Letcher County picks Thompson under state master contract for debris monitoring

Letcher County Fiscal Court voted to hire Thompson Consulting Services to provide debris and waterway monitoring under the Kentucky state master services agreement, the court said during its March meeting.

The move gives the county a monitoring contractor that can be activated immediately, county officials said. The court heard presentations from two firms: Wheeler Emergency Management Consulting, a private firm that proposed a hybrid model of experienced in-house supervisors plus local hires; and Thompson Consulting Services, which said it could place trained monitors in the county immediately by relying on staff already working in nearby counties.

The choice followed roughly 30 minutes of presentation and questions about staffing, hourly rates and local hire plans. Jeremy Branch, who identified himself as project manager for Wheeler Emergency Management Consulting, said Wheeler would bring an experienced core team then supplement with local hires. “We are not always gonna be the cheapest,” Branch said, but argued his company would ensure accurate documentation for FEMA reimbursement.

Missy Johnson, representing Thompson Consulting Services, told the court Thompson already had monitors working in the region and said the firm could “activate and start certifying trucks Wednesday, if you guys are okay with that.” She described a monitoring model that uses one monitor per crew and additional monitors at disposal sites and said Thompson’s monitoring approach is tied to cubic-yard payment approaches used in recent projects.

Judge Adams (title recorded in the meeting as Judge) moved to select Thompson under the state master contract; a second was recorded and the court conducted a roll-call vote. The clerk called members individually; the vote passed with the members present recorded as voting yes.

Court members and staff emphasized the monitoring company’s role is to document work for FEMA reimbursement and to ensure the county is not billed for work that will not be reimbursed. Several members asked whether lower hourly rates from one vendor could create audit risks; staff replied that monitoring firms must justify their billing and that documentation will be necessary for any federal or state audit.

County staff said the monitoring contract is an early step: monitors will oversee debris contractors and documentation that FEMA or state programs require. The court’s choice does not itself obligate funds beyond the contract procurement; work must still be authorized and funded through the county’s disaster procurement steps.

The court thanked both firms for appearing and said the county expects the monitoring team to begin work this week.

The vote to approve Thompson under the state master agreement was recorded by roll call at the meeting.