Sep. 14—CATLETTSBURG — Partnerships and agreements were the common denominators throughout Wednesday's Boyd County Fiscal Court meeting.
Boyd County Judge-Executive Eric Chaney announced a real-estate acquisition agreement which involved a partnership with Greenup County Judge-Executive Bobby Hall.
"This is a good one," Chaney said. "We've been working on this one for a long time."
EastPark, which Chaney called a "great industrial park," includes 41 acres which had belonged to FIVCO.
Now, because of combining two bond payments (with USDA 40-year bond terms), a 7.7-acre parcel of land will go to an Ohio company that is "ready to rock and roll and come here."
The parcel is split between the two counties. In total, the cost is $154,000 — with payments made over four years.
"Regionalism is what's going to move this area forward," Chaney said. He said he aims for Greenup and Boyd to secure the rest of that land soon.
"If government can incentivize this land, hard property they can give to this company, government's going to collect their money back for the rest of forever on taxes — occupational, net-profit, whatever it is," Chaney said. "... Take these empty parcels of land and give to the private sector that's ready to invest in your community.
"Yes, it's going to cost us money each year, but if it brings a business from Ohio which has been whooping our butt for the last 30 years, we've got an opportunity to compete on a level playing field now."
Other notable items from Wednesday's meeting:
—Boyd County Animal Shelter and Ashland Animal Rescue Fund have teamed up.
"This isn't a merger, it's a partnership," Chaney said.
AARF will be responsible for moving all animals for rescues and adoptions using its connections and resources, Chaney said.
AARF will also be responsible for maintenance and payment for its facility. The shelter and AARF's buildings will remain separate.
Chaney said Boyd County can utilize the community work program to help clean kennels, walk dogs and so forth.
The county won't be responsible for any part-time employees at AARF, but it will be responsible for maintaining, fueling and paying for a van.
An AARF spokesperson said they go to various rescues in the northeast U.S. to move some animals to those places for adoption "because our area is totally saturated," she said. She said the usage of the van will "alleviate stress for us."
"This is a great opportunity for animals in Boyd County," Chaney said. "We need to get them somewhere where they can be adopted, so that's the point of (the van)."