BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Nine months after Frontier Housing leased the speculative building at the Eastern Kentucky Business Park in Debord, Martin County Economic Development Authority Chairman James Ayers said the project has produced neither the jobs nor the activity the board was led to expect.
Speaking at the EDA’s March 11 meeting, Ayers said the Morehead-based nonprofit housing developer should have had at least 42 jobs in place by now.
“They’re the opposite of Boxvana,” he said. “They’ve not hired anybody, they’ve not done anything they said they would do … I’m very disappointed. They either didn’t know what they were doing or they were lying to us from the beginning. They were in a hurry to get things done, get everything signed.”
Frontier has stayed current on its lease payments, but rent alone does not fulfill the purpose of the authority.
“They haven’t missed a beat with their rent payment,” said Ayers. “I appreciate that, and that’s great, but the purpose of this organization is to create an environment that creates jobs. We’re not here to make money.”
The company has not yet begun operating out of the building.
“They’ve not even begun,” Ayers added. “They’ve not moved in. Reality is a lot different from what was presented.”
While Ayers criticized the stalled industrial park project, EDA Director Carolea Mills said the board continues to pursue several smaller-scale efforts. Those focus on downtown revitalization, tourism and support for local entrepreneurs.
Among those efforts is work at the former Martin County Clerk’s Office annex building, where the county is developing what she described as a “collaborative general store.”
“This initiative is designed to create a local retail space for local products, artisans, things of that nature,” Mills said.
The project will create a shared retail and community space in partnership with the Martin County Extension Office, the Martin County Health Department, the Martin County Soil Conservation District, and the Martin County Fiscal Court.
“It’s about establishing a tourism spot, encouraging entrepreneurs and small businesses,” Mills said. “We hope to be able to get that completed by summer so that we can start having farmers markets and those kinds of things.”
Appalachia Reach Out, or ARO, has been providing labor on the project at no cost.
The EDA is also making progress at another of its properties — the former Rockcastle Creek Church on Main Street in Inez, which the authority purchased in 2024.
Mills recently met with Appalachia Reach Out about restoration work at the building.
“I think they’re going to be able to do the work for us for free,” she said. “We talked about that at the last meeting, maybe bidding that out. Let’s see what they can do first. They have a lot of skilled mission teams that come in.”
The group has already made visible progress inside the building.
“They were able to go in, remove two layers of paneling and three layers of ceiling, and restore it to its original condition,” said Mills. “It looks beautiful. All that wood is intact.”
The remaining concern is structural damage at the base of the building.
“The bottom is where the termites had eaten into some of the foundation,” Mills said. “That’s what they’re going to look at replacing. No money has been spent, it’s just been free, and we’re grateful to have them there.”
The EDA has also been in discussions with Foothills Communications about bringing additional investment into Martin County.
“We want to see when some of this investment can come into Martin County,” said Mills. “We want to coordinate that with the water lines so we can put the line underground and not have it in the air. It will be an asset to the community because it will serve all the places that are no longer served. The judge is really encouraged by that.”
Not every effort has moved forward, however.
The EDA was unsuccessful in its application for the Appalachian Kentucky Civic Experiment Grant. The grant would have provided funding for 10 local tourism-related businesses.
Even so, Ayers said he has begun exploring another avenue of support for local entrepreneurs through Shaping Our Appalachian Region, or SOAR. He recently met with Karrigan Bolling of SOAR about the organization’s business accelerator program. He described the program as a resource for would-be business owners seeking technical guidance and startup support.
“Whether you’re trying to get an SBA loan, need help with a business plan or pro formas, they have experts on staff who will do those things,” Ayers said.
Bolling, a Letcher County native who graduated from Eastern Kentucky University last May, appears committed to helping the region.
“She seems really passionate about the region and what she’s doing,” said Ayers. “She knows the area and understands the needs of the area and the people here.”
The Martin County EDA will meet again April 8 at 5:30 p.m.