Success of Fiscal Court during two terms
The current Fiscal Court has been one of the most successful in a long time... if you ask me! But you don't have to take my word for it... let the facts show that for themselves. Here is some of what we as a Fiscal Court have done this term:
-Helped secure funds for the E-warrant system for our local Law Enforcement Agency, Sheriff's office...
-No tax increases, balanced budget of $24 million dollars...
-County debt reduced by $8.7 million dollars (from $14.1 to $5.4 million)...
-Secured AA credit rating for county and refinanced debt to 1.7%...
-Cleaned long blighted areas of the County including planting of trees throughout the county...
-Expanded and improved parks including new access to Ohio River, new fishing docks, repaved park roads, increased facilities…
-Increased government transparency with channel 25, increased use of alternative media sources and improved production quality and number of offerings...
-Brought $77 million dollars back to Oldham from state road budgets for road projects, new bridges and overpasses... including a new Old Henry to Ash Ave connector that is funded and moving forward...
-Securing funds of over $200K in new state budget to correct flooding issues on Ash Avenue (a state road)... with assistance of our state legislators...
-Fixed up the South Oldham Government Center as a community room for groups in the Southern part of the County...
-Purchased many new and improved quality police vehicles...
-Improved processes in several services around the county... including securing the financial situation at taxing districts like EMS that prevented tax increases from those departments...
-Paved roads that haven't been touched for decades...
-Improvements and upgrades to the County's overall IT infrastructure...
-Improvements to Peggy Baker park's paving...
-Worked with neighborhood associations to bring new roads into the county systems and insure their upkeep and plowing during the winter months...
… AND MANY MORE ACHIEVEMENTS
To be honest... there are just so many other improvements and accomplishments I can't list them all here!
A Court United in a "Spirit of Cooperation":
This has been a group effort! The Judge Executive (who deserves recognition for his very large contribution to all of this) as well as us Magistrates can all be proud of the work that has been done. That includes all the County workers in every department that made this happen!
I believe all the Magistrates and the Judge Executive would agree that this administration has been characterized with a “Spirit of Cooperation” with the Court’s Magistrates, Judge Executive and leaders throughout the area.
I must say that I have been proud to work with the others in this administration including close work with the Deputy Judge, other workers in all departments of the government and with agencies throughout the community. While we Magistrates often times get the celebration, or blame, we know that if it wasn't for the front line people working on a daily basis to make us look good we would be nowhere near where we are now.
-Helped secure funds for the E-warrant system for our local Law Enforcement Agency, Sheriff's office...
-No tax increases, balanced budget of $24 million dollars...
-County debt reduced by $8.7 million dollars (from $14.1 to $5.4 million)...
-Secured AA credit rating for county and refinanced debt to 1.7%...
-Cleaned long blighted areas of the County including planting of trees throughout the county...
-Expanded and improved parks including new access to Ohio River, new fishing docks, repaved park roads, increased facilities…
-Increased government transparency with channel 25, increased use of alternative media sources and improved production quality and number of offerings...
-Brought $77 million dollars back to Oldham from state road budgets for road projects, new bridges and overpasses... including a new Old Henry to Ash Ave connector that is funded and moving forward...
-Securing funds of over $200K in new state budget to correct flooding issues on Ash Avenue (a state road)... with assistance of our state legislators...
-Fixed up the South Oldham Government Center as a community room for groups in the Southern part of the County...
-Purchased many new and improved quality police vehicles...
-Improved processes in several services around the county... including securing the financial situation at taxing districts like EMS that prevented tax increases from those departments...
-Paved roads that haven't been touched for decades...
-Improvements and upgrades to the County's overall IT infrastructure...
-Improvements to Peggy Baker park's paving...
-Worked with neighborhood associations to bring new roads into the county systems and insure their upkeep and plowing during the winter months...
… AND MANY MORE ACHIEVEMENTS
To be honest... there are just so many other improvements and accomplishments I can't list them all here!
A Court United in a "Spirit of Cooperation":
This has been a group effort! The Judge Executive (who deserves recognition for his very large contribution to all of this) as well as us Magistrates can all be proud of the work that has been done. That includes all the County workers in every department that made this happen!
