EDA board lines up sales of four large Midway Station lots that are supposed to produce 70 new jobs

Lots 24, 25, 26 and 27 were prepared for sale by EDA at its meeting Tuesday. (For a larger image, click on it.)

Seventy more jobs would come to Midway Station under instruments approved Tuesday by the board of the Woodford County Economic Development Authority. 

The EDA board approved a letter of intent to sell two lots to CSI, which makes auto parts robotics for the auto industry, and a purchase contract for two with Dever Inc., which sells and rents golf-cart fleets.

"CSI is a hi-tech manufacturer for the automobile industry which will bring 40 high-paying jobs and will take Lots 24 and 25," Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said in an email to the City Council after the meeting. He said Dever will buy Lots 26 and 27 and "bring roughly 30 more jobs to town."

EDA Chair Michael Michalisin of Midway said the sales, after real-estate commissions, would generate $845,000, about $688,000 of which would go toward reducing the mortgage on the industrial and commercial park, with EDA keeping the remaining $157,000.

Vandegrift said the sales would reduce the debt on the property by about a third. "This is a big day for a number of reasons," he wrote. "This marks the beginning of a shift to a new phase, as these are the last remaining industrial lots in Midway Station not currently under contract."

Lot 30 is under option with Barnhill Chimney, and Lots 29 and 31 are in the process of being sold to Creech Inc., which collects muck from horse farms and ships it to mushroom farms in Tennessee.

Vandegrift noted that 130 acres of north of Midway Station is zoned industrial, "but this is a very nice turning point for the history of our industrial park. Both of these new companies are relocating from Lexington, and while they are not done deals just yet, they’re moving along very quickly and I am confident they will both get across the finish line. We could all use good news right now, and I’m very excited about both of these new companies."

Council discusses school, OKs short-term economic developer, hears fire department has its first ladder truck

Northside Elementary School is scheduled to welcome students Aug, 26. (File photo by Megan Parsons, 2019)

This story has been updated.

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council and Mayor Grayson Vandegrift spent much of their meeting Monday sharing their thoughts on re-opening schools amid the covid-19 pandemic.

The council also approved a short-term contract for an economic developer, passed an ordinance easing paperwork rules for volunteer work on city property, made one block of Johnson Street one-way, and heard that Vandegrift bought a used ladder truck for the fire department.

The Woodford County Board of Education is planning to resume classes Aug. 26 with a dual option, in which parents can send children to school or have them do virtual learning, online at home. The board will have a special meeting Tuesday, Aug. 11.

“We want kids to go back to school at some point,” Vandegrift said. “My main concern, though, is if you go back in and we’re not ready to control the spread, if there are four to five kids a week testing positive for coronavirus and we can’t truly test for it the spread is going to continue.”

Vandegrift’s estimate was based on research that uses county infection rates to estimate the number of infected people likely to arrive at a school of 500 in the first week.

The mayor called for delaying the in-person start date, saying said more testing is needed first, to allow tracing the contacts of infected people and asking them to quarantine.

“I think the board should seriously consider delaying an open that allows students to enter the school until we can guarantee more testing,” he said. “I’m not putting that on Woodford County; the health department has done an unbelievable job, but everywhere this thing spreads, you can’t tell where it’s coming or going, and that’s because of testing.”

Council Member Sara Hicks raised concerns about parents who have health risks but face losing their jobs if their children do not go back to school: “If you say you can your kids or not send your kids, it sounds like that’s just a free decision, but I don’t think that’s really a free decision for people who don’t have the financial wherewithal to put their jobs in jeopardy.”

Council Member Stacy Thurman didn't opine about opening but said the school board should get support no matter what decision it makes: “We need unity, we need a united front and we need solidarity with the board and the county.”

“There’s no good solution,” said Thurman, mother of a fourth grader and an eighth grader. “Both solutions are bad and inconvenient and hard.”

Council Member Logan Nance agreed, saying “The bigger risk than covid to our community is the divisiveness and the language we’re using to talk to one another.” He also didn’t give the school board any advice, and no other council members spoke on the topic.

The City Council usually does not involve itself in school matters, “but this is an unprecedented situation,” Vandegrift said, and the final call will be “the most important decision that board has made in a long time, if not ever.” 

The mayor said at the start of the discussion, “We don’t in any way ever want to step on another board or jurisdiction’s toes,” adding later, “I think it well help them to have an idea how our city, our constituency, our end of the county feels about this.” At the end of the discussion, he said Midway-area school-board member Ambrose Wilson posted his thanks on the Facebook page that carried the meeting.

Other business: The council unanimously approved a six-month contract with Fortune Solutions LLC and point person Lucas Whitt to staff the Woodford County Economic Development Authority for six months, filling the role played by retired EDA chair John Soper.

Whitt worked with Midway on the location of Lakeshore Learning Materials when he worked with the state Economic Development Cabinet, Vandegrift said: "He's well aware of what is going on in Midway Station." The city will pay him $1,050 a month; Soper was paid $1,333.

Most of the pay will come from Versailles and the county government; Vandegrift said he, Mayor Brian Traugott and Judge-Executive James Kay agreed on the temporary hire to give them time to develop “a more concrete, more comprehensive” request for proposals from potential long-term hires.

The council defeated, with lack of a motion, Council Member John Holloway's proposal to rename and replace “Sparks in the Park,” normally held on July 3 or 4, with a celebration on June 19 to honor Juneteenth, a now official city holiday, to honor the end of slavery.

Vandegrift said he had discussed with Holloway “what could be done,” and asked for a motion, but none came. He said Sparks in the Park would continue but “We are going to have a Juneteenth celebration next year on June 19, which happens to fall on a Saturday.”

Interviews after the meeting, via email, indicated that the opposition stemmed from the idea of doing away with Sparks in the Park.

"I'm really excited to work with members of the black community here in Midway to honor and celebrate Juneteenth as they see fit. I also didn't want to do away with Sparks in the Park," Nance said. "It's a fun event for families and members of the community to come together and socialize and celebrate Independence Day. I know John's heart was in the right place when he wrote the resolution, but instead of repurposing Sparks in the Park I would rather keep that tradition and create a new, special tradition to honor Juneteenth."

Thurman said, "I appreciate the thought process behind this resolution and feel that Midway should definitely commemorate Juneteenth next year. I didn't make a motion to accept this resolution simply because I think both of these events provide great opportunities to bring our community together and I don't think we have to substitute one for the other."

Hicks said, “I believe Sparks is a loved tradition that should not be eliminated. I am also happy to add another celebration of Juneteenth. There are many reasons to celebrate in Midway.”

Holloway said, "Maybe I'm a purist, but it seems like a Fourth of July celebration should be on the Fourth of July. Juneteenth is 15 days before Sparks in the Park, and it seems strange to have two events that close together.  I was afraid that even if we actually have a Juneteenth celebration (which frankly seems unlikely), the tendency would be for it to become a lesser stepchild – which to me smacks of separate but equal, and I'm totally opposed to that, as we all should be."

The council also:

●    Heard the mayor announce the purchase of a used ladder truck from Stewart County, Tennessee, for $13,500, using state fire aid money and a city appropriation that was going to be used for an antenna but is no longer needed. Vandegrift said the city needs a ladder truck more than ever, with major facilities in Midway Station. He said Stewart County bought the truck used from Beverly Hills, Calif., but “The truck’s in great condition” and has been driven less than 50,000 miles.
●    Unanimously approved an ordinance simplifying volunteer work on city property. Volunteers will no longer be required to sign in and out each time, and won't be required to be under city supervision at all times, since they would sign a waiver of liability. The change confirms current practice.

●    Unanimously made the 200 block of Johnson Street a one-way street, from Gratz Street to Brand Street, effective Sept. 1. Nance said he interviewed all but one resident of the block, and all but one were in favor of the change.

