YOU ARE HERE: Central Kentucky Home→Collections→Lincoln County

Court forms committee to study jail

July 26, 2007|GEORGE LEWIS

In a move that could have violated the Kentucky open meetings law, Lincoln Fiscal Court last week named nine persons to a committee that will study whether to build a new jail and where to build it should the county decide to do so.

Members of the committee are Judge Executive Buckwheat Gilbert, who will serve as chairman of the committee; Jailer David Gooch, County Atrorney Daryl Day, Stanford City Attorney Carol Hill, Magistrates David Faulkner and Jim Adams; County Engineer Alan Bowman, City Engineer Doug Gooch, and Lincoln County Sheriff Curt Folger.

Magistrates named the committee during a special called meeting Thursday. The media were not notified of the meeting, nor was consideration of the jail listed on the meeting agenda.

The Kentucky open meetings law requires notification all special-called meetings to be posted in a conspicious place at least 24 hours in advance of that meeting, and that only the items listed on the agenda be addressed at the meeting. items listed on the agenda be considered.

A decision whether to build a jail, renovate the existing jail or close it entirely has been on magistrates' to-do list for more than a year.

State corrections officials have placed Lincoln County on notice that failure to correct deficiencies at the current jail could result in closure, which would require the county to transport its prisoners to other counties and detain them there, at Lincoln County's expense.

In fact, last Thursday Jailer Gooch faced a state-established deadline of the following day to show the corrections cabinet that the county is making progress toward a decision on jail construction.

The jail issue surfaced in the court's previously regular-scheduled meeting. At that meeting, Judge Executive Gilbert announced his plan to call a special meeting to consider revisions to the county's recreation committee bylaws and also to consider forming the jail committee.

However, the called meeting was not announced to the public.

County Attorney Day, who was not at the called meeting due to a conflict with his duties in district court, expressed concern that the court may have violated Kentucky law and said that a "sensitivity session" may be in order to inform the court of state requirements pertaining to open meetings.

|

|

|