# Public Arts Commission - June 2, 2026 > Auto-transcribed civic record · Commission · June 2, 2026 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/6785 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/6785?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2026-06-02 - **Body**: Commission - **Last revised**: June 3, 2026 - **Length**: 13,991 words > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed with OpenAI's open-source Whisper large-v3-turbo model, run locally by The Lexington Times. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude. Verbatim wording may contain errors. See [methodology](https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/about/methodology) or [report a correction](mailto:editor@lexingtonky.news). --- ## Meeting Overview The Public Art Commission met on June 2, 2023, to consider a slate of public art initiatives and proposals. The meeting included three agenda items in total: an informational presentation on the Delaware Avenue Adaptive Reuse Walk, and two items brought forward for approval — the LexArts Public Art Installation Proposal and the Shropshire Asphalt Art Project. Both items requiring a vote were approved, resulting in 2 votes taken during the session. The meeting also included 1 public comment. No presiding officer, meeting time, or location is recorded in the available meeting data. ## Votes and Decisions The Commission took two votes during the June 2, 2026 meeting, both of which passed by voice vote. - **Endorsement of the LexArts Public Art Installation (Versailles Road Corridor):** The Commission voted to endorse the LexArts proposal for a public art installation along the Versailles Road corridor. The motion passed by voice vote. No individual roll call tallies were recorded. [timestamp: 58:38] - **Approval of the Shropshire Asphalt Art Project Phase Two:** The Commission voted to approve Phase Two of the Shropshire Asphalt Art Project. The motion passed by voice vote. No individual roll call tallies were recorded. [timestamp: 1:19:12] Both votes were conducted as voice votes, so no breakdown of individual ayes, nays, or abstentions is available in the record. ## Budget and Financial Actions The Commission addressed one financial item during the June 2, 2026 meeting involving a grant allocation for a public art project. - **Public Art Installation Grant – $100,000 to LexArts:** The Commission considered a $100,000 grant to LexArts to fund a public art installation along the Versailles Road corridor. No resolution number was associated with this item in the meeting record. ## Public Comment One member of the public addressed the Commission during the public comment period. [timestamp: 1:19:44] - **Tony Waivey** spoke in support of the **Shropshire Asphalt Art Project**, expressing enthusiasm about the project and highlighting its potential impact on the broader community. Waivey emphasized the involvement of local youth in the project and spoke to its cultural significance. No concerns or opposition were raised during public comment. ## Delaware Avenue Adaptive Reuse Walk [timestamp: 03:26] A presenter named Will, identified as a first-time developer, brought forward a proposal for an adaptive reuse art walk along Delaware Avenue. The concept centers on integrating public art with private development as part of a broader adaptive reuse effort in the area. The item was presented as informational, and no formal action or vote was taken by the Commission at this time. No additional speakers, concerns, or debate details are available from the meeting record. ## LexArts Public Art Installation Proposal [timestamp: 46:23] LexArts presented a proposal for a two-year public art installation along the Versailles Road corridor. Key speakers on this item were Amy and Nathan. The presentation centered on two primary goals: - **Engaging local artists** in the creation and execution of the installation - **Enhancing the corridor** in connection with the Breeders' Cup The Commission approved the proposal. *Note: Additional details regarding the specific scope of the installation, budget, artist selection process, and any concerns raised during discussion were not available in the source data for this item.* ## Shropshire Asphalt Art Project [timestamp: 1:00:58] Alice Hilton presented an update on the Shropshire Asphalt Art Project, introducing Tony Waivey as the artist selected for the project. Hilton outlined the next steps for moving the project forward. The available record does not include details on the specific content of the presentation, any concerns raised during discussion, or the terms of Waivey's selection. The item was approved by the Commission. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Endorsement of the LexArts proposal for a public art installation along the Versailles Road corridor. - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of the Shropshire Asphalt Art Project Phase Two. --- ## Full transcript Music Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Everyone, welcome to our June 2nd Public Art Commission meeting. Glad for our commissioners to be here and many folks as part of the community here too. If you all have had a chance to look and I have they're not long minutes, but I think they're reflective. Are there any additions or corrections? Anyone? Motion to approve. Motion. Motion and a second. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Thank you. All right. Should we dive into the Delaware Avenue Adaptive Reuse Art Walk? Will you take that out? You're sticking that out. Well. Where do they take it out? Will, do you want to talk to us about this? Please make a comment. Will, introduce yourself and if you will speak into the microphone, we will all be able to hear you. You can raise both. Sorry, this is my first time doing this. My name's Will Henrohan, and I'm a first time developer. And I'm the owner of 1000 Delaware LLC. And I've come here to talk about the concept that I'd like to propose for the adaptive reuse artwork on Delaware Avenue. Please. So this is my clicker. Yeah, well thank you all this morning. I appreciate you allowing me to come and speak and present my phase one application. So I guess a little bit of background is that there's a site on Delaware Avenue called 1000 Delaware. And it's a one acre site that I am, it was a former industrial site that I am building apartments. on and doing a mixed-use development. So my idea here is for, there's a few parts of the site that are owned by LFUCG, which would be the very front of the site and the rear of the site. So I would like to work with the Public Art Commission and collaborate on something that could be really interesting and really unique for this area. So a couple of things here, you know, I think this could be a really unique opportunity for kind of private development to coexist alongside publicly funded art. And the other idea here is that this could be more than, it could be different than just putting a sculpture down. It could be something that could really enhance the street. Delaware Avenue, for those of you that may not be familiar, is between, it's just off of Winchester Road, and on the other end is Henry Clay Boulevard. And what I'm really trying to do is use this piece of art to kind of help tie the corridor together. Because I do feel like there are some really great examples already on the street. and I think this could be a great place to continue that. So just kind of a slide here on why I think it fits the master plan. I believe that the approach that I've taken throughout this process but continue to will be highly collaborative with the city, with others, with neighbors, with artists, and the businesses that already exist on the street. So you'll also notice there'll be some images kind of scattered throughout this, and these are just some kind of examples of how I see some potential ways that this could go. So it's kind of at the front of the site there. That's just an example of how you could create some kind of concrete style sculpture that could also enhance the street. So I think that we haven't, when I talk about the distribution of public art, is the fact that this is in District 5. This is in a designated, this is in a census tract that is kind of, how would I describe it? It's in a qualified census tract. It's in kind of a high need census tract. So that's, I think that that is great to kind of see art funded on sites like this. So just a bit of context as to what Delaware and this area was really known for. The site directly next door to 1000 Delaware, this was the last public passenger train station in Lexington. So there's a great history of, a great rail and industrial history to this Delaware corridor. and what was known as the Netherland Yard. And that's kind of why the project that I am pursuing is called the Rail Yard over on Delaware Avenue. And it's really trying to tie into the culture and the heritage of the industrial past of Delaware Avenue. So what I am building over there is a mixed income, mixed use development. So I did work alongside the city's Office of Affordable Housing to designate 12 of those units at 80% AMI. So this will be a mixed income and a mixed use development. And Delaware already is a very interesting street. You have that kind of combination of residential and commercial already happening. So to me, it's a very fascinating street. And I think that the more we can incorporate public art into this, the better. I just want to show a few examples of some of the existing art that is already on Delaware Avenue. So you may not be able to see it that clearly, but one there is a nice cigar sculpture that was done by Gary Bibbs. And I don't know who else did all the other ones, but two is a sculpture of a paper airplane on the International Book Project. Three is some motorcycles that are kind of hanging off the side of Paradise Cycles and now Paradise Pub. And then four is kind of, as part of their adaptive reuse application, they incorporated some art there in front of Pasta Garage. So they've got some kind of sculpt