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More Oldham Ahead News and Updates

The Cost of Growth: Oldham County Schools District Facilities Plan

$109 million in Capital Expenditure Needs

Capital Construction (new construction) within the 2007-09 Biennium: $22.3 million
Capital Construction Priorities after the 2009 Biennium: $30.8 million +
Management Support Areas Capital Construction Priorities (Regardless of Schedule): $6.1 million

Total District Unmet Needs: $59,066,847

Discretionary Construction Projects Proposed: $27.6 million

December 4, 2007

Oldham Equine Council Releases First County-Wide Equine Study

CRESTWOOD, KY (December 4, 2007) The Oldham County, Kentucky equine industry is a major contributor to Oldham County’s economy, according to a equine survey commissioned by the Oldham County Equine Council and Oldham Ahead.

Ken Heppermann of Equine Business Resources LLC conducted the first Oldham County-wide survey and one of the few county-wide equine economic impact studies in Kentucky and in the United States.

The breeding, raising, training, showing, racing, riding, and care of thousands of equine each year in Oldham County collectively make a significant contribution to the Oldham County economy. The equine industry is a thriving part of the Oldham County economic landscape and has the potential to grow even larger according to the study.

The equine industry is a leading component of the Oldham County agricultural sector. The study reflects that as of December 31, 2006, there were approximately 377 equine operations housing 3,186 equine, situated on more than 10,000 acres of the county. These operations generate an estimated 388 jobs and have an economic impact of more than $48.9 million.

The equine operations in the county represent a major land use in the county, providing necessary acreage for the equine industry while providing intangible benefits to residents and visitors. Tertiary benefits of horse property include the provision of open spaces and scenic vistas in one of the fastest growing counties in Kentucky. The 13,929 acres associated with equine operations represent 22 percent of the total of 62,500 acres of agricultural land in the county recorded during the 2002 Census of Agriculture.

The study affirms that Oldham County is a leading equine county in Kentucky and the nation. The 2002 Census of Agriculture reflected the county’s 2002 equine inventory of 2,959 placed Oldham County eighth in Kentucky and in the top seven percent of counties nationwide. Based on this year’s survey, the horse inventory continues to grow in the county.

Mary Lowry, president of the Oldham County Equine Council believes the results of the study will be useful to local and state elected leaders in making land-use decisions and developing equine related legislation. The results should also be useful for regional and state equine organizations in their efforts to quantify the economic impacts Kentucky’s signature industry.

The breadth and depth of Oldham County’s equine industry suggest that there is significant untapped potential for equine related tourism in the county and that efforts to establish a regional horse park should be pursued.

The Oldham County Equine Council in coordination with Oldham Ahead commissioned the study.

Download the report to see the full impact of Oldham County's equine industry on the county's economy.

Download the highlights from the report (a PowerPoint presentation)

Download the press release

Download the Business First Article from December 7

Download the Courier-Journal Article from December 19

Download the Oldham Era Article from December 27

Download the January 2008 RoundAbout Article

January 23, 2008

Oldham Ahead Board Member Suzanne Schimpeler Leading Efforts to Celebrate "Little Colonel" in Pewee Valley

The Pewee Valley Historical Society is planning a celebration on February 9 to feature Pewee Valley's "Little Colonel" legacy. Tickets and reservations are available at the Oldham County Historical Society, (502) 222-0826 for a day of celebration. Included in the ticket price of $25 is a formal luncheon prepared by the Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church Women's Guild, a 30-minute play at The Little Colonel Playhouse, tours of two historic homes, a bus tour and an exhibit at the Presbyterian Church.

Concurrently, the Oldham County Historical Society is featuring "The Little Colonel: A Romantic Vision of Life Long Ago in Oldham County". The exhibit runs through February 16 and features "Little Colonel" collectibles and a recreation of Annie Johnston's writing room.

Read the Courier-Journal's Andrea Uhde' article in the January 23 edition of the CJ's Oldham Neighborhoods.

December 3, 2007

Brownsboro Master Plan Open House

The Oldham County Planning and Zoning Department hosted a Brownsboro Area Master Plan Open House on Monday, December 3, 2007 at the John Black Community Center in Buckner.

The Planning and Zoning staff, along with Brandstetter Carroll Inc--the consultants for the development of the Oldham County Bike, Pedestrian, and Greenways Master Plan--provided a series of maps and information boards to update the public on the area plan's progress. The Brownsboro Area Maste Plan Task Force, a group of volunteer citizens, officials, developers, and planning commissioners is nearing the end of the planning process and is anticipated to produce its report in early 2008.

