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The Clark County Fiscal Court held its last meeting of the month on Thursday, Feb. 27. 

While many agenda items were listed, a worthwhile discussion occurred during the magistrate comments portion.

The topic concerned the bridge on Red River Road, a topic of previous discussion and controversy. 

In a Facebook post written on February 19, Clark County Judge-Executive Les Yates provided an update. 

“I am pleased to report that we have received word of Federal [sic] funds being approved for replacing the railroad bridge on Red River Road. An engineering firm has begun the design process for replacing the bridge,” he’d said. “Because this is a CXS crossing, once the design is done, additional review will be required by CSX officials.” 

Judge Yates clarified at Tuesday’s meeting. 

“There’s a federal program…it’s a pot of federal money that goes to the state…it was determined it didn’t have to go through all the state hoops if you will because we have a private bridge that we’re using taxpayer dollars for,” he said. “There’s $1.7 million appropriated for that bridge. It’s in the design stage now. They’re going to release it for construction sometime around January 2026.” 

Yates noted that questions about CSX’s contractual status have yet to be answered, and the railroad company’s legal team is investigating the matter. 

When Magistrate Robert Blanton asked how Judge Yates was made aware of the money and federal program, Yates acknowledged that Highway District 7 Chief Engineer Kelly Baker had done so. 

Magistrate Ernest Pasley credited state senator and former Fiscal Court Magistrate Greg Elkins with being instrumental in bringing about the action. 

In other news, a discussion regarding the hiring process of a county employee occurred. 

Just under halfway through the meeting, Judge Yates acknowledged hiring an employee for the county’s Road Department during the winter storm in early January, stating that such an action was allowed due to a state of emergency being declared at the time. 

“What’s going to happen at the next court meeting [is] I’m going to bring before you a court order to hire this person as a county employee,” he said. 

He listed several Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) in his explanation.

Yates also requested that the Court agree to pay a bill with Adecco, a staffing company. 

A question about whether the hiring constituted a contract or agreement was discussed.

Not all were in agreement regarding the following steps. 

Magistrate Pasley responded. 

“You’re talking about the KRS code, but you’re also missing that the KRS code [says] every contract that this court enters into must be approved by the county attorney,” he said. 

Magistrate Dan Konstantopoulos said he would like to consult with the county attorney before taking further action. They asked Judge Yates if such action had taken place first. 

“At the time that we made the decision, there really was no time to consult with anybody,” Judge Yates responded. “A declaration had been declared. The governor had declared a state of emergency for the state…if you want a legal opinion, we’ll get one.” 

Konstantopoulos further asserted why he hoped to get a legal opinion. 

“[If] we go through the county attorney, that protects all of us,” he said. “He gives us the legal opinion, which then we follow, because if something happens, we’re going based on our legal department.” 

A motion to approve the current bills list omitting Adecco passed 4-2, with Judge Yates and Magistrate Robert Blanton serving as ‘no’ votes. 

Magistrate Steve Craycraft was absent from the meeting. 

Judge Yates agreed to speak with the county attorney about the Adecco bill before the next meeting, and the item was tabled.