# Council Work Session - September 20, 2022 > Auto-transcribed civic record · September 20, 2022 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/5646 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/5646?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2022-09-20 - **Last revised**: September 20, 2022 - **Length**: 8,244 words - **Speakers**: Mayor > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed with OpenAI's open-source Whisper large-v3-turbo model, run locally by The Lexington Times. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude. Verbatim wording may contain errors. See [methodology](https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/about/methodology) or [report a correction](mailto:editor@lexingtonky.news). --- ## Meeting Overview The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government held a meeting on September 20, 2022, at 3:00 PM in the Council Chamber of the Urban County Government Center, with Mayor Gorton presiding. The meeting addressed seven agenda items covering a range of municipal business including zoning matters, budget amendments, and ongoing city initiatives. The council took seven votes during the session, approving requested rezonings and docket items, budget amendments, and new business items. Two public comment periods were held, allowing residents to address both agenda-related issues and general concerns not on the agenda. The meeting also included informational presentations on continuing business and council reports from various members. ## Attendance The following members were present at the September 20, 2022 meeting: **Present:** • Kay • Moloney • Ellinger • J. Brown • McCurn • LeGris • Lamb • Sheehan • Kloiber • Worley • F. Brown • Baxter • Bledsoe • Reynolds **Absent:** • Plomin No members arrived late to the meeting. A total of 14 members were present and 1 member was absent. ## Votes and Decisions The meeting included seven motions, all decided by voice vote with one exception that recorded a single dissenting vote. **Rezoning Approvals** [timestamp: 00:02] Councilmember Ellinger motioned to approve requested rezonings on the docket, seconded by McCurn. The motion passed by voice vote. **Emergency Rental Assistance Agreement** [timestamp: 00:05] Lamb motioned to place on the docket a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with Community Action Council for emergency rental assistance funds, seconded by Plomin. The motion passed by voice vote. **Committee Referral Motion** [timestamp: 00:15] Plomin motioned to remove item 7 from the docket and send it to the Planning and Public Safety Committee for further evaluation, seconded by Ellinger. This motion failed by voice vote. **Amendment for Work Session Presentation** [timestamp: 00:20] J. Brown motioned to amend the previous motion to have a presentation at a work session instead of sending the item to committee, seconded by Baxter. The motion passed by voice vote. **Scheduling Motion** [timestamp: 00:25] Moloney motioned to place the item on the docket for first reading on October 13, with a presentation on October 18, and second reading on October 27, seconded by Worley. The motion passed by voice vote. **Budget Amendments** [timestamp: 00:35] Budget amendments were approved by voice vote, though no specific motion maker or seconder was recorded. **New Business Approval** [timestamp: 00:40] Legris motioned to approve new business, seconded by Lamb. The motion passed by voice vote with one dissenting vote from Sheehan. ## Budget and Financial Actions The meeting addressed eight financial items totaling over $14.4 million in expenditures, contracts, and grant acceptances. **Infrastructure and Utilities** • Resolution 0928-22 authorized a Design Change Order No. 1 with Strand Associates, Inc. for $53,870.00 for West Hickman WWTP RAS/WAS improvements • Resolution 0942-22 approved a vendor agreement with Environmental Enterprises, Inc. for hazardous waste disposal services totaling $102,000.00 **Major Project Funding** • Resolution 0944-22 authorized amendment #4 of the TIGER agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Town Branch Commons Project, involving $14,095,887.00 **Technology and Security Services** • Resolution 0931-22 established Burdine Security Group as a sole source vendor for maintenance and repair services (amount not specified) • Resolution 0937-22 authorized Grayshift LLC as a sole source vendor for GrayKey License renewal at $46,570.00 **Personnel and Organizational Changes** • Resolution 0934-22 authorized position changes in the Division of Youth Services and Parks and Recreation, with a financial impact of $5,462.25 **Grant and Program Funding** • Resolution 0943-22 accepted a $10,000.00 state award for EMS training equipment • Resolution 0948-22 authorized execution of FY 2023 Neighborhood Action Match Program contracts totaling $100,978.00 The largest single expenditure was the Town Branch Commons Project amendment at nearly $14.1 million, while the smallest was the personnel adjustment at $5,462.25. The actions included both ongoing operational expenses and significant infrastructure investments. ## Public Comment Two community members addressed the meeting during the public comment period on September 20, 2022. **Dottie Bean** spoke about budget and spending concerns [timestamp: 01:30]. Bean expressed concerns about current government spending practices and proposed reallocating funds from the PDR (Purchase of Development Rights) program to affordable housing initiatives. She suggested this reallocation would better serve community housing needs. **Blake Hall** addressed parking policy issues [timestamp: 01:36]. Hall expressed disappointment that the parking ZOTA (Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment) was not included on the meeting agenda. He emphasized the importance of parking reform as a necessary component for supporting housing development in the community, highlighting the connection between parking policies and housing availability. Both speakers focused on housing-related concerns, with Bean addressing funding mechanisms and Hall focusing on regulatory barriers to development. ## Contested Items The meeting featured one contested item involving a procedural dispute over how to handle a zoning text amendment for small farm microdistilleries. **Zoning Text Amendment for Small Farm Microdistilleries** A procedural disagreement arose regarding the appropriate next steps for processing a zoning text amendment related to small farm microdistilleries. The dispute centered on whether the amendment should be sent directly to committee for review or if a presentation should first be conducted at a work session. Council members debated the merits of each approach, with some favoring immediate committee referral to expedite the process, while others advocated for a preliminary presentation to ensure all members had adequate background information before formal committee consideration. After discussion, the council reached a resolution to require a presentation before proceeding with the standard committee process. This compromise approach was designed to provide council members with necessary context and details about the zoning amendment while maintaining an orderly review process. The decision reflects the council's preference for thorough preparation on zoning matters that could impact agricultural operations and local business development. The presentation requirement will allow for initial questions and clarification before the item moves to formal committee review and potential action. *Note: Specific timestamp information and participant names were not available in the provided meeting data.