At groundbreaking, mayor praises AHK and Coyle

"This is a day a lot of people began to believe would never happen," Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift told a group of officials and executives gathered for the formal groundbreaking of the American Howa Kentucky auto-parts plant Tuesday afternoon. "I think there's more to come out here."

Left to right: Brett Setzer, Brett Construction; state Rep. James Kay,
Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, Plant Manager Gary McPeak, AHK President
Hirosato Nanami, Engineering Manager Kazuhiko Ichii, Deputy State
Economic Development Commissioner John Bevington; Gene Hornback,
Woodford County Economic Development Authority board member;
Woodford County Judge-Executive John "Bear" Coyle

Vandegrift thanked several past and current officials, especially Woodford County Judge-Executive John Coyle, who he said was a pleasure to work with on the project. "I think it's going to lead to other great cooperation in the next few years between the city and county."

Midway has had conflicts with Coyle, but he and Vandegrift are working together to rework the tax increment financing ordinance and other arrangements that will lead to the commercial and residential development of Midway Station, adjoining the factory site.

"More than anything, we have to thank American Howa Kentucky," Vandegrift said after saying that the city and county couldn't ask for a better company with which to do business.

Gene Hornback, a director of the Woodford County Economic Development Authority, thanked AHK for "being the spearhead of development for our community." Local officials expect more plans to locate on the property and/or Midway Station.

Plant manager Gary McPeak, speaking on behalf of AHK, thanked local officials and EDA, which bought the property from the Roach family and sold it to AHK. "Everything runs smoothly and quickly," McPeak said. "It made Woodford County and the City of Midway an easy choice for us."

AHK officials talk with Dr. Jim Roach

Dr. Jim Roach said he was glad to sell the property for an industry that would be "a positive force for the community," and said he had turned down an entreaty to sell it for "a distillery barrel storage area."

The Rev. Mary Weese of Midway Presbyterian Church set the tone for the event with an invocation that asked God to see that "what will be built here will have a firm foundation in wisdom, that all things may be constructed with integrity; that all dreams and plans may be made with courage. We pray that this business, which will make parts for something bigger, will indeed be blessed to play a part in something much bigger: that it will play a part in the well-being of all employed here; that it will play a positive part in the life of this community; that it will play a part in the common good of our society."

Latest print edition of Midway Messenger is out

The latest print edition of the Midway Messenger has been published and is being distributed at various locations in the Midway area this week.

The Messenger publishes a print edition twice a year, loosely following the semester schedules of students at the University of Kentucky, who cover the Midway area for the Messenger as part of courses in community journalism.

The Winter/Spring edition includes several stories from the fall class, including Jamilyn Hall's feature on the Weisenberger Mill and its 150th anniversary; Kayla Loy's story on Henry Wombles and his novel; staff reports on city elections and finances; and stories on community events such as the Midway Fall Festival, the Iron Horse marathon and chili cook-offs.

Stories from the current semester include a pair by Tiffany Broughton, on meetings of Midway Renaissance and the Midway Business Association; a a feature by Molly Elifritz on Ouita Michel and Holly Hill Inn's "Around the World in 80 Days" international menu series. A video version of that story will appear online. For a PDF of the print edition, click here.

American Howa Kentucky to break ground on auto-parts factory at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday

A formal groundbreaking for the American Howa Kentucky auto-parts plant will be held at the site next to Midway Station tomorrow, Tuesday, at 1:30 p.m.

A tent will be provident in case of inclement weather, Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said at tonight's city council meeting. Parking will be available on McKinney Avenue, the street fronting the site.

AHK, which has a plant in Bowling Green, bought the former Roach property on Georgetown Road from the Woodford County Economic Development Authority, which optioned the property and had it rezoned when industrial prospects became known.

The factory is platted to cover 102,000 square feet and expected to employ 54 to 63 people. The property has room for the plant to expand.

Vandegrift and EDA officials have said the coming of AHK should encourage other plants of similar size to locate on the property or the industrially zoned area of Midway Station, spurring commercial and residential development there and on other property around the Interstate 64 interchange.

Ky. Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal of rulings denying condemnation power to Bluegrass Pipeline

The legal battle over the Bluegrass Pipeline, led by Midway-area landowners, is over, and they have won. For now.

