# Council Work Session - June 2, 2026 > Auto-transcribed civic record · Council · June 2, 2026 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/6788 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/6788?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2026-06-02 - **Body**: Council - **Last revised**: June 3, 2026 - **Length**: 10,518 words - **Speakers**: Mayor > ⚠️ **Auto-generated content.** Audio from the official Granicus video was auto-transcribed with OpenAI's open-source Whisper large-v3-turbo model, run locally by The Lexington Times. Structured facts were extracted with GPT-4o; the narrative summary was written by Anthropic Claude. Verbatim wording may contain errors. See [methodology](https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/about/methodology) or [report a correction](mailto:editor@lexingtonky.news). --- ## Meeting Overview The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council convened on June 2, 2026, at 3:00 PM in the Council Chamber in Lexington, KY, with Mayor Linda Gorton presiding. The meeting covered 8 agenda items spanning a range of municipal business, including budget amendments, new business, mayoral appointments, donations, procurements, and civic assembly recommendations. The council heard 5 public comments on agenda items and conducted 8 motions and votes over the course of the session. With the exception of the opening public comment period, which was informational, all agenda items were approved by the council. ## Attendance The Council meeting on June 2, 2026 was attended by 15 of the 16 council members. **Present:** - Mayor Linda Gorton - Vice Mayor Wu - Council Member Brown - Council Member Ellinger II - Council Member Morton - Council Member Lynch - Council Member Eblen - Council Member Curtis - Council Member Sheehan - Council Member Higgins-Hord - Council Member Hale - Council Member Beasley - Council Member Sevigny - Council Member Reynolds - Council Member Boone **Absent:** - Council Member Baxter No members were recorded as late. ## Votes and Decisions The council took action on eight items during the June 2, 2026 meeting. All items passed; seven were decided by voice vote and one by roll call. - **Docket Approval** – Council Member Ellinger moved and Council Member Curtis seconded approval of the docket for the June 4, 2026 council meeting. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 19:32] - **May 26, 2026 Work Session Motions** – Council Member Reynolds moved and Council Member Sevigny seconded approval of the May 26, 2026 council work session motions. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 20:36] - **Budget Amendments** – Vice Mayor Wu moved and Council Member Sevigny seconded approval of budget amendments. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 21:08] - **New Business Items** – Council Member Sheehan moved and Council Member Reynolds seconded approval of new business items. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 21:38] - **Mayor's Communications – Appointments** – Council Member Curtis moved and Council Member Sheehan seconded approval of communications from the mayor regarding appointments. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 27:57] - **Mayor's Communications – Donations** – Vice Mayor Wu moved and Council Member Curtis seconded approval of communications from the mayor regarding donations. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 28:28] - **Mayor's Communications – Procurements** – Council Member Sheehan moved and Council Member Hurt seconded approval of communications from the mayor regarding procurements. Passed by voice vote. [timestamp: 28:28] - **Civic Assembly Recommendations** – Council Member Sheehan moved and Vice Mayor Wu seconded approval of the civic assembly's recommendations on council compensation, accountability, and charter review. Passed by roll call vote, **12 ayes to 2 nays**. [timestamp: 34:24] - *Voting yes:* Mayor Linda Gorton, Vice Mayor Wu, Council Members Brown, Ellinger II, Morton, Lynch, Eblen, Curtis, Sheehan, Higgins-Hord, Hale, and Boone. - *Voting no:* Council Members Beasley and Brown. ## Budget and Financial Actions The Council approved several financial items at the June 2, 2026 meeting, spanning infrastructure, legal services, workforce development, and public outreach. - **L0372-26** authorized a purchase agreement with **Wastequip** in the amount of **$102,884.79** for the acquisition of 15 dumpster units. - **L0401-26** approved a first amendment to an existing contract with **Legal Aid of the Bluegrass** valued at **$400,000**, extending or modifying the organization's agreement with the city. - **L0403-26** authorized a renewal of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with **Bluegrass Community and Technical College** for up to **$100,000**, continuing the partnership between the city and the college. - **L0423-26** approved an agreement with **Palmer Engineering** in the amount of **$769,746** for professional services related to the **Versailles Road Improvements Project**, representing the largest single expenditure approved at this meeting. - **L0454-26** authorized an agreement with **OpinionWorks** for **$50,000** to conduct a **Stormwater Public Survey**, supporting the city's public engagement efforts around stormwater management. In total, the Council approved financial commitments of approximately **$1.42 million** across these five items, with the Palmer Engineering contract for the Versailles Road Improvements Project accounting for the largest share of that spending. ## Public Comment Five residents addressed the Council during public comment periods at the June 2, 2026 meeting, covering topics ranging from civic engagement to public health funding and financial oversight. **Civiclex and Civic Assembly** Three speakers spoke in support of the Civiclex civic assembly process during the early portion of the meeting: - **Larry Smith** [timestamp: 4:06] shared his personal experience participating in Civiclex, emphasizing the importance of civic engagement and the sense of unity the process fosters among participants. - **Adam Clier** [timestamp: 7:55] expressed support for the civic assembly's recommendations and highlighted the value of the diverse perspectives that contributed to the process. - **Jake Monski** [timestamp: 10:30], who identified himself as an engineer, also voiced support for the civic assembly's proposals and stressed the importance of diverse representation in government. **Opioid Abatement Funds** - **Adrian Williams** [timestamp: 1:07:14] advocated for directing opioid abatement funds toward housing-first solutions that include wrap-around services for individuals with substance use disorders. Williams' comments called on the Council to prioritize this approach when allocating those resources. **Water Quality Management Fund** - **Rick Day** [timestamp: 1:08:50] requested that the Council conduct a financial audit of the Water Quality Management Fund. Day cited concerns about a lack of oversight and what he described as failures to adhere to ordinance requirements governing the fund. The public comment period reflected a range of community priorities, from support for participatory civic processes to calls for accountability in how public health and environmental funds are managed. ## Appointments The Council took action on appointments to various commissions and boards during the June 2, 2026 meeting. Specific names of appointees and the particular bodies or roles to which they were appointed are not detailed in the available meeting data. ## Contested Items - **Civic Assembly Recommendations:** The council was divided on whether to accept the recommendations put forward by the civic assembly. The item resulted in a split vote, with two council members voting against acceptance. The majority prevailed, and the recommendations were accepted, though the specific grounds for the dissenting votes were not detailed in the available meeting data. ## Public Comment - Issues on Agenda [timestamp: 04:06] Several citizens addressed the Council during the public comment period on agenda items. The speakers included Larry Smith, Adam Clier, and Jake Monski, who provided comments on various topics before the Council, including civic assembly recommendations and the use of opioid abatement funds. This portion of the meeting was informational in nature, with no votes or formal actions taken in response to the public comments. ## Approval of Summary [timestamp: 20:36] The Council took up the approval of the summary of motions from the May 26, 2026 work session. Council Member Reynolds and Council Member Sevigny were the key speakers on this item. The summary was approved without noted objection. ## Budget Amendments [timestamp: 21:08] The Council took up a resolution approving various budget amendments for the fiscal year. Vice Mayor Wu and Council Member Sevigny were the key speakers during this agenda item. The resolution was approved by the Council. *Note: Detailed information about the specific amendments discussed, any concerns raised, and the substance of the debate is not available in the provided record.