* ## Public Comment - Issues on Agenda [timestamp: 00:01] The meeting began with a public comment period dedicated to issues listed on the agenda. This portion of the meeting was designated for members of the public to address the governing body regarding specific items scheduled for discussion during the session. The public comment period was informational in nature, providing an opportunity for community input on agenda matters before formal deliberations began. No specific speakers or comments were documented in the available meeting materials for this portion of the proceedings. This agenda item served as the standard opening for public participation, allowing residents and stakeholders to voice their perspectives on matters that would be considered by the governing body during the September 20, 2022 meeting. ## Requested Rezonings/Docket Approval [timestamp: 00:02] The council addressed the approval of requested rezonings and docket items during this portion of the meeting. Council members Ellinger and McCurn were the key speakers who participated in the discussion of these zoning matters. The agenda item involved reviewing and voting on various rezoning requests and docket items that had been submitted for consideration. While the specific details of individual rezoning requests were not detailed in the available materials, this represents a standard procedural item where the council evaluates proposed changes to zoning classifications within their jurisdiction. The discussion resulted in the council approving the requested rezonings and docket items that were presented for consideration. The approval indicates that the proposed zoning changes met the necessary criteria and requirements established by the municipality's zoning ordinances and planning guidelines. This type of agenda item typically involves reviewing applications from property owners or developers seeking to change the zoning classification of specific parcels of land, which can affect how the property may be used or developed in the future. The council's approval of these items allows the requested zoning changes to move forward in the municipal approval process. ## Budget Amendments [timestamp: 00:35] The council considered and approved various budget amendments for the current fiscal year during this agenda item. The amendments were presented as a resolution requiring council approval. The specific details of the individual budget amendments, including dollar amounts and affected departments or programs, were not captured in the available meeting documentation. No key speakers were identified for this particular agenda item, suggesting the amendments may have been presented as part of routine administrative business. The council proceeded to approve the budget amendments without recorded debate or discussion of concerns. The resolution passed, allowing the proposed fiscal adjustments to take effect. This type of budget amendment process is typically used by municipal governments to make necessary adjustments to previously approved budgets, often to accommodate changing circumstances, unexpected expenses, or to reallocate funds between different budget categories or departments. ## New Business The council addressed new business items during this portion of the meeting [timestamp: 00:40]. Council members Legris and Lamb were the primary speakers for this agenda item. The discussion centered on new business matters that included contracts and grants requiring council approval. While the specific details of individual contracts and grants were not provided in the available materials, the council engaged in discussion regarding these items. The new business items were presented as resolutions for the council's consideration. Both Legris and Lamb participated in the discussion of these matters, though the specific nature of their contributions and any particular concerns they may have raised are not detailed in the available summary. Following the discussion, the council voted to approve the new business items that were presented. The approval encompassed the contracts and grants that had been brought before the council for consideration. The outcome of this agenda item was approval of the new business matters, allowing the discussed contracts and grants to move forward as presented to the council. ## Continuing Business/Presentations [timestamp: 00:50] Council Member Bledsoe presented the Budget, Finance & Economic Development Committee's summary and motions during this portion of the meeting. The presentation served as an informational update to the full council regarding the committee's recent work and recommendations. The agenda item was structured as a presentation format, allowing Bledsoe to provide details on the committee's findings and proposed actions. This type of continuing business item typically involves committee chairs or members reporting back to the full council on matters that have been under review or development within their respective committees. The presentation was informational in nature, meaning no formal votes or decisions were required from the council at this time. Instead, the item served to keep all council members informed about the Budget, Finance & Economic Development Committee's ongoing work and any motions or recommendations they had developed for future consideration. This type of committee report is a standard part of municipal government operations, ensuring transparency and coordination between specialized committees and the full governing body. The information presented would likely inform future agenda items and decision-making processes as the committee's recommendations move through the formal approval process. ## Council Reports During the Council Reports segment, multiple council members provided updates on various community events and initiatives [timestamp: 01:00]. Council members Mccurn, Lamb, Reynolds, Legris, Kloiber, and Plomin each shared information about ongoing projects and upcoming community activities. The reports covered a range of topics relevant to local government operations and community engagement. The session served as an informational update, allowing council members to keep their colleagues and the public informed about their respective areas of focus and recent activities. No formal actions were taken during this portion of the meeting, as the reports were presented for informational purposes only. The Council Reports segment provided transparency into the various initiatives and events that council members are involved with throughout the community, ensuring that both fellow council members and residents stay informed about ongoing municipal activities and upcoming opportunities for civic engagement. ## Public Comment - Issues Not on Agenda [timestamp: 01:30] During the public comment period for issues not on the agenda, two community members addressed the meeting with concerns about city operations and policy matters. **Speakers and Topics:** • **Dottie Bean** - Addressed budget concerns affecting the community • **Blake Hall** - Spoke about parking reform issues The public comment session provided an opportunity for residents to bring forward matters not specifically scheduled for discussion during the meeting. Both speakers utilized their allotted time to raise issues they felt required the attention of city officials. Bean focused her remarks on budget-related concerns, though the specific details of her budget issues were not elaborated in the available summary. Hall's comments centered on parking reform, suggesting ongoing community interest in changes to local parking policies or enforcement. **Outcome:** This agenda item was informational in nature, with no formal action taken by the governing body. The public comment period served its intended purpose of allowing community members to voice concerns and bring issues to the attention of elected officials, even when those matters were not part of the formal meeting agenda. The session concluded after both speakers had presented their remarks, with the meeting proceeding to other scheduled agenda items. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the September 22, 2022 Council meeting docket - **Motion** — passed (0-0): place on the docket for the September 22, 2022 Council meeting (1) a resolution authorizing and directing the Mayor to execute the third amendment to the Subrecipient Agreement with Community Action Council in order to allocate an amount not to exceed $6,921,202.20 of federal emergency rental assistance grant funds for the continued operation of the Housing Stabilization Program, and (2) a related budget ordinance to accept $6,921,202.20 in Emergency Rental Assistance federal grant funds from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and allocate funds within the grant budget - **Motion** — passed (0-0): place ordinance #5 (An Ordinance changing the zone from an Agricultural Rural (A-R) zone and a Single-Family Residential (R-1D) zone to a Neighborhood Business (B-1) zone for 5.6879 net (5.8494 gross) acres, for property located at 6270 Athens Walnut Hill Pike) without a public hearing - **Motion** — passed (8-1): remove ordinance #7 (An Ordinance creating Section 8- 1(D)(33) and amending Section 1-11 of the Zoning Ordinance to create a new conditional use for Small Farm Micro-Distilleries in the Agricultural-Rural (A-R) Zone) from the docket and place in the Planning and Public Safety Committee - **Motion** — passed (0-0): amend and postpone first reading until the October 13, 2022 Council meeting and add a presentation to the October 18, 2022 work session. 1st reading Oct. 13th, presentation Oct. 18th - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the September 17, 2022 work session summary - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve budget amendments - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve new business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the Price Contract Approval Process (as presented and approved at the August 30, 2022 Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee meeting) - **Motion** — passed (0-0): adjourn at 3:53pm --- ## Full transcript Girl, I love you My Maria There was some blue and sorrow times Just my thoughts about you bring back My peace of mind Gypsy lady You're a miracle work for me You set my soul free like a ship sailing on the sea She is the sunlight when the skies are gray She treats me so right, lady Take me away My Marie Oh Marie, I love you girl Oh my Marie Oh Marie, I love you girl Marie, oh my Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome everyone. And the first item on our agenda is public comment for issues that are not on the agenda. And that are on the agenda, excuse me, issues on the current agenda. And it looks like. I'm looking to see if your issue is one of these I'm not sure is on the agenda or not. I know sometimes it's hard for you to know also. Thank you. I'm going to ask our attorney, we're trying to sort through those who've signed up to see if any of these issues are on the agenda. Is the parking Zota on the agenda today? I didn't think it was, so that can be discussed later on. So we're going to hold the sign up for later in the agenda because all of these issues are issues that are not on the agenda. So with that, the next item is requested rezonings docket approval. If I could have a motion. Thank you. Council Member Ellinger moves. Council Member McCurn seconds. If you have questions, please log in. Council Member Lamb. Yes, ma'am. On behalf of the administration, I have a motion to place on the docket for the September 22, 2022 council meeting, a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor to execute the third amendment to the subrecipient agreement with Community Action Council in order to allocate an amount not to exceed $6,921,202.20 of federal emergency rental assistance grant funds for the continued operation of the housing stabilization program, and two, a related budget ordinance to accept $6,921,202.20 in emergency rental assistance federal grant funds from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and allocate funds within the grant budget. I so move. Thank you. Is there a second? Second. Council Member Plowman seconds. Is there any discussion? Council Member Ellinger. Thank you. Is this new money that we're getting then from the federal government, or is this a tranche that we're just moving from here over to there? Let's see. Commissioner Lanter is here. And if so, where does that stand and how much we've received in total? Yes, Councilman Hildred, this is new money. The funds that we have are basically, for the most part, completely exhausted. It looked like we had like 1.5 or so left last I saw. Yeah, we're basically essentially at zero because what we have is essentially committed at this point. And so this 6.9 will allow us. It's being reallocated actually from the state, from Kentucky Housing Corporation. They gave it back to Treasury. Treasury is giving it to us. This money is good through December 30th of 2022, so this will carry us through the end of 2022, and we anticipate that will be adequate for that time. So where does that put our total amount that we've, were we at 32? Does this get us close to 40? We were actually at. Or were we at 40? We were at 40. This gets us closer to 46, 47, actually. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Any other questions about the motion? All those in favor of approval say yes or aye. Anyone opposed? Wait a minute, are you an aye or a no? Okay, very good. That motion passes. Is there anything else for the docket? Councilmember Plumman is yours for the docket? Yes, it is. I moved to place on the docket without a public hearing and ordinance changing the zone and agricultural rural AR zone and a single family residential R-1D zone to a neighborhood business B1 zone for 5.6879 net, 5.8494 gross acres for property at 6270. Nathan's Walnut Hill Pike, including a request for a variance, so moved. Is there a second? Second. Councilmember Lam seconds. Any questions or comments? Councilmember Ellinger. Thank you. Did you say put it on without a public hearing? Without a hearing. Okay, thank you. Any other questions or comments? All right, all those in favor of that motion, please say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? Okay, that motion passes. Anything else for the docket? Yes, Mayor. I have another item in regard to the docket. And this item has to do with the new conditional use for small farm micro distilleries in the AR zone. And in my mind, I think it's a little bit too open and doesn't provide any language to the BOA for further enforcement. So what I would like to do is put this into committee so that we can have more discussion and general education about this. And I would ask my colleagues for support of my motion. I move to remove item seven on the docket to the Planning and Public Safety Committee for further evaluation and discussion. So moved. Is there a second? Second. All right, Councilmember Ellinger seconds. Any questions about the motion? Councilmember James Brown. Thank you, Mayor. And to Councilmember Plumman's motion, can someone come and just kind of explain the process for a zone text amendment of this sort, what process it goes through and how it's been vetted and got to this point so far? Welcome, Tracy Wade. Good afternoon, members of the council. Tracy Wade with the Division of Planning and the Planning Services Manager. All text amendments go through a review by the planning staff. We make a recommendation to the planning commission, and the planning commission holds a public hearing. And those occur once a month, so we have quite a few. The planning commission reviews the staff's recommendation, the applicant's information, and anyone present that might want to speak. And then they make a recommendation onto