Call to Order and Roll Call
The 5th meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Economic Development and Tourism was held on Thursday, November 17, 2016, at 1:00 PM, in Room 169 of the Capitol Annex. Representative John Short, Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Senator Alice Forgy Kerr, Co-Chair; Representative John Short, Co-Chair; Senators Perry B. Clark, Denise Harper Angel, Ernie Harris, and Wil Schroder; Representatives Lynn Bechler, Kevin D. Bratcher, George Brown Jr., Hubert Collins, Leslie Combs, Tim Couch, Mike Denham, Jeffery Donohue, Myron Dossett, Chris Harris, Richard Heath, Cluster Howard, Kim King, Brian Linder, Tom McKee, Terry Mills, David Osborne, Dean Schamore, Arnold Simpson, Fitz Steele, Wilson Stone, Jeff Taylor, Russell Webber, and Jill York.
Guests: Donnie Holland, Commissioner, Rob Richards, Deputy Commissioner, and Gil Lawson, Public Information Officer, all with Department of Parks; David Ledford, President and CEO, Appalachian Wildlife Foundation; Karen Waldrop, Deputy Commissioner, Fish and Wildlife; Debbie Spencer, President, WMTH Corporation; J.L. Smith, Breathitt County Judge Executive.
LRC Staff: John Buckner, Chip Smith, and Karen Brady.
Minutes
A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes from the October meeting and carried by voice vote.
Kentucky State Parks “Refreshing the Finest”
Over a year ago, the Kentucky State Park system identified $241 million in deferred maintenance and repair needs. During the 2016 Session, an additional $18 million in capital funding was approved by the General Assembly.
The Department has begun work on 51 projects, and have completed numerous safety and aesthetic projects at six parks. The work of the Refreshing the Finest campaign will continue throughout most of 2017. Commissioner Holland stated that all projects are on time and on budget.
Commissioner Holland spoke on new things that the Department is doing to improve the parks. The parks now have expanded reservation capabilities through Expedia and other online platforms, and this has already generated $100,000 in new sales. Digital marketing has been enhanced. All lodges will remain open seven days a week this winter. Nine parks now have alcohol sales and this will be expanded to 12 resort parks by early 2017.
In response to a question from Representative McKee, Commissioner Holland addressed siltation problems at some of the lakes at state parks. He stated that this was a predictable problem, and one that will have to be watched and monitored in the future.
Appalachian Wildlife Center
The Appalachian Wildlife Center plans to open in June of 2019, in Bell County. It is located on 12,000 acres, of which 5,000 have been mined and reclaimed. Elk will be the marquee species for viewing. David Ledford stated that in the fifth year, the center will host 638,000 annual visitors, who will spend $124 million annually in the region. This amount of spending should equate to 2,000 jobs created for the region.
The center has a $24.5 million capital expense budget, and is over halfway there. This year it has raised $15.1 million, and has also received several grants ($1.8 million Appalachian Regional Commission Power Initiative grant and $12.5 million Abandoned Mine Lands Pilot Project grant).
The Wildlife Center will reach over 100,000 students a year (K-12) with educational programs. Mr. Ledford stated they are going to hire school teachers to design the programs. It is also going to fund $200,000 in college scholarships each year.
The center is being modeled from a similar venture in Pennsylvania, which has had huge success. Mr. Ledford is confident that the Appalachian Wildlife Center can exceed the Pennsylvania results. The Appalachian Wildlife Center will be much bigger, and also have a broader range of activities, such as birdwatching and a 15-20 mile scenic drive. Mr. Ledford also emphasized the center’s location, which is within an hour of three interstates.
Mr. Ledford stated that by its tenth year, regional economic impact will surpass $1 billion.
Multistate Trail System
Debbie Spencer spoke on developing a trail system in eastern Kentucky. She gave examples of places in Virginia and West Virginia that have done this, and spoke about the economic investment, jobs, and tourism it has brought to those areas.
Southeast Kentucky has over 600 miles of public ATV trails already in existence, and over 200 miles of horse trails. If Kentucky were to add trails for motorcycles, canoes, hiking, and biking, it would far exceed anything that Virginia or West Virginia offers.
Ms. Spencer stated there are 19 counties in the southeast region of the state that are under a coalition and partnered together. Sixteen of them have passed resolutions that they want to work together, but in order to do so they need an Authority.
Ms. Spencer emphasized the fact that Kentucky already has trails in place, it is just missing out on charging a fee to use them. Once Kentucky has an Authority in place, Virginia and West Virginia would like to partner with Kentucky.
In response to comments from Representative Collins, Ms. Spencer stated that if the Authority gets formed, it would market the trails in eastern Kentucky.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.