Great Scott!
Georgetown-Scott County has the perfect mix of progress and tradition

“Scott County is the best place in the world to live,” said George Lusby, county judge executive. “That’s my motto. I’ve been saying it for years.”

And just what makes Georgetown-Scott County such a great place?

“People here work together,” Lusby said. “Here, the city and county governments don’t work against each other. Instead, we share common goals. These two local governments partner with the Scott County school system, the Chamber of Commerce, Georgetown College and local industry. It makes for a wonderful community.”

Georgetown Mayor Everette Varney wholeheartedly agrees.

“We are very fortunate here,” Varney said. “I get comments almost every day from officials from other cities on how Georgetown has been so blessed with our people, location and industry. There’s a sense of cooperation and teamwork here that you just don’t find in very many other places.”

Both Lusby and Varney value the relationship the local governments have with the county school system and Georgetown College. Scott is possibly the only Kentucky county where the judge executive and the mayor of the county seat have both served as educators and school principals. Mayor Varney also is a former championship basketball and baseball coach.

“Being an educator has afforded me the opportunity to grow in my dealings with people,” Varney said. “As an educator, you’re faced with all different types of problems. You’re faced challenges from the classroom, parents and all other directions. As educators, George and I are experienced in problem-solving and team-building on just about every level.”

The judge executive said he also values his years of experience as a teacher. “In order to be any good at teaching, you have to be good at learning,” Lusby said. “And in order to be any good at learning, you have to know how to listen. A big part of creating successful partnerships is to be willing to close your mouth and listen to the other guy. When you try to understand others, they’ll try and understand you. That’s the starting place from which a lot can be accomplished.”

Both leaders admit that they are fortunate for the tax base generated by Scott County’s generous manufacturing presence (40-plus plants, including Georgetown’s immense Toyota Motor Manufacturing facility on Cherry Blossom Way). “I only wish that other towns our size could have the tax base and industry support they we have it here in Georgetown,” Varney said.

That broad tax base has resulted in the installation of an impressive infrastructure that goes a long way in making Georgetown-Scott County an even more impressive place to live, work or do business.

“Within a year, we’ll have city water lines along every county road in Scott County,” Lusby said. “Every person living near a county road will have water from the Georgetown municipal water system. Along with that, we have just finished repairing or replacing every substandard bridge in this county – we used to have about 50 of them. Now there’s not a bridge in this whole county that can’t be crossed by a fire truck or a school bus. We’ve enhanced our 911 services and have paramedics on all ambulances serving the county and an enlarged emergency management agency as well.

“One of the biggest areas of improvement we’ve had has been our parks system,” added Scott County’s judge executive. “The county has doubled its park space. We’ve added an $8 million health pavilion with two pools, two gymnasiums and walking tracks along Elkhorn Creek. Next on the agenda is a 300-acre reservoir with a 1200-acre park around it. It should be built around the next three years.”

Strong indicators of Scott County’s cooperative spirit are the 17 government agencies its government jointly administers and funds with the city of Georgetown. The county boasts a progressive planning and zoning commission that prevents unwise or unsafe development.

“They have one of the better plans in the nation for development in a county like ours,” Lusby said. “We will always have the beautiful countryside here.”

But has success and growth spoiled Georgetown? The answer is a resounding “no!”

“Maybe the greatest thing we’ve maintained is our values,” Lusby said. “I attribute that to the churches in Scott County and the leaders they provide.”

Georgetown’s mayor said that the area’s spirit of cooperation had helped preserve the area’s hometown feel.

“Georgetown has kept its character,” Varney said. “The people here are so friendly and dedicated. We couldn’t have accomplished half of what we wanted if our citizens didn’t have good, old-fashioned small-town values.”

Both Varney and Lusby say that the area’s manufacturers, especially Toyota, have been good neighbors.

“Toyota is so big, it could really dominate things if its management wanted,” Varney said. “Instead, they’ve been community-minded. They are always looking for ways to make this a better place for everyone – not just for themselves.”


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