# Council Work Session - March 4, 2025 > Auto-transcribed civic record · Council · March 4, 2025 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/6354 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/6354?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2025-03-04 - **Body**: Council - **Last revised**: March 27, 2026 - **Length**: 2,906 words > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed by OpenAI Whisper-1, with speaker labels folded in from Granicus closed-captioning. 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 Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council met on March 4, 2025, at 3:00 PM in the Council Chamber on the second floor of the Government Center, with Mayor Linda Gorton presiding. The meeting covered three agenda items, all of which were approved: the February 18, 2025, Work Session Summary, New Business, and Neighborhood Development Funds. Over the course of the meeting, the Council took 4 votes and heard 1 public comment. No presentations were recorded for this session. ## Attendance **Present (14):** Wu, J. Brown, Ellinger II, Morton, Lynch, LeGris, Curtis, Sheehan, Gray, Hale, Beasley, Baxter, Sevigny, and Boone. **Absent (1):** Jennifer Reynolds. **Late:** None. ## Votes and Decisions All four votes taken at the March 4, 2025, Council meeting passed unanimously with 14 ayes and 0 nays. The full voting roster for each motion was: Wu, J. Brown, Ellinger II, Morton, Lynch, LeGris, Curtis, Sheehan, Gray, Hale, Beasley, Baxter, Sevigny, and Boone. - **Approval of February 18, 2025, Work Session Summary** [timestamp: 0:19:59]: Motioned by Gray, seconded by Curtis. Passed unanimously, 14–0. - **Approval of New Business** [timestamp: 0:21:03]: Motioned by Ellinger II, seconded by Curtis. Passed unanimously, 14–0. - **Approval of Neighborhood Development Funds**: Motioned by Wu, seconded by Curtis. Passed unanimously, 14–0. - **Adjournment**: Motioned by Gray, seconded by Sevigny. Passed unanimously, 14–0. ## Budget and Financial Actions The Council considered six financial items at the March 4, 2025 meeting, ranging from service contracts to economic development grants. - **Resolution 0175-25** authorized a Master Service Agreement with **Lexipol, LLC** valued at **$32,004** for a Fire & EMS Learning Platform. - **Resolution 0196-25** approved a **$250,000** Lexington JOBS Fund incentive grant to **SIMPLYWORX LLC**, representing one of the larger economic development expenditures on the agenda. - **Resolution 0197-25** authorized a **$27,600** agreement with **Rail Pros** for the Wolf Run G Sanitary Sewer Replacement Project. - **Resolution 0199-25** approved a facility usage contract with **Fayette County Public Schools / Frederick Douglas High School** in the amount of **$555.59** for the Truck-a-Palooza event. - **Resolution 0206-25** authorized an agreement with **Partners for Economic Solutions** for **$744,195** to develop an Infrastructure Funding Plan, the largest single expenditure considered at the meeting. - **Resolution 0208-25** approved Amendment No. 1 to a grant agreement with the **Lexington-Fayette County Health Department** for **$78,000** in support of the HANDS Program at the Family Care Center. In total, the financial actions before the Council represented approximately **$1.13 million** in commitments across contracts and grants, with the Infrastructure Funding Plan agreement and the SIMPLYWORX LLC economic incentive accounting for the majority of that figure. ## Public Comment During the public comment portion of the March 4, 2025 Council meeting, one comment was recorded from Council Member Baxter on the topic of the rezoning process. [timestamp: 15:52] - **Council Member Baxter** addressed the rationale behind placing an item on the agenda without an accompanying hearing. Baxter stated that this approach would best serve the concerns of the neighbors who were in opposition to the matter. No additional public comments were recorded for this meeting. ## Contested Items - **Rezoning Process** [timestamp: N/A]: A point of contention arose during the March 4, 2025 Council meeting regarding the procedural handling of a rezoning item. Council Member Baxter addressed the decision to place the item on the agenda without first holding a hearing, noting that this course of action followed consultations with neighbors who were in opposition to the matter. The nature of the disagreement centered on community opposition and the process by which the item was brought forward for Council consideration. No further outcome details are available from the provided record. ## Approval of February 18, 2025, Work Session Summary [timestamp: 19:59] The Council took up the approval of the summary from the February 18, 2025, work session. The discussion on this item was brief, with Gray and Curtis identified as the key speakers during consideration of the summary. No significant concerns or debates were noted regarding the content of the work session summary. The Council moved forward with approval, and the February 18, 2025, work session summary was approved. ## Approval of New Business [timestamp: 21:03] The Council took up the Approval of New Business during this portion of the meeting. Key speakers on this item included Ellinger II and Curtis, who participated in the discussion of the new business items presented on the agenda. The Council discussed the new business items before them and ultimately voted to approve them. No additional detail regarding specific concerns raised or the substance of individual items within this agenda section is available in the meeting record. ## Approval of Neighborhood Development Funds The council discussed and voted on the allocation of neighborhood development funds during this agenda item. Key speakers included council members Wu and Curtis. The item was categorized as a discussion item, during which the council considered the proposed fund allocation before moving to a vote. The record does not include details on the specific amounts involved, the neighborhoods or projects targeted for funding, or the particular points of debate raised by Wu, Curtis, or other participants. Following the discussion, the council approved the allocation of neighborhood development funds. *Note: Additional details on the substance of the debate, any concerns raised, and the specific funding figures were not available in the source materials for this item.