Friends of Huntertown ask county for additional pavilion funding; fiscal court approves unbudgeted contribution

Friends of Huntertown representatives asked the Woodford County Fiscal Court on a June meeting night to provide additional funding to complete a pavilion, restroom and parking for Huntertown Community Interpretive Park. The court approved an unbudgeted contribution by unanimous vote.

Sue Finny, speaking for the Friends of Huntertown, told the court that bids came in higher than earlier estimates and that a recent bid for the bathrooms, parking and pavilion totaled $686,900. She said the volunteer-run nonprofit increased its own pledge from an originally planned $25,000 to $100,000 and that Versailles–Woodford Parks and Recreation pledged $50,000. "We have had trackers in the park…7,300 people have walked into Huntertown Park since January 19th," Finny said, citing pedestrian-and-vehicle counts her group collected.

Finny described the pavilion as the project’s first priority and said it would provide accessible parking, restroom facilities and a covered space for community events and education about the site’s African-American history. "This pavilion will be an incredible gift to this community," she said.

Squire Gil and others praised the volunteer hours supporting the park; Finny said the group logged roughly 1,500 on-site volunteer hours this year and an estimated 7,600 hours since the project began.

During the meeting the request for county assistance was characterized as an unbudgeted expenditure. The transcript includes multiple numeric references to the county contribution (at different points speakers referenced $102,795, $12,795 and $11,545). The court approved a motion to provide the county contribution as presented; the motion was moved by Squire Blackford, seconded by Squire Gil, and carried unanimously. The court did not provide an on-the-record reconciliation of the differing numbers during the meeting.

The project team said it also will seek matching support from the city of Versailles and from a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant; Friends of Huntertown representative Rich Pictor and park staff said they expect additional fundraising to complete the scope outlined in the winning bid. The court’s approval authorizes the county’s portion to be expended when expenses are ready to be processed.

Next steps: project drawings, preconstruction planning and grant administration work will follow; the presenters asked the court to allow the county and project partners to move forward so construction can begin in time for the park’s fifth anniversary celebration.