# Council Work Session - June 29, 2021 > Auto-transcribed civic record · June 29, 2021 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/5389 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/5389?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2021-06-29 - **Last revised**: June 29, 2021 - **Length**: 12,444 words > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed with OpenAI's open-source Whisper large-v3-turbo model, run locally by The Lexington Times. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude. Verbatim wording may contain errors. See [methodology](https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/about/methodology) or [report a correction](mailto:editor@lexingtonky.news). --- ## Meeting Overview The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government held a meeting on June 29, 2021, at 3:00 PM in the Council Chamber of the Urban County Government Center, with Mayor Linda Gorton presiding. The meeting addressed six agenda items, including both informational presentations and business requiring formal action. The council took three votes during the session, approving items related to meeting summaries and new business matters. One public comment was heard during the designated public comment period for issues on the agenda. Key presentations included updates on the Lexington Workforce Resource Center and a report from the Task Force on Neighborhoods in Transition, providing the council with important information on workforce development and neighborhood planning initiatives. ## Attendance All 15 members of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council were present for the June 29, 2021 meeting. **Present:** • Mayor Linda Gorton • Vice Mayor Steve Kay • Council Member Josh McCurn • Council Member Kathy Plomin • Council Member Amanda Bledsoe • Council Member James Brown • Council Member Richard Moloney • Council Member Chuck Ellinger • Council Member Susan Lamb • Council Member Preston Worley • Council Member Fred Brown • Council Member Jennifer Reynolds • Council Member Liz Sheehan • Council Member Hannah LeGris • Council Member David Kloiber **Absent:** None **Late:** None The meeting achieved full attendance with no absences or late arrivals recorded. ## Votes and Decisions The council took three unanimous votes during the June 29, 2021 meeting, with all 15 members present voting in favor of each item. **Approval of June 22, 2021 Table of Motions** [timestamp: 03:00] Council Member Josh McCurn motioned to approve the table of motions from the June 22, 2021 meeting, with Council Member Kathy Plomin providing the second. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote with 15 ayes and 0 nays. All council members voted in favor: Mayor Linda Gorton, Vice Mayor Steve Kay, and Council Members Josh McCurn, Kathy Plomin, Amanda Bledsoe, James Brown, Richard Moloney, Chuck Ellinger, Susan Lamb, Preston Worley, Fred Brown, Jennifer Reynolds, Liz Sheehan, Hannah LeGris, and David Kloiber. **Approval of New Business Items** [timestamp: 10:00] Vice Mayor Steve Kay made a motion to approve new business items, seconded by Council Member Josh McCurn. This motion also passed unanimously by voice vote with 15 ayes and 0 nays, with the same 15 council members voting in favor. **Small Business Economic Recovery Grant Program Funding** [timestamp: 20:00] Council Member James Brown motioned to approve the second tranche of funding for the small business economic recovery grant program, with Council Member Kathy Plomin seconding the motion. The vote was unanimous with 15 ayes and 0 nays by voice vote. All 15 council members supported this funding measure. All three votes demonstrated complete council unity, with no opposition or abstentions recorded on any of the items considered during this meeting. ## Budget and Financial Actions The council approved three significant funding allocations totaling $953,230 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to support local organizations and programs. **Resolution 0637-21** authorized a sub-recipient agreement awarding $205,730 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission. This grant will support the commission's ongoing civil rights and human rights initiatives within the urban county. **Resolution 0650-21** approved $170,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to NAMI Lexington for the operation of the Fayette Mental Health Court. This specialized court program provides alternatives to traditional criminal justice proceedings for individuals with mental health conditions, offering treatment and support services instead of incarceration. **Resolution 0655-21** allocated the largest portion of funding, totaling $577,500 in Local Recovery Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, to three cultural organizations. The recipients include the Lyric Theater and Cultural Arts Center, LexArts, and the Explorium of Lexington. This funding aims to support the recovery and continued operations of these important cultural institutions that serve the Lexington community. All three allocations represent strategic investments in community services, mental health support, civil rights protection, and cultural preservation using federal recovery funds designed to help communities rebuild and strengthen essential services following the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding decisions demonstrate the council's commitment to supporting both social services and cultural organizations that contribute to the community's well-being and quality of life. ## Public Comment During the public comment period, one resident addressed the council regarding issues in the community. **Chris** spoke about panhandling concerns in Lexington [timestamp: 00:30]. Chris expressed concerns about aggressive panhandling occurring in certain areas of the city and urged city officials to address both the immediate issue and its underlying root causes. ## Contested Items The council addressed one contentious issue during this meeting that resulted in a split vote among members. **No-knock warrant ban** The council voted on implementing a ban on no-knock warrants, which generated significant debate among council members. The disagreement centered on concerns about public safety and transparency in law enforcement practices. The proposed ban would apply specifically to the Lexington Police Department and would not extend to other law enforcement agencies operating within the jurisdiction. This limitation was part of the contentious discussion, as some members expressed concerns about the scope and effectiveness of such a restricted ban. The debate reflected broader tensions between public safety considerations and police reform efforts. Council members who supported the ban likely viewed it as a necessary step toward greater transparency and accountability in policing practices. Those opposed may have raised concerns about potential impacts on officer safety and law enforcement effectiveness. The measure ultimately passed despite the split vote, indicating that a majority of council members supported implementing the no-knock warrant ban for the Lexington Police Department. However, the contentious nature of the vote suggests the decision was not unanimous and reflected genuine disagreement among council members about the appropriate balance between police reform and public safety concerns. The limitation of the ban to only the Lexington Police Department, rather than all law enforcement agencies, represents a compromise position that may have influenced the final vote count. ## Public Comment - Issues on Agenda [timestamp: 00:30] During the public comment period for agenda items, one community member addressed the city council regarding ongoing concerns in Lexington. Chris spoke to the council about the issue of panhandling occurring throughout the city. The speaker expressed safety concerns related to this activity and emphasized the need for the city to take action to address what they characterized as the underlying root causes of the problem rather than just the visible symptoms. The public comment was informational in nature, providing community input on an issue affecting residents. No formal action was taken by the council in response to the comment during this portion of the meeting. ## Approval of Summary [timestamp: 03:00] The council considered approval of the summary from their June 22, 2021, meeting. Council Member Josh McCurn and Council Member Kathy Plomin were the key speakers during this agenda item. The motion to approve the meeting summary was presented and discussed by the council members. The summary covered the proceedings and decisions made during the previous week's council session. Following the discussion, the council voted to approve the summary of the June 22, 2021, meeting. The motion was successful, with the summary receiving official approval from the council. ## New Business [timestamp: 10:00] The council addressed several new business items during this portion of the meeting, with Vice Mayor Steve Kay and Council Member Josh McCurn serving as key participants in the discussion. The primary focus of the new business segment involved the approval of sub-recipient agreements related to federal funding. These agreements represent formal arrangements that would allow the distribution of federal funds to qualifying recipients within the community. Vice Mayor Kay and Council Member McCurn led the discussion on these funding agreements, though the specific details of the federal programs, funding amounts, and intended recipients were not detailed in the available materials. The sub-recipient agreements appeared to be part of a broader federal funding initiative that required local government approval and oversight. The council proceeded to vote on the new business items presented, ultimately approving the measures under consideration. The approval of these sub-recipient agreements will enable the city to move forward with the distribution of federal funds according to the established program requirements and guidelines. No significant opposition or concerns were noted during the discussion of these new business items, suggesting general council consensus on the proposed agreements and their implementation. ## Continuing Business [timestamp: 20:00] Council Member Amanda Bledsoe provided a report on the Budget, Finance & Economic Development Committee meeting during the continuing business portion of the June 29, 2021 council session. Bledsoe's presentation included updates on the city's