Q&A | Magistrate Hutch

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Leadership You Know.

Questions & Answers

In your view, what are three of the most important issues for Warren County and what will you do to address these issues?

1. Smart Infrastructure & Traffic: The 6th district is growing faster than our roads can handle. We need to prioritize the expansion of major arteries and the safety of intersections like Nashville Road, Three Springs Road, Russellville Road and others before more high-density housing is approved. We can't keep adding more cars to the current roads.

2. Drainage and Karst Management: Our district is famous for its sinkholes and karst topography. As a contractor and volunteer with Ky Baptist Disaster Relief I have seen the impact firsthand and know that poor drainage destroys property values. I will advocate for stricter runoff requirements on new developments to protect existing homeowners from flooding.

3. Sustaining Quality Schools: With my history on the Greenwood and South Warren SBDMs as a booster president, I know that our schools are the heartbeat of the 6th. I will work closely with the school board to ensure county infrastructure supports our growing student population without overcrowding.

What is your position on Warren County’s growth as it pertains to jobs and our work force needs?

District 6 is where our agricultural heritage meets our industrial future. My time involved in the agriculture industry and as a loan officer at Farm Credit Mid-America taught me how vital the ag production segment is to Warren County. I support growth that respects our farmers while preparing our youth for the high-tech jobs coming to the Transpark. We need to ensure that the 6th District remains a place where a WKU grad can start a business just as easily as I did.

What are your qualifications for this position and what do you hope to achieve as Warren County Magistrate?

I’ve spent nearly 40 years in Bowling Green and my daily work as the owner of Handyman Hutch and a Realtor takes me directly into the homes and businesses of Warren County. I don't just see the growth on a map; I see it in the shifting foundations, the drainage issues in backyards, and the traffic on our roads. Combined with my formal education in Finance and my experience managing multi-million-dollar budgets at Pfizer and Bayer, I have the technical eye to spot project waste and the financial discipline to stop it. A Magistrate’s job is more than just attending meetings; it is about managing people, budgets, and conflicts. I have invested years in top-tier leadership development to ensure I can represent you with the highest level of professionalism.

• Trained in Negotiating to "Yes," I bring the skills necessary to break through political gridlock and find common-sense solutions that benefit our entire district and the county.

• With certifications in The Seven Habits for Managers and Strengths-Based Leadership, I am prepared to maximize our county’s resources and ensure every tax dollar is managed with discipline and accountability.

• Through The Excellence in Speaking Institute and DiSC Personality Profiling, I have mastered the ability to communicate across different viewpoints, ensuring that your voice is heard and clearly represented in the Fiscal Court.

• As a graduate of Leading Change and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership, I have a proven roadmap for helping our community navigate growth while preserving the values that make our county home. Most candidates talk about "leadership," but I have formal training to back it up. I am not just asking for the job; I am showing you that I have spent my career preparing for the responsibility of serving as your Magistrate.

I want to move District 6 from reactive growth to proactive planning. My vision is a Fiscal Court that treats tax dollars like a construction budget: every penny must add value, and we never cut corners on the 'bones' of our community—our roads, water, and safety.

Please give us your thoughts on Warren County’s current infrastructure. What do you feel needs to be a priority?

While Warren County has seen significant investment, our current approach is often reactive. We widen roads after they become congested and fix sinkholes after they compromise property. Potholes are so common that folks know where they are in the dark and how to avoid them. In the 6th District, areas like Plano, Rich Pond, and the Woodburn corridor are feeling the weight of thousands of new rooftops without a corresponding upgrade in "below-grade" infrastructure.

I will advocate for more rigorous geological surveying and stricter stormwater retention requirements for new developments. We must ensure that new construction doesn't dump its runoff onto existing neighbors’ properties or into natural sinkholes that aren't equipped to handle the volume.

We have incredible schools in the 6th District, but the traffic surrounding South Warren High and Middle Schools during peak hours is a safety concern. We need to prioritize intersection improvements (turn lanes and signal timing) and "last-mile" connectivity. It’s about more than just convenience; it’s about emergency response times. As a Disaster Relief lead, I know that every minute a fire truck or ambulance spends sitting in "school traffic" is a minute that costs lives.

In my corporate career at Pfizer and Bayer, we operated on a "Total Cost of Ownership" model. I will bring that same discipline to the Fiscal Court. Waste isn't just spending money; it's spending it twice. I will vote against "band-aid" road repairs that I know won't last three seasons, and instead, I will fight for long-term, high-quality builds that respect the taxpayer's dollar.

Community involvement and any boards or organizations you serve.

o Bowling Green Kiwanis Club: President (2025–Present), Board Member since 2021, Kiwanian of the Year (2021). Distinguished Service Awared-2022, 2024, 2025 Spirit of Kiwanis Award-2023; 5 Years Perfect Attendance 2020-2025, Thunderfest Chair 2021, 2023

o Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief: Team Lead/Blue Hat Volunteer (Chainsaw, Flood Recovery, Communication and Damage Assessment). I also had a “seat at the table” with Warren County Emergency Management during the flooding of 2025. As a volunteer with KBDR we were present during the early response and in action meetings but also invited to participate in the after action review meetings.

