Glasgow, KY – Barren County Magistrate Tim Coomer serves as chair of the Transportation Committee for Barren County government. In the committee meeting held on Friday, he brought attention to the 76 private roads that are not on the county road system in Barren. Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd added, “that’s 60 miles.”
All road signs are the same color green in Barren County, according to Coomer, which has the ability to mislead a prospective buyer of property, if they or their realtor don’t do the research to state that the property is on a private road, not a county road. Coomer proposed to the committee that all private roads have a different color sign, which would cost the taxpayers of Barren County somewhere between $14 and $29 per sign. The thought behind the proposal being that a blue, or any other color sign would indicate to all citizens which roads are maintained by the county and which are on private property.
Others noted that the developers of any subdivision could take down the signs and put their own ones up. Coomer stated that he would talk with Barren County Attorney, Mike Richardson, on a way to address that in the resolution.
In order for a road to be annexed into the county road system, a group of residents that reside or own property on that road must first pay to have core sampling done by an engineering firm and meet all width and structural requirements. The road must also possess a curb if there is a sewer system in place. Once that survey has been submitted to the Fiscal Court, magistrates and the Judge-Executive can vote to add the road into the county system.
This topic will be covered at the next Barren Fiscal Court meeting on Tuesday, April 16th.
The committee also discussed the purchase of a tri-axle dump truck. The cost would be for $222,620 based on the bidding process. Barren County Road Department Supervisor Jamie Degraff said it would be for efficiency. Especially when hauling stone from the quarry, a tri-axle versus a tandem dump truck could haul 10 more tons if loaded correctly. Magistrate Coomer noted that, “we don’t need a whole fleet of them, but having one” could justify the cost for the heavier loads the road department hauls.
Coomer did say that he had talked with other county officials who have been through the process of owning and selling a tri-axle dump truck. The one being considered is a Peterbilt, but doesn’t have a Cummins engine. He said that others had told him a Cummins engine made a significant difference in the resale value, considering the total impact the purchase and surplus of the truck would affect future county budgets.
More expertise is being consulted by the committee, and Judge Byrd arranged for a sales agent to be present at Tuesday’s Fiscal Court meeting.