gears, metal sculptures. So what I'm trying to show is that Delaware Avenue already has the beginnings of a sculpture street. And I believe that with more and with the storytelling aspect, with what I'm proposing and tying this all together, we could create something really unique and cool for Lexington. So let me just show a couple of the specific areas that I'm talking about, because that may not be, I haven't really explained that yet. So the area in yellow there is the front of, that's Delaware Avenue running from left to right there. And that is the public pedestrian and vehicle easement. So that's not on our property line. So that is technically city-owned infrastructure there. And the second part there, in blue, is the very back of the site. And that's a separate parcel. So the parcel that I'm referring to where we're building the apartments is $1,000 Avenue. And the very back there is $1,050 Avenue. And that goes closer towards the train tracks there. And that is owned by the city, and it has a storm drain running through it. So that is kind of why that exists. And we've spoke with the city already about maintaining and using that space for some kind of walking path or walking trail. So the thought there could be that there could be some art potentially there too. So when I first went down, started thinking about this, I was very focused on, oh, it could be a sculpture. But then I started kind of going more into the weeds and started learning about different opportunities to use this as not just a sculpture, but finding it as kind of something more than that. So could this be some kind of seating element? Could this be something that is educational? Could it talk about the street? Could it give some kind of historical context? Could it just help make Delaware Avenue a safer and pedestrian-friendly area? Something that early on I kind of realized, talking with some of the other businesses there, we identified the fact that there's some great potential to have walking traffic from some of the surrounding neighborhoods, such as Kenwick and Fairway. but a lot of Delaware is actually missing sidewalks. So my hope is that to kind of begin some of this process into some of these types of things, it can actually help kind of be a catalyst and kind of lead to other things. So for example, if we did something like a block party on the street, We could shut the street down. We could then kind of get people walking down that street more. We could do some kind of quick builds. We could really show that this street, I guess present the case that we should have sidewalks on that street. I have young children, and I live in Kenwick, so I would love to walk on the street more with them. But because of the lack of sidewalks, that's something that I don't do as much with them, unfortunately. But I think that would also help the surrounding businesses on the street as well, if we could do things like that. So my thought is that, again, this is just going to be something that could really help with that. So this is just a quick rendering of what the development that I'm working on will look like. And just to give you a sense that there will be, right there by the art, will be a ground floor mixed use retail. So there will be people kind of right around the front of the site engaging with that art. And just showing you that the corridor is transforming. And so this is a great opportunity to kind of do something to coincide with that. I'll just talk a little bit about some of the issues that we have with the site. It's just there isn't a lot of space up there in the front. Again, that's why I think we have to be really creative with how we go about utilizing that. There's a couple of parking spaces up front, so we need to make sure that we create something where people feel safe right around those parking spaces. There's a couple of places we've designated for planting trees, so we want to make sure that that's incorporated. We also have stormwater infrastructure that we need to coordinate this alongside. But the good thing is, with this being currently in the early phases of construction, the actual development, this is kind of a great time to be having this conversation because there's still time to incorporate anything that gets approved for this. Then, importantly, just talking about some of the engagement and support. We've engaged with some members of the Art Commission, with the District 5 Council member, with the Mayor's Office. So for phase two, if this could be kind of moved forward, then I would like to incorporate or plan to incorporate listening with the neighborhood and others. A walk down the street, collecting feedback, and getting input from neighbors and the other stakeholders. And yeah, we're kind of presenting a planning committee of folks to do this alongside. There's a couple of different directions we could go. As I mentioned, the rail history is important here. So we'd definitely like to see if we could incorporate things like steel and more kind of industrial materials and concrete. You know, there's function elements. It could be really great to explore, like seating and gathering areas that will make the edge of the street there a more desirable place to hang out. This is a brownfield site. And we also worked alongside the Division of Water Quality to get a stormwater grant. So it could be another place where we could kind of tell the story about what's happening with, we'll be capturing rainwater from one of the roofs, putting that in an above ground storage tank. So sharing some of that environmental story. And then also, again, like I mentioned, with the kind of broader landscape of Delaware Avenue already having the sculptures and the kind of momentum, kind of building upon that. Just talking about a selection plan here for artists, so putting something out there to make it a very fair and open process, to specifically kind of look for and try and attract local and regional artists to be involved with this project, and then also consider things like public art experience, the experience with community engagement on past products, and also the kind of experience with outdoor material and durable materials will be important here. I'm budgeting $75,000 for this, and that incorporates the fees, the design, the fabrication, installation, the coordination, the community engagement, and so that's kind of the all in, 75,000. And so I would plan on matching that 15,000 with 60,000 coming from the collaborative program. And just kind of to find that this is where I see the steps here, Just kind of where we're at in the process to confirm the site feasibility with the departments, which we've kind of already done a certain amount of that. But this would be kind of the next step from if we can proceed here. Begin forming the planning committee, the work on the community engagement, start searching for artists who could be involved with this. former selection committee who could review the submissions and return back to phase two with the design the budget the maintenance and implementation plan so um yeah i i think it could be something that could be a uh incredible opportunity it could be pretty i would say a pretty unique um opportunity for for lexington to do something like this and um i'm really excited about the opportunity of being able to work with the Public Art Commission on this and would be happy to answer any questions. Thanks. I wanted to explain really quick that this one's a little different and I explained to you that this would be a little different. Normally phase one people are you know they have maybe a selected artist and they're moving along. Your project is different in that it needed to come to the Art Commission because this is different. There's a small piece of public property, the rest of it being owned by you. So there were there was just a couple of small areas that public art would go, but it was an interesting concept to incorporate it into your development. And like that, that very, one of that little ribbon first one. Anyway, that's why we're having this kind of proposal to explain to everyone in the commission because this is a little bit less straightforward and it would be a little more unusual in that the piece out front would be public on public owned property if you do want to do a piece in the back that piece is more incorporated into public land but it's more of use of the neighborhood it's more of a little pocket park that would be back there so nathan from LexArts and I went and looked because honestly when when you called on the phone I couldn't quite imagine what it was you were talking about so we did stand on the property and take a look around but I thought rather than just jump into phase one everyone on the commission needed to understand the unusualness of this one and that it is um we really just have two small areas so that's why we're seeing it like this we won't necessarily have a uh the phase one the phase one vote will be different because you don't have your artist selected, but I wanted us to deliberate as a commission on the viability of doing this particular piece on your property. This is really comprehensive. Thank you. I really appreciate that. That gave us a really good picture. Thanks. Much better than the day I was standing there with noise and machinery. but um so anyway does anyone have any questions for will or yes so um speaking as somebody who's been involved with this since the formation of the urban arts county review board this is an exemplary presentation oh thank you and should be a model for for other applicants in terms of explaining what you're trying to do even without having artists selected at this point you've demonstrated a clear process it and i think it's in a perfect area of this city that needs some attention that already has a lot of private things going on that make it a very quirky place and i think adding the public art in a very formal way could i hope it wouldn't lose the quirkiness that exists there and sort of embraces the industrial aspect and and I