Judge rebuts online claims about Yokohama sale, outlines purchase price, grants and local investment

At a regular meeting the judge publicly addressed what he described as misinformation circulating online about the proposed Yokohama facility transaction and related economic-development work.

The court’s summary: the judge said the purchase price for the facility is under contract for $8.5 million and that an appraisal supported that valuation. He said the city and county received a $2 million Kentucky Product Development Initiative grant (a no-payback grant) and that a $100,000 opportunity grant from Kentucky Utilities will help cover due diligence and reduce the local investment required to $6.5 million after grant offsets. The judge said city and county occupational tax receipts from Yokohama had previously contributed roughly a combined half-million dollars per year before the employer reduced jobs.

The judge also disputed online claims that the county’s economic-development consultant, MWM Consulting (Lucas Wit), was acting as the commissioned real-estate agent or taking an outsized commission. He said public documents show the commissioned agent is the firm Block and Lot and that Peter Bar (identified in public documents) is the owner of that firm; MWM Consulting may have an affiliation with Block and Lot but is not listed as the commissioned agent on the public sale documents.

The judge urged fact-based discussion and cautioned against ad hominem attacks on consultants and staff. He invited members of the public to review the public documents he cited and encouraged questions at public meetings.