Renovations planned at courthouse

The fiscal court gave approval for a plan Tuesday morning to remodel the district courtroom in Williamsburg.
Circuit Court Clerk Gary Barton said that the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) would be paying for the renovations expected to cost over $30,000, but because of procedural reasons the fiscal court has to approve the plan.
The remodeling is being done to make room for video arraignment equipment, and a new digital recording system for the courtroom, which is similar to the digital system used in circuit court and district court in Corbin.
The plan will include moving the existing jury box in order to provide more room for the judge’s bench, witness stand, and court reporters seat.
The renovations will require the Williamsburg District Courtroom being shutdown for two weeks.
Barton said the work would take place the final two weeks of June, which District Judge Dan Ballou will be out of town for military training.
The fiscal court also voted Tuesday morning to approve an agreement with EMCOM Home Guard to provide home incarceration monitoring systems for Whitley County prisoners.
County Attorney Paul Winchester said judges in district court currently use EMCOM system, which includes an ankle bracelet with a GPS tracker that is monitored by satellite, for prisoners that can afford to pay the $10 daily fee themselves for home incarceration.
The system is currently used mainly for prisoners facing large medical bills that the county would be responsible for if they remained incarcerated. If the inmates are placed under home incarceration, then they are responsible for their own medical bills.
Under a plan approved Tuesday, the fiscal court would pay home incarceration bills for indigent prisoners, who can’t afford to pay it themselves.
Whitley County Judge-Executive Mike Patrick said he thinks the home incarceration system could save the county a significant amount of money especially for prisoners who might have serious medical expenses, which the county would be required to pay if they remained incarcerated.
Under a plan approved Tuesday, either a district or circuit judge, the county attorney, or jail officials can recommend someone for the home incarceration. The judge-executive could then temporarily approved the plan pending approval by the fiscal court. In the judge-executive’s absence, two magistrates could also give temporary approval.
In addition, the fiscal court met in executive session for nearly 20 minutes Tuesday to discuss pending litigation, and a settlement offer involving a lawsuit with Tim Baker against the county concerning a gate that was placed across what the county feels is a county road.
“The lawsuit has been going on for some time. It was scheduled to come to trial tomorrow,” Patrick said Tuesday, “but the attorney, who is representing Mr. Baker, made an offer and a proposal to county attorney Winchester and I, and we felt we needed to discuss that with the court.”
The fiscal court authorized Winchester to continue discussing a settlement option in the case, and agreed to postponed the trial in the case.
Patrick declined to get into the details of the proposed settlement. He did say that the gate is still over the road.
In other business, the fiscal court:
• Approved resolutions for contracts between the county and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for both the county road aid co-op program and the municipal aid co-op program. Patrick said the county will be getting a nearly 3.5 percent increase in funding from both sources this upcoming fiscal year.
• Entered into an agreement with the Montgomery County Regional Jail to house county inmates.
• Re-appointed Donnie Bunch to a two-year term on the Cumberland Falls Highway Water District Board of Directors, and Harold Moses to a three-year term. Bunch’s term will end in October 2006, and Moses term will end in October 2007.
• Adopted Winwood Trail, Sherwood Trail, and Fern Trail into the county road system. All three roads are in the Croley Winwood Estates. The fiscal court also adopted Sweetbriar Lane and Dusty Lane into the county road system.
• Scheduled a public hearing for May’s fiscal court meeting concerning possible relocation of nearly three-tenths of a mile of Boyd Bend Road.
• Approved easements for bus turnarounds.