The Kentucky Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a Court of Appeals decision that upheld Franklin Circuit Judge Phllip Shepherd's ruling that said only utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission can use eminent domain, or condemnation, to get easements for pipelines.

University of Louisville law professor Tony Arnold, a land-use and environmental law expert, told James Bruggers of The Courier-Journal that the decision was "significant for both for opponents of the Bluegrass Pipeline and for all Kentucky residents who want to ensure that the exercise of eminent domain for energy development and transmission is held accountable to the public interest."

However, the ruling goes only so far, Arnold said: "National companies seeking to move oil or gas through Kentucky and to use eminent domain to acquire easements for their preferred routes may try to get around (this) limited ruling by partnering with public utilities that are regulated by the Public Service Commission or with state agencies. They would have to provide some sort of benefit or service to Kentucky residents, such as providing some of the oil and gas to Kentuckians. Don't underestimate the tenacity of energy companies to find a way to get what they want."

The Williams Companies put the Bluegrass Pipeline on indefinite hold in April 2014, saying it did not have enough customers for the natural-gas liquids it planned to move to the Gulf coast from oil and gas fields in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Tom FitzGerald of Louisville, attorney for Kentuckians United To Restrain Eminent Domain, told Bruggers, "I couldn't have had better clients." (Read more)

Merchants create Facebook page, plan to reshape advertising; second Chocolate Stroll is Saturday

By Tiffany Broughton

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Valentine's Day is approaching, meaning the annual Chocolate Stroll is just around the corner, but the Midway Business Association has been working on several other ideas for the upcoming year, including new ways to promote and advertise.

The Chocolate Stroll will be held Saturday, Feb. 13 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in downtown Midway. The event is hosted by the business association and merchants are encouraged to participate.

Patrons will pick up a ticket in any of the participating stores, which will be labeled by a sign in the window. Those who have their ticket punched the stores with signs can drop their punched ticket off in the Kennydid Gallery for a drawing at the end of the event.

The drawing will be for a $250 Historic Midway basket that will have donations from each of the participating merchants. The event and tickets are free of charge.

"It is up to the individual merchant what they do as part of participation for this event," said Peggy Angel of Steppin' Out Boutique. "I am giving flowers away for the first 50 buyers, chocolate treats, which all merchants usually give and I'll be giving away door prizes."

The winner will be posted on the Meet Me In Midway Facebook page created by the business association. For more information on the Stroll and other events hosted by the merchants, visit Facebook.com/meetmeinmidway.

The Facebook page is the first public evidence of the business association’s plan to revamp and redirect its advertising and marketing.

"The goal of this Facebook page is to promote Midway to tourists," by promoting events and related webpages, said Elisha Riddle of Lexington, creator of the page and owner and operator of Charismatic Media.

The Midway Business Association pays Riddle $125 per month to keep the page updated. Riddle said she puts $25 of that monthly payment back into advertising and promoting the page to targeted audiences on Facebook.

The page was started three weeks ago and as of Feb. 7 had 80 likes. The page will share merchants’ postings and be an outlet for tourists to check out Midway. She said it will help merchants build their email lists to send out email blasts that  promote events and businesses.

Screenshot of city's website, MeetMeInMidway.com

The page is not yet affiliated with meetmeinmidway.com, the city’s website, and Mayor Grayson Vandegrift attended Wednesday’s association meeting partly to say the operators of the sites need to communicate and coordinate.

"If we spread ourselves out, we're not creating more traffic," said Vandegrift. "I'm afraid we're just diluting ourselves."

Along with Facebook promotions, the business association is having James Reed of the Kentucky Broadcasters Association develop a media and advertising campaign to market to tourists. Reed also works with Midway University.

"Hopefully, next month he will be ready to report to us with what he recommends as the general campaign for us as a small city," said Angel, speaking as secretary of the association and member of its advertising committee. "We are hoping to market our brand as our city."

The association will have a budget of $16,000 to $20,000 for the campaign, Angel said. Advertisements will cover a 70-mile radius and reach out to families with a decision maker 30 to 60 years old, she said.