financial status and ongoing economic development partnerships. The report covered recent committee discussions regarding budget matters and collaborative efforts with economic development organizations. This agenda item served as an informational update to keep the full council informed of the committee's recent activities and decisions. No formal action was taken during this presentation, as it functioned as a status report on the committee's work. The report allowed council members to stay current on financial and economic development matters being addressed at the committee level before they potentially come before the full council for consideration. ## Lexington Workforce Resource Center [timestamp: 30:00] Elodie Dickinson presented an update on the Lexington Workforce Resource Center, describing it as a pilot project designed to deliver job training and placement services at the neighborhood level. The presentation focused on the center's mission to provide localized workforce development opportunities, bringing employment resources directly to community members rather than requiring them to travel to centralized locations. Dickinson outlined how the pilot program aims to address employment challenges by offering training programs and job placement assistance within the neighborhoods where residents live. The workforce resource center represents an innovative approach to connecting job seekers with opportunities while reducing barriers to access that might prevent participation in traditional workforce development programs. By operating at the neighborhood level, the center seeks to better serve residents who may face transportation challenges or other obstacles to accessing employment services. This agenda item was presented for informational purposes, providing council members and the public with an overview of the pilot project's structure and objectives. The presentation did not require any formal action from the governing body, serving instead as an update on this workforce development initiative. The neighborhood-focused model represents a departure from conventional workforce development approaches, emphasizing accessibility and community-based service delivery to better reach residents in need of employment assistance and job training opportunities. ## Task Force on Neighborhoods in Transition Report Out [timestamp: 50:00] Council Member James Brown and Hilary Angelucci presented the final report from the Task Force on Neighborhoods in Transition during this informational presentation. The task force was established to study and develop recommendations addressing involuntary displacement occurring in neighborhoods throughout the city. The presentation focused on the task force's findings and proposed solutions to help prevent residents from being forced out of their communities due to rising housing costs, gentrification, and other economic pressures. The report represents the culmination of the task force's work examining patterns of neighborhood change and their impact on long-term residents. Council Member Brown and Angelucci outlined the key recommendations contained in the final report, which are designed to provide tools and strategies the city can implement to mitigate involuntary displacement. The recommendations aim to help preserve neighborhood character while ensuring existing residents can remain in their communities as areas experience economic development and change. This was an informational presentation, meaning no formal action was taken by the council during this meeting. The report out serves to inform council members and the public about the task force's completed work and findings. The recommendations will likely be considered for future policy development and implementation as the city works to address housing affordability and neighborhood stability challenges. The presentation provides council members with the research and analysis needed to evaluate potential policy responses to involuntary displacement, setting the stage for future discussions about which recommendations to pursue and how to implement them effectively. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approve the June 22, 2021 table of motions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approve new business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approve to move forward with the second tranche of funding of $2.5M for the Small Business Economic Recovery Program (as approved in the June 29, 2021 Budget, Finance & Economic Development Committee meeting) - **Motion** — passed (0-0): go into closed session pursuant to KRS 61.810 (1)(b) and (g) to discuss and deliberate on the sale of real property and the potential siting, expansion or upgrading of a business entity, as open discussions would jeopardize the proposal and be likely to affect the value of the property - **Motion** — passed (0-0): return from closed session - **Motion** — passed (0-0): adjourn at 4:26pm --- ## Full transcript Cause it'll give me time to pick If I have a chance out as a world to dance And I'll be dancing on with myself Dancing on with myself Dancing on with myself When there's nothing to do We say there's nothing to prove But I'll dance on with myself Oh, oh, oh, oh Pass me by, let me dance in with myself So let's take another drink Cause it'll give me time to pick If I had the chance, I'd ask a woman to dance And I'll be dancing with myself Dancing with myself Dancing with myself If I had the chance, I'd ask a woman to dance If I had the chance, I'd ask a woman to dance If I had the chance, I'd ask a woman to dance Oh, oh, oh. I'm out. Thank you. I'll be back. Oh, oh, oh, oh I drove off in the brand new car I bought her She made leaving me look easy I wish she'd made it look a little harder I took her out of Texas when she was just a girl But old Tennessee and me couldn't take Texas out of her Oh, how I wish Dallas was in Tennessee If I could move Texas east Then she'd be here with me And if nothing else would come between the two of us If Dallas was in Tennessee guitar solo Serve as a reminder True love is a treasure It's very seldom found But you can't stay together There's no common ground Oh, how I wish Dallas was in Tennessee If I could move Texas east Then she'd be here with me And nothing else would come between the two of us If Dallas was in Tennessee Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. 2021 council work session. I'd like to go ahead and call the meeting to order. And the first item on the agenda is public comment. And so we have one person signed up to speak. Chris, if you'll come to the podium and the council rules ask that you state your name and your council district. And you'll have three minutes to talk. Thank you, ma'am. My name is Chris Breesman. I am a resident of Lexington and currently live in Masterson Station District 2, represented by Josh McCurn. I've come to speak about the city's panhandling plague. It's especially bad down on Nicholasville Road, Vercels Road in downtown. Down by Chick-fil-A on Nicholasville Road, I was harassed by a panhandler while waiting at a light. When I told him to go away, he became very aggressive, yelling incoherently about his wife, who was eating Chick-fil-A. I have experienced similar instances walking and driving downtown on Bursell's Road. It seems the instances of these aggressive interactions is increasing. We should feel safe in our communities. I don't feel safe around these panhandlers. Panhandling is dangerous. You're advertising to someone who could have a legally concealed weapon that you have cash. Panhandling is a crime, and it should be addressed as such. What do visitors think when they are harassed by panhandlers? handlers do they think we're a welcoming city who cares about the safety of them and their citizens or just another city with the problems the people in charge refuse to change we should have a mayor city council and police force who addresses panhandling and the root causes unfortunately everyone is turning a blind eye until somebody gets seriously hurt or injured then y'all will blame everyone else but yourself as a 100 disabled veteran i suffered from ptsd and anxiety from from nearly being murdered by an ex-girlfriend. I'm a walking, talking statistic. I do not want to be in a panhandling statistic too, nor do I want my wife or sons to become just another sad statistic of Lexington. I don't know the solutions to these problems. I do know the current way of handling panhandlers is an abject failure. Thank you for your time. Thank you for those who have paid attention. Thank you very much, sir. Next, there are no requested rezonings or docket. There is a June 22nd table of motions to approve. Could I have a motion? So moved. Second. Thank you very much, Council Member McCurn, Council Member Plowman. Are there any questions? All right, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? Okay, that motion passes. There are no budget amendments. There is new business. If I could have a motion to approve, please. Move approval. Vice Mayor Kay moves approval. Council Member McCurn seconds. Now, if you'll log in, please, Council Members, with your questions. No questions? No. Council Member Lamb. I just wanted to make a statement about several of the items that are on here, of agencies that are getting the funding. I know I've received a couple of emails from a constituent who was worried about the funding for, say, the Human Rights Commission, and I just wanted to say publicly that there are several subrecipient agreements on this. One's for the Human Rights Commission. One's for the Fayette Mental Health Court. One is for the Lyric Theater Cultural Arts Center, LexArts Explorium. And I just wanted people to know, because I think that because they didn't see it in the budget, maybe perhaps they might have been a little confused. And I thought I'd take this opportunity to say that there's several funded items on here of agencies that are great agencies in our community. So thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Bledsoe. Thank you, Mayor. and I want to echo the same sentiment that Council Member Lamb did. Actually, I'll ask Mr. Lanter, if you don't mind coming to the podium. We have several agencies in here that are getting funding through the federal ARPA dollars, and I know that we've had several conversations, the mayor, administration, and myself, about ease of use and funding and how it works. And so the administrative burden on both is a little bit more than traditional funding. So what is your plan to engage