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By Abigail Roberts

Correspondent

STANFORD – The Lincoln County Fiscal Court has agreed to the purchase of 165 acres for a tri-county industrial development site that will include Garrard, Lincoln and Rockcastle counties.

The cost of the land – which will serve as the site for a new industrial development project for the three counties – for Lincoln County is $534,000. That total will be paid with American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The 165 acres is located at the corner of U.S. Hwy. 150 and Hwy. 461 in Rockcastle County.

Jeff Vanhook, executive director of the Rockcastle County Industrial Development Authority, was on hand at the Oct. 24 Lincoln County Fiscal Court meeting to provide an update on the project.

Vanhook said its a “highly desirable” location with access to natural gas.

The total investment of all three counties is a little over $1.6 million, 50 percent of which will be reimbursed, Vanhook said, and the project will allow for each of the three counties to share revenue.

Garrard and Rockcastle Counties applied for grant funding from Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI) grant funding to match the costs of the project, which is $801,000 and the tri-county SPGE will jointly receive the benefit of that funding.

The revenues from occupational taxes will be shared among the three counties.

“The opportunities, I think we, working together, all three communities, have set ourselves up for the best success,” Vanhook said.

Things are moving along, he said.

A board with equal representation from each county was created to serve on the tri-county Industrial Development Authority. Lincoln County Fiscal Court magistrates previously appointed Jeff Ralston from the Lincoln County Industrial Development Authority and Magistrate Dan Gutenson to serve on the tri-county board alongside Lincoln County Judge-Executive Woods Adams.

Magistrates voted unanimously to approve the tri-county land purchase agreement using ARPA funds.

The Stanford/Lincoln County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has also applied for matching funds to develop two build-ready sites at the Rowland Industrial Park. The total cost of that project is $590,000, part of which will be paid for with matching grant money. The Lincoln County Fiscal Court is not funding the project, but the money will pass through the fiscal court budget and therefore needed approval from magistrates. Magistrates also voted Tuesday to approve that agreement.