the council. And those are delivered to you, again, monthly for changes to the zoning ordinance. And so this is referencing, so thank you for that. So this is referencing something in the rural area, correct? This is a change to the definition or creating a new definition and then creating a conditional use as a possible conditional use in the AR zone only. Okay. So when you're talking about the zone, so the AR zone is outside the urban service boundary. Yes, sir. So the Rural Land Management Board, did they play a role in this process at all? Do they get a chance to review this and have an opportunity to weigh in? We share our application information with the Rural Land Management Board. They did not attend the public hearing, so that's generally my understanding when they don't attend is that they either aren't concerned or did not have a meeting to, I guess, coalesce their recommendation to us. They don't often participate in our public hearings. Okay. All right. So, yeah, and I guess my concern is it seems like, you know, this has went through a process, and I know there are some concerns just because there's a lot of concerns with a lot of things going on right now in regards to growth in the city. And I won't support it going into committee at this time. I think we got some time between now and when it goes on the docket and gets first and second reading to get questions answered. So I just want to respect the process as it stands now. So thank you. Thank you. Council Member Maloney, is your question to the motion? Don't question on this. Okay. I got it. My question is, this is a zoning text amendment. Yes, sir. And you all have gone through the process. We've done everything that's supposed to be done. And now the council is going to listen to something that, I mean, do we rarely do this or do we do this a lot? That's my question to you. Do we come in and do the text amendment? because it seems like if they went through the process, you all answered all the questions. I worry about what kind of message we're going to be doing on this tax amendment. We're going to be starting like a zoning change. I understand when we make the final decision on a zone change, we have to listen to it. We get into the weeds. We make changes if we don't agree with it. But when it comes to a tax amendment, my concern is a weed supposed to be that much qualified like we do a zone change or to get into the weeds and make changes again like this or do you all try to we try to avoid from doing that well text amendments to the zoning ordinance are usually recommended for one of maybe three reasons either our ordinance is out of date and it needs to be updated there's a policy recommendation that we're trying to implement or there's something in the the comprehensive plan that again we're trying to implement that specific document in this case our agricultural tourism is a policy we're trying to encourage and the planning commission found that this was a form of agricultural tourism that could be implemented in Fayette County without impacting our agricultural area and and so what you're being asked to do is to amend the law. What does the zoning ordinance allow for that particular zone? And in this case, the request by the applicant is to add a new conditional use. So it would still require a Board of Adjustment application and action to determine that a particular site was appropriate for that particular use. So if this were not to have in the past, it would still have to go to the Board of Adjustment and make those decisions. so I'm trying to figure out what the council getting into themselves into if we already have a process the people that I think that's the reason why we put on these commissions to make these kind of decisions I just don't want to see us step back I understand zone changes I understand why we take the lead on this but I also understand the board of adjustment we don't get into those decisions and I'm just concerned that we might be Senator Long met you. So that's my concern. Thank you. Council Member Lamb. Thank you, Mayor. I know we have numerous issues that are text amendments that we have put into committee, so I'm not sure what Council Member Maloney is alluding to. I know we have had some issues that have sat in committee, and we do have the opportunity when we feel the need to do that. But my question, I guess, would be to not to put the chair of planning and public safety on the spot, but do you have agenda space available in the next, I don't know how many meetings you have left. I know we're sliding into the end of the year. And is there opportunity to hear this in the next month or two? I don't think so. So our agenda is packed for October, and it will be for, I think, we have a meeting in November. So it would be tight. Because the last thing I want is for unintended consequences. I know that the applicant has done their proper homework and brought things forward, but I also understand that there are some concerns and questions about possibly some of the information that is included in the alternative text amendment. So I'm really perplexed about this because I want it to be able to be vetted properly, but I also don't want to unintentionally hurt the applicant either. So I guess I'm going to have to wait to see what else is spoken for to make a decision. Thank you. Council Member James Brown. Thank you, Mayor. So is there a time constraint to this ZODA or the Zone Text Amendment that it needs to be addressed or moved forward by this council? There's not a regulatory constraint. So the zoning ordinance or KRS do not require that the council take action in any given time frame for a text amendment. Do you know if there's any concern from the applicant? Has that been conveyed if time is of the essence or something that needs to be addressed? Well, Mr. Carter's here. I would encourage you to maybe ask him. If that's appropriate, yeah, I'd like to hear. If you can just kind of give a brief yes or no, not a hearing. This is not a hearing, please. Good evening, Mayor and Council members. I started this process probably about six years ago. So I began with, I went to Europe. And my wife used to coach basketball at University of Kentucky and we toured Europe. So I fell in love with champagne over there. So I came back and we had the opportunity to purchase a farm. So I purchased a farm, and the first thing I did was plant five acres of grapes. And what I did with the grapes that year, and this is 2017, I made a champagne, a traditional method champagne like they do in Europe. And I end up winning, in 2020, I end up winning a wine contest, the Commissioner's Cup for the state of Kentucky. So doing that process, I always wanted to make brandy also. And that's one of the things that interests me. I'm not for sure if people know that brandy, the true brandy is made out of wine. So I had a friend that worked at a distillery and he said, you need to bring some of your wine down and let's distill it. And see how it turns out. And so we distill, you distill a little small thing of it and it turned out great. He said, you need to come up with a recipe for bourbon. So I did. So the bourbon, it came up pretty good. And so for the last six years, I've been working on my bourbon also. And I kind of took the steps probably backwards instead of forward. I got approved by the government first in the state, and I called down to get approved by the city zoning. And they said, well, back in, I think, maybe the late 1800s, early 1900s, they stopped letting farms produce bourbon or distill on farms. So I went down and talked with the zoning committee, and they said that we need to try to change that. It's going to be very difficult, probably, to get that passed. But if you look in the record books, Kentucky, Lexington was one of the biggest bourbon producers in the United