Even as bills for adjusting to the coronavirus pandemic continue to mount, Warren Fiscal Court is making plans to return to in-person meetings for the first time since March.

In a meeting held Friday via video conference, the magistrates approved coronavirus-related spending items involving county parks, the courthouse and the Warren County Regional Jail while Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon revealed plans to hold an in-person fiscal court meeting July 24.

“Unless something unanticipated happens, we’ll be socially distanced in the courtroom at our next meeting,” Buchanon told the magistrates and others joining the virtual meeting.

That announcement comes during a week when the courthouse opened to the public, with social distancing and mask-wearing protocols in place, and Buchanon said that has gone well.

“People have complied with the rules when entering the building,” he said. “That will help keep our staff and the public safe and healthy.”

Buchanon said Warren County Sheriff’s Office employees have helped greet visitors, take their temperature and direct them to specific offices.

Spending items approved Friday reveal the steps the county government has taken as it tries to keep the virus in check.

Among the items approved were an expenditure of $6,031.50 to DWA Recreation for 30 lockable hand sanitation stations at playgrounds throughout the county parks system and an expense of $650 per week for a temporary employee to help with courthouse sanitizing.

Perhaps the biggest coronavirus-related item approved was a request from Jailer Stephen Harmon to add four deputy jailer positions.

In a document explaining the need for the extra manpower, Harmon said: “Since early March, we have been conducting virtual court hearings for all courts and coordinating five virtual meeting rooms for attorneys to meet with their clients who are in custody. All these responsibilities and needs are directly related to COVID-19 precautions and unfunded mandates from the Kentucky Supreme Court.”

Harmon said members of his staff have been diverted to those duties related to the virus, creating a need for more manpower.

Although the inmate population at the jail of 559 on Friday is down from an average of 742 last year, Harmon said the work required of his staff has increased during the pandemic.

“As we plan to open other parts of our operation, we will need the staff that have been allocated to these positions back to their original areas,” Harmon wrote in the document requesting the extra deputies. “These four positions will assume the COVID-19 responsibilities and other duties as we continue to navigate the pandemic.”

Specifically, Harmon said the extra help could allow him to restart the roadside trash pickup program that utilizes inmates.

“We have five road crews that take inmates out” for trash pickup, Harmon said. “Since the onset of COVID-19, the state Department of Corrections hasn’t allowed us to take out any inmates.

“At the end of June, the DOC said they would review plans for re-establishing the road crews.”

Harmon said he must submit a plan to be approved by both the Barren River District Health Department and the DOC before road crews can resume the trash pickup.

“We are getting an increase in the number of calls for trash pickup,” Harmon said. “It is important, but we have to exercise caution. We do hope to start the road crews back up, but we’ll need to do it slowly and monitor the safety of the inmates and deputies.”

In addition to the coronavirus-related items, the magistrates approved a number of spending items Friday. Among them:

• $14,569 to Billy Williams Plumbing for replacing pipes at the jail.
• $9,659.76 to Avenu Insights & Analytics for a software support agreement.
• $1,317.12 to Trailer World for repairs to a trailer used at Buchanon Park.
• $1,141.94 to Staples for a laptop computer to be used by the county parks and recreation department.
• $34,567.87 to Dude Solutions for the yearly subscription-based operations and permitting software used by various county departments.
• $2,268.10 to Signature Signs for safe reopening signs, complying with guidelines on social distancing during the pandemic.
• $2,891.04 to Tristate International for repairs to Stormwater Management’s dump truck.
• $3,500 to Swiftwater Rescue Specialists for training needed to perform rescue operations on county waterways.