# Council Work Session - September 9, 2025 > Auto-transcribed civic record · Council · September 9, 2025 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/6561 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/6561?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2025-09-09 - **Body**: Council - **Last revised**: February 15, 2026 - **Length**: 14,351 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 held a meeting on September 9, 2025, at 3:00 PM in the Council Chamber in Lexington, KY, presided over by Mayor Gorton. The meeting included 6 agenda items covering a range of legislative and administrative business. Members of the public had the opportunity to speak on agenda items, with 4 public comments heard during the session. Over the course of the meeting, the Council took 6 votes, approving items including budget amendments, new business, mayoral appointments, and mayoral procurements, in addition to approving the meeting summary. ## Attendance All 15 council members were present at the September 9, 2025 Council meeting. No members were absent or late. **Present:** Wu, Brown, Ellinger II, Morton, Lynch, LeGris, Curtis, Sheehan, Higgins-Hord, Hale, Beasley, Baxter, Sevigny, Reynolds, and Boone. ## Votes and Decisions The Council took six votes during the September 9, 2025 meeting, all of which passed unanimously. - **Approval of the August 28, 2025 Council Meeting Docket** — Motioned by Sevigny, seconded by Curtis. The docket passed unanimously. [timestamp: 17:59] - **Approval of the August 19, 2025 Work Session Summary** — Motioned by Ellinger, seconded by Sevigny. The summary passed unanimously. [timestamp: 18:31] - **Approval of Budget Amendments** — Motioned by Baxter, seconded by Reynolds. The budget amendments passed unanimously. [timestamp: 19:01] - **Approval of New Business** — Motioned by Baxter, seconded by Reynolds. New business items passed unanimously. [timestamp: 21:14] - **Approval of Communications from the Mayor – Appointments** — Motioned by Wu, seconded by Sheehan. The mayoral appointments passed unanimously. [timestamp: 21:14] - **Approval of Communications from the Mayor – Procurements** — Motioned by Sheehan, seconded by Baxter. The mayoral procurements passed unanimously. [timestamp: 53:42] No roll call votes were recorded; all six motions carried without dissent or abstention. Individual vote tallies were not recorded in the meeting data. ## Budget and Financial Actions The Council considered several financial items at the September 9, 2025 meeting, ranging from service agreements to major infrastructure and healthcare contracts. - **L0664-25**: A $50,000 service agreement with the **Urban League of Lexington Fayette County Inc.** to support salary costs. - **L0693-25**: A $50,000 agreement with **You Matter Kentucky, Inc.** to support the Juvenile Treatment Court program. - **L0798-25**: An addendum to Contract #274-2021 with **Ambulance Medical Billing** for a hardware refresh, carrying no budgetary impact. - **L0800-25**: A $216,000 purchase of a cell monitoring system from **Reassurance Solutions, LLC**. - **L0802-25**: A $205,445.20 purchase from **Hydro International** for the replacement of a Eutek HeadCell™ Grit Concentrator at the West Hickman Wastewater Treatment Plant. - **L0813-25**: A resolution (with no budgetary impact) to support the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority's (KEDFA) issuance of Industrial Building Revenue Bonds on behalf of **Saint Joseph Health System, Inc.** - **L0814-25**: A first amendment to an existing agreement with **CHS TX, Inc.** for Inmate Medical and Mental Health Services, valued at **$10,278,132** — the largest single financial action on the agenda. In total, the items with direct budgetary impact amount to over $10.7 million, with the inmate medical services contract with CHS TX, Inc. comprising the substantial majority of that figure. ## Public Comment Four residents addressed the Council during the public comment period, with remarks focused primarily on the proposed locations for Hope Village and a winter shelter facility. **Hope Village on Versailles Road** - **Peggy Henson** [timestamp: 03:08] spoke against the proposed location for Hope Village on Versailles Road, raising concerns about safety and the potential impact on the surrounding community. - **Richard Maloney** [timestamp: 06:35] also opposed siting Hope Village on Versailles Road. He referenced past issues with similar facilities and echoed concerns about safety. **Winter Shelter Location and Access** - **Carson Bowen** [timestamp: 13:02] objected to the use of Nancy Hanks Road as the entrance for the winter shelter, and suggested that an alternative route be considered instead. - **Rick Christman** [timestamp: 16:51] proposed Center Parkway as an alternative site for the winter shelter altogether, citing available space and access to services at that location. The comments reflect neighborhood concerns about both the placement of and access to homeless services facilities, with multiple speakers offering alternative locations or routes for Council consideration. ## Appointments - **Hale** recused themselves from the Appointments portion of the meeting. No additional appointment details were recorded in the available meeting data for the September 9, 2025 Council meeting. ## Contested Items Two items drew notable opposition from community members during the September 9, 2025 Council meeting. **Hope Village Location** Community members voiced opposition to the proposed siting of Hope Village on Versailles Road, citing concerns about safety and the potential impact on the surrounding community. The disagreement centered on whether the Versailles Road location was appropriate for the project. No outcome or resolution is recorded in the available data for this item. **Winter Shelter Entrance on Nancy Hanks Road** Residents and stakeholders also contested the use of Nancy Hanks Road as the designated entrance for the winter shelter. Those opposed to this access point put forward alternative routes as preferable options. As with the Hope Village item, no final resolution or Council decision is reflected in the available data for this dispute. ## Public Comment - Issues on Agenda [timestamp: 02:00] The Council heard public comments focused on two related topics: the proposed location of Hope Village and the winter shelter entrance. Four members of the public addressed the Council during this portion of the meeting: - **Peggy Henson** - **Richard Maloney** - **Carson Bowen** - **Rick Christman** Comments centered on concerns and perspectives regarding where Hope Village would be sited and questions surrounding access to the winter shelter. This portion of the meeting was informational in nature, with no action taken by the Council in response to the public testimony. ## Approval of Summary [timestamp: 18:31] The Council took up the approval of the summary from the August 19, 2025 Work Session. Ellinger and Sevigny were the key speakers on this item. The summary was approved without noted objection or extended debate. ## Budget Amendments [timestamp: 19:01] The Council took up a resolution on budget amendments, which included allocations related to housing and homelessness funds. Council members Baxter and Reynolds were the key speakers during this portion of the meeting. The discussion centered on the proposed amendments to the budget, with Baxter and Reynolds presenting or weighing in on the allocations under consideration. The amendments addressed funding in the areas of housing and homelessness, though the specific dollar amounts, fund sources, and programmatic details were not detailed in the available record of this item. The Council approved the budget amendments. *Note: Additional specifics regarding the amounts allocated, any concerns raised during debate, or the breakdown of individual line items were not available in the source material for this meeting.* ## New Business [timestamp: 21:14] The Council took up New Business, during which several contracts and agreements were presented for consideration. Baxter and Reynolds were the key speakers during this portion of the meeting. The items brought forward under New Business were discussed and subsequently approved by the Council. *Note: The available data for this agenda item is limited. For full details on the specific contracts and agreements considered, the names of parties involved, dollar amounts, or any debate that occurred, viewers are encouraged to consult the meeting video beginning at timestamp 21:14 or review the official meeting minutes and agenda documentation.* ## Communications From the Mayor – Appointments [timestamp: 21:14] The Council took up appointments communicated by the Mayor during this portion of the meeting. The item was presented and moved forward with participation from Council members Wu and Sheehan. The appointments were approved by the Council. *Note: The available record does not include the specific names of appointees, the boards or bodies to which they were appointed, or details of any discussion or debate that may have occurred during consideration of this item.* ## Communications From the Mayor – Procurements [timestamp: 53:42] The Council took up the procurements communicated by the Mayor during this portion of the meeting. Sheehan and Baxter were the key speakers during this agenda item. The procurements were presented for the Council's consideration and approval. No additional details regarding the specific contracts, vendors, amounts, or departments involved are available from the meeting record. The Council approved the Mayor's procurements. