City council postpones lawyers' arguments on Midway Station rezoning, votes to hear public

Again voting 4-3, the Midway City Council decided tonight to put off a decision on rezoning Midway Station to give citizens a chance to comment in a public forum on the proposal to turn the failed industrial park into a residential and commercial development that could double the size of the town.

Mayor Tom Bozarth broke a tie, passing Council Member Charlann Wombles' motion to postpone until Sept. 29 a hearing in which lawyers will make arguments -- and add to that meeting's agenda the opportunity for citizens to comment. Members Diana Queen and Aaron Hamilton voted in favor of the motion; Sheila Redmond, Sharon Turner and Matt Warfield voted against it.

At the start of tonight's meeting, Bozarth asked lawyers for both sides to allow comments from the public. Both objected on procedural grounds. Richard Murphy, attorney for Lexington developer Dennis Anderson, said that would be unfair to Anderson because the room was filled with people opposing the rezoning. Murphy said he had told supporters of the change not to come because only lawyers were supposed to speak to the council.

Hank Graddy, attorney for the Woodford Coalition, a group of neighborhood organizations active in land-use issues, said he had to agree with Murphy on the procedural point, but said the council needed to hold a formal, trial-type hearing to hear from the public. (He said after the meeting that speakers at such hearings traditionally are not sworn but must be subject to cross-examination.)

Wombles then moved for an argument-type hearing with public comments, "so anyone in this community who wishes to be heard will be heard." She said she was responding to the pleas of citizens and "in keeping with the democratic principles we all hold so dear." Queen agreed, saying “It is our duty to seek, hear, and welcome the different perspectives of Midway.”

Bozarth said city officials have heard plenty of comments outside public meetings. "I can't say anybody has been denied an ear, because we've been there and we've been listening," he said.

Queen said she didn't understand "what the downside is" to another hearing and still wasn't confident that citizens knew they might not have another chance for public comment after the county zoning commission hearing in Midway on May 29. The commission recommended rezoning on the condition that no more than 50 homes be built each year. Anderson's plan calls for more than 600 homes, plus commercial development.

City attorney Phil Moloney said speakers at the Sept. 29 meeting should be limited to comments on the record from the zoning hearing. Queen said it was "a pretty high standard" to expect citizens to know the contents of that record. Wombles said those who spoke at the hearing had to limit their comments to zoning issues, and she wanted a broader discussion.

In interviews after the meeting, Midway residents showed eagerness to express and hear different viewpoints about the rezoning. Former Mayor Becky Moore said, “It is ridiculous we have to ask our public officials to take time out of their busy schedules to hear the community residents.”

Thirty-three year Midway resident Sally Kinnaird said doubling the size of any community means profound change. “My fear is the services our city will have to provide to the new growth will bankrupt us,” she said. “We can’t double our city without complications.” Supporters of the rezoning say it would generate sufficient revenues and relieve the city of debt service on the industrial park, $509 per day.

Megan Wimpy, a Community Journalism student at the University of Kentucky, contributed to this story.

City Council votes to hear from lawyers before voting Sept. 2 on rezoning of Midway Station

Citizens will not get another formal opportunity to comment on the proposed residential and commercial zoning of the failed Midway Station industrial park before the City Council finally decides the issue on Sept. 2, the council voted tonight.

But lawyers for both sides will make arguments at that meeting, based on the record of a Woodford County Planning and Zoning Commission hearing that was held in Midway, the council decided on a 5-1 vote. The "no" vote was cast by Diana Queen, who wanted a full hearing.

Phil Moloney, attorney for the city, said after the meeting that the "Citizen Comments" period that opens council meetings would not be open to comments about Midway Station on Sept. 2 in order to limit the official record to that of the zoning hearing.

An initial motion, to proceed without any kind of hearing, failed on a 3-3 vote, with Queen joined by Aaron Hamilton and Charlann Wombles. Mayor Tom Bozarth cast a symbolic tiebreaking vote against the motion, saying he had some questions he wanted to ask the lawyers in a formal setting.

Asked after the meeting why he didn't want to open the door to new evidence, Bozarth said, "We already had a public hearing, and most of the people in the room were there." He said his mind remains open about the matter. About 25 people attended last night's meeting at City Hall. More than 100 attended the zoning commission hearing, but Queen said she wasn't sure that citizens understood their opportunity to comment.

Peggy Johnson said after the meeting that the zoning hearing was the first time she had attended such a hearing, and "I didn't know what the protocol was and I didn't know what [Dennis] Anderson was going to say," and speakers had to sign up in advance.

Anderson is the Lexington developer who has agreed to buy the industrial park north of Interstate 64 and turn it into a 612-unit residential development with commercial areas. The sale would relieve the city of debt service on the property, which Council Member Sharon Turner said is $509 a day.

Richard Murphy, the attorney for Anderson Communities, said an additional hearing was unnecessary. "Everybody had the right to cross-examine, and did cross-examine" at the zoning hearing, he said. Hank Graddy, attorney for the Woodford Coalition, which opposes the rezoning, said a full hearing would correct what he called procedural defects at the zoning hearing.

