David Gibson Honored by Fiscal Court for 28 Years of Service
The Hancock County Fiscal Court met on Monday morning, August 12th, and David Gibson was recognized for serving as Hancock County Coroner from 1994 to 2022. David’s father also served as coroner previously, and his son, D.A. Gibson, is the County’s current Coroner. The Gibson family is appreciated for their many years of service.
Cell Phone Tower
The Fiscal Court members discussed the construction of a cell phone tower on property owned by the county, and located in the City of Hawesville. They made a decision to schedule a Public Meeting in the near future so that the public can provide feedback before a decision is made. AT&T is expected to be the anchored tenant, if construction is approved, and the tower would be placed at the intersection of Hwy 60 and 3199 (Hawes Blvd.). County Tax Rates The County’s annual tax rates for the Calendar Year 2024 were approved, as done annually. Those rates remain
the same, and have not been raised for several years.
Junior Achievement
The Court approved a donation of $1,000 to the Junior Achievement (JA) Program that will be utilized to offer financial literacy, work-readiness, and entrepreneurial programs at all of HC Schools, and in all grade levels. JA volunteers go into classrooms and teach students valuable skills, and are much appreciated. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Ohio Valley Program Manager for JA of West KY Chelsey Chaney at (270) 314-5287, or at: [email protected].
Road Dept. Reporting
The second mowing tractor that was ordered has finally been delivered. The HC Road Department is back on track now that those 2 that were lost to fire last year have been replaced.
Two road department employees retired, Richard Burk and Supervisor David Tindle. The Fiscal Court approved the hire of 2 new employees, Derek Napier and James Hall. Senior Services Report Director of HC Senior Services Lona Morton reminded about the Senior Games coming up on Thursday, September 12th at Vastwood Park, for participants who are 55 and older. Hancock County is hosting the event this year, and all of the other counties in the GRADD District will be bringing participants for the games. Mark your calendars for this fun day next month. There will be food and entertainment throughout the day, and if you’d like to participate, sponsor or volunteer, please call (270) 927-8137. Fire Dept. Update Executive Assistant & Fiscal Court Clerk Sage Petrie Young is currently working on the bid specs for the new air packs needed by the county’s fire departments in order to send that out for bids so the court can get a firm dollar
figure on what those will cost. The Fiscal Court has offered to purchase 20 air packs for the county, if the cities can each purchase the rest. Honeywell, the air pack vendor the fire departments have been using, is going out of that particular business and those will no longer be a viable option for use as of December 2024, as reported in The Clarion in previous editions. Economic Report Judge-Executive Johnny Roberts reported for Mike Baker, HC Industrial Foundation Director of Economic Development, in his absence at this meeting. Highlighted in the report Baker submitted was the news that Southwire is eligible for $89M in tax incentives from the state for an expansion.
Occupational Tax Report
Taxes collected for July were $721,671.57, and business licenses totaled $200. The deposit with County Treasurer Melissa Johnson for July was $721,781.57.
Treasurer’s Report
On August 1st, for all accounts, the total reported was $9,648,739.16.
Hwy 60 Timeline
Citizens have asked for an update on the timeline for construction on Hwy 60. The Fiscal Court was originally told that the state is expected to complete this phase of work by the end of October. Due to weather and other factors, an exact completion date cannot be given. As updates are provided, those details will be reported in future editions of The Clarion
