HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – The county voted to invest in an expansion of the Christian County Sheriff’s Office during the Fiscal Court meeting on Tuesday. Magistrates also discussed issues with plowing of the roads during last week’s snow.
At the Feb. 25 Christian County Fiscal Court meeting, magistrates accepted a bid for construction to build a new evidence building adjacent to the current sheriff’s office property. Five bids were received, with the highest at $300,000.
The magistrates unanimously voted to accept the lowest bid of $176,845. Judge Executive Jerry Gilliam said this expense was previously budgeted for this fiscal year.
Slick roads in northern Christian County
Magistrate John Bruce shared his disappointment in how KYTC plowed roads during the recent snowstorm, specifically in areas of his district in northern Christian County like KY-407. With road jurisdictions divided up between the city, county, and state, only certain snowplows are mandated on certain roads.
“I’ve got state roads in northern Christian County that on Saturday still had not been plowed,” said Bruce. “That’s an issue that’s got to be worked. They won’t let us work on them, they forbid us from working on them as a county.”
According to Bruce, large areas of the roadways were never plowed or pretreated, leaving them slick and treacherous for days after all other roadways were clear. After receiving complaints from residents in his constituents, he was unable to reach anyone at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to address the issues. He did commend the county road department for clearing roads in their jurisdiction.