Fiscal Court updated on parkway detours; approves magistrate’s paving requests
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Tuesday, July 16, 2019 — Judge Executive Dean Watts publicly thanks the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office and the Bardstown Police Department for their help with traffic control in the wake of the Transportation Cabinet’s decision to shut down the eastbound bridge over the Beechfork River between Exit 21 and Exit 25.
The state closed the bridge after Transportation Cabinet engineers spotted an issue with the bridge’s joints. After an inspection, the bridge was closed to all traffic Saturday morning.
The state is working to build cross-overs that will allow eastbound and westbound traffic to share both westbound lanes while the bridge is being repaired. Watts said transportation officials hoped to have the crossovers completed before Friday.
Until the crossovers are completed, motorists can expect the parkway detour traffic to add to the congestion on New Haven Road during the Nelson County Fair.
PAVING REQUESTS APPROVED. Nelson Fiscal Court unanimously approved repaving requests submitted by four of the five magistrates at Tuesday’s court meeting.
District 3 Magistrate Bernard Ice submitted his paving request to the court at last month’s meeting.
The paving work may not be completed before the end of the 2019 calendar year, but will be completed by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2020.
PAVING DISTRICT 1. In Magistrate Keith Metcalfe’s district, his paving requests included:
- 7550 feet of Walter Hall Road between Gap Knob and Dee Head, and from Dee Head to Coon Hollow Road.
- All of Stringtown Road starting at Gap Knob Road.
- All of Willie Ballard Lane.
The District 1 paving request totaled $141,539.757,612.
PAVING DISTRICT 2. In Gary Coulter’s district, the paving requests include all of Shewmaker Lane, all of Washington and Jefferson Avenues, and 1,450 feet of Farmington Drive.
The District 2 paving request totaled $105,615.
PAVING DISTRICT 4. In Magistrate Jeff Lear’s district, he has requested paving of:
- 17,550 feet of Mobley Mill Road, which will be prioritized and completed in sections.
- a 2,650-foot section of Murrays Run Road.
- all of Lutz Lane and Buck Run.
The District 4 paving requests totaled $149,485.
PAVING DISTRICT 5. In Magistrate Eric Shelbourne’s district, the three roads on his paving request list included:
- all of Lawrenceburg Loop
- a 6,700-foot section of Love Ridge Road
- a 2,640-foot section of Murrays Run Road
The District 5 paving request totaled $147,612.
The expenditures won’t deplete the county’s paving allocation, Watts said. The county has an additional $210,000 in paving funds that Watts will allocate on an as-needed basis during the current fiscal year. All of that money will wind up being spend on county roads, he explained.
ENERGY ASSESSMENT DISTRICT. With no additional discussion, Nelson Fiscal Court voted 3-2 to give final approval to a measure that will allow developers of large construction projects to tap into additional funding to help improve the project’s energy efficiency. The magistrates also approved a resolution related to the new ordinance.
The ordinance creates a special tax district, though it would not levy taxes against any property owners automatically. Property owners who have a large building project would have to apply to Nelson Fiscal Court to be authorized to apply for special financing based on the ordinance guidelines. The money that is borrowed through the special financing would be repaid from the assessment on the property through the annual property tax bill.
The special district allows commercial project to take part in Property Assessed Clean Energy financing, otherwise known as PACE.
ABOUT PACE. PACE financing isn’t secured by the developer’s credit, but is secured by the property itself. The improvements that are financed are repaid via the annual assessment that will appear on the property taxes on that specific property, and stay with the property once it is transferred or sold.
Only a handful of counties in Kentucky have approved ordinances to allow PACE financing to be an option. PACE is available in 35 states and is being developed in several others — including Kentucky.
Magistrates Keith Metcalfe and Eric Shelburne again cast “nay” votes regarding the ordinance.
In other business, the court:
- approved the appointment of Gary Coulter to the local health department board.
- heard that all of the work to measure the length and width of the county’s roads is completed. The next step will be entering the data and analyzing it.
NEXT UP. Nelson Fiscal Court next will meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019.
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