By Ronica Shannon
The Madison Fiscal Court has teamed up with the Department of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife to give the owners of Wilgreen Lake more authority over their fishing rules and regulation.
The court accepted a memorandum of agreement Tuesday between the court and state department.
The fish in Wilgreen Lake have been checked twice a year since the lake was built, said Madison Judge/Executive Kent Clark.
The agreement gives them authority to make recommendations to the fiscal court in case they need to change the catch-length limit of a certain fish or change regulations as to what types of fish can be kept and what types need to be released after being caught.
With the memorandum agreement, Wilgreen Lake personnel still must obtain permission from the fiscal court before taking any actions, Clark said.
In other business:
• The court voted to accept the 2010 tax rate set by Berea Community Schools.
The Berea School Board agreed to choose the maximum tax allowed by the state, which is a 4 percent increase.
The 2010 rate will be 85.7 cents per $100 of both personal and real property valuation, compared to 82.4 cents the previous year.
The board’s other option was taking the compensating rate which would have been 82.3 cents per $100 of valuation.
• Jennifer Webb, director of Madison County Youth In Action program, recognized members of the Madison County Sheriff’s Department and the Central Kentucky Area Drug Task Force for their involvement with Youth In Action events.
• Historic Properties Director Phillip Seyfrit, on behalf of the Battle of Richmond Association, purchased five Civil-War-era pistols from Magistrate Bill Tudor for $2,350. Each pistol’s monetary value was determined by Antique and Modern Firearms based in Lexington.
• The county’s 2009-10 fiscal year budget was amended to reflect the $440,000 in grant funding given to the Battle of Richmond Preservation Project.
The majority of the money will be used to renovate the inside of the Pleasant View home located on the battlefield on US 421.
The remaining funds will be used to purchase period-appropriate cannons and fencing for the site.
• The court denied a land-use change that would change the classification of 2.5 acres at 2702 Lancaster Road owned by Gene Smith from agriculture to neighborhood commercial use.
The land use change already had been approved by the county’s planning commission contingent upon the construction of a corridor located on KY 52 W, which has been canceled, according to Clark.
• The date and time for Trick-or-Treat in the county limits will be Saturday, Oct. 31 from 6-8 p.m.
The next meeting of the Madison Fiscal Court will be at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday Sept. 22 at the Madison County Courthouse.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.
