Lewis County Fiscal Court approves multiple grant applications, renews workforce pact and rejects Camp Dix renovation bids

Lewis County Fiscal Court on Tuesday authorized a renewed interlocal cooperative agreement to keep the county in the 10-county TNCO workforce development area, rejected construction bids for the Camp Dix Volunteer Fire Department and approved a package of federal- and state-level grant applications aimed at emergency warning systems, an emergency operations center design, port planning and watershed and wildfire planning.

The court voted to renew an interlocal cooperative agreement with the TNCO Workforce Development Board that was first approved by the fiscal court in 2021 and ran for four years. Denise Diles, director of the TNCO Workforce Development Board, told the court the updated agreement makes only minor administrative edits tied to state cabinet and department name changes and keeps Lewis County in the multi-county workforce area. "We help coordinate and facilitate job fairs," Diles said, listing local services such as youth work-based learning, occupational skills scholarships and 50% on-the-job wage support for employer training.

Why it matters: renewing the interlocal agreement preserves Lewis County’s access to federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act-funded job training, scholarships and employer services coordinated through the 10-county TNCO board.

The court also voted to reject all bids for the Camp Dix Volunteer Fire Department renovation after the lowest secured bid came in higher than expected. Christie Dodge, speaking for Buffalo Trace Area Development District, said "the lowest secured bid was, right around 400,000 give or take," and recommended rejecting bids to allow more time to seek additional funding. Commissioners approved seeking alternative funds, including an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) pre-application to support the project and left open coordination with the volunteer fire district about who will be the applicant.

The meeting included approval of multiple grant applications to pursue external funding for public-safety and infrastructure projects:

- A FEMA BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) full application for a warning siren on Lions Lane with an estimated project cost just under $30,000 (25% local match).

- A FEMA BRIC rollover application for a generator, fuel and site work at Tolesburg Christian Church to support a winter shelter; the generator estimate provided to the court was $115,000 with a 25% match and the church indicated it would supply the match if awarded.

- A FEMA BRIC application to fund planning and preliminary design work to study relocating the county Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to the former jail facility; court members approved pursuing design funding not to exceed $50,000, with the county responsible for a 25% match if awarded.

- An application to the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) for planning funds tied to a proposed Lewis County port project; the court approved the resolution to apply for up to $200,000 in PIDP assistance and associated state match steps.

- A Kentucky 319 watershed management grant application for a Kinnickinnick Creek watershed plan with an estimated engineering cost near $267,000; the program requires a 40% match, part of which the court was asked to cover through a state-administered match resolution.

- An application under the USDA Community Wildfire Defense Grant program to pursue a planning grant (maximum $250,000 available under the NOFO) so the county can develop a wildfire defense plan; court members noted the planning grant requires a 10% local match while implementation grants require a 25% match.

- Authorization to apply for Kentucky 9-1-1 Services Board funds to support a planned hardware refresh of the county’s 9-1-1 recording and call-taking systems; staff estimated the equipment refresh in the low‑$30,000s.

Court members said these applications are initial steps: most awards require later grant development, design or construction phases and state or federal reviewers will make final funding decisions.

Votes at a glance (selected items):

- Resolution 25-02, Renew TNCO interlocal cooperative agreement — Approved (Johnny Osborne: yes; Judge George Sparks: yes; Joey McCann: yes; Mark Horsley: yes).

- Reject all bids for Camp Dix Volunteer Fire Department renovations — Approved (Judge Sparks: yes; Joey McCann: yes; Mark Horsley: yes; Johnny Osborne: yes).

- Approve submitting ARC pre-application for Camp Dix (to support additional funding) — Approved (Joanne McCann: yes; Mark Horsley: yes; Johnny Osborne: yes; Judge Sparks: yes).

- FEMA BRIC siren application (Lions Lane) — Approved (Mark Horsley: yes; Johnny Osborne: yes; Judge Sparks: yes; Joanne McCann: yes).

- FEMA BRIC generator application (Tolesburg Christian Church) — Approved (Johnny Osborne: yes; Judge Sparks: yes; Joanne McCann: yes; Mark Horsley: yes).

- FEMA BRIC planning/design application for EOC relocation (not to exceed $50,000, 25% match) — Approved (Judge Sparks: yes; Joey McCann: yes; Mark Horsley: yes; Johnny Osborne: yes).

- Resolution 25-04, Apply for Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) planning funds (up to $200,000) — Approved (Joey McCann: yes; Mark Horsley: yes; Johnny Osborne: yes; Judge Sparks: yes).

- Kentucky 319 application and related Resolution 25-05 (Kinnickinnick Creek watershed plan, ~$267,000 estimate; 40% match) — Approved (roll call: Johnny Osborne: yes; Judge Sparks: yes; Joey McCann: yes; Mark Horsley: yes).

- Community Wildfire Defense Grant (USDA) application for a wildfire plan (planning grant; 10% match) — Approved (Johnny Osborne: yes; Judge Sparks: yes; Joey McCann: yes; Mark Horsley: yes).

- Resolution 25-03, Apply for Kentucky 9‑1‑1 Services Board funding (hardware refresh/recording system) — Approved (Judge Sparks: yes; Joey McCann: yes; Mark Horsley: yes; Johnny Osborne: yes).

Court members and staff stressed that most of these items are grant applications or planning steps, not construction contracts. Christie Dodge, representing Buffalo Trace Area Development District, told the court rejecting the Camp Dix bids is intended to buy time to pursue additional funding and improve the project’s affordability. "I feel like we've done everything we can to try to keep this project moving forward," she said.

The fiscal court scheduled its next regular meeting for March 10, 2025 at 3 p.m.

Ending: The meeting record shows unanimous approval on the items above; specific award decisions and subsequent design or procurement steps will depend on state and federal grant review and separate contracting processes.