* ## New Business [timestamp: 21:38] The council took up New Business, during which members considered contracts and agreements related to various city projects. Council Member Sheehan and Council Member Reynolds were the key speakers during this portion of the meeting. The items presented fell under the category of resolutions, covering contractual and agreement-based matters for city initiatives. No specific concerns or debate are reflected in the available record for this agenda item. The council approved the New Business items. ## Communications from the Mayor - Appointments [timestamp: 27:57] The Council took up the matter of appointments communicated by the Mayor. Council Member Curtis and Council Member Sheehan were the key speakers during this portion of the meeting. The Council voted to approve the mayoral appointments as presented. No additional details regarding the specific positions, nominees, or boards and commissions involved are available in the meeting record. The appointments were approved by the Council. ## Communications from the Mayor - Donations [timestamp: 28:28] The Council took up the Communications from the Mayor regarding donations during this portion of the meeting. The item was presented as a resolution for Council consideration and approval. Vice Mayor Wu and Council Member Curtis were the key speakers on this agenda item. The resolution addressed donations communicated by the mayor to the Council for formal approval, as is standard procedure for such items. The Council approved the donations resolution. No additional details regarding the specific donors, donation amounts, or intended recipients are available from the meeting record. ## Communications from the Mayor - Procurements [timestamp: 28:28] The Council took up the Communications from the Mayor regarding Procurements, which included procurement actions communicated by the mayor for Council approval. Council Member Sheehan and Council Member Hurt were the key speakers during this portion of the meeting. The Council considered the procurements as presented. The item was approved by the Council. *Note: The available record does not include additional detail on the specific procurement contracts, vendors, amounts, or debate associated with this item. Readers seeking further specifics are encouraged to consult the full meeting transcript or supporting documentation beginning at approximately the 28-minute mark of the meeting recording.* ## Civic Assembly Recommendations [timestamp: 34:24] The council took up the Civic Assembly Recommendations, a resolution addressing the civic assembly's findings on council compensation, accountability, and charter review. Council Member Sheehan and Vice Mayor Wu were the key speakers during this portion of the meeting. The discussion centered on the recommendations put forward by the civic assembly across three areas: how council members are compensated, measures related to council accountability, and a review of the city charter. The resolution was approved by the council. *Note: The available record does not include a detailed breakdown of the specific recommendations debated, individual positions taken by each speaker, or any concerns raised during deliberation. Readers seeking the full discussion are encouraged to consult the meeting video beginning at timestamp 34:24.* --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of the docket for the June 4, 2026 council meeting - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of May 26, 2026 council work session motions - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of budget amendments - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of new business items - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of communications from the mayor - appointments - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of communications from the mayor - donations - **Motion** — passed (0-0): Approval of communications from the mayor - procurements - **Motion** — passed (12-2): Approval of civic assembly's recommendations on council compensation, accountability, and charter review --- ## Full transcript Music Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And I'll go ahead and call to order the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council Work Session. Today is June 2nd, 2026, and the first item on the agenda is public comment for issues on the agenda. And we have a few people signed up, and the way this works is when I call your name, you'll come to the podium up here. And for the record, you need to restate your name and then also state your council district, and you'll have three minutes. So I'll say a few names so you can kind of queue up. First will be Larry Smith, followed by Adam Clyer, followed by Jake Monski. Welcome. Thank you. My name is Larry Smith. I'm here as a Civic Assembly member. Do you have a district, council district? Mostly it's five. Mostly, okay. But if you ask different sources, it could be three or eight. But regardless, my name is Larry Smith. I'm a first-generation American born in Chinhae, South Korea, where my Irish-American father taught seamanship for the U.S. Navy after the war. Today, I live in District 3, 5, or 8 at 444 South Ashland Avenue near Euclid. Some people call me a boomerang. And I first came to Lexington in 1986 to work for Jericho, Inc. as Director of National Marketing for Long John Silver's and Jerry's Family Restaurants. Over the following three years, I put down roots, married a lifelong Lexingtonian, Sandra, moved back to New York City where I'm from, raised two boys, and then moved back here five years ago. Participating in Civic Lex was like winning a golden ticket from Willy Wonka. There were 250,000 Lexingtonians, 10,000 of us got postcards, 38 were selected. I was not one of them. But fortune smiled at me, and there was a second chance drawing, at which point they needed to fill a gap, and I was it. Civic Lex hosted seven days of education and deliberation. I personally spent more than 80 hours on my own, reading, listening, exploring, and discussing the issues before us. My greatest takeaway from this is e pluribus unum, out of many, one. The political climate and daily media firestorms often suggest that we are hopelessly divided. We remain what our nation has long inspired to be, e pluribus unum, out of many, one. This defining the founding of our nation 250 years ago, the merger of Lexington and Fayette County, proved this about 50 years ago, and Civic Lex proved it now. Our diverse group of randomly selected citizens agreed by an 80% majority to present these resolutions to this committee. That agreement was not automatic. It was earned through thoughtful deliberation, respectful disagreements, careful listening, and genuine understanding. We believe these recommendations reflect the will of the broader community. We respectfully ask this Council to accept, advance, and promote these recommendations to the broader Lexington community on Election Day. Thank you for your attention. Thank you. Next is Adam Klyer, followed by Jake Monski. And then Bob Smith, welcome. Thank you very much. My name is Adam Clear. I'm a resident of the 6th District. And I consider myself a lifelong Lexingtonian, even though I spent six years away serving in the military, a number of years away getting my higher education. But I've always considered Lexington my home. I've always made it back here time and time and time again. I am very honored to speak to you today as a member of the Civic Assembly that has brought the recommendations before you today. This is my first opportunity to speak to you. I've been busy at every other time that this has been on the agenda, but I'm very happy to be here today to share my experiences with you. Larry put it very, very elegantly. I'm a little bit more off the cuff. I just want to kind of share my thoughts and my hopes for how you'll proceed today. As Larry said, it was a diverse group of people. the way that it was selected ensured that I met people that I knew conceptually existed in Lexington, but it was very nice to be able to sit down and have an extended dialogue with these people, to have an opportunity to learn together how our city functions and what we could do to improve it. It was a process that was eye-opening. I think people came in and listed diversity as something that they really enjoyed about our city, But to have a practical experience in that diversity and to be exposed to other people's thoughts and ideas and experiences of how their Lexington exists was truly a wonderful experience. And to be able to work with those people in an extended process and an extended dialogue to come up with these recommendations was absolutely wonderful in a way I wasn't expecting. I want to thank Civic Lex for doing a very, very good job at facilitating and arranging this whole process. And while there may be some kinks to work out, I think the process could be replicated very, very well in the future on a number of different topics and issues and forums. As they are written here today before you, I support them. It was something that I agreed to through a lot of discussion. And I hope that going forward, you guys will continue to pass these resolutions and let it go forward to the voters to see how they feel about them. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Next is Jake Monski, followed by Bob Smith, and then Edward Malley or Mailey. Welcome. Thank you. My name is Jake Monski. I am from District 5. I prepared more to say, but due to unfortunate timing, I had a lot of dental work done today, so it hurts a little bit to talk. So I'm going to keep it a little bit short. But it was a great opportunity to be able to be a part of this civic assembly and be part of kind of moving, bringing the community involved in potential government decisions. And I want to be here to show my support for the amendment or the proposals that we have pushed forward. I am an engineer by trade and I'm relatively new to Lexington but I was born in Kentucky, Louisville I came here a couple years ago for work and it's a lovely city little big city is what I like to call it because it has everything I'd ever want without being as overwhelming as some of the much larger metro areas are but I want One of the things as part of this assembly that I heard a lot during the conversations we would have is we want to have a diverse representation in our government. And I think that by pushing these motions forward, we are helping to open the doors to more people to have the opportunity to be able to be a part of the city government. And I think that is a good thing for everybody when we have a more diverse representation. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Bob Smith and then Edward Malley, followed by Thomas Clasby. Welcome. Hello, my name is Bob Smith, and I'm firmly right in the middle of District 5. So no misgivings there. And I'm originally from Chicago, and I learned a lot during the Civic Assembly about Lexington. So much more than I didn't know before. And that could say a lot of things. we spent a lot of time hard work together a lot of discussion of different opinions but was always nice and it was great to hear and we spent a lot of time on the language we spent a lot of time on deciding exactly how it should be and we really really hope you guys take this stuff seriously that we presented as presented voted up or down without too many changes Thank you very much. Thank you. Next is Edward Malley, followed by Thomas Clasby, and then David Hellard. Welcome. Edward Malley. I live in District 7. I lived in Lexington 40 years, and I was picked for this assembly, and it was a very good process. And we worked very hard, overcome a lot of disagreements, and came up with this proposal. and we just want to make sure that you consider it and go from there. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Thomas Clasby and then David Hellard. Welcome. My name is Thomas Clasby. Goodbye, Tommy. And I'm in District 8. Yesterday I sent you guys a behemoth of an email. It was by far the longest email I've ever sent. I don't know if it's the longest you've received. I hope I don't hold the time. Okay, it's not. Okay, we're good. I mean, who knew that condensing down that many hours of research, discussion, deliberation, and thoughts and opinions into a single email would be so long? I mean, I didn't know. But I really wanted to make sure that with all the time, money, effort, we've all put into this that we were all on the same page, that we were all, that like, I don't have time in two minutes to go over all of that. So if you haven't yet, I do ask that you've read it. I appreciate the responses that I've gotten confirming that you've read it, because it makes it worth the time that I spent on it. But the proposal, what I would like to, I've basically covered all this in that email, but what I'd like to cover now is really focus on, I think the most important topic of the proposals we're presenting is the charter review. For me, establishing that regular charter review with a Citizens' Assembly kind of covers all of our grounds, because even if the other stuff doesn't work out, I know that in eight years or however, we know there's going to be another Citizens' Assembly that can address this if it needs to be. It assures that any mistakes that we had, anything that didn't play out how we wanted, will be addressed in the next one. So my focus, personally, is mostly on the Charter Review. I think that that one could be truly exceptional for an example of what government should be. Because I really think that the format of a Citizens' Assembly is the gold standard for getting citizens' input on complex topics where you can truly get into the nitty-gritty. Platforms like this are important, but the Citizens' Assembly allows you to really get quality over quantity. In no other setting can we do all this research, this in-depth discussion and deliberation that we just can't do in three minutes. And not to mention, if it wasn't for the Citizens' Assembly, I wouldn't be here today. I've never been to one of these before this is my first time speaking at the mic, it's a little intimidating but if it wasn't for that I wouldn't be here and for that I thank you all for going to Civic Lex and asking them to do this in the assembly and I've expressed gratitude repeatedly to Civic Lex for doing a stellar job and I couldn't imagine any other way. Thank you all so much. Thank you. Next is David Hellard. Welcome. I'm David Hellard, District 3, and I'm a long-time Lexington resident. Born here, moved back here in 1971 after growing up in Maysville. I am the sixth generation Hellard living in the Kenwick area. Our subdivision was called the McGarvey subdivision, which essentially is just Hanover Avenue, sandwiched between Mentel and Ashland Avenue. And my great-great-grandfather, Francis Marion Hellard, moved here after the Civil War. So I have many generations of Hellards that have been here, maybe not active civically, I don't know. But that was one of the reasons when I got the card that I considered doing this, that we have a stake in this community. And my children and grandchildren will be the seventh generations of Hellards here. And I've seen things change. I saw Rupp Arena go down and South Hill go down. And things have changed, and it's a great change. I've watched many council people and mayors over the years, and I've lived near the downtown the whole time. And I just appreciate the opportunity to be able to be with the rest of the group. What amazed me out of the group was the high percentage of people that are from out of state, out of country, For as long as I've lived here, we've always said, where are all these people coming from? And I mean, that subdivisions, and even now you travel around and you just see all these subdivisions that just appear, it seems like. And so I appreciate the opportunity to be here and to speak. All right. Thank you. Thank you very much. Council, that concludes the public comments for issues on the agenda. And so we do have a docket for approval. Motion approved. Thank you. Council Member Ellinger and Council Member Curtis seconds. Please log in if you have additions or questions about the docket. Council Member Reynolds. Thank you, Mayor. I have a motion to walk on. I move to place on the docker for the June 4, 2026 Council meeting a resolution authorizing and directing the mayor on behalf of the urban county government to execute modification number one to the agreement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Public Health, to accept an additional award of $80,000 in federal and state funds for the Health Access Nurturing Development Services Hands Program for the Family Care Center, the acceptance of which does not obligate the Lexington Fay Urban County Government to the expenditures of funds. Second. All right. Vice Mayor Wu seconds. Are there questions? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. That motion passes. Is there anything else for the docket? All right. All those in favor of approval as amended, please say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Thank you. We have the May 26, 2026 Council Work Session motions. If I could have a motion to approve. Yes, I approve. Council Member Reynolds, second by Council Member Sevigny. Are there any corrections or additions? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. We have budget amendments. Could I have a motion? So, Vice Mayor Wu, seconded by Council Member Sevigny. Please log in if you have questions. All right, all those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Thank you. We also have for your information only the budget adjustments, and that brings us to new business. Could I have a motion? Second. Council Member Sheehan and second by Council Member Reynolds. Please log in if you have questions. Council Member Sheehan. Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to invite Director Duncan up to give us a little bit of information for the public for item L. This is a training program for the Complete Streets Design Manual. Welcome. Thank you. Council Member, this is a budget amendment to add to the contract of TOOL, which is completing at this time the Complete Streets Design Manual for us. What we'd like to do is take some of this money that was part of the Complete Streets budget out of the Mayor's office and add it to the TOOL contract in order to create some training materials to use to implement Complete Streets once we get that through Council. So this will be something that continues to implement, continue working with Smart Growth America, with tool design, with the mayor's office, and with our own outreach and strategic planning to develop these materials that will be used to implement Complete Streets within the government, also within the community working with developers and others who will need to know how to implement the Complete Streets. Thank you for that information. I know we've been discussing the Complete Streets Design Manual, and that has been out for public comment. But I think it is going to need, you know, internally we will have to do some training, but then certainly for the public we'll need some education opportunities. So thank you for letting us know about this particular extension on the contract. Thank you, Mayor. All right. Thank you, Council Member Reynolds. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to invite Director Burton to come up and discuss item D and just expound a little bit on this. Welcome. Yeah, so this is the preliminary design for the corridor. Basically what we haven't done up to this point, it'll bring us into nearly downtown for the Shales Road corridor. And this will involve the shared use path that we've discussed in the past, as well as some roadway improvements to really help reduce speeds in that area, which obviously is from a bike pad safety standpoint is going to be extremely beneficial. And this is for the portion that we haven't done already. It's extending the road project, like you said, close to downtown near Oliver Lewis. Correct. And I'm excited about it. Yeah, we are too. Go for sales room. Thank you. Vice Mayor Wu. Thank you, Mayor. Chief Wells, can you come down and talk a little bit about item M? Every time I know when the smoke detector sort of renewal or allotment comes up, I'd love to have you all come and tell the public about the program, but this time we're talking about carbon monoxide detectors. So can you talk a little bit about the program and how our community members can access it? Absolutely. Thank you very much, Vice Mayor, for the question. So in the previous years, we have tried to utilize the FPNS, the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants, to purchase smoke alarms. And we feel very confident about our stock of smoke alarms. But with the increased push to educate the community and ensure that we have adequate carbon monoxide alarms, we wanted to go ahead and apply for this grant. And I think it would be a great opportunity for us to just naturally continue the smoke alarm program to be able to provide also carbon monoxide alarms for our residents. Is this a program where residents just contact you all and ask for one and you all come in? That's correct. And unfortunately, we don't have a supply currently of carbon monoxide alarms, but I believe we'll be able to get an adequate supply. This grant could certainly supplement that. Yes. With the grant of $47,500, how many detectors are we talking about? Carbon monoxide alarms are typically a little bit more expensive. I haven't done the math yet, but I think you're talking they're roughly double the price of a $15 smoke alarm. So I'm trying to do the math here. $1,500-ish? Yeah, I think that would be good. Okay. Thank you, Chief. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Brown. Thank you, Mayor. My question is to item Q. Is that Chief of Staff Scott or? Craig. Craig Kammack. Okay. Craig, it's a change to the Veterans Commission member makeup. What was going on? What positions were we having a hard time filling? We had various positions. It wasn't one specific. Various positions. Coast Guard is traditionally one that's hard to fill. But overall, the commission just felt it might be better to have a little bit more flexibility on the commission so we don't have specific veteran service organizations listed out, so we can broaden our approach on that instead of being stuck with only a certain organization that may not be useful anymore or may not be working anymore. And a lot of new organizations are forming every day for veterans that we could potentially add. Okay. Okay. Yeah, no, I know we had some feedback when we first set up the commission that they thought merchant marines was going to be the hard one to fill, but it sounds like it was. Merchant marines are not a specific one. They're not at a branch of the military, but, yeah, the Coast Guard traditionally, overall, it's not just our commission. Overall, they have less members, so it's harder to find them. Okay. Yeah, no, I think if it's a change, it's going to make sure that you fill the membership and get more representation than it is. Right. The membership number itself does not change. It's just the makeup of the commission. Okay. Yep. All right. Thank you. Yep. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Any other questions about new business? All right. All those in favor of approval, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. That motion passes. We have communications from the mayor appointments. Could I have a motion? Council Member Curtis, second by Council Member Sheehan. Are there questions? All right, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Communications from the mayor, donations. Could I have a motion? So moved. Thank you, Vice Mayor. Second by Council Member Curtis. Any questions? All right, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that passes. And the final communications from the mayor is procurements. Could I have a motion? Council Member Sheehan, second by Council Member Curtis. Any questions? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that passes. Thank you. That brings us to continuing business and presentations, and it's time for General Gov and Planning Committee. Council Member Sheehan. Thank you, Mayor. I have our report out and a couple motions for us today. coming from the committee. So the April 28, 2026 General Government and Planning Committee was called to order at 1 p.m. The March 10, 2026 meeting summary was unanimously approved. The committee received a report from Civic Lex on the outcome of Lexington's first civic assembly, a three-year initiative resulting in a March 2026 deliberative process using a randomly selected demographically representative group of residents. The assembly produced three major recommendations. First, the Assembly proposed increasing council compensation to match Lexington's average annual income of $59,987, with automatic adjustments for inflation. This change, which would take effect beginning in 2031, is intended to reflect the growing demands of the role and to address persistent barriers that discourage a broader, more diverse range of residents from seeking elected office. members also noted that the current level of compensation contributes to low competition for council seats limiting the entry of new voices into local government in addition to compensation the assembly emphasized the need for improved transparency and accountability they recommended a charter amendment requiring the council to adopt publicly accessible attendance and performance standards through ordinance the goal is to provide residents with clearer insight into council member engagement and to establish expectations that are consistent across the body. And finally, the Assembly recommended instituting a recurring charter review every eight years. Each review would be conducted by a newly convened Civic Assembly composed of a demographically representative cross-section of Lexington residents. This process would follow a structured 12-month timeline, ensuring that the City's charter remains current, community-informed, and reflective of evolving needs over time. Civic Lux noted all three items will require charter amendments and that draft language is being developed with the Department of Law. A dissenting Assembly member raised concerns about the scale of the compensation increase, long term incumbency incentives, and the scope of accountability recommendations. Committee members expressed strong appreciation for the assembly process and discussed implementation timing, ballot complexity, and which elements require charter language versus ordinance. Vice Mayor, we'll move to accept the recommendations of the Civic Assembly regarding Council compensation, Council accountability, and charter review as set forth in that day's presentation, and to refer the proposed amendments regarding the same to the full Council. This was seconded by Council Member Reynolds and approved unanimously. So