States. And one of the things that I found out, they had the most speakeasies. I'm pretty sure you all heard of speakeasy before, one of the speakeasies also. And I said, gosh, I've got to get something approved because it's not a big footprint on farms now. because first of all, I, Mr. Carter, I'm sorry, Mayor. I don't want to, I hate to cut you off, but I don't want my time to run out before I get to say it. You've got another minute. Yeah, so is this process, time is of the essence for you? Is it going to impact what you do going forward? I know you probably want it as soon as possible, but. Yeah, I do want it as soon as possible, but I want to interfere with the votes, with, you know, council approving it. And because I've been working on this, like I said, for six years, it's one of the first things. I like I said, I ended up also, I'll say this real quick also. So I'm looking at the bourbon and horses made Kentucky. That's one of the big things in Kentucky. I ended up breeding and becoming a grade one producer in the horse industry also, racing horse industry. So I'm not going to get an opportunity to weigh in and make a suggestion if I don't jump in and I apologize for cutting you off. Thank you. I want to make a suggestion to council. In lieu of putting this in committee, I would entertain a presentation from about this Zota, what it means and allow us to ask questions and see if it poses enough questions that we need to put it in committee or move it forward. So, yeah, at a work session or yeah, whatever we can find time available to do. So I would make a, can I amend Council Member Plowman's motion to, instead of putting it in committee, have a presentation to Council about the Zone Text Amendment. Is there a second? All right. Council Member Baxter seconded the amendment. Thank you very much. Thank you. Seconded the amendment. Let's have discussion on the amendment to have a presentation at a work session, I think I heard. Yes. Okay. Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. To the motion, would we go ahead and then not move this forward then and wait for the presentation? Is that your idea here? Yeah, I would say postpone it until a presentation could be. Okay, thank you. Okay, other questions? Let me know by hands. Council Member McCurron. You're okay? No, Mayor, I'm okay. Thank you. Okay, Councilmember Worley. Thank you, Mayor. So if the intent then is to postpone this until after a work session presentation, the question then would be when is the work session presentation going to be? You know, I appreciate, was it Mr. Carter, is that correct? I think Mr. Carter is very humble and very deferential to us in his answer about whether there's a time constraint, but I also heard that Mr. Carter has made significant investments in our community and in his business already, and further delay is further delay of business and progress. And so he's gone through all of the processes that he is supposed to go through. And if there are people say that they think that there may be issues we need to address, then let's get those addressed before second reading. But I think to wait, unless we can do that work session very quickly, I think this is unnecessary delay of business. We always, when an applicant makes a text amendment, When the government makes a text amendment, we take our time. We go through everything. But when an applicant makes a text amendment request, we typically try to work as expeditiously as possible because that's someone's land interest and someone's business interest that we don't want to delay. So I agree with this approach generally, but I don't want to wait until some work session in the future that we don't know when that is to then bring up Mr. Carter's issue again. And I would rather proceed on and try to get ourselves educated in the process. And then at any given time, we could table the thing again and move forward from there. But I think we should move forward in the normal course. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Stacey, you would have the calendar and the next option. Yes, ma'am. So we are on council fall break for the next two weeks. And we already have two rather lengthy presentations scheduled for that October 11th work session. so the earliest we could get it on would be the 18th of October. I'll ask this. Are those two presentations, could one of them be moved? I don't believe so. One of them was requested from a committee recently to happen October 11th from the Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee, and the other one is our compensation study. So the other one could not be moved? I don't think so. I think council wants that sooner rather than later, but. Okay, that's a budget one. Okay. Oh, gotcha. So October 18th. Okay. Would be the next opportunity. Okay. Council Member Lamb. Well, I actually, I was going to point out that the first and second reading would be, But when Ms. Maynard just spoke up, it kind of shot myself in the foot on that. Because the second reading, we have a council meeting this Thursday, and then the next one is the 13th of October. So it'd be great if we could be able to work this out and figure it out before the 13th, the second reading. Council Member McCurn. Thank you, Mayor. Council Member Brown, thank you for putting the amendment forward. I would typically be in support of this, but I'm not inclined to want to punt this either. I do appreciate your investment into our community, and I would like to see this move forward for you sooner than later. So I'm going to be inclined to agree with Council Member Worley on this. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Maloney. I'm just wondering what Council Member Worley's idea. Can we go on and do first reading, and before we do the second reading, we have the presentation then? instead of having first and two readings after we hear the presentation. We've done these on zone changes and things, so I'm just wondering why we couldn't. There is no time limit. So let's ask the council administrator. So the first reading would be this Thursday, correct? Yes, ma'am, and the second reading would be October 13th at the next council meeting, and we don't have a work session to get this on before the 13th. Can we make a motion to place it on the work session or for the docket for first reading at that particular date on the 13th today? Yes. I believe that would be over. The law department would have to confirm, but I think you could. If we made a motion to place it on the docket for first read on October 13th, which would allow us to hear it in work session the 18th and hear second read the week after that. At the end of October. Would that be amenable to everyone? Okay, then I make that motion. Second. We had a few jump on with the second I heard, Council Member Worley. The motion is to, now this is an amendment to the amendment, and so we're going to keep ourselves straight here. to place this issue on the docket for first reading October the 13th, and then have the presentation on the 18th at work session, and then the second reading would be, bar no changes, would be the next council meeting, the 27th. Thank you. Let's have discussion about that. And if you'll raise your hand, please, or log in now that we have no one logged in. Okay, I see no one. All those in favor of the amendment, please say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. So let's see. I'm looking at our parliamentarian. We amended the amendment. And I think that would be a complete amendment to, so we're down to the original underlying motion. Which is now, as you just stated. Excellent. Excellent. So does everybody understand the motion is to place this item on the docket for first reading on October 13th, and to have a presentation at the work session on the 18th, and then have second reading on the 27th? Everybody good? Okay, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Thank you. Good job. Now, we are still on the docket. Any other changes to the docket? I see none. All those in favor of approving the docket as amended, please say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? All right, that passes. Next is the table of motions for September 13th work session. Could I have a motion? So moved. Thank you, Council Member Plowman. Thank you. Council Member Sheehan seconds. Any questions, comments? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Could I please have a motion to approve budget amendments? So moved. Council Member Bledsoe moves. Council Member LaGree seconds. If you have a question, please log in. I see nothing. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Could I have a motion, please, to approve new business? So moved. Thank you. Council Member Legree. Council Member Lam seconded. If you have a question about new business, please log in. Council Member Fred Brown. Yes, I just wanted to comment on C. I guess CAO, if you could come forward there, just explanation as much as anything and announcement. I think that has to do with our switching one of our centers over to, I just wanted the public to be aware of it a little bit. But what we're trying to do is open up one of our centers and renaming it Tate's Creek Center, and it was originally a Gainesway Center. And what entailed it here is that we're putting it under parks. Welcome. And I think it's all been approved, but this is the necessary language we need to do to move people around. Yes, sir. Is that not correct? Yes, sir. And I think after our conversations, we felt that we have not been able to program this center recently because of staff issues. And we felt that we would be better served if we moved this to parks. And parks, as Chris is here, has been certainly ready to take it. They will be programming it and we're moving and social services was allowing us to move the staff that was assigned to this and money over to parks and and then we're going to change the name and I think that's going to appear at the advisory at the parks advisory board to the Tates Creek Center and that means the whole complex is better named than one part of Gainesway and then you have pool and then you have the golf course and it all just is much better that way thank you for that thank you thank you thank you Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Worley. Thank you, Mayor. I've got a question on item K. All right. Welcome. Good afternoon, Council, Mayor. Mark Fibus with Division of Engineering, Section Manager of Design and Construction Section. Great, thank you. Thanks for joining us. Is this for the Mount Tabor sidewalk project or is this, I just noticed that it's a CMAC grant that's almost the same amount of money that I thought we already had for Mount Tabor sidewalks. It is the project. We put it out to bid in June and we received one bid. We did not have enough money in our budget so we are going back and asking for more money from the transportation cabinet. Okay, so another two million more? Or is this just a kind of a re-up of the entirety that we already were? Because I thought it was around two million for the project to start with. The two and a half million is the total estimate, current estimate. It's a generous estimate. We, the cost of construction has been really, it's just been all over the place, so it's unpredictable. So we're asking for an additional one point. The cost of sidewalks are a lot more than what people think they are too. They're expensive, but I do know that this has been in the works a long time. And Councilmember Sheehan now represents that district, that area, it's now her district that was mine for the past five years. And I know before that, Councilmember Scutchfield, who I replaced, was working on sidewalks on Mount Tabor. So I'm glad to see that we're moving closer and closer and I hope that we just continue to push this across the finish line. And I'll continue to advocate for it, Councilmember Sheehan, even though it now belongs to you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Councilmember McCurran. Thank you, Mayor. My item is item G on the Town Branch Commons, the Tiger Agreement. Is Brandy okay, Charlie? Commissioner Lanter. Good to see you, Commissioner. My question is for this portion of the trail or the amendment of it, it says the funds are in all zones. Can you touch base of what that means, where the funds are going to be going? I know they're coming from the right-of-way purchase and going into construction, but is this going just to Town Branch Commons, the park, or is this going to the trail? That's actually, Council Member Kern, not a question. That piece of it I'm not familiar with. I'm just familiar with the grant side of this, and this is a cleanup piece for our amendment. I'm not sure if Commissioner Albright is here and familiar with that level of detail. Yeah. Yeah. I do believe some of it will be on Section 6 as well, the piece of the trail. Okay. As well as the zones within Town Branch, the larger brandy project. And Commissioner, I know you and I have had a plenty of conversations regarding this one, but I'm going to sit and advocate for this money to go only to Town Branch 6, Phase 6. or aim for that area in particular. It's quite underwhelming, as you know. We've had multiple conversations in the past, and I'd like to see this area revamped and touched up. I mean, it's a phase that I know is supposed to be temporary, but I'd like to see this as a permanent phase and funding going into something that looks more permanent. I appreciate that that is true and we would like to continue to work to improve that section of Manchester Street where the trail goes right now. I don't know that these funds could be used in a manner to comply with the Tiger Grant at this point. I'm sorry, I called wind to something else. Can you say that one more time? Yeah, I'm afraid since this is related to the Tiger Grant, I'm not sure how much of this we could do within the improvements we'd still like to see. on the Manchester Street section at this time. Okay. I think our timing constraints are too tight. Okay, any way that we can see something going into this corridor, that'd be excellent. I would much appreciate it. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mayor. And I agree with that. I think the Tiger Grant did not technically go down that far, but you're right on that other issue. We need to work on that. Thank you. Yep. Anybody else have questions about new business? Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. Jay, please. All right. Neighborhood action match. That, again, I think Commissioner Lanter just needs to take a front row seat. We had a discussion before the meeting. I just wanted to, for my own knowledge and everybody else, When we did the neighborhood match grant, how do we do the grant? It's a one-to-one. Could you explain that to everybody, myself, too? Yes. So for each neighborhood that receives a grant, they're matching the grant with their own neighborhood funds dollar for dollar. So for each of these neighborhoods, if they're getting $8,000, the neighborhood's also putting in $8,000. With one exception, and that is any neighborhood that falls within a low-income census tract, that match requirement is half. So it's 50 cents for every dollar. But other than that, the requirement is that the neighborhood match $1 for every dollar that we put into the project. Thank you. Thank you. Any other new business questions? All those in favor of approving new business, say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? No on G. All right. We have one no on, did you say G? On G. All right, next is continuing business, and I'd like to call on Councilmember Bledsoe for budget finance and economic