After more than an hour in executive session, some progress on the personnel at the new detention center was made at this month's fiscal court meeting Monday night as several decisions were made involving input from the Department of Corrections and forthcoming Jailer Bobby Dunbar.

The court, under state recommendations, appointed Neal Bell as the chief deputy and administrative assistant at the facility at a salary of just over $27,000 a year.

County leaders also voted to create a full time Class D coordinator at $11.50 an hour, a full time secretary position at $11.50 an hour and to create four full time shift supervisors at $9.50 an hour.

Current full time employee pay rates remain the same while new full time employees will receive $8.50 an hour while new part time will receive $8 an hour.

In other happenings at the meeting:

• The court voted to construct a 20 ft. wide steel-deck bridge on Blankenship Rd. as they entered into a contract with Karsener Construction out of Frankfort at just over $75,000.

• The court voted to pay Ronnie McGaha, the 911 mapping coordinator, an 8-hour-a-week salary out of the NCIC money.

• Judge Executive Mickey Garner said the final inspection of the new transition house in the old Shiloh motel will be Thursday as the renovated facility is expected to be open soon.

oGarner read the jail report to the magistrates, saying the total inmates being held in Liberty was 110 for the month of October at a cost of $45,000, which does not include medical bills or transport fees.

"If people in Russell County don't think we need a jail it wouldn't take long to eat up $400,000 or $500,000 for incarcerating prisoners in another county," Garner said. "It is $29 a day over there … they could go up to $35 and we would have no control over it. It will change a lot when we get our new jail."

Garner said the old jail would be demolished in January or February.

• Longtime airport board members Rita Johnson and Chairman Kevin Watkins submitted their resignations from the board to the court, effective at the end of the year. The court appointed Cliff Flanagan and Tyler Brumley as new members to the board.

• Court members heard an emergency ordinance reading concerning county control of the 911 Dispatch at expenditures of $212,000.

• The county voted to take in W. Thomas Rd. in Magistrate Ronald Johnson's district.

• County leaders voted to reappoint Eddie Moore from the Lake Cumberland State Park Lodge, Barry Begley from the Lakepointe Resort and David Branscum of McDonald's to the Russell County Hotel/Motel Restaurant Association.

• The county transferred $146,000 from the road department into the general fund. That money will be paid back as soon as tax money from the sheriff's office comes into the county coffers within the next few days.

• Excess items from the closed Russell County Jail will be sold at auction on Saturday night at 6 p.m. at the Jamestown Auction.

Earlier Monday afternoon, the project development board met for their regular monthly meeting at the Jamestown Café to hear updates on the upcoming Russell County Judicial Center.

• Ronnie McCall was introduced as the new AOC project coordinator by outgoing project coordinator Danny Rhodes, who will be moving on to other duties. McCall will oversee the final stages of the project, which is slated to be finished in late spring.

• Rhodes told the board that the AOC is no longer installing security equipments in projects such as the judicial center. Such systems would now have to be done independently by the contractor and could be costly.

"I would estimate upwards of $100,000," Rhodes said.

• The board also chose to display a Lake Cumberland-themed painting by local artist Gloria Faught in the courthouse. Faught was at the meeting and showed a rough sketch of the painting to board members there.