●    Heard Vandegrift report that more than 700 people watched Wednesday’s online forum about traffic issues, and almost 80 made comments. One suggested traffic cameras to catch and ticket speeders, but the mayor said he had learned such cameras are illegal in Kentucky.

Before the moment of reflection at the start of the meeting, Vandegrift asked members and the online audience to remember the late Joyce Logan and the late Pat Wilson and their families.

EDA sells two Midway Station lots to Creech Services, which bales and ships muck from horse stalls

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Woodford County Economic Development Authority voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a purchase contract for two lots in Midway Station to Creech Services Inc., a firm that firm that bales and ships horse-stall muck.

“This entity serves the community,” EDA chair Michael Michalisin of Midway said during the brief special meeting. “This is a business that’s served our horse farms that are near and dear to our heart, part of our heritage and what Mr. Creech does is provide a very professional, world-class service.”

At the regular EDA meeting Friday, Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift endorsed the sale. In May, he and the board were hesitant about making a deal with Creech, since composting is prohibited in Midway Station, but then Creech showed them that composting isn’t what he does.

On July 15, Vandegrift and Michalisin told the Messenger that after meeting with Creech at his Fayette County facility that they were willing to sell two lots that Creech would use exclusively as a transfer point for horse muck that is shipped to mushroom farms.

Vandegrift said Tuesday that some Midway residents had voiced concern about odors, but the only smell they noticed was the smell of a horse farm, and “Smelling is believing.”

He noted that prevailing winds run southwest to northeast, which would take any odor into farmland, but he said there would be no problem even if the wind blew from the northeast into Midway.

Vandegrift told the EDA board that he shared the potential deal with the Messenger in order to get feedback from the public, and heard back from three Midway residents.

“They were concerned and wanted to see what this was,” Vandegrift said Friday. He said Creech invited all three to his facility, and “One of them did join him this Monday, is my understanding. I did not hear back, but I figure no news is good news.”

Michalisin added, “I support Mr. Creech and admire what he built out there (Fayette County) and I just love the fact he wants to be here, be part of Woodford County, wants to be close to our horse farms and wants to bring jobs here.”

At Tuesday’s meeting, former Midway mayor Tom Bozarth, a bloodstock agent, spoke highly of Creech, saying he had known him for 30 years. "He just runs a real class operation, so I can't say enough about him and his integrity," Bozarth said.

During Friday’s meeting the board also:

• Authorized signing of closing documents to sell the balance of the Roach property to Big Dog Trading and Storage Barrel Warehouse Co. The property is next to thenAmerican Howa Kentucky auto-parts plant.
• Allocated the expected profit of $65,000 from Big Dog’s purchase to the Roach family to satisfy debt owed the family.
• Welcomed a new board member, Anna Beth Bobbitt of Versailles. She spent six years as a senior project manager for the EDA and is a client relationship manager at Traditional Bank in Frankfort. “I'm looking forward to contributing any way I can,” she said.
• Heard that a committee led by board member Courtney Roberts continues to work to find a replacement for former chairman John Soper as EDA’s paid staffer. Roberts said he is working with Vandegrift, Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott and Woodford County Judge-Executive James Kay.

Mayor, EDA chair check out firm that bales horse-stall muck and decide to welcome it to Midway Station

By Aaron Gershon

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift and Woodford County Economic Development Authority Chair Michael Michalisin of Midway are ready to sell Midway Station lots to a company that bales muck from horse stalls and ships it to Tennessee mushroom farms.

Vandegrift told the Messenger that he and Michalisin met last week with Tom Creech of Creech Services Inc. at his Fayette County facility, and “We agreed that what Mr. Creech wants to bring to Midway Station is not composting and is in actuality simply a transfer point. He takes muck and straw from horse farms, Lane's End being one of them, and bales it via a processor, and then ships it off.”

Composting of animal waste has been prohibited at Midway Station since Bluegrass Stockyards tried to relocate there in 2007, prompting objections and a lawsuit.

In May, then-EDA Chair John Soper that a sale of Midway Station property to Creech would require a petition for a declaratory judgment to determine "if it could exist under a settlement of the lawsuit regarding the stockyards.”

Vandegrift said Wednesday night that he doesn't see that as necessary since Creech is not planning to do any composting in Midway.

“I think that would only come into play if someone were to challenge the sale in court, based on the deed restrictions,” he said. “Obviously, anyone can sue for anything at any time, but after looking at the operation Creech wants to bring to Midway, I'd be surprised if that happened.”

One of Vandegrift's original concerns about the purchase was the potential for odors wafting across Interstate 64 to residential areas, a major concern 13 years ago. “We don't want to stir up the ghosts of the past,” he said in May. Now that he has a clear understanding of Creech’s operations, he says there would be no odor.

Creech said in May that he would like to have a baling facility in Woodford County because he serves so many farms in the county.

Vandegrift said, “Michael and I have both agreed this is a good agricultural business that supports the horse industry and does not produce any discernible odor except for when right up in the building.”

He said the facility would likely add 10 or possibly more jobs to the city.

Vandegrift said he and Michalisin have asked EDA attorney Bill Moore to draw up a purchase contract. It could be approved at the EDA’s next meeting on July 24.

“Once they are approved, the lots sold will be under option for about 90 days,” Vandegrift said. “That allows the buyer to do some due diligence like geotechnical to see what they'll be digging into.”

Mayor announces distillery, RV resort park planned for Mitchell farm at northwest corner of I-64 interchange

City limits in pink; urban service boundary is line above “Proj A.”

UPDATE, July 15: The conditional-use permit process for the RV resort is not expected to begin until September, and will start with the Agricultural Advisory Review Committee, Planning Director Pattie Wilson told the Messenger.

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift sent this in an email to the City Council and news media today.

By Grayson Vandegrift

     I’d like to give you an overview of two new projects that are currently under option on the “Mitchell Farm,” also known as Elkwood, on the western side of 341, across from Midway Station. As you know, industrial and agricultural land has been for sale for quite a long time.

     All of this is preliminary, and by no means are they final, but there are two projects scheduled to close on land purchases in October. For now we’ll call them “Project A” and “Project B.”
     Project A is a small, local distillery that wishes to relocate from Lexington. Their facility would be built near our wastewater facility, within the Urban Service Boundary, but currently just outside the city limits. It is on industrial land and requires no rezoning (see picture).
     Project B would be, in short, called an RV resort, but it could offer much more to the citizens of Midway (see below). After speaking with the brokers involved in the investment, I was assured the RV campsites would be far from KY 341 and out of view. The resort would feature a horseback riding equine pasture on the front end, facing 341. On the rest of the land, which straddles parts of northern Woodford and southern Scott counties, they plan to offer a swimming pool, a swimming pond, a fishing pond, a lazy river, access to Elkhorn Creek, and much more which you can see from the preliminary sketch of the resort.
     While this is an RV campground that would certainly boost tourism for downtown Midway, I was pleased to learn it will also be open for the public to purchases passes for usage. It is on agricultural land and does not need to be rezoned, but the Board of Adjustments of Planning and Zoning will need to grant a conditional use permit. Current zoning laws do permit this type of use on agricultural land so long as that permit is issued. The investors are scheduled to go before the Board of Adjustments on Wednesday.
     Both Projects A and B wish to be on city water and sewer, which we have the capacity for, and which would help us keep our rates in check, if not help us lower them more in the future. This would require us to annex these lands into the city, effectively bringing the city limits to the Scott County line on the western side of 341.

