Gov. Beshear sounds off on Bluegrass Station expansion as residents rally against project
Gov. Andy Beshear does not support a controversial expansion of Bluegrass Station in Bourbon County despite including some money for the expansion in his two-year budget proposal, he said in a social media post Thursday.
Beshear said he did not want to include money for the possible expansion unless there was local support. Residents of Bourbon County have formed a group to attack the plans for a possible $320 million expansion of Bluegrass Station’s runway.
“I do not and have never supported moving forward with Bluegrass Station project if it is unable to secure local support,” Beshear said in a statement posted to X. “Given the project has never met the threshold of required local support, it should not move forward and I will not support its inclusion in any final budget this year or in the coming years.”
The public-private partnership would allow for thousands of acres in Bourbon County to be added to the footprint of Bluegrass Station, which is controlled by the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs.
The expansion would allow Lockheed Martin, Bluegrass Station’s largest employer, to fix airplanes. The expansion would also allow private aircraft to land at the airport, according to military officials. Lockheed Martin currently fixes helicopters at the site.
Beshear’s two-year budget proposal included $55 million for acquisition of land. The Republican-controlled House budget included more than $320 million for the project. Kentucky Military Affairs officials have said state bond money could be used for the $55 million but that a private entity could repay the state. The remaining money would not be taxpayer dollars.
Many Bourbon County residents, who said they only learned about the project through the House budget, swiftly condemned the expansion. Project documents indicated the land for the project could be taken by eminent domain, which allows the government to take private land for public use for a price.
Area landowners met Sunday near Bluegrass Station and pledged to fight the project.
Beshear said some local leaders have reversed their support for the project after Bourbon County residents became vocal in their objections to the project.
“Several elected officials who have supported the project both publicly and privately now claim they oppose it,” Beshear said in a statement released on X.
The future of the project may depend on the Republican-controlled Kentucky General Assembly and whether it will continue to fund the project in its two-year budget proposal.
The House passed its version of the budget earlier this month. The Senate has not yet voted on the House version of the budget or released its version of the two-year budget.
