Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

The Economic Impact Of Paradise Cove Aquatic Center In Richmond, Kentucky, Laruen Kilburn, Michael J. Bradley, James N. Maples

Faculty Publications - Tourism

One of the most effective ways for rural communities to improve the local economy is by exploring opportunities related to tourism. When communities focus their resources on expanding and improving the tourism industry, it leads to additional opportunities for these communities to increase their revenue, provide jobs and revitalize the local economy. Like many other agencies, the Richmond Parks and Recreation Department has gradually expanded the tourism industry within the City of Richmond in Madison County, Kentucky. To help continue the expansion of this industry, Paradise Cove Aquatic Center opened in 2008. This decision was made because waterparks were becoming …

Disparities In Race, Gender, And Disability Status In Kentucky’S Alternative School Population, Austin Sprinkles

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

A 2018 report by the Government Accountability Office found that certain groups of students, namely, Black male and female students, Hispanic male and female students and male students with disabilities were overrepresented in Alternative Schools nationwide. Using data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2017-18 survey, this project aimed to examine Alternative Schools in Kentucky to understand whether trends that existed at the national level also exist in Kentucky. Additionally, this study examined disproportionality in four subtypes of alternative schools across Kentucky: Academic Alternative, Disciplinary Alternative, Both (Academic & Disciplinary), and Juvenile Justice Facilities. Last, …

The State Of Woodford County’S Assistance Network, Katherine Connair

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study seeks to determine what the overall picture of assistance network serving the Woodford County region is. The goal was to determine if there are any observable gaps in the network and to have a clear understanding of what the assistance network is. Gaps were identified by studying the existing network, surveying network members, and examining publicly available resources. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis was conducted to analysis the whole network. Assistance for this study refers to programs/organizations that provide cash or in-kind benefits/services to people (U.S. Census Bureau). The assistance network is all of the …

Health Impact Of Mountaintop Removal And Federal Air Quality-Related Policies: A Study On Respiratory Disease And Lung Cancer Mortality Rates In Ky, Hannah Harrison

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Coal mining has been a major industry in Central Appalachia for over a century, and in the 1970s, it went through a major transition. In an effort to access coal seams previously inaccessible to traditional underground mining methods, coal companies began to adopt a new extraction method known as mountaintop removal (MTR). This new approach to surface mining involved deforesting a mountaintop and then removing the remaining rock and vegetation that is sitting atop a coal seam via explosives and heaving machinery. Compared to underground mining, MTR released more air pollution than underground mining in the form of particulate matter …

Financial Trends In Kentucky’S Full Service Jails Fy07 To Fy19, Kayla Carter

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Research on jail finances in the United States, in general, and Kentucky, specifically, has been lacking. This capstone describes trends in jail finances in Kentucky. It also examines the legal requirement to house certain state inmates in county jails and the financial burden of this requirement on counties. Uniform Financial Information Reports (UFIRs) data from 58 counties in Kentucky was used to descriptively analyze financial trends in full service jails from fiscal years 2007 to 2019. This data was combined with Kentucky Department of Corrections jail population data from fiscal years 2012 to 2019 to compare financial trends with the …

Communication Strategies’ Impact On Finances At Kentucky Higher Education Institutions During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jacob Most

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky public higher education institutions faced a financial cliff with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (Capilouto, 2021 Jan.). Campuses across the state closed in spring 2020, with the list of unknowns outnumbering the knowns by a significant margin (Monday, E., Blanton, J., and Kiser, K., 2021). In the face of an unknown future, administrations at Kentucky institutes of higher education relied upon communication strategies more than ever to outline Universities’ plans for reopening, reinvented operational plans, outlining contingencies, and fulfilling an invaluable role in efforts to test, contact trace and eventually vaccinate campus and broader community populations. This project …

Special Taxing Districts: An Analysis Of States’ Oversight & Accountability Practices And How Kentucky Could Adopt Best Practices For More Accountability, Kelly Dockter

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Special districts are forms of government that were initially developed from the need to provide specialized services to a growing population with limited tax abilities. Local governments were faced with increasing populations and increasing needs such as health and human services, conservation, sanitation and water, and fire protection to name a few. With the states’ limitations on the tax rate changes, local governments were finding it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of the taxpayers. In many states, legislators recognized this issue and allowed single purpose government-like entities to be created and if they qualified, gave them taxing power. Despite …

Does State And Local Government Employment Promote Tax Revenue Stability? A Look At Kentucky Cities, William Ryan Pennington

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Research shows that public sector jobs are more stable than private sector jobs. This study examines whether tax revenue volatility is affected by the concentration of a city’s economic base in state and local government employment. The relationship between public employment and revenue volatility has not been studied but is relevant as state and local governments have reduced their workforces in the post-Great Recession period. Using panel data on Kentucky cities, I find that the coefficient on state and local government employment concentration is inversely related to tax volatility but is not statistically significant in a fixed effects estimation.

