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Lexington Council to Split $4M in Surplus Among Districts

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Lexington’s city council has made some decisions on how to spend some $7 million in surplus funds.  The council voted Thursday night to set aside $4 million to be divided up equally among all 15 members. 


In Light of Increase in TNC firms, Lexington Leaders Consider Modifying Taxi Regs.

Lexington Council Votes to Increase City Minimum Wage

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After some eight months of debate, Lexington’s city council has approved a minimum wage increase.  Council heard public comments Thursday night right up until the last minute. 

After hearing comments from more than 30 residents, followed by discussion among council members, a vote on the proposal to raise the minimum wage was taken.

Council Members Updated on CentrePointe and City Hall Issues

Lexington City Leaders Move Forward with Police Body Cameras

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Lexington leaders are moving forward with the purchase of body cameras for police. Council members had previously decided to wait until the fall to take up the $600,000 project due to questions about future costs pertaining to video storage. City Chief Administrative Officer Sally Hamilton told council Tuesday that those questions have been answered. "When that answer was given to some of the storage, things automatically changed because that was the big issue that was the real stumbling block here," Hamilton said. "Not the cameras, but how you store all this stuff and access it all." Lexington NAACP President William Saunders address council this week. He says a price tag can't be put on the lives of humans. "So $600,000 is not even the issue today," Saunders said. "The issue is we want to restore the trust back into our communities and I think this is one of the first steps. And it's also gonna hold us accountable, not only the citizens accountable, but the police department

Lexington Council Reverses Committee Vote, Moves Forward with Minimum Wage Review

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The minimum wage debate will once again be before Lexington city leaders. The Lexington council Tuesday reversed a two week old committee decision. The council's budget committee voted in late June to postpone consideration of gradually increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 until anticipated court challenges in Louisville play out. On Tuesday the full council voted to discuss details of the proposal next month. Council member Angela Evans says that's what many on the council want. "That's what I hear my colleagues screaming about, is they want to have the full discussion," said Evans. But, other council members argued that proceeding this way goes against the traditional committee process. Council member Jennifer Scutchfield says Lexington should wait to see how the issue works out in Louisville. "I have no desire to waste taxpayer money, said Scutchfield. Council member Bill Farmer expressed concerns that the motion circumvents the traditional process. By an 11-4 vote, the council

Trick or Treat Under Review at Lexington City Hall

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Halloween is more than two months away, but Lexington’s Council is already discussing the holiday. Trick or Treat is scheduled between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. on October 31. That’s also the last day of the highly anticipated Breeders Cup Championships at Keeneland, and the date of an evening University of Kentucky football game. Council member Richard Moloney is worried about traffic between the Keeneland race track and Commonwealth Stadium. He’s suggesting the city move trick or treat activities to Friday, October 30. “This is the day that Lexington’s gonna be all over the map and the last thing we need to do is be on the map of a kid getting hit by a car,” said Moloney. Moloney urged mayoral staff not to wait until the last minute to make an announcement. Chief of Staff Jamie Emmons told Council this week that the Halloween discussion has been going on for a couple of months. "The Keeneland folks actually did come to us first and request that we consider that," said Emmons. "The bottom

Lexington’s Council Examines New Regs for Delivery of Unsolicited Materials

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The Lexington Council is exploring new regulations regarding distribution of unsolicited materials to residents. Much of the focus this week at city hall centered on the Lexington Herald Leader’s Community News publication. Richard Morgan is with operations at the Herald. “Our home delivery subscribers do not get this publication," said Morgan. "It’s just designed for people who are not subscribers to the Herald Leader and to give them the opportunity to receive those advertising supplements, but also see some of the news content that we can provide to them." The council’s Planning and Public Safety Committee approved a regulation requiring such materials to be placed near the front door or in a mail slot. The new ordinance would prohibit items from being tossed into driveways or front yards. Council member Jake Gibbs says he’s gotten many calls about it. “People who deliver those pizza delivery flyers put them on my door, on the door knob, or they stick it to the door," said Gibbs.