them on training on how to report this well so we already have a training scheduled with all of them it's I don't think it's next week I think it's the week after so we'll be doing a training in person in the Phoenix building in the third board conference room so that we can really engage in depth with them it'll be you know there'll be a PowerPoint and all that but we're also going to have our staff on site to be able to answer questions and talk them through what the invoicing process looks like what what we will need from them documentation wise and then I've been working with with Aaron Commissioner Hensley on you know what what is the simplest path forward for some of these like you know that on some work our hands are tied just because of how the program is structured others like like ones where there was a revenue loss such as the Lyric such as LexArts Explorium where there was an actual you know literal trackable reduction in admission rates and revenue we've asked the organizations to start putting together documentation of that because if they can document the lost revenue there's a reduction in the administrative burden to get the money and so that's that's it's sort of a different bite at the apple for them on how they can get reimbursed that'll make it a little simpler it's not gonna be easy for anybody it's definitely it's definitely more difficult than general fund but we're gonna do everything we can to keep it the path of least resistance if you will and then to provide as much training and communication with them as possible well I really appreciate that I know there are a number of people are nervous about that and so i just want to publicly state my concern for us in making sure that we're mindful of administrative burden on our own staff as well as them and that ease of use is important so if after that training it works for some and not others i think we should consider a different funding source for that reason but i'll support it going on the docket today thank you thank you mayor thank you councilmember james brown Thank you, Mayor. I just have a question for Commissioner Albright with Item E. I'm glad to see this project underway. It's one of the affordable housing projects we funded last year, but I know they're accessing that property from Russell Cave Road, but I know a lot of neighbors in the neighborhood surrounding it have concerns about that access. Is there signage to let everyone know that that's only a temporary construction access off of Russell Cave? That may not be a temporary sign. Construction sign may not be out there. No, it's a permanent right of entry to get sanitary sewer from the east side of Russell Cave to our existing system on the west side in that little piece of property that we already own. So am I a little further down? Are you talking, is this part of the sanitary sewer construction project on the other side of the bridge, the 75 bridge? Outside of the bridge? Yes, sir. Yeah, there's that development that's going in. Okay. Was it Eden or something like that? And they've got to get the sanitary sewer connected to the public system on that piece of property, and that's what this is for. Okay. Well, I guess I'm just a little bit further down the road, but I just wanted to make sure that folks knew that that was only a temporary access easement. but it may not apply to the area that I'm talking about right now. So thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Maloney. Thank you. I want to follow up on the conversation that we're talking about these nonprofits. I voted against the budget because we took the money out of the stabilization to fund these programs that we've always funded out of the general funds. These are money that were not put in the general funds, and that's why they're concerned, And I don't blame them because they get, by law, we have to fund these programs. And this year we did not take it in the general funds. We took it out and put it in the budget stabilization on some of these programs. And that's why there's some of them of concern if they're going to be funded next year, are we going to make sure that, like, the human rights be put back into the general funds? Because we have to fund them. And that's what I think the confusion that some of these folks are out there that are concerned about. Are they going to be funded down the road? and i don't blame them for being worried about it so i just want to be sure that everybody well i can see where they're coming from so thank you anyone else wish to speak to new business and of course to councilmember maloney to your point those normal entities that we fund we fully intend to fund them in next year's budget this was just a different way of funding so thank you okay all those in favor then of approving new business say aye anyone opposed all right that motion passes now continuing business council member Bledsoe with budget finance and economic development thank you mayor the meeting was called to order at 101 non-committal meetings were present. We had two items that were presented out of committee. Just a second. I'm sorry. I'm just not looking at this more carefully. Okay. Item number four was the Industrial Revenue Bond Fee Schedule Amendments that were reported to Council on March 16th at the work session. Ernest 21-2021 was approved on April 8th, which established a fee schedule for the issuance of revenue bonds. Agenda Item 5 were proposals for the use of coronavirus relief funds and fund balance. The Small Business Economic Estimates Program was reported to the Council on April 6th at work session, and after a follow-up presentation on April 20th, the Council approved Resolution 235-2021 on May 6th to create the grant program and execute an agreement with Commerce Lexington. The rest of my reports from the March 16th meeting have not been reported to Council and will be now. First, the committee approved the February 23rd, 2021 meeting summary. We then heard the financials for February. We then had an economic development partnership update. First was EFREDAS International. Then we heard from Jenna Greathouse and the Urban League and EHI Consultants. All three presentations were thorough and each followed by a lot of discussion with committee members present. We adjourned at 3 p.m. Then today, this is a partial report out from today's June 29, 2021 meeting. Today, Lori Forrester, Senior Vice President of Fort Bank, provided an update on the recent Small Business Economic Recovery Grant Program. The first tranche of funding of $2.5 million was distributed quickly and smoothly to small businesses. The program opened its application on May 18th and closed in mid-June due to the funding running out. Ultimately, the committee expressed support to issue the second tranche of funding, and the motion was approved unanimously to report the action under this item today. The motion was made by Council Member James Brown, seconded by Council Member Bloom, to move forward with the second tranche of funding of $2.5 million. The motion passed without dissent, and on behalf of the committee, I so move. Is there a second? Council Member Sheehan? Any discussion? Councilmember Ellinger. Thank you. They had the 7.5% still in there. Is that included in there? Because I didn't hear that part of the motion, but that is part of the 2.5 million is 7.5 for administrative costs? Yes, it is. Thank you. Any other questions, council members? All right. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Thank you very much. Next, I'd like to welcome to the podium Elodie Dickinson, who's going to give the Lexington Workforce Resource Center proposal, update, progress report. It's very exciting. Welcome. Thank you. I'll make sure I can use this clicker still. All right. Yay, it works. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Elodie Dickinson, and I'm the Director of Workforce and Business Engagement for the City of Lexington, and happy to be back here in person and to see you all. Some of you, I think this is the first time I've seen you in person up here. Today I'm going to talk about the Lexington Workforce Resource Center. It is a project that we've been working on together as a community. We have some stakeholders here today. So I'm presenting the information today on behalf of our group. So why? The question is, why are we doing this? Well, the goal is to create an accessible location that provides a one-stop shop for our residents to gain access to our workforce partners who provide job training and job placement opportunities. This is happening throughout our city right now as we speak, but they're everywhere across the city. So the intent is to make it accessible and available at the neighborhood level. The other goal is to address the workforce development recommendations that are made in the Mayor's Commission on Racial Justice and Equality report. In that report, there were several references to workforce training opportunities. We have with us today Lisa Higgins-Horde from the University of Kentucky. As you know, she's our Strategic Implementation Coordinator. So we brought together our workforce partners and discussed the logic model that kind of helped us give us a road plan for where we were going to go. So now it's the next step. So we're going to have the workforce training room. Where is it going to be? It's going to be located at Charles Young Center. For those of you who don't know where that is, it's at 540 East 3rd Street. Right now there are programs occurring there, but we are going to be utilizing the room that's on the left-hand side, if you've been there, that's currently being used during tax season. There are four desktop computers there that are stationary. I want to give a shout-out to our IT department. They've been wonderful in helping to get us set up and established there. and so we'll be using those computers in that room to help the workforce partners will be helping individuals with workforce training opportunities which i will get into the facility the facility as you know is owned by the city and managed by the department of social services who the workforce programming will be provided by eight workforce partners and I will get more into the details of what they'll be doing later on in the presentation but they all are providing job placement and job training opportunities to our residents that are living in and around Charles Young Center fortunately the way the program has been designed will have the flexibility to add additional partners if they express an interest to