Story - The Meade County Messenger

Local road show participants buoyed by responses

By LARRY SEE JR.
Messenger Staff

Meade County was being promoted throughout the United States last month.

Members of the Meade County Area Chamber of Commerce and local business and governmental representatives touted the county’s attributes to those relocating as part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.

While relocation decisions, in some respects are still several months away, participants had plenty of questions.

“I was overwhelmed,” said Amy Haynes, who represented the city of Brandenburg on three of the five BRAC visits. “They were much more interested and seeking more detailed information. I think we were much better received.”

Several prospective candidates already had done research, asking specific questions on home prices, the quality of schools, housing prices and the distance to cultural events.

Haynes’ comments were echoed by Greg Beavin, Farm Bureau Insurance agency manager and the lead Chamber representative at two of the five events.

County Judge Executive Harry Craycroft, who attended four of the five visits, said it looked like several soldiers and their counterparts would choose Meade County as their next home.

“They were very receptive and appreciative of the information,” Beavin said. “We made sure all of the information they wanted they got.”

Beavin said some questions centered around taxes.

All discussed mileage in distances rather than times.

“In places like Indianapolis and St. Louis to go 15 miles it takes one hour,” Beavin said.

Craycroft said during the Indianapolis stop, he got the impression people were looking for one-bedroom apartments, only to return to their former residences later.

“In Alexandria and Fort Monroe I got some real good feelings from them,” Craycroft said. “A lot are coming and they’re interested in the area. They’re willing to make a visit and drive around. I felt good about these two places.”

“In St. Louis I had the same feeling,” Craycroft continued. “People were going to look over the area. A lot were impressed with some things which Meade County could offer. They were impressed with Doe Valley and the idea of a gated community,”

“We learned to talk in minutes and not in miles,” Haynes said. “Especially in Alexandria, where you travel 20 miles it takes you an hour to get to work.”

“I think everyone who stopped had a genuine interest in Meade County,” Haynes said.

“One guy told me he lived 20 miles from work and it took him two hours to get there,” Craycroft said of a visit from an Alexandria person. “I told him I knew a fellow who worked at Fort Knox, it took him about 25 minutes to get to the post from Brandenburg.”

“A lot of people already know they’re coming,” Beavin said. “They fall into three different categories though.”

The first category are those who are three to four years short of retiring and looking for rental properties, opting to return to their former location following retirement.

The second, Beavin said, are those who expect to make a permanent move, and the third are those who won’t make the move.

“The third group might stay where they are, in part because they might be a two career family and they’ll let their spouse continue their employment,” he said.

Beavin speculated, out of 100 people, 30 to 50 percent would relocate.

“Meade County is very interesting to most people,” Beavin said. “One thing most people wanted to discuss was crime, congestion and traffic. What we tried to do was say Meade County was one of the best kept area secrets.”

Beavin said representatives trumpeted the fact the county was within 20 to 25 minutes from Fort Knox and had ready access to two interstates.

Craycroft added some questions raised at the events dealt with the crime rate, for which participants said the Louisville metro was the seventh lowest in the United States.

“We also said we had the cheapest electric rates in the area,” he said. “The people we talked to were very impressed with our figures.”

“The whole event was very professionally done,” Beavin praised. “The Chamber did an excellent job putting it together and they had great representation. They had a video play during the event, which was narrated by (Meade County public schools) Paul Poole. It was very professional.”

“Many didn’t know much about the area but they were more interested than before,” Haynes said. “They were interested in the schools and what we had in the area to eat.”

“We had a lot of interest and I think it was a good turnout,” she said. “I think it will be a good boost to the population.”

Craycroft said, based on the visits and questions generated, he expected to attract some soldiers locally.

“We dispelled all of the rumors they had heard,” he said. “Overall I think it was very beneficial to us.”

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