Neighbors protest two-lane plan for Weisenberger Mill bridge, but state says it won't change that design

The bridge was closed July 1 after an inspection found danger.

By Marjorie Kirk
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media
    Residents of Woodford and Scott counties contested the plan for a two-lane Weisenberger Mill Bridge during a three-hour meeting Tuesday evening at Midway University.

    The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the State Historic Preservation Office invited property owners who would be directly affected by the project to help find ways to mitigate any adverse effects on historical and archeological properties.

    The National Historic Preservation Act requires that federally funded projects consider effects on historical sites and give the Advisory Council on Historical Preservation a chance to make comments or recommendations.

    The cabinet gave about a dozen people “consulting party” status, and most objected to the limited time they were given to look over documents concerning the project, including the physical features of the new bridge, and communications with Project Manager Ananias Calvin III.  

    Nearly all took issue with the proposed two-lane bridge, but Kentucky Heritage Council Director Craig Potts said the plan is a foregone conclusion and the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the project’s effect on the historical aspects of the area—not to debate one lane versus two.

    Some of the consulting parties pushed back. Ellen Bagby interrupted the agency representatives with calls to change the plan and push back the deadline for comment on the mitigation process.

Bagby said she lives less than a mile from the bridge and making it two lanes would encourage drivers to speed on the narrow country road, creating a hazard to other cars and pedestrians. Others made the same complaint.

    Calvin said a two-lane bridge would be safer than a one-lane, and engineers on the project had considered the traffic that would use the road—including the semi-trailer trucks that were part of the reason for the bridge’s July 1 closure—when evaluating the safety standards the road would have to meet.

    “I can’t say if the speed [of drivers] is going to increase or decrease,” Calvin said. “What we’re going to recommend is that they put a sign over on the Scott County side as well as the sign they have on the Woodford County side: 15 miles an hour because of the curve. We can’t make people abide by it, but that’s one issue that we’re going to bring up.”

    The road is maintained by the counties. Woodford County has responsibility for the bridge, but the state is doing the project in return for the county doing work on a state road a few years ago.

Calvin said semi-trailer trucks continued to drive on the bridge after a 3-ton weight limit was implemented last winter, causing the bridge to weaken. When it was inspected in late June, it was discovered that there were significant problems with the steel infrastructure and it was closed.

    The bridge attracts residents, touring motorists and bicyclists because it offers a good view of the historic Weisenberger Mill, and it is also a popular spot for anglers in South Elkhorn Creek.

Tuesday night’s discussion in a meeting room at Midway University turned into a contentious debate that often interrupted the Transportation Cabinet’s presentation.

L-R at table: Midway Magistrate Linda Popp, mill owner Mac Weisenberger and wife Sally (Photo by Marjorie Kirk)

    At one point, Scott County resident Pat Hagan got up from his seat in the crowd and joined the table of authorized consulting parties after he was told that the meeting’s priority was to address the concerns of those parties.

    When the group continued to make points about the safety of a one-lane bridge, and a cabinet representative said that alternative would not be considered, Bagby shouted out, “Change it.”

    As the night was coming to a close, Bagby persisted, asking for an extension of the Dec. 13 deadline for written comments.

    To this, a member of the crowd pointed out that the longer the public tries to prolong the project, the longer ambulances, buses and traffic from using a route that in some cases is faster for them.

    The cabinet refused to extend the deadline, but representative Jonna Wallace said the discussion did unearth the option of keeping one of the stone abutments that would have been replaced to accommodate a bridge that will be nearly twice as wide.

    But aside from that, Wallace defended the cabinet’s decision. “These determinations and recommendations are evidence-based,” including traffic counts and consultations from traffic experts, she said. “They’re not just because we think it should be this way.”

    Consulting party Bryan Pryor was among those voicing concern over the two-lane bridge, but he suggested at the end of the meeting that the best use of the parties’ efforts would be to lobby their county governments to put up warning signs and traffic restrictions on the approaches to the bridge.

    The bridge is a “pony truss,” or small-truss, span built in 1932. All such bridges more than 50 years old are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, according to David Waldner, the cabinet’s director of environmental analysis.

    To mitigate the loss of the old bridge in a historic district, the new one will be “a truss structure of similar design,” Waldner said in an interview before the meeting. “The aesthetics of that were important.”

    Calvin said in an interview that the cost estimate of $1.3 million is about double the cost of a standard bridge for such a location.

