# Public Arts Commission - July 7, 2026 > Auto-transcribed civic record · Commission · July 7, 2026 - **Permalink**: https://meetings.lexingtonky.news/meeting/6823 - **Source video**: https://lfucg.granicus.com/player/clip/6823?view_id=14&redirect=true - **Date**: 2026-07-07 - **Body**: Commission - **Last revised**: July 7, 2026 - **Length**: 22,043 words - **Speakers**: Chair > ⚠️ **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 held a meeting on July 7, 2023. The meeting included four agenda items, all of which were presented for informational purposes. Two motions were voted on during the meeting. No public comments were received. The Commission addressed four projects during the session: a call for art on the Martin Luther King Underpass, the Gainesway Parkway Project, a Breeders' Cup Update, and the Delaware Street Project. Each item was presented to inform the Commission of project status and developments. ## Attendance The following individuals were present at the Commission meeting on July 7, 2026: * Celeste Lewis * Nathan * Clive * Ed * Hanna * Georgia * Richard No members were absent or late. ## Votes and Decisions The Commission took action on two matters during the July 7, 2026 meeting. **Approval of the Minutes** The minutes were approved by voice vote [timestamp: 0:04:41]. **MLK Underpass Project – Band Addition** A motion regarding adding the band to the MLK underpass project was tabled [timestamp: 0:26:52]. ## Contested Items **MLK Underpass Project Expansion** The Commission engaged in a heated discussion regarding a proposal to expand the MLK Underpass Project to include additional elements beyond its original scope. The specific nature of the proposed expansion and the parties involved in the disagreement were not detailed in the meeting record. The discussion ultimately resulted in the item being tabled, pending the gathering of further information. No final decision was reached at this meeting. ## Call for Art on the Martin Luther King Underpass [timestamp: 00:05:14] The Commission discussed a call for artists for the Martin Luther King Underpass project. Celeste Lewis presented information on the initiative, which seeks to solicit artwork for the underpass. During the discussion, the potential expansion of the project was considered, with a proposal to include a band on the bridge as part of the artistic programming. This item was presented for informational purposes and did not result in a formal decision or action item at this time. ## Gainesway Parkway Project Celeste Lewis presented information regarding potential art installations at Gainesway Parkway [timestamp: 0:28:57]. The discussion focused on enhancements to the parkway, specifically considering a shade structure and floral elements along a path. This agenda item was presented for informational purposes, with no formal action taken. The discussion centered on design considerations for improving the aesthetic and functional qualities of the parkway through artistic installations. ## Breeders' Cup Update Nathan presented an informational update on the Breeders' Cup sculpture installation project [timestamp: 0:48:42]. The presentation covered progress on two key components of the initiative: site selection for the sculpture and the artist call process. The update addressed the current status of identifying an appropriate location for the sculpture installation, as well as efforts to solicit artist proposals for the project. No concerns or debate were documented during this portion of the meeting. This item was presented for informational purposes and did not require a formal vote or decision from the Commission at this time. ## Delaware Street Project Celeste Lewis led a discussion on the Delaware Street project [timestamp: 00:44:18]. The primary focus of the discussion was the importance of commission members visiting the project site to gain firsthand understanding of the work being undertaken. This agenda item was presented as informational in nature, with the discussion centered on facilitating site visits for commissioners rather than making formal decisions. Lewis emphasized the value of commissioners observing the project directly to better inform their understanding of the initiative. No formal outcome or action items were recorded from this discussion. --- ## Decisions - **Motion** — approved (0-0): Approval of the minutes - **Motion** — tabled (0-0): Adding the band to the MLK underpass project --- ## Full transcript Music Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm sorry. Thank you. Thank you. This is July 7th, Tuesday. We'll call this meeting to order. First item on the agenda is the approval of minutes. I'm assuming everyone has read the minutes. Do you want a motion? We have a motion to approve the minutes. I move to approve. Okay. Okay. Everyone in favor? Say aye. Okay. Anyone not approved? We're not voting on anything today. We do not have a quorum today, but we do not have anything to vote on, so we're just going to share information. So the minutes are approved. The second item on the agenda is a call for art on the Martin Luther King underpass, and I will ask Celeste Lewis to share that information. We had 4th of July. Whoops. We had 4th of July this week, and it was pretty crazy. So, oh, good. We got some more peeps coming in. So things were a little bit crazy, so I haven't gotten that. I wanted some people to take an eyeball of that document, but it's ready to go, and we will be executing that call for artists. It will go on Cafe, Arts Connect, LexArts. We