Neighbors in Bourbon County are quickly growing concerned about a proposal to build an airport at Bluegrass Station, allowing the government to use eminent domain to acquire farmland if finalized.
Officials have been planning the project for years, but neighbors are only getting wind of it now. They have already begun to band together to devise a plan to stop the project.
According to a report presented in late 2022 to the Kentucky General Assembly, the state, or developer in connection to the state, is initially expected to acquire 2,000 acres for the project. The report states that up to 2,000 more acres could be obtained later, depending on market conditions.
To acquire the land, the government would use eminent domain. It means that even if landowners don't want to sell their land, they'll be forced to.
As outlined in the report, the runway would be 7,800 feet long, nearly 800 feet longer than the main runway at Bluegrass Airport in Lexington.
According to the report, the project would create 3,000 to 6,000 permanent jobs and include 1.4 billion in airfield and airpark infrastructure and development. New buildings would include space for defense contractors, aerospace companies, and warehouses. There would be space for general aviation (non-military) airplanes.
One of the farms in the area designated for future development in the proposal is Daisy Acres Farm. There, 25 mostly retired thoroughbred and broodmare horses live. UK Hospital Nurse Eleanor Stilson and her family bought the farm in 2018. Her home is also on the property.
At current market rates, she doesn't believe she’d be able to afford another local farm and would be forced to leave Central Kentucky.
“If I lose it, I’m never going to get anything like this again; I just don’t know where my animals will go, I don’t know where my employees will go, I don’t know where my barn cats are gonna go, I don’t know where my neighbors are gonna go,” Stilson said. “These aren't 100,000 dollar thoroughbreds; these are thoroughbreds nobody wants.”
She learned about the proposal from one of her neighbors late last week.
Her neighbor Rebecca Rigney, who also owns a horse farm, said the plan has left her angry.
“I see this as a land grab for multimillion-dollar companies. Nobody around here has been allowed to develop," Rigney said, growing emotional. “So as for the citizens, we can't do it, but these multimillion dollar companies can come in and take our land, take us off of our home where I have raised all of my children; I met my husband at the front door, I have said goodbye to my favorite horses on this land."
Stilson said she reached out to Governor Andy Beshear's office, who directed her toward Steve Collins, the executive director of Bluegrass Station.
In an email responding to her, Collins said research found the addition of an airport at Bluegrass Station would significantly boost the local economy and serve the nation's defense needs.
"It is very important to note that this report does not constitute a plan," Collins wrote. "Currently, the Department of Military Affairs is awaiting the conclusion of the current [state] legislative budgeting process to determine next steps."
Collins said he expects a firm timetable won't be set until March/early April. The next phase of their due diligence will include "further study about interest from private partners as well as stakeholder and public involvement activities to discuss anticipated benefits and impacts of a potential project," Collins wrote.
When Stilson asked about her property, Collins told her she was not in the immediate purchase area.
"The landside development would come sometime later if needed," Collins wrote.
Even if she isn't forced to sell her land, she said she still fears decreasing property values, increasing noise, and traffic.
The Kentucky legislature requested feasibility studies and reports over the past two legislative sessions about whether adding an airport at Bluegrass Station would be economically viable. If private partners could develop new infrastructure, Collins wrote.
Lawmakers allocated $500,000 toward work on the project in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
LEX 18 reached out to Collins directly. We have not yet heard back.
According to the 2022 report, Bourbon County Judge/Executive Mike Williams said county elected officials support the project.
We also reached out to Williams and have not yet heard back.
The current Bluegrass Station provides supplies, uniforms, and tactical equipment to more than 700,000 service members, the report says. However, per the report, their ability to support troops has been capped by the lack of an airport.
Rigney says, if nothing else, the soil itself is unique.
"This soil is where you raise the best horses in the country," Rigney said. "That is what Kentucky is for, and we're just going to steal it away to land some airplanes... It makes no sense."