Lexington Begins Food Truck Fire Safety Inspections

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The city of Lexington is initiating a fire inspection program for food trucks. Details were spelled out last week during a council committee meeting. Lexington Fire Marshal Mike Farmer says the review covers many aspects of cooking on food trucks. “We have a meter that will try to ascertain if there’s a propane leak, if they’re using propane to cook with," Farmer said. "We check their fire protection systems like their hood system. We’re gonna check their extinguishers to make sure they’re up to date and current.” Farmer says there are currently 30 food trucks registered with the city’s division of revenue. The inspection effort comes following a food truck explosion last summer in Pennsylvania that killed two people. “We sent out letters to everybody that was registered with the division of revenue with those addresses," he said. "We sent out letters and told them our intentions to inspect. And we’ve had them call us back and set up appointments with us and so that’s what we’ve

Lexington Council Reschedules Meeting on Minimum Wage

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A Lexington council meeting focusing on a proposal to raise the minimum wage citywide has been postponed. The decision to reschedule came during Tuesday’s work session. The council voted 9 to 5 to push the discussion about minimum wage back until September 10. It was initially scheduled for this Thursday. With the recent death of council member Ed Lane, the 12 th council district is currently unrepresented. Council member Susan Lamb, along with several others, prefers to wait until next month to take up the matter. “I think we need to have 15 members up here representing this entire city in order for us to discuss this matter,” said Lamb. Voting against the motion was councilman Jake Gibbs, who said when the minimum wage comes to a vote, the 12 th district will be represented. “I really feel that it looks bad for us to change things on a very short notice,” said Gibbs. Mayor Jim Gray is required by law to appoint a new council member by September 2. The proposal calls for raising the

Lexington Will Soon Seek Architects for Renovation of Old Courthouse Building

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Lexington council members should be expecting a request in the next week or so to hire an architectural firm to design new uses for the old courthouse. Council was updated on the project during Tuesday’s work session. Jenifer Wuorenmaa with the Chief Administrator’s Office says the plan is to form a for-profit general partner to take advantage of tax credits. “This project has to sort of work together with exterior work, some internal work, and some roof replacement so we can start spending money and capturing as much of those expenses as we can," said Wuorenmaa. This year’s budget includes $22 million to go toward the courthouse renovation project. The city was awarded two brownfield grants to help with remediation of the structure, possibly in the rotunda area. Wuorenmaa says hiring a private firm to take on the courthouse renovation was not a viable option. “It looks very large, but there’s not a lot of square footage in the inside," she said. "And so, for a private developer, even

Council Opts Not to Add Delivery Restrictions of Lexington Herald Leader Ad Publication

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Lexington city leaders have decided to wait before moving forward with home delivery restrictions on unsolicited publications. The debate at city hall pertains primarily to an advertising and news product of the Lexington Herald Leader. A council committee voted earlier this summer to require such publications to be placed on doorsteps, rather than on front lawns or on driveways. Council member Bill Farmer believes there are free speech issues to consider. “We’re taking a broad brush approach to stopping the paper from delivering this circular, this informational circular, and it harms their free speech expression opportunity,” said Farmer. Council member Kevin Stinnett countered saying other businesses could choose to distribute newsletters through a similar delivery process. “Can you imagine if every business took this approach and drafted a newsletter and threw it on people’s driveways, how much impact that would have on our community?” asked Stinnett. Council action on Tuesday

Kentucky Businesses Interested in Trade with Cuba

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Representatives from the Kentucky World Trade Center are taking a business related trip to Cuba next month. Lexington council members received an update last week of trade center activities. Center President Ed Webb says area business leaders approached him about a trip to Cuba. “Basically we said initially no because the embargo still exists,” Webb said. “It’s still in place which means we cannot do any kind of business activity except for humanitarian aid, which would be medical and food supplies.” Center Vice President Sherry Mulkins says the October trip to Cuba will include meetings with the Cuban Chamber of Commerce and local entrepreneurs. The group from Kentucky includes representatives from Alltech, Electro Dry, and East Kentucky Power. Mulkins says she routinely gets questions from local business owners about when they can start selling products in Cuba. “There’s not any way to know,” she said. “That’s actually the number one question I’ve been asked.” Mulkins says she

Lexington Council Hears Fire Station Recommendations

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A comprehensive fire station location study in Lexington is not expected to result in any major changes anytime soon. City council members heard the report during Tuesday’s work session. Public Safety Commissioner Ronnie Bastin says the recommended consolidation of two downtown fire stations would come with some costs. “The merger of the two stations that they mentioned, there’s a cost of having to do an addition onto one of the stations in order to house the equipment from the station that would be closed if that decision were made,” said Bastin. There were no cost estimates for the fire station facilities examination. Assistant Fire Chief Harold Hoskins says $1 million is being spent this year to address pressing maintenance and upkeep. “I mean we had some fire stations that were difficult to live in," said Hoskins. "As firefighters knowing that we had difficulty getting out of second stories because the exterior stairways may be a little bit rough. So, we're addressing those things

