Staff photo/JULIA R GOAD Business leaders and elected representatives supported the airport Monday night at the East Kentucky Expo Center. L-R Rep. W. Keith Hall, Sen. Ray Jones, Jared Arnett with the East Ky. Chamber of Commerce, Pikeville City Manger Donovan Blackburn, Rep. Leslie Combs, Luke Schmidt and Bill Hickman, Airport Authority Chairman.
A consultant hired to help attract commercial air service to the Pikeville-Pike County Airport said thisweek that the prospects for attracting a commercial carrier to the county may take a nose dive following recent fiscal court inaction. At a special meeting of the Pike County Fiscal Court on Monday, county officials failed to pass a resolution supporting the efforts of several agencies to attract commercial air service to the Pikeville-Pike County Airport. The court also expressed strong opposition to a request for the county’s support in using $1 million in multi-county coal severancetax money as part ofthe efforts to attract commercial service.
During Monday’s special meeting, Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford told air service consultant Luke Schmidt several times that he and the other fiscal court members support the efforts of the City of Pikeville, the Pikeville-Pike County Airport Board and the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce to attract a commercial air carrier to the Pikeville-Pike County Airport. Although the court members expressed support for having commercial air service at the airport, they failed to make a motion to pass a resolution which would have pledged support for the plan.
According to the proposed resolution, the court, had they approved the resolution, would be in support of commercial air service at the airport and the efforts to secure the service. The proposed resolution, which received no motion for approval from the court members, made no mention of supporting the use of multi-county coal severance funds in the effort, which Schmidt said was vital to the plan’s success.
The lack of an approval of the resolution came after a question by the News- Express last week regarding the multi-county coal severance funds, which was answered by Rutherford spokesperson Brandon Roberts, who said a resolution would be presented and likely approved by the court. With the court’s lack of support for the plan and unwillingness to sign off on the multi-county coal severance use, money already secured through a federal grant may be in jeopardy, Schmidt said.
“If we’re not successful in raising this money through the coal severance tax, not only will you not get a carrier, but then we’ll have to return that grant to the federal government. Some other airport would get to use it,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt said grant funds secured by the City of Pikeville through a federal aviation grant — whichtotaled $750,000 — were planned to be matched bymulti-county coal severance funds. The plan was outlined in the City of Pikeville’sapplication for the grant funds, Schmidt said.
Schmidt said during the meeting that the Floyd County Fiscal Court had already passed a resolution in support of using the multi-county funds and told the News-Express in a recent interview that another county’s court would likely express support for the same sometime this week. Members of the Pike Fiscal Court, however, said the money could be used better elsewhere and the matching funds for the plan should come from the Pikeville- Pike County Airport Board, which Rutherford said possesses a bank account with a balance of more $6 million.
Dist. 3 Pike Magistrate Leo Murphy said the multicounty coal severance funds should not be considered for the plan. “If we’re going to use it, I’d rather see it come out of that $6 million that’s there already because we have so many things in Pike County that we need right now and we’re going to have a lot more needs in the future for our tax money,” Murphy said, adding that an area of his district — referring to the Ridgeline Road area — has no water service and water is having to be transported to the area. “I think we got a whole lot more needs for severance money than what that’s for.”
According to discussion at the meeting, however, the airport board’s bank account may be off limits. Rutherford said airport board officials received a letter from the federal government stating that the funds must stay in possession of the airport board. Schmidt repeated a similar explanation several times when questioned by the court as to why the airport board’s money was not being considered. Dist. 5 Magistrate Hilman Dotson said he did not understand the money situation in regard to the plan and the airport board’s involvement. He said he also believes the multi-county coal severance money could be used better elsewhere.
“We don’t have any control over the airport board and how they do their affairs or what they used their money for,” he said. “I would much rather see this coal severance money used for the promotion of tourism in Pike County. We’re talking about jobs, economic development. You know, that would get our jobs going if we have some money to promote our trail system, our tourism and get things going in Pike County.”
Dotson said he is for anything that could be done to get commercial air service in Pike County, but did not understand the reasoning for why the resolution was needed.