     Project A has been trying to get its distillery moved to Midway for two years, and Project B is likewise struck by our charm, quaintness, and vibrancy. Both would bring jobs and tourism to town. I do not have a total job count for either project at this time.
     Project B will be presenting to the council in an upcoming meeting, and Project A will likely do the same once they get a few more things in place.
     As always, I want you to be able to see this, chew on this, and ask questions. Neither is a sure thing, and public input will be extremely valuable and will be heard going forward. Both projects fit our modus operandi of developing north of Leestown Road around the interstate, and neither requires rezoning. If you have any questions just let me know, you’ll have plenty of time for more questions as the process moves forward.
     I think it’s important to note: The land owners are eager to sell, and the buyers eager to develop. Regardless of how anyone may feel about any of this, if it’s going to happen, I want to bring it in to the city so we can benefit from the tax revenue and the relative distance from our residential centers and the separation provided by a highway and an interstate.

Here's the developer's description of the land use plan:

The Bluegrass RV Resort is nestled in the heart of Central Kentucky along I-64 on the northern edge of Midway, a quaint city with great restaurants, friendly charm and historic equestrian and bourbon industries. Guests will enter the property with views of the entry pond and equestrian pasture beyond. After a peaceful scenic drive, guests will arrive at the clubhouse, where they can relax and receive guided access to their site when ready. This property is home to a luxury RV club resort, family RV campsites and short-term cottage rentals. RV sites provide opportunities for both family sites and adult sites. Amenities include a clubhouse with bourbon tasting and educational tours; the tables with horse riding and a horse rescue; aquatic park with a lazy river, slides, splash pad, and pond swimming; amphitheater; country store; kayak and tub rental; and an adult recreational center with a pool and swim-up bar, fire-pit, and hammock retreat.

The John Soper era ends at EDA and Midway Station; mayor calls the last six years 'an incredible turnaround'

Economic Development Authority Chair John Soper discussed
Midway Station at a Midway City Council meeting in October.

By Al Cross
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The long, down-and-up story of Midway Station entered another chapter Friday as John Soper stepped down as chair of the Woodford County Economic Development Authority and was succeeded by Michael Michalsin of Midway.

Soper, a former banker, has overseen the revitalization of EDA's industrial and commercial park and led the agency into development of an adjacent area, both of which have turned it from the city's main liability into its key source of revenue.

"When I became mayor, Midway Station was pretty much empty," and the city and the county owed more than $5 million on it, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift told the EDA board in its online meeting. "There was a lot of talk that Midway Station just needed to be sold at the courthouse steps," in foreclosure, which would have been "a disaster."

"Instead, through John's leadership" and the rest of the board, the park has reduced the debt to $2 million, gained seven clients and 10 projects with more than 500 jobs, including the city's largest employer (Lakeshore Learning Materials, which is adding a second building and 100 more jobs) and The Journey, a church that will have a day-care center, which is "a huge get for us," Vandegrift said.

The city's occupational tax on wages and net profits has allowed the city to cut property taxes over 30 percent and reduce sewer rates 25 percent, the mayor noted. And the sale of lots in the park saved the city a $40,000 interest payment this year.

"When John took over as chair, they couldn't pay a bill," Vandegrift said. "And now they're telling us we don't have to pay some of our bills ... because they're paying them for us, like the interest payment on Midway Station. It's an incredible turnaround."

The mayor said he was glad Michalsin is willing to be chair, and told Soper, "I think your legacy will be carried on."

Michalsin said he was willing to take the job on an interim basis, since the board's mission may evolve as it and the three governmental bodies decide how to move on from a paid chairman.

Arranging that role in late 2016 prompted a brief clash between Soper and Vandegrift at a City Council meeting, but the relationship between the pro-development Soper and Vandegrift, who has a large preservationist constituency, evolved into a partnership that worked.

Soper said Vandegrift played a key role in making Midway Station a success by agreeing to borrow $450,000 for a larger natural-gas line to serve the property. He called that "one of the greatest decisions that's ever been made in Woodford County" because it ensured that Lakeshore would come. "That deal was going to evaporate that day if you did not make that decision."

Soper said he is proudest that "We never lost a big deal." He took one last opportunity to promote the Edgewood development in Versailles, which is tied up in court, but after Vandegrift complimented him, Soper said, "We don't have to look like Georgetown; we don't have to look like Jessamine County, and I've never wanted us to do that."

Among the actions the board also took Friday were approval of a deed giving the city ownership of the lot where its only functioning water tower stands, and a deal in which the city will gain control of 38 acres along Interstate 64 to serve as greenspace, "which I think will help us control what the industrial park looks like," Vandegrift said.

The city would get the property in return for forgiving $500,000 to $750,000 of debt owed to it by the EDA, most of which is for the gas line but not all of which is considered collectible. Soper said the city would take over mowing the property next year.

Future development: Renewed interest in property at Midway Station could force the board and the city to decide to allow a larger development than would be allowed under the current property plat and street system.

Kyle Johnson of Lexington, one of the EDA's real-estate agents, said one prospect is looking for 30 to 40 acres for a 100-employee distribution facility, which would require "dealing with roads" and lots that are now zoned for retail business.

"We don't turn any deals down until they don't make sense," Johnson said. "Something big like that, we definitely would want to bring Grayson in." Other prospects include one that is interested in 10 acres but would add only 10 to 15 jobs, and a meatpacking operation that is "probably a longshot."

The Messenger asked the agents about Creech Services, which bales horse-stall muck and ships it out of state. The Lexington firm is looking for a location closer to horse farms but wants assurances that it would be allowed in Midway Station under an anti-composting restriction placed on the property after Bluegrass Stockyards tried to relocate there 13 years ago. Senior real-estate agent Matt Stone said Creech was trying to work out a deal with Keeneland.

Planning and Zoning Director Pattie Wilson reported that White Dog Trading, which is building bourbon warehouses and an office building in Midway Station, will have a permanent pool of water in its necessarily large drainage-detention basin. "It'going to be an amenity," she said. Soper said the firm's office building "will be a compliment to Midway Station," and its four warehouses will produce much revenue, mainly for schools, from taxes on the aging whiskey.

Soper also complimented Wilson and her staff, saying "You guys move at the speed of business . . . You treat everybody fairly who comes into that office . . .Your all's agenda is just good planning."

Council passes resolution saying it will confront racial issues in city; deadline to file for council is 4 p.m. Tues.

By Aaron Gershon and Al Cross
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council committed itself Monday to confronting racial issues and “taking an equitable approach to all decision-making” amid the nationwide protests of police brutality and racial injustice.

The all-white council unanimously passed a resolution saying the city will examine “the racial biases embedded in our city” and “the racial impacts of city polices,” encourage people of color to participate in government and try to “improve the quality of life for all residents of Midway by asking these questions: Who benefits? Who is burdened? Who is missing? How do we know?”

The resolution’s author, Council Member Stacy Thurman, said “I felt it was good to acknowledge what’s going on in the world right now and know that Midway can always do better . . . and maybe lead to a list of action items.”

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said he had already begun the process by reaching out to African American pastors. Noting the annual observance of the Rev. Martin Luther King’s birthday, he said he had long asked “how we have a discussion beyond a day in January every year … It’s almost like the country doesn’t have the appetite to tackle this problem,” which he said began when the Constitution included compromises on slavery.

“The founding fathers were well aware of the hypocrisy,” he said. “They created a great country with a terrible flaw to it.” He said solving it “starts with the heart, and it starts in the home, and it branches out from there.”

Council Member John Holloway, who first asked how the resolution would be implemented, shared a personal story to illustrate the racial divide that needs bridging.

He said one of his neighbors, an African American, reportedly said “one of the most awful things I ever heard” before the last election: that he was not going to vote “because voting’s for white people.”

“I was just crushed when I heard that,” Holloway said. “I’m not sure the relationship between the races in Midway is as rosy as what white people think it is.” Vandegrift agreed. “It’s not enough to say you’re doing better than other cities. That’s a pretty low bar.”

