# Council Work Session - August 18, 2008 > Auto-transcribed civic record · Council · August 18, 2008 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/564 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/564?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2008-08-18 - **Body**: Council - **Last revised**: June 17, 2026 - **Length**: 14,714 words > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed by OpenAI Whisper-1. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude Sonnet. Speaker labels and verbatim wording may contain errors. See [methodology](https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/about/methodology) or [report a correction](mailto:editor@lexingtonky.news). --- ## Meeting Overview The Urban County Council met on August 12, 2008, at 3:00 PM in Council Chambers, with Mayor Newberry presiding. The meeting covered 10 agenda items spanning a range of legislative, budgetary, and informational matters. Council members took a total of 18 votes during the session, approving items including requested rezonings, budget amendments, new business, and intergovernmental committee matters, as well as adopting the meeting summary. Two public comments were heard on agenda items at the outset of the meeting. In addition to action items, the Council received several informational presentations, including updates on the Lexington Center Corporation bond request and the Newtown Pike Extension Project, along with reports from both the Council and the Mayor. ## Attendance **Present:** ASI Council Members **Absent:** Vice Mayor Gray **Late:** None ## Votes and Decisions All votes at the August 18, 2008 Council meeting were taken by voice vote and passed. No roll call votes were recorded. The following motions were approved: - **Approval of the docket** — Moved by Council Member Gordon, seconded by Council Member Myers. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:01:36] - **Zone change #1 without a public hearing** — Moved by Council Member DeCamp, seconded by Council Member Ellinger. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:02:42] - **Zone change #2 without a public hearing** — Moved by Council Member Beard, seconded by Council Member Ellinger. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:03:46] - **Resolution authorizing an Engineering Services Agreement with Strand Associates, Inc.** — Moved by Council Member Lane, seconded by Council Member Ellinger. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:04:21] - **Approval of amended summary with correction** — Moved by Council Member Blevins, seconded by Council Member Myers. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:05:25] - **Remove Budget Journal #24859 from consideration** — Moved by Council Member Blues, seconded by Council Member Blevins. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:06:37] - **Approve budget amendments** — Moved by Council Member DeCamp, seconded by Council Member Blevins. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:07:42] - **Remove items II and JJ from new business** — Moved by Council Member Blevins. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:09:45] - **Remove item KK from new business** — Moved by Council Member Blevins, seconded by Council Member Stevens. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:10:16] - **Approve new business items as amended** — Moved by Council Member Stevens, seconded by Council Member DeCamp. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:11:14] - **Approve creation of a sub-committee for the Citizen Advocate's office** — Moved by Council Member James, seconded by Council Member Gorton. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:12:21] - **Approve the NDF List dated August 12, 2008** — Moved by Council Member Blevins, seconded by Council Member McCord. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 0:51:33] - **Refer truck traffic issue on Man O War to the Services Committee** — Moved by Council Member Stevens, seconded by Council Member Myers. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 1:01:57] - **Refer smoking ordinance to the Planning Committee** — Moved by Council Member Stevens, seconded by Council Member James. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 1:04:13] - **Refer Affordable Housing Trust Fund Task Force report to the Budget and Finance Committee** — Moved by Council Member James, seconded by Council Member Lane. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 1:19:44] - **Add appointments to the docket for Thursday** — Moved by Council Member Gordon, seconded by Council Member Lane. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 1:20:47] - **Add four appointments confirmed at the August 12, 2008 confirmation hearings to the docket** — Moved by Council Member Gordon, seconded by Council Member Beard. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 1:22:25] - **Go into closed session to discuss pending litigation** — Moved by Council Member Stinnett, seconded by Council Member Gorton. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 1:34:14] ## Budget and Financial Actions During the August 18, 2008 Council meeting, one financial item was addressed: - **Budget Journal #24859** was removed from consideration. This item involved an amount of **$540.00** and was classified as a budget amendment. No vendor or recipient information was associated with this item in the record. No additional budget amendments, appropriations, or financial resolutions were acted upon at this meeting. ## Public Comment Two members of the public addressed the Council during the public comment period. - **Eric Patchamaya** [timestamp: 1:28:22] spoke in support of the task force's work on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) developments. He commended the task force for their efforts and emphasized that economic development is important to Lexington's future. - **Mr. Cobb** [timestamp: 1:32:10] offered a contrasting perspective, expressing concerns that the focus on development may be coming at the expense of broader community needs. He emphasized the importance of addressing underlying issues such as racism and inequality, suggesting these concerns should be central to the Council's priorities alongside development discussions. ## Appointments During the August 18, 2008 Council meeting, the Council took action on appointments to two advisory bodies. - **Four candidates** were appointed to serve on the **Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission**. No additional detail regarding the individual names of the four appointees, the specific seats they were appointed to fill, or the terms of their appointments was recorded in the available meeting data. ## Contested Items - **Smoking Ordinance** [timestamp: N/A]: The council took up the question of potential changes to the existing smoking ordinance, with discussion centered on whether to refer the matter to the planning committee for further review. A key consideration in the debate was the possibility of extending smoking regulations to cover all workplaces, which generated community opposition. The council discussed the appropriate scope of any expanded restrictions and the process by which those changes should be evaluated. No specific outcome beyond the referral discussion is recorded in the available data. ## Public Comment — Issues on Agenda [timestamp: 01:05] The Council opened the floor for public comment on issues listed on the agenda. No members of the public came forward to speak. ## Requested Rezonings/Docket Approval [timestamp: 02:10] The Council discussed the process for placing zone change requests on the docket for future consideration. Council Members Decamp and Beard were the key speakers during this portion of the meeting. The Council approved placing two zone changes on the docket without requiring public hearings at this stage. This procedural step reflects the standard practice of formally scheduling rezoning requests for further review before any public hearing process would be initiated. No additional details regarding the specific properties, applicants, or nature of the requested zone changes are available from the meeting record. ## Approval of Summary [timestamp: 05:25] The Council took up the approval of the summary during this portion of the meeting. Council Member Blevins and Council Member Myers were the key speakers on this item. The summary was considered with corrections, and the Council moved to approve the amended version. No additional concerns or objections are reflected in the available record beyond the incorporation of the noted corrections. The amended summary was approved by the Council. ## Budget Amendments [timestamp: 06:37] The Council took up the matter of budget amendments during this portion of the meeting. Council Member Blues and Council Member Blevins were the key speakers on this item. The discussion included the removal of Budget Journal #24859 from consideration as part of the amendments under review. No additional details regarding the specific nature or dollar amounts associated with Budget Journal #24859 or the remaining budget amendments are available from the meeting record. The Council ultimately approved the budget amendments. ## New Business [timestamp: 09:14] The Council took up New Business during this portion of the August 18, 2008 meeting. Council Member Blevins and Council Member Stevens were the key participants in the discussion of items brought forward under this agenda item. The Council considered multiple new business items, though some items were removed from consideration during the course of the discussion. The remaining items were ultimately approved by the Council. No additional detail on the specific substance of individual new business items, the nature of any concerns raised, or the reasons items were removed from consideration is available from the meeting record. ## Intergovernmental Committee [timestamp: 11:19] Council Member James presented on behalf of the Intergovernmental Committee, bringing forward a motion to create a sub-committee tasked with reviewing the standard operating procedures of the Citizen Advocate's office. The committee's motion was approved by the Council. ## Lexington Center Corporation Bond Request [timestamp: 13:23] Bill Owen presented a bond restructuring request on behalf of the Lexington Center Corporation. The presentation focused on a proposal to move from variable rate bonds to fixed rate bonds. No additional details regarding the specific bond amounts, the rationale for the timing of the restructuring, concerns raised by council members, or a formal vote outcome are available from the meeting record. This item was informational in nature. ## Newtown Pike Extension Project Update [timestamp: 16:52] Andrew Grunwald and Brian Cash presented an update on the Newtown Pike Extension Project to the Council. The presentation covered the project's phases, funding, and anticipated community impact. No additional structured details were available regarding the specific phases discussed, funding amounts or sources, or the particular community impacts addressed during the presentation. The item was informational in nature, and no formal action or vote was taken by the Council as a result of the update. ## Council Report [timestamp: 51:33] Council members provided updates on various district projects and community events during the Council Report portion of the August 18, 2008 meeting. - **Council Member Blevins** and **Council Member McCord** were the key speakers during this portion of the meeting. The report was informational in nature, with council members sharing updates relevant to their respective districts. No votes or formal actions were taken as a result of this agenda item. *Note: The available data for this agenda item does not include the specific details of each council member's individual updates or the particular projects and events discussed. Readers seeking the full content of these reports are encouraged to consult the meeting transcript or video directly, beginning at the 51:33 timestamp.