NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — A nonprofit in Jessamine County is still trying to figure out how to deal with toxic land they discovered last year.
Johnny Templin, Director of the Jessamine County Homeless Coalition, started renovating the building at 514 N. Main Street about a year ago. The place sat dormant for years.
He said the idea came from God to create a multipurpose space for veterans and those impacted by substance abuse and domestic violence because there are currently no 3-point treatment centers in the area.
The Center for Growth and Hope planned to use capital from selling a large plot of land at 506 Broadway to finance the building on Main Street. However, a soil analysis revealing high levels of lead and arsenic caused the sale to fall through.
The discovery surprised Templin, who quickly realized how expensive a remedy would be.
There's money available through grants and loans at the state and federal levels. However, the EPA says the application process is competitive, so funds are only sometimes guaranteed.
There are 19 active state grants for Brownstone projects ranging from $300,000 to $2 million.
The Center for Growth and Hope says they have yet to apply but are working on it.
Templin says with minimal staff and a complex application process, they were hoping for more local support but have been disappointed.
They are still determining the property's future but are banking on donations to continue building the new center.
The Jessamine County Homeless Coalition has retained a legal counsel. The EPA is currently uninvolved in the process. LEX 18 reached out to the state on Wednesday, and they are working on a response to our questions.
The mayor of Nicholasville, Alex Carter, said in a statement six months ago they were seeking available funding for investigation and, if necessary, remediation and is open to working with the owners to find potential solutions that may be available at the state or federal level.
On Wednesday, Carter said the city has passed along the needed information to the owner's representative from meetings with the state energy and environmental cabinet in grant funding for remediation of the site.
The center is still hoping to open this spring with the help of donations.
