BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County Fiscal Court made decisions during its April 18 session toward developing ATV/UTV trails within the county.
Judge/Executive Lon Lafferty requested the court’s approval for a $250,000 grant application to the Department for Local Government. The grant is sourced from funds earmarked for the Kentucky Mountain Regional Recreation Authority (KMRRA). Established in 2017 by the General Assembly, the KMRRA’s purpose is to establish an interconnected adventure trail system in 18 eastern Kentucky counties.
If approved, Martin County would use the grant to explore the development of trailheads, fishing piers, kiosks, and other infrastructure that supports off-road adventure trails.
“This gives us the ability to explore how we can be part of the trail,” Lafferty said. “We don’t want to lose out. We don’t want to have this go by us and not look at the opportunity. As everyone is aware, we are a county that has sustained itself from coal mining for decades. That is essentially gone now. We’re down to one mine.”
Lafferty said the county would continue pursuing light manufacturing and getting companies to come into the industrial park.
“But I don’t think we can miss out on the idea of adventure tourism,” he added.
District 1 Magistrate Cody Slone said, “This is economic development for our county.”
District 5 Magistrate Ronald Workman agreed, pointing out campground development in West Virginia for the Hatfield-McCoy Trails and the growing development in Boyd County around the Rush Off-Road ATV/UTV Park.
“I’m totally for the trail system,” Workman said. “We need a trailhead in every district so that every district may benefit from this.”
Workman mentioned the widely-held belief that the KMRRA trail system would use all trails within the county.
“It won’t take but maybe one or two of the trails,” he said. “I know on Wolf Creek there are 20 or 30 trails, but one or two is all they’re going to cross.”
District 4 Magistrate Junior Hunt asked about the location of the trail system in the county.
“We don’t know yet,” Workman replied.
Slone also compared Martin County to communities in the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System in West Virginia that are seeing a positive economic impact from the trail.
“We’re 20 years behind, but if we can start moving in that direction, we can show that we can sustain a type of industry,” said Slone. “That may lead to other industries coming into our county.”
Workman suggested the county create a trail board.
“If we don’t start working, they will just be riding through Martin County,” he said. “There won’t be any offramps for anyone who wants to get off and go to small businesses in Martin County.”
The court approved the application, while Lafferty agreed to look into putting together a trail board.
The court also moved forward with the first reading of an ordinance that will allow all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to travel on 21 designated county roads that may connect to current and future off-road adventure trails. Those roads include Cumbo Road, Davella Road, Blackberry Road, County Line Road, Middlefork Wolf Creek Road, a portion of Coldwater Road, Crooked Run, Wilderness Lane, Thickety Fork, Little Peter Cave, Evans Hill, a portion of Emily Creek, White Oak, Cassius Moore, Caney Fork, a portion of Pigeon Roost, Schoolhouse Holler, Trace Fork, Spring Knob Lookout Tower, Jack Cassidy Branch and a portion of Rockhouse Road.
Historic Courthouse
Lafferty declared a state of emergency for the Historic Martin County Courthouse to manage the unexpected costs of updating its electrical wiring. The declaration bypasses the normal bidding process, allowing repairs to proceed with the existing contractor, Servpro.
This move came after state inspectors revealed the electrical wiring was not up to code in the structure, which was damaged by a fire in April 2023.
Following the fire, the Fiscal Court filed an insurance claim and awarded a repair contract of $566,173 to Servpro in July 2023.
The adjusted contract with Servpro now stands at $1,106,606, an increase of $617,469 from the original agreement. Of this, $487,137 is for electrical repairs alone.
“It’s such a big change order that I wanted to bring that to the court’s attention to make sure that you understood what we’re doing,” Lafferty said.
Martin County Attorney Melissa Phelps said that “the state and the auditors” recommended declaring the state of emergency and continuing the work without rebidding.
“Servpro has been working right along with the inspectors, taking notes as to what we needed to do to be up to par and adjusting the cost as we go,” Phelps said.
The court approved the new contract amount for Servpro.
Three years ago, the Martin County Tourism Board announced plans to turn part of the old courthouse into a wedding venue and to install a commercial kitchen in the former county clerk’s office. After working extensively on the structure, the fire caused a major delay.
In other tourism-related business, the court authorized the judge to request an encroachment permit from the state for the Martin County Tourism Board’s “Welcome to Martin County” signs.
Grassy School
Having addressed the critical updates at the Historic Martin County Courthouse, the court turned its attention to the old Grassy School, where asbestos and other toxic materials will be remediated. The court authorized Lafferty to finalize a $125,000 Kentucky Brownfield Program grant for the removal of the hazardous materials. The county received grant approval in January.
Deputy Judge/Executive Carolea Mills explained that following the brownfield cleanup, the county would finish the demolition of the building.
“We have our equipment and will take our county road crew down there,” Mills said. “We may be able to use some of it and do the best we can with what we have.”
Lafferty stated the old school presents a danger to residents. He credited District 3 Magistrate Tracy Spence with initiating the project after residents became concerned about the building’s potential to attract and endanger children.
“We hope at some point to put a community center there where the old school is now,” said Lafferty.
Other business
The court accepted a donation of two 2013 Ford Edge SUVs from the Martin County Public Health Taxing District, which recently purchased three new Tesla electric cars at a dealership in Ohio.
In financial matters, Lafferty announced that state auditors advised the county to create a separate fund for Local Government Economic Development Fund (LGEDF) monies.
“Those are the monies that we use to pay for the courthouse, parks, the monies that we have from House Bill 1,” said Lafferty.
The court also approved a budget amendment reflecting unbudgeted receipts and prior year carryovers of $1.6 million, the transfer of $100,000 from the occupational tax fund to the general fund, budget appropriations transfers of $307,506, and bills totaling $317,000.
The court will meet in special session May 1.