Council Member Logan Nance said the resolution was “a great first step,” but “We need to make sure people in the community that are minorities feel they do have a voice and that they can be part of this. . . . We can use this resolution as a reminder for ourselves when doing projects to make sure everyone has an equal voice.”

Nance said he has encouraged African Americans to run for office. The last black city council member was Aaron Hamilton, who did not seek re-election in 2014.

Holloway expanded the electoral encouragement to Latinos, saying he would vote for candidates of color and would even pay the $50 filing fee for any in Midway wanting to run for council. The deadline to file is 4 p.m. Tuesday, at the county clerk’s office in Versailles.

(Holloway and Council Members Kaye Nita Gallagher and Bruce Southworth had not filed for re-election as of 4 p.m. Monday, but Southworth and Gallagher said Tuesday morning that they plan to file; the other three members had. Other filers were Adam Bailey of Old Towne Walk and former council members John McDaniel and Steve Simoff.)

The resolution says “The City of Midway seeks to unify efforts aimed at reducing disparities and commit to intentionally and collectively advancing equity,” and “is committed to hearing individuals who meaningfully engage in raising awareness of disparities and in actively engaging in suggesting and supporting methods by which they may be resolved.”

Council Member Sara Hicks alluded to the shortage of affordable housing in Midway, saying “If we have the intention not to be a gentrified community, we can make policies as a city that will provide those things.”

In other action, the council approved an encroachment permit for an eight-foot-wide concrete driveway behind 230 South Gratz St., the former Midway Woman’s Club building, leading to Stephens Street; and reappointed Michael Michalsin to the Woodford County Economic Development Authority board for a three-year term. 

“He understands all sides of our goals of growth, to grow reasonably sustainably, slowly but to also fit into what makes us who we are,” Vandegrift said.

Michalsin said, “I am keenly aware that I am the only that I am the only Midway appointee to that board. I really do try to think about that and represent what’s important to us.” The EDA controls the Midway Station commercial and industrial development.

Firm that bales horse-stall muck has an eye on Midway Station, but is discouraged by prospect of court action

By Al Cross and Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

A Lexington firm that services horse farms says it may want to put a facility in Midway Station that would bale the muck it takes from stalls and ship it on flatbed trucks to Tennessee mushroom farms.

The prospect of Creech Services Inc. offering to buy five to six acres in the industrial park raised the possibility of a court action to determine whether the facility would be allowed under a restriction placed on the property after Bluegrass Stockyards tried to relocate there 13 years ago.

The restriction by the Woodford County Economic Development Authority, which was part of the settlement of a lawsuit over the stockyards plan, bans "the composting of animal waste." Creech says that it would not compost the material, and that it contains only 1 percent manure.

However, EDA Chair John Soper said at the authority's May 22 meeting that sale of Midway Station property for such a facility would require a petition for a declaratory judgment "to determine if it could exist under settlement of the lawsuit regarding the stockyards."

Soper, some board members and Mayor Grayson Vandegrift spoke about the matter in past tense, as if it had been decided, but Soper said in an email after the meeting that no decision had been made.

He said EDA attorney Bill Moore had advised that a sale would require a declaratory-judgment lawsuit, in which a judge determines the rights of the parties involved. "If Mr. Creech wants to pursue a formal offer (no actual or informal offer has been made to date) he would need to be prepared to pursue the matter at his expense to clear the stockyard lawsuit's restrictions," Soper wrote.

Google map has outdated city limits; city has annexed and zoned industrial
138 acres north and east of Midway Station. For a larger image, click on it.

He said during the meeting that such an action would cost at least $2,500 and bring "people from the lawsuit back into Midway Station." The settlement gives any resident of Northridge Estates or Ironworks Estates, or any member of Elkwood LLC, a property owner across Georgetown Road from Midway Station, the right to enforce the restrictions.

Tom Creech, president of the firm, told the Midway Messenger, "I don't want to go to court. . . . I want somebody to want us." He said he might make another approach to EDA after the outcome of a business meeting he has scheduled for Friday.

Creech said Wednesday that he hadn't talked with Soper since before last Friday's meeting, and if he decided to pursue Midway Station land again, "My approach would be to go to the mayor of Midway" and invite him to look at his baling facility in Fayette County, which is separate from his composting facility.

"I don’t want to be the bad neighbor to anybody," Creech said. "I would never propose to put in a compost facility in that park." He said he would like to have a baling facility in Woodford County because he serves so many farms in the county.

"You all depend on these horse farms and the waste off them is an issue, and you ought to be glad I'm getting rid of it," he told the Messenger. His firm also supplies hay and straw to farms. He estimated that a Midway Station facility would employ eight to 10 people, including drivers who work the farms. He said he hires common-carrier trucks to ship the bales.

Vandegrift said Wednesday that he would like to see the baling facility, but he and Soper are concerned about creating no more than 10 jobs by selling five or six acres. Earlier, he noted that EDA and the city want to create at least 10 jobs per acre in Midway Station.

"I do appreciate the fact that it's supporting the horse industry, but just from a dollars-and-cents standpoint, he's got to understand if it were to be something that might end up being litigated, and might be controversial . . . I'd have to explain to people why it was worth it," Vandegrift said. "What butters our bread in Midway is occupational taxes, and this is low jobs." 

However, the mayor said he would not oppose the sale "if there's no smell that bothers neighbors. We don’t want to stir up the ghost of the past." He said, "Overall, I think it's an industry people would support," but "At the end of the day, we just had a lot of unanswered questions."

Creech said the material "smells like a horse barn" and didn't know how far its smell would carry, but argued that prevailing winds wouldn’t waft the smell to Northridge Estates.

Another smell could yet be at work: the smell of money. At Friday's meeting, Soper said selling the property at EDA's price of $65,000 an acre would generate a $97,000 profit that would pay one and a half years' interest on the mortgages for Midway Station. "You gotta have cash to stay alive," he said.

Later in the meeting, Vandegrift said of prospective Midway Station buyers, "A lot of people might be very surprised to know that we've turned down as many as we've accepted … for similar reasons or the same reason."

EDA confident about partner, talks transition from Soper, hires agent and starts transfer of greenspace to city

This map was published in March 2019, when the city annexed the property that EDA had an option to buy.

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Woodford County Economic Development Authority board spent much of its Friday meeting discussing the best way to replace longtime chairman and executive John Soper.

The board also began the process of turning over the green space around the edge of Midway Station, awarded a contract for marketing the industrial and commercial park, and discussed relations with the adjoining landowner who has been its main collaborator recently.

Adjoining property: The EDA had an option to buy 104 acres next to Midway Station from Michael Freeny, but Soper said Freeny doesn't want to renew the option until he has a better idea of its worth.

Soper noted that the property hadn't been annexed and zoned industrial when EDA obtained the option in 2017, and that Freeny has since sold part of it to Lakeshore Learning Materials for its second building. He said Freeny wants to know the cost of building a road through a narrow strip that connects the two sections of the property and would provide access to South Elkhorn Creek.

"I expect that road will cost every bit as much as what he paid for that lot or more," because it will have to be built to city specifications so the city can accept it for maintenance, Soper said. "As far as I know Mr. Freeny is still willing to honor his commitment for access though that property to the creek," which the city wants for recreational purposes. He also said that Freeny knows EDA and the city are his conduits to state economic-development officials.

Midway board member Michael Michalsin said he expects "good dialogue" with Freeny because "He's very easy to work with. . . . I'm happy to stay in close touch to him as is useful for the board."

Transition: Soper, who's been on the board for about 20 years and has been its paid chairman for the last few, will be stepping down after his term ends June 30, leaving the EDA in need of a game plan for leadership.