never knew about it being netherland which I think is a great name for that area but anyhow I think this is a very good proposal thank you I really appreciate that I'd like to say to will I mean great presentation I thought this was really really good to see and speaking just from the perspective of a landscape I think this is a perfect example of private public partnership and what could be when it's done right and correctly. I do have a couple questions for you. The budget, could you maybe just go into that a little bit more, what you're thinking, you're seeking $60,000, is that correct? Yeah, well the total budget is $75,000. And so of that, based on kind of the split, But from my understanding, the 80-20 split, then that would be me bringing 15,000 as the match to that. And where I came at that was, because again, it's difficult to put a price or put a budget on something that you don't fully know exactly what it would be. But I kind of took the same model where I said that, well, my total development, the actual development that's around it, at $1,000, the rail yard, is a $7.5 million total development cost. So I thought, well, 1% of that. If we're going to kind of do 1% for the arts, then does that model make sense on my side? And I kind of shared that number with a few folks and just kind of just tested it out and spoke to some artists and landscape architects. And that just kind of worked back from there to see. So, yeah, it's kind of like I didn't break it all the way down at this stage, but I was thinking something probably like something like, you know, $20,000 or $30,000 in the materials and $10,000 in the kind of construction side of things. things and then kind of $5,000 in community engagement. So basically just start adding all those additional things up and that's then in terms of including the maintenance and the whole, that was essentially just kind of, at one point I did kind of have this, okay, if you do this, this, this, this, this, that's where we got to that. But I didn't get into that much detail here. But I think I would be coming back to the next round with all of that really fleshed out. But that was kind of essentially how I got to that number. Yeah, thanks for explaining that. The only thing I would challenge is I think that budget might be a little light for what the pictures you're showing. And this is your world as well, development, so you understand budgets and construction costs and things like that. So my only, and it's not even a hesitation, just something that I'm bringing up, would be to ensure that the funds were then obviously enough to build and construct what you would propose to do. And have some type of contingency in there that it would actually get built. I guess one thing to add is that there was already some dollars built in to what was going to be constructed already. Which would have just been those kind of asphalt or just kind of concrete parking spaces. So figuring out kind of the difference between those and fact that we already kind of have a lot of the, we've already done a lot of the civil and landscape architecture work. So I feel like there's some efficiencies that can be had because I'm trying to be extremely diligent with the funds. And I didn't want to ask for too much. But again, great example, great presentation. Thanks. Appreciate it. I have a related question to that. So I thought it was pretty light, budget-wise, based on what you were suggesting. And I was initially thinking that it was, like, together 75 plus 60. Then maybe that's not enough, in my mind. But so next time, probably we want to see more fleshed-out budget with all the details. And really think about, you know, the unknowns, right? What could it be, right? there is such thing as transactional costs that you may not think about that adds up in the future. And also, you know, asking prudently is important, but asking enough to do the project, I think, is more important. So what's realistic? What is the actual cost of getting this done properly? If that makes sense. Oh, no, absolutely, yeah. So I'm asking, like, don't ask later, like, ask more. Okay, yeah, that's one of the things I wasn't really exactly sure. I thought, I just didn't know what was appropriate. And I didn't want to kind of shock everyone asking for too much. I think it's, but if there's an appetite there and an opportunity to, you know, if it turns out, I mean, what is the process here? If it does come back. Well, see, that's the thing. It is, this is unusual in that we have some unknowns. We have some big unknowns in this one. So if the commission all agreed, and I think we're feeling very positive about saying that you should move forward with this. It was so unusual that I explained to Will that I really needed other commission members to hear the whole project. So I think if we have this positive response that your next step is to then come to us with a more specific phase one. You've done your community engagement. you've made a call for artists and that we get a more specific phase one, if everyone agrees with that. So I think today, I don't know if we should vote this or not. If we can say today that as a commission that we are saying we will support this project and that we are positive about it and feel good about the part of the land that you have that is city-owned, that would sustain a piece of art and be very meaningful for the neighborhood. That's what I was hoping to get to today. And then I feel like your next steps, which you outlined very clearly, can proceed with your next steps and come back to us with a budget and with your selections, and then it would be a more official Phase 1. And one thing just to clarify, which was I know I referred to the site in the back, And that was kind of like a, I would say like kind of a backup option if you all kind of didn't really like the site there at the front. So just to clarify, I think that it could be, this could be done in a future, it could be a future wave where if, where this, where we are right now is focusing more so just on the part at the very front of the site. And then potentially that could be in future, a future year project. We could come back and look and say, okay, this was such a great success. Now let's look at potentially activating the site in the rear, potentially. I think there's potential for both of those. I'm not saying that we couldn't do it as a joint project. I don't think any of us feel that we're negating one or to focus on the other. But my first opinion is that the front piece is your first priority. And because you have a very unknown budget situation here. You have a very, this is still very much up in the air. I feel like personally, and I want everyone to weigh in, that we should focus on one. And then in the future, focus on the other one. But there's potential there for it if, let's say, an art concept would be that they were somehow linked, then they would need to be done together. But if the art concept ends up being a freestanding piece or a ribbon or seating or any of the things that you've talked about, all of which I think are possibilities, I think the front one is the one that you should focus on first. Also, I think the backside has more of the environmental sort of issues with the storm water. Is that where the storm drain is in the back? That's a buried pipe. Yep. So it's not, it's just. It's just a collector. But I think if you were doing things more on the environmental side, there's other sources of funding like the Kentucky American Water has a foundation is very generous in terms of environmental projects, especially ones that have educational components to it. So there might be other funding sources for something like that. And I think you had mentioned to me that you wanted to create sort of a pocket park there. And I feel like some of that would be out of our purview and could potentially be a much bigger project than the public art piece. But my first instinct is to think that as a commission that we would like to, in my opinion, concentrate on the first piece out front, your more public facing art piece. But it doesn't negate you from coming back with another project. Yeah, agreed. I have a question about your timeline. Do you have some idea of when you want to complete the first part? So the entire project is currently under construction, the buildings currently being built. And we are about 12 months away from finishing everything. So I would imagine that it would probably be about nine months away from kind of installation date would be just kind of a rough assumption there. So that kind of builds time to kind of really plan this out and do the necessary steps of the engagement and all the parts of the process that we need to do. But yeah, the project is actively kind of underway, which is, but I think given that this will typically fall towards the end of the project, that's kind of where we're at. So hopefully that's good. Hopefully that helps. I've got a couple questions. Can we see some construction plans? So I'm a civil engineer. Okay. landscape architect yeah we'd love to see construction plans so if you're far enough along in construction i'm assuming you have an identified area of what we can do with this i agree the fee is probably low i don't know we'd have to discuss how we play into the the art aspect of it if our fee just goes for the artist and you're paying for materials because that's where all your costs are going to be depending on what your scope is I was going to say, as this is currently under construction, I have all the civil documents and all the stamp construction drawings I'd be happy to share with you. And this, again, it sounds like with your expertise, you'd be involved in this throughout. Yeah, we could definitely help you out a lot. We do this kind of stuff. So that's going to really define what our scope is and our scale. How much is the road frontage? Well, that's the thing. It is a very small space. How much linear feet is the road frontage? Like how much frontage do you have? I thought my landscape architect might be here today, but it's not. To answer any of those specific questions. But I can definitely provide all of that information. But it's the, I don't know, 100 feet maybe? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. This is a large area. Can we go? Oh, actually, wait. I can do this. Let me go. Okay, so here. So what I'm referring to really is just those bump outs that's shaded in yellow. Okay. Okay. And primarily, I imagine it would be the two parts that are kind of sticking out the most. Because does this have a, is this a pointer as well? That's why I was curious because I'm like, you have street parking. so there really isn't much we could do in there. No. So you're really just talking about behind the curb, in between the sidewalks. Exactly. That's why. And when I did kind of talk through this with an experienced landscape architect who has experience in these specific items, he didn't feel like my budget was way off. Okay. Well, you highlighted that whole area. I was just curious. Yeah, no, this is great. This is exactly why I'm pleased you asked to clarify this. So those costs I wouldn't be, those obviously wouldn't be things that the Public Art Commission would fund. It's purely those areas that in between the parking spaces, because the thought is if we don't do anything, if we don't do anything, they'll just be kind of as pictured in that rendering. They'll just be a tree there. I assume with your images you were showing, I thought that's what you're referring to, but thank you for clarifying. That's great. What I will say about the stormwater easement in the back, there are restrictions about what you can do in easements. Because obviously it's an easement, so basically what that means is the city has access to come in there and if they have to replace the line, if they have to do any kind of construction. That's the only issue with easements you run into, is you don't want to put, or sometimes you can't even put anything in the easement if there's a restriction on it. And that's all dependent on what LFUCG would allow you to do. And that's exactly why this kind of, I think, pursuing this path of bringing it in front of the city and bringing in all the, making sure this is coordinated alongside all the necessary folks. Because I think it's going to end up with something that's going to be really interesting. We make sure that we bring in folks in planning and folks in engineering and traffic and kind of the, I'm all about that. I'm all for that kind of collaboration. I think that's what it needs. These things shouldn't be done kind of on an island, right? That's good. I'm glad you have that perspective as a developer. That's the only- We brought up to issues all the time where we're like, I'm going to do it my way. And then it's like, well, let's figure this out first, what everybody wants. I mean, that's the only way this development's happened because of the collaboration with the city and this is an additional layer to that. Yeah, I love it. I think this is a great presentation. Will you show, also I wanted Andrew and Mo to see this, that you had a thing where, sorry, got laryngitis a little bit. You've had an image towards the front, one of your earlier images, that you illustrated to me when I was there. You're sort of setting back, you're making room for this and setting your sidewalk. Well, yeah, I guess it's kind of like this in a way. We have brought the pedestrian, again, this is stuff that like, I, my landscape architect could speak better to than I would in these specifics. But I think that this development plan does show it. Essentially, we're bringing the pedestrian right of way onto our property line, if that's the right way of saying it. Does that make sense? Well, I thought it was interesting that you're moving that back and making room for this in the front. Exactly. Exactly, yeah, so we want to kind of draw people in closer towards the front of the commercial, which, for example, could be something like a coffee shop style business, and kind of really make this, again, I think, a very public-oriented kind of a great place to be. So this kind of just adds to that in that way. Hannah, do you have a question? No, I just, I really am excited about this as an opportunity. And I think, I wasn't going to ask it because I know you're going to come back with a more fleshed out budget. But I didn't notice artist compensation, which I guess would be mostly what the commission funds would go to. So, no, I think it's great. So I guess my question, thank you. So are we saying that I should go and see if I can make it work with the 75,000? Are you saying, hey, if we think you actually might need a bit more, you're open to exploring the idea of coming back asking for more? I think you have a good budget, but there is some concern about it's not being quite enough. So I think you need to proceed with talking with artists is really going to help you. I think that's going to be very instructional as to some of the concepts that you end up learning about. Because some of those concepts could be simple and impactful, and some of those could be very complex, and the money would be more. I don't think we can answer that today. So I think you have a good starting point. And I think if we all agree that we would like Will to move forward with your engagement piece and your RFQ and move forward with this project. And when it comes to us, and I'll give you one of these, when it comes to us as a phase one, there are some specifics that need to be answered at that point. And then we can do a more accurate vote. Okay, but with an approval today, that would allow me to start essentially like, we can kind of go down the path assuming that this is going to happen. Yes. So I can kind of start spending money knowing that this will most likely happen, right? Is that true? Will, just to clarify, again, our perspective is we're supportive of this. I don't want you to think this is a no, it's not a no in any way. say let's make sure we've got everything you know flushed out before you come back and we see that and typically we might see a bid right you might you might solicit a couple bids for materials and actually what this might cost but for example let's say this comes back and you get a bid and it's two hundred thousand dollars right um had we approved today at 60 and then you determined that that would be too much for you to take on this may not have been built right so we just want to make sure the funding that we're going to approve to put in place would be enough to go toward this Does that make sense? Yeah. And I guess just to clarify from my end too, even despite that this project has, have worked alongside the affordable housing and obtained some stormwater funding and infrastructure funds. Even despite all of that, it's still extremely difficult to make this development work. And I essentially haven't paid myself in the two years that I've been working on this. So I am definitely looking for, these things wouldn't happen without funding from the, I guess what to say is there isn't additional money laying around that would go towards an art project as much as it should. Which I think is why it's a great opportunity to partner with the Public Arts Commission to make these things happen. I think given your current budget, which is, we've determined is maybe low but adequate, we're not going to leave you high and dry, so we are saying that we like the project very much. So I think you should feel comfortable moving forward. And this is just a formality of the funding, but I think as a commission we are saying please go forward. Right. So you do have approval to go that far, so don't be worried about that. All right, appreciate it, thanks. My pleasure. Great presentation. Great information. Thank you. Okay. We do have, like, so we're going to see people here to talk about Breeders' Go. All right. Let me just explain that Faith, our administrative assistant, who is wonderful and fantastic, is no longer with us. She took a wonderful job at Vanderbilt University. So this agenda did not get completely fleshed out today because we have added some things. So I think given that we don't have you guys on there, but you are welcome to come talk to us now. From LexArts, you all have some presentation, correct? Sorry it didn't get on there. It's all fine. We're all here. Hello, thank you. Amy Sweetall, I'm the president and CEO at LexArts. and Celeste and Nathan Zamoron, our vice president, and I have met recently to talk about a project that we're hoping to undertake in a pretty short time frame, which is an outdoor sculpture installation connected to Breeders' Cup, the Breeders' Cup activity that's coming to Lexington at the end of October. This is something that LexArts engaged in before when Breeders' Cup was here. A really interesting way to, an artsy way to welcome visitors as well as our own community to Keeneland and to Breeders' Cup in this very artistic way. So the proposal is the creation of a two-year public art installation along the Versailles Road corridor, basically between downtown and Keeneland. The initiative follows kind of a path that we have done on several projects, which is an open call for art and artists and proposals for designs. a curated selection which could include this body as well as LexArts or any community members that we would want to be on that selection committee. And then a placement of 10 sculptures to be selected and then placed along that corridor. We want to build in a community engagement where there is interaction with the artists and a voting mechanism that will yield a People's Choice Award. In the People's Choice Award, in the outcome of the People's Choice Award, that piece will be a permanent addition to the City of Lexington in your artwork inventory on public space. Our goal, of course, is to highlight our local or Kentucky artists with an outdoor sculpture exhibit in advance of Breeders' Cup, but then, of course, lasting for two years as part of the installation. I don't think I need to tell