have a couple other places that we can put it out online. And we'll begin to get art inquiries and qualifications for artists for the MLK underpass. So there's the picture of MLK underpass as it is. So we have some samples of artwork. Yep, that's a good one too. So we have a couple of different ways we're going to do this. And so the call for artists will bring all this into it. Okay, can you slow those down just for a second? Hang on one second. So this is, there are two different ways we want to do it. We cannot do the under part of the underpass because the state has asked us not to do that for inspections. inspections, but the, can you go back to the picture of our underpass? The large structures underneath, one more back, those can be done, the large columns underneath, but as you walk towards it, and this is a terrible picture because there was so much sunlight, but along the edge, along the top, not where the rail is, but just under that, there's a band that is a terracotta color and it's sort of a gravelly kind of surface. But I think ultimately what would give the most oomph is if we did the columns and the side. And that way when you're driving towards it and you're some distance away, it still looks like a really amazing thing. Otherwise, you have to kind of get on it to see the columns. Is it an aggregate stone? It is. So I'm not 100% I'm not sure it's the best surface. But anyway, so now we have some examples. Can you, yeah, you can go, if you'll move those forward from there. Celeste, can you speak toward the mic? Yes, yes. You're having a hard time. Okay, so this is an example of, it's way bigger because this is a much taller bridge, but this would be sort of the band kind of look. And then can we look at the next one? And we have some for underneath too. There's another one that kind of goes, would show you like a small example of the band. And then this is some of the columns. Underneath would be what we are hoping to have is a complete mural project underneath. And there's another example of the band. So I just wanted people to be able to see kind of what we have in mind for MLK. and what the call for artists is asking is that we ask people for ideas about that. And we'll do the same process that we've done before like we did at the jail where we'll pick finalists and then we will have those people actually send us proposals for a specific project and then we'll choose. Just to clarify, you're saying that we have permission to, can we go back to what we, I really can't see that unless we can brighten it a little bit. Is there a way to lighten that? Yeah, I don't think so. It was such a bright day. Well, maybe if you could just show the detail. Yeah, I mean, we might as well stick to that because I think we understand the columns. We have permission to do the columns. Yeah, thank you. Here's the band. It's pretty narrow. Maybe, Andrew, is that stone something we could paint on? That's my driveway is made out of that. I think it's that aggregates. Yeah, you should be able to pay on that. It's obviously not smooth, but it would hold the paint? I would think so. Well, it would have to be sealed. It would have to be prepped for that. And I still need to check with the state. This is sort of a new addition to the idea. We got permission to do the columns, but not this part. But as we walked around the site, we were thinking, gosh, it would be great if we could do the band. So I started looking at examples, and it is pretty striking to have this site. Plus, there is a project going on on top that is going to really draw your eye up to the top, and there's going to be plantings and some asphalt art and some things up there. So I think it would be interesting to have that if we can. But obviously, that requires a little bit more research, and the artists will maybe have a lot to say about materials. So you don't know what we have permission to paint yet? In this one area, I don't know. Oh, thank you. That's great. I know we have permission to do the columns. The columns. Is it the only thing you know we have permission for? Yes. Okay. So when you showed that detail, it looked like the stone part was the only horizontal part. Yeah. It's a band, and then it tucks under. He just did a close-up here. You can see much better. So, and I think actually that begins to be more decorative and the state would not have a problem with it because it's more of a decorative element on the edge of the bridge. So their concerns were mainly on the structure and us not impeding inspection for safety. When will you know what exactly? Well, I can check with them this week, but I'm just sort of throwing that out there. is just how does the commission feel about if we extended this project to also include the sides, the band. Can I ask, looking at the image, so other than the horizontal band, there's no permission to do anything with the railing? No, the railing is going to be not really part of the UP project, but it will be included in that in some way. There's going to be, this is still in progress too, but there's a separate grant for a separate organization that's doing, the second part of this is that MLK on top from 4th Street to campus is being looked at as a revitalization project. So there's going to be some asphalt art up there. There's going to be planting, maybe some seeding. There's going to be a lot of different things along that whole path. And I don't know how much of that is on the actual bridge, but that the up top part is being done not in conjunction. It's just a