The Elizabethtown City Council met for their first meeting of the month Monday.
The council approved on second reading an ordinance that closes a portion of Sutton Lane. The rest of the street will become part of Commerce Drive as part of development around the outdoor music venue project.
The council approved a municipal order which denied a zoning change for 707 Saint John Road from Suburban Residential (R-1) to High-Density Residential (R-6) and Regional Commercial (C-3). The Elizabethtown Planning Commission recommended the zoning change be denied after determining at a public hearing on February 24 that the change did not fit with the city’s Comprehensive Plan. City Council Member Julia Springsteen cast the lone nay vote as she said she felt the denial “is a bit unfair” after the property owners made changes from when the proposal was originally presented last March.
“They listened to the feedback and to the changes that were asked of them, and they made significant changes to their development plan, including a potential investment in trees that boggles the mind,” Springsteen said.
The council approved several municipal orders concerning bids, applications, and contracts. Among the approved orders is the authorization of a land purchase for the property adjacent to the Trooper Lake Preserve. The city will purchase the 38.36 acre property for $20,000 an acre, with the funds coming from the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund.
“It’s on the opposite side of the interstate from where we’re doing the outdoor concert venue, and what we’re doing is we’re taking 75 acres at that location that the city already owns and has owned for some time and we’re buying another 38 acres to add to it, and we’re going to put our mountain bike park out there once we get everything put together, so it’s going to be a really nice park that we’re really excited about,” said Elizabethtown Mayor Jeff Gregory.
Other municipal orders approved Monday included:
-A $97,279 bid from Phillips Brothers Construction for bern repair at the Valley Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant
-A $156,833.30 bid from Gary W. Clifford Enterprises for the Pine Valley Drive water main extension
-A $110,126 bid from Tennis Technology Inc. for resurfacing of the Freeman Lake Park tennis courts
-A $698,200 bid from Kauffeld Brothers Construction for the Freeman Lake Park north end parking lot
-A $188,100 bid from Dirt Works Unlimited for Highland Park sanitary sewer upgrades
-The extension of the Kentucky Business Incentives in place for Lotte Aluminum
-An application for a forgivable loan of up to $30 million through the KDEFA for expansion of the Valley Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant
-An application to the KDPI for up to $2 million in economic development funding for improvements at the Gil Niceley Industrial Park
The Elizabethtown City Council will next meet March 16.