The Effect Of Disability On Unemployment Claim Duration In Kentucky And The Surrounding States, James Tatum

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The duration of unemployment insurance claims in Kentucky are over 30% longer on average than unemployment claims in the surrounding states. This study uses a time-series regression to compare data from Kentucky and the surrounding states to find correlations between unemployment insurance claim duration and the percentage of a state’s population that reports having at least one disability. No significant correlation was found between a state’s population with a disability and unemployment claim duration but there was a significant negative correlation between unemployment claim duration and the total amount of Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income payments people …

Impact Of Kentucky’S Prescription Drug Monitoring Program On Opioid Overdose Fatality Rates, Robert Neal Douglas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the last 7 years, there has been an alarming increase in the number of opioid overdose fatalities in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The increase has occurred despite Kentucky’s passage of a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) as defined by House Bill 1 (HB1) in 2012. Following the passage of Kentucky’s PDMP, heroin and fentanyl surpassed other prescription drugs as the most identified drugs in overdose deaths in Kentucky. Little is known about how the implementation of a PDMP influences the overall opioid overdose fatality rate. The purpose of this quantitative research, using a quasi-experimental design, was to evaluate the relationship …

Miller, Harold Asher, B. 1939 (Mss 679), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 679. Correspondence, speeches, political material and notes related to Harold Asher Miller’s political career, which included several terms on the Bowling Green City Commission and one term as the city’s Mayor in the 1980s. It also includes material related to several Miller campaigns for the Warren County Judge Executive position.

Bowling Green, Kentucky - Waterworks (Sc 3488), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of documents (Click on "Additional Files" below for Manuscripts Small Collection 3488. “Changes in Plans and Specifications for Water Works Improvements, Contracts Nos. 1 to 5, Incl[usive] for the City of Bowling Green, Bowling Green, Kentucky, December 12, 1947.”

Bowling Green, Kentucky - Fire Department (Sc 3489), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of documents (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3489. Compiled correspondence and documents related to the purchase of fire trucks for the cities of Bowling Green and Smiths Grove in Warren County, Kentucky. Most of the material was scanned and is only available in digital format, but a few original letters and documents were retained.

Comparative Spending Of Medicaid Dollars On Child Participants Of Kentucky’S Sobriety Treatment And Recovery Teams Program Versus A Matched Comparison Group., Matthew Thomas Walton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child protective services agencies have long observed the complicating role that parental substance use and addiction plays in cases of child maltreatment. Families who struggle with these problems present unique challenges for child welfare professionals. These families are typically more difficult to engage, more likely to have children removed from the home, and have poorer outcomes when compared to other families. These poorer outcomes often include health problems. Addiction has well-known effects on health, and the specific manifestations of these problems for parents have been documented for years in child protection casework. However, what has been less investigated are the …

Warren County, Kentucky - Area Solid Waste Management Plan (Sc 3315), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3315. Five year update, covering the years 2018-2022, of Warren County, Kentucky’s Area Solid Waste Management Plan. Prepared by the Warren County Fiscal Court, it consists of data and supporting documentation submitted to the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, Division of Waste Management. This collection is in digital format only in TopSCHOLAR.

Camp Paradise - Calloway County, Kentucky (Sc 3322), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3322. Letter, 7 June 1957, to a Mr. Hicks from Sid and Florence Jobs, owners and operators of Camp Paradise at Kentucky Lake, Calloway County, Kentucky, with suggestions on timely scheduling of a reservation. Includes a two-page mimeograph describing the Camp’s location, amenities, lodging facilities and rates; a color postcard of the camp, and black and white photographs of fishermen and of the Camp’s cottages.

An Exploratory Comparison Of Kentucky Public School Districts That Primarily Select The “Compensating Rate”, Andrew J. Wells

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Public school districts in the Commonwealth of Kentucky are primarily funded from federal, state, and local sources. While the proportion of each of these funding sources differs from district to district, the local property tax is one source that is within the control of locally-elected officials: the members of the local Board of Education. While some Boards of Education choose to increase local tax rates to increase local revenue, others do not. This research suggests that property value assessments and median incomes of districts that choose not to increase tax rates are similar. A majority of the counties studied are …

Everybody’S Working (But The Weakened): An Assessment Of Medicaid Work Requirements And Their Administrative Burdens, Samuel Misleh

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Although Medicaid work requirements are currently halted in both Arkansas and Kentucky, this analysis utilizes the data available to make an assessment and estimate of what Kentucky’s Medicaid enrollment will look like if work requirements similar to those Arkansas had are ever implemented. The relative severity of the administrative burden of such requirements provide a tool for comparison, and a difference-in-differences analysis of the change in Medicaid enrollment between Arkansas and West Virginia, a state that has not implemented and currently has no plans to implement Medicaid work requirements, provide the bases for this estimate. After coding the work requirements …

Evaluating The After Effects Of Successful Hazard Mitigation: Calculating The Social Benefit Of London, Kentucky’S Post-Mitigation Creation Of Public Park Space, Christopher Greyson Evans

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

After receiving FEMA hazard mitigation grants to improve weather and water management infrastructure, many communities are able to complete additional capital improvement projects that would not have been possible without the improvements facilitated by FEMA grants. FEMA projects often convert tracts of land to greenspace, or stabilize flood-damaged lands. Many communities then build public parks on such lands as a direct result. Although these parks or greenspaces create a benefit for their communities, FEMA’s methods for post-project evaluation, known as “Loss Avoidance Studies,” do not typically take the costs and benefits of new parks or greenspaces into consideration. From 2011-2015, …

Legalizing Recreational And Medical Marijuana In The State Of Kentucky: A Tax Revenue Recommendation, Drew Barker

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

No executive summary.

