New stoplight set to go into action Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Midway's second stoplight, installed by the state Department of Highways, is scheduled to go live Tuesday, May 13, at 10 a.m. The intersection of Leestown Road (US 421) and Georgetown Road (KY 341) adjacent to Interstate 64 has been the scene of many accidents. It currently has a flashing yellow light for traffic on Leestown Road and flashing red for traffic coming off the interstate and Georgetown Road. This photo was taken from the entrance to the new Green Gables development, which already has a turn lane and is expected to generate more traffic. Meanwhile, the Chevron station in the distance has closed, apparently a victim of competition with the new Shell station with a full-service convenience store in Green Gables.

Incumbent, former councilman and political newcomer seek to represent Midway district on Fiscal Court

By Rachel Aretakis

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Three Midway citizens are vying to be elected magistrate from District 1 on the Woodford County Fiscal Court. 

District 1 has two precincts: No. 2, rural Midway; and No. 21, the city.

Incumbent Larry Craig, Linda Popp and Dale Benson are running in the May 20 Democratic primary.  No Republican or independent filed.

The winner will represent Midway on the county level as one of eight magistrates. Each receives a salary of $21,322 as well as health insurance benefits and a cell phone, Craig said. The salary has not changed since 2008, he said, and he does not accept the insurance or the phone.

The candidates bring different backgrounds and experiences to the race. In separate interviews with the Midway Messenger, they discussed issues such as tourism, community involvement and Midway’s position in the county.

Craig defended his record of improving public services in the district. Popp says she will stay in better touch with constituents. Benson hopes to improve Midway’s relationship with the county and boost tourism.

Larry Craig

Craig has been elected as the Midway area’s magistrate for two four-year terms. He served on the City Council for several terms, beginning when he was in his early 20s, he said. He also has been on the Woodford County Economic Development Authority and county Planning and Zoning Commission; was vice president of Northside Elementary PTO for two terms and president one term; and was on the Woodford County Schools task force when his children were in school. Craig is a retired Lexington firefighter and is also retired from a painting business.

Discussing his work as a magistrate, Craig noted that a stoplight is being installed at Leestown and Georgetown roads and Interstate 64, and the long-sought nursing home is under construction. The county gave $25,000 for a study of the feasibility of a nursing home, which has since become a senior living community with nursing facilities, being built by the non-profit Christian Care Communities.

Craig said fiscal court has purchased one ambulance and has money in the budget for another, which would allow Midway to have an ambulance station.

“I’ve been a strong voice for Midway in District 1,” he said. “The roads in my district are in better shape than they have been in the last several years.”

Craig said roads have been widened, paved, striped and signed, and he drives through the district at least once a week to check road conditions.

“Any time the city council has come to me and had a request, I went to the fiscal court on their behalf and fought strongly for everything they asked me to do,” Craig said. “You don’t always win your battles, but I’ve always spoken up.”

Larry Craig

The biggest city-county conflict recently has been the county’s decision to stop snow removal on Midway’s streets after it became a fourth-class city. Craig said the decision was made by Judge-Executive John Coyle and the county engineer, and was only brought up in a fiscal court meeting. When he found out, he said he called Mayor Tom Bozarth.

At a city council meeting in January 2013, Craig apologized for being several days late in reading an email that Coyle had sent the magistrates advising them of the decision. Once he read it, he said, “I fought very passionately to leave things the way they were.”

Craig said in the recent interview that he could not remember if there had been a vote on the issue because it was a policy change, which doesn’t require a vote, he said: “If it did go to a vote, I’m sure I voted a no on it.”

Craig said he thought it was “silly” that a county snowplow truck would drive through Midway, stop plowing, then resume plowing outside the city limits.

Whoever is elected Midway magistrate, he said, must stand up and sometimes be the only vote on the court for a certain issue that concerns the north end of the county. 

Craig touted the fiscal court’s success at maintaining stability through the last few years.