this board, this commission, that these art installations really provide a visually compelling and accessible public art environment. Supports our local sculptors, our local artists in initiatives for paid opportunities. Obviously tourism is a big part of Breeders' Cup, but also a big part of Lexington as a whole, and our art scene can add to that. And of course, it encourages economic activity in those surrounding areas with people coming to those areas for those pieces. The art installation would be a selection of 10 sculptures. We've actually put in the budget for it to be a two-year installation, so it's not sort of an up and down just for Breeders' Cup. They would actually stay in that space. So you're looking at a lease opportunity from the artist as opposed to a purchased opportunity. I talked about site selection. And the pieces that aren't, the other nine pieces that aren't chosen for the People's Choice Award would also have the opportunity to sell for those artists. LexArts would manage that process of selling those pieces. In the past, when we've done these types of installations, several pieces have sold. So it's been a great opportunity for the artists in that way to sell those pieces. We would encourage public interaction during the Breeders' Cup Festival. LexArts is working with the Breeders' Cup Festival on some other projects and opportunities, including performing and visual art activities during the festival downtown. down so we're working really closely with them to really bring arts and culture into the Breeders' Cup Festival as much as possible. The purchase award for the People's Choice would be $15,000 to that artist and that would be 100% keep for the artist. LexArts would not do a commission basis on that with the 30%. So the funding that we're looking at now is for the public arts, we're making a proposal or request to the Public Art Commission for $100,000. Basically that covers $85,000 is the two-year installation costs, and then the $15,000 is the purchase award that we would give the People's Choice Award winner. That breaks down into $5,000 per artist as a stipend, as basically the lease agreement for that two-year project, $5,000 each. And then, of course, all the other concrete pedestals, materials, supplies, a crane. Often these pieces are significant, requires a crane to make installation. LexArts will handle the marketing and the insurance on this piece, on this installation. So that includes some of those costs with a fee to LexArts for $10,000 to manage the whole project. And then the purchase award of $15,000. I've got a project timeline here. I know it feels like Breeders' Cup is tomorrow in my head. And so, you know, basically this month we'd like to secure our financial commitments, establish a memo of understanding, get the call for artists posted immediately. We've already started the process of selecting the sites. The good news is we've done this before, so we know what sites are good, but we have even better sites now with the introduction of the Marksbury Library and different things along that corridor that I think we can really utilize for great spaces for these installations. And then we would secure, you know, over the next July, August time frame, get all of our site agreements, Department of Transportation permissions, all of those sorts of things. We would have all of that done. The call for artists, the deadline would be July 30th. In August, we would select those pieces and provide notification to the artists. And in September we would get the pedestals placed as well as all of the art installed. And in October would be the beginning of the community engagement and voting to run through Breeders' Cup. That's a lot. Shayla. There was no additional funding for that, right? Right. Please. Very kind. I'll have it make the comment since I've been working on this too. And I'm really grateful that Nathan came to present to the Corridors Commission. Because I know that the Corridors Commission was a partner in this project in the past. Unfortunately, the Corridors Commission does not have any additional money to give towards this project. But we're going to have some operating and maintenance funds that we're going to put towards reducing some of the corridors in anticipation of Breeders' Cup. And so Director Carey is going to let me know which corridors will get the extra maintenance before Breeders' Cup. So that may be, when I get the information, I'll pass it on so that will help inform this part of the project, the arts part of the project. Perfect, thank you. Amy, can you just clarify? You all are asking for $100,000 total for the project. Is that what we'd say? I know we and I thought about it. I think that's what, right. 85 plus the 15. Okay. 85 for the installation and 15 for the people's choice is what I got. Say again, I'm sorry. 85,000 for the installation costs and 15,000 for the so-called people's choice award, quote unquote. And 85,000 of course is a whole lot of different costs, right? Yeah, yeah. Well, it's very bit sundry, yes. Okay, again, We find ourselves with an odd one, which isn't necessarily going to fit our phase one. So this would be more of just a vote, approve or no. What is the quorum? Do we have a quorum? Say it again. Sorry. The quorum today? I believe so. One, two, three. Oh, okay. Yeah. You scared me, Andrew. Sorry. I stopped at that. Wait a minute. Okay. So, yes, we're empowered to act. Okay. And we just need a simple motion, and then we'll take a discussion and a vote. To be clear, we've been discussing this for a while, right? So it's not a new project. And also, the budget you're talking about, would that offset some of this or not? It's a completely different source of funding that's going to cover different things. The corridor commission? Yeah, it's a totally, it's the corridor commission's budget. they have money we have money already set aside to do maintenance on the major corridors in the city so we would pay some special attention to some of the major ones in anticipation of breeders cups so that would be quarters commission money which would be separate okay wouldn't that there would be any overlap though there's very little overlap because it's it's the land and then the art and so yeah so their money will cover the maintenance of the you know mowing and you know like she said, zhuzhing, which I love that. And then our funding would, as she outlined, just to preview, I mean, just to review really quick, is the art, the purchase of a piece of art and the concrete, the slabs, the installation, and the work like that. And I do see where it would make sense to maybe meet with the folks that are doing the zhuzhing so that we can kind of coordinate, Okay, if this is a spot, let's make sure it's prepared and ready to go, those sorts of things. Well, Nathan had identified a few spots that are near the airport and the Marksbury Library, as you mentioned. And there's some places that seem to be perfect. So I just want to make sure everyone's clear too, this is a two year lease on the art. So the art would go away after that, except for the one piece that was selected that would be purchased as part of this price. And past presidents has told us that the places where the art is have ended up purchasing it to stay on the, if you know going out Versailles Road, the blue cats are in the Hope Center lawn there, and that was purchased by them to keep that in that space. So, you know, some of them could potentially become permanent, But we would have that opportunity for folks to do that. So Amy, in advance, all the artists know that their piece may be selected and purchased for the 15,000. Yes. So that would not be a surprise. No, we would have that made clear that that's a 15,000. We had talked about maybe 20 or 25,000. which would, I'm sure, make an artist even more happy, which would mean bumping this request up to 115 or 110 or something like that, which we could consider. But $15,000 is not a bad price for a major piece. Yes, yes, they would have full knowledge of that. So do we have a motion to endorse this generally then? I motion. And a second? I second. Any discussion? I have one question. Yes, ma'am. Just to make sure I have the numbers right, total $100,000, 85,000 will go to the tier installation, 15,000 to the People's Choice winner. And then you mentioned in your presentation, 10,000 for project management by LexArts. Is that 10,000 in the 85,000 or is that additional? Yes. I'll give you just a quick, and I can even hand you this piece of paper if that's easier. Artist stipend is $10,000 times $5,000, so $50,000 for the artist, the stipends. The concrete pedestals, materials, supplies, $10,000. A crane for two days to operate is about $5,000. That may be something, corridors. If there was a crane day, I don't know. But, you know, crane for two days is $2,500. Marketing, $5,000. Insurance, we'll want to make sure that we get the word out for people's choice in those things. Insurance, we have to make sure that we have those pieces covered in our insurance at $5,000. Our project management is $10,000, but that $10,000 covers the call for art. We have a program where we put that out on a paid platform to get the word out for Call for Art. The artist contracts, making the payments, all of those sorts of things. The site selection, the agreements, the permits, the construction management, the community engagement, and all of the breakdown of the exhibit. And then the purchase award is 15. All the things I just said equal 85. Thank you. That's what I needed. Sure. Are we at the point where we're going to endorse? All those in favor? Aye. Opposed, like signed. Congratulations. It's amazing. Thank you all so much. Yeah, thanks. Do you have anything else up your sleeve, ma'am? Peace folks here. Okay. Okay. So next we have a presentation for you guys. Asphalt Art? Come on up. Did your images get in? This is the asphalt art project that we're hearing for the second time. This is an update. Okay, let me just make sure. Okay, great. Oh no. It's all good. There we go. Do you