The Jackson County Fiscal Court held their regular monthly meeting on Thursday, July 09, 2026. Jackson County Clerk Donald “Duck”Moore read the minutes from the previous meeting. The court approved the minutes as read. Interim Judge Paul Hays announced the imminent retirement of Treasurer Shay Hacker. Hacker’s retirement will become effective August 01st, 2026.
Interim Judge Hays requested approval from the court to move Kendra Ward into the position of Treasurer to fill the vacancy left be Hacker’s departure. The court voted approval.
The court reviewed the appraisal submitted by Humfleet and Hopkins Real Estate Appraisers regarding the Jackson County Regional Food Center located at Annville, KY. The appraisal was required prior to the court’s intended selling of the property. However, the deeds associated with the property are complicated and need to be resolved prior to any actions taken to sell.
County Attorney Ross Murray indicated that all parties were in agreement and that issues regarding the deeds could be resolved. Ross indicated he would be working on them later in the week. The court agreed that issues with the deed needed to be resolved prior to any decision made regarding selling directly or placing the property with an auction company.
Brody Keck spoke with the court regarding the status of the new EMS building and sought approval to hire an architect as the next step. The estimated cost for architect services was $41,500.00. The court approved.
Keck also gave the court an update on the flood damages throughout the county highlighting State and FEMA responses. Interim Judge Hays also wanted to thank the Clay County and Wolfe County Road Departments for their timely and invaluable assistance.
Interim Judge Hays sought approval from the court for Justin Scott to remove an old bridge at Norris Cemetery Road along with seven (7) loads of gravel and excavator work on the temporary bridge repair at Norris Cemetery Road. Judge Hays explained that the old bridge needed to be removed since it represented potential damages and future problems if unattended.
Judge Hays requested approval for a bid from Sparks Concrete to repair a bridge on Cave Springs Road. The bid was for $21,500. Judge Hays expressed gratitude that the state emergency funding mechanism was being helpful in meeting these immediate needs. The repairs requested will ultimately be paid for through the Emergency State Funding.
The court provided approval to list the property across from McKee Baptist Church with Ford Realty Auction. The fiscal court had previously purchased the property as a location to be utilized by the Jackson County Fair board. This will no longer be required with the development of the new Fairgrounds off McCammon Ridge Road.
In addition, Interim Judge Hays requested approval to list the old VFW property with Ford Realty since the DAV no longer utilizes the building or property and turned it back over to the county.
The magistrates wanted to make sure the property was well defined before being auctioned because of the proximity to the Landfill/Transfer Station.
Judge Hays addressed the county’s garbage pickup service. He acknowledged that there were issues that needed addressed including maintenance of equipment and some administrative mistakes that had been made in the past. He asked for patience and dedicated the fiscal court efforts in rectifying the issues.
Regarding equipment maintenance he suggested considering a rental agreement that would replace an unreliable garbage truck that needed repairs with a new one. The magistrates wanted to evaluate the repair costs and timing on the truck currently owned before voting on leasing a new vehicle.
The rental agreement was tabled pending this evaluation. Interim Judge Hays indicated he thought the issues with the county executing the garbage pickup could be worked out and highlighted the revenue that is brought in when the service is efficiently implemented. This revenue could be used to shore up budget shortfalls and address critical problems that face our community.
He suggested waiting until the new fiscal court was in place to provide time to work out the issues before discussing the potential need to outsource the service.
Judge Hays also indicated the County Road Foreman advised him of the need to purchase “cold patch” repair for some damaged roads. Cold patch asphalt is a ready-to-use, pour-and-compact mixture used to quickly repair potholes and large cracks in roadways. Because it requires no heating or mixing, it is a highly accessible and affordable solution.
Fir informational; purposes only, Interim Judge Hays informed the court that 80/20 State Funding has been requested to make cross drains repairs on Maulden and Buncomb Roads. The plan is to blacktop these roads in the future and the cross-drain work would be most efficiently done beforehand.
The court reviewed the transfers and Treasurer bills. The next scheduled meeting is a Special Meeting to be held on July 30th, 2026 to open bids for blacktop. The next regular meeting is scheduled for August 13, 2026.
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