Pulaski County Commissioners Discuss Emergency Meetings, Spending Limit for Maintenance Director

Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Terry Young and Tracey Shorter
Pulaski County Commissioners Larry Brady, Terry Young and Tracey Shorter

The Pulaski County Commissioners took action to raise the amount of money allotted for the maintenance department in the case of an emergency situation.

Maintenance Director Jeff Johnston brought up the issue of emergency calls and the attempts to get a hold of commission members to approve a decision on how to move forward with the emergent issue at hand. The commissioners reiterated that Johnston has the authority to make the best, quickest and most cost-effective measures to take care of what needs to be done, but County Attorney Kevin Tankersley noted that some of the processes that have been done to seek commissioners’ approval of the emergent issue and money needed are not being handled in the best practice. He explained that any decision that requires immediate attention by the commissioners containing purchases over the minimum purchase requirement needs to be done in an a public emergency meeting.

Continue reading

Cathy Fritz Approved to do Drug Testing in Pulaski County

Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

The Pulaski County Commissioners approved a request from former police officer, Cathy Fritz, to conduct drug testing for the employees of the county. The Commissioners asked for a list of which employees will be subject to testing. The approval of her completing the drug testing is dependent on the approval of Attorney, Kevin Tankerslee.

The Commissioners also heard from a representative from WTH Technologies to discuss the GPS system. The representative will be working on getting the map live on the internet for public viewing, plus other features. The cost to the county will be $300 per month at a cost of $3,600 a year.

Two-Month Setback in Monterey Bridge Project

Pulaski County Commissioners Tracey Shorter, Kenneth Boswell, Michael Tiede

Jeff Larrison of United Consulting and Pulaski County Highway Superintendent Kenny Becker told the Pulaski County Commissioners this week that they expect a delay in the construction process of the Monterey Bridge Project because of a delay with the INDOT agreement. Larrison explained that INDOT has pushed bid letting for projects throughout the state back several months and as a result, the Monterey Bridge project is expected to be let for bid in September—a two-month setback from their planned letting in July.

Continue reading

New Vending Machines En Route to Pulaski County

The convenience of easily-purchased snacks and drinks is coming to more Pulaski County buildings, thanks to a pending contract with Canteen Vending. The courthouse, justice center, and county building will be outfitted with new glass-front Coke, Pepsi, and snack machines, and vending machines that already exist in other departments will be replaced by Canteen as well.

Deputy Auditor Carrie Wilson says that this agreement will bring a bit of money to the county through commission from the machines, and Canteen will provide maintenance for the machines weekly– a much better agreement than the county currently has, as the machines are rarely serviced which often proves problematic.

Continue reading