Boone County Judge Executive Gary Moore introduced the new county treasurer at this week’s Fiscal court meeting.
“I want to welcome a new face to the audience and to the court,” Moore said. “This is the first official meeting with our new county treasurer. Rob Notton is with us, and we are so happy that you’re here and on board.”
Rob Notton was hired on Jan. 11. He previously worked 16 years at Toyota, and then 5 years at Leadec Industrial Services as the director of accounting.
Notton and his wife have lived in Hebron for 18 years. They have two children, one who attends NKU, and one at Conner high school.
“The county had a strong response to our recruitment effort for our treasury position,” said County Administrator Jeff Earlywine. “From a pool of 50 well qualified applicants, Rob was our consensus top candidate. He will be a great addition to our senior management team.”
Boone County commissioners voted to approve the award for the annual asphalt paving and milling program for streets in the Burlington area to Eaton Asphalt.
County Engineer Rob Franxman explained that in fiscal year 2022 they decided to treat the paving and milling projects differently, so they divided the areas to be paved into sections, and last September they awarded 2 different contracts to three contractors for Hebron, Florence and Walton.
“On Feb. 7 bids were received for the final paving area in Burlington,” Franxman said. “Eaton Asphalt was the low bidder at $979,270.90. Eaton had not received any of the three previous contracts. There were three bids for the Burlington area, and Eaton’s bid was the lowest, and below the engineer’s estimate, and they meet all the criteria necessary. The package does include paving of approximately 6.5 miles of county streets.”
Franxman said completion date is Nov. 1, 2022.
Lori Zombek, county human resource director, told the court that they are having trouble attracting seasonal workers and other workers.
“We realized we have not raised the seasonal rates at the golf course since 2012, and some of them are making $7.36 an hour,” Zombek said. “We are not competitive, either with Kenton or Campbell counties or really with any other entry type position in the region.”
She had submitted raises for the county workers, from $8 or $9 per hour to $10.50 per hour, and similar raises based on salaries. She also recommended raising the pay for part time workers, saying it is a minimal raise but necessary.
Zombek also told the court that the Friends of the Arboretum is giving the county a grant to increase the salaries of the interns. She said interns are difficult to find, but the county now has three and one on the way. The extension office reimburses the county for base salaries, but now the grant will help so that they can provide a better rate of pay for the interns.
An ordinance passed the second reading, which provides for a credit for the Boone County Occupational License fee for new employees as part of an economic development project by Amazon.com Services Inc. This is part of the Kentucky Business Investment Program.
Joe Nolan from Amazon was present in case the commissioners had any questions.
Five years ago the state cabinet and the county promised certain incentives if and when Amazon fulfilled the committment, and now the committment has been fulfilled and the complex is up and running.
Judge Executive Gary Moore said the project is ahead of pace, and this waiver will occur with no upfront money from the county, just through the withholding on the employees pay.
Moore went on to remind the commissioners that the infrastructure has kept up with the project, including the widening of Mineola, Donaldson, and Ted Bushelman.
Commissioners also voted for the second reading of an ordinance which amends other ordinances that allow golf carts on certain streets in the River’s Pointe subdivision.
A resolution passed which set the due date for taxes at Monday, April 18, because April 15 is Good Friday.
Another resolution transferred a large commercial gas stove to the Petersburg Fire Department from the Petersburg Community Center. Apparently the stove is old and has been giving the community center problems, so the fire department turned it off. By transferring it to the fire department, it gives them the option of trying to fix it, or getting rid of it and using any money received to help buy a new electric range, so the partnership between the county and the fire department was approved by commissioners, and the property transferred.
The county was able to buy several vehicles for the Sheriff’s department, but they also need to replace a large van that a person can stand up in. The county asked for bids to get a new large van two different times, and received no offers either time.
Then the county found two of the type of vehicle they need on a car lot, and they asked commissioners to approve varying from the procurement procedures for a one time incident to buy the vehicle they need, since there is such a shortage of work vehicles.
The cost will be $47,375, which includes a discount rate. The county will use forfeiture money to buy the vehicle for the Sheriff’s department.
“It sounds like a creative and effective way of dealing with the challenge,” Moore said of the difficulty of acquiring the necessary vehicles. “It looks like a good outcome. Lets get it done!”