I believe all the Magistrates and the Judge Executive would agree that this administration has been characterized with a “Spirit of Cooperation” with the Court’s Magistrates, Judge Executive and leaders throughout the area.
I must say that I have been proud to work with the others in this administration including close work with the Deputy Judge, other workers in all departments of the government and with agencies throughout the community. While we Magistrates often times get the celebration, or blame, we know that if it wasn't for the front line people working on a daily basis to make us look good we would be nowhere near where we are now.
Among these achievements some that I feel closest to and most proud of include:
Updated Roads:
Bringing long un-maintained roads in the 5th District into the road system and improving those roads.
There are some roads in this district that haven't been paved for decades. I worked with others to set a clear process to assist residents in bringing the roads into the county system and creating a way to ease the burden on those citizens in paying for that process.
Some other roads that had long ago cleared the challenges to be brought into the system but were never cleared are now in the process of being brought back to their proper condition and officially cleared as County maintained roads.
And yet again... some roads that were clearly in our system but often neglected are now being taken care of just like all the others in our county.
I am proud to have been an active part of this process.
Flooding on Ash Ave:
While we haven't solved this problem yet we have moved forward with different agencies in finding money from the state budget to address this long known issue. We have secured funding for some temporary improvements and will permanently address others when we finalized the Ash Ave bypass which will move most of Ash out of the flood area.
Ash Ave Bypass:
I want to recognize JE Voegele and Deputy JE John Black (And Magistrate Logsdon for keeping the fight up to insure the funding stays there) for their leadership in bringing this project back to the table. It was one of the key issues I wanted to address when I got into office and they pro-actively worked to get it done within months of us going into office. Since those initial steps I have actively worked to discuss the planning with the State and to keep the pressure on our Legislators at the state level (Including assistance from our legislators from Jefferson County) in finding the full funding for this and keeping it on the active road project list.
I won't stop until we bring this bypass to the Southern part of the County that will connect the Gene Snyder to Ash Ave, down by Hawley Gibson Rd. I want to stop the dangerous pass-through traffic in Village Green and improve the way of life of those in that neighborhood.
Public Safety Issues on our roads:
During my term on the Safety Committee we have actively worked with local and regional groups, including many bike groups and charities, to improve our public safety and make a clear process for groups that want to use our roads and neighborhoods for events that block our roads. We have insisted that the larger events have a safe setup, operations manned by our Police and warning to the Citizens and a process they can go through to appeal the plans of these events if there are safety and convenience concerns.
Pro-active leadership:
I haven't just sat around waiting for the phone to ring... I have been a solid results driven leader that people from the 5th District can count on to actively look for issues to fix in our local government. In fact people from all over the County have seen me as a resource and asked me to work on issues throughout our area. I am proud to say that I have been told by leaders in my area that I am one of the most active and successful Magistrates. Additionally, I am a proven Conservative Leader, as Vice Chair of the Republican Party... I am honored to be your Magistrate... to be YOUR VOICE ON THE FISCAL COURT!
I don't keep a list of these things... but I do believe that my tenure has had a long term positive effect on the County... and I will keep that up moving forward!
Updated Roads:
Bringing long un-maintained roads in the 5th District into the road system and improving those roads.
There are some roads in this district that haven't been paved for decades. I worked with others to set a clear process to assist residents in bringing the roads into the county system and creating a way to ease the burden on those citizens in paying for that process.
Some other roads that had long ago cleared the challenges to be brought into the system but were never cleared are now in the process of being brought back to their proper condition and officially cleared as County maintained roads.
And yet again... some roads that were clearly in our system but often neglected are now being taken care of just like all the others in our county.
I am proud to have been an active part of this process.
Flooding on Ash Ave:
While we haven't solved this problem yet we have moved forward with different agencies in finding money from the state budget to address this long known issue. We have secured funding for some temporary improvements and will permanently address others when we finalized the Ash Ave bypass which will move most of Ash out of the flood area.
