OPINION: PACRO Confident about Growth in 2019

The Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization (PACRO) held its first meeting of the year on January 16, 2019 at the CFSB location on Irvin Cobb Drive. PACRO is appreciative of the strong support from CFSB, the leading regional bank in Western, KY. As a pubic board, our meetings are supported by our regional media and other partners.  

The board appointed McCracken County Judge Executive Craig Z. Clymer and Commissioner Eddie Jones to the Board. These terms will expire in April of 2019, when Judge Executive Clymer will choose 3 appointments from McCracken County to serve for the next 1-year term. PACRO welcomes the new leadership from the McCracken County Fiscal Court and excited what 2019 will bring. As the host community, the strong leadership from the McCracken County Fiscal Court and partnership with the Department of Energy will continue to provide many great opportunities locally and regionally.   

The mission of PACRO is to help create jobs regionally, offsetting job losses from the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. PACRO set a goal to create 500 primary jobs and an additional 250 indirect jobs for the year. The PACRO meetings this year will give an opportunity for additional collaboration to take place and the discussion around regional economic development opportunities will be ongoing. The board remains committed to transparency and fiscal responsibility of all PACRO funds for economic development and creating a strong relationship with our local government member counties.   

In 2018, PACRO committed grant funding for economic development for the member counties of Ballard, Graves, Marshall, McCracken and Metropolis, IL. These awards in 2018, were $1 million. In 2019, each community will receive an additional $140,000 to support their economic development efforts.  The Fiscal Court’s in KY and City of Metropolis, IL, have the responsibility of grant requests as well as strategy for the funds in their communities. These funds have been used to match local, state, and federal funding opportunities, furthering the impact economically.  

Regionalism is at a level many say has never occurred in the Western, KY and Southern, IL areas. The leadership of Chairman Kevin Neal (Judge Executive, Marshall County) and Vice Chairman Betsy Flynn (President/CEO, CFSB), have created a working partnership that is bringing economic development collaboration to new levels. Our board is excited about 2019 and confident our efforts will continue to move our Region forward.  


Scott Darnell

Executive Director
PACRO