“We’ve weathered through one of the worst economic downturns in history and haven't cut any services, we didn’t have to raise taxes," he said. "I think that says a lot for job that’s been done.” He said, the county recycling center in Versailles has been streamlined and is more efficient. 

Looking ahead, Craig said he would like to promote Midway College, one of the county’s biggest employers, and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, which is headquartered in Versailles.

“When employers are looking to locate in a community, they  . . . want to see that the community puts an emphasis on education” and quality of life, he said. “They want to see a trained work force.”

Craig said it is important to encourage tourism including leisure activities and restaurants. He would like to see a hotel in Woodford County, which only has bed-and-breakfast lodging, to create more revenue from the lodging tax that is dedicated to tourism promotion.

Linda Popp

Popp is a financial representative for AIG Financial Network and was the owner of Country Classic, a gift shop, restaurant and catering business in Midway, which closed in 2006. She is a member of the Woodford County Chamber of Commerce, the Midway Merchants Association and Women in Business. She said she was born in Versailles and has lived in Midway 41 years. 

Linda Popp

One of Popp’s main goals is to educate the community about county government and what a magistrate does. She referred to her advertisements in The Woodford Sun, one of which read, “So many of you have asked, ‘What are the duties of a magistrate?’ A magistrate is a voting member of your Fiscal Court; determines county budgets and enacts ordinances; issues bonds and hires county personnel, including police officers, firefighters and paramedics.”

Popp said she tries to be involved in many different things. “We’ve all got issues,” she said, "but my issues and concerns are my people in the communities. I want to be their voice to see that things can happen in the future.”

Popp said she wants to see more community members involved in discussions about the county and hopes to do this through better communication with constituents.

“People don’t know what is going on,” she said. “My intention is being out around people in my district and going around and checking on them in the next four years. I’m not going to wait until the next election to go see them.”

A big concern Popp expressed is that the community does not work together.

“I come from the old school where everyone worked together as a community, and I don’t think we have that in our community anymore. I think it’s very separated between Midway and Versailles and the southern end”of the county, she said.

Dale Benson                     

Benson said he has lived in Woodford County his entire life and moved to Midway when he was 25. Six years ago, he completed his fourth two-year term on the City Council. He said he was the yearling manager at Airdrie Stud for more than 20 years and has worked in the horse industry for more than 33 years.

During his time on the council, Benson said, he was instrumental in the revitalization of downtown, developed the trails for the city park, and was actively involved in getting the city streets repaved as the chairman of that committee.

Benson expressed views similar to Popp’s about the county, saying there is dissension among its governing bodies. At the county level, he said, Midway is looked upon as “the little brother.”

Dale Benson

“The common denominator for all of us is that we are Woodford countians. That’s the one thing that we all can say we are,” Benson said, adding that he would like to see everyone start thinking with that in common and look to the future to work together.

“Woodford County, with three government entities, is never going to make great strides forward if what we spend most of our time doing is talking about who owes what to whom and not having a fair formula for determining that.”

Midway will pay Versailles $100,000 a year for police services over the next four years, up from about $70,000 this year. Benson said the fee isn’t wrong, but is arbitrary.

He wants a task force made up of government officials, private industry representatives and citizens to find ways to increase efficiency by merging various services.

Benson also calls for a more determined effort for tourism in Woodford County, and says the county can better capitalize on what it has to offer, such as the thoroughbred industry and the Bourbon Trail. “I feel like we are sitting on a gold mine,” he said.

He suggested two ways the county could do more to increase tourism: Encourage hotel construction to generate more lodging-tax revenue and create a paid position to promote tourism in the county. A hotel could be built next to the interstate, he said, which would bring in tax money to promote tourism. Eventually, he would like to see a full-time director of tourism so someone is held accountable. 

“Once you commit real funds to something,” he said, “it puts more pressure on the elected officials to make sure it works.”

He said the county is "overlooking our best opportunity for long-term success,” tourism.