Ash Ave Bypass:
I want to recognize JE Voegele and Deputy JE John Black (And Magistrate Logsdon for keeping the fight up to insure the funding stays there) for their leadership in bringing this project back to the table. It was one of the key issues I wanted to address when I got into office and they pro-actively worked to get it done within months of us going into office. Since those initial steps I have actively worked to discuss the planning with the State and to keep the pressure on our Legislators at the state level (Including assistance from our legislators from Jefferson County) in finding the full funding for this and keeping it on the active road project list.
I won't stop until we bring this bypass to the Southern part of the County that will connect the Gene Snyder to Ash Ave, down by Hawley Gibson Rd. I want to stop the dangerous pass-through traffic in Village Green and improve the way of life of those in that neighborhood.
Public Safety Issues on our roads:
During my term on the Safety Committee we have actively worked with local and regional groups, including many bike groups and charities, to improve our public safety and make a clear process for groups that want to use our roads and neighborhoods for events that block our roads. We have insisted that the larger events have a safe setup, operations manned by our Police and warning to the Citizens and a process they can go through to appeal the plans of these events if there are safety and convenience concerns.
Pro-active leadership:
I haven't just sat around waiting for the phone to ring... I have been a solid results driven leader that people from the 5th District can count on to actively look for issues to fix in our local government. In fact people from all over the County have seen me as a resource and asked me to work on issues throughout our area. I am proud to say that I have been told by leaders in my area that I am one of the most active and successful Magistrates. Additionally, I am a proven Conservative Leader, as Vice Chair of the Republican Party... I am honored to be your Magistrate... to be YOUR VOICE ON THE FISCAL COURT!
I don't keep a list of these things... but I do believe that my tenure has had a long term positive effect on the County... and I will keep that up moving forward!
I AM NOT DONE...
I want to do more. I have a long list of ideas for the County and I hope you will trust me with 4 more years to work on these issues/ideas:
JD's little list of Oldham ideas.
Thinks I want to see in Oldham County. Need help finding funding for them or people to champion the causes:
(not in any order, just free thinking off top of my head and in my little notebook of ideas I have saved.)
1. Amphitheater. Preferably one that seats at least 500 people. At first it can be a natural earth one, but would like to see a more advanced one in the future. Think the Bardstown Steven Foster story location. Would like it in Wendel Moore Park or in Crestwood area.
2. 300-400 Japanese Cherry Trees planted along Commerce Parkway and in Oldham Reserve (once it has the infrastructure of the roads installed). And in the future, a Cherry Blossom Festival in Oldham.
3. Marine Corps JROTC in our schools. At least one, but preferably two. One at South Oldham HS.
4. A cabinet in the Fiscal Court building that shows samples all the items that are manufactured in the County. This can include pictures of items that are key industries too (like Horse racing). This will showcase our community’s key resources.
5. A Cartoon style map that highlights tourist attractions and key businesses in the County.
6. A new, much larger, library in South Oldham, Crestwood Area. (and one up north in conjunction with the Lions club)
7. Improvements to the YMCA to make it more like the Norton Common Y.
8. A large, Class A, building in Oldham Reserve that can be a shared office suite and incubator for new businesses in the County. And people to invest in this!
9. Expansion of the Train museum and area. (that might include a move of the Chamber to some other place, I would like to see it in Oldham Reserve, inside a nice new building with a bunch of other new businesses, see #8)
10. County-wide Wet vote.
11. A premium outlet mall in Oldham Reserve... with other shopping.
12. A Fancy Farm type (but more polite) political event before Oldham County Day each year! Something to attract people from the entire state and maybe national news.
13. More artists in LaGrange. Get artists from Louisville to have small working schools and studios out in the countryside of LaGrange for their summer retreats. Have an Artist Community.
14. More music festivals, with names that attract people from Louisville to spend a day in Oldham listening to a diversity of players.
15. A world class skeet and sporting clays range. (I have a great place to put it)… that would attract events from all over the region.
16. See Apple Patch’s expansion blossom and the new Tarc and Park.
17. More Parks and Park resources for the community. Like sports parks that can handle tournaments (thinking mostly baseball and soccer, but others too)
18. More widening of roads to accommodate alternative exercise, bikes, runners etc. This could include more sidewalks and paths.
