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The Nicholasville City Commission approved multiple residential development items, a city holiday, employment changes and heard an update on the wastewater treatment plant expansion project during its most recent meeting last week.

The commission approved the following development-centered items:

Bob Amato, the city’s deputy utilities and finance director, gave the commission an update on the wastewater treatment plant expansion project before requesting approval for a change order.

According to Amato, the facility’s expansion should be finished in November.

“We have the new oxidation ditch that’s full of water and the equipment and we will start putting actual wastewater in it the next couple of weeks,” Amato said, adding that these are the final major steps of the expansion project.

The next development item approved by the commission was an ordinance amending the official zoning map for the city of Nicholasville from A-1 (county) central agriculture to R-3 (city) Multi-family residential district for approximately 33.7 acres of property located at 1050 Ashgrove Road.

1050 Ashgrove Road is an undeveloped parcel of land located near Brannon Crossing.

According to planning and zoning director, Tim Cross, the local planning commission approved the ordinance with a 5-1 vote under two conditions: there must be more than eight to 12 individual units to be in one contiguous group and that structures on the parcel should be limited to single family or multi-family houses that would not exceed two stories.

Cross assured the commission that this means apartments would not be built on this parcel, only townhomes or individual homes, now or in the future, according to this ordinance.

The commission approved the following miscellaneous items for consideration:

• The commission approved a request to authorize the mayor to sign a proclamation declaring Nov. 1, 2023 as Extra Mile Day in Nicholasville.

City clerk Kathy Walker said this holiday is when Nicholasville celebrates and approves annually.

“It asks individuals to go out and go the extra mile in their life. And to acknowledge any of those individuals who are inspirational in those efforts,” Walker said. To nominate a Nicholasville resident for going the extra mile in their life, individuals can see Kathy Walker at Nicholasville City Hall.

• The commission approved a request to authorize Mayor Alex Carter to sign municipal order 2023-019, which amends the city’s personnel policies and procedures, compensation plan and classification plan.

Human resources manager, Kathy Rhineheimer said this order makes a few changes in the fire department, including a change to the position of fire department administration coordinator and a change in its grade and essential functions.

The city commission ended the meeting by approving the following hires, transfers, and rate changes:

• John Carter has been hired as firefighter grade F2 at the hourly rate of $17.72 effective Oct. 10, 2023.

• Terry Floyd and Jonathan Smith were approved for rate increases to $29.72 for compression in the water distribution and collections department.

• Josh Teater in the wastewater collections department was approved for a rate increase of $1 per hour due to completion of a class 3 water distribution certificate.

• Mark Ethan Stewart has been rehired as firefighter grade F2 at the hourly rate of $15.54.