wonderful coincidence that we're going to have all of this done around the same time. So will both projects be – how will we marry both projects? We're not marrying them. They're completely different. Yeah, we're not marrying them. But it's just nice that while we were looking at this underpass part, that this turned out that they were doing a revitalization of the actual bridge. We're doing the underpass. They're doing the actual bridge. So are we looking to define the scope today? Is that what we're talking about? Yes. Yes, I wanted to know, because I do have the call for art finished, and I thought, oh, if we add this, I need to redo the document. Just looking at the beam relief and the amount of work it would take to do something to the ceiling under there, it seems to me that that should not be part of it. Yeah, but no, the state has already said we may not. It's just the fascia facing outward that we're considering adding to the columns as part of the scope. Is that right? Yes, it's just these. And I mean, maybe you know what they're actually called. These beams that hold the bridge up. That's the part we may paint. Oh, the cross beams. Yes. And the columns, right. Yes. But not the fascia that presents. Nope. Okay, gotcha. Yeah. So the scope is defined. It is, except that I want to add the band. Okay. And when I say I want to have the band, I just mean I think it would be a great idea if people, you know, if commission members think that that's too much or if we then end up finding out that this is not the best surface for an artist to work on, we will kill this idea. But as I've been walking around the project, I think that would be a great surface to add to that. I feel like it would make the overall project, because you could almost miss that the under part is painted if you were whipping by. But if you are coming towards it on either side and see the band, it gives it a lot more punch. So I wanted to examine that. So rather than put the call for artists out right now, I wanted to see if that surface would work, check with the state, and add it to the call. If everyone agrees. It seems like there could be an awful lot going on with living streets up above. the columns at the transit center are wrapped or painted also. So it seems like there needs to be some sort of correspondence between these projects. I think the rafts on the columns are no longer there after they've done the remodel. Yeah. I like that. Well, and actually the folks I've talked to about the up bridge project from the Transit Center are really excited about this. This is really, they're very, very happy. And I would be happy to invite them to come to a meeting where we get this all kind of lined out and we're getting ready to send out the call for artists because they are very much part of this, of the Upstairs Project. So yeah, I would love to loop them in on this too because they're real excited about the fact that this is, it's attached to them. It's part of their world there. So Celeste, do those fascia panels carry down all the way down to ground level? Is it, I think right now we're just seeing a small portion of it, but I believe it goes all the way down to the, to the ground on the far end or no? Yes, it goes, well, I don't know how, I'm pretty sure it goes all the way down because, but there's a narrow place there where you won't see it. I see. Where it's in between. On one side anyway. The fascia and the building. Yeah, in the parking garage. I think on the high street side, it eventually ends up connecting to a high street. So then it's ground level at that point. I think it does the same for main, but I don't know if the fascia or if it's just concrete, because there's a narrow little place there where there's parking garage. So it adds a significant scope. Sorry, do you guys want to share something? It's very helpful that you're doing that. No, it's super. It's great. Thank you. This is a real tour of it. Uh-huh. Okay, so it does kind of stop the fascia part. Well, I think on the, because if I'm understanding correctly, it's the sort of external side of this panel. So right here, it's underneath of that railing. It's that surface. It's underneath there. On both sides, yeah. It seems like it would be great to continue on towards High Street and the part on the parking garage. Of course, that would have to be, Lex Park would have to get notified. It is, I mean, unless it was absolutely part of the artist's vision, I don't imagine that it would be stopped or bracketed. in some way, and then the fascia go on. Unless that was part of the design. It somehow was valuable to the design, but otherwise I would imagine it would go. This will change materials, probably. It will change the cost. This will change some things, so this is why I wanted to bring it to everybody. Celeste, could I ask a question? Yeah. Is your vision also for adding this part to this proposal, what about the other side? Yes, there is. Both sides. It's both sides. So both sides. Yep. Okay. Yeah. How far would it extend? Would it keep going to the parking lot? Across? Or are we just talking about just over the road? Well, we were talking mainly about over the road, but there are some ways that it can go. It kind of disappears and it can go all the way at the end. That's what we were just talking about over here. Unless it serves the design to have it bracketed in some way or have a stopping point. But if it served the design that an artist comes up with to go, ultimately, I hope it would go the whole way. And then with