19. A place that is similar in design to Norton's Common. (what I would like the Reserve to look like).
20. A sister city program (or two) with a city in Japan. (Interested in getting more of those Japanese Companies in KY to move here. There are many who bring a significant revenues to our state and jobs.)
That is my top 20 list.... Of course those are all possible, some more quickly than others, but we will need people to champion the causes and fund them (Govt can’t be expected to fund all/most of these things).
There are also other initiatives I have for the County that involve improvements to our infrastructure, our accountability to the Citizens and long term improvements to our everyday life… but those are too many to name here. (Two that I am looking forward to are the Old Henry Extension and the Overpass/exit ramps to Oldham Reserve.)
~ #1 is MORE BUSINESSES IN OLDHAM RESERVE.
Who else has an idea for Oldham… and the desire to work on it?
(coming soon. I had a long list, but I want to put only the most current...)
I want to do more. I have a long list of ideas for the County and I hope you will trust me with 4 more years to work on these issues/ideas:
JD's little list of Oldham ideas.
Thinks I want to see in Oldham County. Need help finding funding for them or people to champion the causes:
(not in any order, just free thinking off top of my head and in my little notebook of ideas I have saved.)
1. Amphitheater. Preferably one that seats at least 500 people. At first it can be a natural earth one, but would like to see a more advanced one in the future. Think the Bardstown Steven Foster story location. Would like it in Wendel Moore Park or in Crestwood area.
2. 300-400 Japanese Cherry Trees planted along Commerce Parkway and in Oldham Reserve (once it has the infrastructure of the roads installed). And in the future, a Cherry Blossom Festival in Oldham.
3. Marine Corps JROTC in our schools. At least one, but preferably two. One at South Oldham HS.
4. A cabinet in the Fiscal Court building that shows samples all the items that are manufactured in the County. This can include pictures of items that are key industries too (like Horse racing). This will showcase our community’s key resources.
5. A Cartoon style map that highlights tourist attractions and key businesses in the County.
6. A new, much larger, library in South Oldham, Crestwood Area. (and one up north in conjunction with the Lions club)
7. Improvements to the YMCA to make it more like the Norton Common Y.
8. A large, Class A, building in Oldham Reserve that can be a shared office suite and incubator for new businesses in the County. And people to invest in this!
9. Expansion of the Train museum and area. (that might include a move of the Chamber to some other place, I would like to see it in Oldham Reserve, inside a nice new building with a bunch of other new businesses, see #8)
10. County-wide Wet vote.
11. A premium outlet mall in Oldham Reserve... with other shopping.
12. A Fancy Farm type (but more polite) political event before Oldham County Day each year! Something to attract people from the entire state and maybe national news.
13. More artists in LaGrange. Get artists from Louisville to have small working schools and studios out in the countryside of LaGrange for their summer retreats. Have an Artist Community.
14. More music festivals, with names that attract people from Louisville to spend a day in Oldham listening to a diversity of players.
15. A world class skeet and sporting clays range. (I have a great place to put it)… that would attract events from all over the region.
16. See Apple Patch’s expansion blossom and the new Tarc and Park.
17. More Parks and Park resources for the community. Like sports parks that can handle tournaments (thinking mostly baseball and soccer, but others too)
18. More widening of roads to accommodate alternative exercise, bikes, runners etc. This could include more sidewalks and paths.
19. A place that is similar in design to Norton's Common. (what I would like the Reserve to look like).
20. A sister city program (or two) with a city in Japan. (Interested in getting more of those Japanese Companies in KY to move here. There are many who bring a significant revenues to our state and jobs.)
That is my top 20 list.... Of course those are all possible, some more quickly than others, but we will need people to champion the causes and fund them (Govt can’t be expected to fund all/most of these things).
There are also other initiatives I have for the County that involve improvements to our infrastructure, our accountability to the Citizens and long term improvements to our everyday life… but those are too many to name here. (Two that I am looking forward to are the Old Henry Extension and the Overpass/exit ramps to Oldham Reserve.)
~ #1 is MORE BUSINESSES IN OLDHAM RESERVE.
Who else has an idea for Oldham… and the desire to work on it?
(coming soon. I had a long list, but I want to put only the most current...)