* ## Mayor's Report [timestamp: 1:20:14] Mayor Newberry delivered the Mayor's Report, providing the Council with updates on various city initiatives. As part of the report, Mayor Newberry also recognized Commissioner Don Kelly for his service. The report was informational in nature, with no votes or formal actions taken as a result of the discussion. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of the docket - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Zone change #1 on the docket without a public hearing - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Zone change #2 on the docket without a public hearing - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Resolution authorizing Engineering Services Agreement with Strand Associates, Inc. - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of amended summary with correction - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Remove Budget Journal #24859 from consideration - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approve budget amendments - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Remove items II and JJ from new business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Remove item KK from new business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approve new business items as amended - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approve creation of a sub-committee for Citizen Advocate’s office - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approve the NDF List dated August 12, 2008 - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Refer truck traffic issue on Man O War to the Services Committee - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Refer smoking ordinance to the planning committee - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Refer Affordable Housing Trust Fund Task Force report to Budget and Finance Committee - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Add appointments to the docket for Thursday - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Add four appointments confirmed at the August 12, 2008 confirmation hearings to the docket - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Go into closed session for discussing pending litigation --- ## Full transcript Let's go ahead and call the work session to order, if we may. Let me begin by saying welcome back to everybody. We're, uh, ready to get back into the fall flow of things. The first item on the agenda is public comment on any issues which are on today's agenda. Does anybody wish to address the council? Seeing none, we'll move ahead. We do have a docket for approval. Is there a motion? Move approval, Mayor. Second. Council Member Gordon's moved, uh, th- the approval of the docket. Council Member Myers has seconded. Any discussion? Seeing none, those in favor of approving the docket, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. We're ready f- to approve the summary of the July 8 meeting. Excuse me, Mayor. I have a motion by Council Member, uh, Beard. Is there a second? Second by Council Member Blues. Yes, ma'am. There are two zone changes on the, uh, work docket that need to be approved with or without a public hearing, please. Okay. Thank you. Um- Mayor. Let's... Let's see. Was it Council Member Decamp? Yes. Uh, yes. I would like to, uh, make a motion that, um, the zone change, um, be put on the... number one, um, be put on, uh, the docket without a public hearing. All right. Let's hold on for just a second. If you'll withdraw your motion, Council Member Beard, then we'll proceed with the motion to put it on with or without? Without. Without a public hearing. And I think I heard a second from Council Member Ellinger to that effect. Any discussion? Those in favor of putting it on without a public hearing, please indicate by saying aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. And we had one other one. Any moment. Is there, uh- Got a, uh, walk-on. Madam Clerk, uh, was that item two? Yes, sir. That's the other ordinance. Is there a motion to schedule a public hearing? Is there a motion not to schedule a hearing? We'll entertain a motion not to schedule a public hearing. Mayor, I'll make a motion we put it on without a public hearing. Okay. We have a motion from Council Member Beard, a second from Council Member Ellinger to put item two on without a public hearing. All those in... Any discussion? Those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. Now, I think we're in good shape on the docket, which takes us back to, uh, the approval of the UI- Excuse me, Mayor. Yeah, I've, I've got a walk-on. Um, Strand Engineering. Okay. Thank you. Okay, I move to place on the docket for Thursday, August 14th, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the Irwin County government to execute an engineering services agreement with Strand Associates, Inc., for development of the Salt Barn site, and I advise that, uh, there's a time issue because they're trying to get this constructed before the snow gets here. Uh, so moved. Second. Have a motion and a se- by Council Member Lane, a second by Council Member Ellinger to add a new business item to the docket as he described. Any discussion? Those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. Anything further with regard to the docket? All right. I will make that motion again. Council Member Beard has moved that we approve the docket as we have amended it today. Second. Have a second by Council Member Gordon. All... And any discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. Now, I think we're ready to move on to the approval of the July summary. Is there a motion? Move approval. Second. Was that Council Member Blevins? And second by Council Member Meyers. Um, Council Member Gordon. Thank you, Mayor. I believe on page 15 at the top of the page, Council Member Beard's motion was intended to refer this three-way stop to the services committee, which is not included in the motion, if that could be added. So moved. Second. We have a motion and second to amend the item at the top of page 15 of the packet, page four, the summary, to refer the three-way stop to the services committee. Any discussion? Those in favor of the amendment, please say, "Aye." Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. We're now back to the motion as amended to approve the summary. Any further discussion? Those in favor then of approving the summary as amended, please indicate by saying, "Aye." Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. We're now down to budget amendments. I think Council Member Blues has a motion. Thank you, Mayor. I move the budget journal number 24859 in the amount of $540 on the budget amendment request list included in the work session agenda be removed from consideration. A budget journal is not needed for this purchase to be completed. Uh, this at the, uh, request of budgeting. Have a motion to remove budget journal number 24859 from consideration. Is there a second? Second. Have a second by Council Member Blevins. Any discussion? Those in favor of that motion, please indicate by saying, "Aye." Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. Uh, we're now to the point at which we'd, uh, a motion to approve the budget amendments would be appropriate. So moved. Council Member DeCamp is so moved. I have a second by Council Member Blevins. Any discussion? Council Member Blevins. Mr. Cole, I have two questions for you, please, on budget amendments. Budget amendments? Yeah. Oh Should be easy, I just want to confirm my understanding. We have one where we've, uh, it's 25445 at the bottom of page 16, where we've gotten actually... We've inadvertently omitted something from the adopted budget. I was curious where the 11,750 bucks will come from. Um, I'm assuming we took it from fund balance. Okay. That's what I thought. And then the second question is the very last one. We had a much higher payment from US Department of Health and Welfare or something like that, in the amount of 163,000. Am I reading this correctly that that will now go into fund balance? It's on page 20, top of page 20. Okay. I don't know about this one. That's right. Paula, that's right. That's right. Beautiful. That's all I had. Thank you. Mm-hmm. Thank you. Any further items? Believe we're now ready to vote on the motion to approve the budget amendments. All in favor, please indicate by saying, "Aye." Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. That brings us down to item five, new business items. Is there a motion to approve? I so move. Have a motion by Council Member Stevens- I second. ... second by Council Member DeCamp to approve the new business items. Any discussion? Council Member Blevins. Thank you, Mayor. Um, I have a request to remove items II and JJ. There's been some... a little hiccup in the contract there. So I move that under new busine- business item II about the authorization of an application for wire or cable line crossing under/over properties and track with R.J. Corman Railroad Company and item number JJ, the authorization of an entry permit agreement with R.J. Corman, be removed from the agenda. Second. Is there any discussion? Those in favor of the, uh, motion by Council Member Blevins, please indicate by saying, "Aye." Aye. Those oppose, no. One more, Mayor. Mm-hmm. Likewise, we have a, uh, an issue that's come up with the contract with, uh, Stantec that needs a little bit more work. This is item KK. I move that new business item number KK, the authorization of an agreement with Stantec Consulting Services Inc. to perform the sanitary sewers assessment for group one be removed from the dockets. Have a second by Council Member, uh, Bo- uh, um, Stevens to Council Member Blevin's motion. Any discussion? Those in favor of remo- of removing item KK from the docket, please indicate by saying, "Aye." Aye. Aye. Those oppose, no. I said from the docket, I meant from the new business items. Motion carries. That's all. Thanks. Anything further? All right. Then those in favor of... Believe we have a motion on the floor to approve the new business items. So those in favor of approving the new business items as amended now, please indicate by saying, "Aye." Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. That brings us down to the presentations. The first one is from the inter-governmental committee. Council Member, uh, James. Thank you, Mayor. One moment. Sure. You have a question on it? The inter-governmental committee met on July 8th. Um, it, we had one item of discussion, which consisted of a citizen's advocate draft policy and procedure manual. Uh, Joan Beck did a, um, uh, PowerPoint presentation for us. Um, and we came to a conclusion that we needed to form a sub-committee. So we... there was a motion that came forward, which I bring forward to the full council, um, to form a sub-committee working group to review the citizen's advocates policy and procedures. Um, that in committee, was seconded by Council Member Stinnet and passed through co- um, the inter-governmental committee, and I bring that forward to the full council for, uh, approval. Second. I have a motion and second to prove the sub-committee to review the, uh, policies and procedures in the Citizen's Advocate's Office. Is that correct? That sounds correct, Mayor. All right. Any discussion? Those in favor of approving that motion, please indicate by saying, "Aye." Aye. Oppose, "No." Motion carries. Um, Councilman, just to add onto that, Council Member Myers is the chair of that committee, and if anyone, um, on the inter-governmental committee would like to sit on that, we, eh, could use more members for that as well. Um, and we'll, um, please see Council Member Myers for information regarding that meeting date and location, and other than that, Mayor, we just, um, we just reviewed, we asked for updates on committee items, nothing came forward from that and we adjourned. Thank you. Thank you very much. Any questions for Council Member James? All right. Next presentation we have is, uh, one from the Lexington Center Corporation, ah, concerning their bond issue, and, um, I'll turn it over to Commissioner Cole. Um, just, uh, a little bit of it, no one, um, I know that Bill Owen doesn't need an introduction to you, but I just, I just wanted to pass along to you item H that you just, um saw in your, um, on your docket is the authorization for the restructuring of, of the Lexington Center Corporation bonds. Um, the full faith in credit of, um, LFUCG for the most part is, is behind these bonds. While we do an annually renewable lease, um, I, uh, you know, I don't think that we would probably ever let these bonds, um, default, but I'll turn it over to Bill to kind of talk, uh, walk you through exactly what we're doing and why, and I just wanted you to be assured that the folks from LFUCG have been ev- involved in this all along the way, and, um, all the attorneys are on board, the financial advisors and everybody, so, uh, we're, we're good with this, but I wanted Bill to have an opportunity to walk you through it. Thank you, uh, good afternoon. Uh, this transaction involves the 2001 debt that was issued for our expansion to Lexington Center Convention Facilities, and the renovation to Rupp Arena. At that time, it was favorable for us to enter into a variable rate, um, bond transaction whereby the rates fluctuated, ah, and indeed over the, the deep discounting and low rates during the, uh, early part of, uh, through 2002 and 2003, we were able to save a lot of money in interest by virtue of that. However, uh, like you've read in, in, in other transactions and financial markets currently, uh, it is advisable for us at this point to, to restructure that debt to a fixed rate transaction, which would remain for the remainder of, uh, that debt's, uh, experience that goes through pay off in 2022. Uh, the transaction does not change the financial relationship between Lexington Center and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. Um, from what it's been for the last 32 years, uh, this morning at a special meeting of the Lexington Center Board, um, a resolution was passed authorizing the transaction. Um, a, uh, a similar, uh, requirement of Urban County Council is required later this month. The bonds would be sold and then, uh, uh, closing I think is scheduled for September 11. I have with me, uh, this afternoon, um, uh, Bob Pennington and Kristen Millard with Morgan Keegan who have been our financial analysts, uh, also, uh, John Merchant with Peck Shafer, uh, Chris Brewer with, um, Densmore Scholl, our bond council, uh, direction, uh, and finally Neal Werner, our Director of, Lexington Center's Director of Business Affairs, and any of these folks will be available to answer questions as well. Any questions for, uh, Mr. Owen or any of the, um, other folks with Lexington Center Corporation? Looks like you get off the hook easy today. You have my best wishes. Thank you. Thanks, Bill. Council Member Lane. Uh, thank you, Mayor. Uh, at a council meeting in late June, several interested parties requested information on plans for the intersection of Newtown Pike extended in Manchester Street, which is Old Frankfort Pike. Because of the exceptional work done, uh, regarding communication on road modifications to Newtown Pike in the 12th District, that would be, uh, Newtown Pike north of I-75, 64, up to the Ironworks Pike, I contacted James Ballenger at the DEOT and asked him to make a presentation on this important interchange that'll be in our downtown Lexington area. Since that request was made, um, I'm pleased to advise that Mr. Ballenger has been promoted to the Chief District Engineer of, uh, District 7, and I guess that's because of the quality of the work that he's done in our area. So I'd like to congratulate him. In his place today, Andrew, uh, Grunwell of the Urban County Government and the project manager on this road work, and Brian Cash of NTRAN Consultants will making a report and respond to any questions you may have on this intersection in Downtown Lexington. Thank you, Mayor. Andrew, if you'll step to the podium, we'll let you lead off and go from there. Well, yes sir. Thank you very much and I, I would like to say that James Ballenger is here today. Um, I was gonna point him out. He's, he's back here in the back. Um, so he, he, uh, even though he has been promoted, it's a wonderful thing, he does still strongly support this project. Um, he, he allowed Brian Cash and I to put this report together simply, um... Hustla: ... Uh, just to, uh, probably our knowledge base is, is at least the most current and, uh, and the most accurate. Um, what I'm gonna do today is, uh, since I've... There are some people on the council, I don't think, who, who have heard this whole presentation, I'm gonna take a few minutes and go through a little bit of the project. Um, the purpose and needs, the project history, um, a little bit on the, um, environmental justice, the mitigation for the project, and then I'm gonna get into, um, current activities, um, which is... I'll spend a little bit more time on that, and then, um, we're here to answer questions. Um, as everybody knows, the alignment for Newtown Pike... Hopefully, um, you had a chance to review, uh, the packet that, that we provided to you, uh, I think it was last week. Um, it is a new boulevard from Main Street, uh, to Manchester to Versailles Road to South Broadway to South Limestone. Um, also included with that is a, um, is a redevelopment area, which we call the South End Park. Um, the, uh, project, uh, basically is broken into, uh, several, um, elements, um. Of course, there's the broad- the main boulevard itself is number one. In order to construct this project, we had to write an environmental impact statement. Uh, these are requirements by the Federal Highway Administration, as well as the Transportation Cabinet. Elements of the environmental impact statement included the corridor plan, um, the neighborhood redevelopment plan, um, the... A community land trust for the management of the mitigation area, and we've also had several other smaller, uh, portions. Some of those will be, uh, for instance, uh, we're gonna have an access ordinance and commercial design standards along with, um, the plan. The purpose and need for this project, uh, it's been around for a long time. The original design or concept for the boulevard was, it- primarily it's to improve traffic flow through downtown Lexington, um, reduce congestion and improve pedestrian and bicycle environment, um, improve access, and, uh, minimize any impact on the University of Kentucky. It also would provide opportunity for improving downtown and increasing quality of life in surrounding neighborhoods through infill and redevelopment, as well as provide areas for commercial development. But we are charged with doing all these things without an unfair burden, um, on any one area. Um, the Newtown Pike Extension Project will reduce traffic flow in downtown Lexington, depending on where you are, anywhere from 15 to 40%. Uh, this will result in improving traffic patterns through downtown, uh, resulting in revitalization of the western areas, and to better utilize the existing commercial and residential, uh, assets of downtown. It will provide us with a great deal of flexibility, uh, to alter existing street systems and encourage downtown development and other activities. Things such as street closers- closures and reducing street widths, um, those can all be looked at, um, with more, uh, seriousness and, and basically a better, uh, study, simply because we are reducing the traffic. Also, we're gonna improve the pedestrian environment. Um, the, uh, new highway from Main Street to Patterson Street will be basically a four-lane, uh, boulevard with a median, and will carry approximately 24,000 cars per day, or vehicles per day. Um, two connectors at that intersection of Newtown Pike and Patterson, one will go to South Limestone, and the other one will go to South Broadway. Both of those will be two lanes, and the one to South Limestone will contain a, a bridge over Broadway. Um, now, that bridge will be where you see the, uh, the railroad bridge on South Broadway now. Um, it will be an urban design with bike lanes, um, wide sidewalks, uh, street- streetscapes, and will have on-street parking in certain locations. Um, this was an illustration, uh, kind of what you would, uh, expect to see, uh, possibly, um, where you're climbing the hill going back up, um, towards, uh, from Manchester, Southern States. Would have been on your, uh, on, on... Let me see. If I look back this, at this backwards, it would have been on your left, uh, a redevelopment opportunity, possibly. It doesn't necessarily say that that's what has to go there. That's just a rendering. That, um... A little bit about the project history. This project has been around ever since the 1930s. It was proposed in, um, in a master plan for the City of Lexington, and it kind of lay dormant until the 1960s. It was studied as an, uh, as an intersection-type facility. It was gonna be a high-speed connector. Um, what you're looking at here is the intersection of what would have been Newtown Pike and what was called the Lexington Tollway. Um, this was a study that was done in the '70s, uh, and it kind of laid out the tone for what the design of the road and the construction would have been, a freeway type. Um, and it really would have been, uh, extremely invasive into downtown Lexington. This is almost where our mitigation area is today. Um, at that point in the '70s, this project was not looked upon favorably. It was, it was, uh, canceled, as a matter of fact, and it laid dormant, um, until 1997. There was a study- Uh, uh, to consider limestone and, uh, the Euclid corridors for connection of the Newtown Pike Extended, and that study was, uh, completed, uh, I wanna say about 1999, and it resulted in the current corridor that we have. Um, in 2001, the Design Environmental and Corridor Plans, um, contract was initiated. Um, that led to the development of the environmental impact statement. In August 2002, we signed the guiding principles, and this was signed by the transportation cabinet, the City of Lexington, the Federal Highway Administration, and the University of Kentucky. Um, this kind of reinfer- re- restated the commitment of all those agencies to, um, to help with the funding, to, um, help with the design, to help with the environmental impact statement, and kind of solidified the project, at least in the, in the design portion. In November 2002, uh, we, the City of Lexington, adopted, uh, the Newtown Pike Extension Corridor Plan, um, again showing, uh, very strong local support for the environmental impact statement and the project as a whole. In 2003, um, we also adopted the South End Park Neighborhood Development Plan. Um... In January of 2006, um, we held our public hearing for the environmental impact statement. Um, this is a, a very big step. It means that we already had approved our draft environmental impact statement. And in June of 2000- environmental impact statement was approved. In October of 2007, our record of decision was approved. Um, this essentially solidified the Federal Highway, uh, Administration's, um, a- ability to fund us. Basically, they told us we had a project at that point. Um, we had worked out our environmental, um, our socio-economic constraints and all other, um, concerns with the project, either historical... Um, as far as cost goes... I think I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit here. The highway itself will cost about $45 million. Um, now these figures were put into the, uh, into our record of decision. We, uh, constructed an entire financial plan. Um, we adjusted it for inflation. Uh, we chose 4% a year. I hope that's enough 'cause it projects out. The mitigation area, um, and I'll talk a little bit about this in a minute, is approximately 42 million. Um, these are the, the distinct breakdowns. Uh, so