A Williamsburg family is pushing back against statements made by Mayor Roddy Harrison at a recent Williamsburg City Council meeting regarding government efforts to take a piece of property near their home to construct an alternate exit for Penny Lane onto KY92W.
Misti Zehr wrote in a Facebook post Monday evening, “We have not made a public statement regarding the proposed Penny Lane road project scheduled to go through the field behind our home. However, in light of a recent newspaper article in the News Journal, we can no longer remain silent. The purpose of this post is to clarify some inaccuracies. We can factually verify every statement we are about to make. We think it is only fair that the citizens of this community and beyond hear the TRUTH,” Zehr wrote.
“In the News Journal’s article, the mayor stated the city ‘WOULDN’T and COULDN’T’ take this property. The fact of the matter is that this road project was initiated by Mayor Harrison and is being carried out by the Kentucky State Department of Transportation. There is no legal justification to use eminent domain to close an existing city street to through traffic as a reason to force a family to sell their private property to build a new street that serves the exact same purpose. We are asking every property owner who reads this to pause and consider any future precedent this case may have for your property. This eminent domain case against us should be very concerning to every property owner in this state.”
The Facebook post states that the family spoke with the Kentucky Department of Transportation’s district engineer in charge of this project, and he stated there were numerous locations where it could go, including reworking the existing public bridge and making improvements to the existing public road.
“It seems like this would be a much better solution. This would be significantly cheaper and would allow us to keep our private property until we decide that we want to sell it on our terms,” Zehr wrote.
Zehr said in the post that Harrison stated in the News Journal article that there is a hillside between the home and roadway, which she said is factually incorrect.
“The state’s drawings and surveys clearly depict the planned road is in a different location than what the mayor is describing. The road will be in the upper field behind our home. It begins near the Health Department and exits just west of the Goodwill building,” Zehr wrote.
“The fact of the matter is we spoke with the mayor and district engineer early in this process and told them that we would gladly partner with them to put the road below the hillside. However, in the end we were not listened to.”
Zehr also challenged the mayor’s opinion about the project being for the “greater good.”
She suggested instead that Penny Lane be made a one-way street, which the city is already planning to do, but instead of building an extension onto Penny Lane she suggested that improvements be made to the existing public bridge and public road, which has already been bought and paid for by taxpayers.
Zehr said she is struggling to understand the “greater good” in forcing a family to sell property against their will, ignoring the family’s offer to work with the city to put the road where the mayor has stated it’s going, and putting taxpayers on the hook for this new road when in her view the existing road would be just fine with some improvements.
“It begs the question, what is the real reason for this road?” Zehr wrote.
Her Facebook post closes with a Bible verse from Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
On Aug. 1, 2025, the Commonwealth of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Department of Highways filed a petition of condemnation in Whitley Circuit Court against the Edgar B. Bryant Trust, Lloyd Zehr and Melissa Dawn Zehr.
During government building, utility or road projects, government agencies will sometimes declare eminent domain to obtain private property for public use in instances where owners do not want to sell the property voluntarily. The government is required to pay fair market compensation for the property, which is typically determined by a board of commissioners appointed by the court.
Property owners can challenge the government’s seizure attempt in court and the amount of compensation paid for such property.