"You've got to be consistent and I think that is something we haven't done so well in the past," said Angel. "You've got to limit what you do, but you have got to be effective with what you do."

Part of the advertising money will cover the Midway Fall Festival, which is the association's main money-maker.

The merchants do not yet have the membership they had last year. As of Wednesday’s meeting, only three merchants have paid their dues; last year there were 18 members. Dues are $100 per year.

"We really need to campaign for members for this association.," said Angel.

The members present agreed to sponsoring the Francisco’s Farm Art Festival, but without a quorum they could not officially vote on the sponsorship.

Applications for the festival have closed, with 112 artists seeking consideration by jurors who will select exhibitors, said business association President Kenny Smith, who also works with the festival.

The applications for vendors and non-profits at the festival are on the festival's website. Non-profits will be limited to those in Woodford County.

"We were getting people from Cynthiana selling dogs. ... I think it was a puppy mill," said Smith. "If you are selling windows or Tupperware, no. We are an arts and crafts festival."

Don Vizi, executive director of the Versailles-Woodford County Chamber of Commerce, told those at the meeting that there will be a ribbon cutting for the new factory in the next two weeks. The Woodford County Economic Development Authority wants to have Gov. Matt Bevin attend, he said.

"We can't get the governor to commit when and if he's coming or not," said Vizi.

The chamber is starting a drive for used cell phones, to be donated to abused women. More information will be available shortly, said Vizi.

Leslie Penn suggested that the chamber seek help from local churches, which “tend to have a big influence on collecting things for the needy.”  She volunteered to pick the donated phones up from the churches if the chamber goes that route.

Vizi said the chamber is working on the Hike Bike Waterways Horseback Riding Trail Committee, which will meet on March 12 at KCTCS in Versailles from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. to display proposed trails to the public.

"We will lay out all the charts for the future trails and how they will tie together," said Vizi.

Merchants in attendance were Kenny Smith of Kennydid Gallery, Leslie Penn of Historic Midway Museum Store, Peggy Angel of Steppin' Out Boutique, Ellen Gregory of Midway University and Kaci Leatherwood and Connie Snyder of Cherokee & Co., a boutique that will open late this month.  The Midway Business Association meets the first Wednesday of each month at 9 a.m. upstairs in City Hall.

Versailles bypass not in new road plan; both mayors speculate that politics were in play

By Al Cross and Aayat Ali
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Gov. Matt Bevin's proposed road plan does not include the controversial Versailles bypass, pleasing interests in Midway that feared it would bring much more truck traffic to the town and Midway Road.

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said he didn't know why Bevin dropped the $40 million project, but speculated that it stems from its cost and Bevin's Republican politics, "the sort of tea-party aspect of it. He's sort of trying to cut anywhere he can cut."

Bevin has called for a 9 percent cut in most General Fund agencies. The Road Fund is separately funded, but its main source of revenue, motor-fuels taxes, has been declining along with gas prices, and the road plan has more projects than can be built in its six-year span, Vandegrift noted.

Also, he said, "They probably were aware it was a controversial project." Bill Marshall, a leading Republican in Midway who knows Bevin, said he had not spoken to the governor about the project. County Republican Chair Bobby Gaffney, who ran for county-executive judge in 2014, could not be reached for comment.

Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott, who works for Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo and is a major promoter of the bypass, said he didn't know, either, but also said the move seemed political, aimed at a county that is represented in the General Assembly by Democrats.

"I can't imagine that the governor has any real public-policy opinion on that road one way or the other," Traugott said. "He obviously doesn't know the local politics. It's not a real party-line issue."

Asked if he thought his legislative job influenced the decision, he said, "I can't imagine that that would help, but I would expect more out of a governor. The speaker and I have never discussed the road. I believe it was purely political, but I don't think it was geared toward me or the speaker or my role there. He probably thinks we've elected the wrong people to represent us."

Transportation Cabinet map (click on it to view a larger version)

State Rep. James Kay, a Democrat from Versailles, told The Woodford Sun, "My priorities . . . never included the bypass. I obviously understand the traffic concerns, I understand the future when you look at it, but there was never an effort on my part to get funds for the bypass, particularly considering everyone knew they wouldn't be there."