Bowling Green, Kentucky - Municipal Bonds (Sc 3248), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3248. “City of Bowling Green, Kentucky Bond Funds Financial Report, June 30, 1981”, a statement prepared by the City’s Department of Finance and Data Processing.

Municipal Responses To The Shifting Environment Of Shopping Mall Retail, Paul Kleier Iii

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Economic development is a vital local government responsibility because it guides the provision of jobs for residents, markets for the purchase of goods, and revenue for the government itself. Shopping malls have been key drivers of local economic activity for decades, but their viability going forward has become uncertain since the turn of the century. This paper considers both reasons for this uncertainty and strategies that have been or can be implemented to improve mall sustainability and profitability. While literature addressing this topic focuses almost exclusively on the role played by mall management, this paper places special emphasis on the …

Lgbtq+ Nondiscrimination Laws In Kentucky., Christopher M Wales

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the political and demographic obstacles facing the Fairness movement in Kentucky in regards to local employment protection ordinances for LGBTQ+ persons (Fairness Ordinances). Using case studies on recent Fairness debates in Berea and Bowling Green, this thesis explores the concern some Kentuckians have about LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination ordinances in their communities. From these cases studies, it can be concluded that many of the concerns espoused by opponents of Fairness are simple scare tactics with no evidence supporting their claims. This thesis then utilizes a logistical regression to uncover what demographic characteristics increase the odds of a municipality possessing …

Southern Kentucky Paddlers Society - Bowling Green, Kentucky (Mss 619), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 619. Administrative papers and programming material from the Southern Kentucky Paddlers Society which was headquartered in Warren County, Kentucky, although some members came from adjoining counties. The group formed for educational, recreational, and conservation purposes in 1980 and disbanded sometime around 2009.

Tennessee Valley Authority, Division Of Forestry (Sc 3100), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3100. Report on the forestry reconnaissance of the proposed Gilbertsville, Kentucky, reservoir area. Prepared by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Division of Forestry, November, 1936. Contains black and white photographs.

The Effects Of Overcrowding On Student Academic Performance In Kentucky High Schools, Maura Shirley

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Overcrowding in schools has been a popular topic reported by local newspapers across the state of Kentucky. Concerned parents often write letters to the editor, pleading their case for new school construction to alleviate the overcrowding that their students are facing. Approximately 27 percent of Kentucky high schools have experienced overcrowding for three consecutive years between 2002 and 2015. The National Center for Education Statistics reported in 2005 that only 18 percent of schools reported that they were overcrowded, a decrease from the 1999 study when 22 percent reported overcrowding. Overall, the problem of overcrowding is trending downward, but for …

Warren County, Kentucky - Guardian's Bond Books (Mss 587), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 587. Guardian’s bond books for Warren County, Kentucky, from 1882 to 1890. Each bond includes the name of the appointed guardian, the name of the minor ward(s), those providing surety for the guardian, the date of the bond, the signatures of the guardian, those providing surety, and the court clerk and/or the deputy clerk. The relationship of guardian to ward is not noted. A complete list of guardians and wards is included.

Bowling Green, Kentucky - Public Utilities (Sc 3021), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text of various reports (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3021. Reports created by various agencies relating to the water, sewer and sanitary conditions of Bowling Green and Warren County, Kentucky. Includes a 1911 report on a proposed sewerage system, and on the public water supply with proposed improvements to the treatment thereof. Also includes various sanitary and water supply reports, 1909-1947, and two brief surveys of the public utilities of Smiths Grove, Kentucky.

Logan County, Kentucky - Motor Operators' License Register, 1940-1946 (Mss 568), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 568. Register listing in alphabetical order the people who registered for a drivers license in Logan County, Kentucky, from 1940 to 1946. Most entries contain the following information: name, address, date of birth, sex, race, physical features (color of eyes and hair, weight and height), original license number and dates of renewals for each individual.

An Implementation Analysis Of Needle Exchange Programs In Kentucky: Implementation Barriers And Facilitators Identified By Stakeholders, Samantha Jane Harris

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Kentucky law authorizes county health departments to implement harm reduction needle exchange programs given that the county receives approval from all governing authorities including the local and/or district boards of health, the county government, and the city government in the jurisdiction in which the exchange is intended to operate. As of April 2016, five county health departments operate needle exchange programs and around 20 other county health departments are seeking approval from their governing authorities or beginning to discuss engaging in this process.

I conducted qualitative interviews with key stakeholders in the implementation process to determine the facilitators and barriers …