o Heritage HOA: President

o Realtors Association of Southern Kentucky

o Kentucky Association of Realtors

o National Association of Realtors

o Builders Association of South Central Kentucky

o Home Builders Association of Kentucky

o National Association of Home Builders

o Cumberland Ridge HOA: Past President, Executive Officer

o Hidden River HOA: Past Treasurer, Board Member

o Pi Kappa Alpha (WKU): Chapter Advisor and Alumni Advisory Board Chairman (Awarded International AAB of the Year 2017, 2018).

o Rich Pond Baptist Church: Former Personnel Committee, Sunday School Teacher, Sound and AV Tech, Pageant Stage Manager, Recreation Committee Chair, and Softball Coach

o South Warren Youth Sports: Softball and Basketball Coach

o Scouting USA: Serve on the Annual Spirit of Scouting Banquet which has raised over $60,000 in 2 years while recognizing Former Judge Executive Michael Buchanon.

o Warren County Public Schools: Former SBDM Representative (South Warren & Greenwood High Schools), Booster President for Cross Country and Track.

o Western Kentucky University: Lifetime Member of WKU Alumni Association, 25+ year member and supporter of Hilltopper Athletic Foundation

Share your thoughts on housing supply in Warren County and how we can create more attainable housing.

What are your thoughts on the current Housing Study?

The current Bowling Green Housing Study highlights a sobering truth: our supply is not keeping pace with our economic success. We are thousands of units short, and that scarcity is driving prices out of reach for the very people—teachers, first responders, and young professionals—who make our community run. As a Realtor, I see the frustration of families being outbid; as a Contractor, I see the rising costs of labor and materials that make "affordable" building nearly impossible under current regulations. The study is a vital "diagnostic tool," but a diagnosis without a treatment plan is just a piece of paper. The study correctly identifies the "Missing Middle"—the lack of townhomes, duplexes, and patio homes. However, the study often overlooks the infrastructure cost of that density. I believe we must adopt the study’s recommendations for diverse housing types, but only where the "bones" of the county (sewer, roads, and drainage) can support them. To create housing that is truly attainable, we need to address the "Three L's": Land, Labor, and Legislation.

1. Smart Density & Zoning Reform: We need attainable-by-design housing to help meet the need. My plan involves updating zoning in specific corridors of the 6th District to allow for smaller lot sizes and multi-family units only when they are adjacent to existing major thoroughfares. This prevents "sprawl" and keeps development costs lower for the builder, which can be passed on as savings to the buyer.

2. Streamlining the "Red Tape": As a small business owner, I know that time is money. Every month a project sits in the planning and permit phase is another month of interest payments that get added to the final price of the home. I will advocate for a more efficient, "one-stop-shop" permitting process for local builders who are committed to attainable price points.

3. Infrastructure Incentives: I support a "Growth Pays for Growth" model that uses System Development Charges or similar mechanisms. This ensures that the cost of new sewer lines and roads isn't footed by the current taxpayers of the 6th District but is instead built into the development plan from day one.

4. Protecting the 6th District’s Character: While we need houses, we also need to protect our agricultural heritage. "Attainable" shouldn't mean "everywhere." I will fight to keep high-density developments in areas with the infrastructure to handle them, preserving our rural landscapes and farm-heavy areas in the southern part of the county. The Bottom Line We cannot "subsidize" our way out of a housing shortage. We must build our way out of it by making it easier and more cost-effective for local contractors to provide a variety of housing options. My goal as Magistrate is to ensure that a WKU graduate can afford their first home in the same county where they went to school.

Looking at the county’s current budget, what areas do you think are good uses of the community’s tax dollar, and where do you see waste?

Public Safety Personnel & Equipment: As a Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief Team Lead, I know that response time is everything. Investing in competitive pay for our Sheriff’s deputies and modernizing equipment for our rural fire departments isn't just a "cost"— it’s an investment in the safety and property values of District 6.

Parks and Quality of Life: The funding for parks like Basil Griffin and the development of new recreational spaces in the south end are excellent uses of funds. These amenities drive the "attainability" of our area and make it a place where families want to stay.

Infrastructure Matching Grants: Using local tax dollars to "buy down" state and federal grants for major road expansions (like the work on US-231) is high-leverage spending. It allows us to complete $10M projects while only spending a fraction of that in local tax

revenue.

Areas of Waste: The "Cost of Poor Planning"

Reactive Infrastructure Repairs: This is where I see the most waste. In the construction world, if you don't fix a leak in the roof, you end up replacing the whole ceiling. I see the county spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on "band-aid" road patches and emergency sinkhole fills that fail within two seasons. Waste is spending money twice because we didn't plan for the growth the first time.

Redundant Consulting & Studies: We have a wealth of data from the Bowling Green Housing Study and various traffic assessments. I see waste in the repeated hiring of outside consultants to tell us what we already know on the ground in District 6. It’s time to move the budget from "study phase" to "construction phase."

Deferred Maintenance on County Assets: When we let county-owned buildings or equipment degrade to the point of "emergency replacement," we pay a premium. I advocate for a Capital Improvement Plan that uses a "Preventative Maintenance" schedule to save millions over the next decade.

Voters in the 6th District are seeing their property assessments—and their tax bill rise. They deserve to see that money reflected in the asphalt on their roads and the safety of their neighborhoods. When I am your Magistrate, I will go through the budget with a contractor’s level of detail. If a project doesn't have a clear 'Scope of Work' and a proven 'ROI' for the taxpayer, it shouldn't be in the budget.

Experience You Can Trust. Leadership You Know.

Questions & Answers

Experience You Can Trust.
Leadership You Know.