The road, officially known as the Northwest Versailles Mobility Corridor, is designed to relieve traffic congestion in downtown Versailles. It would extend Falling Springs Boulevard, which begins at KY 33 near the Bluegrass Parkway, to Frankfort Road (US 60).

Vandegrift said Bevin's move doesn't necessarily kill the project, and Traugott said he considers it a delay, not a cancellation. He said he will try to get the legislature to add planning money for the project in the latter part of the plan "to keep the discussion alive." The plan had included $2 million for final design of the road.

The Transportation Cabinet has identified three possible routes, one of which would feed directly into Midway Road (US 62), which trucks could use to reach Interstate 64 eastbound and Interstate 75. The other possible routes would intersect Frankfort Road short distances either way from its intersection with Midway Road.

Robert Sprague, the Transportation Cabinet engineer supervising the project, was not able to provide a reason why the bypass was left out of the road plan. He did tell the Midway Messenger that the cabinet still plans to recommend a route for the bypass some time this month, as previously scheduled.

Told that, Traugott said, "I'm glad to see that they're moving forward with that due-diligence part of it."

Midway is about to become even more of a railroad town, as the permanent home of a steam engine

By Aayat Ali
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The R.J. Corman Railroad Group has received a grant to house the “Old Smokey” steam engine in the Midway Historic District where citizens and visitors can see it and the Corman caboose already in the city, the Midway City Council heard Monday night.

CSX Railroad owns the track that runs through Midway, so a building to house the engine and caboose would have to be built off CSX property to avoid issues with CSX, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said.

The plan is to put the engine on the United Bank lot where the caboose already resides.  “We still have to get approval from the bank,” Vandegrift said.

Vandegrift said the engine itself doesn’t qualify for the historic-oriented grant because it was built in 1987, but a building in the Midway Historic District does qualify.

Vandegrift revealed that the state Transportation Cabinet has approved a grant of $193,000 to help build the facility, with a total cost of about $241,000, all covered by Corman. 

Corman barn in Lexington, before large steeples were added to it

Vandegrift said the building would be a smaller version of the one in Lexington that has housed Corman’s dinner train to Versailles, which recently stopped running.

The main issues are how the engine will be placed in the 125-foot-long building and where it will be built.

Vandegrift said the project is a great opportunity for Midway, the first town in Kentucky to be established by a railroad, which was the state’s first rail line. That was in 1833; the city was incorporated in 1846.

Coolmore America buying Waterford Farm, getting city water

The council approved running a water line outside the city limits to Waterford Farm, which is being bought by Ashford Stud, a division of Coolmore America, whose Versailles Road farm is home to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

The 720-acre farm is just outside the city limits on Weisenberger Mill Road, next to The Homeplace at Midway, a new senior-living community.

The main concern among council members was howa break in the water line might affect the water pressure at The HomePlace, for which fire suppression is critical.

First-term Council Member Libby Warfield asked if the line would be “detrimental to The HomePlace” and whether other farms outside the city limits get city water.

Vandegrift said there are such farms, and Water Superintendent Mark Roberts said a pressure problem is unlikely. He said The Homeplace’s lines would be cleaner because it would no longer be at the end of a line.  In case of a major break, Roberts and Vandegrift said, the farm line could be turned off at the new meter or the town’s water tank could be filled.

They said the city would require a backflow preventer on the line to keep solids from flowing into the city’s water in case of a break in the city system, which could siphon non-potable water from the farm.

Waterford Farm would be responsible for paying all expenses and meeting the city’s specifications, Roberts said.

In other business, the council declared the old fire truck and the fire department’s old van to be surplus, allowing them to be put up for bid. Vandegrift said the equipment is “just taking up space.”

The council also discussed the city’s plan to use $16,384 remaining from a community development block grant funds to build a new Habitat for Humanity home at 209 E. Stephens St. The topic was tabled after Council Member Dan Roller found an apparent discrepancy in the documentation.

Vandegrift wrapped the meeting up by thanking Deputy Emergency Management Director Drew Chandler for his help in preparing Midway for the snowstorm a few weeks ago. 

“They sent me updates days ahead,” he said, adding later, ”They even put on snow boots and walked through eight inches of snow though my yard to let me sign the emergency declaration.”