my first motion is on behalf of the committee and pursuant to its actions at the April 28th meeting. I move to accept the Civic Assembly's recommendations on council compensation, council accountability, and charter review as set forth in the April 28th presentation. You also have a presentation before you today that summarizes that work and the recommendations from Civic Lex. So in that regard, depending on our discussion and vote, I have a second set of motions regarding the ballot language. Is there a second? Vice Mayor Wu seconds. Any discussion? Council Member Brown. Thank you, Mayor. Is there any reason why, can we do these separately, each individual recommendation one at a time, as opposed to doing them as a package? Is there any objection to doing that? Does our Commissioner of Law have any input on that? I mean. Good afternoon. Technically, each ordinance is separate, so there would not be a problem addressing each one of them separately if that's what you all wanted to do. There's three separate proposals, and each one's in the form of a separate ordinance. So I guess I'll ask another clarifying question. So after this main motion, what is the next set of motions? It's each individual ordinance. So I would recommend that we accept the report and the recommendations from the Civic Assembly as one motion. But then the next motion is about placing the items on the docket, and that is the three ordinances that are within the packet with the ballot language. So if it were the will of council to separate those and vote on them separately, I could make those motions separately, but I'll listen to what council says. Does that help, Council Member Brown? It does. It does, and I don't have a motion. All right. Okay. Other comments about the motion? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? No. No. Okay, can we see all those in favor? Let's just do hands quickly. All right, and those opposed? We have Council Member Beasley and Council Member Brown. All right, that motion passes. Now. Okay, my second motion is a combined motion. I move to place on the docket for the June 4, 2026 council meeting the following ordinances, which were discussed just now, and included on pages labeled 44 to 49 of today's work session packet. The first, an ordinance proposing an amendment to Section 4.05 of the charter to increase the annual salary of council members and placing the proposed amendment on the ballot for the general election to be held on November 3rd, 2026. The second, an ordinance proposing an amendment to section 4.07 of the charter to require the Urban County Council to establish standards for attendance and accountability, and placing the proposed amendment on the ballot for the general election to be held on November 3, 2026. And finally, the third, an ordinance proposing an amendment to Section 14.04 of the charter to require the Urban County Council to convene a charter review assembly once every eight years and to establish a standing charter review board to review and make recommendations for amendments to the charter and placing the proposed amendment on the ballot for the general election to be held on November 3, 2026. So moved. Second. All right. Vice Mayor Wu seconds. So those are as a group. One motion. Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. I make a motion to amend to separate into three different amendments and vote on them separately. So moved. Is there a second? Second. Council Member Lynch. All right. Any discussion about the amendment? Vice Mayor Wu. Council Member Ellinger, can you tell us your rationale for wanting to split them apart? Well, we had a council member who made this suggestion, and I just think it's probably, they are different. It's not a complete package. Each one has different issues, so I think we just vote on them. I see it probably all three passing, but this way you might believe two of them and not believe in the third one. So it gives an opportunity to just vote on all three. And I don't think it's going to be a dramatic request to just separate them. Okay. Other question? Did you have another question about the amendment? Yes. Thinking about, I just want to make clear kind of to my colleagues, like what we're voting on today, we're putting forth these three items onto the ballot in November for the residents and the voters to decide. We are not weighing in on the validity or whether or not we support what these three ballot measures are proposing. So I just want to be clear that what we're voting on. I can go either way, but my preference is to keep them together and voted up together. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Morton, did you want to speak to the splitting amendment? Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. And I'm going to support the motion. I think just for public transparency to have that conversation in three different sets of conversations, I guess it would be better. So that those that are watching can understand exactly what we're doing, understand exactly where folks lie. So I don't see there's any issue with separating these items because we're here to discuss them either way. And it gives more time to speak about it as well. So thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Curtis to the motion. Thank you. I just wanted to say that I'm not going to be supporting this motion because I believe at the end of the day, these were all the result of the same process. We're not weighing in on our beliefs on each individual one. We should either put all of them on the ballot or not. It's a question about whether or not we're going to accept the recommendations of the Civic Assembly and put them forward to two people, and I just don't think we need to split them. Thank you. Does anyone else wish to speak to the amendment to split them into three? Councilmember Sheehan? I'm also going to support moving them all together at once because, as you've heard from the Civic Assembly, a lot of work has gone into these. So I would like to see them all move forward. So I'm not going to support splitting them up at this time. Any other comments on the motion to amend? Council Member Morton. I just think, I mean, I see 100% respect the work. I think we're still going to have this conversation if Council Members want to deviate maybe from one recommendation and support the other two. I think there should be an opportunity to do that and speak towards why they would like to, rather than maybe having to vote all down, rather than not having the opportunity to support maybe one or two or maybe none. So I think, like I said, due to public transparency, just so constituents and everyone can understand where we all are, I think that it's just fair and it's not much of a substance change other than just maybe a couple more minutes of conversation. So for public transparency, I will support. Okay, thank you. Vice Mayor Wu to the amendment. Yes, thank you, Mayor. To Council Member Morton's point, I think we have the opportunity to discuss the three items, even as we're putting this forth together. So if this amendment motion is defeated, we still have the opportunity to discuss any parts of any of these three pieces. And then if it is the will of the Council, we can pull items out and separate if and when issues come up of dissent. Thank you. Thank you. Point of information. Would this basically make us where there's going to be one vote across the board currently as it slides, or would there be multiple votes tied toward it? Not discussion, but votes tied toward it. I think if the amendment passes, that means you will vote individually on each. Well, and then the main motion passes. You will vote individually on each of the three separate. You'd vote on each one. Okay. So we'll be able to maybe have discussion, but we won't be able to vote separately on each one. That's right. Okay. Any other comments for anyone who hasn't spoken yet? Council Member Ellinger. Thank you. And as what Council Member Morton said, you might agree on two and you might not agree on that third one. And I think this gives you an opportunity to have to vote no on all of them. And I do respect what the Assembly did, and I'm willing to support all three, But I think there might be council members that might want to support two of them. But because if it's all together, then they're going to have to vote against all three. And I don't think that's because they are different. You have one that's pay, one's accountability, one's going to be a future assembly committee. So I think they are different. They are a package, but they certainly are independent in what they do. Thank you, Mayor. All right. Thank you. Any other comments on the amendment? All right. Let's vote on the amendment to split this into three different motions, and we'll do a digital. Oh, we're missing. We have three people absent. So the chair will vote aye to break the time. So. So then I will make each one. Yes. So I move to place on the docket for June 4, 2026, the council meeting an ordinance proposing an amendment to section 4.05 of the charter to increase the annual salary of the council members and placing the proposed amendment on the ballot for the general election to be held on November 3, 2026. So moved. Is there a council member Curtis seconds? All right. Is there discussion about the motion? Anyone? All right. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? No. All right. Council Member Beasley and Council Member Brown, our no votes. All right. That motion passes. I move to place on the docket for the June 4, 2026 Council meeting an ordinance proposing an amendment to section 4.07 of the charter to require the urban county council to establish standards for attendance and accountability and placing the proposed amendment on the ballot for the general election to be held november 3rd 2026 vice mayor wu seconds is there any discussion all those in favor say aye is anyone opposed all right that motion passes and finally i move to place on the docket for the June 4, 2026 Council meeting the following ordinance proposing an amendment to section 14.04 of the charter to require the Urban County Council to convene a charter review assembly once every eight years and to establish a standing charter review board to review and make recommendations for amendments to the charter and placing the proposed amendment on the ballot for the general election to be held on November 3, 2026. So moved. Council Member Curtis seconds. Is there any discussion? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Okay, for the rest of the meeting, for the report up, Commissioner Charlie Lanter provided an update on the landlord and tenant advisory efforts, noting that while the department continues to gather input through informal channels, tenant participation remains difficult due to time, personal, and structural barriers. To address this, the department has shifted to more flexible engagement approaches, such as community forums and partnerships with service organizations. Council members established the importance of accessible, meaningful engagement and acknowledged the imbalance in capacity between landlords and tenants. Although there was interest in strengthening feedback loops, the commissioner advised against formalizing the groups for now, citing the need for flexibility and challenges in maintaining consistent participation. Then finally, we removed items from the committee, including the recommendations 8 and 10 of the planning and development study, and efficiencies in our development processes in compliance with House Bill 443. The meeting adjourned at 2.23 p.m., and that concludes my report. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you very much. Does anyone have any questions for Council Member Sheehan? All right. Thank you. All right. That brings us to the presentation for the Downtown Lexington Management District fiscal year 27 budget. And the board chair, Dougie Allen, will make the presentation. Welcome. Thank you. My name is Dougie Allen. I am the chairman of the downtown Lexington Management District. Our presentation is on your screen there. Oh, this is for me, huh? Clicker. I'm new here, so forgive me. So as you can see, the downtown Lexington Management District was established in 2015. This city council passed an ordinance, Ordinance 52. The first levies were collected in January of 2016, whereas the DLMD, Downtown Lexington Management District, began operation later that year. There are three key mandates to the Downtown Lexington Management District, beautification, safety, and marketing. The beautification, we call it clean and safe, is kind of what we refer to it internally. But that is largely partnered with our partner Block by Block. A lot of people refer to them as the purple shirt people, but that's actually not their technical name. They're representatives of Block by Block. They do a lot of work in the district when it comes to trash removal, leaf pickup and cleaning, pressure washing, graffiti removal. Those are a lot of things that they work on in the beautification space. As it relates to safety, the district also does different things around safety in the downtown district area, and I'll touch on what that space is here in a second. But around the safety, there are ambassadors that guests, locals can also ask questions. So they field a lot of questions on where to go, how to find different places, where to find different resources. They also assist with a lot of, in our downtown area, some of the unhoused population that may be in the public right-of-way. They help move them along to a more safer location. And then there's the marketing side of what the DLMD does. We support public art initiatives. We have an economic development program, our downtown improvement grant, where businesses and property owners can apply for grants that can help improve their facade of their building, their sidewalk, the lighting around their space, again, to help with safety initiatives as well. And then there are business support programs in addition to that when it comes to marketing and trying to market downtown as a place that is open for business to welcome entrepreneurs to want to do business downtown and support downtown. So the district itself essentially goes from High Street up to Second Street and all the way over from Oliver Lewis Way up Midland. There are some kickouts, as you can see, where in the core kind of goes up to Second Street, but that is the core of where these funds get utilized. Our board or the district that is represented within this management district is District 1, District 3, and District 11, as you can see those names on the screen there. Our board is represented by members of the, there's business owners that are on the board, there's property owners that are on the board, there's hospitality representatives, members with the parking authorities. Obviously, there's city council members there that are represented on this board as well. So it is a well-rounded, diverse board, and we meet every other month to discuss the issues that come up through those activities. So the next couple slides are just some pictures of the team. Again, Block by Block is our partner. They are a huge part of our budget. Juan Castro is our treasurer. He'll present the budget here shortly. and they are the biggest piece of what this district represents. And again, these are some pictures that show a lot of the work that they do on a daily basis. It really is an honor for us to be able to do what we do as we receive a lot of comments from visitors and locals alike that are so pleased with how clean our downtown is. People who travel a lot, they come into Lexington for the first time, they're just really amazed at the different things that they see in our downtown. So that's something that we're really excited and proud for. Again, this is our economic improvement plan, the mission statement. I'm not going to read through all of this. You guys have it in front of you. If you have any questions, we'll be here to take questions. A lot of the stuff that I've already covered is kind of on this slide here. And then with that, I will pass it over to Juan. Juan will present our budget for this fiscal year. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here again with you presenting our budget. As Dougie had indicated, our three focus areas are beautification, safety, and marketing. As you can see from our budget, this budget is about a 6% increase from last year. We have received an incredible increase in revenues from taxpayers, something that has been declining in the previous years. That means that the efforts that we put forward to recertify the district put us out there to the people and they realize what we did. And one of our focuses is the safety. So you can see we're putting in our budget a $50,000 request directly to the city for safety. We have used all of that money in previous years, again, to make sure that the downtown Lexington district is a safe place and a place where people want to go. If you look at the statistics, Lexington has grown by 12% in tourism in the past three years. As Dougie indicated, the biggest part of our budget is our block-by-block partnership for services. The second biggest part is the downtown improvement grants and the lighting grants. We want to make sure that our property owners have enough funding, and they request the funding from us, to ensure that the city looks good and it remains as best as possible. And the last part that we put in is about $30,000 for management services. That equates to about 91% of our budget goes straight back into the services that the downtown district was supposed to provide. Any questions? Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Council members, do you have any questions for Dougie or for Juan on the budget? Council member Morton. Thank you. I just had, and it's just for my own information and kind of just processing. I know you mentioned assisting with the unhoused community and kind of moving them along. What does that look like and where are they being moved to, towards? I know that the district, you know, I know the layout of the district, and I know we have neighborhoods, existing neighborhoods, north specifically, and north of the downtown district is actually the first district. So I would be curious to understand what that process looks like, kind of where they're being moved along to. But then also, I know specifically what it would be our MLK neighborhood, the East End, Grass Park, just the existing concerns they have due to, you know, transients. And I always emphasize when we're talking about downtown, a lot of times they're brought into the conversation, but they don't get those resources. So kind of seeing, like, you know, are we moving this challenge from our core downtown to a neighborhood downtown? Like, what do we do? What do we do within that? So the folks with Block by Block have access to all the different resources that are available in this city, whether it's the Hope Center or other private organizations when it comes to getting support. So when I say kind of moving along, a lot of times this is when someone is camping out on private property. So not as much in the public spaces, but more so in front of a doorway, on a sidewalk, kind of blocking the right-of-way of the public as they're trying to go about downtown. So that's what I mean when I say kind of moving along. more so if they're camped out within a doorway or a situation like that. Thank you. Actually, one more follow-up. I guess I know we have a new downtown street outreach. Is there communications partnership working within them, and what does that look like? So all of the different organizations, and when we have our meetings, every other month we have our meetings, And at least two or three times a year, there's representatives from different organizations that work with downtown, whether it's residents or the transient population. So they make us aware of the resources that are available so that we can make sure that our partners, and again, our partner is block by block, so that they have all the resources they need. So when it comes to what type of help someone may need, they can point them in the right direction. Thank you. Are there other questions about the presentation? Council Member Brown. Thank you, Mayor. I'll just add, thank you, Dougie and Juan, for the presentation. I serve on this board commission with you all, and I think that, you know, Doug, I keep on saying Dougie, but I'll say Mr. Allen. You stepped into a role. I know Jim Frazier was in that position for years, has been the chair of that since its inception. And I think you've done a great job stepping into the role, leading it. I think you've got a good supporting cast, especially with Mr. Castro and everybody else with the DLMD. And then I also thank our Purple Shirt folks. They do a great job of what they do. And if I'm not mistaken, they've got great connections in city government. They do a good job of reaching out to, I think, folks in Commissioner Lanner's office when it comes to dealing with the homelessness or the homeless population. I think they've got a great relationship with our public safety team, the fire department, and the police department. And I get compliments all the time and hear how beautiful our downtown is and how responsive the folks in the purple shirts are. So I'll just thank you for that. And then also the request, the $50,000 for the safety, the downtown safety money, security money. We put that. It wasn't during the budget. I think CAO had found that funding when requested, and you all have been good stewards of that money. I know one year it was in, it might have been last year, it was in your budget, and you really didn't access it until you needed it. And I think that partnership with the Sheriff's Office has been great with being responsive to the safety and security needs downtown. So I just wanted to thank you for that and show my support for the work that you all do. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member Eblen? Yeah, I was just going to say the same thing. I'm a fairly new member of the board, but I've been impressed by the work. I remember when the DLMD was created, and I think you're doing exactly what we had hoped would happen, which is make downtown more cleaner, more inviting, and better for both the people who live here and for visitors. So I appreciate it. Thank you. Are there other council members who wish to speak or have questions? All right. Chair Allen, thank you very much. thank you to your board members you're doing a great job we appreciate you thank you all have a good day thank you mayor for with that presentation i make a motion to walk on i move to place on the docket for the june 4th 2026 council meeting a resolution ratifying and approving the fiscal year 2027 budget of the downtown Lexington Management District. So moved. Council Member Ellinger seconds. Any questions? Council Member Eblen, did you have a question? No. Okay. All right. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right. That motion passes. Thank you. And I have another one. Council Member Eblen? No. No, go ahead. No, you go ahead. I was just going to also mention, too, we need to schedule a public hearing for the June 18th, 2026 council meeting at 6 p.m. to allow public comment on the budget. All right. Yeah, that's okay. Do I hear a motion to do that? I was getting ready to make that motion. Are you making that motion? Yeah, I was getting ready. Okay. Very good. Thank you, Evan. Council Member Ebelin. I move to place on the docket for the June 4, 2026 Council meeting a resolution ratifying and approving the fiscal year 2027 budget of the downtown Lexington Management District and to schedule a public hearing for the Council meeting on June 18, 2026 at 6 p.m. to allow for public comment on the proposed budget. So moved. Is there a second? Second. Vice Mayor Wu seconds. Are there any comments or questions? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Is anyone opposed? All right, that motion passes. Thank you. Council Member Reynolds, did you have a question? Okay, that's all right. Well, it is time for Council Reports then. So, Council Member Eblen. Okay, we seem to be having a few glitches with who's signing in and who's not. So, Council Member Beasley, are you signed in? Thank you, Mayor. I just have a few announcements. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Miles Hayward on winning state for a shot put this last week at Tate Creek High School. And I would like to remind our District 8 neighbors that there's cops and bobbers on Saturday starting at 930 at Gainesway Park. Thank you, Mayor. All right. Thank you. Council Member Lynch. Thank you, Mayor. I have a few announcements for my District 2 neighbors starting off with Don't Forget the Bluegrass Fair starts this week on June the 4th, and it goes through June 14th. Please exercise extra patience and grace because traffic on Leastown Road will be extra crazy. So please take your family to the fair and enjoy it and drive safely on Leastown Road as you are getting there. My next announcement is neighbors that live in Coventry. Your neighborhood summer kickoff picnic is this Saturday from 12 to 4 p.m. at the park. It is free, so please everyone come out that lives in Coventry to this fun event. Today, neighbors, the Racial Justice and Equity Commission is hosting their next town hall. It will be at the Whitaker branch of the YMCA and begins at 5.30 p.m. Please come out. This will be a listening session. They want to get your input regarding racial justice and equity in the city. So please come out this evening. Next, we are so blessed to have black soil be in the 2nd District in so many different ways. The Sprout Pharmacy Market is such a cool thing that we have now. They have a stop at Big Ass Fans. They have a stop at Bracktown Church. They have a stop at Sandersville Elementary School. And they also have a stop at Imani, no, First African Baptist Church, which is not as district two, but it's right next door. So thank you to Black Soil for the many opportunities to give my neighbors access to food. and neighbors, please come out and support Black Soil and the many opportunities to shop with them. They have great produce to feature families. And then my next announcement, Douglas Park will have their annual music series starting June 18th. Please come out. It always brings a great, great crowd, so mark your calendars for June 18th. And then my last announcement, Community and Resident Services will be hosting a summer programming resource fair on Sunday, June the 7th at Black & Williams. It will be from 4.30 to 6 p.m. And the sole purpose of the event is for parents and children to come out to find out about all the summer activities that will be happening at Black & Williams this summer. So please come out June 7th from 4.30 to 6 at the Black & Williams Neighborhood Center. