BY PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Tourism Board met Monday to discuss ongoing renovations for the Historic Courthouse and other improvements around the county.
The Historic Courthouse renovations are still well underway. Construction crews are still working on sanding and refinishing the floors.
“Once that’s done, once they’re gone this week, I feel like we can kind of pull everything together,” said Board Chair Nita Collier before giving a short list of the remaining necessary renovations. Some rooms will still need carpeting and lightning, all of which is arranged.
Greg Cline, a local taxidermist, has asked to place taxidermied animals indigenous to Martin County in the Historic Courthouse. The Board agreed that it would be good to place some of these animals in the now-complete tourism office.
The Martin County Fiscal Court approved funding for the heating and cooling of the building, which included funds for engineering fees.
Last week, Kevin Gilligan with Summit Engineering began drafting the documents necessary for the Historic Courthouse to receive the permits required for use as a public building. The Board is hopeful that the Historic Courthouse will be ready to house weddings and other events by November. Once all the necessary paperwork is submitted to the state, the permitting process is expected to take around 45 days.
The Board also discussed locations for the upcoming scannable sign project and murals.
Martin County Judge/Executive Colby Kirk has applied for funding for the scannable sign project. which will place signs around the county that can be scanned with a smartphone, which will direct to a website with more information on the landmark.
Murals are expected to arrive in Martin County early next year once funding has been secured and will feature Appalachian culture and history.
The Kingfisher Trail was damaged by the recent floods. Judge Kirk will be applying for FEMA disaster relief funds.
Grant funds will be used to upgrade the signage on the trail as well.
The final point of discussion Monday was developing a trail system in Martin County. The trail system would need to use private land but would be maintained by the Kentucky Mountain Regional Recreation Authority. Collier believes that once a property owner agrees to allow public access to a tiny portion of their land, other owners will see the benefits and allow their land to be used as well.