Johnson, of Lexington, said she is a sales representative for a travel magazine and has a niece who lives in Midway. She said the development would "destroy tourism here" because the development would "take away the magic of Midway." Supporters of the rezoning have said it would remove the city's debt burden, expand its tax base and create jobs.

UPDATE, Aug. 20: U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, a resident of Woodford County, said on Lexington's WVLK Radio this morning, "It's a shame that the people of Midway don't have the opportunity to have the input that they deserve . . . about their future." Chandler was replying to Johnson, who called in. To a later caller with similar views, Chandler said he didn't have all the facts about the situation, but he generally believes government officials "should bend over backwards to make a special effort, to let people have their say, whenever possible." With his family, Chandler is part owner of The Woodford Sun, the county's weekly newspaper. The paper does not run local editorials, but his father, A.B. Chandler Jr., occasionally expresses opinions in a column, and the congressman's column for local newspapers often appears on the editorial page.

Former mayor calls for hearing on Midway Station; council to take up controversial issue Monday

This week's edition of The Woodford Sun included a letter from former Midway Mayor Becky Moore asking that the City Council hold a public hearing on the proposed zone change of the Midway Station industrial park to a residential and commercial development. The Sun does not put letters or news stories on its Web site, so here is the meat of Moore's letter:

"Midway Station has the potential to double the commercial and residential size of our town. The requested zone change will rezone existing industrial land to permit the construction of over 600 new residential units. Our mayor and six council members are faced with the daunting task of deciding on behalf od the 1,620 residents of Midway whether the proposed zone change is what is best for Midway now and in the future. The law allows the mayor and city council to decide this sisue without holding a public hearing or gathering any additional information if the mayor and council choose to do so.

"Because this issue is vitally important to our community, I urge citizens to contact our mayor and city council members; call City Hall at 846-4413 or attend the city council meeting on Aug. 18 to request that they hold a public hearing before making a decision on this issue. We deserve the opportunity to be heard, and to have our comments reflected in the official record so that they can be considered by our elected representatives in making this important decision.

"I will be dismayed and disappointed if the friends and neighbors that we have elected to represent us proceed without soliciting our input. We are their constituents, we elected them to represent us, and for them to truly represent us, they need to know what we think."

Early this year, some of the six council members spoke favorably of the idea of converting the largely failed industrial park, which is costing the city about $94,000 a year in debt service, with a development proposed by Anderson Communities of Lexington. See past blog items and MidwayMessenger.org for details. The council meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Planners recommend rezoning for Midway Station

The Versailles-Midway-Woodford County Planning Commission voted 6-0 last night to recommend that the Midway City Council rezone Midway Station, a failed industrial park that has saddled the city with largely unproductive debt, to allow sale of the property for a residential and commercial development.

The motion passed by the commission included a limit on the pace of the development, no more than 50 residential housing permits per year. Critics of the recently revised development plan, which has more than 600 residential units, have said it would create a glut of houses in the area and depress housing values. The city council could remove the limit if it rezones the property.

The zoning change is requested by the Woodford County Economic Development Authority, which owns the property and produced this promotional map, and Anderson Communities Inc., which has agreed to buy it if the zoning change is approved.

Commissioner Jim Boggs said that without the limit, Lexington-based Anderson could get all or almost all the housing permits allowed under the county's comprehensive plan for the next three years, shutting out local builders. The limit "takes care of that, if this is legal," he said. The commission's attorney, Tim Butler, said he thought the limit would meet legal muster because Anderson "committed to that" 12-year schedule during a public hearing on the change.

Anderson told the Lexington Herald-Leader that he was “ambivalent” about the limit. “It's going to affect the development plan,” he told reporter Greg Kocher. “We want to work with it. We'll put up every effort to try to make it work.” Kocher's 350-word story also quoted Hank Graddy, the attorney for the Woodford Coalition, which monitors growth in the county, as saying “This is a very bad planning decision” that should require another public hearing, this time before the city council, because the motion approved by the commission contained “factual errors,” such as a finding that Midway Station has adequate fire protection. Errors of fact are often the basis for lawsuits challenging rezonings.

Midway has a volunteer fire department and Midway Station is north of Interstate 64, in an appendage of the city limits. It was annexed around 1991, when the property was rezoned from agricultural to industrial. Critics of the plan have said it would create a "New Midway" separated by the highway from "Old Midway." For The Woodford Sun's story on the commission's May hearing on the issue, click here.

Mayor Tom Bozarth declined to say when the city council, which is next scheduled to meet on July 21, might consider the recommendation. Some council members spoke favorably of the proposal early this year, but opposition among their constituents appears to have grown, much as it did when the EDA wanted to sell the property to Bluegrass Stockyards Co., which wanted to relocate from Lexington but dropped the plan in the face of public opposition and the likelihood of legal action.

"The main concern of Midway citizens" about the latest plan, Hume said, "was that it was going to flood the city with residential units." He said the limit would regulate the pace of the entire development because some of the residential units would be in buildings with commercial units. "This is the most reasonable way to have some growth in a reasonable manner," he said.