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Ellinger. Thank you, Mayor. It's the 40th anniversary of the senior intern program this week, so it's one of my favorite weeks. We're on day two here, and I just left in between meetings, and they were over there at the fire station working on the hoses there. So they were having a good time. It was spraying everybody, and they were having fun. I want to thank my colleagues, Ebeling Lynch, Sheehan, Brown, Vice Mayor Wu, Morton, Sevigny, and Beasley, all who participated yesterday morning in our legislative branch, meet your representative, and learn about the council. Mayor, thank you for coming and starting it off. And you'll be there hopefully on Friday along with other council members when we do our alumni luncheon. It's always one of my favorite events. My dad and Bob Babbage started it back in 1986. So it's a program that I've really enjoyed doing. This is my last year on council. So I'm kind of past the baton to Council Member Beasley and Brown. I think they're going to kind of move it forward. And I really appreciate their help. And it's really a lot of fun. I want to thank all the administration because they take time to teach our community who come to this program, which is a week long. It's a big commitment. They're here from 830 to 330 to 4 every day. But I always tell them, I guarantee your money back. It is a free program. And they really do enjoy it. And we learn from them. And we're always trying to find people to fill the 70 boards and commissions. And this is a great opportunity to find some new volunteers out there and also for volunteers for the senior intern program that help move it forward each year. So thanks again for everybody who does participate and look forward to them graduating on Friday. Thank you. You've done a wonderful job with it. Vice Mayor Wu. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council Member Ellinger, for having shepherded that program for these past years. My mom went through it a couple of years ago and really, really enjoyed it. and I'm always happy when we can engage our residents in different ways. I didn't get pictures in in time, but Saturday was a really big day for me. Two of my favorite communities in Lexington got to have big celebrations. First was the Pride Festival, and I, for one, really like it where it is right now on Oliver Lewis. It's much more accessible. People can get around in wheelchairs and strollers and dogs. We got to see all the tents, all the vendors, great music. Saw Council Member Sheehan, Council Member Curtis, Council Member Brown, and Council Member Lynch. There I heard Mayor Gordon. Council Member Reynolds. Thank you. Didn't have you in the picture that I'm looking at. My apologies. And then that evening we had the final big performance at Moondance for Get Happy to celebrate AAPI month this year. so Councilmember Lynch was out at that as well. It was a really fun lion dance performance there. And I just really appreciate not only the city but its residents giving a lot of us space, those of us who are from marginalized communities and identities, giving us space to really not just exist but really celebrate our cultures. So thank you. Thank you. Councilmember Shan. Thank you, Mayor. I want to make two event announcements. The first is that Idle Hour Neighborhood Association is having their annual picnic on Saturday from 6 to 8 in the Idle Hour Park. They say there will be grilled hot dogs, not dogs, ice cream, sodas, and sandwiches and games for the kids. So come out and spend some time with the neighborhood. And then some of you know that I'm a part of the Bluegrass Cayley Irish Dance Program here through our parks department. and that group is starting up a Kaylee and Company kind of social pop-up dance for the summer. So the first one is tomorrow night at Wisebird Cidery on Manchester Street. It's from 7 to 8.30 and anyone can just come and you know you can hang out and be social. You can dance if you want to but would love to see everyone there. Thanks Mayor. Thank you. All right, that brings us to public comment for issues not on the agenda. And we have some folks signed up. So when I call your name, if you'll come to the podium and restate your name for the record, and also tell us your council district, and you'll have three minutes. So first is Adrienne Williams, followed by Rick Day. Welcome. Good afternoon, council members. My name is Adrian Williams and I'm a constituent of the 5th District. I'm here with my friend Trevor from Volco, Kentucky to ask that at least 1 million of the remaining 3.8 million of untouched opioid abatement funds allocated to Lexington be used for housing first solutions that include wraparound services for those experiencing substance use disorders as well as those in recovery from substance abuse. Wraparound services, including case management, counseling, and other holistic support structures where a person lives, provide needed support and stability as folks transition into recovery. And while wraparound services without permanent supportive housing can still be effective and are necessary to our folks in recovery, these services don't always remove one of the primary reasons people begin to use in the first place. that reason being a lack of safe, comfortable shelter, and needing a way to cope from not having that shelter. So I ask that as you all consider your budget for fiscal year 2027, USEP plans to allocate more of the remaining opioid abatement funds available to you for permanent supportive housing, which includes wraparound services. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Rick Day, followed by Trevor Davis. Welcome. My name is Rick day and I live in the 3rd district. I have asked for this information and did not receive it. So I don't know if this has been done or not. If it has been done my bad. If it has not been done your bad. I am going to suggest that your county council request a financial audit of the water quality management fund. and it be done by an outside firm and directed by the council or someone other than the administration. This fund collects and spends millions of dollars in water quality management fees every year, and for the most part, there is no oversight. You should know that when this when the management water quality fees were passed in 2009. The ordinance stated that starting in 2014 and every five years thereafter shall be a formal review and audit of the water quality fees. There should have been three by now. Again, I don't know if they've been done or not, but if they have not been done, why not? I don't think it was an oversight. Anyway, all things said, maybe now is a good time to start. Thank you. Next is Trevor Davis. Welcome. Hello, my name is Trevor Davis, Council District 6 from Volk, Kentucky. Like Adrian said before me, the idea of assigning more money that we have available through the opioid abatement funding that could assist with and establish permanent supportive housing, not only would that help to keep people who have started in recovery being in recovery, we could also do that on a housing first basis. So if you do that on a housing first basis and give someone access to the materials, but the resources they need to grow and actually thrive, you don't get stuck living in a I just have to survive today mindset. And that is what beats down a lot of people like myself. If I had access to something like that years ago, I wouldn't have stayed living in an abusive home that I then continued to live in well into my adulthood because I didn't know of any access I had to anything or where I could go. So if we actually have things available for people who are suffering either in a home but it's not healthy or have things available for people who are unhoused as well to get into housing and be taken care of properly and have access to case management and other kinds of wraparound services like psychiatric help, you could then live better and well and actually grow instead of just try to think, how am I going to eat today? From that, we could also take a million of what hasn't been assigned, plus take $1.1 million out of the $2 million to the interest-bearing account. That's an additional $2.1 million that could be used. That could be used in conjunction with words. Give me a second. the $2.2 million that's been assigned to the housing task force to begin to establish something like that. That could be used to either buy the land or apartment or housing or construct it or get the two fund case managers to be assigned to these people. I mention this because there's a program that's been done like this before in other places that has an 80% success rate of maintaining people in housing. An 80% success rate is amazing, and I don't see why we couldn't do something like that here. But it would require funding, and we could use that out of just some of that opioid abatement funding along with finding ways to adjust that in our fiscal year 2027 and other ways around that. So I'll leave it there. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Council, that brings us to adjournment. Is there a motion? All right, a second. It's my rebel and all those in favor say aye. We are adjourned. Thank you all for coming.