THE PULASKI COUNTY 2020 NEWSROOM

 

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2020

911 CAD GRANT AWARDED

Fiscal Court approves Mill Springs agreement

It’s been a busy first year at SPEDA

New Pulaski County Park Beach will be ready by summer.

SPEDA, city and county governments sign new agreement for specialty chemicals facility 

Read More on LANEREPORT.COM 

Pulaski Fiscal Court approves Mill Springs agreement

By JANIE SLAVEN Commonwealth Journal

Mill Springs is inching ever closer to officially becoming part of the National Park Service (NPS).

On Tuesday, Pulaski County Fiscal Court approved its portion of a three-way agreement with NPS and the Mill Springs Battlefield Association (MSBA). 

Last March, President Donald Trump signed legislation designating the Mill Springs Battlefield and Museum as a national monument, the culmination of years’ worth of work on behalf of those local individuals dedicated to the preservation of the historic Civil War site in western Pulaski County.

 

In presenting the Mill Springs National Monument agreement, Pulaski County Judge-Executive Steve Kelley credited the efforts of Congressman Hal Rogers, Nancy-area residents, MSBA members, Fiscal Court members and “many others who have worked on this for over 15 years” to see Mill Springs added to the federal park system.

“We finally have some light at the end of the tunnel,” Kelley said, adding that county officials had met with NPS and MSBA officials Monday night.

In addition to the agreement itself, Fiscal Court also approved a general warranty donation deed transfer, appraisal waiver and resolution.

 

For its part, Pulaski County Fiscal Court is donating Zollicoffer Park — the only part of the historic 900-acre site that is county owned — to the federal government; the rest must be donated by MSBA. Additionally, the county agrees to continue the $100,000 it had annually allocated to support the site for three more years in order to complete the NPS transition.

During that transition window, MSBA would still provide staffing and related support as well.

“The county won’t have any liability in regard to worker’s comp or public liability,” Hatfield added. “Hopefully, it will be quicker than three years but as they [NPS] start contributing assets then your financial obligation will decrease each year according to their contribution.”

While three years may seem quite a while away, Hatfield noted that the first NPS acquisitions of Zollicoffer Park and the Mill Springs Museum should occur within the next month or so.

“There’s some time sensitivity to it,” the county attorney observed, explaining that a delay would send the project very nearly back to the drawing board. “Congressman Rogers and the National Park Service are really pushing this along to happen within the next couple of months…on behalf of our community, to get this done so it doesn’t go to the bottom of the pile again.”

Hatfield also noted that the agreement was based on the one NPS entered into with Jessamine County for the Camp Nelson site. “[There’s] no need to re-invent the wheel, so we’ve basically mirrored everything they have done,” he said.

Pulaski Park beach will be ready by summer

The existing beach at Pulaski County Park will be located on the other side of the boat ramp and courtesy dock. Pulaski County Judge-Executive Steve Kelley said the work will begin as soon as weather permits and the relocated beach will be ready for use this summer.

Article by Bill Mardis Somerset-Kentucky.com 

Work is about to begin on relocating the popular beach at Pulaski County Park.

“We have approval (from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and we have the plans,” Pulaski County Judge-Executive Steve Kelley told the Commonwealth Journal. “We’re waiting on a break in the weather.”

The beach was originally created by the 2014 Class Lake Cumberland Leadership, a Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce group. The expansion will be done by the county, using county maintenance crews, Kelley said. White sand, similar to beaches along the Gulf Coast of Florida, is hauled here from Tennessee.

Kelley said the entire existing beach is being moved for safety reasons. The current swimming and sunning area is too close to the boat ramp and courtesy dock. The relocated beach will be some 50 to 75 feet on the other side of the boat ramp, Kelley said. He indicated remnants of the existing beach may still be used by swimmers “ … but the sand part will be on the other side of the courtesy dock.”

Kelley said earlier the new beach will be twice the size of the existing beach. “The (relocated) beach will be ready for this summer,” the judge-executive assured.

Constructing the beach is on a timeline dictated by the Corps. Level of Lake Cumberland, depending on amounts of rainfall, is operated on what the Corps calls a SEPA Curve. SEPA is an acronym for Southeastern Power Administration, the agency that markets power generated at Wolf Creek Dam.

The SEPA Curve directs that the lake start rising from winter levels in February and reach summer pool by May 15. Work on the beach, located across the lake from Fishing Creek Recreation Area, must be done before the water reaches summer levels.

