Millpond: Excuses Are Not a Development Plan

By T.W. Shortt | Focus on Finance | August 2026

For more than two decades, Radcliff residents have heard explanations for why the Millpond Business Center has failed to produce the economic-development results originally promised.

The property was too hilly. Interstate access was too far away. Elizabethtown had better transportation connections. More grading was needed. More money was needed. Leadership changed, and prospects went elsewhere.

Some of those explanations may be legitimate. But after enough years pass, explanations become excuses—and excuses are not a development plan.

Based on historical reporting and firsthand knowledge, the North Hardin Economic Development Authority, commonly known as NHEDA, appears to have been structurally weakened from the beginning. It was given a major mission without the dependable staffing, financing, authority, and accountability necessary to accomplish it.

NHEDA was expected to market Millpond, recruit employers, prepare sites, develop incentive packages, maintain relationships with state officials, and coordinate with local government. Those responsibilities require experienced, full-time economic-development professionals.

Instead, the authority eventually moved away from employing an executive director and increasingly depended upon board members, volunteers, limited staff, and assistance from city employees.

Industrial recruitment is not a part-time civic project. Communities competing for employers use professional recruiters, engineers, utility representatives, financial specialists, and site-development experts. A volunteer board cannot reasonably compete at that level.

Accountability was also divided.

For years, NHEDA operated at arm’s length from the mayor and Radcliff City Council. Independence can protect an authority from political interference, but it can also create confusion about who is responsible for results.

The authority could say it needed funding, grading, infrastructure, or city approval. City officials could respond that they had already provided public money and expected jobs in return.

The 2010 grading dispute exposed that weakness. NHEDA requested approximately $800,000 to grade about 40 acres. The city council reduced the amount and narrowly approved roughly $475,000. The authority later declined the funding, and the project did not move forward.

That was more than a disagreement over money. Decision-making authority was divided, while responsibility for failure remained unclear.

NHEDA’s funding was equally unstable. The authority relied heavily on yearly government allocations, farm leases, timber sales, and other limited revenue. An organization dependent upon annual appropriations cannot confidently maintain professional staff, market property over several years, or commit to major site improvements.

Leadership turnover created another problem. Executive Director Brad Richardson resigned in 2011, and the authority chose not to replace him. At the same time, the organization carried substantial debt and reportedly borrowed money to meet payroll, benefits, and interest obligations.

Under Chairman Mike Weaver, NHEDA reduced debt, sold timber, leased farmland, cleared property, and improved its financial position. Those were responsible actions, but they were primarily financial triage.

The authority had gradually become a land-management and debt-reduction organization rather than an aggressive industrial-recruitment operation.

Millpond unquestionably faced physical disadvantages. It lacked direct rail and interstate access and did not offer the naturally flat land available in some competing communities.

But recognizing disadvantages is not the same as creating a strategy to overcome them.

If Millpond could not compete for large industries, Radcliff needed a clearly defined alternative: smaller manufacturers, defense contractors, suppliers serving Fort Knox and Glendale, skilled-trade businesses, technology firms, or professional offices.

Instead, too much time was spent debating who should pay, who was responsible, and why development was difficult.

NHEDA was eventually dissolved, and Millpond returned to direct city control. That resolved the question of ownership, but not necessarily the question of accountability.

Radcliff does not need another explanation of why Millpond has been difficult to develop. It needs a realistic plan, professional leadership, measurable goals, a timeline, and a responsible party.

After more than twenty years, the public deserves results—not more excuses.

Tags: Radcliff KY development.