Request By:
Honorable Ralph E. McClanahan
Estill County Judge/Executive
Courthouse
Irvine, Kentucky 40336
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
Since a new armory will be constructed in Estill County, the old armory property has been conveyed to Estill County by the Commonwealth for no monetary consideration, in order that the county can provide a suitable site for location of new industry in the Ravenna area. See KRS 45.360(7) and 56.463(3).
As a result of this land acquisition, the Estill Fiscal Court has granted an option to Visumatic Industrial products of Lexington, which company plans to develop an additional assembly plant in Estill County. The company under the option has six months to elect to enter into a five year lease of subject county property with fiscal court, which lease would include the two old national guard armory buildings, for $1.00 per year.
Obviously the exercise of the lease and development of an industrial plant would promote employment for the people of Estill County and thus benefit the county as a whole.
Your question is whether such lease and use of the property would be legal.
Any county may convey its surplus realty. KRS 65.010. And the power to sell includes the power to lease.
Abernathy v. City of Irvine, Ky., 355 S.W.2d 159 (1962) 160.
It is well settled that a county or municipality can acquire property through a revenue bond issue and then lease it to an industry for rentals calculated to pay off the acquisition cost. See KRS Chapter 58 and 103;
Faulconer v. City of Danville, Ky., 232 S.W.2d 80 (1950); and § 171, Kentucky Constitution. The court has upheld such use of the statutes as an exercise in public purpose [promoting industrial employment].
Clearly the relief of unemployment or the promotion of industrial employment is a proper governmental purpose. See
Dyche v. City of London, Ky., 288 S.W.2d 648 (1956) 650, 651.
Under the authority of KRS 67.080(8) and 65.010, and considering that the courts have held that relieving unemployment is a public purpose, we are of the opinion that the proposed lease and use of the county's property for industrial purposes would be valid.