Carroll approves health insurance, road closure and pedestrian bridge work

Members of Carroll Fiscal Court on April 23 accepted new terms for the county’s health insurance policy, agreed to close a road for a school in English and authorized repair of a pedestrian bridge in the county park.

Scott Brown, of Phil Brown Insurance Company, informed the court that health insurance for county employees will see a 5% rate increase over last year, slightly less that the 6% county officials had been warned possible.

“We knew what was coming,” Brown noted.

Under terms of the plan, the deductible for individual policy holders will increase from $3,000 annually to $3,200 but the policy will otherwise remain intact. The county’s insurance, a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), functions like a Health Savings Account (HSA), and provides various discounts for count employees on the plan.

Meanwhile, the court approved a request by organizers of Hope Ministries Academy, the Christian school that opened in the former English Schoolhouse in 2023, to close a block long section of Greens Bottom Road South that loops between the school building and its parking lot.

According to organizers of the school, the road closure is needed for safety reasons since that section of roadway serves no purpose other than access to the school but some motorists still drive through the area even through students and families use it for access from the parking lot to the school.

Magistrate Scott Nabb said the county has not maintained the road for many years. The school corporation agreed to assume maintenance once the road is closed and transferred to the academy. The magistrates voted 3-0 to do that.

According to Nabb, a pedestrian bridge at Robert M. Westrick Park is in critical need of maintenance due to damage from erosion but the job looks to be “fairly large” and repair estimates have run high.

Nabb said even though the bridge is not very old the area is “significantly eroded” and the ends of the bridge are “fully exposed.” The work needs to be done soon since the summer mowing season has already begun and the bridge provides access for mowers to areas of the park that must be maintained. Nabb asked to seek additional bids on the project to see if the projected costs can be reduced and the work expedited.

In other business:

• The court approved the sale of surplus vehicles and road department equipment at auction and the sale of a more valuable John Deere front loader by sealed bid.

• Heard a report on Carroll County’s swimming pools. The outdoor pool at the county park will be ready to open by Memorial Day weekend and the indoor pool at Kysoc park is already open.

• Delayed a decision on appointments to the county’s code enforcement board, hiring of a code enforcement officer and purchase of software for code enforcement tracking until Judge-Executive David Wilhoite returns from medical leave.

• Heard a report that the Kentucky River Authority (KRA) board is interested in acquiring the lockmaster’s house and other structures at Lock 1 from the Army Corps of Engineers. The wooden structures have not been in use for decades and are in disrepair. The KRA wants to demolish the dilapidated and potentially unsafe structures and perhaps turn the area into a park.