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City officials hope to save tens of thousands of dollars on the police department construction project by changing how it purchased the materials.

Monday, the Nicholasville city commission approved a change order for the construction materials for the project. By purchasing the materials directly by the city rather than through the contractor, Nicholasville Police Chief Todd Justice said the city could save approximately $100,000. The purchase price would be the same, but the city is tax-exempt.

The materials, everything from the steel to the walls, would cost approximately $2 million, he said.

The entire project is estimated at $7 million. Construction on the 22,000-square-foot facility is expected to be completed next year.

“They’re putting steel in now,” Justice said. “I’m excited.”

Later in the meeting, the commission also approved a temporary amendment to the city’s personnel policies to allow employees to carry over unused vacation time into 2021.

Nicholasville Mayor Pete Sutherland said employees ordinarily must use their vacation time within a calendar year or lose it. 

Many employees, he said, have not been able to use their vacation this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the commissioners decided to allow them to roll it over until next year. Any unused vacation at the end of 2021, he said, would be lost.