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the September 11, 2025 Council Meeting Docket - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve the August 26, 2025 Work Session Summary - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve Budget Amendments - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve New Business - **Motion** — failed (0-0): remove items u and v from New Business - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve Communications from the Mayor- Appointments - **Motion** — passed (0-0): approve Communications from the Mayor- Procurements - **Motion** — passed (0-0): enter closed session pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(m) to discuss a public record or records exempted from disclosure pursuant to KRS 61.878(1)(m) based on a reasonable likelihood of threatening public safety if disclosed - **Motion** — passed (0-0): return from closed session - **Motion** — passed (0-0): adjourn at 5:16 p.m --- ## Full transcript ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Go ahead, it's 3 o'clock and I'd like to go ahead and call to order the Lexington Fayette-Irvin County Council Work Session. It's September 9th, 2025 and the first item on our agenda is public comment for issues on the agenda. If you're speaking to issues not on the agenda, that will be toward the end of the meeting. And the way this works is when I call your name, you'll come to the podium right here and you'll need to, for the record, restate your name and state your council district and then you'll have three minutes, unless someone has yielded their time to you. So the first thing I would like to do is check, is Billy Mallory here? Billy? Okay. Okay, thank you. Did you, are you yielding your time to Richard Maloney? Yes, please. All right, thank you. All right, first up is Peggy Henson, followed by Richard Maloney. Richard will have six minutes. Welcome. Thank you for allowing me to speak and I want to thank each of you for your service. I know exactly what you go through and it is not, it's very difficult at times. And for the record, will you say your name and your council district, please? I thought you all knew me. We do know you, but it's for the record. Peggy Henson, I apologize, 11th District, Jennifer. Thank you. So, but like I said, thank you for your service. And I know that I'm here to speak on the Hope Village that is proposed to go on for Sells Road. I personally think this is a really bad location, although I do know what a difficult task it is to find an appropriate place. I know that no one wants it. But then again, we do not want anyone to freeze to death this winter. So we have to find a location. So I just wanted to put my two cents worth in because we just found out about this last week and I know it's been in the planning stages for several months. And for that, I was very disappointed and just felt disrespected because those that know me, Joseph Hale knows me, James Brown knows me, Chuck Ellinger knows me, and Jennifer, of course, knows me. And I am a strong advocate for anyone that has adversarial challenges, whatever. But I am also a strong, strong advocate for Sells Road, have been for years. I don't know how many times it's the gateway to our city, you know, from Keeneland, from the airport, from the Bluegrass Parkway. There you go. But there's a few things I want you to consider. That it is within walking distance of numerous student housing apartments. It is within walking distance to two schools run by LFUCG, which is Family Care Center and the Audrey Grievous Academy. It's within walking distance. Okay. The sidewalks are not adequate for them. I'm afraid someone will be hit by a car. And especially in the wintertime when the snow covers the sidewalks. Also, the Red Mile has valuable—my time's up. It is. I'm so sorry, but thank you very much. Richard will finish up. Okay. Next up is Richard Maloney, who will have six minutes, followed by Carson Bowen. I'm sorry if I massacred your name. Welcome. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council. My name is Richard Maloney. I'm in the 11th District. This issue was brought to my attention a couple of weeks ago. And I want to let you know that Peggy and I have been working together for 30 years to straighten Fasales Road up. We had two halfway houses there that were there for longer than 30 years. They were a problem. They paralyzed us. Fasales Road—we had people working at the Hope Center. When they come out in the middle of the street, they avoid from hitting them. That person from the Hope Center got killed. We've had people on Fasales Road that have been hit so many times that were in that halfway house. This group that you're bringing in, these are people that were denied from the Hope Center. They were denied from Salvation Army and the Catholic Assembly. These are very—but they are needed, and I will agree with you. I had this problem taken care of three years ago, and nobody wanted to listen to me, but I'm not going to go back three years ago. But to let you know, I want each one of your council members here to go on Fasales Road and walk the sidewalk from the bridge, the Fasales Road bridge right there, all the way to Mason-Heatley. And I want you to tell me that you feel comfortable, that you have your—any of your relatives, your loved ones, your parents, any of them, your family, feel comfortable walking that sidewalk. Many years I've gone down that road and found a bunch of people in wheelchairs get stuck. I had to get out of my car and go help these people get out. A lot of times you see them riding down the Fasales Road in their wheelchairs because they can't get on the sidewalk. So this is not ADA-acceptable, that area. If you look at it, you'll see what I'm talking about. So that's one of the—the other thing, a couple years ago, long before you all were able to work with Don Ball, we were able to put the Hope Center for Women in my district and also the Chrysalis House, the Shepherd House. I went out and got all the neighborhoods involved. We understood what was going on. They had a plan. There is no plan here. No one has talked to the neighborhoods. We did it before it came on the docket, months before it came on the docket. And we had a chance. You all knew a year ago you were going to do this, so you had a chance to do this, and you didn't do it. But when I went out with Don Ball, we picked that location. One thing came to us when I walked out, Don, and if you go down Lowndes, they both have something in common. You look out, there are no places you can buy liquor anywhere. You can't see it. The only one you can see was San Marino, and they're way up on Fasales Road. None this way. And if you go down Lowndes, there are none, unless you—until you go to Broadway. Don Ball, they would not have put that Hope Center for Women there if there would have been a liquor store. And today, you have a place you can buy a beer, which is this horseshoe, voted a few years ago. And you all, when I ran for my office, everybody was talking about affordable housing. We need to keep that. You all tore down 40 units, almost 60 units, two of them, and put two damn—I'm saying it in about a minute—gas stations right there. Took out 40 affordable housing so you can put two gas stations there, and you put it right across from the Hope Center for Women, which is the stupidest thing you could possibly do for these people. I'm sorry I'm passive, but I worked hard for those. The other thing that I'm concerned about, when you go up to this new location, when you go out the steps, count how many liquor stores or how many gas stations. Five freaking gas stations right across the street. This is the most dangerous gas station in Lexington, and you're going to have all these homeless 200 people, some in wheelchairs that can't get across, and these are going to be the most aggressive homeless people you got, and they're going to go out and try everything to get their alcohol. Now, the Hope Center for Women, men, they're in rehab, so we're lucky. We don't have this. These are different people that don't have the service, and they keep saying you're going to get the service when they come there. I have not heard anything about the service, the non-profit, and you can say what you want, and I like to know who's going to run the non-profit when it comes. So, I ask you all to go and see if that's really, do you want your family, if you walk down that sidewalk, if you feel safe, and you look, and look at all the gas stations right there. Is that going to be safe? These people are going to be aggressive as heck. You're going to be right, for the first time, you have this shelter next to housing, apartment complex. You never had that before. They were never near any of that. You put it on Loudoun, there was nothing like that. There were never residential areas, and when they get aggressive, they're going to start going into these neighborhoods, they're going to start going into businesses, and it's going to be a problem. And I hear other council members say, I don't want it in my district, but I want to tell you something. The 11th District has had its problems. Now, we have shelters, like I just told you, all up and down for Sells Road. We've got the Crystal's House, I mean, the Crystal's House, Hope Center for Women, and the Shepherd House. We have our chair, we love them, we'll take care of them, but you don't have a plan for this one. Many years ago, Mayor, you were sitting in this horseshoe when you were a council member, and I'm going to tell you, it's not like the 11th District always gets the bad side. In eight years, I voted no on something. People laughed at me for eight years. Well, I said it's going to come back and bite you. Well, it has come back and bite you. If you all remember the last two years, you've got odor problems in Lexington, in Cardinal Valley, and in Meadowthorpe because of the sewer. Anything built out of Hamburg now goes all the way to our sewer. And I've got a bad feeling that this homeless shelter is going to be the same way. It's going to be a major problem, so I ask you, please do not support this. I know, I guarantee you, there's something better out there. Next up is Carson Bowen, followed by Ross Boggess. Welcome. Hello. My name is Carson Boffman. I live in the 3rd, work in the 5th, and I'm here to talk about a property on behalf of Calgill that is in the 11th. We own the trifecta at Red Mile, which is a 182-unit apartment community that surrounds Nancy Hanks Road. It is directly adjacent to the proposed winter shelter for the unhoused at the recycling center. We oppose the use of Nancy Hanks as the entrance for the shelter for two primary reasons. The first is that while Nancy Hanks Road does have sidewalks, it connects Red Mile to the recycling center through the middle of our apartment community. Red Mile does not have any pedestrian facilities whatsoever. There are no sidewalks, no crosswalks, and this means that all the users that are going to access the winter shelter are required to walk in the street across entrances to commercial businesses before entering into Nancy Hanks Road, crossing through the middle of our community, and accessing the shelter. The letter we submitted last week, which I have copies of if you all would like it, has a graphic that depicts an alternate route for access that comes from Versailles Road on LFQCG property. We met with the Office of the Housing Advocacy and Community Development as well as the CAO's office to walk that route and determine if it was feasible. We believe that there is a viable path that could be used, that could be used safely with small alterations to the operations at the recycling center. We're also concerned about the auxiliary impact such a shelter poses to our residents and the broader community in the long term once services are no longer being offered in this location. While mitigating efforts are planned on the LFQCG property, no such measures have been established once users leave the shelter area or are denied access to the shelter for any reason. We understand that this shelter is an important part of the city's goals and that a path on city's property would have a slight impact to the operations of the recycling center. However, we're here to petition that the operational burden be placed on the city instead of the neighbors to ensure pedestrian safety. We did not choose to establish this facility between two residential areas and if this shelter is accessed from Nancy Hanks, we the neighborhood will bear the responsibility and cost of allaying the impact to our community while the temporary shelter is operational and managing the enduring change once operations cease to exist. Our residents' safety and the safety of pedestrians is paramount and without pedestrian facilities we think this should be considered. We implore you to make any approval of funds or contracts related to this shelter contingent upon access from Versailles Road to ensure pedestrian safety and maintain good faith with the surrounding property owners, business owners and residents who call this neighborhood home. Thank you all. Thank you. Next is Ross Boggess, followed by Rick Christman. Oh, okay, not on the agenda. All right, thank you. We'll get to you a little bit later. Next is Rick Christman. Welcome. Hi. Rick Christman. I'm speaking on behalf of Employment Solutions, which is in the 8th District. I came here, we came here originally because we were interested in the food program of this winter program. We did it last year. We did the food program. We never missed a day no matter what the weather. We kept looking for it to go out to bid again, but we never saw it. But just today we were talking about the whole operation and the fact that hearing today that there's some opposition to Versailles Road. Obviously you just heard that. Well, let's consider Center Parkway. And our CEO is here. We're interested in it. We have plenty of space. We have 20,000 square feet. Traffic is not an issue. We have a behavioral health clinic right on site so we can do behavioral, you know, Medicaid management. We can do case management for all the people who receive Medicaid. We also have a decades long relationship with the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation specifically to help people with behavioral health issues. We also have our getting into substance abuse issues. We have an intensive program for people who have been discharged from facility care. So I would ask you to consider us, Employment Solutions, and Center Parkway as a possible location for this winter program. We have the space. We have more ancillary services than anyone. And I think we're in a good location that you won't have the problems with the traffic as has already been mentioned here. So that's the long and the short of it. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right, Council, that finishes our public comment for issues on the agenda. And at this time I'll entertain a motion to approve the docket. So moved. Second. Vice Mayor moves. Councilmember Curtis seconds. If you have questions, additions, now's the time. Does anyone have anything for the docket? No. Councilmember Reynolds? No. Okay. All right. All those in favor of approval say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. That motion passes. Next we have the August 26, 2025 Council Work Session Table of Motions. I'll entertain a motion. Motion approved. Councilmember Ellinger, is there a second? Second. Councilmember Curtis, any questions or corrections to the minutes, the table of motions? All right. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. That motion passes. Budget amendments. I'll entertain a motion. So moved. Vice Mayor Wu? Second. Councilmember Savigna seconds. And please log in if you have questions. Councilmember Ellinger? Thank you, Mayor. Journal entry 157654-55 on page 4 with the housing and homeless, the 800,000. Commissioner Hensley? Or Commissioner Lanter? I'm going to come up here, Councilmember Ellinger, but this might be a Commissioner Hensley question. She was right behind you. Thank you. Could you do the breakdown? I guess the 300,000, where that's coming from, how the money is being? So if you all will recall, we had a couple of different grant opportunities during the COVID era for which we were able to earn interest. One was ARPA and one was ERAP, Emergency Rental Assistance Program. And we have used the interest for the ERAP program for a couple of different opportunities that were centered around housing. One we used for legal aid. We used it for extending the eviction prevention services. And so there was a little bit that was left in that interest account. And so we were able to use the rest of that interest. I think we have just a little bit over $20,000 left after this to help shore up the need for these funds for the winter sheltering opportunity. That's what I thought. Just wanted to verify. Thank you. Yes, sir. Thank you. Are there other questions about budget amendments? All right. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. That motion passes. Councilmembers, for your information, there are budget adjustments. And that brings us to new business. I'll entertain a motion to approve. Second. Councilmember Savigny. Second by Councilmember Ellinger. Please log in with your questions. Councilmember Reynolds. Thank you, Mayor. If I could have Commissioner Lancher come up, please, on items U and V. First off, I want to say that I did not know about this months in advance. I was told this was an idea. And from the beginning that I was told this was an idea, I said that I was not in favor of it. And the administration knows that. And so I would like you to comment on U and V and help explain the current plan. I also want to make it clear that I've been working with nearby stakeholders since I found out about this. And that I did tell my constituents and while some may think it's too late, I am holding a meeting tomorrow to discuss this. And I feel that the 11th district has had an overabundance of service-oriented things that are great to serve people. But on a main corridor, nearby housing on both sides, I, too, am very concerned about this location. Commissioner, could you explain the plan here and then people's concerns about the entrance? Mine as well. Could you please address that? Sure. I'll do the best I can. So we are proposing today to use the former furrow site on Versailles Road to operate our seasonal winter shelter from November 1st to April 1st. We are doing this as a turnkey operation, meaning one vendor providing all services. We're doing this because the last two years has been extraordinarily difficult to pull off. It's very difficult to coordinate half a dozen or more vendors. It's very difficult to put hundreds of people in and out of hotels. So we immediately, as soon as last year's, before last year's program ended, actually, we were already making plans to do something. We have visited, analyzed and studied more than 30 locations. I think 37 was the last count. I actually shared all those with council at one point. And I want to be very clear. There is no perfect location for an operation such as this. There is no location in the city of Lexington where there isn't something someone can stand here and tell you it's a concern. Because it is. It's just the nature of the work that we do. What we do is we mitigate. We try to make sure we meet the needs of the population and keep the impact to the bare minimum. And we're going to do that with 24-7 security, cameras on every square inch of the property that is not a bathroom stall. We are, as has been discussed, looking at the entrance. We initially chose to do the Nancy Hanks Way route because if you all are familiar with the site, if we're in the back, the Nancy Hanks Way exit is literally feet away. So all things aside, that's the no-brainer. Now, we understand the impact of that. And we knew it before anyone even came to us. We understand what we're doing by doing that. We had to weigh the impacts of the Nancy Hanks option versus the impacts of the Versailles Road option. Those include things such as cost. If you do Versailles Road, you have to run a fence the entire length of the property, which is I think 600 plus feet. It also includes things like inability to control ingress and egress as well because the entrance is so far away from the site. And then finally, the impact on our own operations. You have two bank drive-throughs that they would have to walk past to get to that entry or chute and an ATM. So two bank drive-throughs and an ATM. So I think while the concerns that are expressed about Nancy Hanks are valid, and we are absolutely studying everything about that to minimize and mitigate to the best we can, there are also challenges and problems with the Versailles Road entrance. There is no perfect answer. We were waiting on pricing to come back. We got that today. We still need to take another look at some things like risk management options before we can make a final decision on that, but it is very close. Okay, I'm going to run out. And I apologize. I know there's a lot in there, so if there's something I didn't answer, please just let me know. I'm going to run out of time, and I'll probably chime back in. But on the entrance, you have to understand, right, that the people who live right there on Nancy Hanks and the businesses that are near there are very concerned about mitigation on their property. And so I think if we're putting it on our property, then we need to take that responsibility ourselves. So that's just one thing I'm going to say, but I'll chime back in. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Lynch. Thank you, Mayor. Commissioner Lynch, since I have you up here, I'll ask, continuing on with the questions about the winter shelter, so what risk management steps are you all investigating and plan to take? With moving the entrance to the front, to Versailles Road, you have to run, for lack of a better term, it's a chute, a fence chute. People would enter, and they would follow this fencing chute to the back of the property. That chute follows the parking and road area of the property. So what you're talking about is having people walk next to traffic. And it's common, I get, but when you've got parking spaces and people pulling in, we just need to make sure that our risk management division has taken a look at that and made sure we've done everything we need to do to mitigate. There's another complicating factor in that there's a tornado shelter that is bolted to the ground permanently, and this would have to go around that. And in going around that, it would shut off access to it, which again, is a risk issue for the people in the building because they can no longer access the tornado shelter. Thank you, Commissioner. My next question is regarding item G, the inmate medical and mental health services for our Division of Community Corrections. Thank you. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Council. Hector Joyner, Deputy Chief of Corrections. Yes, so go ahead. I'm just wondering what changes necessitated this change in the contract? So when we did the RFP last year, Yes Care, Horizon Health, was awarded the contract. And what we had asked was for year two to have additional staffing for competency restoration. And this would allow us to work with KCPC and the judges and the jail to help expedite some of the processes when it comes to competency and be able to stand trial. So it's a four full-term positions and one eight-hour position of a forensic psychiatrist. So that's what added the cost in the second year, which is something that collectively we felt it would help the jail, it would help the courts, and it would help KCPC. Awesome. Thank you so much. My next question is item I, regarding the disc golf course that's coming to the second district. How are you today? I'm good, good. So what changes are going on there? We are doing a small change. The designer is actually making the park, the Coldstream Park parking lot disc golf. We're adjusting the plan so we can build it in phases to ensure that we're not overbuilding a parking lot on that park. When it came back in, we decided being able to do it in a little bit smaller footprint or expand it in the future, which is the best option. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. And then my last question is for item X, about the stadium and LSC holdings. Director, could you clarify what this item is about, please? Yes. During the setup for the LSC project and the incentives, there were several different entities that were established as part of this. And when this agreement was initially entered into, it was anticipated that the entity that they entered into the agreement with would have payroll. And it turns out that they didn't, just through their operations. And so this changes that to the entity that will have payroll and does have payroll at LSC. And then also further make sure that the incentives are tied to the project site. Awesome. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member LaGrie. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to say I'm really excited about item W, that we are going to move forward with this downtown circulator pilot project. I think it'll be a welcome addition. And I'm wondering if anybody could come to the microphone and just remind everybody what that item is all about. Item W, yes. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member. And hello, Council. Yes, we are looking to launch a downtown circulator that will run from April to October of next year. And this circulator is sort of the idea of members of council as well as our community partners. The idea there is to connect the distillery district with the warehouse block and then downtown along 3rd Street. So that'll be, in essence, the loop the circulator takes. But for tourism opportunities, for nightlife opportunities, recreational opportunities, we think that it would be a valuable addition to the city. Well, thank you. And what I can say is that I've already heard from people in the downtown area and the connected zones that they're excited about this. And maybe if we see some good engagement and success with this, then perhaps we could even expand to the daytime hours. And I want to say thank you to Council Member James Brown for being a big part of driving this forward. And we're looking forward to testing it out, and we appreciate your all's partnership. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Savigny. Thank you, Mayor. This is for Jeff Neal. It's about the lights. I'm trying to re-find it now because I was searching for it. But it was about the street light data. This is a topic that we actually have brought up in the Street Safety Task Force. And I'm looking at which, I'm trying to find which item it is again. Sorry. Do you remember, Jeff? Item T. Yeah, T. Thank you. Thank you. So this item has been brought up in Street Safety Task Force. And this is the current vendor. We've talked about other vendors on this. So I want you to explain kind of some of what led to you renewing with these folks, and some of the differences now in the contract. Okay. Well, this will be the fourth year of our contract. We had, I think, its first bid in FY23. So this will be our last year of our four-year contract that we had with them. And up until this year, after some of the Street Task Force questions came up, we looked at another vendor, Urban SDK, that had a really nice dashboard that showed speeds relative to posted speeds and things like that, which was a really nice feature. And so we went to Street Light Data and asked if they had a similar product. And it turns out they do. And whenever we went back through and saw how we were using the program that we had through the MPO, is we weren't using some of the functionality of that and really didn't need it. So what we did is we came to an agreement with them that they would drop some of that functionality. So we will no longer get truck routing and multimodal type information. But we will add back, it's a citywide dashboard that shows speeds relative to the posted speeds, similar to the other vendor. And then this will also give us what's called a traffic monitor. It will give us a two- to three-day look back at how traffic flowed, like earlier in the week. And that will allow us to keep a better track of how traffic's moving, spot bottlenecks due to more immediate concerns like lane blockages. So we can test signal timing better and things like that. So it gives us more functionality at the same cost. Cool. Thank you. And then one of the things I know the public safety, the police, were not really aware that we had that tool. So my hope is that you share, like you either share or get them a license so that they have the ability to use that data as well. Because it's intended to be able to compare what speed traffic is really going in certain areas and kind of give you hot spots where people are exceeding the speed limit. So our hope is that using better data, our public safety folks will be able to actually issue tickets in proper areas that we're seeing a lot of speeding. So I appreciate your work on that. Thank you. Thank you. That's all I have, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Curtis. Thank you, Mayor. I just have a quick question for Director Martin about item E on the agenda, which has to do with the replacement of existing infrastructure at the West Hickman Wastewater Treatment Plant. Welcome. Thank you. I think Richard made off with my agenda. That's why I had to be looking for it. Oops. Well, thank you, Director Martin. So this is a purchase agreement with Hydro International for the replacement of the existing UTEC head cell grit concentrator. In layman's terms, could you explain this as if I'm somebody who's not familiar with the intricate workings of a wastewater treatment facility. What does a UTEC head cell grit concentrator do? In wastewater treatment, there are different levels of treatment. The very first one is to get all the objectionable materials out and leave the carbon source in there that can be treated. So in the preliminary head works, there are grit removal sections that basically remove. There's sand, there's gravel, there's all kinds of things like that. And so we've had two of these that were built in 2018. One of them has failed. This is the second failure of that. But basically what the grit removal does is it protects the downstream processes from that abrasive material. Thank you so much. I know that you have been on this like a hawk for longer than I have been here. And I really appreciate the work that you've done on that. So just because I continue to have conversations with my constituents about And some of the issues that have occurred there over the past couple of years. This is a purchase. I was wondering if we had a rough timeline for installation once the purchase has been made. I don't. And I'll have to update you on that. Right now, installation never seems to be the problem. It's delivery of materials and goods. One of the odor control projects that we've talked about before, they were supposed to be done in March of last year. They are still not done. And I took the supplier to task this Monday with a searing email about why we don't have all the materials that we have to connect this thing together. So I'll have to get back with you on that. But I always worry about how long does it take to deliver the goods. I appreciate that. And thank you for answering my questions. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Sheehan. Thank you, Mayor. I would like to ask about item N. This is for an agreement with Kentucky Transportation Cabinet accepting federal funds for the Winchester Road Study. So for the public, I was wondering, Director Duncan, if you could describe the Winchester Road Study, because I know that will be of interest. Yes, thank you, Council Member. The Winchester Road Corridor Study will be similar to what we did with the Nicholasville Road Corridor Study and the north side of New Circle Road Corridor Study recently, where we'll be looking at land use, transportation, safety, access, all of the elements that make the corridor function. The limits of this study are from Midland Avenue to the interstate. So we'll be looking at both the downtown portion of Winchester Road, as well as the suburban outside the New Circle Road. Great. I'm excited to see this moving forward and look forward to the result. But also, when we have opportunities for public comment, I know some of my neighbors will be interested in being a part of the engagement on this study. Yes, and that is a component of this will be public outreach and engagement. So we'll make sure that the consultants and the team effectively do that so that there is good participation. Great. Thank you. Yes. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Reynolds. Thank you, Mayor. Could I have Deputy CAO Brown come up for a second, please? Sir? Right now, we're talking about this agreement, and there's a lot of discussion about the entrance and the exit. But that is actually not contained in the agreement today, correct? Yes. So if we're sitting here saying we're not in favor of something based on that and the possibility of doing it on Vercells Road, we can't make it contingent on that as of right now? Because it's not part of this agreement, the entrance. I think what you're asking me is, since we originally had it forecasted to come from Nancy Hanks, could it be changed without any issue if we came from Vercells Road? Is that what you mean? Sort of, yes. Okay. It can be changed, and we're in the process of looking at that change now. And I think Commissioner Lanter did mention we have to get risk management involved because we have to figure out the placement because we also have to be concerned about ADA accessible. And when will we know if it's feasible according to? Prior to this meeting, I just got a text from Mike Skidmore that he could meet me and Charlie and Jeff out there before the end of the week, hopefully no later than the beginning of next week because we also have to go back with a redesign or a relook at how the fence placement would be. Okay. Thank you. I want to reiterate that there are no sidewalks on Red Mile leading to the proposed entrance on Nancy Hanks. I think there's also a bus stop right there. So I just wanted to let everyone know that. Colleagues, I have shared with you some of my thoughts and some of the concerns from my constituents. So I would like to move to remove items U and V from the docket on Thursday. Is there a second? Second. Council Member Ellinger seconds. Now, let's have discussion on the motion. If there is any, you'll need to raise your hand. Council Member Sheehan, then Vice Mayor Wu, then Council Member Savigny. Thank you, Mayor. This might be a question for Commissioner Lanter, but I would need to know then what is the timeline for bringing it back because I know we're under a time crunch to open this by November 1st. And what delaying this vote would, how that would impact our ability to actually open on time. I'm not in favor of it at this location, so I'm not going to speak to that directly. I think the delay, Commissioner Lanter, you could probably speak to the delay. If you're saying, Council Member Sheehan, if it's removed. Yes, if we're not moving this forward to the docket for first and second reading, that means we're going to delay approval of any winter shelter, which means we might not be able to open anything by November 1st for the people who need it. That's correct. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Mayor. All right, next is Vice Mayor Wu. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to make sure that if we're right now, we're supposed to be speaking on Council Member Reynolds' motion. But I'm going to assume, because I'm one of them, we still have questions about kind of what's on the docket now. Can we speak to specific questions about this issue without sort of violating, not talking about the motion that's on the floor. Does that make sense? The motion's to remove the item. Right. So I think this has intercepted the discussion of the item. Would you- Okay. Yeah. So that was my take as well. And for the reason of continuing the conversation and having unanswered questions answered, I'll be voting no on this motion for that reason only. Thank you. Okay, thank you. Council Member Savigny. Thank you, Mayor. My question is similar to Council Member Sheehan's. My concern is that we actually don't have a plan beyond this. And so I don't know that I can ask that question if we have a plan beyond it, but I'm assuming we don't have a plan beyond it. So I'm going to vote no on this primarily because I think if it goes on the docket, it will get voted. It will have its first reading this Thursday, and then basically it's final in a couple of weeks, if I recall. So I think that will give us enough time to, if there's some unanswered questions, it will give us enough time to find those out. Thank you. All right, thank you. We have Council Member Brown and then Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. And I'm not going to support this motion. And part of the reason why is because I wasn't a district council member, but I used to represent a district that the previous shelter two years ago. Similar scenario is I think time is a factor. I think there's no perfect location. I think there's been a lot of effort at locating a site, and when a site cannot be identified, I think it falls on us as the city to use our property. But I do think that we need to take into consideration the concerns that were brought up today. Those were my same comments and thoughts a couple of years ago, is that how this impacts neighborhoods is important. And if we heard today that the entrance potentially could have a negative impact on the neighbors and the neighborhoods surrounding that, I think we need to exhaust all options to try to address that for sales road option going forward. So I think there's time between now, and I think Council Member Reynolds, you said that you're going to ask that we not expedite this and ask for a second reading so it fully plays out. I think there's an opportunity to answer some questions and to get some of those issues resolved before we have to pass it. So I'm not going to support taking it off the docket. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to ask the Vice Mayor what questions I can ask about this motion, because it goes to the general topic of what's under U and V. And we had somebody come speak today about another option, and I could support removing it if we knew that that option was viable potentially. So I don't know if I can ask about that. Not now. It's whether to take it off or leave it on. But I think that kind of helps make my determination on this motion. So I'm not allowed to ask at this point. I don't think so. The motion is I move to remove it from the docket. Okay. All right. Thanks, Mayor. Sorry. Anybody else? Council Member Morton. Thank you. I just had a quick question just to Commissioner Lancer, and it's just related to, I guess, just the motion. So if this moves forward and it's not taken off the docket, there's still opportunity to have that conversation if it's able to be done to move that entrance, correct? Yes, sir. We won't change anything about our efforts to explore that and then implement it if it's viable. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else wish to speak to removing it from the docket? All right. All those in favor of the motion to remove it from the docket, please say aye. Aye. Anyone opposed? No. All right. That motion fails. Now, we're still on new business, and I still have a list of folks. Next is Council Member Brown. I'll speak. Okay. Council Member Ellinger. Thank you. This is what UNV, please, Commissioner Lancer. Steps in. Yeah. I think you said you had had over 30 different, and then you actually said 37 was the last number. We received an e-mail yesterday, I think the day before. Was that one that you had looked at? The site you received the e-mail about yesterday is not viable. It is incorrectly zoned for a shelter operation. And then the second one was what Mr. Christman said with employment solutions, and how, what about, have we looked at that one? That site was just in that moment brought to our attention, and so it has not been vetted. I can't answer to you whether that's a viable site or not. And that's kind of why I wanted to know that answer before I voted on that. I can tell you changing locations at this point would be extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible. But in the interim, you would be able to look at that, because we're not going to be doing second reading. I can explore whether it's a viable site, yes. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Vice Mayor Wu. Thank you, Mayor. Council Member Ellinger asked the bulk of my questions on sort of other options. I just wanted to make kind of a statement in general. I think these issues are always really, really difficult, and it's always a balance of the interests of the city writ large versus the interests of a particular community. We see this with housing. We see this with development. We see this with the conversation about solar in the ag zone, and we see this about these sort of services that we're providing. I think it's not unreasonable to say that for most district, most of my district colleagues, that this is a really difficult situation when it presents itself in their district. Because my district colleagues feel pressure from their constituents in an acute way that I may not feel as a large council member, or other colleagues may not feel as not being a representative of that specific district. So I think it is a reasonable assumption, at least for me to make, that whenever it comes to any district, that that district council member is going to have a very difficult time balancing those issues. For me, I go back to my own sort of value statement about why I'm in this job, and it's to do the most good for the most people. So I think we do our due diligence as a city to find the best possible solution. And sometimes the best possible solution is the least worst solution. And that's just the reality of it. It's never going to have a perfect place anywhere in the city. It's never not going to run into opposition from the neighbors. So in general, I will support this moving forward. I think we do have time to discuss it. And I would very much welcome from any of my colleagues any amendments to come forward to mitigate some of the concerns and issues that have been raised by the community. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. I, the Coldstream Disc Golf. I want more of a general overview because I think Josh McCurran brought this way back, and I've been waiting for it. I've told people it's coming. Where do we stand on it right now? So obviously we're moving forward with the parking lot. We have had a contractor out clearing the fairways over the last couple weeks. We're hoping to have the designer in as soon as all the fairways are rough cleared to go in and start placing tee boxes and where the baskets will go so we can start building those tee pads. I'm hoping to start that late fall. At the same time, we're working through getting the bridge crossing permits. So we're going to have a couple places where you have to cross the creek. So we're working through those issues. So what's our goal to have it usable? I would love to say late fall, but I think with the reality, it's probably going to be more like spring with just the contractor capacity. Just checking. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Is there anyone else who has a question about new business? No? All right. All those in favor of approval of new business, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. That motion passes. And we do have communications from the mayor. The first is appointments. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Second. All right. Council Member Ellinger seconds. Are there any questions? All right. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? That motion passes. There are no donations. Excuse me, Mayor. Sorry, Council Member Hale. Yeah, recuse myself from the vote for appointments. Yes, of course. I should have thought of that too for you. Thank you very much. Not too late. Now, communications from the mayor for procurements. Is there a motion? Second. Thank you, Council Member Curtis. Second by Council Member Savigny. Are there questions? All right. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. That motion passes. That brings us to continuing business and presentations. And first up is Council Member Sheehan with General Government and Planning Committee. Thank you, Mayor. The July 1, 2025, General Government and Planning Committee was called to order at 1 p.m. The May 6, 2025, committee summary was approved unanimously without any additions or corrections. The solar energy systems item was reported out to the full council on August 19, 2025, during our work session. Due to time constraints, the charter review item was rescheduled. Vice Mayor Wu briefly updated the committee on the status of Lexington's preservation and growth management program. Planning staff were working on the next draft. That draft will be presented at the September 19th GGP meeting, which occurred today. On September 16th, there will be a special GGP meeting at 6 p.m. in the council chambers that will provide an opportunity for in-person public comment. Vice Mayor Wu motioned to remove waiver notice requirements from the committee, seconded by Baxter. That motion passed unanimously. Council Members Boone and Hale will assume the roles of co-sponsors of the Blue Sky Small Area Plan item, as they both serve on that committee. The meeting adjourned at 2.59 p.m. And that concludes our report. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you very much. Does anyone have any questions for Council Member Sheehan? All right, thank you. Next is the Access and Engagement Officer position, and Hillary Angelucci, Senior Special Projects Administrator, will make this presentation. But I see our CAO is coming forward, so maybe she's going to make it. No, I'm not going to make it. I'd just like to say a couple of things before we start. And where this started is Council Member Ellinger, I was at Lynx and I said, I have no idea how to do this. And he said, don't despair, just try to get something that we can go back and bring it back to council and let council see what you've come up with with this position and we can comment. And we did that. We've had a lot of internal conversations and I especially want to thank Council Member Lynch, who at times we sort of went off the rails and she would herd us back in and say, now come on, you've got to get here. Council Member Brown also helped us and we owe a special thanks to Coach Colleen Eldridge and Dr. Cleveland. She sort of gave us the words that brought this back to what we were really looking for. So hopefully, you'll like it. If not, then we'll go back and start again. So, thank you. Thank you. Welcome, Hillary. Thank you, Mayor and Council Members, for allowing me to present today. Okay, so I'm here to present our work group's proposal for the vacant position currently funded in the CAO's office. Our work group included the CAO team, CAO Hamilton, Deputy CAO Brown, Jennifer Sutton, myself. And then from HR, we had Director George, Eric Howard, Arthur Lucas, Nicole Rodriguez, as well as Commissioner Ford from General Services and Council Member Lynch. We met several times, May through August, and a number of us did some degree of research. There wasn't a whole lot of information available. In particular, there was no obvious answer forward for what this position should become. This could be because many are still exploring what to do. Changes are being made in the private sector, and that's making the news, but not so much for local governments. We all seem to be figuring out next steps together. The Society for Human Resources was a helpful resource in where we saw a new focus on civility. In the end, it was our conversations with Dr. Colleen Eldridge and Dr. Roger Cleveland who helped us understand how this idea transitions into action. So we recommend this position become the access and engagement officer for LFUCG. So think culture, compliance, and connections for the framework of this role. The purpose is to bridge culture, to create an environment where employees from diverse cultural backgrounds can effectively collaborate and understand each other. To coordinate ADA and accessibility compliance, to ensure accessibility for individuals with disabilities throughout LFUCG, including physical spaces, digital content, programs, and services. And to strengthen connections across LFUCG, so employees feel a sense of belonging and purpose. At a glance, this position reports directly to the CAO. It coordinates training and compliance across departments. Responds to employee and resident access concerns and aligns policy, behavior, and service delivery. By remaining in the CAO's office, this role maintains neutrality with cross-departmental influence. It avoids conflicts with HR enforcement, and it promotes organization-wide trust and accountability. Through this work, the role supports both internal workforce culture and external service delivery. So here are highlights of the role's essential functions. And I should have mentioned that I passed out the job description around your chairs as well, so you have that handy. Training will focus on civility, emotional intelligence, compliance, expected professional conduct, and accountability, to name some options. All of this is expected in workforce behavior. For example, civility may be a topic that is the focus to get us started this year, but it won't be the only focus year after year. The topics will change over time, and this is a long-term approach. This person will work with general services, law, HR, and all departments across LFUCG. This coordination will add more consistency in workplace initiatives. The role is linked to legal compliance and access concerns. ADA complaints related to LFUCG facilities and programs will be centrally coordinated through this office. This role won't primarily be the one conducting all the training, which will provide more opportunity to monitor trends and make recommendations for improvements for LFUCG to move forward. Training, ADA, and data are three main areas where this role is expanding. We're not starting from scratch. Arthur Lucas helped LFUCG grow over the last eight years. For training, yes, the division of HR does provide training, and this work will not replace that. Instead, it will complement it or bolster HR's existing training program. We believe this person will work closely with HR, and in fact, we discussed this position potentially being in the division of HR, but ultimately decided it was better to keep it in the CAO's office for coordination across government. It will focus more on an organization as a whole. Some of you may remember when Millennium Learning Concepts conducted the diversity and inclusion workshops in 2022. It took 37 virtual trainings to reach about 1,500 employees. LFUCG-wide trainings take considerable amount of effort, time, and coordination. We've vetted training content and outside partners and are looking for additional funds to kick start training this fiscal year. We aren't starting from scratch with ADA either. The ADA transition plan, phase one, is complete. This was an ARPA project. And phase two is expected to complete this winter. Through this work, we learned that we should have a three-pronged approach. Much of the implementation of the transition plan will remain in general services. HR will maintain and coordinate employee accommodations. And this role will serve as the centralized coordinator. Many divisions across LFUCG need to be aware of ADA requirements and how to provide reasonable modifications and accommodations for residents to access our programs and our facilities. This role will help with that. There are two expansions under ADA. One is greater compliance with LFUCG providing reasonable modifications when requested. And two, facilitating prompt and effective resolutions to access related complaints. And then data. It's becoming an expectation, and it's imperative to reach desired outcomes. For example, workplace climate could be measured through LFUCG-wide surveys, like the one that was done with Millennium Learning Concepts a few years ago. That work also included focus groups with employees. I also know that building relationships and trust with employees throughout government will be essential. Arthur Lucas made a lot of headway as the city's officer of diversity and inclusion. This role is starting a new chapter with new opportunities. This role is not a continuation of DEI efforts. It is a compliance aligned position focused on access, professionalism, and engagement. This role will help our organization grow in a way that aligns our values and our priorities, ultimately to improve our service delivery to the community. Okay, why this is important. Let's go back to that framework. It's about culture, compliance, and connections to strengthen employee teams across LFUCG. To ensure LFUCG offers a fair, supportive, and consistent workplace culture. To provide training and guidance on ADA, accessibility, fair treatment practices, and workplace civility. To coordinate access-related concerns and support policy alignment. And to improve the employee experience through a value-based, behavior-focused approach that engages employees and builds trust. So, that concludes my presentation. If you all are in support of this proposal, we'll submit it through our normal process to appear on your agenda for council approval. And then we could begin the hiring process. I'll take any questions that you might have. All right, thank you very much, Hilary. Are there questions? Council Member Brown. Thank you, Mayor. And thank you, Hilary, for the presentation. So there's really no action item for us today that you're asking for? No, we wanted to get your feedback for the idea, so we haven't, we didn't submit it as a new business item quite yet. Okay, and then it'll just go through the regular blue sheet process, so we'll see it going forward. All right, so I just want to thank, I think the CAO put this team together to work on this, including HR and Council Member Lynch and other folks. And I think coming out of the conversation about moving Arthur Lucas and the work that he was doing to HR, I think when we created that diversity officer position, I think there was a specific intent that we were trying to address at the time. And it was mainly, among other things, recruitment and public safety. And I think we have made some gains there. I think moving Mr. Lucas to HR, he still has the opportunity to do the training that he was doing more now in a way that's more structured in how we work and move forward. Leaving that position to be something that we can mold and shape into something that we need as our community and our needs change as a government. I think this is a good way to pivot and maybe change this position to still address some of the things that we need addressed in the city. I think focusing on the culture of our workplace I think is important. I think ADA, I think some of the things that we're doing and some of the investments we're making at ADA. I think we need a person in this government that this is top of mind and that they're working to continue to implement those type of improvements just for accessibility to government. My main concern, and I read it, it was training. I didn't want, and I think Mr. Lucas, to his credit, was a trainer by training. That's a trainer by training. But I didn't, so I think this position, you tell me if I'm wrong, is more focused on coordinating training and not becoming a trainer themselves. Is that kind of how you built it? Yes, that's the goal. And that's kind of why we're seeking some additional funds to maybe hire outside partners to do some additional training, but also coordinate with HR. Okay, well, I think that's the appropriate way to do it. I think if this position is more focused on where we need training, what type of training we need to address whatever issue we're trying to address, I think that's appropriate. But I wouldn't want this person to kind of get bogged down with executing trainings, because that could happen very easily. I think some of it, I think with Mr. Lucas going to HR, I think when we create these positions and these initiatives, I think at some point we need to figure out how they fall into the system of government to be more institutional, so to speak, as opposed to being ad hoc and at the whims of whatever the political whims are at the time. So, based off of what you have before us, I'm comfortable with moving forward in this direction. But I'd be interested in hearing what my colleagues have to say about it, so thank you for your work. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Councilmember Sheehan. Thank you, Mayor. I appreciate everyone who worked on this job description And of course the work of my colleagues Councilmember Lynch and Councilmember Brown on this. I Want to point out There's a lot of things in here that I like, but I want to point out specifically the ADA related portion of this job description I think as a government we get critiqued a lot about doing studies and getting reports and then those reports Get put on a shelf somewhere, right? And while I don't believe that is actually the case and that it's a perception thing This is an example of us Paying for a consultant to do our ADA transition plan us getting a report back and then taking action based on the report And that's what I'm seeing here on the responsibilities related to ADA here, so I really appreciate that being incorporated here because a lot of work has gone into The first phase of the report and the second phase of the report and this came these recommendations also have come from our access Lexington Commission So we're also seeing some a recommendation from our boards and commissions go through This process and come out with action. So I really appreciate this part of it. So, thank you. Thank you, Mayor Thank You councilmember Ellinger Thank You mayor and I want to thank all the people who worked hard on this when we had our Council link back in the spring I I had full confidence in the CAO that we would be able to come up with a viable resolution And as councilmember Brown said it's a good way to pivot and thank you all for your hard work And I look forward to this new position. Thank you Councilmember Savigny. Thank you, Mayor. And thank you so much for the presentation and the work that was done on this I have a little different opinion about the ADA piece and it seems to me like it The other two pieces or the other pieces seem to go more naturally together. The ADA piece just seems like it's it was It was something that we needed somebody to do and we kind of included it that's just a perception just from looking at it and you can respond to that I guess I I Kind of disagree because I I think I look at access For everybody and you know, it primarily I think has a large focus on access for you know Information to all of our employees and and getting trained and leveling up across the board so I think I think I find more similarities across Across different parts. I think that there's going to be training and compliance and compliance to me could be behavior based Like in the civility department, but it could also mean be compliance with ADA, you know title the American Disabilities Act or Compliance with our own policies that either implement, you know the plans that we're doing or or Structured, you know procedures and things like that So I I see there's more ties to him, but I can I can understand it is an addition for sure thank you, and then I'm kind of curious as to what the My guess is you're gonna advertise this position if we approve this position or do something like what do you feel like the? Qualifications like what is the type of candidate that we're going to be seeing? You know are we gonna have qualifications for it or what so I didn't actually bring the qualifications with me, but I But I can definitely email them to you But there we're proposing that this be a grade 526. So it's about level with an administrative officer senior So it's one grade higher. I think two grades higher than and what it was if that helps you And then yeah, if you if you do have a qualifications document for the person I would I'd be curious as to Because it this is a whole variety of things and I'm kind of wonder like culture is like super important that usually Like I would have it in my HR organization But I do think it could like it can be sit on its own because I think it's it's they say culture Trump strategy Every time so I think it's yeah, I do agree. Yeah culture work, right? It's there's a lot under that umbrella I think you could spend forever working on that kind of thing, but I That's why we're not gonna have this person be a primarily a trainer is so that they can you know Use experts outside of LF you CG to to boost those areas if that's what we need to focus on So I think that this person is their strong point is going to be coordination in a lot of different things It's coordinating with departments and policy and and employees and engagement and and also a DA Ties into that. Thank you. I appreciate all your work again. Thanks. That's all mayor. All right, Tyler councilmember Morton Thank you Well, thank you Hillary for the presentation I just want to thank councilmember Brown and councilmember Lynch and CAO Hamilton for their work on this I truly appreciate that. We've been intentional in creating position that will serve our community one rooted in our values one rooted and Guided by our needs and aligned with how we believe our city should move forward While I'm saddened that we took steps to change the past position because of unknowns I'm encouraged to know that we will have a role that emphasizes accessibility culture and and our values So I hope this position serves the purpose of making Our past wrong our past right and continue to invest in our people So as we move ahead, we must continue to be intentional stand firmly on our values while working together to great solutions together So I just appreciate y'all for this. Thank you Thank You councilmember Lynch Thank You mayor and I just want to thank CAO Hamilton for pulling together such a dynamic team So that we can all have all the big some of the biggest brains wrap ourselves around this position what we wanted to look like and what's gonna work best for our internal employees and in the city at large and to councilmember Savigny your question about the ADA component We were the committee was very intentional about looking at what we needed as a government So it wasn't just a add-in because oh, we got to add something else in for this to this job description It was a very intentional well thought out Discussion about what this position should look like and what's going to benefit our employees internally in the city as a whole So I'm very excited About what the team was able to come up with with great consultation with our outside partners regarding the job description and I'm excited how we're gonna move forward in this direction And I thank everyone that was at the table I can't name everybody's name because I don't have written down. I'm so no forget somebody but I'm very very proud of our work and I'm very very proud of what the product we've put forward today So colleagues if you have any questions about this after today, feel free to reach out to me I'm happy to dig in the weeds with you because we've been working on this for a while So I'm happy to have some outside discussions and neighbors. Feel free to contact me as well. Thank you, ma'am Thank you very much, all right, thank you very much for the presentation appreciate it All right. Next or council reports Councilmember Lugari Well, this is a first I've never gotten in number one before I just I just have to two items Mayor colleagues and everybody else out there I am really thrilled to invite you all to the official ribbon-cutting of The newly reimagined Phoenix Park. I know you all have gotten my emails about it But that's in just about a week and a half on Thursday, September 18th at 430 And as many of you all know This project has been years in the making So I could not be more excited to see it come to life right in the heart of our city and any of you all Who've walked by have watched the transformation especially over the past year So it's a park that's been redesigned to serve People of all ages and backgrounds. So whether you're visiting the library or the playground with your family Walking along town branch Commons enjoying lunch by the stage or bringing your furry friends to play we just want to reiterate that this park is for you and I hope you'll join us to celebrate this milestone to officially open this incredible space together You all have been a really big part of making it happen And I hope you'll help us spread the news by inviting as many people as You'd like. I also know that we've had some questions about the residential parking permit program process on Forest Park And so I've asked Laura Boyson and her team to be here just to take the last couple of minutes of my time to talk about the RPPP process and explain how you all went about Conducting this study in this area. I want to make sure that my colleagues have any questions Answered just about the process and how that works and how it happened in this particular area. So if you don't mind Coming up to this stage. Thank you Laura You Might just feel questions or go a general if you could just explain to us how you did this study What was involved and a little bit about the parameters of this particular? Okay, so we have approximately 51 RPPs in our community So the ordinance was written and then modified twice. It was it's a 1990 91 ordinance that you all provided us Essentially it is to provide on-street parking for the residents of that district of the RPP district we We were asked by the district what you have to do first is 75% of this you have to have 65% of the people in that district sign the petition the petition is then Forwarded and we'd go out and do a study in this particular area. We did the study in fall It did not meet the requirements we did it again in the spring at their request You want the whole okay, so that study we started it it's a two-week study We go out to make sure that it meets the parameters You've given us 75% of the street parking is occupied and of that 75% at least 25% of it is non-residential We did learn midway through that study. So it's a two-week study. It's generally a a contiguous two weeks We had to stop the study. We did learn that maybe the name maybe there was a group I don't have all the details But we did learn that maybe there was some Involvement on the neighborhood part to maybe adjust those numbers. I don't know. I don't want to go into that That's really not but we did learn that there was a group of people through social media suggesting maybe some activities that could may have Anyhow might have adjusted the numbers to have a different outcome. So we paused the study We didn't publish that we were pausing the study. We paused the study to try to to flush out any type of Alterations to the outcome we did pause the study. The study did come back. It did meet all the requirements of the RPP ordinance again that you all provide us and then we put it through the process It goes back to you and you all then we do I think August 18th We had a reading was at the 18th, but anyhow it came back to council we do Postings on the street to make people aware Is that enough Yes, I think I've answered some of the questions we've had about this particular process and then our second reading For the resolution associated with this study and zone is on Thursday One thing I do want to mention Because in the ordinance it does require it can be a full street Or it can be a partial street if it is a partial street, then it has to be a minimum of 300 Contiguous or I love this or near contiguous feet In order for us to look at it, so it's either