Jessamine County Fiscal Court approves aid for High Bridge, John Preece and industrial park

House Bill 1 has appropriated funds from the Budget Reserve Trust Fund Account to various state agencies for miscellaneous projects and programs. Magistrates approved resolutions authorizing Judge-Executive David West to sign to receive these funds at the Fiscal Court’s first meeting of the month.

The Fiscal Court submitted requests to the state for three projects and received the requested amounts.

According to Judge West, Senator Donald Douglas was “instrumental” in receiving these funds. “It was kind of some last minute, ‘what do you need, what can we help you with?’ and we were able to put together these projects and hand it to him so he could champion those for us and our representatives,” West said.

For John Preece Park, the County received $367,500 for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 and will receive the same amount again in 2025-2026. This will pay for land acquisition and infrastructure improvement for restrooms at the soccer complex.

For the Jennette Industrial Park, the county received $300,000 for this fiscal year and will receive another payment of the same amount for the next fiscal year.

“We hadn’t had any place for business, an industrial park, for 35 years, so I said we’ve got to change that,” Judge West said, adding the county identified a piece of property in an ‘incentivized opportunity zone’– a low-income area designated by the federal government so if somebody invests there, their capital gains taxes are reduced. “Frankfort has already announced one business, Omega Ophthalmics, which makes ocular implants. [Omega] is making nearly a $31 million investment. Their commitment is to hire 75 employees and I believe their average range is nearly $28 an hour, so what a home run for Jessamine County to land that. There will be some other announcements coming, but it’s just exciting,” West said.

The final project, the High Bridge Fire House, will receive a one-time allocation of $10,000.

“The High Bridge Fire House is a hub for the center of [High Bridge]. They meet there. They have cookouts there. It used to be the firehouse, which is no longer there. It’s just kind of a central hub in that community,” West said.

Magistrate Tim Vaughan, who represents the High Bridge Area, said that this money will help make the community center safer by repairing the roof and the gravel parking lot. “The roof hasn’t been replaced in more than a couple of decades, and 20 years is usually the average lifespan for a roof, and the gravel I dont think has been replaced in a long time either. It only takes a little rain, and it’s at a slope back there, and it can be very slippery trying to park back there, and my truck has had problems parking back there unless it’s very dry. Gravel is essential so that people can park at these events,” Vaughan said. “High Bridge can often feel like they’re forgotten about. They’re no Wilmore. They’re not the ‘big city,’ and you have to want to go to High Bridge to go there. You don’t just happen to be there. So for them to have something like that that they can feel proud about and continue to safely have their fundraiser and community events and bring a band and have food, they’ll be very happy about that.”

In other news

The Fiscal Court has been asked to entertain the possibility of adding a couple more Safety Resource Officers in Jessamine County Schools. Judge West announced that court officials would be setting up discussions between the school system and the police department about the issue. “There is some desire to have deputies as well as Nicholasville Police Department (NPD) officers,” West said.

The Court approved a final pay estimate for the Vince Road Bridge. “It’s a fine project and a good bridge, and I hope it serves us a hundred years like the other bridge did.”

The Court approved a road closure from Monday, July 8, to Sunday, July 14, for roughly 700 ft of road on Avenue of Champions at the Keene Trace Golf Course from the front of the clubhouse to the back of the clubhouse.

The Electrical Inspector Approval item brings the county up to compliance by establishing a working relationship between the elected inspector and the Planning and Zoning Department so that no inspections are made before being approved by planning authorities. This item was approved. Judge West said this would prevent individuals from being able to start construction without Planning and Zoning approval. The Court also approved James McClaine’s hiring as the Jessamine County and Wilmore Electrical Inspector.

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