed on all of the issue.

In other issues before the court—

• The court discussed getting a better rate from Adair or Casey county for housing prisoners. The issue will be addressed at another meeting.

• An ordinance requiring inspections of all newly constructed residential homes was requested by the county's building inspector. That also will be addressed at a future meeting of the court.

• Discussion was protracted regarding the judge's proposed change to the Russell County 911 Dispatch Board. For more on that story see the related story on Page 1 of this week's Time's journal.

• There were other questions that related to the county's finances and those are addressed in the other story in this week's Times Journal.

• A "Land and Water Grant," was announced by Garner who said he wanted to use that grant money to build bathroom facilities at Island Ramp, which would mean the county would be spending local money in the form of matching funds and the grant money for construction of a restroom facility at a privately operated boat dock, the new Cave Springs Marina in Jabez.

"I just want to let everybody know we were going to do that," Garner said.