Rutherford’s main point of contention, however, seemed to revolve around the timeframe on which the county was approached for support. At the beginning of Schmidt’s address to the court, Rutherford detailed the efforts by the county to establish the airport after plans for an airport at Marions Branch, now a part of the City of Pikeville, fell through. Rutherford said the county paid to have a study performed which ultimately resulted in the establishment of the current airport.
Rutherford stated several times during the meeting that the City of Pikeville hadnothing to do with the establishment of the airport and now, he is “disappointed” that the county has allegedly been left of the planning and efforts to attract a commercial carrier to the airport. “Along the way, this body got left out,” Rutherford said. “Seems that, for some reason unknown to me, they (the fiscal court) were never mentioned. We kept reading the paper, and news releases would go out that we were going to have a commercial airline service and that the city had filed for some $800,000 and then the announcement came out.”
Rutherford took several shots at the City of Pikeville during the meeting, including its annexation of the airport into the city limits, an issue for which Rutherford said Schmidt is not responsible. “You can’t help all these other issues,” he said. “You couldn’t help it when the city, without even coming and talking to us, run a 10-foot corridor up a hollow, took the airport into the city without even coming down here and consulting us. I mean, you know, come on now, we build the airport, we get it up and running, the city comes in and runs a utility corridor, takes it in. Them side issues, you can’t handle.”
Rutherford also referenced the county’s alleged lack of inclusion in the commercial air process process when Schmidt said he was not requesting money from the Pike County government, but was instead requesting only a pledge of support for the use of multicounty severance tax funds.
That statement was not well received by Rutherford, who said multi-county coal severance funds are Pike County dollars and that Pike County pays 32 percent of the state’s coal severance tax dollars. “That’s for economic development and that’s for jobs and that money is for infrastructure and I would agree this comes under that,” Rutherford said. “But this application, we were not asked to be a party to this application, I’m talking about this body (the fiscal court). Nobody talked to us about it. Nobody advised (the fiscal court) about it.
“We … was very surprised when you walked in and then said, ‘Now we want to get $1 million through you all.’ That is Pike County (money). That’s mined by people in Pike County — coal miners that’s gone under these hills and mined that coal,” Rutherford said.
Later in the meeting, Rutherford blasted Schmidt for requesting money for the project. “I’m disappointed — I’m sure that the rest of the people are, sitting here at this body — that we’ve been left out of the process and then brought back in it when you needed money,” Rutherford said to Schmidt.
“If we supplement their income now to get them going, then in another year or two years, we’re going to be supplementing their income again. So if it’s a good idea, and the airport board wants to put their money into it then I say that’s what they should do. I can’t say that I support it because I don’t think that it’s a good use of taxpayer dollars.”
Schmidt said model for the plan allows all parties to the plan to have input into the contract in order to get everything they want up front. Schmidt said the revenue guarantee for the plan would only be used if airline reports monthly shortfall on its revenue target. Money would then be used to make up shortfall, he said. “It would not be a blanket subsidy. We’re not in favor of that,” he said. “We want to get this carrier in here; we want to get them to a sustainable position as quickly as possible.”
Appalachian News-Express • Wednesday, June 27, 2012 • Page 11A
By JULIA ROBERTS GOAD
Staff Writer
PIKEVILLE, Ky. – The Pikeville/Pike County Airport Authority asked the Fiscal Court for its support to secure funds to recruit an airline to service commercial flights to the county.
Luke Schmidt, with L. B. Schmidt and Associates, a consulting firm, outlined the plan to bring commercial air service to the airport, located near Harmon’s Branch.
Judge Executive Wayne T. Rutherford gave a brief history of the airport.
He said the property was jointly purchased years ago by the City of Pikeville and the Fiscal Court, including the mineral rights to coal on the property. The money from the sale of the coal that was mined as part of construction at the site was was put into an account for development of the airport.
Then, Rutherford said, the “government withdrew from the project. We looked at three locations to put the airport, but the one we have now was determined to be the best one.”
The location the airport is now, near Harmon’s Branch, was purchased by the County, Rutherford said.
“Then the City became part of the Airport Authority again,” Rutherford said. “That airport is there because of the Pike County Fiscal Court.”
He said last year, the Airport Authority asked the Fiscal Court to fund a feasibility study, a request the Fiscal Court denied. Then, Rutherford said, the study was done with money from the Pikeville/Pike County Chamber of Commerce.