    Waldner said the cabinet considered rehabilitating the bridge, but estimated that would extend its life no more than 20 years and would have cost 40 to 50 percent of the cost of a new bridge, which will last 75 to 100 years. “The economics really didn’t make a whole lot of sense,” he said.

    Waldner said the cabinet wouldn’t normally hold a meeting for consulting parties and observers on such a small project, “but the interest in this project is fairly high.” He said the cabinet had shared information with consulting parties for six to eight weeks and had met with some of them.

    Calvin told the Midway Messenger on Wednesday that the bid letting for the project has been delayed again, until June, to give the cabinet time to buy small pieces of property that will be needed for the project. He said offers cannot be made until the project’s environmental documents are approved by the State Historic Preservation Office.

Midway Christmas events start with tree and pole lighting Friday night; Santa set to arrive by train Sat.

Santa's arrival by train is a big event. (2013 photo by Jill Novak)

The holiday season has arrived, and downtown Midway is a full participant, with a big ad from local businesses on the back page of today's Woodford Sun, inviting readers to "Spend a Day in Midway."

The Christmas lighting ceremony is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, starting with the downtown light poles and concluding with the community Christmas tree. Christmas carols will follow. "Please come and add your voice," says Mayor Grayson Vandegrift.

Santa Claus, hitching a ride with R.J. Corman Railroad, is scheduled to arrive downtown at 11 a.m. Saturday. Children can visit him at his Main Street workshop from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Free carriage rides will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"It's no coincidence hat this event takes place on 'Small Business Saturday,' an answer to 'Black Friday,' where Americans are encouraged to support their local businesses who really make our economy go," Vandegrift says. "I hope you'll come out and support out Midway entrepreneurs, enjoy the magic of the season and sip on some hot cocoa provided by the Midway Presbyterian Church."

Mayor, EDA chairman clash over proposal to have Midway pay more and expand chairman's contract

UPDATE: EDA Chairman John Soper withdrew his proposal from the agenda for tonight's Fiscal Court meeting.
UPDATE, Nov. 23: Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott offered a new proposal that would have Midway pay 15 percent of EDA expenses, up from 10 percent, and 24 percent of planning and zoning expenses, up from 11 percent, with an additional appointee form Midway to both the EDA board and the planning commission, and a prohibition on EDA advocating "anything even remotely similar to" the northwest Versailles bypass. For a copy of the proposal, click here.
By Alexandria Kerns

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

    The Midway City Council meeting Monday evening ended in frustration after discussion of modifying the contract with the Woodford County Economic Development Authority.

    The tension rose after Mayor Grayson Vandegrift gave an update concerning the revision proposed by Versailles and the EDA. 

    The proposal would have Midway, Versailles and Woodford County each pay $26,884 a year for EDA operations. Midway now pays $5,000 and the other two $22,500 each.

    The extra money would cover an expanded contract for EDA Chairman John Soper, whom Versailles now pays $63,000 a year for job recruitment. Craig McAnelly, part-time executive director of the EDA, would be phased out of his position. 

    Vandegrift said at the council meeting that he would like to see the city receive another seat on the EDA board and another seat on the planning and zoning commission in return for the new agreement. Last week, he suggested two new seats on the EDA, but he said Monday night, “I don’t think we can agree to this deal without getting more representation on EDA and planning and zoning.”

    Currently, Midway only has one representative of seven on the EDA board and one of nine on the planning commission.

    Vandergrift said Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott and County Judge-Executive John Coyle did not seem open to his suggestions in his meeting with them Monday. The proposal is on the agenda for the Fiscal Court meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m.

    “I think we can be open to other possibilities,” Vandegrift said. “I don’t think anyone has a problem with giving us two more EDA appointments, but I think in reality this is a big step up for us and it’s the first time we’ve been asked to be an equal partner in it, and I thought what’s really more important was . . . give us one more planning and zoning appointment, because those two things do go hand in hand, and I think, honestly, the planning and zoning appointment would be extremely important.”

    The Midway council indicated agreement with the mayor’s stance.

     “If I’m going to go down to the Grey Goose, and order a steak, and two other people order a steak, and we’re all paying $27, they’re better damn be all the same size steak,” Council Member Dan Roller said.

    Vandegrift said, “I appreciate John Soper’s work, I appreciate Craig McAnelly’s work, but I’ve never seen a deal like this where you already have the person in mind ahead of time. I think in all fairness – this is nothing against John, because he’s a wizard – but there probably should be some kind of open hiring process to this.”         

    Soper said, “If you want to start the process and look at somebody else, that’s certainly an option.”

    Vandegrift replied, “It’s not personal, John, it’s just that I’ve never done this . . . and had a person picked out ahead of time. Generally it’s not done that way.”

    Soper responded, What we have now, I think, is working.” He said Midway Station was developed by a volunteer board and “was poorly designed and was a failure,” costing the city and county $750,000 in extra interest costs until developer Dennis Anderson agreed to pay the interest in return for an option on the property.

    Soper argued that someone who is familiar with the development should be in charge of its future.

“I’ve uncovered most of the issues in Midway Station, and let me tell you there’s a lot of issues,” he said. “From you all not knowing that you didn’t own the water tank, to there not being proper easements into it, to the roads you got that you can’t get a car turned around in. . . . If you go out and you try to bring someone else in, they’re gonna have that learning curve. It’s a tough piece of property. It’s a snake pit and it always has been.”

    Anderson recently decided against building housing in Midway Station, a decision that local leaders endorsed, but he has never developed industrial property and wants EDA’s help. “I think he’ll stay on board if we help him,” Soper said.

    “I’m not sure, you know, if we don’t have a good presence trying to help him convert that, that he’ll continue to pay $10,000 a month in interest for the learning experience of knowing how to do an industrial development. I think he’ll walk. I think he’ll sell three or four more lots and I think he’ll walk.”

    Soper said he disagrees with those who think Anderson is already too heavily invested in the property to walk away from it. “If we’re going to convert it to industrial, which I do think is what needs to happen, then we need to keep the press on like we’ve got and let’s get it converted and get the debt paid for. . . . As long as the principal is out there, you all are still on the hook for the interest.”

    Soper said some members of the Fiscal Court have said the ultimate solution would be a foreclosure sale, but he said that might not produce enough money to pay the debt, and without the property as collateral, “You’d have to pay off the debt or you’d have to pay interest forever.”

    After a brief discussion with council members, Vandegrift said, “I just don’t think it’s the best tactic in the world to say, pay up this money or it’s all going to fall apart, and that’s what I am hearing tonight.”

    Soper replied, “Grayson, I am a realist. You do not pay me to be a politician. I tell you what my opinion is, and my opinion is you all got a lot at risk here. It’s as simple as that.”

    When Vandegrift replied, “Thank you,” and Soper kept talking, Vandegrift cut him off,  saying, “That’s enough. That’s enough. Thank you. That’s enough.”

    Soper then left the meeting. McAnelly, who stands on the losing end of the proposal, stayed for the rest of the meeting. Afterward, Soper sent the Midway Messenger a summary of new tax revenue generated by EDA-coordinated projects.

    Midway’s relations with the rest of the county also figured in the council’s 3-1 vote to approve the revised goals and objectives for planning and zoning.  One change would allow more flexibility in the urban services area. 

    Council Member Sara Hicks voted no, saying the new language “makes the urban service boundary fluid in a way that does not protect agricultural lands.”

    Vandegrift said he believed accepting the language would be a good compromise with Versailles and the county, since a committee of representatives agreed to remove from the proposed goals and objectives a specific reference to the proposed northwest Versailles bypass, which Midway opposes.

    Vandegrift said, “Removing that bypass language was extremely important, and I think we have to show the rest of the county that we are willing to compromise, we are willing to find common ground, even when they are not.”

    In other planning and zoning business, the council approved Vandegrift’s reappointments of Phil Kepler to the Architectural Review Board and Al Schooler to the Board of Adjustment.

    Earlier, the council passed on second reading an ordinance of intent to annex 33.485 acres next to Midway Station, which Lakeshore Learning Materials is eyeing for expansion and a possible supplier.

    After more than two months of discussion and debate, the council passed an ordinance that would make the killing of domestic animals through kill traps illegal. This stemmed from the death of the pet cat of Sarah Gilbert and Stewart Surgener, who wanted to prohibit kill traps altogether.

    “I do not feel as if the ordinance addresses the heart of the problem,” Gilbert told the council.

    Council Member Libby Warfield said a kill-trap ban would be difficult to enforce, and said she hoped that people who set traps for groundhogs or other pest animals will let their neighbors know so pets can be protected.

    The vote on the ordinance was 4-0. Council Members Kaye Nita Gallagher and Steven Craig did not attend the meeting.

