Clay Council holds first meeting at new Fire Station

by MATT HUGHES

J-E News Editor

Clay City Council held their October meeting last week following the open house at the newly constructed Clay Fire Department. 

Since the meeting date and location had been changed, the council could only make decisions on items that were on the agenda. The only item on that agenda was a request made in April by electrical inspector Mike Villines for the city to contract with him to be an eligible inspector in Clay.

“The state has changed the law and mandated that counties and cities have a program for electrical inspectors,” Villines said in September. “I’ve been doing electrical inspections in Clay for twenty years, but for me to be able to continue to have a certificate of electrical inspection, I have to send the state a signed affidavit with the city.”

“Why are we even involved in this?” asked Mayor Rick Householder.

“I have a contract with the county signed by Judge Executive Jim Townsend, but because you don’t have a local interim agreement with the county, you have to do this,” Villines said.

“But why would I even be involved?” asked Householder.

According to Villines, the new state mandate will require all inspectors to have agreements with the local government. If there are no such agreements, then all electrical inspections would have to be carried out by a state appointed inspector. That could leave home and business owners waiting days and even weeks to get their work inspected.

Villines told the council that the state had notified the Judge Executives and electrical inspectors about the change, but they had not notified city governments.

At last week’s meeting, Householder told the council that it did not appear to be that big of a deal.

“I’m going to try to get something together, before the next meeting” he told the council. “I have a guy who from another city who is supposed to call me back and tell me what they’re doing in his city.”

The topic was then tabled until the November meeting.

Among items discussed was a complaint about prowlers in the city.

“We’ve had reports of prowlers on Railroad Street,” said city clerk Julianna Rhye. “There has been a request to put up new street lights in that area.”

Reach MATT HUGHES

 at 270-667-2068 or 

matt@journalenterprise.com