Oldham County judge announces task force after Western Hospitality data-center withdrawal

Oldham County Judge Executive David Vogel announced on July 15 that a task force will review the county's handling of a proposed Western Hospitality Partners data center after the company withdrew permit applications.

Vogel said the task force, to be chaired by Deputy Judge Kevin Nuss, will review the past six months of events, identify missteps by the county and by Western Hospitality Partners, recommend how the county should respond to large-scale business opportunities not clearly covered by current ordinances, and advise whether certain types or sizes of data centers should be permissible in Oldham County. Vogel said he expects the task force to finish its work by the time a temporary moratorium on related activity concludes later this year.

Vogel framed the announcement as an effort to move past a contentious local debate that he said cost the county potential revenue. "When the company left, they also took with them a lot of money, possibly more than $100,000,000 in future tax revenue spread across the entire county, including nearly $6,000,000 a year for the Board of Education," he said. Vogel added that some public rhetoric directed at the company had been "unnecessary and an embarrassment to Oldham County," and urged the community to "recommit to stepping forward together, not as winners or losers, but as neighbors."

The judge described the committee's charge as both a review of the recent episode and a forward-looking effort to draft policy. Vogel said the panel will "identify and offer corrections for missteps which were made on our part, and possibly by Western Hospitality as well, determine how the county should respond in the future to any new large scale business opportunities which are not specifically identified in our county ordinances, and make recommendations as to which type and size of data centers, if any, might be acceptable in the future development of Oldham County." He named Deputy Judge Kevin Nuss as chair.

During the meeting a resident, Don Erler of 4005 Old Highway 53, thanked the court for a moratorium put in place at an earlier meeting and asked whether the task-force appointments would be made public. Vogel replied that invitations have gone out and the membership will be made public.

The task force was announced from the bench; no formal motion or formal recorded vote to create the panel was recorded in the meeting transcript. Vogel said the panel is intended to report by the moratorium's conclusion later this year and to recommend how similar proposals should be handled in the future.

The announcement follows several earlier agenda items and public discussion related to private-road maintenance and a proposed partial closure of Old Coach Road, both of which were tabled or removed pending further review and committee appointments.