In Feb. 21-27 issue
By Derek Aaron
Times Journal Reporter

JAMESTOWN - Judge-Executive Mickey Garner and Emergency Management Director H.M. Bottom were surprise attendees at Monday night's City Council meeting.

Both were there to urge the council to support an emergency warning system in Russell County by installing as many as 10 new sirens in the county's most populated areas, much like the five below Wolf Creek Dam. They have been approved but are yet to be installed.

Garner and Bottom asked Mayor Brooks Bates and the council for financial help in securing some monetary support for one of the warning sirens.

Bates said he had been told by Garner that all sirens, which would have about a five mile radius, in the county would be synchronized with the National Weather Service in Jackson.

Bates said that Garner and Bottom wanted the city to pay for one pole with a siren, a cost of $20,500 that has been reduced to $5,000 after Bottom received federal word he could get it at a discount price because of the already-in-place sirens below the dam.

"We probably won't get it completely county-wide unless we can get everybody in the county to participate in it," Garner said. "We have talked with some of the other business people and are going to talk with the school board this week, hoping that they will put in on it too."

Garner said he and Bottom are going to meet with the Industrial Park and "get as many people involved in the county," as they can.

Garner said the county would purchase as many sirens as possible.

"I feel like that we can work with this if it is around $5,000 mark," Bates said.

Bottom said the proposed warning sirens would be operated by computer with the option of manually sounding individual sirens in the county if need be. He also said all county-wide sirens could concurrently sound to produce a mass warning, letting county residents know of an emergency, be it severe storms or otherwise.
The county must decide by March 15 how many sirens to order, Garner said. "We hope you all do participate in it," he said.

In other happenings at the meeting—

• Skaggs also reported to the council about recent problem's with a city water tower. The specifications have been written and will soon be advertised for bids.

He said in January that the 100,000 gallon water tower near Stephens Pipe & Steel on East Hwy. 619 has been leaking water because of 11 small holes that have developed over time.

Skaggs said repairs of patching the holes, sandblasting and re-painting the water tower along with other repairs would cost around $100,000. He said the cost of a new tower would be around $500,000.

Skaggs also gave city leaders an update on the Jamestown water plant expansion and raw water intake.

Skaggs said both the water plant expansion and raw water intake project are making headway, but at a relatively slow pace. He said he would know more by the end of this month.

• The council heard the first reading of ordinance 2008-01, proposing to move the Jamestown City Council meetings from the third Monday of each month at 6 p.m. to the third Thursday of each month at 6 p.m.
The newly proposed meeting time, the brainchild of Mayor Bates, was backed unanimously by council members Marcelene Taylor, George Ralph Garr, David Lawless, Harold "Frog" Miller, Larry Joe Murray and Terry Robertson.

The meeting time will change after the second reading of the ordinance at the March meeting of the council and publication in this newspaper.

• The council amended the city's budget for buying the old Merryland Roller Rink Building. Bates said the city was purchasing the property for utilities.

"This is where we are going to have our distribution for our water," Bates said.

Public Works Director Ottis Skaggs said several thousand dollars had already been spent on the renovating the building.

• Bates said that work on lighting the baseball fields at the Jamestown City Park began on Wednesday, as the materials to put them up have been delivered.

Public Works Director Ottis Skaggs has said the cost of the project is $120,000 with $97,000 coming from a state grant. Bates said the Bank of Jamestown was contributing $5,000 to the project while the remaining amount of $18,000 will be covered by the city.

Bates said the lights should be installed by the opening day of Little League baseball season.

Zach's Superior Electric of Russell Springs received the contract to install the Musco lights

• The council heard Bates talk about making Martin Luther King, Jr. Day an official holiday for city workers. City workers will receive half a day for the holiday if it passes, much like Good Friday.