County vacates alleys, streets in Abingdon

Jefferson County Board of Supervisors agreed to a request from residents in Abingdon to vacate specific streets and alleys in the Abingdon Plat and convey ownership to adjoining property owners.

A public hearing was held at 9:30 a.m. today at the weekly supervisors? meeting to hear any comments or discussions about vacating the streets.

Jefferson County attorney?s office sent letters to Abingdon residents informing them of the requests.

?I had two people call me, and it turns out neither objected to the action,? said Pat McAvan, assistant county attorney.

One member in the audience asked how turning over the vacated streets and alleys to individual property owners would affect water and phone lines, and whether any easements were needed.

?This won?t affect any of that type of infrastructure,? said McAvan. ?This only deals with the county?s interest in the roads. It?s not a problem.?

The supervisor?s resolution outlines specific streets and alleys, and names the adjoining property owners who are now responsible for them. The resolution also said the streets and alleys in question ?are of no benefit to the public,? and have not been used by the public, and ?have been grown over or built upon,? and ?none of the streets or alleys listed includes platted streets currently used and known as Brookville Road and Cross Street.?

The supervisors voted unanimously today to drop AFLAC from county employee cafeteria plan options. Two representatives from AFLAC, Kelcey Krings, regional sales manager and Bob Hornfeck, account manager, attended the supervisors? meeting and asked for a second chance to be able to serve county employees.

Board chairman Steve Burgmeier said seven county employees have signed up, and he heard no feedback from anyone in the past week after dropping AFLAC was discussed at the July 16 meeting.

Burgmeier objected to the confusion caused by more than one AFLAC representative claiming responsibility for handling Jefferson County accounts.

Krings and Hornfeck apologized, and promised that confusion has been cleared up and Hornfeck would be the agent managing the accounts. Krings said it was against AFLAC policy for accounts to have more than one manager.

?We already offer disability insurance through our cafeteria plan,? said Burgmeier. ?AFLAC representatives come in here and disrupt work, speaking to individual employees during work hours and requiring those who don?t want the AFLAC coverage to sign a waiver. It?s a burden on the workforce.?

Supervisor Dick Reed said if the county was going to offer AFLAC in addition to the county?s disability insurance, why is it the only one?

?Why don?t we have State Farm, or Farm Bureau?s insurance choices here?? asked Reed. ?It doesn?t seem fair.

?It?s a cost to the county to have our accountant making deductions from payroll for AFLAC; it?s a cost to have you come in and talk to employees during work hours,? said Reed. ?We may have opened a door to let AFLAC in, but I?m ready to close that door now.?

After approving a resolution to drop AFLAC prior to the renewal date Aug. 1, the board also instructed the accountant to stop payroll deductions for AFLAC as of Aug. 1.

Hornfeck will contact the employees currently enrolled to review options with them.

County engineer Scott Cline shared photos and information about purchasing a used tractor-trailer semi and a new trailer bed for hauling secondary roads? equipment through the county.

?We have old equipment moving newer, costly equipment around to work sites,? he said. ?I?m looking for better equipment to maneuver on county roads.?

He found a 1996 used tractor-trailer with 841,000 miles on it for $26,900 for sale in Michigan. It would cost an additional $645 to have it delivered to Fairfield.

Burgmeier asked him to pay a mechanic to check it out before committing to a purchase.

Reed, admitting he didn?t know what was normal or usual for semi-trucks? mileage, said the number of miles on the truck gave him pause. He will inquire among people he knows who drive over-the-road.

Cline also is looking at buying a new flatbed trailer to fit behind the tractor-trailer.

?The one we have is aged and you can?t really rebuild trailers,? he said. ?This new one, manufactured in Manchester, Iowa, is 70,000 pounds and costs $52,500,? said Cline. ?I?d like to also keep our existing equipment to haul lighter equipment. I don?t think we?d get any re-sale value from it anyway.?

Supervisor Lee Dimmitt asked if the used tractor-trailer has any warranty with it. Cline said he would check.

Supervisors agreed to wait another week and revisit the purchases again next week.