to participate the United Way of the Bluegrass is also a partner in this some of you have probably heard about their waypoint model So they're going to be there as well. They're going to be providing a full-time person who will be responsible for managing the social service referrals. So if somebody comes into the center looking for employment but they don't have housing, then the job person will refer them over to United Way for the housing to address that issue and then continue to help them with the job placement opportunities. The key here is our workforce partners are doing this for free. They're getting their time, and they've all devoted at least four hours a month. We're doing some split shifts, which I'll get into later. Some are doing every week. We have some wonderful agencies who are doing this, again, for free. So the services for our residents are free. A website has been created for the program. that is www.lexingtonky.gov forward slash Lex work an email has also been established for anybody who has questions the phone line that actually is 266 work it's being created it doesn't work right now we're getting it through wind stream but those that will be updated on our flyers and on our website is all this information as well a monthly schedule will be posted on the on our website but also at the center and so people can register online or they can also just come in the typical hours of operation will be monday through thursday currently from eight to five so we'll have a workforce partner there from eight to twelve and one to five we do have some time slots that are not filled right now but depending on what what the traffic is the foot traffic is into the center we can then ask our workforce partners to commit more time basically it's based on public demand all the memo agreements have been signed by our workforce partners so you'll be seeing that in your packet next week workforce partners will also be asked to report the number of residents who come to the charles young center for workforce programming so that we can get a good idea of of who's coming in and the traffic flow and who they're coming to see this program is a six-month pilot project but we hope that it it can work so that we can implement the project in other parts of town to be more specific with our workforce partners we have again they're going to be do resumes they're going to be doing job placement they're going to be helping people apply for jobs online but more specifically we have for instance we have urban league with us today anissa franklin they're going to be doing some fiber optic introductory classes there at the center as well as Microsoft Office. We have BCTC with us today. They'll be doing, they actually have two different Department of Labor grants right now, and so they're providing scholarships for individuals who want to go back into training opportunities. We also have Jubilee Jobs with us today. They're going to be staffing it every week, once a week, and probably more in the future, but they'll be going to be offering their job readiness, job placement, and conflict resolution classes we have opportunity for work and learning they have forklift training they have customer service training they also have employment opportunities we have Goodwill Industries of Kentucky they also have employment opportunities at their retail location they also work with individuals who are justice involved and others opportunity for work and learning I think I mentioned them they also work with the office of voc rehab pretty frequently and the Kentucky Career Center there also be there once a week and they have wonderful opportunities for work based learning on the job training and also BCTC has apprenticeships right now so that's something that's very exciting so mark your calendars you have a flyer in your packet the kickoff event and the program start date will be next week Mira Gorton will be officiating the ceremony at 10 a.m. on Thursday at Charles Young Center our workforce partners will be in gymnasium they'll have booths so you'll understand sort of more what they what they do you all are welcome to come and that will also be the first start date so we have flyers where people can come in and begin employment seeking that day if they choose to and the next steps again if this can work our next steps would be a job fair in the gymnasium in fall of 2021 that would include employers that our workforce partners are already working with including the city we hope as well for all the different employment opportunities we also have we'll see again we need to establish the foot traffic and see what it's going to be like so we can make sure that our employers are spending their time with individuals looking for employment we also will be looking at evaluating the program what's working what's not working the logic model that Lisa has been working with us on really kind of helps examine what's our what's our model what's our what are the things the strengths of the outputs the inputs and then maybe possibly expanding it to other city owned facilities our six month budget is sixteen thousand dollars that includes the infrastructure needs for IT job readiness supports and when the job job offer is made and what that means is if somebody comes in and says I have a job offer but I don't have steel toe boots we can then the the workforce partner will pay for that but then they will ask and request reimbursement from the city for those particular items and then also it includes office supplies so our partners again without them we wouldn't be able to do this so I wanted to make sure I recognized them today and you can see them here questions Elodie thank you so very much and I want to acknowledge Lisa Higgins-Horde's hard work on this also and the partners that you all have gathered together. It's really been a great effort. So we have a few questions. Council Member Maloney. Thank you, Ellie. I appreciate this. This is something we've been needing a long time, ever since we got ready to the Mayor's Training Center, which was a big mistake, and I think this is the right track. We're getting back. Hopefully where my question goes out to and being involved on this council for a long time the charles young board if you all were able to talk to them to make sure they're all on because i always listen to them before i go out so make sure that they're on board so everybody at the charles young board are on board with this yes sir commissioner ford has been intricately involved in those conversations as well um and actually i'll be going there on thursday to meet with the board and the Williams Well Neighborhood Association. Charles Fields and I have our cell phone number, so I'm sure I'll be communicating with him. And the community in the area, I know we've got a lot of new businesses that are open up around there. Hopefully we can get some folks that, I know jobs are, they're looking for people with jobs in partnership with those new businesses surrounding that. I want to commend you all. I mean, to me, this is something that I voted against many years ago, not to close the Mayor's Training Center. and I thank my colleagues for hearing me and the mayor. I appreciate you looking at this because I think this is a track we need to get back into the community. Like where we had the mayor's training center, hopefully this will lead to something, which I think would. So I just want to commend you all for what you're doing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Lamb. Thank you, Mayor. And I am, Ms. Elledy, I am just excited as can be about this. this is exactly what we need and more of it. I'm thrilled to hear that you all are going to be talking about, after six months, expanding it, looking for other areas to expand it in, other areas of our community. I actually took the time to look at the webpage because I was curious, because it's a very valuable resource for people to be able to find out about this. And I have a couple of critiques, I might say, and maybe you all aren't completely through with the web page, but there was some information like it talked about BCTC WERK, and I'm just wondering if there could be some more explanation put on the web page, especially about how each partner helps with resources. I know that you all have a great website, and there are other areas like the Bluegrass Farm to Table, the Coldstream Campus, the Economic Development, and the One Stop Shop, and there's good pieces of information under there, but I thought maybe if we could expand a little bit more information about the partners on this specific page. And I'm just thrilled that we're getting back to this because I think this is such a valuable resource to our community, and I'm anxious and excited about potential other areas, and hopefully we can get I don't know if we have other city buildings or structures but maybe there might be some more partnering to be able to expand this I mean when we had the mayor's training center we had one facility and to think that we could have multiple facilities across our community that more people could access I think that just is is outstanding so so thank you so much I appreciate all your work and I appreciate all of the partners too so well and thank you for bringing that up councilmember lamb about that because I meant to say that in the presentation Nick rocks currently on vacation but he has I have an email out to him right now because what we didn't want to overwhelm everybody on the PowerPoint but to your exact point the specifics that I mentioned we want that on the website as well but then also we're gonna have flyers in the classroom and at Charles Young Center that gets into more of the nitty-gritty so that if somebody is choosing to see BCTC works they'll know what that means thank you councilmember lagree thank you mayor thank you elodie for this presentation i really appreciate it and thank you to all the partners in our community who have made this pilot program possible i know there's a lot of work that had to happen before today i know that you mentioned that you're going to track and report the number of residents who are engaging with the center. I'm also curious about whether or not you're going to track the types of needs they had in terms of, you know, you mentioned the job search process, so interview prep, skill development. How are you all kind of classifying beyond numbers the needs in the community for the folks who do come and seek services? Well, we're not paying our workforce partners, so we