The board agreed that the "most desirable option" would be to hire a full-time director, but concluded from research that option would likely be beyond its budget. Soper gets $60,000 a year, funded pro-rata by Midway, Versailles and Woodford County.

The board is considering four other options, according to a document distributed by Treasurer Maria Bohanan after the meeting:

● Part-time independent contractor (hired by the three governments, with duties directed by them): This option would “more than likely” be less than the cost of Soper’s contract but raises concerns about the contractor not being readily available as a full-time employee would, and that there could be potential for conflicts of interest.

● Full-time independent contractor (hired by the governments, with duties directed by them): This option offers more consistency in the EDA's messaging and relationship-building, and would establish a “go-to person for all stakeholders in the community, including planning and zoning,” but may be too expensive and could lead to a difficult recruitment and evaluation process. The document also questions whether a full-time person is needed, since a real-estate agent has been hired, but a big “variable” is possible development of the Edgewood property at Versailles, which is tied up in court.

● Third-party entity (hire a firm to handle EDA's needs): This option offers “administrative staff and a strong Rolodex,” would probably cost less than Soper’s contract, and could attract competitive bids from firms “likely eager for business in this environment,” the document says.

● Creating a position as a public employee: This option could make it easier to provide direction but “is problematic due to which entity and whom the individual would answer to,”and would require extra taxpayer funding for retirement benefits and health insurance.

In another element of the transition, the board discussed Soper’s suggestion that the treasurer receive some compensation, which could require a change in the EDA by-laws, which say members will serve without compensation except expense reimbursements but say the “secretary-treasurer,” a position that is now split, can be paid.

The board directed Bohanan to include in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year $4,500 for compensation of the treasurer and/or secretary and a Dropbox subscription to facilitate electronic communication. Soper said he would ask attorney Bill Moore about the need for a by-laws change.

Midway Station agent: The board approved SVN/Stone Commercial Real Estate Advisors to serve as its agent for Midway Station, part of the transition from Soper’s impending departure.

The board and Matt Stone of SVN agreed that selling land in Midway Station is not just about creating jobs but maintaining Midway's character.

Soper said, "The EDA is about jobs and about representing what the taxpayers want, and it's not just about selling land." Stone responded that SVN is not about "pushing a deal through to get some sales done."

Stone said SVN will boost Midway Station’s web presence and advertising, with aerial photos. He said that unlike many commercial firms, it splits commissions with agents for buyers, meaning “We’re employing the entire brokerage community, locally and nationally.”

Asked by Soper how Midway Station’s $65,000-an-acre price compares with other ready-to-use industrial property in the region, he said “It works very well” because the range is $35,000 to $85,000, “but in Lexington you’re dealing with prices that are six figures.” He said he has seen transactions of $75,000 to $85,000 in Georgetown, which some buyers prefer because it is on Interstate 75. “I think we compare well to Georgetown.”

Land transactions: The board authorized Moore to prepare a deed to the City of Midway for the Midway Station tract on which the city’s functioning water tower stands, and to prepare an option for the city to take ownership the 38 acres of greenspace that surround Midway Station, in return for the city agreeing to forgive $500,000 to $750,000 of debt owed by the EDA, not all of which is considered collectible. Both moves have been anticipated for many months.

The EDA also owes the county money, and Magistrate Mary Ann Gill asked if there would be “any effort to compensate Woodford County.” Soper said, “If there was money there, I think that we could,” but “If we can get out of this with paying off the debt … and putting the finishing cap of surface on those roads … I cannot conceive that there’s any cheese left in this trap.”

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift reminded Gill that the county did not participate in the $450,000 financing of a larger natural-gas line for Midway Station, which constitutes most of the debt and “really improved the park’s chance of selling land.”

Soper said the legal instrument from EDA to the city needs to be an option, not a deed, because releasing the mortgage on that part of the property without any direct monetary compensation might be a problem for the banks that hold the mortgages. He said that would “give Midway control of the land without going to the bank and asking them to release it … until after land sale,” which he said would be “A better time to release without any consideration.”

Soper said the city’s “intent to make some or all of it a park” will enhance the value of Midway Station. Vandegrift said it won’t be a park as such, “but a greenspace. Midway is such a picturesque city, we want our industrial park to be as picturesque as an industrial park can be.”

Mayor's update: Stay vigilant, act safely as reopenings begin; vouchers are 'a dividend created by our surplus'

By Grayson Vandegrift

Mayor, City of Midway

This Friday will mark eight weeks since we started social distancing and then soon after started staying healthy at home, all while washing our hands often and practicing good personal hygiene. You likely see or hear all kinds of numbers and projection models about the virus, and frankly, it can be dizzying – and confusing. So here’s something we know: the measures we took have worked. We have not overwhelmed our hospitals, and that has likely saved hundreds if not thousands of lives across the commonwealth.

To your credit, and with great blessings, we have yet to confirm a case of covid-19 in Midway, and we’ve seen only 17 in the whole county. That is a testament to how well you have adapted to these nearly unprecedented circumstances. I do urge us all, though, to remember that just because we haven’t confirmed any cases in Midway, that doesn’t mean it isn’t here.

The unusually long incubation period of this virus means an outbreak could happen today, but we wouldn’t know about it for a week or two. That’s why, even as we begin to see parts of our economy open back up we have to remain vigilant to giving the virus as little chance as we can. Words can’t describe how incredible you’ve been. It’s been two long months, and we’ve got a ways to go still, but what you’ve accomplished is not only impressive, it’s inspirational. So let’s dig in and keep getting through this together.

With staggered openings coming to our economy, we can’t be surprised if we see some spikes in cases, so let’s remember to keep using our good common sense and stay healthy at home as much as possible, and even with some return to a new normal, keep using the social distancing and hand-washing practices that have gotten us here. Midway, and even all of Woodford County, have been a model for how to get through a crisis with the best face possible, and that’s because of you.

I was extremely happy that the City Council supported a plan to use $40,000 of unused economic-development funds to become the first and only city in Kentucky to create a stimulus to help both our citizens and our local businesses get through this time. With your next water bill, which will be mailed out around the 28th, you will receive five $10 vouchers to be used at any participating local business. You can use these as cash, though you cannot make change with them, and those businesses will be reimbursed for the purchase amount. It’s a way to help everyone – businesses who are struggling to meet overhead, citizens who are squeezed to pay bills, and those who are in need of the most basic of necessities. It’s your money – a dividend created by our surplus – and you get to decide personally how you reinvest it in our local economy. And we all know that money spent at home stays at home.

There are frequently asked questions and answers about the vouchers that we will post on the door at city hall and in the post office and other places around town, as well as on our website, and on my Facebook page. If you live in an apartment or you aren’t the one who directly receives your water bill, we’re already planning for how we’ll make sure you get your vouchers. Each home, apartment, or other abode in Midway will receive them. I’d also like to add that this program won’t cut into important infrastructure plans like our sewer rehabilitation project, which is still included in the upcoming budget for this fiscal year, with work to begin in the first half of it.

Masks are still available if you need one; just call City Hall at 859-846-4413 to arrange a pick-up. On May 18, if there are still masks left, we will open that program up to anyone in the area or county who needs one. No one is going to force you to wear a mask, and while I admit it feels weird at first, you get used to it quickly, and it’s an act of love, not of fear. As we transition to a healthy at work environment, masks are going to be a very important part of how we keep cases from spiking.

I truly believe we’re feeding off of each other right now. Even though we can’t be together, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And if the healthy at work initiative goes well and we’re able to begin gathering in small groups in the coming weeks or month, we will still need to use these skills we’ve clearly shown we can adapt to exceptionally well. So keep your heads up and looking forward, you’ve clearly got many, many reasons to be extremely proud of yourselves and of our home – of Midway. Thank you, and God Bless.

