Woodford County Judge-Executive James Kay, along with Woodford County Economic Development Agency Executive Director Lewis Witt, provided the Fiscal Court with the current status of the purchase of the Yokohama plant by the county, EDA and the City of Versailles (Buyers) at the Tuesday, March 10 meeting.

Following the announcement in April 2025 by Yokohama that it was shuttering its industrial plant on Industry Road, costing the community 300 jobs, the Buyers negotiated a purchase of the plant and its property for approximately $8.5 million. This included a due diligence period to allow the Buyers to thoroughly inspect the plant, assess its condition, determine its fair market value and explore funding options.

At the meeting, Kay explained the purchase was intended to allow the local governments to control the next employer who would use the facility (to avoid what occurred at Sylvania when a distribution center with few jobs moved in). And, he said, given the lack of available industrial zoned land, it allows them to protect valuable farm land by avoiding the creation of new industrial areas.

“We just don’t have any more industrial land right now, and since anything can happen at that location if we don’t control it, which could create serious problems like noise and environmental (issues) for neighborhoods like Merewood, Southgate, and the WYSA complex,” he said.

Kay said a new manufacturer was needed to both replace the lost jobs and also to replace the significant loss of occupational tax Yokohama paid annually. In 2022, it paid $250K, in 2023, it paid $270K, in 2024, it paid $250K, and, he said, “We’ve already seen the tax paid drop to $128K in 2025 with the closure . . . or, about half of what they usually paid since they began the shutdown last June.”

Witt told the court that the Kentucky Economic Development Cabinet had just approved a Kentucky Product Development Initiative (KPDI) grant for $2 million, which will be applied to the purchase price, thus lowering the amount the Buyers will have to pay. Witt noted this grant was highly competitive and that many other local governments were turned down. However, the grant funds must be accessed by June 30, 2026, which moves up the due diligence deadline by three months.

Kay explained that to close on the property, the Buyers will need to bond the balance of the purchase price, or approximately $6.5 million. Ruth Webb of First Kentucky Securities, which has handled other bonding matters for the county and Versailles, informed the court that they are working on the bond and will be able to complete everything needed for the Buyer to receive the grant funds. Will also advised the court that they had received a grant from LG&E/KU to help defray due diligence-related costs.

Magistrate Mary Ann Gill expressed her thanks to Witt for meeting with her to answer questions she had about the transaction.

Magistrate William Downey underscored Witt’s point that the KPDI grant was no sure thing and was a significant step to making the overall transaction work.

Kay told the court that at the next meeting, it would need to fully discuss and debate the decision on whether to move forward with the purchase.

Diaper Dash

Rusty Thompson, a native Woodford Countian and member of Versailles United Methodist Church, received approval from the court for the church to hold its inaugural “Diaper Dash,” a 5K run/walk in Falling Springs on April 25. Thompson said the church had begun a ministry last summer to provide diapers for newborn to adults, and had already given away 22,000 diapers.

“We have one whole room where we store the diapers based on age and size,” Thompson said. “We are now serving about 40 families . . . and they are so humble, so thankful for what we are doing.”

Flood buyouts

Woodford County Emergency Management Agency Director Drew Chandler brought welcome news to the court. The county has received a grant from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development for $2.7 million, which will offset the cost of buying out property owners impacted by last spring’s devastating floods.

Given the total cost of the buyout, this means Woodford County’s share has decreased to $300K from the $3 million share, with the federal grants paying the balance of the estimated cost of $12million.

“This means there will be sufficient money to fund the buyout of any property owner who has requested to participate in the program,” said Chandler.

Treasurer’s report

County Treasurer Melody Traugott reported that the current balance in the money market account is $14,962,166.57.