don't want it to be too burdensome. However, all of the workforce partners currently are having to report things anyway, mainly to their boards or to the other grant reporting requirements. So I think that's a discussion that we certainly still need to have. I think there's going to be definitely some overriding similarities. You know, how many people did you see that you were doing resumes with and what happened to them? Because I think that's going to be the next question. What happened to them after they came to Charles Young? Did they go get a job? Did they go to training? What kind of training did they get? Those are going to be a lot of questions that are going to be asked. So right now, we are going to have a Google form, and we're going to track the number of people coming in. And then we'll have a sign-in sheet so we can even see how many people came in versus how many actually people signed up and who are they signing up with. We'll have that. But those are questions that, well, we're not currently funding them, but that's something that may already track as well for their own purposes. Well, that's very helpful. And I really want this to be successful and sustainable. And it sounds like you all are on the right track. So thank you. you're welcome councilmember Reynolds thank you mayor thank you so much for working on this everyone that worked on it I really think this is something that is going to really enhance the quality of life of a lot of people in our community I know you mentioned the website and maybe some flyers but do you have a plan really to get the word out there about this beyond that like social media TV things like that we don't have a budget first for the for TV or for radio but we certainly are going to social media it as much as possible along with working with the Charles Young advisory board and the Williams well Brown neighborhood association but then I pre I would appreciate it too once we send some things out after after the opening if if you all could send that to your residents you know especially if they're around the Charles Young Center that would be one way of doing it we we certainly think that flyers literally flyers the flyers that we've created have I know this sounds old-fashioned but it's certainly I know some of you may remember the flyers in the laundromats that had the little tabs that you tear off we're gonna be putting these different places and I think our workforce partners will also be promoting the center as well i think those flyers are are important i know in some of my neighborhoods that's the best way to get the word out but but i do think having a comprehensive plan um on how to reach people would be key because i just think a lot of people will have no idea that this is happening but um thank you i appreciate that and look forward to hearing more updates about it so thank you thank you council member james brown thank you mayor thank you elodie for the for the presentation and your work on this as well as lisa higgins hord and all the all the partners um i think as we are coming out of covet and looking to get folks back into the workplace i think this is a way to be focused and intentional a focus and intentional way of reaching some of the folks that we have a hard time reaching. So I think the fact that we're setting this up at the Charles Young Center, I think is a great initiative. And I think having flexibility in the program and in the space so we can continue to improve and to provide services, I think is also a benefit. I just have a few questions. So who is going to be at the Charles Young Center, because there's other programs also being provided at this center, Who's going to be the main contact person that can answer questions and guide folks to the space that these services are being provided to in that center? It's going to be a team effort in that we'll have the phone number for questions that I'll be directing those messages to our workforce partners. But then also United Way will be there full time. And then I believe Commissioner Ford, there's also will be somebody part-time there as well to help direct traffic. Is that correct? So we'll, and then of course our workforce partners will be there. So it'll be a work in progress, but we will have people there, staff, to make sure that doors are open at 8. And then that there will be a transition period and the doors will be closed at 5. Yeah, I think that's important that we cover that base because I know some of the challenges we have at community centers and other government buildings is when folks show up they need to know there needs to be somebody to talk to them and to direct them to to get the services that they need so if there's a plan in place i think that's good the other thing i heard the other day is are there additional opportunities for other agencies other programs and other initiatives to be part of this one in regards to some of the space being available or having an opportunity to present other resources that may may be out there yeah I would I would hope that the next stage again more of the employer engagement but it also might mean if there's individuals who want to start their own businesses or they want to take a class and what that means we can start engaging those folks I think the space right now is really the limitation and and also trying to figure out what takes priority right now we just got to get our schedule worked out and make sure that's working well but i would think the next step would be the employer engagement to the point where they can even come in and do on-site interviews if they want to do that or if there's some screening processes that they want to do all of our workforce partners already have employers are working with every day place employment placing excuse me placing people into employment but this kind of engages back to the workforce training center that the mayor's training center in the past, I think there was a lot of employer engagement as part of that. Yeah, and I think the satellite center is going to do us a lot of good as far as gathering data, letting us know what direction we need to be leaning towards in regards to a more robust workforce development center or initiative. So I think there's a lot to be learned from this pilot program, and I appreciate all your work with it so thank you thank you mayor thank you councilmember Kloiber thank you mayor thank you for the presentation today I think the value of a program like this cannot be understated I think the one thing I wanted to kind of ask about is the point you made about the flexibility that will exist to expand that what kind of hurdles are you gonna face beyond just partner support in order to try to expand this program and then what do you think is a meaningful timeline to kind of evaluate where we're at and in overcoming those you know I think the immediate timeline for evaluation will be literally at the end of July I don't have the August calendar up yet but I think by the end of July hopefully since we're gonna be opening up next week on the 8th by the end of the month early August will be able to determine what the foot traffic is and then moving forward how do we need to fill up that space more with our workforce partners and if we do what are their needs I it's going to have to be a constant communication that we're having to discuss that and then also we've talked as a group and during the logic model but then together as a group referring to each other right if somebody comes in and they may not be interested in going back to school at bctc but they want a job and they want to start it tomorrow then bctc can refer them to jubilee jobs knowing that jubilee jobs is going to be there this that afternoon so i think we've never done this before so i think the evaluation process is going to have to be quite immediate and literally at the end of july to figure out what's working what's not and then again constant communication the budget again is that six month budget i'm not sure the budget needs will have to be determined based on the traffic I think. Council members does anyone else have questions for Elodie? All right thank you so much Elodie does a great job with our workforce development thank you. Thank you. Yes all right next is councilmember James Brown and Hilary Angelouci correct who will give the task force on neighborhoods in transition report out. Welcome Hillary. Thank you. Thank you Mayor. I'm going to turn it over to Hillary to do the presentation to the full council but before she does I just want to say thank you to Vice Mayor Kay for appointing this task force, Tiffany and Hillary for working here as an executive committee to get things in order and then also to all the task force members in the community i know we have a few that are present with us today for all their work and time dedicated to this very valuable work and initiative so with that i'll turn it over to hillary to do the presentation thank you all for allowing me to present today i'm truly excited to be presenting the task force on neighborhoods in transition report out to you all a lot of work of work has gone into this so first i want to touch on the purpose and the focus of the task force so the purpose to identify ways to protect vulnerable residents from the consequences of the neighborhood redevelopment and transformation especially displacement with an emphasis on preserving the history and culture of communities This task force was created out of concerns about neighborhood change, talking about properties turning over at an accelerated rate and when most new owners in a neighborhood are more affluent and differ from the traditional residents in terms of race and ethnicity. Both are common issues used to define gentrification. Prior to the appointment of this task force, no one was having any public discussions or meetings or meetings or conversations about these issues. The task force decided not to use the word gentrification in the title of its group name, but it did agree to encourage folks to use whatever word they felt comfortable with. We added displacement to the definition, our purpose, because it is an important consequence to development and transformation. The most negative impact on neighborhoods in transition is involuntary displacement. Neighborhood development and transformation is often driven by market forces or economic pressures, which has consequences on neighborhoods. The folks most negatively impacted are disproportionately low income and or people of color. The