Council endorses $59-per-lot fee to fund 9-1-1; mayor says he will try 6 months without late fees on water bills

Jeremy Emerson, Doris Leigh, Sharon Turner and Jimmie Murphy received "certificates of excellence" from the city Monday night for their service on the Veterans Memorial Committee. Turner and Leigh are former members of the City Council.

To pay for Woodford County's 9-1-1 dispatch service, a $59 fee would be tacked onto the tax bill of each residential property in the county, under a plan endorsed by the Midway City Council tonight.

The council also approved a new contract with John Soper, chair of the Woodford County Economic Development Authority; honored members of the Veterans Memorial Committee, which is turning its functions over to the city; set terms for the new Code Enforcement Board; and approved appointment of a new city attorney. Before the meeting, Vandegrift announced a trial policy of doing away with late fees on water bills.

Dispatch funding: The nonbinding vote on funding the dispatch center came after police and other first responders said they preferred the tract-fee idea to the other finalist, a fee on water meters. Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said the water fee would have to be higher, perhaps $70, to cover the cost, due to the inefficiency of collecting the fee through the county's eight separate water suppliers.

He said commercial and industrial property owners would pay higher rates, yet to be determined, if the three local governments adopt the proposal. The Versailles City Council is scheduled to hear about the issue Tuesday night.

"We've gone through every possible way of funding this," Vandegrift said, adding later that the tract fee appeared to have unanimous support among first responders. "It's not something anybody wants to do, but it's something we have to do."

The dispatch service is now funded by a $3.50 monthly fee on telephone landlines, which are fading out. About 80 percent of the service's calls come from wireless phones, Assistant Versailles Police Chief Mike Murray told the council. He said eight or nine Kentucky counties have shifted to a tract fee to finance dispatch.

Vandegrift said Midway hasn't participated in the funding, but "With our rising standing in this county, we need to step up to the plate. If we want to be included at all tables, we've got to sit at every table."

Water policy: Over the weekend, Vandegrift told the council in an email that he would "try a six month trial run with no late fees on water/sewer bills." His decision follows a council discussion last month about water policies.

"If this becomes permanent, it will cost the water fund approximately $9,600 per year, but with the Higgins Street water line replacement debt retired, we’re still in a cost-saving situation compared to where we were a year ago when still paying the debt," he wrote. "Plus, $9,600 is a fraction of our overall water fund budget and even if we did rely on that income, it’s an unsavory thing to rely on."

Vandegrift said water bills will still be due on the 10th of each month, "but people who don’t pay on time won’t be penalized a fee. They will, however, still end up on the cut-off list if they continue to be late, and the cut-offs will remain on or around the 26th of each month. If too many customers are ending up on the cut off list, or unforeseen ramifications cause an administrative strain, I may end the trial run within the next six months. But, if after 6 months, things go as I hope and expect they will, this will become new permanent policy. After reviewing the council’s comments from our water policy meeting, speaking with city hall staff, and thinking through it over and over, I think this is a worthy effort to help lift some financial burden for those who struggle the most to afford the most basic of necessities."

EDA contract: Soper is both chairman of the EDA and an independent contractor for the three local governments. His new contract is for six months, and gives him a raise. He has been paid $5,720 per month, and will now get $6,002 a month for recruiting and retaining jobs and selling property in the Midway Station industrial and commercial park.

Midway has been the main beneficiary of Soper's recent work, and it will pay a greater share of his compensation: $1,333 per month, up from $858 a month. Vandegrift said that reflects performance, justified by the great increases in the city's occupational tax on wages and net profits, and is "still a good deal" for the city. Midway's share will be 22.2 percent, or two-ninths, of the total. The county will pay four-ninths and Versailles one-third. The contract is in the council meeting packet, here.

Logan Nance, the only council member who voted against industrial zoning of 138 acres between Midway Station and the Brown-Forman whiskey warehouses (which have a conditional-use permit in an agricultural zone) told Soper that they differ on development, "but you're doing a good job at Midway Station." The property's debt is now being paid entirely by EDA, not the city and county.

Soper reported that EDA may be able to develop public access to South Elkhorn Creek through negotiations with AT&T, which needs a construction easement to replace a fiber-optic line that runs along Midway Station's fence with Interstate 64.

Veterans Committee: Vandegrift presented "certificates of excellence" to four members of the Midway Veterans Committee who were present. The committee was formed several years ago to build a memorial in the Midway Cemetery, raised $40,000 for the project, and worked for years to add names to the monument and hold an annual Memorial Day service. The committee's membership has evolved over the years, and it has turned its funds over to the city, which is assuming its functions.

"You can learn a lot about a town by the way it honors its veterans," said Nance, an Army vet who served in Afghanistan. "Those veterans gave so much to ensure that this country, the values that we value, freedom and democracy, are built in stone. And I think it's only fitting that because of your work, their names will forever be etched in granite. So, thank you all very much."

Code enforcement: The ordinance the council passed last month to create a new Code Enforcement Board, to hear appeals of citations for building-code violations, calls for the terms of the first appointees to be staggered so one appointment comes up each year hence. But when Vandegrift and the council filled the board, they didn't specify the terms. Tonight they decided that Jim Starks would serve three years, Jo Blease two years and Dan Roller one year.

Code violations will be cited by an enforcement officer, whom the city has yet to hire. Vandegrift said he is talking with a Scott County building inspector about doing the part-time work and hopes to have his appointment ready for the council's confirmation at its next meeting, Feb. 17.

In response to a question from Council Member John Holloway, the mayor said that the officer would respond to complaints, not cite violations on his own, but that the complaints can be anonymous.

Other business: Council Member Sara Hicks, chair of the cemetery committee, said the foundation for the pavilion at the cemetery is in place, and stakes have been placed for a road to it. She invited members to check it out. Vandegrift said an architect is doing blueprints for the pavilion, based on a design by Holloway.

The council approved three event permits for the Midway Business Association:a St. Patrick's Day celebration Saturday, March 14; a summer-kickoff block party from 5 to 10 p.m. May 23, the Saturday before Memorial Day; and the Fall Festival Sept. 18-20, with Friday needed for setup.

Also approved was Vandegrift's choice of Sharon Gold as the new attorney for the city. She was not present at the meeting. Neither was Council Member Kaye Nita Gallagher.

Vandegrift said after the meeting that Gold will be paid $283 per hour and her associates at the Lexington office of Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs will get $185 an hour. Her predecessor, Phil Moloney, got $225 and his associates $145. "Phil’s office hadn’t raised their rates in five years, so that was probably due," Vandegrift said in an email. He added that new City Clerk Cindy Foster's "ability to write ordinances (she’s written two of our most recent) will save us a lot on billable hours."

City Council votes to make Midway debt-free

Midway, call Dave Ramsey. You're about to be debt-free, just like those happy callers to his financial-advice radio show.

The City Council voted Monday night to pay off the city's remaining debts, totaling about $184,000. "Anytime you can be debt-free, it's good," said Council Member Bruce Southworth, who made the motion for the payments.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said City Clerk-Treasurer Cindy Foster suggested that the city pay off its remaining two debts, $176,311 for a sewer project and about $8,400 on a fire truck. He said the city's "number are good, and they're going to get better," with jobs to be added at Midway Station. "We've got more than enough rainy-day funds."

Nationally, local-government "rainy day funds" average about one-third of spending, according to a 2013 article in Governing magazine. The City of Midway's bank balances total $1,182,490, according to a list Vandegrift provided. Its budget for the fiscal year that will end June 30 calls for General Fund appropriations of $1.9 million and a projected surplus of $488,601. That surplus is expected to be larger.

The city's finances have been boosted by its occupational tax on wages and net profits, mainly through the approximately 250 jobs created at Midway Station by the Lakeshore Learning Materials distribution center, which is starting an expansion that is to add 100 more jobs.