know why that's happening? I mean, it's just, okay, great. So, hi, hello. My name is Alice Hilton. I'm a member of Living Streets Lexington. Can you hear me? Okay, great. And I'm here to present an update on the Shropshire Avenue asphalt art project so we were last here in February and thanks for giving me the time to come and let you know what's happened since then. So again just a quick, I know that we've gone over this before so I'll be brief, but just a very quick overview. Living Shoots Lexington, we have been in conversation with city staff and council members for I think two years now about how to bring asphalt art to Lexington. This is something that's happening in many other cities across the country. Hopefully this will be the first of many such projects here in Lexington. So this is just a kind of graphic photo and a quote that really illustrates why we think this is important in every city and definitely Lexington is no exception. There's a lot of overbuilt roads and a lot of excessive asphalt that can be beautified and activated and made to feel more welcoming, more inclusive, and also safer for pedestrians and for anyone outside of a car, as well as making roadways safer for drivers as well. And so our proposal originally was to do some asphalt art in some kind of select areas along Shropshire. The last time, when we were here in January, Andrew pointed out that there are some pre-existing areas on Lewis Street that there's really no reason to not go ahead and paint them as well. And that definitely made this a stronger and more impactful project. So, yeah, very, very grateful for that. So, it ends up being about 4,000 square feet and eight painted areas. If you have been out along this area of Shropshire Ave, you'll notice that the striping is already down for the chicane area at the intersection of Midland and also those two bump outs, Goodloe and Shropshire. We are now on the other side of the artist selection process, which was so hard. I don't know how people do it. I hope to never do it again. But essentially we had an RFQ that was open through April 3rd. We shared it pretty strategically through Mark Johnson with Art Inc. And then Christian Adair with the Lyric and then Laurie Houlihan with the Loudon House. Because we wanted to be sure that the artists who came and submitted proposals or qualifications had some connection to the area. And so for the RFQs, we ended up with 13 submissions. We narrowed that down to five artists who we then invited to submit full proposals. And last week, from those five, and they were all, I know it was five really compelling proposals, it was difficult. But last week, we narrowed that down to one artist. We had a selection committee that was made up of Living Streets Lexington members, city staff and then also Easton community representatives. And so I'm really delighted to say that Tony Wavey, who is here in the audience. Tony Wavey is the artist who finally was selected. Tony is a multidisciplinary artist who, in addition to being a very talented visual artist, is also a musician and a poet and a storyteller. And there were a few proposals that included music. And I think that that connection to music and Tony being someone who is kind of a musician through and through and can sort of tell that story visually ended up being a really compelling aspect of his proposal. So we're very excited. we did give priority to artists that had some kind of connection to the east end and so tony has already been doing work with some youth workshops and youth programming in the area and has done some some really good relationship building and sort of community engaged work already and it really came through in his application that he he cares deeply about this area This is just a sampling of some of his past work. So he definitely has demonstrated ability to do a large scale piece of public artwork like this. And did a really gorgeous public utility wrap that's in the Tates Creek area, which I imagine you've seen it. But if you haven't, I recommend checking it out. among other kind of large-scale pieces of work like this. And so Tony's proposal is called Rhythm and Bloom and has this sort of music connection while also bringing in a cone flower, the city flower of Lexington, for elements of both rootedness and growth. And we put the artists in kind of a tricky spot because we asked them, We asked just for a proposal for this section of Lewis Street, and we're looking more for kind of a high-level concept and style, and also we're asking the artists to hold this very loosely and be prepared to change it in response to community conversation and community feedback. But I think that it's beautiful as is, and also know that it will change. the budget has not has shifted a tiny bit this is tony's proposed budget which is very similar to what we presented back in february we did we had one question about a sort of a two thousand dollar element but i chatted with celeste before this and it seems like it's all getting worked out so i don't i don't want to take too much time and talk through that now but if there's a question about it we can come back to it And there should be another. There we go. So the next steps from our perspective are to execute the contract and then we, Lemmingshoots Lexington, will develop an MOU with Tony, figuring out how we can support him in the community engagement process. And then we'll finalize the timeline and the installation date and we'll come back with the final design proposal before anything is installed just to make sure that we all feel good about it. Yeah, so now that is it for me. I'd be happy to take any questions. And then also I was hoping after questions, if I could give Tony just a moment to introduce himself. Can you go back to the map, please? You were there. No, no, not that much. Well, this is what the proposal is as illustrated there. This is highlighting the areas that will have artwork put in them. And go forward to the next illustration that shows the lanes differently there, like that one. Yes, so this is on Lewis Street and is just one kind of subsection. We didn't want to ask the artists to do a full design proposal for the whole area because we knew that it was going to change in response to, or we knew there was a chance that it would change as they started doing community engagement. So does this change the roadway then? No, this is all, so this is on Lewis Street where there's a fair amount of parking and all of this is already, I guess I should have included something with how the road looks currently. All of that is in yellow with like diagonal lines. Yeah, so this doesn't change the roadway configuration at all. The roadway configuration does change slightly on Shropshire, but that was done by Traffic Engineering. They created a, I can't think of the official term, but they came up with the line work for that. All right. All right. Thank you. Are we, remind me of where we are, because I am realizing we don't have a phase two score sheet. I'm really missing faith. This is terrible. We don't have a phase two. This is what you're proposing now. We did our phase one and you are ready for phase two approval and funding, correct? correct yes yeah and and our hope is to execute the contract by june 12th oh okay wow okay um yeah i mean it's you know we if we want to get this done um and it needs to be done while the weather is is warm-ish okay and we want to have a healthy amount of time for community engagement and definitely don't want to ask tony to start doing that without being under contract so So I'm trying to think of what else is different on the Phase 2. So here's a couple of things. I can run, make some Phase 2 papers really quick. Or we can ask you to step out, and we will deliberate, and then we can do score sheets via email. Does that sound good? That explains everything, yes. So we need to deliberate as a commission. so if you get and you guys can go yes yeah you guys can go i think i'm going to close session if you like sure i think it's in order yes i move that we go into closed session so we maybe uh discuss the proposal yeah all right so if you guys will just wait outside for a minute i'll come get you thank you second it over here well thank you very much you can also yeah thank you will oh Thank you. The request. So moved. And a second. A second. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Congratulations. Congratulations, you guys. Thank you for hanging in with us. Thank you so much. Yes. Go ahead, Tony. Sure, yeah, Tony, take it away. Hello, everyone. Yeah, I feel very excited about this project. I feel very strongly about the concept, rhythm and bringing this community peace to the community and being something that everybody on the East End can be proud of. It's a space that I work frequently with, from working with One Lexington, OMAC, even we had an East End Easter event. They talked about doing a big event to commemorate it and even bring individuals in the community to the space to not only help work on it, they're putting parts of themselves into this piece. And this is something that people from down the line can look at and see that we were a part of this and this means something to us. And I feel very confident that we can execute this even in time for East End Day. And establishing something that a lot of these young people, I spend a lot of time over there going to the park with even my kids and just seeing all the new updates that's been happening at the park and being able to add some additional pieces that will make this feel like home. And I included those blues and oranges, and that light blue to feel calming, because I know that was one of the incentives to calm traffic, right? But then not only calm traffic, it's going to be meaningful for past, present, and future. And the flowers, they speak to the growth. The colors speak to the calming nature. But then the orange is like that eccentric, creative energy that we want to bring to the space. So I'm very excited. I'm very hopeful to what this is going to do. And yeah, even for the young people, I'm very passionate about the youth. And for them to see not only an artist, but a black artist come to the space, that somebody that looks like them, that they're there all the time doing this, and they being a part of it is going to be something that's very impactful to Lexington. And just in the initiative of Living Streets Lexington, I hope to see more art like this around town because it's only going to beautify and, you know, it's good for the economy. It's good for the morale. So, yeah, I don't know what else you want. Got anything else for me to say? But, yeah, I'm excited about the project, and thank you guys for the approvals. And shout out to all my people over there. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. One last parting remark, we have to reschedule our Gainesway Park get together because of torrential rain. So I just want to let you know I'm going to send out an email hopefully today and we'll get that. Because the MLK project, I mean, I'm sorry, the Gainesway project, we are ready to move forward with that too. So if you're on that committee, expect an email. And then at the next meeting, I also have an update. I mean, we're running super long, but I have an update on the ML Cray underpass. So, all right. Thanks, guys. All right. We're caught up. Motion to adjourn is always in order. So moved. Second. All those in favor? Thank you. Excellent meeting. Thank you all very much. Appreciate your time. We finally have an audience. Thank you. And it serves a hundred ships a day. Lonely sailors pass the time away and talk about their homes. And there's a girl in this harbor town. And she works laying whiskey down. They say brandy, fetch another round. She serves them whiskey and wine. They'll say, they'll say, Brandy, you're a fine girl. What a good wife you would be. Such a fine guy. Yeah, your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea. Brandy wears a braided chain made of finest silver from the north of Spain. A locket that bears the name of a man that Brandy loved. He came on a summer's day, bringing gifts from far away. But he made it clear he couldn't stay. No horror was his hope. They say, listen, Brandy, you're a fine girl. What a good wife you would be. But my life, my lover, my lady is the same. Yeah, Brenda, he used to watch his eyes when he told his sailor's story. She could feel the ocean falling rise. She saw this raging glory. But he has always told the truth Lord, he was an honest man And Brandy does her best to understand The night when the bars close down Brandy walks through a silent town And loves a man who's not around She still can't hear him say She hears him say, Brandy You're a fine girl What a good wife you would be Such a fine girl But my life, my love and my lady Is the same You're a fine girl Brandy You're a fine girl What a good wife you would be Such a fine girl Thank you. So you're dancing out the ocean Running fast along the sand Spirit born of earth and water Fire flying from your head In the instant that you love someone When the second that the hammer hits Reality runs out of your spine And the pieces finally fade And all I ever needed was the one Like freedom feels while the horses run When stars collide like you and I Those shadows block the sun You're all I've ever needed Baby, you're the one There are caravans we follow Drunk nights and dark hotels When chances breathe between the silence Where sex and love no longer gills For each man in his time has came Until he walks along the beach and sees his future. We'll be right back. of Smithtown, both those that currently live here, that used to live here in the past, but then those that are connected to Smithtown. And our main goal today is to take steps towards preserving the history and the culture of Smithtown through many different efforts. One, through policy. Two, through making sure that we can try to bring some type of capital investment that actually preserves the history and culture of Smithtown. But then three, trying to make sure that we get input towards what resources are needed so that folks can live comfortably in the homes and in the places that they live here in Smithtown. So multi-function solutions we're looking to do here at Smithtown. But at the end of the day, we're looking to preserve the history and culture of Smithtown. And the first step, what we want to do is listen to neighbors here in Smithtown and those that have been connected to Smithtown. So this all started first, you know, actually in February 2025, where I initiated the legislative item, anti-displacement and vulnerable neighborhood preservation. And that item was initiated because we've seen a lot of our vulnerable neighborhoods here in the city of Lexington are facing pressures of growth. So we wanted to dive into the issue of how we can preserve the history and culture of some of our neighborhoods, but then also how we can make sure that we can address that challenge of displacement, making sure that folks have resources to live comfortably where they are. In that process, my office worked with Council Member James Brown's office and the Office of Planning, And we dive into the to the challenge and we realize that a lot of the tools in the toolbox to combat gentrification, to combat displacement and just to combat trying to preserve, you know, different neighborhoods just don't work for some of our undervalued neighborhoods. So we wanted to come up with a solution. So we started at square one and that's listening to the community, listen to the neighbors, listen to what do you want to preserve? What is important? What is historic about this neighborhood? All the great things. And then I'm trying to get that input and then putting that into action, whether that be through capital investments, whether that be through expanding resources, or whether that be through creating policy so that we know in the future, if growth comes, when growth comes, those developers have access to community input, have access to information and context of how this neighborhood, how these neighbors want to grow in the future. So, yeah, today we're having a community event here in the Smithtown neighborhood. and it's part of the Neighborhood Voices Project that the Division of Planning alongside the offices of council members Morton and Brown are working on to basically uplift the history of neighborhoods and do a little bit of proactive community engagement in neighborhoods, especially those that are experiencing development pressure. So the outreach and strategic planning section of the Division of Planning is the newest section And so we've only been around for a little over a year. And this is exactly the type of work that we want to be doing, is like meeting people where they're at, out in the community, talking to people, trying to get as many people as possible engaged in the planning process because we really believe that, you know, the planning process works best when, you know, folks have a voice and, you know, just really trying to engage as many people as possible. So that's why we're out here in Smithtown today. I think today's event is kind of follow through on the work that we did with neighborhoods in transition, the mayor's commission on racial justice and equality, the subcommittee on housing and gentrification. When you're talking about neighborhoods that are vulnerable and are seeing a lot of change, it's good to hear from the folks that have historically lived in the neighborhood, have a tie to the neighborhood and have grown up in the neighborhood to tell us what the neighborhood used to be, the history, share some of that insight, but then also talk about what the neighborhood could be going forward for the future and how it can adjust and absorb some of the change that's happening. So I can see this being a model that's going to go throughout the city and being something that we can do in other neighborhoods to empower the neighborhoods to tell the city developers or whoever else coming into the neighborhood on what their neighborhood used to be, what it is, the history, and what it could be for the future. I'll just give a shout out to Councilmember Morton on the back for this initiative. and then also the planning department. Our planning department came to the table with him and myself and actually brainstormed and worked together to create this initiative. So I just want to give him some credit for this and give our planning department a lot of credit for this. Hey y'all, it's your Vice Mayor Dan Wu and today we're here at the Keeneland Library with Library Director Rhoda Ferraro, and we are checking out this great new exhibit called RAICES, Latino Legacies in Racing. So, Rhoda, what is this exhibit? Yes, so RAICES is an amalgam of years worth of work to showcase the lives and contributions of more than 100 men and women from across the Americas working at every level of the sport. And RAICES means roots. It does. And we worked hard to assemble an advisory panel of folks from six different countries. And they were weighing in heavily at every part of the decision-making process, including the title of the exhibit. And there were so many potential titles on the table. But in the end, people kept coming back to RAICES, that concept of roots, not only like those individual and collective identities and legacies, but, you know, just the impacts, you know, over time and the fact that there's like this huge foundational historic context to all of this. And it's perfect that it looks like the English word for races. It does. It does. Yeah. And this is obviously not a new phenomenon. Latinos have been an integral part of racing from day one. Tell me about just the historical span of this exhibit. Yes, you are right. We don't have exact numbers, but safe estimates would put us today at about 70% of the horse industry workforce is driven by Latino talent and work. And this is across the span of all different occupations, right? It is, across the span of all different occupations. And you'll see that here in the exhibit. So