emphasis on involuntary displacement attempts to balance the negative impacts of market forces and development, and allowed the task force to focus on the most vulnerable neighborhoods in our community. And I'll talk about what makes a person more vulnerable in just a minute, but first I'm going to tell you how we got to our recommendations. So from start to finish, a lot of time and energy went into this task force from all fronts. Here's a snapshot of just over two years of work. Many of those 23 meetings were an hour and a half long, sometimes more. I want to draw your attention to the 10 presentations made at those meetings. Some of those included understanding transitions in Lexington and an overview of MAPSHOP, the 2018 Comprehensive Plan, PDR and the Rural Land Management Board, Affordable Housing Fund Report, plus a variety of other topics. who was at the table a lot of folks we had over 25 task force members some of those folks were a lot added along the process and some replaced those who transitioned out of organizations all of those members the entities and community groups that they represent brought a lot of perspective knowledge and community connection to the table in addition to our outside partners there was a lot of support from lfucg divisions and employees shown in that square in the middle transparency and accessibility it was a very important part of this task force the website and google folder provided access to all of our materials essentially live as best as we could keep up this might not sound like a big deal but it's 23 meetings of agendas supporting materials, summaries, draft reports, you name it, it's there and it's all accessible. Plus resources. We stored all resources that were shared with the task force, both from the public and from task force members, into this Google folder and created a master list that tried to list all of those. Additionally, all of our meetings were held in accessible locations and many of them took place in the evening. engagement there was a lot of that too community forum one over 80 residents participated in this community forum asking to identify changes that they are seeing in their neighborhoods all the feedback from that forum was sorted out into five major topics which the task force then used to talk through the issues on hand community forum 2 had over 250 participants and this forum asked for solutions two overwhelming recommendations from that that public forum included make improvements to the division of code enforcement and allocate additional funding to the city's affordable housing fund public comment was allowed at nearly all of our task force meetings And lastly, we issued a survey to collect feedback on the two final reports that concluded our work. That survey collected 54 responses that provided some actual feedback, and those results are in our Google folder as well. All right, let's skip this slide really quickly. Over the course of about a year, the task force worked to digest and transform public input, community familiarity, and expertise into maps that would identify priority areas. The role of public perception, factors that are voluntary and involuntary, root cause, and overlapping attributes were all discussed. The bottom of this slide, you'll see a list of six attributes that bubbled up to the top through this work. We wrapped up this work in a map report. Now I'm going to jump back to that map slide really quick. All right. So there are four maps that are essential to the task force. They identify priority areas to help resources reach the most vulnerable parts of the community to involuntary displacement. This is an example of one of the four priority area maps. It's broken down by census tract block groups. It shows the percentage, this one in particular, shows the percentage of households by block group making 30% or less of the area median income. In each of the four priority area maps, the deepest shade of red triggers a priority area for the task force. Right. So the task force mapping project was made possible because of Dr. Matt Wilson, who is here today, an associate professor at the University of Kentucky in the Department of Geography, and his map shop team of graduate students. Also Fayette County PVA, David O'Neill, and his office. The map report is a comprehensive review of various attributes that can make people vulnerable to displacement. There are 16 maps in there, so when you have time to check those out. Ultimately, the task force determined four attributes to identify the priority areas, though, and those attributes have a more direct impact on involuntary displacement. That's median income at less than 30% of area medium income, high minority population non-white, low mean home sale price, and low owner occupancy rate. Recommendations, the task force made 31 of them. To help stabilize neighborhoods that are experiencing change. You can find those recommendations in your packet on page 52. The goal is to achieve stability without preventing positive neighborhood improvements. And enable residents and business owners to stay in their traditional neighborhoods, if that is their preference. The recommendations are broken down into five sections. So section A focused on existing programs, policies, and procedures. These ones were separated into four topics, planning, community and resident services, code enforcement, and affordable housing. The recommendations touched on small area plans, neighborhood history and culture, major local investment, case closed letters for code enforcement violations, affordable housing affordability rate respective to neighborhood AMI, existing homeowners. Section B had 12 recommendations. And those recommendations touched on resources for small businesses, community benefit agreements, a proactive landlord statement, property tax liens, a rental registration program, et cetera. Section C focuses on increasing resources, mainly for the housing rehab program, the affordable housing fund, and it also provides some direction for a new position in the new Department of Housing Advocacy and Community Development. Section D is pretty simple, but it is also significant. The task force issued a statement in December of 2020 expressing its support for the recommendations made by the Housing and Gentrification Subcommittee of the Mayor's Commission for Racial Justice and Equality. quality I do want to point out that that once the subcommittee was appointed the task force shared all of its recommendations most which were still in a draft form to the subcommittee in July of 2020 and we made all of our materials available to the subcommittee also that subcommittee was led by two task force members all right last section E this one focuses on our priority areas to focus resources dedicated to addressing involuntary displacement it has the maps it talks about how often they should be updated and how that should happen and how to dedicate those resources so I'm going to pass it back over to Councilmember James Brown. Thank you Hillary for kind of wrapping up two plus years worth of work in 15 minutes. You know I think what some of our next steps are is I know that the council had just received the report last week and I just wanted to give council members the opportunity to read and digest that information before we entertain, consider entertaining a resolution to adopt the task force work in support of the recommendations. And then also I think some of the next steps would be to put a lot of the recommendations that are, that fall under LFUCG's purview into committees and actually work through them and see what policy changes or policies that we can look to address. And then to continue this work with our partners in the private sector. I appreciate Hillary recognizing Dr. Matt Wilson. Please raise your hand Dr. Matt. Dr. Matt provided a lot of validation and information to the task force in regards to mapping out attributes in Lexington, sharing the history of development in our city and I I think that information was very useful to the task force going forward. And then I would also, before I open it up to questions, thank some of our community partners. BCTC for making their space available to us, Community Ventures, as well as Lex Tran. We had our public forums at the Senior Center where we were at capacity. And then also Lexington Traditional Middle School opened their doors to the task force as well. There was a lot of focus in regards to the task force work as far as being accessible and available to the public. Hence our meeting locations, hence our meeting times, and then when in person, we always allow public comment, which we thought was important. And to be honest with you, all the comment that we received wasn't positive. But I think we appreciated getting that input and engagement from the public because I think it kept us honest and true to the conversations that we were having, which were a lot of tough conversations about a lot of tough issues in our community. The work of the task force in this report is not a silver bullet to addressing transition, gentrification, infill, and redevelopment. But I think it gets us started in having those conversations that we can continue to have in a lot of different venues. I think it sets the stage for us to continue this work, and I think some of that could be in the Mayor's Commission on Racial Justice and Equality, and then various other venues where this topic comes up. So with that, Mayor, if there's opportunity for questions, we'll do that. Thank you so much. Councilmember Brown and Hillary, thank you very much for the presentation. So, Councilmembers, now is the time for questions. Anyone have a question? Councilmember Maloney. This problem has been going on for the last 10 years pretty bad. Now, Mayor, you were on the council in the 90s. Brett Brown, you were on the council in the 90s. We didn't have this issue. we had vacant lots. We couldn't find people to sell them. So with the help of Don Ball at the time, and I was on the commission with him, we had a problem with de-restriction, and people, when they were foreclosing, they had 30 people on the name. We were able to get the language changed out of Louisville and got these moving, and we had non-profits that came in and brought these houses up and made it back into the home. And I remember working with Community Ventures, worked in Palltown to revitalize that neighborhood. But the problem is UK took the whole thing over, even though we invested in it. But UK came in and we built the houses