“I want to help Midway be the front door of Woodford County instead of the back door.”

 Merging road and street departments

Recently, Bozarth said he wanted to merge Midway's street department with Woodford County's road department and the Versailles street department. He said in an April 22 Midway Messenger article that Midway citizens would save money and it would be more efficient.

Coyle rejected the idea, but all three candidates for Midway magistrate said they favor it. Popp said any time resources are merged, it can only get better.

Craig said it might not save money, but it would increase efficiency. "In the long run, the taxpayers would get more bang for their tax dollar," he said.

Benson said he doesn't think the city really has a street department now, and "The county should be providing the Midway district with basic road department service based on the fact that we are taxpayers and we pay county tax." He said a funding formula would need to be worked out, and Midway might need to pay some sort of stipend for the service.

“I believe most Midway citizens think right now that we don’t get a lot of bang for our buck with our county tax policy," he added.

Special council meeting on budget Tuesday morning

Mayor Tom Bozarth has called a special meeting of the Midway City Council to continue discussions on his proposed city budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 13, at City Hall. Bozarth says the subject matter will be the new fire truck he has proposed buying.

Downtown Midway photo gallery

Photos by Erin Grigson
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

The City of Midway was founded because it was the middle point between Frankfort and Lexington on Kentucky's first railroad, but it is also midway about between Georgetown and Versailles. The railroad no longer drives business in Midway, but lends an old-fashioned air to a town that has become well known for its restaurants. These pictures are from Main Street, which is bisected by the CSX Corp. tracks leased by R.J. Corman Railroad Co. Click on any picture to see a larger version of it and the full sequence.

Entrance to The Courtyard on East Main Street

A view from The Courtyard, used for art and craft displays

Railroad Drug and Old Time Soda Fountain on East Main

City Hall is at the corner of Winter Street and East Main.

Monument to Col. William R. McKee, killed in Mexican War

Monument detail and Main Street, looking east

A view from West Main Street, looking east

A view from East Main Street, looking west

Trains still pass through several times a day.

Intersection of Gratz Street and the end of East Main

An old caboose reminds visitors of the town's railroad heritage.

The old water tower is known locally as the "Tin Man."

A view looking west toward East Main

Nazarene Church at the corner of Winter and East Main

The tracks follow the original 1833 route of the railway.

Council discusses fire truck, other equipment, salaries; Bozarth agrees to line item for overtime

By Taylor Norberg

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

The Midway City Council debated the city’s salaries and money for equipment upgrades, such as a new fire truck and mower, on April 28 at its second workshop meeting to discuss Mayor Tom Bozarth’s proposed budget.

 

Council Member Bruce Southworth addressed concerns about salaries, a new fire truck and other equipment upgrades in the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Among Southworth’s main concerns was overtime pay: “This year’s cemetery budget is for $61,517 in salaries; what we actually pay is $48,300 in salaries.  That’s $13,217 that go unnoticed.  Do we need that much extra in salaries?”

Southworth said when he was working for the city, the salaries never changed.  “In water, sewer streets cemetery and City Hall, there is $45,952 extra … That’s a lot of money to me.”

Bozarth said “It’s a cushion to use” if needed. City Clerk-Treasurer Phyllis Hudson said most of the overtime is incurred by the water department.

After discussion of some other budget items, Bozarth told Southworth that he and Hudson would put expected overtime expenses into a separate line item, “like you asked.”

                

Before that, Southworth brought up Bozarth’s request for a new fire truck to replace one that is 42 years old.  The other truck is 10 years old. Southworth questioned how many fires required both trucks. Bozarth replied, “Well, all it takes is one fire, Bruce.” 

The city’s 2013-14 budget contained a contingency of $205,958, which is a surplus of extra money carried forward to the next budget.  Bozarth made clear in the first council budget meeting his desire to use contingency money for a down payment and finance the rest through the state.

