The Boyle County Fiscal Court awarded the Parksville Water District a check for $1,245,000 at its meeting on Tuesday.

Boyle County was recently awarded $8.2 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to give to facilities and entities around the county. The funds are to improve distribution of services to residents, and the money has criteria to be met for water improvements.

The Parksville Water District is the first to receive these ARPA funds from the county. They will be using the funds to help upgrade their water systems.

“I’m just honored and glad that Parksville Water District is the first recipient of these funds in Boyle County,” said Boyle County Judge-Executive Howard Hunt.

Boyle-Mercer County Helping Hands Association board member Bruce Nichols gave a year-end report on what the non-profit did in 2021. Helping Hands, which started in 2011, focused on feeding people in need the past year.

They participated in an emergency food and shelter program, buying food for people in Boyle County and Danville. They also partnered with churches to buy materials for them to build ramps around the county.

Nichols said Helping Hands spent $3,548 for Boyle County, $3,478 for Danville, and very little for Mercer County. In total they spent $7,522 in 2021. Their funds come from donations and fundraisers, and they got $2000 from the fiscal court.

Magistrate Phil Sammons is on the board of Helping Hands and thanked Nichols for all he’s done. “Bruce works on this every day,” Sammons said. “He’s out taking food to somebody or checking on someone all the time.”

The non-profit does not have any operating expenses; 100% of their funds go to people who need it. They helped about 1,525 people in the last year.

“We partner with all the agencies that are here, we like to use our money wisely, good stewardship, and I think it shows that we have, and I’m proud of our board,” Nichols said.

In other business, the fiscal court:
• Declared the week of Feb. 19-26, 2022 as National Future Farmers of America (FFA) week.

• Approved a new ethics committee member, Jeremy Watson from Junction City. He is director of printing and mail services at Eastern Kentucky University, and he fills the committee to its maximum capacity.

• Approved a power load system for the new ambulance, which will arrive Feb. 28. This ambulance is the one EMS was able to buy on short notice as a result of an emergency declaration by the court in their last meeting in response to a shortage of ambulances.

• County Treasurer Darlene Lanham gave an update about a possible new financial software system for the county. Boyle County has been using a system from 1999 and it has caused problems and extra work for employees.

Lanham said the system sometimes crashes, causing employees to have to re-enter information, sometimes from hours of work. She found out that the county is among the last in the nation to still use the system.

Lanham found a new system with the same company the county is contracted with, that would be a good fit for the county, and that employees are happy about.

Hunt said a new system is a necessity for the county to move forward.

Lanham said the total tentative cost to implement the system is $100,000. The court will discuss the matter in an upcoming meeting.