Commissioner J.D. Wolf, noting that Midway Station has cost the city and county $1.5 million in interest with little to show for it, asked why Anderson shouldn't be able to "do what he wants." He said Anderson “might just say 'I don't want to fool with it.'” Hume replied, "I'm trying to take into consideration Midway and its citizens. . . . It's our responsibility." Now that responsibility falls to the city council.

Plans for Midway Station concern some residents

By Emily Funk
UK School of Journalism and Telecommunications

The rezoning and sale of the largely failed Midway Station industrial park to Anderson Communities would bring 700 residential and commercial properties to the town of 1, 620, perhaps nearly doubling its size.

Some Midway residents are concerned about the environmental and financial consequences that could result from a development that would greatly increase the population of the community and affect its unique character.

To read the rest of this story, click here.

Council members would wear two hats in rezoning

By Emily Funk
UK School of Journalism and Telecommunications

The Midway City Council is likely to vote this summer on whether to rezone Midway Station, a largely failed industrial park, for residential and commercial development.

The City of Midway also makes payments on the bonds used to buy and develop the Midway Station property, and will continue to make payments until the land is sold. That raises the prospect of conflicting interests – not for council members as individuals, but in their roles as stewards of the city’s economic and overall well-being.

For the rest of this story, click here or pick up a copy of the May 22 edition of The Woodford Sun and turn to the Midway page.

Fourth generation gone, Weisenberger Mill rolls on

By Monica Wade
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Weisenberger Mill (photo by Scott Beale, Laughing Squid) has provided flour and cornmeal from the shores of South Elkhorn Creek since the 1880s, and a variety of other products in recent years as the mill passed through the generations of its founding family.

Now another generation has passed, with the April 9 death of Philip Joseph Weisenberger II, the mill’s fourth-generation owner, who developed the niche products that helped it survive in an era when most small mills went out of business.

Phil Weisenberger worked in the mill right up until being admitted to St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington. He had recently undergone triple heart bypass surgery but was unable to recover from it.

“He loved the business,” said Buena Bond, his secretary of 41 years. “It was his life; he was in here every day, including Saturday, when he would make bread for his friends and family with flour from the mill.”

Weisenberger began working at the mill in the 1940s and took over the business in 1955 after his father died.

“He worked hard,” said his son, Mac Weisenberger. “He worked every day and took care of everything.”

Mac started working at the mill after school as a young man and then came to work full time in 1973. “I wanted to work in the mill since I was young,” he said. “Although it seemed like it was a lot easier back then.”

Even with Phil’s death, there is still a Philip Weisenberger at the mill – Mac’s son Philip Weisenberger, named for his grandfather.

Through the eyes of a young boy, the mill may seem like a wonderful playground, but in an adult’s view it is a fully functioning power that requires a great deal of time and work.

Bond calls the generations of owners a “chain reaction.” She said when one Weisenberger passes on, another steps up to fill their father’s shoes.

Beyond Phil Weisenberger’s hard-working attitude, he was also known for his kindness and generosity.

Father Dan Noll of St. Leo Catholic Church knew him for four years, since coming there as a parish priest. Noll said Phil often brought fresh bread that he made as a gift to the Father and sisters of the church. Family members and Noll said Weisenberger donated flour to impoverished nuns living in Louisville. Those nuns were said to have attended his funeral, along with many others who were touched by his generous hand.

Family members said Weisenberger held church in high importance in his life, along with his family and the mill. Noll said he attended Mass at least twice a week if not more often and that he was very active in several different parishes. He said Weisenberger would attend Saturday night mass at St. Francis or White Sulphur and was at St. Leo every Sunday morning, often accompanied by his wife Bett and his sister Betty Bright.

Noll said that in the hospital before surgery, Weisenberger was at peace with the prospect of dying, and was ready and not afraid.

“He really believed in God and in eternal life,” Noll said. “He saw an importance of loving others and keeping justice for the poor.”

He said Weisenberger had traditional values and was a big financial supporter of the church when it had to move to a bigger location.

“He was a generous man,” Noll said. “He was really open and caring. I thought very highly of him.”

Noll said Weisenberger had a happy nature and humble attitude. Bond called him a kind, gentle and happy man. “He always had a twinkle in his eye.”

She also said he was a born salesman and very creative, as he was the creator of the mill’s numerous mixes and batters.

Mac Weisenberger said the mill is partially run by two water-powered turbines, has kept the same flow since 1913, and can produce 150 hundred pound bags in 24 hours.

New, larger mills can produce around 1 million pounds. But the mill has prospered because specialty products created by Philip Weisenberger, such as flour and cornmeal mixes for frying and baking, biscuit mix and pancake mix.

Weisenberger is one of very few small mills left in the United States. Mac said that in 1950 there were 5,000 mills, and that number has dwindled to 500.

The mill is run by four employees: a miller, a mixer, and employees who fill packages, load the trucks and keep the place clean.

Though the mill’s product line has expanded, Mac said it is important to him, as it was to his father, to keep the basic process the same.

“We mill grain the same way since we started,” he said. “We put an emphasis on quality, not quantity.”