Some Oldham County residents want more say over growth

OLDHAM CO., KY. (WDRB) -- It's neighbor versus neighbor in one Oldham County community, and the fallout from this fight could lead to Kentucky's newest city.

Rich farmland, sprawling nurseries and houses that look like they've been plucked from the pages of Home and Garden Magazine -- they're all nestled away in the north end of Oldham County.

Gary Keibler owns Hemmer Hill Farm. He's among two thirds of the property owners in the area petitioning the court to make the Village of Brownsboro its own city. "We know there's going to be growth, that's a given. We would like to have a little more say-so about how that growth occurs."

Boundaries would run from I-71 around exit 14 to Harrods Creek, affecting roughly 450 Oldham County residents.

Bessie Klein lives less than a mile away from Keibler, and says plenty of her neighbors are fighting the separation: "I can't see anything that incorporation would provide us with that we don't already have," she says.

They're even filing a motion to block it. Klein explains, "We'd have to have another level of government. We would have to pay city taxes as well as county taxes."

An overgrown field is actually the driving force behind the debate. Oldham County Schools plans to build an elementary school there. Some residents fought against it and lost. Those are the same people trying to form a new city.

But school leaders say new city or not, they're going to clear away the weeds and break ground on the new school this summer. Oldham Co. School Supt. Paul Upchurch says, "As a school board and as a district, we have to do what is best for the students."

Poised for a showdown, the two sides filled Oldham County Circuit Court Friday morning -- city supporters on one side, opponents on the other.

Both hit a roadblock, with Judge Karen Conrad announcing, "I will be recusing from this case...There are conflicts all over the place for me."

With the future unsure, the quiet calm of a country community is no more. "I'm not sure I'll continue to live there," Klein says.

Apparently all the judges in Oldham County have a conflict of interest on this case because of the number of petitioners. A special judge from another county will be appointed to preside.

A new hearing date has not been set.