the total highway, about 45 million, the neighborhood redevelopment and mitigation area, about 42 million. That brings us to about $87 million. Uh, the funding source is primarily the Federal Highway Administration, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, uh, we also have some HUD money, and the, uh, City of Lexington itself, we have money in there as well. Um, we are gonna be looking at, um, other possible, um, uh, uh, funding sources to do things like construct the home, and at which point, we're, uh, once the homes are sold, those funding sources will be repaid. To date, we've had about $19.5 million that has been authorized, either for design, construction, right of way, or utilities. Uh, and I think I went, I've gone over a lot of this. Um, the 2008, 2014 Kentucky Six-Year Plan, um, does call for 69.5 million, um, and that'll essentially take us through 2014. We will be looking at, you know, additional money after that, um, to finalize all construction. Um, now it's probably a pretty good time to discuss... When we began to do the environmental impact statement, uh, it was very apparent that we were gonna cause a significant impact on a neighborhood, um, and this neighborhood being Davidstown. The majority of the neighborhood is, um, consists of renters, um, and it's, there are very few owner-occupied houses. The median income, um, in Fayette County, when we were drafting the environmental impact statement, was about 20, 28,000. For Davidstown, it was about 6,700, so it is very, uh, a very impoverished area. We were given the task to somehow protect this area. As we build a road right next to it that carries 24,000 cars a day, the fear was it would redevelop. Um, if you looked at, uh, Davidstown, um, as a whole, and then more specifically what we would c- refer to as Davis Bottoms or their, the South End Park, our mitigation area, you can see that from 1934 up until 2000, it has lost considerable housing stock. Uh, now there's a couple of reasons for that. Um, the primary reason is, um, we essentially, um, we, we had some urban renewal projects in downtown that took out a considerable housing in that area. We had, um... Most of that land was zoned either industrial, commercial, it is non-conforming, and the conceptual idea of the Newtown Pike project itself, uh, since the '60s, uh, this area was gonna be a, an interchange. Um, so there wasn't much private money that was ever put back into this area. Um, what we proposed with the project and written into the environmental impact statement was to buy all of the property from Patterson to Versailles, bounded by the new boulevard and by the, um, Norfolk Southern railroad track. It's approximately 25 acres. This is a rendering of what the new development that we are going to put in this area would look like. This rendering did go through our, um, our... the City of Lexington's planning process. We, uh, we utilized a, um... basically anything that we would have to do if we were a private developer. Because it is federal transportation money, we were also given a, a charge in trying to do this to make sure that the investment was protected, um, that it would not, uh, revert back into, um, the commercial market after so many years. Um, in order to do this, we, we investigated and adopted the idea of the community land trust. Um, I'm gonna go over it briefly here now. It's a, uh, it's a fairly complicated way of holding property essentially. Um, it will protect housing, the affordability of housing, uh, for the long term. Um, and essentially, as long as the community land trust is in operation, it will protect the houses, um, that are in its care. Um, it involves community members, and, uh, the land ownership and land use planning for the organization. Essentially, you have, uh, you have a board, you also have members on that board, um, who are hold... uh, who, who hold leases in the land trust. Um, it holds and can transfer ownership of property, it'll protect the neighborhood integrity, um, it can involve nonprofits and housing developments. For instance, they'll be able to partner with other, uh, nonprofit agencies to help construct houses and do other things. It can also provide rental loo- units, rental units, and, um, and it will be self-sustaining. So therefore, the idea is once started, once given seed money, after its involvement with this project, it will be allowed to grow in Fayette County, and, and it will not need additional, additional financial report... support. On this, um, slide, you can see we have taken the, um, basically the four stages of the Newtown Pike Extension Project and broken them out as we have requested, uh, money in the State Highway, uh, six-year plan. Phase one is in orange, um, and that consists of the houses, um, in what will be the new South End Park. Phase two is from Main Street to Versailles, and it is circled in green. Phase three is in kind of a darker, darker blue, and it will go from Versailles to South Broadway, and phase four is what we call the Scott Street Connector, and it will go from Patterson Street and Newtown Pike, over to South Limestone, in front of the University of Kentucky. In developing this project, um, it's, it's a fairly big project, and we essentially work with a team. Um, it's a collaborative effort between the City of Lexington, the Transportation Cabinet, and the Federal Highway Administration. We hold monthly meetings, um, with what we call the project team. Um, the project team is members of all three of those organizations, and it's a, it's a fairly substantial group that gets together, and we pull to... uh, knowledge from the engineers, to geologists, to attorneys, to, uh, just about anybody w- we would need to ask a question. Um, the day-to-day responsibilities of the design contract are run through the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. Um, we have a smaller working group, and we get together monthly as well to discuss, uh, situations, concerns that deal with the... with the administration of the contract, um, when and how to, uh, you know, make changes to it, add stuff in, take stuff out, um, what changes need to be made, and we essentially co-... the City of Lexington are in control of that contract. But with that said, everything that we do does get sent to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, as well as the Federal Highway Administration. They have oversight, so whenever we want to make a change to our contract, we always go back and inform them of what we're doing, how we're doing it, why we're doing it. Um, as far as the public involvement, we, um, we've had numerous public and stakeholder meetings. Um, and a lot of these happen through our community li- liaison or our neighborhood liaison, Miss Dorothy Coleman. We've had, uh, steering committees, uh, during the initial process, and for, uh, numerous smaller portions of the project. Our commercial design standards had steering committees, um, our, um, South End Park redevelopment, uh, plan had, uh, steering committees. So we, we, we create them, we allow them to go for whatever portion of that project, and then we'll close that smaller one down, and if we need to, we'll open up another one. But we also have monthly neighborhood meetings. Um, as a matter of fact, every, uh, third Thursday, um, we have a public meeting down at the Carver Center. Um, and I... I've... I, myself has been... have been to almost every one of those as well as Brian Cash and, um, other representatives of the, of, of the LFUCG, as well as the Transportation Cabinet. Um, we also had a CLT Community Land Trust Steering Committee that helped us write the bylaws. We've had, uh, Section 106, that's your historic, um, mitigation, um, consulting parties meetings, and we also have property owners and other stakeholders' meetings. Um, currently for the Phase 4, from Main Street to Versailles, the construction as well as the right of way acquisition is gonna be handled by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Um, we, the LFUCG, are gonna handle the utility coordination, uh, relocation and oversee that work. Um, the Phase 1 area, um, we will handle the utility relocation as well as the construction. Future phases are undetermined at this point. Um, we tend to, um, work with District Seven, depending on our workload, their workload. Um, we'll handle the design contracts, uh, give them back to them for construction. They've also done the same thing with us. It's a, a very good arrangement, but again, we have not determined exactly who will do what, uh, tasks for the future phases. Uh, for the current activities and the temporary housing construction, um, this was a picture, I think it was taken a few weeks ago. Um, this is at the temporary housing area. Um, we are gonna allow the residents to remain in the area, uh, during the construction of, of what will be the new South End. Um, we have purchased manufactured homes and they're approximately about, uh, about 1000 square feet. Um, any resident who is displaced by the project, um, will be allowed to, to live in these homes, rent and utility free. And it, it says the first units are to arrive this week, and that's, that's, uh, a good thing. Actually, they're, they're there now. We've had six of them delivered today as a matter of fact. Um, we're hoping that we can actually move them in, uh, by the end of September. Um, even though they're there on site, there's still, uh, uh, quite a lot of utility work. We have to connect each one of them. We have to construct the porches for the driveways. Um, a lot of this work we didn't want to have done and then bring in a modular home and tear everything up. Um, other current activities in that Phase 1 area. Uh, we're currently conducting right of way appraisals and, um, calculating relocation, uh, benefits, uh, benefits for the renters who will be displaced. We're gonna let a contract for right of way acquisition in that Phase 1 area. We also have a zone change, um, which will... Uh, we have a public hearing in front of you all on September 9th, um, for this area. And we are developing construction plans. Whoop. Uh, current activities for the Phase 4. Um, uh, right of way appraisals have begun. Uh, they're being handled by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, and we are working on construction plans, um, to be, uh, submitted to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet by mid-October. It is our intent to have a construction letting in mid-December. Um, and we're also working with stakeholders on what is to be the signature or landmark bridge. Um, we, uh, do have a website. Um, it's www.NewtownExtension.com, and on that website, we have videos, the environmental impact statement. Uh, we have, uh, other reports, the South End Urban Village, the Corridor Plan, and just about anything that anybody would ever want to look at, anything that we have published, we have put on this website. Maps... Um, and I'm sure everybody has specific questions, so I'll just open it up for- Thank you, Andrew. ... questions at this point. Thank you, Andrew. Any questions for Council Member Stephens? Uh, thank you. That was very good presentation. Uh, what was that website again? It was, um, www.NewtownExtension.com. Thank you, uh, I'll look at that, but my question is, um, what's your calendar? What's my calendar? When will I be able to drive from Versailles Road to the University of Kentucky? Um, that question might be a little bit bigger than me. Uh, uh, in the state's six-year plan... Hm. Uh, assuming funding all falls into place, final construction would be underway in 2014. And will be underway in 2014? Yes, sir. So you're anticipating it might be 2015, 2016, before this thing is finished? Uh, yes, sir. I'm talking about the road, not just the appurtenances that go in with the rehabilitation of the neighborhood and so forth. Uh, that, uh, the last portion of the road, uh, section three, over to the University of Kentucky, I believe funding comes, uh, online in, uh, 