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Court OKs gas line grant; considers request for Wickland sewer line easement

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

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Judge Executive Dean Watts, right, and District 1 Magistrate Keith Metcalfe listen during Tuesday’s meeting of Nelson Fiscal Court.

Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014, 1 p.m. — A public hearing Tuesday morning is the next step in the application process for a grant that will help pay for a natural gas line to serve the Nelson County Industrial Park.

The gas line project is necessary to serve the park’s newest tenant, the Bardstown Bourbon Co. The public hearing is a requirement as part of the Community Development Block Grant application process.

Judge Executive Dean Watts noted the gas line is important for economic development.

LIBRARY TAX. Sharon Shanks, director of the Nelson County Public Library, reported to the court that the library board had taken the compensating tax rate as the next year’s tax rate. The compensating rate is the rate that will create roughly the same amount of revenue as last year’s tax rate.

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Sharon Shanks, director of the Nelson County Public Library, discusses the library board’s decision on its tax rate.

The tax rate for real estate is the same as last year — 8.1 cents per $100 value. The tax rate for personal property was set at 8.18 cents per $100 value — a reduction of .43 cents per $100 value from last year’s personal property tax rate.

The tax rate is determined by a formula that takes property tax values and determines the options available to library districts. The library board approved the rate that will provide about the same amount of tax revenue as last year’s tax rate. The board did not take the option of a 4 percent revenue increase as allowed by law.

Shanks said the board anticipates $2,253,000 in tax revenue this year. The library employs 29 employees, 19 of them full time at its three branches.

“A tremendous number of people use the libraries,” Judge Executive Dean Watts told the court. “More than most people realize who don’t regularly use them.”

CITY SEWER REQUEST. The court reviewed a request from the City of Bardstown for an easement to construct a gravity-feed sewer line on the county-owned Wickland property.

The line would run on the back of the property close to Old Bloomfield Pike. A new line is needed to replace an aging, deteriorating city sewer line, Jessica Filiatreau, city civil engineer, told the court.

The new line would connect to the new interceptor sewer line the city completed a couple of years ago that crosses Old Bloomfield Pike.

The magistrates voiced their concerns about the plan to leave the sewer line in the ground and any possible liability that the county might face in the future if the property were subdivided and developed. Filiatreau said the city would handle taking the line out of service and preventing its reuse.

Watts said he didn’t believe the property would be subject to development in the near term. “I hope it stays green space for the next generation to enjoy,” he said.

In other business, Nelson Fiscal Court:

— approved a Flex Fund agreement with the state to access approximately $156,000 in additional blacktop money;

— approved an agreement with the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board for a $7,500 grant for the county’s dead animal disposal program;

— heard that the county’s garbage pickup would be one day behind this week after the Labor Day holiday. Friday’s garbage will be picked up on Saturday.

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