Barren County Fiscal Court discusses proposed agriculture center, approves first reading of county budget

By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1

Light rain drizzled across the city of Glasgow as the seven Barren County Magistrates, along with County Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd and other county personnel, gathered in the third floor of the county government center for the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Barren County Fiscal Court.

Among the public official, department and committee reports was 12 agenda items under new business including a resolution of support for a new agriculture exposition center, a resolution officially applying for a conservation grant and the approval of the 2024-2025 budget.

However, roughly 20 minutes before the court was called to order at 9 a.m. several public hearings were held. The chief among them was a public hearing for the “2024 Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant,” which was lead by Barren River Area Development District Public Administration, Planning and Development Specialist Haley Penrod.

According to Penrod, the grant would go towards improvements at the Glasgow Soccer Complex. Specifically, she said, it would go towards installing new ground lights to the third field and creating two new parking lots near the front.

All-in-all the project would cost roughly $580,000, Penrod said. She also mentioned the grant was a 50-50 match, which would require the county to pay approximately $280,000. Byrd said the grant would pay for itself within a few years as the four members that make up the “consortium,” which includes the county, city of Glasgow, and Barren County and Glasgow schools, had agreed to increase their funding to the complex.

“The consortium currently pays $17,500 each year and all four entities have agreed to increase that to $30,000,” Byrd said. “That’ll increase us in income so within the next five or six years we’ll have that paid off. It won’t be the county matching, it’ll be split between the four entities.”

Penrod said they may hear something regarding their application in 2025 with improvements not beginning before 2026. With no one speaking, either in favor or opposition, the public hearing concluded.

In the same vein the fiscal court also unanimously approved the grant application resolving to “hold in reserve fifty percent of the proposed project cost for the purposes of matching” the grant sum.

Afterward Matt Pedigo, community development specialist with the BRADD, informed the court that he had asked for federal funds to be earmarked for the proposed agriculture exposition center that is planned to be placed near the Cave Area Conference Center.

Overall the project is currently estimated to be $40 million and he has asked for $2 million to be reserved for use in the project’s design, planning and site work, Pedigo said.

As Pedigo explained the resolution is essentially a show of support from the Barren County Fiscal Court that will show this project — which will be beneficial to Barren, Hart and Edmonson counties, Pedigo said — is officially sanctioned by local governmental units.

“We’ve asked for similar resolutions from Hart County and Cave City,” Pedigo said. “This is a resolution for general support of the project. One thing [the federal government] wants to see before they grant anything is the support of local government that [shows] it’s not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry asking for a federal earmark, but an official project.”

“It’s a very big project but an impactful one,” Pedigo added.

The magistrates also discussed and approved the 2024-2025 proposed county budget, which was passed unanimously. Since the first reading has been approved it will go to Frankfort for possible revisions before the court has the second reading in May. A full story on the proposed county budget will appear on Glasgow News 1 soon.

In other news theFiscal Court also approved a “Master Lease Agreement” and a “Maintenance Agreement” from Enterprise and paid several invoices.

The next court meeting is scheduled for May 21.