County to hold public hearing regarding Luxco Botland warehouse project

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 — Nelson Fiscal Court announced Tuesday morning it will conduct a public hearing at the end of its next fiscal court meeting set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 21st.

The meeting will be held a the Nelson County Civic Center in order to accommodate the anticipated crowd.

Luxco’s application to build distilled spirits warehouses on 182 acres of land in the Botland area was denied by the Joint City-County Planning Commission in September. Luxco requested Nelson Fiscal Court to review the decision.

Many Botland residents complained they were unaware of the original hearing until very late in the process, and they were unable to attend the hearing.

Judge-Executive Tim Hutchins said he wanted to be sure everyone had a chance to have their say regarding the project. Therefore fiscal court will conduct their own public hearing at the Nov. 21st meeting.

Luxco’s application seeks to build distilled spirits warehouses on the property located in the Botland community, mostly between Cane Run Loop near the intersection of Springfield Road and Poplar Flat Road and backs up to part of Greer Lane. The property is very close to the Oak Knoll subdivision.

The evidence and comments gathered at the original public hearing will not play a part at the new Nov. 21st hearing. Those who wish to speak out must attend the Nov. 21st public hearing.

According to the Nelson County PVA office, Luxco purchased the tracts of land in separate transactions in February 2023, for about $2.48 million.

STATE CHAMP TEAMS HONORED. Nelson Fiscal Court honored two local high schools for their student-athletes’ wins at their respective state tournaments.

The Bethlehem Banshee’s girls’ soccer team was honored by fiscal court for their victory over Sacred Heat in the final game to win the state high school girls’ championship in soccer.

The Thomas Nelson High School cross country team was also honored for their state championship win. Both teams received a hearty round of applause and thanks for a job well done in both their athletic and academic pursuits.

CAMPING ORDINANCE. The court approved the second and final reading of an ordinance that makes it a misdemeanor offense to camp overnight on county-owned public property.

The ordinance is aimed at preventing homeless people from camping overnight on county-owned public property. The ordinance mirrors an ordinance recently approved by the City of Bardstown.

The city and county ordinances follow similar moves by other towns and countries around the country as they try to deal with growing homelessness in their respective communities.

Without an ordinance prohibiting camping on public property, local law enforcement cannot prohibit the homeless from staying on public property overnight.

Some business owners in downtown Bardstown have complained about the increasing numbers of homeless individuals hanging out at the farmer’s market pavilion and other public places.

BURN BAN. Due to the continued dry weather, the court approved a countywide burn ban on outdoor burning. The ban will be lifted once the area receives more rainfall and the threat dissipates.

In other business, the court:

— heard that Nov. 12-18 is recognized as Nurse Practitioner Week.

— agreed to extend the county’s contract to accept dogs from Washington County animal control for an additional six months or until Marion County is prepared to accept their dogs at their shelter.

— heard that the long-awaited valve to repair the air conditioning system arrived and has been installed at the Nelson County Jail.

— heard that one of the jail’s boilers failed. Judge Hutchins approved an emergency order to replace the boiler at a cost of about $32,000.

— approved the purchase of drug safes for the EMS ambulances. The safes have features that will help with inventory control as well as protect narcotics from being stolen. The $36,000 cost of the safes will come from the county’s opioid settlement money.

— heard that the county received no bids for either of the small tracts declared surplus on Ed Pile Road. The court agreed to give the tracts to the two neighboring landowners.

— heard landfill manager John Greenwell report that the new liner will soon be installed in the new portion of the landfill expansion.

— the court agreed to seek bids on a new or used garbage truck as well as a new roll off truck.

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