Council Member Grayson Vandegrift said the truck is a public safety issue. “We can do this now, we have some cash to put into it," he said. “It’s a good rate and we have the money.”

Council Member Sharon Turner, who like Vandegrift is running for mayor, agreed.  “I would hate to be the one who calls in [a fire] and that’s when they have an issue” with equipment, she said.  “It’s a public safety issue, like Grayson said.”

Bozarth asked city worker Terry Agee to discuss the need for equipment upgrades, such as a fourth mower.  Agee explained that they usually carry four mowers and the sewer plant keeps one.  The Bobcat residential mower that they have was going through too much wear and tear so they passed it on to the sewer plant.

The sewer plant already has a “grasshopper” mower which is old and not very useful anywhere.  Based on this information, the plan is to trade in or surplus the grasshopper and purchase a fourth mower.  “We really need that fourth mower,” Agee said. “We would have four and they would have one, the way it’s always been.”

The proposed 2014-15 cemetery budget contains a new $5,000 appropriation for a mower.  The proposed $15,700 for upgrades in parks, up from $3,000 in the current year, includes $7,500 for a mower upgrade.

Agee also explained the need for a new trailer for the mowers, which are serviced regularly in Lexington.  “We have these mowers on a program with Central Equipment where we take them up there at the end of the fall and it benefits us to have them serviced,” Agee explained. “With the trailer we have, we make three trips to Lexington every year with that.  If we got this new trailer, we could make it in one.”

The council agreed that it would be a beneficial upgrade. There is $2,500 in the proposed 2015 street budget specified for the trailer.

The proposed budget also specifies $4,889 to repair the street department’s leafbox. Southworth questioned that, but Agee said the bottom has significant rust.  Turner agreed: “You can see when it’s blowing leaves in and all the dust blows out.”

Council Member Daniel Roller added that there may be an intake problem.  “The way the intake is on that, the designer that they’re talking with now is talking about the technology has increased since they built that one.” 

Southworth suggested that if the leafbox is replaced, “scrap it. Get the money out of it.”

For more on the budget, see the next item.

Council agrees to give city employees a 3 percent raise, sets aside $10,000 for donations in next year's budget

UPDATE, May 9: A special meeting of the council has been called for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 13, to continue budget discussions.

The Midway City Council wrapped up its preliminary deliberations on Mayor Tom Bozarth's last budget Monday night by deciding to give the seven full-time city employees a 3 percent raise and dealing with the often difficult issue of donations.

The council deferred decisions about donation requests from the Francisco's Farm Art Festival, the Woodford County Chamber of Commerce and other groups, setting aside $10,000 for such contributions in the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Soon after the council took up the donation issue, Member Grayson Vandegrift suggested a catch-all line item for donations, instead of individual amounts, noting that they are hard to predict individually and that Midway College might seek another $1,000 for lectures.

"I think that's a good idea," Bozarth said. "that doesn't limit you if somebody comes with another cause." At another point, council members noted that they can always amend the budget.

Vandegrift suggested allocating $7,500, but Bozarth said that would be "a little short," so Vandegrift moved for $10,000 and the other members agreed. "If I had a vote," Bozarth said, "I'd vote yes, too." The mayor presides over council meetings but can vote only in case of a tie.

Bozarth said he would put the revised budget into the form of an ordinance and present it for first reading at the council's next meeting, May 19. "I think it's been a very good process," he said. "thank you all." He is not seeking a third four-year term; Vandegrift and Council Member Sharon Turner are running for mayor.

The council also inspected the new handicapped ramp on East Main Street and heard first reading of a long-discussed ordinance to set new policies for adjustment of water bills that are abnormally high because of leaks on the property owner's premises. The ordinance, the original draft budget and other materials in the council's meeting packet can be downloaded as a 3.2 mb PDF here.

Midway College photo gallery

Midway College is Kentucky's only women's college, founded in 1847.

Photos by Erin Grigson, University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Click on any images for a full-size version and immediate access to the rest of the gallery.