Vandegrift said the city collected about $300,000 in occupational taxes in 2015, the first year he was mayor, and "It's only a matter of time before our occupational-tax revenue is $1 million a year." In response to a question from Council Member Stacy Thurman, he said he didn't see any downside to paying off the debts and eliminating the city's interest payments.

In other business, the council heard first reading of an ordinance for an industrial revenue bond to finance the Lakeshore expansion. In an arrangement typical for local governments, the city will take title to the property, thus exempting it from property taxes, and lease it back to Lakeshore. (The company makes payments to the county schools equal to the amount it would pay in taxes.) The lease payments will be the sole source of revenue to pay off the bonds, and "The city's not pledging its taxing authority," Tim Eifler, a Louisville lawyer representing Lakeshore, told the council.

"Lakeshore's already turning dirt," Vandegrift noted earlier.

Vandegrift asks state to widen Georgetown Road; City Council discusses residential rental issues

By Garrett Burton
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift wants the state to widen Georgetown Road (KY 341) from the Interstate 64 interchange to the Scott County line due to the increase in traffic due to growth at Midway Station.

In Monday’s City Council meeting, Vandegrift referred to a letter he sent Thursday to Department of Highways District 7 Coordinator Natalia McMillan.

With the expansion of Lakeshore Learning Materials on part of 138 acres that the council recently annexed and zoned for industry, he wrote, “I believe there will need to be adjustments made including but not limited to widening of the road, lowering the speed limit, and any and all measures to protect human life.”

At the meeting, Vandegrift said road improvements were discussed in 2016 when Midway first landed Lakeshore, which is expanding and adding 100 jobs to the 250 or so it already has.

“We haven’t seen any accidents yet, but 341 is narrow, and there’s a lot of blind spots on 341, especially if you’re coming in from Scott County,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to see that be a situation where we wish something would have been done before someone gets hurt.”

In the meeting, the council approved two measures relating to Lakeshore. The first gives Vandegrift authority to sign closing documents on the new Lakeshore expansion; the other changes an erroneous date in a previous resolution.

Residential rentals: In what Vandegrift calls the “final thoughts” segment of the meeting, Council Member Logan Nance said Midway residents had reached out to him about opening their property as an Airbnb or Vrbo (vacation rentals by owners). Currently, residents need permission from the Board of Adjustments and must live full time in the residence.

Nance asked if there was a way to make this process easier for people. Vandegrift replied, “I think it’s completely a planning and zoning matter at this point.”

Council Members John Holloway and Kaye Nita Gallagher said they know of houses being rented out that don’t have the owners living in them. There’s people renting them out to the college kids” at Midway University, Gallagher said. Vandegrift said they may have a permit, or approval of the Board of Adjustments.

To Nance’s point, Vandegrift said “I’ve heard more concern over unregulated Airbnb’s than I have heard people wishing we had more of them.” He recommended that anyone interested in this topic make a stop at the planning and zoning office at the courthouse in Versailles and talk to Planning Director Pattie Wilson or Kim O’Reel, the administrative assistant.

Pumpkin contest: Pastor Mary Weese of Midway Presbyterian Church asked council members to participate in a pumpkin carving contest to be held on the steps of the church on Halloween to “help raise awareness for the community garden.” She said there will be prizes for children and adults.

Vandegrift laughed as he said it will be the first time that he has carved a pumpkin.

The display of the pumpkins will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday Oct. 31 (Halloween night). The categories to be judged are scariest. most creative, and Halloween spirit.

Katie Vandegrift takes job at CommerceLex; moves up

UPDATE, Aug. 3, 2020: Vandegrift was promoted to director of marketing and research for Commerce Lexington's economic-development team.

Katie Vandegrift

Commerce Lexington, the chamber of commerce for Fayette County, has hired Katie Vandegrift of Midway as an administrative and marketing assistant. She has been a personal banker at WesBanco Bank, the latest iteration in a series of ownership changes at Midway's only bank.

Vandegrift is a graduate of Midway University and has worked in administrative roles in the equine and banking industries and has served on several boards, including the Woodford County Economic Development Authority and Midway Renaissance. She is married to Mayor Grayson Vandegrift; they have a son, Jackson.

"I’m thrilled to join the economic development team at Commerce Lexington," Vandegrift told the Midway Messenger. "As a Woodford countian, it is exciting to work within the organization that supports the Bluegrass Alliance, a partnership that promotes economic development in Central Kentucky."

Annexed land zoned industrial; dissenter says it has to stop at some point; Stephens St. traffic concerns voiced

The tract annexed in March, effectively two tracts joined by a small strip, is now zoned industrial. Click on map to enlarge.

Issues of a growing town dominated the discussion at Monday's Midway City Council meeting.

The council approved rezoning from agricultural to industrial a 138-acre tract next to the Midway Station industrial park, part of which will be used for Lakeshore Learning Materials' expansion. Council Member Logan Nance dissented, saying "At some point we have to stop our industrial development."

Logan Nance

Nance said he supports Midway Station and the work of the Woodford County Economic Development Authority, but said he made clear in his campaign for a council seat last year that he didn't support development beyond Midway Station. He said the rezoning could make it more like that a future council could extend industrial zoning across Georgetown Road. A farm is for sale there.

"I never talked to anybody who said they moved here because of industrial land," Nance said. He said earlier that he had voted against annexing the property and wanted to be consistent.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said Nance's points were "very well made," but earlier, the mayor said "Midway is a preservationist town" and always will be, but the best way to preserve it is with "wise development."

Stacy Thurman, another first-year council member, said she agreed with Vandegrift, but wants the city and EDA to fulfill the promise of public access to South Elkhorn Creek by way of the rezoned tract or adjacent property.

EDA Chair John Soper gestured to the Imperial Asphalt lot at
the east end of Midway Station, a possible creek access point.

Vandegrift said, "It's going to happen," because landowner Homer Freeny Jr., who is selling the property to EDA, has kept other promises he has made -- and there is an alternative access, through the four-acre Midway Station lot bought recently by Imperial Asphalt, which says it plans to store equipment there. EDA Chair John Soper said likewise, and showed the council possible access points on the Midway Station map on the wall of City Hall.

The rezoning creates an industrial area from Interstate 64 to the Brown-Forman whiskey warehouses along the creek, the county line. (The concrete warehouses are being built under a conditional-use permit in an agricultural zone, on the presumption that whiskey is an agricultural product.) The rezoned tract is in Midway's urban-services area in the county's comprehensive plan.

Vandegrift said when the land was annexed in March, “If we don’t do this, it’s gonna get developed and we’re gonna lose all that revenue,” which EDA needs to pay off Midway Station and pay the city the $600,000 it owes on natural-gas and water lines built on the property. “There’s not gonna be enough in Midway Station to pay us back,” he said then.

The City Council approved two other ordinances, giving MetroNet a non-exclusive franchise to provide television and internet service in the city, and giving Lakeshore Learning an incentive for location of a planned warehouse. The additional net-profits tax generated by the warehouse will be reduced by one-fourth for five years after it employs 100 people.

The council also heard from Todd Graddy of Mill Road Place, who said the recent growth of Midway University has created dangerous traffic on East Stephens Street and its county extension, Weisenberger Mill Road, which will get worse when the new bridge at the mill opens in May.

"Midway's changed 180 degrees," she said, saying that walking on the thoroughfare is "taking your life in your hands."

Vandegrift said, "I do think we're going to need to construct a sidewalk, at least on the Mill Road side," and it would probably be funded in the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2020. He said double yellow lines will soon be painted on newly paved Stephens Street, but white edge lines that could help slow traffic or help bicycles might have to wait, because the street width varies.