development. Thank you, Mayor. This is the report on summary of motions. The meeting started, this is from August 30th, 2022. The meeting started at 1 o'clock, and we had the first, the committee approved the February 8th, 2022 committee summary. We then welcomed Human Resource Director Tammy Walters to present on the enhancements in addition to the adoption assistance program. Walters proposed increasing the fiscal year 2023 adoption assistance annual budget to $8,000 and increase the benefit per eligible child to $5,000 and up to $7,000 for children with special needs. Employees can apply for reimbursement through human resources within six months of adoption being finalized. LFUCG may allocate additional funds in the event funds are insufficient for reimbursement. No action was taken on this item. Next, Todd Slayton, Director of Purchasing, presented on the proposed process to remove price contract approvals from the resolution section of the docket. Instead, acceptance approval and establishment of each price contract would be placed under the Mayor's report for Council approval. This would eliminate the requirement for two readings, shorten the overall bid process by one to two weeks, and doesn't impact the bid appeal process. A motion was made by Catherine Member Plumman to approve the price contract approval process and report out the September 20th work session, seconded by Vice Mayor Steve Kay. The motion passed without dissent. On behalf of the committee, I say move. Do I hear a second? All right, Council Member Ellinger seconds. Is there any discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Thank you. Our last presentation was given by Attorney Michael Cravens on the proposed dissolution of the exactions program. The goal of the exactions program is to provide equitable means to allocate a fair share of infrastructure costs needed to serve the new growth and development and expansion areas. Total exactions program costs are estimated at $108.75 million. The goal is to dissolve these actions program by engaging in executing agreements with expansion area stakeholders by the fall of 2023. They would like to move forward with the dissolution of sections in area one and three because they are the least complex areas, underdeveloped, and have fewer stakeholders. There is intent to bring final stakeholder agreements for areas one and three back to Council in November or December of this year. There is a drafted timeline for expansion area two, but is not expected to be completed by the end of this year. No action was taken on this item. We removed from committee the adoption assistance program and the use of additional fiscal year 21 economic development funding. The July financials were provided by the financial team and they're included in the summary and we adjourned at 156. Thank you. Thank you very much. Are there any questions for Council Member Bledsoe? All right. Thank you. It's time for Council Reports. Council Member McCurn. Thank you, Mayor. I know you guys are getting tired of hearing from me today. I'm going to talk about this past weekend just a little bit, and I want to start off and say we had a block party off of Georgetown Street at Charles and Elm. We had a block party. It was a great time for everyone to come out, a good chance to have festivities, activities, friendly fun. I do want to thank the Georgetown Street Area Neighborhood Association for their partnership in this event, our police department, fire department who came out and stayed in our police grill team. It was just a really good time to go into an area that we've had some of our violence in the community and show that the community is here to stand and take it back. I'm looking forward to our next one which will be on October 8th, which will be on Glen Arvin from 5 to 7 PM. It's a Saturday, same thing, we'll have a lot of activities out there. We have the showmobile, and lots of kids were out dancing this weekend, so it was really good to see. And then this evening, we'll be hosting a homeownership course. It's the first in the series. It's going to be a whole bunch of different conversations on how to get into homeownership if you are already in homeownership, some of the challenges we face, sometimes whether it's with our bills or repairs in our home, and that there are resources out there to help us. This evening, we'll be taking place at the Black and Williams Center. From 6 to 8 PM, there'll be light snacks and some water. And I hope to see everyone out there that's interested. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Councilmember Plowman? There it is. Thank you, Mayor. Tomorrow is our annual council agricultural day. And there's about, I think, 30 to 40 of us that are going out into the 12th district. And we're going to be going to farms, cattle farms, and equine hospital. I'm going to end the day riding horses at the Kentucky Horse Park. So hopefully we won't fall off the horses. But I do want to thank, this is really a great day for us to kind of be together, but also to go out and really see and experience all the wonderful egg things that we have in our community. Huge thanks to Fayette County Farm Bureau, Fayette Alliance, and my legislative aide in coordinating the day. And then also a note for all of you that are in shape, because if you want, this is a run at Raven Run, you got to go up and down to the Kentucky River. So I will not be participating and it will start at 9 AM on Sunday the second at Raven Run. And this supports educational programming to the park. So you can sign up on ravenrun.org. Thank you Mayor. Thank you, Councilmember Reynolds. Thank you Mayor. First, I just want to highlight a few things that happened this past weekend as well. Friday night was the Viva Mexico Festival in Gardenside Plaza. There were about 2,000 people there. It was amazing. And I just want to give a big shout out to Monica Cagueja and Casa de Cultura for all the hard work they did on that. They promoted it. They had bands there. They had different groups dancing and performing. and they had a service where they did the grito for Mexico's Independence Day, along with the national anthem of the United States and the United States flag. And it was just this beautiful merge of cultures. And I want to thank the mayor for being there and any of my colleagues, if you were there. It was just a really great way to celebrate our largest immigrant community in Lexington, the Mexican community. and just their merge of being in the states, celebrating the states as well as Mexico. So I just can't, having lived in Mexico myself, and it was just really beautiful. And then on Saturday, the Cardinal Valley Neighborhood Association hosted a cookout in Oxford Circle, and it was a really great opportunity to meet some folks that live in that area that we didn't already know. The Neighborhood Association did a great job. They provided hamburgers and hot dogs and food. And we sat and we talked with our neighbors for several hours. And then this Friday, the 23rd, from 6.30 to 9 p.m., there is going to be a party in Meadowthorpe Park for the Meadowthorpe Neighborhood Association. So if you are part of that neighborhood, I hope that you will go and check it out. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member LeGree. Thank you, Mayor. I have some visuals to share that Chris is going to put up. This might seem a little bit early, but since we're going on a bit of a break, I wanted to remind everybody that Tree Week is coming up October 8th through 16th. You all have gotten emails about this probably from Tree Week representatives from across the community. We should have events in all council districts. You'll have something fun to go to and to remind people about in your newsletters when it comes to tree events. These can be really, really enjoyable, a great way to talk to people, and a good way to talk about the benefits of trees and to get outside. And there are all types of events. So we also have some climate conversations information up here as well about urban trees. You can see that. And I want to remind you that there will be a signature tree planting in Councilmember Lambs district in Kirk Levington Park on October 7th, which is a Friday evening. And in addition to the events October 8th through 16th, there's also Arbor Day coming up on October 22nd. So there'll be a whole day of events and Mayor, I believe you may be reading a proclamation. that day about Arbor Day at the Arboretum. These are really, really positive events. It always feels good to get outside and to help promote tree planting. So thank you all for your attention and mark your calendars. It's always a great event. Thank you. Council Member Kloiber? Thank you. Since we are going on break, I did want to mention something that's happening on October the 1st. So Saturday, October the 1st at the Whitaker YMCA will be the Step Up for Kids event. And I'm sure some of you remember this from last year. It's an event where we get people together and we try to walk 100,000 steps in one day. And that's a lot of steps. But it's for a good cause. Last year we raised about $20,000 for the Black Achievers and the Power Scholars Program. We're looking to do the same or better. So get a team together. Strap on your tennis shoes. come on down to the YMCA and just let's get walking. Thank you. All day. Eight o'clock, nine o'clock, does it start? Honestly, I will be walking from about 530 in the morning until we close. And so I will be there all day. You can stop by any time, morning, noon, or night. So hopefully we'll see you guys there, whatever works in your schedule. It's for a good cause. Thank you much. Thank you. Council Member Maloney. Thank you, Mayor. I have an announcement this Friday. T.D. Young is going to be playing at the Lyric. A lot of you don't know who T.D. Young. He's a legend, and he's going to be inducted to the Hall of Fame this year. And he started a non-profit to help local musicians, folks to become musicians here. So I ask my colleagues, if you have never heard him play, he's one of the best in the country. So I ask you all to please come to the Lyric Friday night. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else have a council report? No? All right. There's no mayor's report today, so we'll go on to public comment for issues not on the agenda. And first, here's how the council rules work. When you go to the podium, you state your name and council district, please, for the record. And you'll have three minutes to speak. First is Dottie Bean. Welcome. Well, first let me ask you if Council Member Bledsoe requested that I be allowed to speak twice in this meeting. Yes, I think she has. I'm signed in to speak, so I was going to make a motion to allow you to have three more minutes. Okay, all right, well thank you. So second by Council Member- I appreciate that. Excuse me, second by Councilmember Land. All right, any discussion of the motion? All right, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? All right, thank you. You have six minutes. Okay, bringing an entirely new issue to the council today is a taxpayer who sees a lot of waste and a lot of unnecessary spending in this government and is asking you to look at this year's budget in the same way we do, the taxpayers. First of all, any idea of using the issue of affordable housing to set up yet another dedicated fee or tax is a very foolish one when we have a budget this large for Lexington and Fayette County. You need to encourage affordable housing. There's no doubt about that. And we would like to see the government contribute to that so that we as taxpayers do pay our share to help the poor, house the poor. We suggest that you look at the PDR program, which has spent millions for the past 20 years to buy development rights from area farm owners. We've done that, and now we can switch those monies to helping build smaller, less expensive housing in Fayette County or to purchase small housing. and then instead of letting it fall into the hands of flippers and become too expensive for poor people to afford. Let's also find money from the other budgets that is being poured into arts, tree cover, bike paths. We are doing an awful lot of bike paths in Lexington. As an older person, they are useless to me. They really are useless. I can walk maybe, but honestly, they're useless for me. And they put some of that toward funding, totally funding the police. Let's also look at the exorbitant salaries that you all are, the exorbitant raises that you all are granting just prior to elections as another good funding source. We also oppose this percent for art funding that you're suggesting, and we suggest maybe that be converted. Any extra monies for that be converted to housing, also affordable housing. It is a problem in this community, a big problem. Now, are you ready for the second part? You have three minutes and 28 seconds left. All right, thank you. Once again, I'd like to advise you that as a taxpayer in this community, most of us expect certain levels of safety in our neighborhoods and other neighborhoods, and we are holding the government responsible if it's not provided and given fairly to both poor and rich neighborhoods alike. We also would like to challenge the statement that domestic violence is the most prevalent type of violence here. We think it is probably street crime, especially in black working class neighborhoods, and expect you to do something about it. Besides putting perpetrators into programs to address special problems that others have tried through those kinds of programs, and they just have not worked. If they had worked, we wouldn't have these problems again today. You need to be very clear with young hooligans that crime will not be tolerated and that they will go to jail regardless of other circumstances they face. Funds for social programs should never come from taxpayer funds that are supposed to be spent on government's number one job, and that is protecting its people. If domestic violence is such a problem here, we suggest you look at the number of programs and agencies you're already funding with our money and ask why they are not doing their jobs instead of asking police to do everybody's job. Thank you very much. Next on the list, and I think he may have left, Alan Carter. He spoke earlier, so Blake Hall. Welcome. If you'll state your name and council district, please. Blake Hall, District 3. I was here to speak about the parking soda that I was hoping would go forward after two years of debate. Rather disappointed that it is not, considering last time we had a mild parking reform of allowing less parking for affordable housing developments, right after that passed, there was a development that immediately changed to remove some parking and add some much needed housing. There's no real reason for it to go. There's plenty of examples of having our parking be rather extreme. Why a duplex needs four spots but a single family house only needs one. Makes no sense, I don't know if suddenly moving to a duplex causes you to have twice as many cars. But it has real effects on development and also the cost of that development. As a member of the environmental commission, We also support it in that it has more tree canopy coverage requirements, but also has improvements to make sure those trees can survive. Also, you don't invest enough in bike lanes, please do more. I'd like not to die, please. Thank you. Thank you very much. We have come to the end of our sign in sheet and the end of our agenda. So I'll entertain a motion to adjourn. All right. All those in favor of adjournment, please say aye. All right. Thank you. We are adjourned. Thank you for coming.