* --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (14-0): Approval of February 18, 2025, Work Session Summary - **Motion** — passed (14-0): Approval of New Business - **Motion** — passed (14-0): Approval of Neighborhood Development Funds - **Motion** — passed (14-0): Adjournment --- ## Full transcript МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА ЛИРИЧЕСКАЯ МУЗЫКА ЛИРИЧЕСКАЯ МУЗЫКА ЛИРИЧЕСКАЯ МУЗЫКА ГОВОРЯТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРЯТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРЯТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРЯТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРЯТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРЯТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРЯТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРЯТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРИТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРИТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРИТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРИТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРИТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ГОВОРИТ ПО-АНГЛИЙСКИ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣΗ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣΗ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣΗ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣΗ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣΗ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣΗ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣΗ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣΗ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣΗ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣΗ ΓΕΝΙΑΣΤΗΣ BAXTER You have a second? We have a second from councilmember Curtis. Is there any discussion on the motion? Councilmember Baxter. Thank you Vice Mayor. I just wanted to kind of explain a moment, colleagues, my rationale behind this about putting it on without a hearing. I have spoken with the neighbors in opposition and it seems like it will best serve their concerns to address the process as a whole and address some of their other concerns during the development plan approval process. In addition, today I will be putting an item into committee to review the initial public engagement process of our planning process, but I just wanted to let you know that I did not make this decision without consulting those in opposition. Thank you. Thank you. I have a question of my own. I'm going to hand the chair over to councilmember Brown. Thank you, Vice Mayor, and I'll call on you, Vice Mayor Wood. Thank you, Chair. Can I have somebody from planning answer a couple of questions for me? Tracy or Jim or whoever? Thank you, Ms. Wade. In regards to the Planning Commission's decision on the original zone change hearing, can you tell me if planning staff recommended approval or disapproval? Originally the planning staff did recommend disapproval. The applicant modified their application, and by the time it came to the commission, the staff had recommended approval. Okay. And then can you tell us the way the vote went down at Planning Commission? The vote was 7-1-1. That is seven votes in support of the approval motion, one against, and one person abstained. Okay. Thank you very much. Colleagues, by this time you probably know my philosophy on zone change hearings. I generally am in support of having a zone change hearing before the council if one of two things happens. If a planning staff and planning commission disagree, in this case they did not, or if the planning commission's vote is split, if it is not a unanimous vote or a supermajority, in this case 7-1-1 is a supermajority vote. So based on those two factors alone, not based on what this actual plan is, what this neighborhood is, what this district is, I will be voting in favor of the motion. Thank you. And I'll take the chair back. Thank you, Vice Mayor. And I'll give you the chair back. Thank you, Council Member. Council Member Savigny. Thank you, Chair. I do have a question to planning staff as well. This seems like if the applicant were applying for basically saying that they were providing worker class housing, this would be an automatic. And we haven't had one of those yet. Because I think you can go from R1 to townhouses automatically if you basically sign a commitment that it's worker class housing. Yes, that is true. Would that come to this body if the applicant were doing that? Would that just be an administrative? It would be through the division of planning and the planning commission. Okay. And it wouldn't end up coming here? No. Okay. And I assume the applicant didn't do that. He did not. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Any other discussion on this motion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. That's one no vote from Council Member Gray. That motion passes. Any other additions for rezoning and docket approval? If not, can I have a motion to approve requested rezonings and docket approval as amended? So moved. We have a motion from Council Member Baxter. We have a second? Second. A second from Council Member Legree. Thank you. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Moving on to approval of summary. We have the table of motions. Council work session for February 25th, 2025. Do I have a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Council Member Lynch and Council Member Curtis, any discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Next up is budget amendments. I need a motion to approve. Second. All right. Council Member Reynolds and Council Member Ellinger, any questions or discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Next up is budget amendments for your information only. Moving on to new business. Council members, sign in with questions. And I guess I'll take a motion to approve as well. Move to approve. Second. We have a motion and a second from Council Member Gray. Any questions from Council Members for new business? All those in favor? Oh, Council Member Brown. Thank you, Vice Mayor. I have a question on Item E in regards to the infrastructure expansion area. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Denny. So what are we expecting to come out of this plan for infrastructure funding? I know we have the exaction program currently, and I know when we talked and went through the Goal 4, we were talking about development agreements. Are we talking about a hybrid of that, or what are we looking at? Well, the IFP will do a couple of things. We've asked for three phases during the process, and the first phase will be a process to identify projects in the urban growth areas. You may recall that in the urban growth master plan process, the step was to develop an infrastructure funding plan to show us how to fund the infrastructure. So first, the phasing, which projects, prioritizing those projects. And then the second phase of that would be identifying a funding mechanism, how to pay for the projects that are identified. And along with this work, the IFP, the Partners for Economic Solutions, has offered to help implement that. So anything that would go along with staffing and training, software solutions that would help, that will be included in this process. Okay. All right, thank you. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thank you. Any other questions or discussion about new business? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Next up is communications from the mayor appointments. Can I have a motion, please? Second. Council Member Sheehan and Council Member Curtis. Any discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Next up is communications from the mayor donations. I need a motion as well. Move to approve. Council Member Gray, Council Member Baxter, any discussion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Next up is communications from the mayor procurements. Move to approve. Second. Council Member Baxter, Council Member Reynolds. Any discussion on that motion? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Moving on to continuing business and presentations, we have the summary from the General Government and Planning Committee of February 4th, 2025. I'll turn it over to Council Member Sheehan. Thank you, Vice Mayor. I have the report out for February 4th, 2025 for the General Government and Planning Committee. Vice Chair Lynch called the meeting to order at 1 p.m. The January 14th, 2025 committee summary was approved unanimously without any additions or corrections. Eve Miller, Senior Planner for Long Range Planning, presented the 2025 Blue Sky Small Area Plan to the committee. An RFP was issued on January 24th, 2025. Proposals were due on February 14th, and award notifications were made on February 28th. A notice to proceed will be given on April 24th. The project is expected to be completed by spring 2026, as work will not likely exceed one year. Periodic updates will be given to the Planning Commission and the Council. No further action was taken on this item. Next, Tiffany Brown, the Mayor's Chief Opportunity Officer, provided an update on the Ascent of Place Initiative. The presentation covered the history and significance of historic rural black hamlets in Lexington, Fayette County. The group's current focus is the Cadentown community, which includes Cadentown Baptist Church, the Cadentown Rosenwald School, and a cemetery. Moving forward, the committee will continue to engage with the community, gather and utilize resources, target preservation and rehabilitation efforts, and empower community members to develop strategies that support the long-term vibrancy of our historic black hamlets. A seminar on collecting oral history is planned for April 15th at 6 PM at the Lexington History Museum. No further action was taken on this item. Lastly, the Vice Mayor will briefly update the Committee on Public Engagement for Lexington's Preservation and Growth Management Program. Council staff and leadership are organizing public engagement opportunities that are available throughout the process. These sessions will complement the ongoing feedback we plan to receive through the Council's online engagement tool, Engage Lexington. No further action was taken on this item. The meeting adjourned at 1.40 PM, and that concludes my report. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thank you. Any questions for Council Member Sheehan about her report? All right, moving on to Council Reports. Colleagues, please sign in. Council Member Savigny. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Just a quick one. Wolf Run, the Trunk G meeting is tomorrow night at 6.30 at Lafayette Parkway, or Lafayette High School. So please join us tomorrow if you want to know how that project is going to affect your neighborhood. And just a congratulations to the Lafayette girls wrestling team. They are state champions. So we will have them in another day. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Lynch. Thank you, Vice Mayor. I have a few announcements. I want to remind my neighbors that on March 13th, which is a Thursday at 6 PM, we will be having a community meeting to discuss the new elementary school that is going to be built on Greendale Road. We'll be meeting at Sandersville Elementary School in the library, so please, everyone, come out that evening to see what our newest elementary school is going to look like. My second announcement is this Saturday, Kentucky Black Pride is hosting their ninth annual Women and Girls Health Summit at the Black Williams Neighborhood Center. It is from 10 AM to 3.30 PM, and they have a whole host of great speakers. I went last year, and it was awesome, and I plan to go this year as well. So I want to invite all of my neighbors out to Kentucky Black Pride's annual Women and Girls Health Summit. And then lastly today, our NAACP chapter here in Lexington and Fayette County is celebrating 106 years of service and advocacy to our community. So I just want to wish them a very happy 106th birthday. We are glad you're doing the work in our community, and please continue on. I hope to celebrate with you at a later time. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Reynolds. Thank you, Vice Mayor. I just have a few things here. First of all, I am going to put in the Social Services and Public Safety Committee an update on the mobile market so that we can have that coming up soon. And then next, I wanted to first mention that we got an email from some constituents that were praising Officer Quick and Mitchell for responding to a difficult call. They said that they went above and beyond on that call and did things that were very kind and professional. And I just wanted to mention them and say thank you for their work and for responding. Next, it is Women's History Month. And so I wanted to mention Commissioner Casey Allen Bryant, who is the Commissioner of Social Services, because it is also National Social Worker Month. So we can celebrate women and we can celebrate social workers. And so I wanted to go through and thank our social workers here at LFUCG. So if you look up here, their names and their pictures are on the screen. So we have Kelly Justice. And we have Kevin Viren. Tara Sullivan. Matthew Crutcher. Lee Shotten. Amanda Patrick. And Violin, I think it's Altec. Is that how you say it? There we go. Jania Stevenson. Robin Wilkerson. Ronica Roblero. Kara McLeod. Lauren Breeding. Alina Howard. Vicki McCurry. Jennifer Garland. Lindsey Medley. Justin Halverson. Sean Wright. Stephanie Thixson. Chante Bruce. And we also, here it says we also want to acknowledge that even though they're not social workers, we have a lot of people who have made a profound impact. And we want to dedicate, we want to acknowledge their dedication to our community and partnership and say that everyone is highly valued. So sometimes I think we forget about our social workers and so we just wanted to make sure that they felt supported this month. So thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Hale. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Many of you have most likely heard the news that there was a shooting that resulted in the death of a 16-year-old boy in District 7 early this morning. The reparations of this event are acutely felt throughout our community. And most especially by the victim's family. The immeasurable grief of a mother who has lost her child underscores the devastating human cost of such violence. While we acknowledge and commend the ongoing impactful initiatives of One Lexington and their community partners, this incident serves as a stark reminder of the persistent challenges we face. Each instance of such violence represents an unacceptable loss. I'm eager to engage with council, the administration, and the community in exploring ways that we may be more proactive rather than reactive in preventing gun violence and ultimately bringing an end to this crisis in our community. You can put up the town hall slide. This brings me to my next announcement, which is relevant when thinking about engaging with residents and hearing community concerns. We still plan on having our town hall. That's going to be on Monday, March the 10th at 530 at the Woodhill Community Center. Again, this is an opportunity that we can come together even as a community to talk, talk with the council, engage in meaningful dialogue, and ask questions and share suggestions on how we can enhance our community. This event is open to all residents of District 7 regardless of your neighborhood. And translation service will be available in Swahili, Spanish, and French. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Morton. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Hill for those words. I strongly share your concerns, and I look forward to acting proactively and working on that with you, because now we have another youth that has been killed, no longer has the option to dream, family grieving for the rest of their lives, and it's just not right. I'll go on to my report, but thank you, Council Member Hill. So this has been a very busy week coming up to today. Last Thursday I had the opportunity to attend the Carnegie-Woodson Academy Final Black History Month event, the Woodson Institute. As a strong advocate for youth, I was honored to share my experience and knowledge with the young men in attendance. The energy in the room was inspiring, and I look forward to continuing to support and uplift our future leaders. And it was an honor to serve on this panel with Councilman Brown, Council Member Gray, Justice Goodwine, and Attorney Whitley. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Morton. I've been getting notice that the funeral procession is heading out of the church now and heading this way, so I will entertain a motion to recess. Motion. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. Second. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .