Request By:
Mr. William F. Ivers, Jr.
Henry County Attorney
P.O. Box 108
New Castle, Kentucky 40050
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
You have been instructed by the Henry County Fiscal Court to seek a formal opinion in regard to two (2) matters.
First, you ask whether fiscal court has the ability to have road materials, mainly gravel, to be placed on parking lots belonging to the county school system, with the county school system paying the costs of the materials.
As a general rule the fiscal court has the authority to place county gravel or other road materials on roads, or right-of-way thereof, which are a part of the county road system. See KRS 178.010(1)(b), defining "county roads" as public roads which have been accepted by the fiscal court of the county as a part of the county road system. See Sarver v. County of Allen, Ky., 582 S.W.2d 40 (1979).
KRS 178.290 permits fiscal courts to construct and maintain sidewalks along public roads for the safety of school children; and under that statute a fiscal court may, where needed, build and maintain suitable areas for the safe turning around of school buses. In OAG 72-134, copy enclosed, we were of the opinion that a fiscal court could, in its sound discretion, and where such construction is needed, build and maintain suitable areas for the safe turning around of school buses. However, the county would have to acquire at least an easement right from affected landowners for such areas sufficient to justify the cost to the county. See Jones v. Cook, Ky., 378 S.W.2d 795 (1964).
However, your question relates to school owned parking lots. Unfortunately, we are not aware of any statute permitting the fiscal court to place county gravel on school parking lots, even though the gravel would be on public property and the school system would pay the cost of the materials. A fiscal court's powers are derived in general from express statutory provisions, or from reasonable implications arising out of the express powers. Jefferson County v. Jefferson County Fiscal Court, 274 Ky. 91, 118 S.W.2d 181 (1938); KRS 67.080; and KRS 67.083.
Secondly, you ask whether a fiscal court may haul and apply county road materials to a city street which is wholly unconnected with the county road system, with the city paying the costs of the materials.
The answer is "no", since we find no statute authorizing such action. See OAG 82-136, published, Banks-Baldwin. While KRS 178.010 would permit a fiscal court to make a segment of a city street a part of the county road system, and without taking from the city its jurisdiction or control of such city street segment, factually the county in your problem has not taken formal steps to make the city street segment a part of the county road system. Thus we arrive at a negative answer. As we pointed out in OAG 73-466, published, Banks-Baldwin, KRS 178.010 now permits a fiscal court to take city streets into the county road system, subject to proper budgetary and financial procedure and limitations.