The beach relocation project, planned last year, was delayed by heavy rains last year that sent the lake to record levels.

SPEDIA, City and county government sign new agreement for specialty chemicals facility

By Sarah Hamilton  Expansion,  Retention + Recruitment  

Extiel GPG will build new multimillion-dollar facility and pipeline lateral to safely deliver natural gas needed

A new agreement entered into today by the Somerset-Pulaski County Economic Development Authority (SPEDA), the City of Somerset, Pulaski County Government and Houston-based Extiel GPG has created new momentum for a specialty chemicals plant project in Somerset.

The agreement improves the natural gas infrastructure for Extiel, which plans to build a $155 million facility that converts natural gas into high-performance, non-toxic and biodegradable lubricants, waxes and clean solvents in addition to low carbon hydrogen to be used in emerging hydrogen fuel cell applications. The plant, which will be built on 23 acres near Somerset Rail Park in Somerset just off the Highway 914 Bypass, is expected to be complete in late 2021 and will bring 20 new direct jobs to the community at an hourly rate at or above $20. Extiel will hire and train staff from the regional workforce.

SPEDA President and CEO Chris Girdler said the new framework was needed to give the project the opportunity to move forward. Though a public announcement about Extiel’s facility was made two years ago, the existing agreement was not viable, Girdler said.

“To say the public announcement of Extiel’s plans and interaction prior to today was premature would be an understatement,” Girdler said. “While a previous framework was in place, quite frankly it was one in which our community could not support financially or otherwise. Unfortunately, it was one the city’s existing natural gas infrastructure could not have supported either.”

In the new agreement, the city, county and SPEDA agree to allow Extiel to design, build and own a new pipeline lateral outside of the city’s distribution network that will connect to the city’s main natural gas pipeline. Doing so will allow Extiel to safely consume approximately 5,000 decatherms of natural gas per day, something not covered by the previous agreement. The pipeline will be built to deliver an even higher volume for potential future growth, and Extiel will negotiate purchasing natural gas from the City of Somerset or third-party suppliers.

Months of natural gas capacity testing and meetings with industry experts determined the need for a higher-capacity pipeline to advance the project, Girdler said. With this agreement, Extiel representatives can now proceed to secure funding to carry out their construction plans.

The framework also outlines Extiel’s 10-year lease of the 23-acre Crane Road property from SPEDA, plans to extend Thoroughbred Drive to access the property, and negotiation of a lease for property adjacent to where the facility will be built.

Somerset Mayor Alan Keck led the effort to evaluate and support the project, making a personal visit to Houston to negotiate with Extiel to ensure the project met both the community’s and company’s needs.

“The process of getting to this point has been challenging yet very rewarding for everyone involved,” Girdler said. “Without the support of Pulaski County Fiscal Court and Somerset City Council, this project would not be possible. Mayor Keck led the effort on this project and represented our community with a bold but yet cautious approach and we all will be better served with this agreement due to his leadership.”

Keck said it has been a privilege to work alongside SPEDA and Extiel GPG to bring this project closer to fruition.

“While a great deal of work remains, this agreement, one that is equitable on all fronts, realistic and viable gets us farther down the field,” Keck said. “I look forward to diving in further in hopes that this project, with amazing potential, can come full circle and to full completion.”

Pulaski County Judge Executive Steve Kelley said it is an exciting time for Somerset and Pulaski County as this project gets a step closer to reality.

“There have been countless hours invested by all parties to ensure the future success of this first-of-its-kind specialty chemicals facility in the U.S.,” Kelley said. “This will be a boon to our local economy and will strengthen our position in the natural gas industry for decades to come. We stand ready to assist Extiel and its business partners as they seek prosperity in Pulaski County and our region.”

Extiel GPG Director of Business Development Dwayne Phillips said he appreciates the community’s diligence to make this agreement a reality.

“We, at Extiel GPG, are appreciative of the cooperation from the county, the city and SPEDA to work with us to negotiate the framework agreement over the past few months,” Phillips said. “The finalization of the framework agreement is a critical first step in a series of other activities that are predicated on having this agreement in place.”

Girdler complimented Extiel’s leadership team.

“Dwayne Phillips and Greg Carr of Extiel have been gentlemen throughout the process and we have all enjoyed getting to know one another,” Girdler said. “I commend their business savvy, industry specific knowledge, and their pursuit of historic milestones within an extremely competitive and tough energy sector.”

More information about the project will be available in the coming weeks as further agreements and fundraising efforts are outlined, Girdler said.

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