Lexington Lawmakers Question Drone Use in Fayette County

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The use of drones in and around Lexington is being discussed at City Hall. Government officials say public use of unmanned aircraft is an evolving conversation. There are federal aviation guidelines about where to operate drones, but public use generally is not prohibited. There is an FAA rule than bans use within 5 miles of Bluegrass Airport. Drones often feature high powered camera equipment, and council member Richard Moloney told members of the Public Safety Committee this week that he’s worried about who has access to them. “I have concerns if these things get in the wrong hands," Moloney said. "You got sex offenders and people with records. Is that something that locally has to be done or is that something we have to do as a state?” asked Moloney. “I think the state is gonna be your answer I believe.” Lexington Police Chief Mark Barnard says there are no local laws prohibiting the use of the unmanned aircraft. “I just don’t want to give the impression that if you fly a drone that

Route and Service Changes at Lextran Coming in 2016

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Beginning next year, Lexington’s mass transit system will make numerous changes to its services. Those include adding two-way Sunday service on routes 1-13. The Lextran Board made the decisions Wednesday. Some of the proposed changes were outlined to Lexington council members earlier this week. Board Chair Jeff Fugate says improvements to the Vine Street transit center are also being considered. “If you’ve been down there it’s a tough spot, but almost all of our riders, in fact up to around seven to eight hundred an hour will transfer there at its busiest peaks,” said Fugate. General Manager Carrie Butler told council members that meeting the health care needs of citizens is taken into account when changes are suggested. “So, we developed the changes to this revised route 16 specifically for the new location of the health first as well as the UK health clinic and the BCTC Cooper campus,” explained Butler. The board did postpone action on routes along Nicholasville Road, the Masterson

Lexington Council to Split $4M in Surplus Among Districts

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Lexington’s city council has made some decisions on how to spend some $7 million in surplus funds. The council voted Thursday night to set aside $4 million to be divided up equally among all 15 members. Council member Bill Farmer argued the approach may fall short of full disclosure perceptions. “I think it’s important for us to make decisions on behalf of the community, with the community being present and giving input rather than running to our favorite spending list upstairs and making decisions that are not really part of what may be better for the whole,” said Farmer. Another $3 million in surplus money is being used to meet requests coming from the mayor’s office. That includes almost a million to shore up the city hall parking garage. Improvements will not allow for parking cars in the garage, but strictly for structural support. The council opted not to demolish and rebuild. There have been ongoing discussions about building a new city hall, but that issue is still under review

In Light of Increase in TNC firms, Lexington Leaders Consider Modifying Taxi Regs.

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Lexington city council members are continuing to investigate ways to help taxi companies and transportation network businesses coexist. TNC firms like Lyft and Uber have entered the transportation market in recent years. They are regulated only under state law. The public safety committee discussed the issue this week. Committee Chair Jennifer Mossotti asked Glenda George in the law department about TNC participation in local licensing. “If they didn’t apply for a license we don’t know if they're legitimately operating, correct?” Asked Mossotti. “Do you mean the transportation network companies? Correct, we wouldn’t know.” responded George. Mike Mackin of Yellow Cab in Louisville and Lexington appeared before council members and said rates can’t be all over the board. “Reason has to stand that you just can’t go out and charge whatever you feel like charging at that time in this type of business,” said Mackin. The council committee didn’t act on any revision of the taxi ordinance.

Lexington Council Votes to Increase City Minimum Wage

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After some eight months of debate, Lexington’s city council has approved a minimum wage increase. Council heard public comments Thursday night right up until the last minute. After hearing comments from more than 30 residents, followed by discussion among council members, a vote on the proposal to raise the minimum wage was taken. The council voted 9-6 in favor of upping the minimum wage to $10.10 over three years. The first increase will be seen in checks next July. Last minute arguments came from supporters and opponents of the measure. Steve Polston says he works with the homeless to help them find jobs. “There’s kind of a magical number that we see and that is about the double digit, about ten dollars an hour," Polston said. "Those people tend to stay in the jobs." Janey Moores has run a business for 44 years. She told council that women owned businesses are struggling. “We can’t take another nickel adding on to us which is really what a minimum increase would be, is like another

Council Members Updated on CentrePointe and City Hall Issues

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Lexington Attorney Mason Miller says investors of the CentrePointe commercial development project say they are making progress. Miller says they have met with construction companies and architects. He responded to a few questions about CenterPointe this week during the Lexington council meeting. Council Member Richard Moloney asked if building a new city hall in the nearby dug out block is still being discussed. “Are we still the main tenant to make this project work for them? Asked Moloney. “We’re the main tenant they would like to see in the project,” said Miller. A consulting firm, meanwhile, is trying to determine the best future for a government center. Council member Kevin Stinnett asked Miller about the consultants’ study. “Are the consultants just looking at CentrePointe or are they looking at opportunities downtown that private people own and we own? Asked Stinnett. “No, all opportunities, other than CentrePointe,” responded Miller. The investors in the CentrePointe project
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