"I think we are getting there," the mayor told Graddy. "It may not be at the pace you would like." Later, he said, "The city, for 40 or 50 years, didn't invest in anything." The money for recent improvements has come from the growth in occupational-tax revenue, mainly from Midway Station.

Vandegrift said he would schedule a special council meeting to discuss late fees and cut-off policies for water customers. When Nance said Sept. 2 that the city shouldn't cut off water users who don't pay, the mayor asked the Public Works and Services Committee to discuss the issue. Council Member Bruce Southworth, the committee chair, said the panel met Friday and decided that it was "probably better" for the issue to be aired at a council meeting.

In other business, the council set trick or treat for 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31, extended the contract for snow removal, and approved event permits for the Christmas-season schedule of the Midway Business Association:

• A kickoff event Saturday, Nov. 9, with Ms. Claus and five to 20 booths.
• A chili cook-off on Nov. 16 , co-sponsored by Midway Renaissance, with five to 30 booths.
• "Sip 'n' Shop" Nov. 23, designed to take advantage of the new "open carry" ordinance that allows customers to take alcoholic drinks off the sales premises. MBA hopes local restaurants will have drink specials and people will "come shop and get tipsy," President Cortney Neikirk said.
• Arrival of Santa Claus via train Nov. 30, with placement of Christy Reaves's "Joy Land" model-train layout in the old bank building, perhaps with Santa there too.
• Candy Cane Stroll, similar to the Chocolate Stroll in February, on Dec. 14.

Lakeshore Learning Materials will expand Midway distribution center, add 100 jobs, for a total of 340

By Megan Parsons, Garrett Burton, Kennedy Sabharwal, Grant Wheeler and Dalton Stokes
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Midway seems to have hit the employment and tax-revenue lottery. Lakeshore Learning Materials, which came to town in 2016, has announced it will expand its distribution center and employ 100 more people. Lakeshore currently employs 240 in the Midway Station industrial park. It is also expected to provide around 150 seasonal jobs.

“This means longer term financial stability for the city,” Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said in an email. “With this expansion, our city will likely see over $1 million in annual occupational tax revenue overall; it was around $300,000 per year in 2015.”

As a result, Vandegrift said, the citizens of Midway can expect more infrastructure improvements and better overall services. “Our residents can expect us to be able to continue improving our water and sewer lines, our roads, our sidewalks, and to be able to continue investing in other quality of life initiatives as well,” he said.

Lakeshore is the largest job provider in Midway history. Vandergrift said that construction will most likely start in the winter and finish up in spring of 2020, costing the company an estimated $27 million. The first center cost it $47.7 million.

Labels on Google map show new Lakeshore Learning property,
which the city recently annexed; the red line is the former city limit.
Road at top goes to new Brown-Forman whiskey warehouses.

The addition will be close to the current distribution center, next to Georgetown Road on property being bought from Homer Freeny Jr., which the city recently annexed and zoned industrial. An adjoining tract could be used for future expansion, Vandegrift said.

The mayor said the company, based in the Los Angeles area, chose to expand eastern distribution center in in Midway rather than open a third center in Beaumont, Texas, a city of about 120,000 east of Houston.

“I believe their existing distribution center and our excellent logistics played a key role,” Vandegrift said. “I was also told by a Lakeshore executive that our relationship with them as a city was a big reason they decided on Midway.” He noted that Midway is within a day’s drive of 70 percent of the U.S. population.

The mayor said he “worried Beaumont could provide a better tax incentive package.” In addition to incentives from the state, he also tentatively offered a five-year abatement of the occupational tax on Lakeshore’s net profits.

“This seems like a very reasonable thing to do since Lakeshore currently contributes five times what was being generated in the entire city before they arrived,” he wrote. “They contribute about $30,000 a year in net-profit tax. But, the company contributes over $200,000 dollars per year in occupational tax revenue already, and in the long run the city comes out far in the black.” Before this offer can be solidified, it must be approved by the City Council.

The rest of the incentive package is the same as the one for Lakeshore's initial plant, to rebate 0.5 percent of their occupational-tax payments for 10 years once their promised job threshold is met.

Asked if Lakeshore will seek local employees to fill the 100 jobs, Vandegrift said, “A lot of their employees come from Midway and Woodford County, but the majority travel from other counties, and I expect that to be even more the case with this new facility.”

As for construction work, since the distribution center was built by Central Kentucky companies, Vandegrift said they are likely to build the new distribution center.

Traffic should not be of concern to Midway residents, according to the mayor. With the current distribution center, traffic has been minimal. During the end of the day shift, there can be more traffic on the Interstate 64 interchange, but much less than in Lexington.

Lakeshore is a developer and retailer of educational materials for early-childhood programs, elementary schools and homes nationwide. The company has 60 retail locations across the country. It recently opened offices in Asia.

Vandegrift announces for state representative

Grayson Vandegrift

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift announced today that he is running for the state House seat held by Rep. Joe Graviss of Versailles, who announced in April that he is seeking the state Senate seat held by former governor Julian Carroll of Frankfort, who is retiring. All of them are Democrats.

"This was not a decision I came to lightly," Vandegrift said in an email. "I love being the mayor of Midway, and I will continue to serve as mayor as diligently as I ever have during the forthcoming campaign of 2020. Ultimately, I decided to run for this open seat because I love public service, and my record and my passion indicates that I am suited for it."

The part-time offices are quite different, but Vandegrift indicated that for now, at least, he is running on his record of four and a half years as the town's nonpartisan executive.

"When I entered the office of mayor, Midway was in danger of becoming insolvent unless we found new revenue sources," he wrote. "We immediately got to work, casting aside politics, willing to work with anyone. Under my leadership as mayor, we’ve created over 400 new jobs, tripling our revenue, which we’ve used to expand our services, invest in critical infrastructure, and pay off debt.

"This record-setting job growth not only enabled us to improve our community but also allowed us to return to our residents a 25 percent cut in property and sewer taxes. The Commonwealth of Kentucky faces a similar situation with our serious pension crisis, our woeful underinvestment in education, and our lack of sufficient revenue. It takes outside-the-box thinking and an ability to work with everyone, regardless of political party, to get things done. And Frankfort desperately needs leadership like that to get things done for the 56th House District and all of Kentucky."

The district includes all of Woodford County and parts of Fayette and Franklin counties. No other candidates have announced. The filing deadline for the May 19, 2020, primary election is Jan. 2810. The next election for mayor is in November 2022.

Message from the mayor: Asphalt firm buys new lot in Midway Station, absolving city of interest due this year

Map projection at March EDA meeting showed lot sold this week. 

By Grayson Vandegrift
Mayor, City of Midway
    I’m excited to welcome Imperial Asphalt as our newest addition to Midway, at Midway Station. Owners Seth Christian and Aaron Gillund have purchased 4.01 acres at the “nose” of McKinney Avenue, address 775 McKinney Ave.
    This closing, which occurred late yesterday afternoon, comes with additional good news. Because the 4.01 acres was not originally platted with Midway Station, the bank does not claim a release price towards the principal. For this reason, the Woodford County Economic Development Authority has agreed to use the proceeds, close to $120,000 after closing costs, to use towards paying the interest due at the industrial park.
    Because of this, as expected, we will not need to make an interest payment this year, as EDA will make that payment for us. This is not only a sign of goodwill from EDA to both the City of Midway and Woodford County, but also signals as new phase where our EDA is beginning to become self-sustaining, a fact that is good for the entire county.
    This also means that the $40,000 we have budgeted for this fiscal year in our general fund for paying interest is now freed up. My recommendation is that we let it sit for now as a rainy-day fund in case we have an unexpected expense this year, and if we should not need it, let it roll into our projected surplus at the end of June 2020.
    I want to thank the EDA board and Chairman John Soper for their diligence and excellent work, as well as their continued cooperation with the City of Midway.