Download the latest Brownsboro Area Master Plan Newsletter (December 2007)

A good crowd consisting of citizens, planning officials, magistrates, and local developers attended the open house on December 3

Brandstetter Carroll Inc consultant Patrick Hoaland explains possible trails routes through the Brownsboro area

L to R: Brownsboro area resident and Planning Commissioner Warner Brown, Magistrate Rick Rash, and Betsy Lavin

Darby Creek Watershed Study Underway: Community Roundtable Scheduled for February 26, John Black Community Center in Buckner from 5:30 - 7:30

Download the Roundtable Poster Announcement with details and registration information
Download the Roundtable Brochure

Oldham County Engineer Beth Stuber, in collaboration with the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, is leading a Darby Creek Watershed Management Study that kicked-off with a meeting of interested citizens on October 25, 2007 at the John Black Community Center in Buckner. The project is funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under § 319(h) of the Clean Water Act through the Kentucky Division of Water to the Kentucky Waterways Alliance (Grant # C9994861-04).

The study area is generally located in the Brownsboro area, bounded by Buckner to the east; Hwy 320 and Hwy 1694 North to the West; Harrods Creek to the North; and Oldham LaGrange Road to the south.

The planning team developed the following mission statement during its January 9, 2008 meeting:

"The Darby Creek Watershed Planning Team will work with the community to create a plan that raises awareness of watershed issues, creates healthy streams, and protects the watershed for the future."

A watershed-based plan is a strategy that provides assessment and management information for a geographically defined watershed, including the analyses, actions, participants, and resources related to developing and implementing the plan.

The Team will meet on the second Wednesday of every other month from 10:00 to noon for the next one to two years. Meetings are generally held at the John Black Community Center in Buckner.The team will review technical information, strategize, and review drafts of the plan. To join the team, contact Beth Stuber at bstuber@oldhamcounty.net or Katie Holmes, Watershed Program Director, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, 502-589-8008, katie@KWAlliance.org.

Oldham County Airport Feasibility Study

The Oldham County Airport Feasibility Study is creating significant interest in the County as the process has moved to the down-selection of three alternative sites. Oldham Ahead is watching this process closely, as is the county at large. Below are links to relevant studies that will help us all ascertain the viability and future sustainment costs of the proposal. The Oldham County Fiscal Court will render a final decision of whether to proceed with the project upon the conclusion of the Feasibility Study being conducted by a consulting firm. Currently there are more questions than answers relative to the potential airport in the county.

Airport Study Necessary, Oldham Era Editorial, 20 Feb 08

Airport Board Regroups, Eliminates Sites, to Consider Impacts, Oldham Era, 20 Feb 08

Oldham County Airport Report, December 6, 2006

Oldham County Airport Presentation, April 2007

Oldham County Airport Board Update, November 2007

Potential Airport Sites, November 2007

Airport Analysis by Jim Pearson, December 2007

2005 Shelby County Airport Feasibility Presentation

2005 Shelby County Airport Feasibility Report

For additional information, visit the Oldham County Chamber of Commerce Web and the No Oldham Airport Web.

Bike, Pedestrian, and Greenways Summit Held September 26

Significant Interest Displayed from Local & Regional Governments, Non-Profit Organizations, Developer/Real Estate Community, and Engineering Firms

Greenways for Oldham County, in partnership with Oldham County Government hosted a county-wide Bike, Pedestrian, and Greenways summit on Wednesday, September 26 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m at the Fiscal Court room in LaGrange. The summit, open to all individuals and groups with an interest in bicycling, walking, hiking, equestrian trails, and greenways in Oldham County was well attended and proclaimed very successful by Oldham County Judge-Executive Duane Murner in his closing remarks. Oldham Ahead assisted in the organization and execution of the summit.

The summit was planned in conjunction with the recently started Bike, Pedestrian, and Greenways Master Plan funded by a grant from KIPDA. Oldham County Judge-Executive Duane Murner and Greenways for Oldham County Vice President Dr. Ashli Collins co-hosted the event, supported by the Oldham County Planning and Zoning office.

The summit allowed the consultant for the master plan, Brandstetter Carroll Inc. to meet key persons involved in county trails efforts, understand current connections, and hear individuals and groups detail future possible connections needed in the county.

State and county officials; representatives from Metro Louisville Parks; representatives from multiple Oldham County non-profit organizations, the development and realtor community and others provided presentation on their respective group's interest and potential contributions to the county's trails and greenways program.

