Jessamine Co. Homeless Coalition blames hazardous soil contaminates on city
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky (WTVQ)- A homeless coalition in Jessamine County is blaming the city of Nicholasville for toxic contaminates that were found on land formerly owned by the city.
The piece of property is located on Broadway.
Johnny Templin is the Executive Director of homeless coalition. He says the non-profit bought the land from the Jessamine County Board of Education in 2019. The goal originally was to build housing on it.
“The intent was two fold. It could possibly have been a large shelter on one property. Quickly realized that was a not only a big price tag but there was a lot of community.. No one wants something that big in their backyard,” says Templin.
The coalition decided to sell the land for collateral this year. They planned to use that money to help complete their new Center for Growth and Hope, which would offer 78 additional beds and programs for the homeless community. Templin says they had a buyer lined up. But after doing their own EPA soil tests, the results revealed high levels of lead and hazardous material.
“The EPA guy literally said that he could see levels of field dirt where there was controlled burns of everything, from trash, to building construction to bottles. And then simply top soil put on top and did it again,” says Templin.
The buyer backed out. Templin says they also discovered the property was used as a dump site but were never told that information when they first purchased the property. He says the clean-up would cost the non-profit thousands of dollars and around 18 months to complete.
Templin says he believes the city should be held responsible- since they were the ones who used it as a landfill.
“Our ask is that they (the city) would purchase the property so it doesn’t affect anything that we have going. We’re able to go forward. They’re mitigating that chemical issue that they’ve created. They work with the Kentucky environmental people and they get their funding back.”
ABC 36 reached out to Nicholasville Mayor Alex Carter for a response. Carter sent the following quote:
“The owner’s representative of the property at 506 Broadway contacted the City a few weeks ago with concerns of preliminary soil test results that showed potential contamination. Nicholasville City Officials have been in contact with the property owner and the State Energy and Environment Cabinet seeking advice and available funding for investigation and, if necessary, remediation. The City, through Mayor Alex Carter, has offered to work with the owners to find potential solutions that may be available at the state or federal levels. The City has requested the complete environmental report from the owner and scheduled an in-person meeting with the Energy and Environment Cabinet this Friday, June 16th.”
Templin says they have not yet been invited to that meeting. He says if they don’t get help from the city, they’ll have to come up with thousands of dollars to get the property cleaned up. He says it’s expected to take around 18 months to complete.
Templin says the coalition is accepting donations and would love to have help from the community if their only option is to come up with a plan on their own.