a full block defined by start to finish or 300 contiguous or near contiguous feet Okay Thank you. Thank you all. Thanks so much. Thank you mayor. Thank you councilmember Reynolds. Thank you mayor tonight already started four to seven we have the Commerce Lexington Lexington Urban League announced the 250 forward bash It will be a celebration of Lexington's future at the borough, which is 371 Thompson Road, so after this I suggest you head over there and then I wanted to mention Radio Lex has been a wonderful partner to work with over the years and I started working with them a lot during kovat In which time they got a lot of really important valuable information out to the community and I've had a show with them on and off talking about Council updates and what we're doing here and they are celebrating their 10-year anniversary And so I would just like to encourage everyone to go out and support them on Saturday It will be from 12 to 6 at Gray Line station And they're gonna have all kinds of different activities and food and performances And they they've been struggling because of some federal cuts So I think they need as much love and support as we can give them and they continue to really reach different populations in Lexington the other avenues don't so head out and support radio Lex and then Viva Mexico is gonna be on Monday. I happen to be born on the eve of the celebration of Mexico's Independence Day so in Mexico they celebrate on the 15th at in the evening and then they have the next day off as a as a federal holiday for their Independence Day and Casa de la Cotora has been having this really great Festival on the 15th now for several years and it used to be in my district But it outgrew the area where it was and now it's in Masterson station and it is a lot of fun So if you want to go out and support that community, I know they would appreciate it It will be Monday 4 to 10 p.m. And I can assure you there's gonna be amazing performances and Food so head out there on Monday. Thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Morton. Thank you So this past weekend I had the honor of attending the annual roots and actually a 36 annual roots and heritage Festival right in the heart of the city in the first district. This festival is more than just an event It's a celebration of culture history and community It brings neighbors together uplifts black heritage and supports our local business and artists each year It reminds us of the strength and unity that make makes the first district so special and the city so special We started off with line dancing into the annual parade and capped it off with a gospel concert It was a great weekend And I think all of those who helped make it a success and I'm gonna pull my former councilmember Fogle I challenge I'll make a challenge for everyone I want to see as many people next year at that roots at the roots raising at the roots I'm as many elected official and leaders as possible next year. So I'll make that challenge to y'all moving on. I Also was about a week and a half ago about two weekends ago. I joined councilmember handle agree Councilmember Brown and councilmember she and was there as well celebrating Prawltown Day Prawltown is one of Lexington's most historic neighborhoods and being there alongside residents to honor its legacy was powerful This community represents resilience pride and belonging and it's vital that we continue to preserve Protect and uplift it for future generations to come moving on last week I Participated in the Crawford youth day and a special shout out to councilmember Beasley for leading that charge for our youth For our youth at Crawford. They it's a four Four different classes gonna be up in this building But this was the first class and we had Councilmember Brown vice-mayor Wu there to attend just to speak to use to dive to to feed into them So days like this inspire me because they highlight the importance of investing in our young people when we give our youth Safe spaces to learn grow and lead we're building a stronger Lexington for tomorrow And then lastly and that's just some great pictures about that And then lastly we also attended the overdose awareness walk organized by our own Carmen and I'm in the social service department It was a moving reminder that lives lost The family of the lives lost families impacted and the work still ahead for us coming together in solidarity shows us that as a city We are committed to compassion prevention and recovery and that no one has to walk this journey alone So shout out to Carmen and social service department for a job. Well done and all the great work they do Daily and that wraps it up Thank You councilmember Lynch Thank You mayor. I have a few announcements first. I would like to give an amazing awesome Welcome to my new fall intern Madison Maxwell. I stand at Madison. Thank you. She is a junior at UK She is a political science major loop. That was my major and she is also studying Japanese She plans to go to law school. Yay again, and she is interested in practicing in patent litigation Law, so I'm very excited to have her She's already been a true asset and we're gonna do some wonderful things in the second district with her by our side So, thank you Madison for joining our team Also, I would like to remind my neighbors and my colleagues the next subcommittee meeting of the boards and commissions review subcommittee will be on September 18th at 1 30 p.m Again, I want to invite you all to come to the meeting chat with us Share your ideas here what we're working on and definitely our meetings are open to the public So public please come out and join us at the meeting next week I would also like to share for my neighbors who are 50 and over The villages model survey needs assessment is available Please either go to the website or scan a QR code We are still needing some more folks to take the survey so that when a caring place Fully brings the villages model here. We will be able to meet all the needs of our seniors and individuals with individuals with disabilities So please take time to fill out that survey as well Also, I have set the meeting for the district to district wide meeting is going to be October the 22nd, which is a Wednesday so please come out who will Determine the location share that as in our newsletter in a social media And then lastly, I would like to wish a very happy birthday to my CAO LaShawn Barber she has been celebrating all day. I could not do this job without her capable brain and hands So happy birthday, LaShawn Thank You mayor. Thank you councilmember Savigny Thank You mayor. I do Miss boys, and I have a follow-up question on the the Lex Park thing. Sorry about that I'm just kind of curious. Is it is it typical is is it typical to do a redo? I would call it like a redo We've done a review before it's not I mean, it's not common, but it's not atypical. It's not unheard of. Yeah Something could Normally, what would normally constitute that? I'm just curious. Well in some areas see there's there's enormous seasonality I would say Woodward Heights, for example There's a great deal of seasonality if you know where that sits it's near our basketball arena things things of that nature And you know, we've started and stopped before And and is it on both sides of that of those blocks or just on one side of those? I'm sorry. Is it on both sides of that block? Or is it on one floor? It's it's ten space ten spaces on both sides ten spaces on both sides. Yes It's it's a short space, but it's ten spaces on both sides. Okay, like Let me just make sure that the intelligence in the room confirms that is that I'm correct. It's both sides. Yeah, okay Anything else but there but you can ask for it for one side or the other can't you? Yes. Yes There is no restriction as to that 300 contiguous and then there's other yeah, great. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you Thank you. All right. Thank you. Does anyone else have a council report before we go on? All right. It's time for public comment for issues not on the agenda and we have Ross bogus Welcome. Hey there. My name is Ross bogus live in the third district and talking about the RPPP And how it relates to the land-use policies we have as a city since we unanimously got rid of the parking minimums, but have kept the RPPP that was most recently edited in 2014 there's a lot of misalignments between as we're trying to promote infill trying to promote Mixed uses trying to promote people being neighborly But then small districts can shut out viable businesses It's it's becoming a problem. So like like Laura said there's 51 Different districts that's about 1,200 parcels or more than 1,200 parcels. That's about more than 1,300 parking spaces as we Have this older document that governs how these are PPP's are established It really misses the mark of what we're trying to do with a new downtown master plan or more infill That makes use of our parking facilities that are already there. I live in our I live in a residential parking permit It's no fun when we have street cleaning on one day and we literally lose half of it and I'm boxed in with zone 19 Zone 21 a state road on the other side and or excuse me, Euclid is not state a road that doesn't have parking on one side and then The park of the street is it's not our PPS are not all that it's worth so some of the things I want to to mention Of it is that we have our infill and redevelopment area is established in 2000 It was there to have a combination of a flexible residential regulations facilitation incentives and education 2009 there's a new study We haven't we have that saying we need more available parking Public parking and and we don't have it with our PPP's There's ways that these studies We say that there's a service area That you give notice to when it comes to having first and second reading But then it's too late to say well, we need to add other things in we have for forest There's multifamily high residential units per acre, which is a desired use that have state frontage on Main Street, but Park on forest and I see a server that walks pretty regularly back and forth between an apartment there and forest And he doesn't know that he's about to be blocked off and he's gonna have to go against or he's gonna jaywalk across Main Street Those people are not contiguous to force but because forest selected to not include that part of the eastern part of Main Street They're excluded from it. So we really need to overhaul. I hope that it goes to committee and Can be studied by each of you all this is imperfect right now Thank you. All right at this Point I'd like to call on councilmember Brown who has a motion Thank You mayor and councilmembers you remember at the cow I think last week we ran out of time and was going to talk about Building security. So with that I move that we go into closed session pursuant to KRS-61 8 1-0 to discuss a public record or records exempted from disclosure pursuant to KRS-61 878 Based on a reasonable likelihood of threatening public safety if disclosed so moved Councilmember Curtis seconds all those in favor. Say aye Is anyone opposed? All right, we'll go to closed session