2013. Or, I'm sorry, uh, yeah, 2013 we'd, we'd have it out to bid 2014. And that's assuming that the state retains its, uh, adherence to the six-year plan? Yes, sir. Which has not always been the case. And funds it, I might add. Pardon? And funds it. Yes. But I, I, I do, I do believe that they have a... They have a very strong, um, connection with this project and, and they have invested considerable time in the environmental impact statement. And I... In, in the package that I, we had prepared for y'all last week, um, this project is a very big portion of Lexington, and it, it provides for significant redevelopment. Um, it, it's a major, it's a major deal, and I, I think they understand that, and I, I would assume that they hopefully will fund, will fund and... Well, is it... And I hope so too 'cause it will make a significant difference for Ken- for Lexington whether it's finished in 214 or 218 or 220. Yes, sir. Thanks. Council member Wayne. Uh, thank you for this good report. Uh, one of the, um, you know, key questions that's come up, it has to do with the interchange at Manchester 'cause that is gonna hopefully be our new distillery district, and- Mm-hmm. ... there'll be a lot of redevelopment there and questions like the, uh, interchange and getting on and off, uh, Newtown Pike extend into that area and also the bridge going over. Can you share a little bit with us on that? Um, yes, sir, I can. We, um, we have been in contact with, uh, immediate property owners to the boulevard itself. Um, as a matter of fact, we, we, we held a stakeholders meeting to discuss, um, aesthetic qualities of the bridge and other, uh, other details. We have also been in contact with them, uh, for the, uh, the possible reuse of, uh, there's a corner lot. Um, we have actually, um, made some changes to our right away plans to, uh, to purchase property on what we call permanent slope easements, uh, rather than fee simple which would lock out any future development. Um, we have looked at, um, uh, shoring up our slopes a little bit, instead of being a traditional four to one, using a three to one. So we're, we're, we're actively involved in, in negotiations with them even before we get to the right of way stage as we're designing, uh, uh, drafting up the design and construction plans. Um, do you feel that the property owners in that area are, are satisfied and happy with what we're doing at this time, or is there still some issues pending? Without putting words in their mouth. Yeah, um, I, I would say that we're, we're, we're definitely moving towards a solution. Um, whether or not they'll like everything that we have to do, um, only they can answer that. But we, the project team, we have made, uh, uh, considerable concessions to... Uh, not to destroy that parcel and to ensure that they can... Uh, that it actually has a reuse, you know, capability and possibility. Uh, Council Member McCord is very interested in the, like, walk paths and bike paths and all that. Can you sort of discuss about how the bridge would go over Town Branch and what future opportunities that might provide, uh, in that area? The, um, the bridge itself will be a, will be a two-span bridge, um, with one span being utilized to cross access to the Corman Railroad yard. The other span will cross, um, essentially the, uh, Town Branch, uh, creek. Um, we're gonna open it up, uh, uh, not all the way but a, but a good amount, and then we're gonna have a trailhead, um, essentially next to the, the corner of Manchester and Newtown Pike on, I guess it would be the northeastern side. This trailhead will connect to a trail which is gonna run underneath next to Town Branch and possibly go down... We're gonna take it down about, I'd say, 200 feet. Um, it's my understanding and I think the, um, the distillery, uh, district, um, they are through redevelopment going to try to continue that trail on. Um, but I'd, uh, I would have to let them, you know, address that question when it actually comes before the planning commission. Okay. Thank you very much. I, and just closing, I'd like to say that now I know why Mr. Ballinger's so successful because he works behind the scenes, and I didn't see that he'd come in today, but, uh, maybe we should give him a round of applause for his recent promotion and if he'd like to say something, he'd be welcome to come up and speak as far as I'm concerned. Uh, thank you, Council Member Lane, and I'd like to, to thank the entire, uh, the council here at the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government for, for your kind words and, and s-s-support of me in my new position as a, a district engineer in the District 7 office in Lexington. I think for the, the last several years I, I've been working, uh, in a different position there, and we've, uh, we've had the opportunity to work on a lot of project. I've worked with, uh, Council Member Stoney here on the Liberty Todds Road project, and, uh, Council Member Stevens on most every, uh, project that we've got in Lexington. He's, uh, he's always asking questions about our, our, our corridors and, and the, uh, aesthetic, uh, appeal and the aesthetic value of those. So, uh, so we, we've, we've had the opportunity and the, the great partnership to work with the, uh, the folks down at the city, and, uh, we just hope to continue that in the next several years. And see Council Member McCord here, we've had, uh, been working on Clays Mill Road for a long time, haven't we? So on the, the funding and that project, so, uh, would like to continue that, and, uh, we, um, appreciate your all support, and, uh, with the Newtown Pike extension project specifically. It is a very important, important project to, to the entire region, not only to the, to the city of Lexington, but to, um, to how that we're gonna... folks that are coming in from out of town and how they're gonna access the University of Kentucky. Uh, for, for instance, if someone wants to go to the hospital down at the, uh, the UK Hospital, uh, even folks, uh, where I'm from down in the southern part of Kentucky, it's gonna give us a much better access into the, to the, to the hospital and into the downtown area. So, um, so it's a very important project, not only locally, but regionally, and, uh, with the new, uh, campus that's gonna go in, the new university campus that's gonna go in, uh, I think that's very important for that connectivity along the whole Newtown Pike corridor. So, uh, we're looking forward to that, and, uh, the Transportation Cabinet, we do have a commitment to the project, and, uh, we're gonna continue to do our part to, to deliver that, and especially the phase four piece. Andrew didn't get into that too specifically, but the piece from, uh, Versailles over to, um, from West Main to Versailles Road, is, uh, we're, we're committed to trying to deliver that part and complete it before the World Equestrian Games in 2010. So we're working hard. We're gonna try to get it under contract in December, and um, and go ahead and have that part, uh, and that construction completed before 2010. So... Okay. Thank you all. Any further questions for Andrew or anyone else? Andrew, thanks very much for your time. Appreciate you being here today. Yes, sir. Thank you. We're now ready for the council reports. Um, if you wish to provide one, if you'd log in. Right now, I don't have anybody on my screen. Computer accessible. Solves that. Okay. Uh, we'll just start on, on the far right, my far right, and come around, and Council Member Blevins. Mine's easy. I move approval of NDF this week. Second. Have a motion by Council Member Blevins and a second by Council Member McCord to approve the NDF. Any discussion? Those in favor, say, "Aye." Aye. Oppose, no. Motion carries. All right. Thank you. No report. Council Member McCord. Thank you, Mayor. Just a couple things. Uh, good to be back, and, uh, maybe. Uh, sometimes it's been a, it's been a good break, but a couple of, of really good things have happened, uh, in the Ninth District since, uh, we've been on break. One is I just wanna send congratulations to, uh, to the South Lexington 12-year-old All-Star team. Uh, they are, uh, they won the World Series last year, and they are, are back in that and have, have done well to this point, and just wish them well and their families well. And then also, I just wanted to, uh, uh, to thank, uh, Mayor Newberry and this administration. Uh, over the last four years, uh, I've been working pretty diligently to try and build a trail system, uh, across the district, and we've had some unique opportunities to, uh, to put together, uh, and tie together some city parks on the south end of town with trails, and, uh, and what you find is is that sometimes even when you get money, it takes a while to turn that into asphalt, and, uh, as we're working through Shillito Park and some others, uh, last summer, we had, uh, had the opportunity to put together some funding f- to bring Wellington Park online, uh, and put a mile and a half worth of trail together, uh, in a city park that's 32 acres large, uh, and it has, uh, it's not been used, ever. It is, uh, a, a place where, uh, Council Member Gordon, uh, has spent an inordinate amount of energy putting a dog park in, uh, and her Friends of the Dog Park, and, um, uh, last year, we had the money put together through a, uh, state contract. Uh, they, they got pulled, uh, under the new administration, and, uh, we were able to, uh, to do some other things and now bringing it, that mile and a half worth of trail online and, and bid that project, and I appreciate, uh, all the help of the administration to make that happen, and what is, what's interesting about this is, is, um, the trails that we're building in Lexington, um, are becoming a state model, and the state is starting to look at how we're doing what we're doing, and, and how creatively we're, we're addressing this, uh, and the piece that, that runs from the horse park down to, uh, into, into downtown, uh, is, is liable to be a signature project, not just for, uh, Lexington and the region, and even Kentucky, but actually a national project. And so some of the things that are happening right now, uh, are pretty amazing. And I will tease you with this. Uh, last year, we held a bike summit, uh, first bike summit that Lexington has ever held, and we had a keynote speaker that came that, uh, last summer, um, who was the former parks director of Bogota, Colombia. And in Bogota, what he had done, uh, when he was there was he took the four Sundays in May, and he just, uh, started closing roads across the city to car traffic and allowing people to come out and blade, bike, walk, push a stroller. And they were bowled over by the amount of folks that came out, 400,000 people, in fact, started coming out to blade, bike, walk, push a stroller. And, uh, he kept challenging the audience here in Lexington to, to consider, uh, using your roads and closing your roads while you're building trails, uh, to build that constituency, and that we, we had this infrastructure already in place. ... and, uh, uh, from that conversation, uh, myself and some folks from the University of Kentucky's ag extension have taken that, and, uh, I'm gonna briefly announce now, then I'll fill it in with some more details over the next coming weeks. But, uh, wanted to announce an event called Second Sunday. On the second Sunday of October this year, October 12th, uh, communities and counties across Kentucky are gonna close roads at the same time, from 2:00 to 6:00. Uh, Lexington is involved in that, and, uh, we stand now at 30 counties that are involved in this. Uh, and what's interesting is Mayor Bloomberg, this weekend, announced that, uh, New York City is closing three... Closing over the three, um, Saturdays in August, seven miles worth of roads, and, uh, and they got national attention for doing that. What happens when in 60 days an entire state comes behind them and does this? Uh, so I wanna challenge folks in Lexington and, and, uh, uh, folks around the, uh, the state