In all, 27 separate individuals and organizations provided presentations for the summit. A breakout of the presenters include:

        - Six local/regional governmental entities including representatives Oldham County Government, Metro Government Parks and The Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency (KIPDA).

        - Twelve Oldham County and Jefferson County non-profit organizations with an interest in bike, pedestrian and equine trails and greenways.

        - One quasi-public organization, the Oldham County Economic Development Agency.

        - Three private developers/real estate agents.

        - Four engineering/consulting firms including Brandstetter Carroll Inc who is developing the master plan for Oldham County.

Download presentations from the summit

Download the summit agenda

Download the Louisville Courier-Journal Article

Download the Oldham Era Article

January 2, 2008

Fiscal Court Committee Provides Vision Report to Oldham County Fiscal Court

The Fiscal Court committee reviewing the Oldham County Vision Council's recommendations for a County Vision provided its report to Fiscal Court on January 2, 2008. The report in effect generally endorsed the Council's recommendations; however provide few specifics and recommended milestones for implementation. Further, it failed to address the Fiscal Court "financial crisis" in a meaningful manner.

Kevin Eldridge, Chairman of the Oldham County Vision Council, provided the council's report to Oldham County Fiscal Court on Tuesday, July 17 2007. Appointed by Judge-Executive Duane Murner, the 20 person council was tasked to meet, gather information, solicit input from fellow citizens, and create a paper describing the vision of what Oldham County should be in four years. Mr. Eldridge, the former Chair of the Oldham County Planning and Zoning Commission provided the Court an overview presentation of the council's mission, its members, and findings. Click here for additional information and to download the report.

Virtual Library

We are compiling a "virtual library" of studies, reports, fact sheets, maps and other reference data on our web site. We will attempt to consolidate as many references as possible that are used throughout this site in one easy-to-access location. Click on the Library Tab to your left to explore the current inventory. We will expand the offerings over time and urge you to provide additional reference materials to the collection.

Visit our Library

Oldham County Sewer District Facilities Plan Submitted to Frankfort

The Oldham County Sewer District recently completed its 20-year Facilities Plan and has submitted it to the Kentucky Division of Water for review and approval. We urge you to read the plan as it has significant growth and environmental implications for the county. It has an excellent discussion on the impact of septic tanks on the environment: the impact of aging waste water treatment package plants on our waterways, and includes a number of excellent maps for future reference.

Oldham County Airport Study

As the county and newly formed airport board studies the feasibility of an airport for Oldham County, the board and county citizens should review why Shelby County did not proceed with its proposed airport in 2005 when considering all alternatives. We believe the two counties are similar with respect to economic conditions, geographic distance from Bowman Field, and other pertinent factors. The report concluded that the Shelby County proposed airport would not be eligible for grants from the FAA; that even if capital costs of the new airport were paid by the FAA, there still would be substantial costs each year that would fall on the taxpayers of Shelby County, and that while federal and state funds make the proposal for a new airport look attractive, there will be continued costs to the citizens of Shelby County each year to operate and maintain the airport.

View and download the Shelby County consultant's report and presentation.

43 Oldham County Historic Places Listed in the National Registry

The National Registry currently lists 43 Oldham County historic places in its listing as of 31 July 2007. The registry is maintained by the Department of Interior can can be accessed at www.cr.nps.gov/nr. Click here to review the historic places and districts of Oldham County, Kentucky.

Oldham County Transportation Plans

We have posted county, regional, and state transportation plans in our "virtual library". Click the Library Tab on your left to review funded projects on the State's Six Year Plan, and out-year proposed projects and concepts.

We urge you to review these plans and provide your comments to your elected officials and responsible agencies.

Updated Information on Agricultural District Formation Process

Kentucky's General Assembly passed the Agricultural District Law in 1982. This law permits a landowner or a group of landowners, owning at least 250 contiguous acres in active agricultural production, to petition their local conservation district to form an agricultural district. The local conservation district board of supervisors reviews the petition, makes their recommendation, and then forwards all information to the Kentucky Soil and Water Conservation Commission for approval to participate in Kentucky's Agricultural District Program.

The purpose of this program is to provide a means by which agricultural land may be protected and enhanced as a viable segment of the state's economy and as an important natural resource, and to minimize the conversion of Kentucky's best agricultural land to non-farm use.

Currently, there are over 3,000 acres of Oldham County farmland being reviewed for inclusion in multiple agricultural districts in the county.

Click here to learn more about how to create an Agricultural District in Oldham County and to download the petition forms to get started.