    Craig ran seventh in the recent election for the six council seats. This council will have one more meeting next month before the new council including newcomers John McDaniel and Steve Simoff, begin their terms. Roller did not seek re-election.

Zeb Weese named director of Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission

Zeb Weese (Commonwealth of Kentucky photo)

Gov. Matt Bevin has appointed Zeb Weese of Midway director of the Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, which oversees 63 state nature preserves with a total of 63,000 acres.

Weese had been coordinator of the nonprofit Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund, which works closely with the commission. Before that he was a naturalist at Natural Bridge State Resort Park and a conservation education and natural-resources manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

"Since 2008, the commission and its work have come under withering attack from governors and lawmakers alike, with cuts and funding source raids adding up to about a 40 percent reduction," reports James Bruggers, environmental writer for The Courier-Journal. "Staffing had been cut from 23 in 2008 to about 14 employees," according to former director Donald Dott.

Weese said in a press release, “I am excited to play a role in furthering the KSNPC’s mission to promote understanding and appreciation of the aesthetic, cultural, scientific and spiritual values of our natural areas. These special places are part of our legacy to our children and future generations.”
Weese previously worked at Natural Bridge State Park and the Kentucky Department for Fish and Wildlife Resources as a conservation educator and natural resource manager.

KSNPC Commissioner Carl W. Breeding said in the news release, “I’m very confident that he will take the preserves to the next level.”

Midway Business Assn. to hold social Dec. 1 to discuss future of the group and its Midway Fall Festival

The Midway Business Association will host a “Business Social” Thursday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. at the Grey Goose to give community members an opportunity to express their opinions about the future direction of the Business Association and its main event, the Midway Fall Festival.  You are invited to attend and make your views known.  Light hors d'oeuvres will be provided by The Grey Goose.   "We hope to see you there," says Kenny Smith, president of the association.

Mayor cancels ban on open burning in Midway

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift has canceled his executive order banning all open fires in the city. "The burn ban has been lifted, but please use extreme caution when having contained burnings, as drought conditions still persist," Vandegrift said in an email today.

EDA and Versailles want to cut job-recruitment expense 29% but have Midway pay one-third of budget

By Marissa Beucler

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Midway is being asked to pay more than five times as much as it does now for the agency that recruits jobs for the city and the rest of Woodford County.

The Woodford County Economic Development Authority and the city of Versailles proposed this week that Midway’s annual contribution to the EDA rise to $26,884 from current $5,000.

Versailles and Woodford County each contribute $22,500 a year to EDA, but Versailles also pays EDA Chairman John Soper $63,600 to recruit jobs for the city.

“I can’t do my job for the city and spend half my time in Midway; it’s just not fair,” Soper said in at Friday’s EDA meeting. 

The Versailles City Council endorsed the idea Tuesday night. Mayor Brian Traugott said most of the work being done by EDA has produced jobs in Midway through two industrial projects while Versailles is paying “a good deal” for economic development and has no property to offer that is not in litigation.

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said in interview Friday morning, “I feel to even consider the deal there should be two more appointments” to the EDA board from Midway, which has one of seven members.

Soper indicated that he would favor one more Midway member: “I would welcome another EDA member because we got 103 acres coming to Midway. I’d like another local person that has their ear to the ground saying ‘John, that’s good; John, that’s not good’.”

To enlarge the board, the three governments would have to revise the 1986 agreement that created the EDA. Soper said it needs changing anyway, to reflect current conditions.

Vandegrift said he had not spoken with any Midway City Council members about the proposal, but he and the council will discuss the issue during the council’s regular meeting, set for 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Under the proposal the three governments would equally split the cost of a contract with Soper and pay his health insurance for a total of $68,652 a year. Each would also pay $4,000 a year for other EDA expenses.

The total funding of EDA would be $80,652 a year, down 29 percent from the current $113,600. The savings would come from no longer paying Craig McAnelly of the Bluegrass Area Development District $45,000 to serve as EDA’s part-time executive director.

Midway now pays 4.4 percent of EDA expenses; the proposal asks it to pay 33.3 percent.

Soper discussed the possibility of the county loaning Midway money to pay its share until the American Howa Kentucky and Lakeshore Learning Materials plants generate expected payroll taxes.

Soper said Lakeshore will generate $132,000 in annual payroll taxes, and AHK will produce $44,000 a year. “The money is there but they are going to have to ramp up,” he said.