to take a look at October 12th as a day that we may be able to do something together that actually changes the health of our commonwealth. Uh, and what I find fascinating, Mayor, is, is that, uh, if you remember, the gentleman that spoke from Bogota said that Mayor Bloomberg had hired him to make New York City the most bike-friendly city in America. So the gentleman that we had at our bike summit last summer, uh, is the gentleman that's behind what's, what's happening in New York City. And so, uh, all of these efforts, uh, the moneys that we as a council have put towards trails, all the individual efforts of, of different council members in this administration, uh, are really gonna start to pay off here very soon. So I'm very appreciative and I wanna thank you. Thank you for, um, your kind words about that, Council Member McCord. We are, um, exploring couple of different options. More than likely, it looks like it'll be Limestone Street between the two campuses, uh, Transy and UK, and, um, we need to rustle up a little money to make it work, but, uh, um, the price tag's not outrageously expensive, and, uh, I think we got a good shot of making that happen. Council Member Lane. Uh, thank you, Mayor. Uh, just wanted to give you a little bit of an update on Saron Drive. And, and I'm happy to report that it's pretty much completed. Uh, the... All the final paving is in, the, uh, landscaping's been done, and, uh, with all the rain we had during our break, the grass is nice and green, and, uh, it, it sort of made when I, when I noticed that, uh, that our Commissioner Kelly was gonna be leaving, and he, uh, he's gotten to the point now where he could recognize my call by seeing the number come up on his cell phone. You know, I'm really gonna miss working with him, and, uh, I wanna thank him for the... You know, putting up with all the hassles that we had over the months to get that done. But I am happy to say that it's completed, and then further, the, uh, I've advised that the four-way stop at Forest Lake and Saron Drive will be installed sometime towards the end of this month or the early part of September. So we should have this project 100% complete, and I guess it's appropriate as the commissioner leaves that this job is over with. So thank you, thank you very much, Commissioner. That's all, Mayor. Council Member Crosby. Uh, thank you, Mayor. Um, I too first wanna say good luck to Commissioner Kelly, and, um, thank you for all of your service, and it truly has been a pleasure working with you, and good luck in your retirement, and enjoy your grandchildren while you, while you can and they're still young enough and, and wanna spend time with you. I know we talked about that earlier, so good luck to you. And, um, I wanna announce also, Woodhill Park Neighborhood Association has a meeting tonight at 7:00 PM. Um, a few things that happened over break that, um, I hope to be able to, uh, bring, bring these kids in and give them more formal recognition at a meeting. I know the mayor helped me present trophies to a little eight-year-old baseball team in the Pony League who actually won the World Series. So we were really proud of them, and we're trying to arrange to bring them into a meeting. They're cute group of kids, and hopefully we'll be able to bring you in and show you a little special presentation that we got to see that was really, um, something quite special. And then, uh, lastly, another little special girl from Lexington by the name of Mallory Shake actually broke a record at the Central Kentucky Swim Conference, and what is special about this record is, uh, one swimmer by the name of Elaine Breeden, who's swimming in the Olympics has held this record. So a little girl by the name of Mallory Shake broke it in butterfly o- uh, this summer, and, um, so that was quite spectacular to get to watch. I was there and, and saw her break that record. So I hope to bring her in and recognize her too, 'cause she's just a phenomenal little swimmer, but more, um, importantly, she's a, a great little girl, so thank you, Mayor. Council Member Stevens. Uh, I have several things. I wanted to thank Mr. Kelly also for the good service he gave to the citizens of Lexington and Fayette County during his tenure. He will be missed. Uh, I spoke with Mr. Gordon D. Huffer, lives on Tanbark Road, earlier today, and he had written all of us, he'd emailed all of us, and I don't know if he included you or not, but he emailed all the council. And he, uh, got no reply, and so he wrote us all a letter, and, uh, so I called him up and, uh, to talk to him about it, and his concern is that he lives right off... Backs up to Man O' War Drive between US 27 or Nicholasville Road and Richmond Road, and he says there's an inordinate amount of truck traffic from... That cuts from Nicholasville Road over by Man O' War to get to Richmond Road, then on out to the interstate, and his... Uh, there are 17 stoplights between those two intersections, and that the trucks, as 18-wheelers are wont to do, uh, slow down by shifting down. ... which causes a -- a great deal of noise. And he says it starts about five o'clock in the morning, and he gets up about five o'clock because he can't sleep any longer, uh, because of the noise, and he'd like something to be done about it. I don't know if anything can be done. I know some places, we have, uh, restricted trucks from using downshifting to stop, and they have to use their brakes, which they're not inclined to do. And, uh, also at the time of day, uh, I'm -- I'm not sure restricting traffic on that segment would be good because it would put it on Nicholasville Road, which is our -- is the location of all our F intersections, and, uh, putting all the truck traffic into those kind of things would not make everybody happy. So I would like to refer this issue to the Service Committee, and Mr. Ellinger said he would be more than happy to receive it. Am I quoting you correctly? Yeah. For further consideration. I have a motion to refer the issue of truck traffic on Mantel Ward to the Services Committee. Is there a second? Second. I have a second with Council Member Meyers. Any discussion? All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed no? Motion carries. The second thing is a problem the council's been working on since, uh, '03, and that relates, or actually started in '01, I think, and culminated in us passing an ordinance, uh, called the Clean Air Ordinance or the smoking ban, some people call it, in '03, which was approved by the council at that time, and then, uh, was -- went through the court system, and finally in April of '04 was approved by the Kentucky Supreme Court, and the ordinance was began to be enforced. In the subsequent years, there have been some problems developed with enforcement. One of those, which was not intended, was the continuation of smoking in the bingo parlors, where the schools use for our, uh -- acquiring money for various supports of extracurricular activities. A second problem, uh, another issue that could be -- needs to be considered is whether we want to extend this smoking, uh, regulation to include all workplaces. And nowadays, as these ordinances are adopted around the country, and there's been an increasing number of them, they're including workplaces as well as public places. And there's some other smaller things relate to its enforcement, and, uh, that was in a, uh, this has been considered by the health department, by the county attorney, and by representatives from the Irwin County government, who've met for the last six months or so to go over this and, um, come up with an ordinance changes, which was distributed to everybody yesterday. Uh, should have been. If you haven't read it yet, you can count on some exciting reading for about 20 minutes to get through it. Uh, and I would recommend and make a motion that we refer this ordinance, changes in this ordinance for this ordinance to the, uh, planning committee for consideration at a committee level, and perhaps come back to us for further passage if it's so deemed. So I make that motion. Do I hear a second? Second. I have a motion and a second to refer the smoking ordinance to the planning committee. The second was by Council Member James. Any discussion? Those in favor, please vote aye. Question. I had a question. Um, sorry. Council Member Ellinger. Is it the planning committee? Is that where it would be the appropriate committee? What committee would you suggest? I'd say services probably, um. Not that I want to take it on, but, uh... And not that I'm not opposed to taking it on, but I just don't know if planning would be the right for the smoking. Is it... Is it zoning? Is that why you would say planning? Uh, no, I would say planning because it's gonna come up this month still. And also because- Ah, now we figure out why it's in that committee. A pragmatist. Okay. Also 'cause I happen to be on the committee. Okay. But those are the two primary reasons, though. I'm not... Any further discussion? Those in favor of referring that item to the planning committee, please let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed no? Motion carries. Thank you. That concludes my report, and thank you all. Council Member Gordon. Dr. Stephens, I think what we'll do then, uh, at the planning committee next week is perhaps hear it for 10 minutes to introduce it, if that suits you. And then we have the downtown, uh, we have the Downtown Master Plan and the Streetscape Plan already on our agenda, both of which are hefty. So if that would suit- No, that would be fine with me. ... to introduce it. Okay. That would be fine. And I won't get anybody here. We can just kind of chat about it. Okay . Well, Commissioner Kelley, thank you for your service to the community. Um, I've really enjoyed ma- working with you on various engineering and other issues, so I wanna wish you the best, and enjoy retirement. It sounds wonderful . Um, I have a few items. Council members, a- a few months ago, you supported, um, grant monies for establishing a Girls on the Run, um, chapter here in Fayette County, and they have gotten organized. And this Girls on the Run group is for preparing girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living, and it involves working with girls- One of the aspects of it is teaching them to run for health and enjoyment. And I wanted to announce to the public that registration is now open. If you are a girl between the age of, uh, i- if you're between grades three and five, which is the target area, third through fifth grade, registration for Girls on the Run is at John's Run Walk Shop on Ashland Avenue, Saturday, August 16th, that's this coming Saturday, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. So you can go straight there and register to be part of this, what I believe will be a really good group. Um, secondly, uh, dog parks were mentioned, and one of the main ways that the Friends of the Dog Park have raised over $50,000 to date for the dog parks, is through the annual Dog Paddle. And so, the Sixth Annual Dog Paddle is coming up September 6th, at Woodland Pool here in Lexington, and this is a dog swim. People are not allowed to swim. Um, so September 6th, between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM, you can bring your dog to swim. It's $10 per dog, and that also admits two people who wanna watch, and you must have proof of rabies vaccination to bring your dog in. We do turn away dogs that do not have rabies, uh, proof, and, um, it's a great, fun day. We have bleachers set up outside Woodland Park, if you just wanna come and watch, which lots of people do. And usually, about $10,000 is raised, and all of that gets put back into the parks to fence our dog parks, so September 6th at Woodland Pool. And then finally, I know that, um, Council Member Stinnett and Council Member- Eppinger. ... Crosby, and perhaps the vice mayor, and of course the mayor, were at our police recruit graduation on, uh, this past week. We graduated 32 new police officers who will be on the streets. And, um, it was a really good day, and it's nice to know that we have folks who are committed to our public safety. They came from all over the country. When a recruit graduates, they announce where that recruit is from, and it was really interesting to me that we even have one from California, and from New Jersey, and they come from all over. So I wanna wish them, uh, congratulations, and we're happy to have them on board. Council Member Myers. Thank you, Mayor. Um, tonight we have a Gainesway Neighbor Association meeting, starts at seven o'clock in the Tate Street Golf Course. I'll be attending that meeting. And then also at seven o'clock we have the Center Parkway Neighborhood Association meeting in St. John's Church down in Gainesway area, and I will be heading over to that meeting once I get through at Gainesway. Thank you. Council Member Weird. No report, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Bruce. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, following up on, uh, on something that Dr. Stephens mentioned, the, uh, the Noise Ordinance Task Force will resume its work, uh, tomorrow night at five o'clock. And one of the, uh, one of the disturbing noises that the task force members have, have identified, uh, is precisely the one of, you know, trucks. Uh, especially those as they, as they're entering town, braking, uh, to, to slow down, making, uh, what many residents, uh, call very disturbing noises. So, uh, we will be working on that, you know, on that issue. I don't know if we can solve all of the problems on, on Mannah War, but, uh, but I do want you to know that your Noise Ordinance Task Force made up of, uh, our government officials, uh, citizens, and, and, uh, uh, Council Member Gorton and I are at work on these very problems. Couple of, uh, neighborhood association meetings. Tonight, the Meadowthorpe Neighborhood Association meets at 7:00 PM in, in the, uh, uh, in the Meadowthorpe Community Center. Look forward to seeing friends and neighbors there. And then Monday night, August 18th, the Winburn Neighborhood Association will hold its monthly meeting, 6:30 PM in ML King Parks Community Center. Thank you, Mayor. Council Member Henson. Thank you, Mayor. I, um, wanted to, um, say that I believe the Back to School Rally was a big success. From everything I heard, there were, um, approximately 6,000 backpacks given o- given out to children in Fayette County, um, at several different locations. So I think that's a very nice program, and I appreciate everyone's support and all the hard work that went into that. Um, there is one neighborhood association meeting on Monday the 18th, Gulfview Estates will have a meeting, um, at seven o'clock. And also wanna thank Commissioner Kelly for, uh, actually taking the time to explain things to me, and work with me, and help me understand things, and you were a big help to me and I appreciate that. Thank you. Council Member Stinnett. Thank you, Mayor. I too want to thank, uh, Commissioner Kelly. I, I'm going to miss our Friday afternoon problem-solving meetings and getting things done before the weekend, but, uh, y- you will be missed and, and I appreciate your friendship, um, a- as well as working alongside of you, so thank you. Also want to thank some other folks. Uh, tomorrow morning at 5:00 AM, um, w- we hope at 5:00 AM, uh, Star Street Parkway and Liberty Road will go active. Uh, those two new roads will be joined once and for all, and a new traffic signal will go live there. I know they're working diligently as we speak to get that thing, uh, up and running. But I want to thank all of our traffic engineering folks who have worked effortless or tirelessly and effortlessly over the last couple of days, and weeks, and months, and years, of course, uh, getting this project completed. It's been a long awaited project in the area. Liberty Road, it is active now, but the Star Street connection will help that area a lot. And, uh, tomorrow morning, it's also the first day of school out there with the new Liberty Elementary School, so, uh, I hope people in that area will have some patience tomorrow morning in getting to that property and getting through that area. But, uh, I want to thank traffic engineering and all the engineering folks, I see Bob here, uh, and Keith and everybody in engineering for helping us get that thing done. Then last but not least, today, I'm wearing my Adopt Love shirt. Many of you have asked me why am I wearing it. Well, there's three things that I, I want to bring to your attention today. One is the Adopt Love slogan is the Humane Society's slogan, uh, talking about adopting animals. Anyone obviously who is interested in adopting animals or going out to their new facility, I encourage you to do so or, or call their number (233) 0044, is the Humane Society number, and go out there and take a look at what they're doing out there. They're do- they're doing some great things, and that is evident by this Council's support of our Animal Care and Control and Humane Society in this past year's budget. Uh, and because of, uh, you all have supported that in the budget this past year, we have a gift for you, an Adopt Love shirt for you today as well. So I hope you'll wear it with pride, and I hope you'll wear it, um, even to a Council meeting because- ... my third point is, you know, there's so much love in this room today. You know, can you feel it? You know, we all would... We, we love to be back. We, we love what we're doing. Um, you know, maybe it could be our new motto, Adopt Love- ... or something thereof. So, uh, a little fun on our first day back and a gift from the, uh, Animal Care and Control folks out there f-... And thank you for your hard work on the budget and everything you've done, um, and I encourage you to support and continue to support our Humane Society. Thank you, Mayor. Council Member James. Thank you, Mayor. Um, I would like to announce that the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association will meet tonight at 7:00 PM at their regular location at the Living Arts and Science Center, so come out if you're interested in talking with folks at Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association. Also, um, as, uh, Commissioner Hanson or Council Member Hanson mentioned, the Back to School Rallies were a success. Um, I would like to say a thank you to LexLink, specifically Catherine and Wanda there. Thank you for all your hard work. Harmony as well. Um, Waste Management, Parks and Rec, the Neighborhood Associations, Fayette County Public Schools, all th- and all that volunteered and all that showed up e- e- expecting to just come and pick up a backpack, and picking up something and helping that day, whether it's a snow cone machine, um, which I know Council Member, um, Blues' assistant helped with, um, or whatever, passing out backpacks or stuffing on that day, it, it's definitely... It makes you feel real good to help kids out, um, to prepare them to get an education. Speaking of which, I hope that if there are any teachers watching right now or students watching, that you make, um, what we do here at the government part of your curriculum. Teach our children about what's going on in local government. They are our future, and they're going to be the ones sitting up here in a few years. So, um, make what we are doing here part of what you teach, and let us know, especially me, I don't know how others feel, but let me know how we can help you, whether it's speaking or bringing students here to Government Center and teaching them about our local government. Um, also, I'd like to announce that on, uh, Saturday, August the 16th at noon, um, at the Charles Young Park will be the East End Reunion. So if you live in East End or used to live in East End, there's a wonderful event that happens every year there. Uh, we can come out and talk with folks and share your pictures and share your dreams, and right now is a really good time to join in that discussion as we talk about the 3rd Street, um, the 3rd Street revitalization, the East End Small Area Plan, the Charles Young plan, the Lyric Theater, the new school, um, Bluegrass aspirins. There's a lot going on and a lot to talk about, so I hope to see you at the Charles Young Park at noon on Saturday. Also, um, a little side note as well, um, my children and I took the Abraham Lincoln history tour, um, last week while, while I was trying to enjoy some time with them, and I do advise you to either pick up from the library or from the Isaac Scott Hathaway Museum from 3rd Street Staffs. Um, it's a little, um, self-guided tour, and you can go and see, um, significant historical places, um, that deal with Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and has little excerpts of, of their contribution to our history, and it's a good discussion. My children and I really enjoyed that tour, and I bet you will enjoy it as well. Um, on Saturday, the mayor and I, uh, were both at the Legends Stadium, and we were there for an honorary celebration of the Tuskegee Airmen. Uh, we were joined by four actual airmen, um, the local chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Board, um, the board members and their families. Allen and Kathy Stein were both there with their children, and the mayor and I presented proclamations and keys to the city to the airmen, which was absolutely amazing to be in their presence, and we were presented with something that I wanted to share, or they wanted me to share it with Council Members, one more moment. Um, this is, um, this is a replica of the highway marker, which, this is the very first highway marker ever dedicated to Tuskegee airmen, and the first highway marker, um, we have the pleasure of having that here in Fayette County. If you're ever coming in on 75 South, you'll see that, um, along th- the exits along 75, or near the exits. Um, but we were given a replica of that, presented by that, the Tusk- Tuskegee Airmen Board, the local chapter, and, um, Mayor, I don't know if you have anything else to say about that, that event, but it was, it was phenomenal to walk throughout the stadium and have folks shake the hands of the Tuskegee airmen and thank them for their service and to hear their stories of, um, serving our country. You summarized it well- Okay. ... so I'll leave it at that. And I just have one last motion, and that is, um, I move to refer the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Trust Fund Task Force, um, report into the Budget and Finance Committee. Second. I have a motion to refer the affordable hous- uh, Affordable Housing Trust Fund Task Force Report to the, I'm sorry, pardon? Budget and Finance Committee. Budget and, Budget and Finance. And the second by Council Member Lane. Any discussion? Those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you, Mayor. Thanks. Uh, I have a handful of items on the mayor's report today. I, uh, think you have received a series of, uh, appointments to various boards and commissions, and a motion to add those to the agenda for Thursday would be in order. I move that- Second. Third. I move that it be- All right. I move it be, uh, uh, referred to the docket for Thursday evening- All right. ... the mayor's report. Thank you. And I have a second, I think, by Council Member, uh, Lane. Um, any discussion? Council Member James. Uh, thank you, Mayor. I just have a question. Um, specifically on the Environmental Commission application that I see here, I wondered if there were specifications. Is there a particular role that this person should play? Um, do they look for particular assets, um, for this particular commission? It sounds like it would be an area of expertise needed. I cannot answer that question right off the top of my head. There, that is a fairly large commission, and there are different people that serve in different roles there, but we could certainly find out between now and Thursday evening and give you an update on that. I'd appreciate that. Thank you. Okay. Uh, Ms. Raybold, if