“We have worked to bring commercial air service here,” Rutherford said. “Then along the way we, as a body, were left out. We heard about commercial air service in the paper.”
“I have always been for the airport,” Rutherford said. “All of the magistrates have said they were in favor of this service in the county.”
Schmidt addressed the Fiscal Court at their regular meeting. L.B. Schmidt was hired by the City of Pikeville and the Eastern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce to study bringing commercial air service to Pike County.
“There have been many twists and turns along the way,” Schmidt said. “But there clearly is a market for scheduled air service here. It would service 13 counties, in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.”
Schmidt said there were two goals needed to provide that service. The first is to recruit a regional airline that is linked to a major airline, and secondly to connect service in Pike County to a major hub such as Charlotte, N.C. or Atlanta.
Schmidt told the Court the best tool for recruiting an airline to Pike County would be a revenue guarantee package.
The concept is that some money is set aside in as the revenue guarantee fund.
An airline doing business in the county would set a financial goal for each month. If the company falls short, money from the revenue guarantee package would be used to bring the amount of money the airline makes up to the monthly goal. The money would be given to the airline on a monthly basis so the company would not incur financial losses during the first two years of operation.
Schmidt said the Airport Authority has already secured a $750,000 from a Small Community Air Service to provide money for that revenue guarantee. He said the Authority, along with the Eastern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the City of Pikeville, is asking the Kentucky Legislature for $1 million in multi-county coal severance tax funds for that guarantee.
Schmidt asked the Pike County Fiscal to agree to support that request.
But the Court had reservations in asking for coal severance tax money for the revenue guarantee package.
“Pike County supplies 32 percent of the coal severance money in Kentucky,” Rutherford said. “This Court was not asked to be included in applying for the $750,000 grant, we have not been included even in news releases about the airport. I am disappointed that we are left and then brought back in when they need money.”
Rutherford said he has asked how much money the Airport Authority has, and found out that amount is $6 million.
District One Magistrate Jeff Anderson asked Schmidt why the Airport Authority was asking for $1 million in coal severance funds if they had $6 million.
Schmidt said there were restrictions on the money the Airport Authority has, although he was not certain what those restrictions were.
“I am not the person to ask,” Schmidt said. He said coal severance money was to be used for economic development, which the airport would be.
Members of the Fiscal Court said they had doubts to the feasibility of a regional airport. Schmidt used an example of a small airport in Manhattan, Kansas, to show how a revenue revenue guarantee package could work to establish air service in a small airport.
But PCFC Deputy Judge Executive John Doug Hayes pointed out that he Manhattan Kansas area has a much larger population, more college students and a more stable tax base.
“They don’t rely on coal,” Hayes said.
Magistrates on the Court said they felt there were more pressing matters coal severance funds could be used for. DIstrict Three Magistrate Leo Murphy said the county’s citizens have more basic needs than air service.
“I want air service too, but let them use their $6 million,” Murphy said. “We have needs in the county, There are people in my district without drinking water, we have to truck water to them. There are more needs for coal severance money.”
Another concern of the Court was that although Schmidt said there were two major airlines who are interested in providing service in Pike County, neither of those companies wanted their identities to be disclosed.
“I have great reservations,” District One Magistrate Jeff Anderson told Schmidt. “It is not transparent.” He said that the City and the Airport Authority know who those companies are, but that the Court did not. Schmidt explained that the City of Pikeville and the Airport Authority were his clients, and as such he could not disclose any confidential information that might hinder the project.
“It is a competitive issue,” he said. “If carriers see their name in the paper, it will blow our chance out of the water.”
But the PCFC was not convinced that an airport was a worthy project in such financially challenging times.
“My objection is that it isn’t a smart use of our tax dollars,” District Six Magistrate Chris Harris said. “If we supplement their income now, where will be in two years? If a was self-supporting, then an airline would want to come in.”
“The Airport board should come and talk to us,” District Two Magistrate “Chick” Johnson said. “They act like they are hiding something. We have never seen letters, or anything about this. They need to come to us; coal severance money is all we’ve got.”