Coomes Study: Must Reading for Oldham County Citizens and Officials

The formal title of the Coomes Study is “Kentucky’s Economic Competitiveness—A Call for Modernization of the State’s Fiscal Policies” by Paul Coomes, Ph.D, and Barry Kornstein, University of Louisville.

We recommend everyone interested in Oldham County’s quality of life and economic competitiveness read the report which documents in great detail the massive geographic redistribution of public resources away from the cities and their suburban counties where tax dollars are collected towards sparsely populated areas where schools, roads, recreation and other services are heavily subsidized by the state.

For instance, Oldham County received $38 in transportation revenue sharing funds per capita in FY 2003 (109^th of 120 counties), compared to $357 per capita of Robertson County. The report highlights the constraints local officials have in planning for the consequences of growth on infrastructure and schools and how Kentucky’s present tax laws and spending formulas hamper economic development in the State Click here to view and download the study. You can also contact us at OldhamAhead@aol.com and we will email you the study.

Oldham Ahead Commissions a Cost of Community Services Study for Oldham County

At the request of Oldham Ahead, Inc., American Farmland Trust completed a Cost of Community Services (COCS) study to develop a current understanding of the net fiscal impact of existing land uses in Oldham County , Kentucky . The study analyzed revenues and expenditures on a land use basis for fiscal year 2003 (July 2002 to June 2003). It examined revenues by land use and the financial demands of public services (e.g. public safety, government administration, schools, courts, etc.) and shows the cost of providing these services to residential, commercial, and farmland properties.

The COCS study found that in Oldham County:

92 percent of revenue in fiscal year 2003 was generated by residential land uses, 7 percent was generated by commercial land uses and 1 percent by farmland;

97 percent of county expenditures went to provide services for residential land use compared with 2 percent for commercial uses and .5 percent for farmland.

In other words, for each $1 of revenue received from residential properties in Oldham County in fiscal year 2003, $1.05 was spent providing services to those lands. For each $1 from commercial land uses, 29 cents was spent providing services, and for each $1 received from farmland, 44 cents was spent providing services. The study concludes while residential development contributes the largest amount of revenue, its net fiscal impact is negative because the total expenditures for that land use exceed the revenues. Commercial development’s net revenues offset the shortfall while farmland’s net revenues contribute the balance.

Click here to review the Executive Summary of the study. Click here to view and download the full report. We will gladly email you an electronic copy in .pdf format. Please contact us by email at OldhamAhead@aol.com.

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Six Acres Per Day

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture 2002 Census of Agriculture, Oldham County land in farms decreased 11,704 acres (16 percent) between 1997 and 2002. That equates to 2,340.8 acres a year and 6.413 acres a day.

The American Farmland Trust has unveiled the Kentucky Landowners' Guide to Conservation and Profitability

The guide, published by American Farmland Trust in November 2004 with the assistance of local partners and supporters to include Oldham Ahead Board Member Ned Bonnie and several Oldham Ahead supporters, provides an overview of the alternatives available to landowners who want to pursue conservation options, financial incentives, and technical assistance to protect their land and improve its productivity.

For further information, contact Gerry Cohn at gcohn@farmland.org or 336-221-0707.

Click here to view and download the report in .pdf format.

Additionally, we will gladly email you a copy of the report if you contact us at OldhamAhead@aol.com.

Kentucky Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements Accepts Conservation Easement Donations

The Kentucky General Assembly in 1994 established the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement Corporation and authorized the state to purchase agricultural conservation easements in order to ensure that lands currently in agricultural use will continue to remain available for agriculture and not be converted to other uses.

Although PACE was established to purchase conservation easements, landowners also are encouraged to donate easements in order to dedicate their land to agricultural uses and to take advantage of federal and state tax benefits.

Click here to view the details on the PACE program website.

Click here to access a February 2007 update on the PACE program or visit our web pages to gain an understanding of the PACE program.

Oldham County Bike and Pedestrian Trails

Phase 1 includes Three Projects

Oldham County is moving ahead with its long-range plans to provide improved bike and pedestrian access for its residents. Phase 1 of Oldham County Bike and Pedestrian Trails program involves three projects. Each will provide connectivity within and around LaGrange by providing access through shared use trails and sidewalk improvements.

The projects include:

Kentucky Avenue Sidewalk Improvements

Commerce Parkway Shared Use Trail

Downtown Main Street Sidewalk Improvements

Greenways for Oldham County, Inc. has details of this plan and other initiatives on its new website, www.oldhamgreenways.org