our stories start in the 1800s and they work toward the present. And the beautiful part about this exhibit, I think, is it speaks to larger industry trends and that folks who work in the horse industry, you do see this multigenerational kind of, you know, phenomenon that's taking place. And I can't speak to why that is. It's because you had that exposure early on. and we have folks on the advisory panel would say that it's a deep commitment to uphold the family's legacy when we are in this cultural context as well. So there's a host of factors as to why you see this multi-generational kind of ties. But as you work through the stories, you might be reading about somebody who's active in the industry today or was active in the industry 10 years ago, but they're third or fourth generation horsemen or horsewomen. So some of the stories are just a progression of that family's work in the industry over time too. So yeah, we're starting in the 1800s and we bring it to the present. And truly, that's why the word legacy is in that title as well. Tell me about what it takes to bring a show like this here. Yes, it took quite a bit of time and effort. There was just so many moving pieces that needed to kind of fall into place before I felt like we finally could say yes and do this the way that it needed to be done. with the insight and perspectives that it needed, and we finally got there. And that was in large part to a 250-LEX cultural grant that gave us that boost and funding to bring these international experts onto our panel and as contributors. It was also thanks to a private sponsor as well, Susan Naylor, and the Caneland Association backed my time on it. So that external support is what drove my being able to bring in these historians and writers and translators. So it's pretty special. Lots of time, lots of work, lots of partnerships. Who would you say this exhibit is for? I think this exhibit is for everyone. And this is our first bilingual exhibit. So when you come into this space right now, what you'll see will be interpretive panels. You'll see display cases. You'll see a lot of photographs, and the text will be printed in English, and you listen in Spanish. The exhibit also has an exhibit companion book that was released with text in English, and you can listen in Spanish. We're working right now on translating that companion book into Spanish, so you'll be reading it in Spanish with that capacity to listen in Spanish for that heightened access. But in terms of age groups, it's also for everyone. Well, not only do we have stories and words and photographs, we also have some trophies and artifacts. So let's go take a look. Yes. All right. So we have a trophy case here, some great trophies. And you've got a great story about Ramon Dominguez, right? Yes. So Ramon Dominguez is a perfect example of those multi-general ties that we spoke about earlier. From Venezuela, was born into a family kind of steeped in the horse industry at various levels. So Ramon wins back-to-back Eclipse Awards for the Outstanding Jockey in the 2010, 11, and 12. This photo of him behind us is a photo taken at Keeneland. But what I want to share about Ramon is, one, Ramon was on the advisory panel for this exhibit. In addition to being a superstar athlete, Ramon is an incredibly generous person. and Ramon had a spill at the height of his career that was career-ending. And he came back and is this incredible voice, an advocate for jockey safety. You'll sometimes see him on air as an analyst and broadcast in both English and Spanish. He spends a lot of time advocating for for jockeys. And he also is an inventor. So I think the most incredible story about Ramon is is that just that that perseverance and that that that the steady presence of sharing generosity. And that's at every level. And, yeah, last year he he won one of the last man standing ultra marathon. Wow. Yeah. So I think that speaks to that grit and that perseverance, too. So this isn't just history. This is living history. It is. Absolutely. Yeah. So how can folks see this exhibit? So you can come to the library Monday through Friday, 830 to 430. It's freely available to folks, and you can just take it in on your own. And then how can folks engage more with the Keeneland Library generally? Yes. So I would encourage folks to start with our website, which is kingland.com slash library. But know that what you're seeing on our website is really just a fraction of what we do. So if folks are looking to research anything that touches on the horse industry, I mean, it can be several degrees of separation removed from it. We get 10,000 of those requests a year. So don't ever feel like, is this a question that they could potentially help me with? Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but we will always look. So regardless of what it is that you need for information or even for image assets, reach out to us. We are the world's largest repository of information and images that cover this industry, not just here in the bluegrass, but internationally as well. How long will this exhibit be up? We are going to have this exhibit up through early November. So we're going to have a big international audience visiting us here in Lexington for Breeders' Cup. in late October. So we'll have this great fortune of kind of timing this to coincide with that. So we're already planning Breeders' Cup specific tours. I'm really looking forward to that. All right, let's go learn about some of these people. Yes. All right, Rhoda, this looks like a shot from a movie. Tell me about this photo. I do love it. And I think the same thing. Like this, this couldn't have been a candid moment. This feels like a movie poster. So back to one of those core themes of overtime. This shot was taken in July of 1969. What we see here, and I love the activity of the shot, you still see those rotors, the movement of the rotors, you know, on that helicopter. These jockeys would have just left racing in New York. They were landing at a track in New Jersey to ride in the afternoon, same day. We have Eddie Belmonte, we have Braulio Baeza, we have Jacinto Vasquez, and we have Angel Cordero Jr. Greats. And the fact that they're all together just like this, as if this was the most normal routine thing to be doing for four people to pack into a helicopter and ride from New York to New Jersey. But it was absolutely the norm for their life. But I do think it speaks to that degree of dominance and how far back in history, you know, we see examples of that. So Rhoda, tell me about Myrna. Yes. So Myrna is a groom. She works for the Brazilian trainer, Paulo Lobo. Myrna is from Guatemala. Much of her family is still in Guatemala. Her daughter is here. And what I love about Mia is, one, I mean, her personality, her attitude, her approach is always just so positive and upbeat. Her degree of commitment to the care, 24-7 care and management of horses is just amazing. And it's just great to be down in that barn because you're hearing all these languages spoken every day. So you'll have Spanish, you'll have some Portuguese in the mix, you have some English. So it's just a Palo Lobo stable is tremendous and his crew including Mirna are equally so. So we're fortunate to have thousands of people who are committing their lives to the welfare and the care of these horses every day. Mirna is one of them. So not only do we have a lot of historical information, historical photographs. We also have modern day photographs taken by local photographers. Yes, so do check these out. This is another example of partnering with community organizations. So the kiosk that you see here with these amazing shots that were taken on Caneland's backside when I spent some mornings with these artists and walked them around the grounds and they were able to capture these amazing moments that really on any given morning you would arrive and you would find equally amazing moments. But to see as an artist, you know, the way that it played out and what they captured in the photo is amazing. So yes, we're very pleased to partner with this local artist project and showcase some of their work here as part of our exhibit as well. Well, Rhoda, thank you so much for showing me around today. Riesis, the Making of Latino Legacies in Racing will be up at the Keeneland Library through November. Hey, have you ever tried Really reaching out for the other side I may be climbing on rainbows But baby, here goes Dreams there for those who sleep Life is for us to keep And if you're wondering what this song is leading to I want to make it with you I really think that we could make it good No, you don't know me well And every little thing only time will tell You believe the things that I do And we'll see it through Life can be short or long Love can be right or wrong And if I chose the one I'd like to help me through I'd like to make it with you I really think that we could make it good Baby, you know that dreams They're for those who sleep Life it's for us to keep And if I chose the one I'd like to help me through I'd like to make it with you I really think that we could make it good I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told. I have squalid my resistance for a pocket full of mumbles, such are promises. All lies and jest Still the man hears What he wants to hear And disregards the rest When I left my home And my family I was no more than a boy In the company of strangers In the quiet of the railway station Let it be scared Laying low Seeking out the poor quarters Where the ragged people go Looking for the places Only they would know La la la La la la la la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la la la Asking only workmen's wages I've come looking for a job But I get no offers Just to come home from the woods On 7th Avenue I do declare There were times when I was so lonesome I took some company there La la la la la la la la Thank you. And I'm laying out my winter clothes And wishing I was gone Go home Where the New York City winters Are bleeding me Bleeding me Go home Thank you. Thank you. Bye.