In the end, Rutherford put a motion on the floor to support the request for $1 million in coal severance funds for the revenue guarantee, but none of the Magistrates seconded the motion, and it died without a vote. It will be carried over to the next Fiscal Court meeting.
Read more: The Williamson Daily News – Commercial flights closer to reality in Pike
Article originally posted to The News-Enterpise Web site http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/content/unification-back-table
The call for a unification review commission may have been quiet in recent months, but Hardin County United is ready to resume its push
After successfully lobbying for changes in state law regarding approval requirements for unified city/county government, HCU officials plan to reconnect with the seven local municipalities. Its goal is to secure support for forming a commission and appointing members to draft a unification plan and charter to be presented to voters by November 2014.
No dates have been scheduled, but Ken Howard, chairman of the HCU governance subcommittee, said he believes it will try to start scheduling meetings this month — beginning with Hardin Fiscal Court.
A unified local government in Kentucky requires participation of the county.
“It just makes logical sense to start with Fiscal Court,” Howard said.
Luke Schmidt, a consultant for HCU, said officials will approach the county and six cities with a short update on the merits of unification. The organization argues it would allow the county to leverage the size of its population to improve its profile at state and national levels, boosting its competitiveness in the global economy.
Howard and Schmidt also have argued a unified government would streamline government functions by eliminating duplicate services.
Schmidt said HCU plans to update officials on changes in state law and how those would affect Hardin County.
“We want to make sure they understand the ramifications of it,” Schmidt said.
Several local officials, Hardin Fiscal Court in particular, were reluctant to form a commission when first approached by HCU because of ambiguity surrounding sovereignty of a city’s vote. HCU suspended its campaign to ensure a city would not be dissolved into a unified government if a majority of its residents voted against a unification charter.
County legislators, led by Rep. Jimmie Lee and Sen. Dennis Parrett, introduced new language to the Kentucky General Assembly, which moved through the general session with unanimous support.
Howard said the changes in state law put old concerns to rest but also provide Kentucky a better piece of legislation because the new law includes a safeguard that is fair to everyone. Howard said if unincorporated portions of the county reject unification during a referendum, the unification plan would fail to pass.
“I think that’s really important,” he said. “It can’t be pockets of support.”
Schmidt and Howard said HCU also plans to create an online presence to provide residents an avenue to share opinions on unification with elected officials.
If cities are open to the idea, HCU will propose ordinances to create a commission and appoint members. Inclusion in the commission does not lead to a merger, Schmidt said, because voters must decide on unification at the polls.
Howard said HCU hopes to have a commission in place to allow plenty of time for members to work on a plan before the 2014 election. A plan can take one to two years to put together, depending on the community.
“There is a large amount of work that needs to be done to put a plan together,” Schmidt said.
But Schmidt argued the commission’s formal deliberations are the only way to know what a unified structure in Hardin County would look like. During the first push for unification, residents asked a slew of questions, wondering how taxes would be structured and public safety impacted by a unified government.
“All good questions,” Schmidt said. “But we can’t answer them because we don’t have the commission.”
Radcliff Councilman Edward Palmer attended a recent HCU meeting and said he wants Radcliff to hold its own forums on unification to gather input. Radcliff is the only city in the county to formally opt out of the commission and Palmer said he did not want HCU to be able to use the city’s decision as firepower when arguing for unification.
Marty Finley can be reached at (270) 505-1762
The Pikeville-Pike County Regional Airport could soon be adding commercial airline service.
Officials say they are talking with two major airlines that could provide daily service at the airport.
The flights would serve as connecting flights to larger airport hubs in cities like Charlotte and Atlanta.
The airport would serve a 13 county area in the tri-state region.
Those included would consist of nine counties in Kentucky, three in Virginia, and one in West Virginia.
“You would get on the plane in Pikeville, make a relatively short flight to a major connecting hub, and then you get there and you can connect and go to virtually any place that you want to go,” Luke Schmidt said.
Officials hope to have something in place by the end of this year.
The 5,300-foot runway at Pikeville Airport can handle a turbo prop aircraft capable of carrying 19 to 37 passengers with a crew of three, Schmidt said. He said the region to be served would include 13 counties, of which nine are in eastern Kentucky, three are in southwest Virginia and one is in West Virginia.
