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Ethics commission finds Meade County jailer in violation of ethics ordinance, but issues no fine

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The Meade County Ethics Commission reviewed an ethics complaint filed against Meade County Jailer J.J. Scarborough during a hearing Tuesday night.

Attorney Peter Hill served as legal advisor to the ethics commission during the hearing. He said the complaint alleged three violations of the standards of conduct section of the county’s ethics ordinance.

“The sum, kind of the essence of the complaint, was that there was a conflict of interest by the current jailer, J.J. Scarborough, because of a relationship he had with an employee within the jail, and that led to unwarranted advantages and other things that would violate the ethics ordinance,” Hill said.

Scarborough and the complainant were each represented by legal counsel at the hearing, with both sides submitting evidence and calling witnesses. Hill said after deliberating the ethics commission sustained the complaint on one ground.

“The commission found that there was sufficient evidence that the respondent, the Meade County Jailer, had a direct or indirect financial or personal involvement that might reasonably be expected to impair his objectivity or independence of judgment,” Hill said.

Hill said the violation is of the reasonable man standard, meaning that there was no finding of an actual conflict of interest or actual seeking of an unwarranted advantage or privilege, but it would look to an outside observer that the actions would impair somebody’s objectivity.

Hill said the ethics commission has the authority to issue a monetary fine, and while Hill said he could not speak to the commission’s reasons they ultimately decided not to issue one.

“In looking at all the circumstances and the relative lack of evidence that in fact this relationship led to something bad for the county, no allegation that the county lost money, and plenty of evidence actually that the county jail is being fairly well run, especially its medical department is being fairly well run, the ethics commission (again, without reading their minds) may well have considered that evidence and concluded, ‘We’ve made a finding of a violation here. We’re not going to assess a civil penalty,’” Hill said.

Kentucky law says the Meade County Circuit Court has the authority to review the complaint. Scarborough was elected Meade County Jailer in 2014.

Meade County Water District asking customers to limit water use

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The Meade County Water District sent out a request to customers to help conserve water this week as increased demand due to the hot and dry weather has put increased stress on the district’s distribution system.

“We have a maximum pumping capacity of about 1.3 million gallons per day, and our demand is at about 1.3 million gallons per day, so we’re kind of teetering a little bit there,” said Meade County Water Conservation District General Manager Brett Pyles. 

Pyles said the water district’s goal is to increase capacity to 4 million gallons, but it will involve significant work and time.

“We have several projects in the queue to correct this issue, because I’ve been there a little over two years and this has been an issue since I got there, so we started planning right then but as with most large construction projects like ours, nothing’s quick, nothing’s easy,” Pyles said. “We have to jump through regulatory hoops. We have to secure funding. We have to do all kinds of things.”

Pyles thanked Hardin County Water District No. One for providing support, and thanked the water district’s customers. He says their efforts are already evident.

“Our tanks are in much better shape,” Pyles said. “We’re able to keep up. Just don’t use water to water the lawn or let the kids play in the backyard or what have you. If they can do that and just keep it to what they need water for to live, we’ll be in great shape.”

The water district hopes to have the first of its upcoming improvement projects, a new upsized transmission line from the Flaherty water tank to the Garrett water tank, out for bid by the end of July.

Follow the Meade County Water District Facebook page for more information.

KY 480 closed Thursday and Friday in Bullitt county

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The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is alerting motorists to a road closing in Bullitt County. 

Kentucky Route 480 or Cedar Grove Road will be closed from near County Road 1634 to near Woodsdale Road. The road will be closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday as crews work to replace cross drains along the route.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District Three says following the cross drain replacement, crews will place a dense-grade rock layer over the drains until asphalt can be laid. Drivers should use caution when driving over the cross drains.

Meanwhile, KYTC District Four says work has been completed on the westbound lanes of Kentucky Route 218 in downtown Horse Cave, but now the eastbound lanes are closed and eastbound traffic must detour as the work shifts.

Motorists should follow all detours around affected areas and use caution when approaching work zones. Follow KYTC District Three and Four social media for project updates.

NWS says heat not leaving the forecast for some time

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Chief Meteorologist Brian Schoettmer with the National Weather Service in Louisville says temperatures will remain above typical June averages for some time.

“So it looks like a fairly prolonged period of above normal temperatures,” Schoettmer said. “Normal for areas around Louisville this time of year would be 86 degrees, and we’re expecting basically all week and into the weekend highs, a lot of them, in the mid 90s, and then as we get late week/into the weekend we might even see more upper 90s temperatures.”

Schoettmer says temperatures are expected to come down a little on Sunday or Monday as a cooler front works its way through, but that will only pull things from the upper 80s to the lower 80s.

“The one good thing about all this is while the temperatures are going to be pretty high, overall the humidity isn’t going to be as bad as it could be,” Schoettmer said. “For instance, our dew points are only going to be in the mid-60s, so that’s going to keep our heat indices mostly in the 95 to 100 degree range, so really not that much different than our temperatures.”

Schoettmer says with the extended period of heat, be sure to use caution when working outside, and be sure to keep an eye on others.

“Wear light and loose fitting clothing,” Schoettmer said. “Obviously drink plenty of water. Also, make sure you check up on neighbors, especially if you have an elderly neighbor, make sure that they’ve got their air conditioning and that they’re handling the heat okay. Another thing we like to caution folks is make sure you remember to check the back seat.”

Visit the National Weather Service in Louisville on the web for more information on current conditions.

Radcliff City Council approves 2024-2025 budget

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The Radcliff City Council met for a regular meeting Tuesday.

The council approved the 2024-2025 city budget ordinances on their second readings.

“That is our last and second reading of the budget, so thank you all so much,” said Radcliff Mayor JJ Duvall. “That is our 2024-2025 budget, so thank you all for your hard work and hopefully there’s some things in there we’ll be able to get done this year.”

The total budget is valued at about $17 million. 

Total resources available in the budget show:
-General Fund: $16,407,100
-Road LGEA Funds: $542,000 
-Stormwater Utility Fund $1,334,000

Total appropriations in the budget show: 
-General Fund $16,407,100 
-Road LGEA Funds: $542,000
-Stormwater Utility Fund: $1,334,000

The council also held the first reading on an ordinance that rezones 155 Morgan Street from R-7 to Planned Unit Development Zone, which will accommodate the conversion of a former trailer park to 19 single-family housing units.

City engineering firm QK4 presented a review of the city’s community rating system progress report, which fulfills requirements for the city concerning federal floodplain standards and qualifies Radcliff residents for discounts on flood insurance coverage. QK4 says the city maintained the same values from last year, so no changes to the city’s rating are expected.

The Radcliff City Council will next meet July 8.