Christian County Fiscal Court received good news Tuesday when it learned the state will pay for repair work to the cooling tower at the justice center.
County treasurer Walter Cummings said the county advertised for the job in the Kentucky New Era seeking three bids but only received one. The fiscal court voted to accept the bid for $337,151 from West Mechanical of McLean County and learned the Administrative Office of the Courts budget committee approved the repair cost and will reimburse the county for the expense. The cooling tower failed over the summer with engineers saying it would not make it through another summer without repairs.
In other business, the fiscal court approved the recommendation by the E911 advisory board to purchase a GPS receiver and data collector for $12,795. The new equipment will help the 911 center transition into next-generation 911 reception. The new software will allow dispatchers to receive texts, videos, and other data and information. Right now, the 911 center can only receive and process locational data.
The fiscal court also voted to amend the salary schedule to increase the starting pay rate at the jail to $15 an hour and increase the starting salary for animal shelter employees from $9 to $10 per hour. Cummings said they have seen job vacancies at those two agencies increase by five since August. The hope of the new pay rates is for retaining current employees and attracting new ones to fill the vacancies.
In its monthly report to the fiscal court, the Christian County Animal Shelter reported taking in 544 animals in September with only 34 of those coming from outside the county. 328 of those moved back into the community including 80 adoptions in 44 reclaims. The shelter also reported eight pets were adopted at an event over the weekend cosponsored by the sheriff’s office.
And Christian County Fiscal Court recognized retired meteorologist and Christian County native Rick Shanklin for his 37 years of service to the National Weather Service in Paducah. Shanklin said growing up on a rural Christian County farm makes you learn to appreciate the weather and its ever-evolving nature.
click to download audioJudge Tribble says Shanklin’s work was especially critical to Christian County.
click to download audioShanklin received a standing ovation from Christian County fiscal court and those in attendance in the gallery.
