By Ronica Shannon
Money spent on construction in Madison County dropped significantly in 2009, members of the fiscal court learned Tuesday.
Duane Curry, county planning administrator, gave the fiscal court an update about 2009’s building permit activity.
“As with other communities ... Madison County has experienced a significant decrease in construction and development activity in 2009 as compared to previous years,” Curry said. “Madison County’s development activity through the years has concentrated more on residential development than commercial. With these development patterns and the significant decrease in housing construction along with the number of homes currently on the market, our comparison numbers reflect the reduction observed.”
The amount of money spent in the county on construction has fallen drastically from 2008, when $62,209,509 was spent. The amount total for 2009 was $24,822,062.
There were 439 building permits issued in 2008 compared to the 375 issued in 2009.
In other business:
• Madison will be joining 17 other Kentucky counties in entering into the Bluegrass Armed Forces Community Covenant.
The agreement was made at Tuesday’s fiscal court meeting in the form of a resolution.
“The Bluegrass Armed Forces Community Covenant is recognition by local governments, businesses and educational institutions that the community supports the families of our armed forces,” said Lenny Stoltz II, executive director of the Bluegrass Area Development District.
“We have organized a group of judges and mayors from counties surrounding the Blue Grass Army Depot,” said Madison Judge/Executive Kent Clark. “We, as a community, recognize the commitment service members and their families are making every day. The strength of service members comes from strengths of families and the strength of families is supported by the strength of the community.”
The first step in becoming a part of the community covenant is for each city and county to pass the covenant as a proclamation or resolution, and nominate two people from each local jurisdiction to serve on a regional committee, Stoltz said.
Following the nomination, a formal regional signing ceremony will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 13 at the Marriott Griffin Gate Hotel during the annual meeting of the National Guard Association.
• The court adopted a proclamation in support of the Solid Waste Tire Trust Fund which helps provide grant funding for tire collection in Kentucky counties.
“Fifty-six thousand tires came out of Madison County (in 2009), and approximately 700,000 tires came from the Blue Grass Area Development District,” said Scott Tussey, Madison County Solid Waste Director.
“This is an amnesty-type program,” Clark said. “It’s really important that we continue to support this legislation.”
“An estimated 4 million scrap tires are generated annually in Kentucky, many of which would be discarded along roadways and in streets,” Tussey said. “... the Waste Tire Trust Fund gave counties the opportunity to manage scrap tires and provide a means for removal of the environmental and public health hazard that mismanaged tires pose.”
• At past fiscal court meetings, magistrates said they would like to receive an update from a representative of each of the county’s different taxing district.
Sue Hayes, director of Madison County Libraries, was the first to give her presentation Tuesday.
Hayes reported that 19,118 books had circulated during 2009, including the county library’s Richmond and Berea locations, as well as the Bookmobile. She also announced that 34,528 “non-book” materials had been circulated throughout the year, including DVDs, music CDs and audio books.
Hayes announced several benefits of being a patron of Madison County’s libraries, including several informational databases. Some of these include: Ancestry.com Library Edition.
This particular database service is available only inside one of the library’s two locations, Hayes said.
Other databases that can be accessed with a Madison County Library card include: Mango Languages Online, Gale Legal Forms, Auto Repair Reference Center, ConsumerReports.org, Kentucky Libraries Unbound (where audiobooks can be downloaded) and Price It! Antiques and Collectibles.
The next meeting of the fiscal court will be at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9 in the fiscal court chambers inside the Madison County Courthouse.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.