you'd ask Ms. Harchet to get that information to Council Member James, I would appreciate it. Any other questions? Then those in favor of adding, um, these appointments to the docket on, um, Thursday evening, please let it be known by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Uh, I also understand that the confirmation process went forward today, and are we ready to move forward? Uh, yes, Mayor. We voted to confirm all four of the candidates who came before us, one for the Board of Adjustment and three for the Planning Commission. So I've kind of, I'm not sure if they're already on the docket or not. Are they? Or do we need a motion? I l- I looked, I looked earlier today and didn't see them, so I think a motion to add them would be- Okay, I'll go ahead- ... a, a motion to add those four, um, appointments to the docket. All right. And it's, have a second with Council Member Beard. Any discussion? Those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. Thank you all very much for dealing with that expediently. Um... I can't say enough about Don Kelly. Um, Don and I have been friends for a long period of time, and when, um, the election had, um, come and gone and I needed to try to find somebody who could ride herd on a very important part of our, uh, work here, traffic and, and engineering particularly, there was no doubt in my mind about who the most capable person in the state was to do that, and it was Don Kelly. Um, frankly, I didn't think I had a snowball's chance in July of, uh, of succeeding in recruiting him to that position, but I was so glad when he agreed to, uh, come to work for Irvin County government for a while, and I just wanna say to Don how much I appreciate all that you have done. It has, uh, been superb. We will miss you sorely, but I wish you nothing but the very best as you all have a chance to enjoy family a little more, which is highly important, and, um, I'm, I'm glad you have the opportunity to do that. We will, uh, we will miss you dearly, and I look forward to visiting with you the next three or four days particularly, and far beyond that too. But, but thanks so much for all that you have done. It's, it's been just outstanding. Thank you. Shifting gears just briefly, uh, we did a good bit of work over the break on the, uh, management partner's report, and you will be receiv- those of you on the Planning Committee who are dealing with that will be receiving, um, um, summary of those recommendations and what we think needs to be done with them in your packets on Thursday. So those of you on the Planning Committee might want to, uh, watch for that. If others of you would like a copy, we'll be glad to make it available then as well. Could you -- are we gonna be getting an update of where we stand with the CenterPoint and with the TIF and where, what's going on with that, uh, anytime in the near future for those of us- Sure. ... that haven't been on the committee, but have been reading about it and- Yeah. I'll, I'll give you, uh, a little bit of an update right now, and then, um, tell you that I anticipate we'll get something more formal to you in probably, uh, a couple of weeks or so. The, um, TIF delegation or task force, call it what you will, has been meeting regularly since, uh, the break began. We, um, are scheduled to meet on Friday and then again, um, next week. Those are the last two meetings we currently have scheduled. We have, uh, retained outside counsel who has some expertise in dealing with TIF issues. We've also brought to the table our financial advisors who have been evaluating a number of different, um, scenarios about how we might fund those, uh, those projects that were identified. And finally, I would mention to you that we have a list of, I guess, a dozen or so projects that we are in the process of, uh, plotting out on a map so that we can identify a TIF district, and then, um, we'll try to prioritize those projects that have been identified within that, that, uh, district and come to you with a recommendation. Uh, Council Member Blues and McCord, Vice Mayor Gray, Council Member Dekamp and Stephens- Beard. Beard. ... and Beard, that's right, uh, a- and, and Council Member Hinson have all been serving. If any of you all have anything to add beyond what I've said, be glad for you to. But I think that's, that's sort of where we are at the moment, and I expect in a, in a couple of weeks or so, we'll have a little more definitive information to bring forward. Um, last thing, uh, is just something that's so remarkable, I think it's, it's worthy of mention. Uh, we had, here in the council chambers not too long ago, uh, the fastest man ever in Tyson Gay, Lexington's own, and, um, I hope, uh, everybody will be watching very intently this week as he pursues his quest for the gold in the 100 meters sprint in, uh, Beijing. So, um, I just wanted to encourage everybody to watch and, and cheer him on because it is not every day of the week that, uh, Lexington, Kentucky has an athlete of that level of accomplishment, or, or anybody, anywhere, that is of that level of accomplishment. And, um, we certainly need to be watching Tyson and Layne Breedon and everybody else with Lexington connections, Tom Hammond, a- and others, but, uh, Tyson Gay is a, a remarkable athlete and a remarkable human being, and, and, uh, I just wanted to encourage everybody to root him on this, this week. That's, uh, all I have. The last item on the, uh, written agenda is public comment on issues not on the agenda. Does anyone wish to address the Council? All right. Yes, sir. If you'd step to the microphone, give us your name, and you'll have three minutes. We don't have a timer up there, so I'll, uh, try to keep track of it here. Okay. Thank you, mayor. My name is Eric Patchamaya, and I... Glad to have you guys back. Uh, I've seen several of you at the TIF meetings, and, uh, speaking to the recent comments, just as an observer, I've been going to the meetings just to kind of keep my eye on things, just to kind of see what's going on, kind of follow things directly. And I want to commend the task force for actually, I think, doing a very, very good job. Uh, I know the TIF developments have been kind of by the seat of our pants, and I thank Mayor Newberry and all the task force members have done a really good job, so I'm very proud to, uh, to say that about our people and about our leaders, I'm very impressed, actually. And I hope that it continues to go forward. I will say that personally, being a younger guy, I think we're actually at a historical crossroads in Lexington at this time. I think these TIF developments and the, uh, the economic development that it possibly can spur, or at least possibly initiate, I think is, I believe, fundamental to Lexington's future. I think econ- eco- ah, economic development, absolutely imperative, and so I hope that the engagement continues. It's nice, I met, uh, Jeff, I forget his last name, he's the manager of the farmer's market. And I know the next thing is gonna be the district outlying and planning, the whole TIF district development, which I imagine will be a very interesting discussion. Uh, but I hope that people like Jeff gets to continue to be involved. So that's really good. I'm proud of my, my city for that. Um, also, I think some of you guys who have been there, y'all deserve a raise. Y'all work really hard on your vacation time. So, uh, you guys probably can't say that yourselves because of political reasons, but I'll say it for you. You guys work really, really hard just out of a labor of love. And so I appreciate that also, uh, for whoever's watching on TV. Um, also, I will say, just back to economic development, uh, just kind of off the cuff, I know GE Appliances in Louisville is, uh, possibly being spun off, and I know Gov- Governor Beshear addressed maybe they might leave the state. They ha- I don't know the situation there. But perhaps the shareholders of GE might be taking over that little thing, and maybe they're wanting to move, whatever, but back to economic development, it might be a longshot of an idea to attract them to Lexington, or other companies like that with their engineers and their thought leaders and innovators and things like that. I think job opportunities like that in Lexington are fundamental. So that's just... ... something out there. Finally, I tried to scour your 500-page budget during my weekend, just one Saturday night, and I noticed, I think, if I remember... if my numbers are correct, yeah, like something, $2.8 million maybe to after school programs, something like that. L... I think that's right, something that... some large amount of money to after school programs. And then coincidentally, I met a gentleman who was a UK cheerleader back when they first began their run of 17 consecutive national championships. He owns a gymnastic center, Man O War in Trent, and he has after school programs and buses and all these things, so maybe the city could work with him to help him, 'cause he goes to Veterans Park School and brings kids to the gymnastic place and helps them do things. And it's kind of hidden behind the trees now, so I don't know if anybody really sees any more of it. Uh, John Ireland. Lexingtongymnastics.com is the website. I think it's a really good idea for exercise and things like that. And is my time up? It is. Thank you, Mayor. Good timing. Okay. Thanks. Anything further? Mr. Cobb. First giving honor to God. Peace and love to the Council. Got a great deal of respect for what the Council stands for, but Lexington itself is in a tremendous state of delusion. We building, we got development on our mind, but we overlooking its people. We care more about dogs and building trails than the youth of our city. I'm not mad at nobody. I'm just amazed at how we as a city in Lexington continue to allow a certain group of people to walk downtown like they own the city. God owns Lexington. His judgment's gonna come to Lexington. We cannot be immoral and think we can build something. If God don't build it, the building is in vain. We got to change the way we think. We can applaud Tyson, Tyson Gay tonight, but let's respect his family, who's walking on the street in downtown Lexington. Don't applaud him 'cause he's an athlete. Applaud him because he's a man. We ask Lexington today, reconsider how you feel about all your citizens. All of us want the same thing. Lexington's just not for the elitists. We gotta wipe out racism. We gotta wipe out hatism. We got to give everybody an opportunity to excel. For the last two years, all I've been asking is to shine your shoes. And if that's too much, then I understand that. I ask God to help me to love y'all, 'cause God loves me, and we gonna work together, or it ain't gonna stand. Y'all can have all the ideas you want. You can't build nothing on immorality. I've tried. If I could help all the girls in the world, I would, but God said I can't. I gotta do what he says. Thank you, Mayor, for the time. Thank you for letting me talk to you. Even though you don't pay me no attention, it don't matter. I gotta do it anyway. Ask y'all to pray for me. All those that love to shine, let's pray together. We're gonna make some changes in the city of Lexington. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Cobb. Does anyone else wish to address the Council? Council Member Stetton. Can I... Is that... Yes. Do we have a motion to, uh- I'll move. Yes. Sure, Mayor. I move pursuant to KRS61.8101C to go into closed session for the purposes of discussing pending litigation matters involving the LFUCG. So moved. Second. We have a motion and second to go into closed session. Any discussion? Those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Motion carries. The golden road, going down the creek. She needs a dog. Yeah, well, he's ... Yeah, I know, right? Or, uh, yeah. Yeah, I think I'll pass. I'll have a beer instead. Mr. Cobb, it's quite an adventure. Yeah. I hold my breath, never knowing what's gonna happen. Oh, baby. Neat, a little shaken up.