for $115,000. And then landlords came in and paid $300,000 for those houses. But I noticed when we were doing that, there was a lot of lots that were available. There was not this problem going on. There was another thing going on at the same time. They were the expansion of the boundaries. And it was able to take a lot of those pressures off the downtown, and we were able to get a lot of vacant lots. But since we have not spanned the boundary in 25 years and we run out of space, and my heart is for affordable housing. There is no such thing as affordable housing here in Lexington. And I know because I listen to the nonprofits. I used to work at Reach. I hear their complaints. they have to send them, like I mentioned earlier, to Georgetown, or they have to send them to Richmond. And to me, I think we need to look at all the avenues, and I appreciate what you all have done, but you need to look why we had a lot of vacant lots back in. We were able to help Habitat get places, vacant lots, because there were land that we were using out the outside, the expansion of the boundaries. And I know people don't want to hear that, but since we stopped expanding the boundaries, this problem has started to exist and very heavy. And you know what? Everybody says build up, build up. But after what happened in Miami the other day, I don't know if anybody wants to build up anymore. I don't mean to say that. But as you, even though Lexington may be better than anybody in building things up, but I know a lot of people are going to start looking at those kind of things that maybe we be careful where we build. So I asked whatever the committee that you look at what advantages we did back in the 90s and how we did fix some of these problems. We didn't fix them all, but they did work. We did have vacant property. We had the habitat. And I look at history circling around. We may have to look at something, and I know it's a hard thing to talk about for some people, but when it comes to affordable housing, to me that's the number one important thing in my life that I've done for the last 35 years of my life. People should have a dream to stay where they live, and I look at all the options. I'm not saying that we vote, but I think you need to look at what made it well back in the 90s and 2000. We were able to do that. So I just want to throw that out there. I don't care if it upsets a lot of people, but you're going to have to fix this problem, and I don't see anybody fixing it right now. Thank you. Vice Mayor Kaye. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to add a couple of comments. I want to first, in part because he's here and in part because of the major amount of work he did, I want to give a shout out to Matt Wilson from UK and to UK. I think we often forget what a great partner the university is. The fact that we have somebody like Dr. Wilson up there who is willing to devote a significant amount of his time to an effort that the community is engaged in is really very important and very special. So I thank you for that. And secondly, I want to thank Councilmember Brown, who first came to me with this idea. And as I've said in a few other venues, I was reluctant to appoint this task force because I thought the question was so difficult. And not intractable, but close to it. And so in the conversation, because it involved race and class, it was so difficult that I wasn't sure that we could make progress. But he convinced me that it was important to do so. And my conclusion at this point as we present this report is, if nothing else, it has raised the question onto the community's agenda. It's more visible. People, I think, understand more about it. I certainly learned through the process some things that I had not known about the whole question. And some people like to call it gentrification. I have resisted using that term because for some people it encompasses any improvement in low-income areas, and we need improvement there. Part of what I learned is this, where we finally ended up focusing. which is, it's about displacement. It's about people who've lived in a neighborhood or part of the community and have liked living there and appreciated living there. It's a low income area and they start to get forced out. It's not about making improvements, it's about who gets negatively impacted by that. The set of recommendations that we've come forward with attempt to address some of those issues. And I'm reminded that when we started this work, there was no glimmering of a hope that there would be a new commissioner for housing and community development. There was no notion that there would be someone in that office who was specifically a housing advocate. Those are important steps forward. So, again, I thank Council Member Brown for being persistent. everybody on council knows he can be and for encouraging me to name this task force and I'm very pleased with the result so thank you mayor thank you are there any other comments or questions any questions for Hillary all right I see none thank you again council member Brown and Hillary all right we'll move along to council reports. Councilmember James Brown. Thank you Mayor. The other thing I forgot to say in regards to neighborhoods and transition is we had a lot of support from LFUCG employees, commissioners, directors, attorneys. We had a lot of support so I just wanted to make sure I recognize them and thank them for all their work with the task force. And then I'd also just like to give a shout out to one of our police officers. My son yesterday had an incident on New Circle Road. He wasn't hurt or anything, but he was in a bad spot. And Officer Klein showed up and actually provided assistance to help him get out of a bad situation in regards to where his car, where he wound up having to pull over his car. So I just wanted to recognize that officer for being Johnny on the spot, actually even getting his hands dirty and helping us out in that situation. So thank you to Officer Klein if you are listening. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Sheehan. Thank you, Mayor. I think this week is the week of all the neighborhood meetings. So I know we're all happy to be back meeting in person with our neighborhoods. Last night, we had a neighborhood meeting off of Winchester Road, and I want to say thank you to the Bluegrass Baptist Church for allowing us space to meet there. And thank you to Director Alshave from Code Enforcement and Lieutenant Jeff Jackson from LPD for being there to address resident concerns. But also thank you to everyone that attended that meeting for caring about their neighborhood and their community and taking the time to be there. Tonight we have a meeting at 544 Lakeshore Drive about the pump station updates in that area at 6pm. That meeting was going to be held on Thursday, but it had been moved to tonight due to weather on Thursday night. So be aware of that if that is in your area. And then tomorrow we have another neighborhood meeting at 6 p.m. for residents over in the Strader Drive area. That is going to be held again at 6 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member McCurron. Working. There you go. Takes a minute for it to get to work sometimes. Thank you, Mayor. I have Commissioner Armstrong, if you can come up, please, or possibly even Director Ruddock. Addressing the gentleman's concerns that he came up with earlier on and spoke to you about panhandling and what's going on, I've noticed an increase in panhandling all across the city, particularly in my district, though, too. And even though we sometimes have officers who come over and speak to them, but they tend to get abrasive. And I can see we're being harassed. And, you know, it's summertime, so we won't have our windows down. But, you know, coming up to an intersection and having somebody who's in the Lexington just visiting, that can be a big concern. So what can be done from public safety aspect? What can be done from our aspect? and what can the neighbors do as well? Well, just to give some background, I don't know the council is aware of it, but just want to make sure the public understands that the Supreme Court has identified panhandling as protected freedom of speech through the First Amendment, and that's something that we've dealt with for a number of years now as it applies there. However, aggressive or threatening panhandling actually is not panhandling. Then it becomes a criminal offense, whether it be criminal trespass, whether it's menacing or terroristic threatening. If those type of situations present itself, then we encourage everyone to call the police department and they will come out and take a report or address the situation if it's ongoing at that time. Also, as you know, panhandling cannot occur on private property without an individual's consent. So that is also a consideration as well. Sometimes we get complaints about Target parking lot, Walmart parking lot, whatever parking lot, Kroger's, whatever it happens to be. but those individuals are not supposed to be there. Ideally, we would be able to address this in a non-law enforcement type situation. That's why we work so closely with the Office of Homelessness in situations like this. Our first response or our ideal response, I guess I could say as well, is to do it in a non-law enforcement and have the group that Polly works with so closely. Is she here? Yeah, she's back there. Okay, take a part in that and help us work with that. We had a little bit of problems this past summer because some of those activities had to be curbed because of COVID. Not to blame it on that necessarily, but we saw an increase in panhandling, but we also had to back off some of the activities we have there. Also, as a reminder, individuals aren't supposed to be stepping out into traffic to take any kind of donations. If an officer sees that, he or she can take law enforcement action. With that being said, I think the number one thing we need to do here is encourage the public to continue to give to some other entity rather than that individual person because the pulling of that money can benefit much more than just that one person. I know we have the signs, especially in the downtown area. There's probably some opportunities in other places in the city where we've seen an increase to add those signs. I know Polly looks at that quite frequently, and we've done that in other areas as well. But if it becomes a criminal activity, then yes, we encourage people to call the police department, make them aware of it, and they'll