By KEN SHMIDHEISER, Managing Editor and CHRIS HARRIS, Staff Writer Commonwealth Journal
Somerset —
by Gabe Bullard on January 23, 2012
Proponents of a merged government in Hardin County hope to put the issue on the ballot this year.
Advocates say combining Elizabethtown, Vine Grove and Radcliffe with Hardin County’s unincorporated areas and other cities would be a boon to economic development. The governments can merge under the same state law that allowed Lexington and Fayette County to consolidate in 1974. (The law that allowed the Louisville-Jefferson County merger applies only to first class cities.)
But, to assuage any concerns from residents, merger proponents are championing legislation in Frankfort that would allow individual cities to opt out of the merger if a majority of residents oppose consolidation. If that happens, the cities would seemingly either fall under the governance of an entity they opposed or exist without a county. Before the public can vote on the matter, officials will have to figure out how an independent city would interact with the merged government that surrounds it.
“At this point, it’s kind of hard to say exactly,” says Hardin County United spokesman Luke Schmidt. “For example, how would emergency medical services be provided? Today, county government provides emergency medical service throughout the county.”
Schmidt says the merger agreement should spell out any questions about independent cities.
“We’d like to have it on the ballot this November,” he says. “This being a presidential election, we’ll have a high turnout of voters to begin with and we think that’s important. But we want to do the plan the right way. If that requires more time and we can’t make it, we’ll push it to the next election.”
He expects the document to be finalized in time to have it on the ballot in November, but says there’s no official deadline, and the vote could happen in a following year.
House passes HB 190 in a unanimous vote
Unification clarification awaits approval from state Senate
The Kentucky House of Representatives passed House Bill 190 Wednesday in a unanimous 94-0 vote.
The bill’s primary goal was to clarify the language of the existing unification law, said Luke Schmidt, consultant for Hardin County United.
Introduced by Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown, and co-sponsored by Rep. Tim Moore, R-Elizabethtown, HB 190 ensures a city will be exempt from joining unified government if the majority of its residents vote against unification.
Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, and Rep. Arnold Simpson, D-Covington, also co-sponsored the bill, according to a news release.
Schmidt said this was a problem identified when HCU began presentations to county residents last fall. The organization has been adamant a city’s majority vote would be respected, he said.
The bill now moves to the state Senate, and Lee said Thursday the senate will hear its own bills first before it reviews those passed by the House.
“I don’t think we should start to worry if they don’t begin discussing it immediately,” he said.
Lee said it’s notable the bill passed unanimously in the House, adding it appears there is enough interest across the state in exploring the unification tool.
Schmidt said the 94-0 vote in the House is a “terrific margin,” which he sees as indicative of bipartisan support in the state legislature.
Sarah Bennett can be reached at (270) 505-1750 or sbennett@thenewsenterprise.com.
ELIZABETHTOWN, KY (WAVE) – Hardin County United (HCU) today recognized the action taken by the Kentucky House of Representatives in passing House Bill 190 by a vote of 94 – 0. HB 190 was introduced by State Representative Jimmie Lee (D-Elizabethtown) and is co-sponsored by State Representatives Tim Moore (R-Elizabethtown), Darryl Owens (D-Louisville), and Arnold Simpson (D-Covington).
“I am pleased to report to the citizens of Hardin County who have been following the issue of unified government that their concerns about how an individual city’s citizens’ vote on a unified government plan will be treated have been heard loud and clear by the House of Representative,” said State Representative Jimmie Lee. “Voters can rest assured that HB 190 clearly states that if the majority of a city’s voters vote no on a plan for unified government, then that city will remain free-standing, even if other jurisdictions should vote yes for the plan,” said Lee.
“Passage of HB 190 by the House of Representatives represents another major step forward in HCU’s initiative to bring a plan on unified government to the citizens of Hardin County,” said Luke B. Schmidt, consultant to HCU. “HCU is following up on its commitment to address this issue,” said Schmidt.
“HCU appreciates the leadership that our Hardin County legislative delegation is bringing to this issue,” said Hardin Circuit Court Judge Ken Howard, Chair of HCU’s Governance Subcommittee. “We look forward to turning our attention to the Kentucky State Senate in moving this issue through to final passage” said Howard.