address it in any way they can. If that answers your question, I can also, Paula, would you like to add anything? I didn't have anything really to add. He's right. You know, if there is criminal activity, you can call the police. They do engage our office. We work closely. I know your office reached out about some extra signage. We do have signs available if you would like some placed in your district. It has been approved as an eligible expense, so we can go through the process with traffic engineering and get those up. I know you had asked for some too, Councilman Brown. Well, I appreciate that because I know there's going to be new opportunities, especially off of the interstate. And I understand that sometimes that's not necessarily an area that you can put onto a traffic pole where maybe there won't be a spot that's clearly visible. But if we can find those in certain locations, that might help make the public more aware to how to safely donate. I think this is becoming that it's happening all over the place. so thank you for addressing it and being focused on it too and we do encourage the public to give something other than cash so if any of your constituents would like a resource card those little postcards and we have those in our office we can mail them or they can stop by and pick them up and that's what we encourage people to hand out their window I would love a whole bunch of those to hand out to neighborhoods please thank you ma'am thank you Commissioner thank you mayor thank you councilmember Plowman thank you mayor and and you might have heard or seen this already but the breaking the bronze ceiling garnered another award in our community uh it's arts connect and they're bringing back the community annual awards program and there'll be a lunch on the 22nd of july but there were five that um won and arts impact and contributions was won by lavan williams another arts impact and contribution was Blackbird Dance Theater specifically Jenny Sparrow Fitzpatrick another arts impact and contribution award was to Katerina Stoikova Clummer and Vivian and Larry Snipes from Lexington Children's Theater received an award will receive award for arts educator and then the arts benefactor award was council member Jennifer Massati and myself so you know We were thrilled to hear that news and continue to get a lot of positive comments on breaking the bronze ceiling downtown. The second thing I wanted to mention is next week, coming up soon, I think it's actually the week after next, is the Lexington Junior League Charity Horse Show, which has existed since 1937, which is pretty phenomenal. And if you've never gone, it's a lot of fun to attend. And there's a lot of like a gallery shop that you can go, lots of different foods, and these beautiful saddlebred horses that will be there that night. So, again, that's at the horse park, July 12th through the 17th. And you can go to the website and find out more information. But it's a tradition. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Bledsoe. Thank you, Mayor. Just a few things. First, the only neighborhood that I know in my district that has a firework permit is Firebrook. So if anyone calls and asks, Firebrook has the approved permit, and they're going to do that July 4th. If there's a rain day, it's July 5th. Second, lemonade stands kicked off the Salvation Army. I was at Fayette Mall last night with 12 superheroes. It was super fun, encouraging kids to have lemonade stands and donate their money back to the Salvation Army for their shelters. And I wanted to promote that. Next, I want to take a moment and talk about the issue in the process of last week's no not vote. And I do so because I did not speak very much on it publicly, although I did so privately on emails and other venues. The majority of the council did not ban no knocks in Fayette County last week. They banned the Lexington Police Department from using no knocks in Fayette County. It doesn't stop the UK police, sheriff's office, the state police, or any federal agency from actually doing no knocks in Fayette County. None of them are mandated to wear body camera like Lexington Police Department. None of whom have accountability like a mayor or a county judge or a county attorney to sign off. For me, it did not think that was the best interest, which is why I voted against it. It was just simple for me. I don't think that's the best interest of public safety or transparency. And when the FBI needed help last week, who would they call? The Lexington Police Department, perhaps because the ER unit is really good. And that is why I voted against the ban, just for the record. Now I want to talk about the process just for a moment. I tell people from the time something goes into the committee to the time it's read out secondly, it's open for conversation. It's actually the point of council work. It's the point of civic engagement. We put issues out there in committee and then we work on them. And they go through a process. And often times, from the moment something goes in committee until second reading, different people get involved at different times. It's the nature of the beast. I look back to a minimum wage back in 2015. And there were six votes to keep that in committee. In fact, I was one of them. I did not think it was our legal lane or responsibility or role to deal with it. turns out supreme court agreed however there are people the community who wanted us to take on that issue they did they want an upper down vote and they wanted it out of committee and so is brought out of committee for public conversation in discourse and there were several minutes back and forth at different times at the end of the day we voted i don't think we should play games in committees and that we put things in committees to have conversation and then we continue the process the public wanted you should know not sat committee So it was moved out of committee to continue the conversation. In fact, it's moved onto the docket with a vote. Then it has first reading. The point of having a time period, I think, between first reading and second reading is for public engagement. It's actually part of transparency. It's part of allowing people to respond to us with feedback, with comments. And maybe they weren't all here last week, but I'll assure you, I talk to people at the grocery store, the ballpark, church, the gym, pretty much everywhere at different points at this conversation over the last two months and different people gave different feedback which is why i supported both changes both amendments were things that people said to me were important to them and for whatever it matters i was given both amendments just hours before they're presented and that's okay with me we have different ways of working with each other that's part of the process however i think that's important because it It allows the public to engage with us. And the drugs, removing the drugs on Thursday night was something that I heard from, specifically from a neighbor who said, if that's taken out, I'd feel better. Okay, we did that. At the end of the day, we vote. But I think it's important to remind ourselves that from the moment it goes into committee until the moment we have second reading, that is part of our process. It's part of engaging with the public. And I'm interested in having those conversations and continuing to sit at the table until the last minute because I believe that's important. I think that's what Lexington deserves. I think that's what our community deserves. And I think that's what our council works best. And I just wanted to say that publicly. Happy July 4th. Thank you. Thank you very much. Councilmember Reynolds. I wanted to remind everybody about Lexington Farmer's Market at Gardenside Plaza every Wednesday from 4 to 7. And this Wednesday we're going to have fun for the whole family. There will be Parks and Rec there to play outdoor games such as Jump Rope, Foursquare, and Hopscotch. Food Chain will be there providing free meals for children. Fayette County Pop Club will have fun-free activities and food tasting and vouchers to be used at the market. First Five Lex will be there with free early childhood learning games and activities. And Girl Scouts of Kentucky Wilderness Road Council will also have crafts and games. As well, there will be dance hoops, so you can hula hoop if you are interested. So I hope that everybody will get out there tomorrow at 4 o'clock, 4 to 7. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member McCarn. Thank you, Mayor. Sorry to speak again. I forgot to remind everyone that this weekend is obviously July 4th, but on July 3rd, we will be having fireworks downtown at the RJ Corman location. You can park off of High Street at the Central Bank Center for free, and I just ask that you bring a chair and come and enjoy the show. So happy Independence Day, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Any other council reports? so there is no mayor's report but i would like to take a moment to recognize that today we officially opened our new samuel brown clinic for lexington fayette urban county government employees and it's now in the tate building it is beautiful it's sixteen hundred square feet larger than the old clinic uh... the pharmacy is wonderful and I see John Maxwell out here. Thank you to you and your staff, many of whom worked on this. I want to thank Jamshid for his work and his staff's work, our architects, everyone who worked to make this transition. And it's a really good thing for our employees. So thank you for your hard work, all of you. And with that, we have public comment for any issues not on the agenda, which I think got taken care of earlier. So, I believe Council Member McCurn has a motion. Yes, ma'am. Pursuing to KRS 61.810, 1B and 1G, I move to go into closed session to deliberate the sale in real property and property and the potential citing expansion of upgrading and business entity as open discussions would jeopardize the proposal and be likely to affect the value of the property so moved. Second. Councilmember Ellinger seconded. Any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Anyone opposed? All right, can I please have a motion to come back into open session? So moved. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Now we are at the end of our agenda. If I can have a motion to adjourn please. So moved. All right, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Anybody opposed? All right, thank you very much. We are adjourned. We'll see you next time.