the columns, did KYTC allow us to do the support beam as well? Yeah. So all the way up to bridge? That's my understanding of it. The person I'm working with at the state wants to see, I've sent a bunch of examples, but wants to see what some of the design possibilities are. The only thing I was told we cannot do is the under part. Okay. I feel like if we can draw a line around the perimeter of the spaces that are to be painted, that would be helpful. For the artists. For the artists. Yes. For us to all know that we're talking. Well, I actually had our draftsman that works with the city. He did complete measurements and schematic drawings. And the first project was proposed for just the underside, those bottom portions, correct? So I guess proportionately, the amount of square footage that you're asking on the upper portion would expand the budget that much, if not a little more because you're talking about more height and you're working over traffic. I feel like it's going to be a complicated project. Yes. But I think we should at least be ready to expand based on the expansion of the square footage. Well, that's what I was saying. This is going to change the cost, and this is going to change the materials. I'm assuming that maybe the aggregate would take a different material or different ceiling and stuff. So I think this would change things, and that's why I'm bringing it up. Before I send out the call for artists, I felt like we were going to make some significant changes potentially. What is the current budget? I think for this, you know, this has been four years. I'm not sure. Yeah, I would say at least. I guess I have a concern. I mean, I guess this would be part of their concern also. when you're painting a mural over where cars are driving under you you've got the concern about paint getting on cars right oh yeah right i was going to say kytc will require what's called a temporary work zone so there'll be a mitigation plan so we'll have to draft that up yeah so that we have a plan so that we can close lanes yes you can't close the whole road so you got to close things in the second so well we did discuss that a little bit that we would have to get our traffic police involved and there would be times in which the lane would have to be closed and potentially some barriers put up. Celeste, can I ask one more question? I know at one point there was conversation about lighting that doing a lighting installation wouldn't work for safety reasons. is there talk of adding lighting to both the underside columns and then additionally this part so that it's able to be seen at night? I did mention when I talked to the state that we wanted to do some up lighting at the crossbeams and they said that they would like to see what we had in mind. They're worried about distraction of driving and that sort of thing, but I said this would just be to show the artwork. and if something could come on at night. And I talked to our electrician with the city, and he said it was pretty easy. The power is right there. Literally, like, right there. The whole brain is right there. So it seemed to me that that was highly possible. We are really sort of inching along with this project simply because there's a lot of unknowns. A whole bunch. But I feel like once an artist is selected, then a lot of that starts to come together once we get a design. So I haven't been... I'm over worried about that just simply because I feel like we have to get some more information from the actual artist professional first. So these are just the sketching out. But the state was very amenable to the potential of lighting at the base. But no lighting in an artistic way necessarily? No. When I mentioned that, that was a real pushback on that. Because I was thinking it would be on the under part, and they were like, no, you can't attach anything to the under part. Luckily, there are no other bright screens distracting people while they're driving. Yes. Well, we actually do have a quorum now. I am. If you would like to take a vote on whether or not to add that to those. Yeah. I mean, if you guys want to vote on this as to is that an addition, and we'll need to get some estimates on how that much that's going to impact the cost. It's going to be way more complicated. Yeah. I think the columns could be enough. I mean, they're such a prominent feature. They are. I think it's the added challenge of working on that aggregate stone, which I find pretty innocuous. I mean, it's not the worst. No, it's not horrible. So I think for the amount of money that an artist would have, it just seems like that would be sufficient of creating a strong impact. Okay. I do agree in a way because it will take twice as long to paint on that surface because of the texture, which does create a problem with the traffic control and safety. It's more complicated. Definitely more complicated and headaches for our community. I wonder if we could proceed, I guess, with the column situation, but then in engaging with artists through the call, is there some way to... I feel like if we could just get more information about how much money that would require, how much time, the logistics, it could be perhaps a second phase. To me, I agree it's pretty innocuous, but it's also therefore a pretty fantastic opportunity to have something very, very visual. I would hate to totally table it. It seems like at this point it maybe doesn't make too much sense because we just don't have the information to make an informed decision, so maybe a second phase. Okay, so do you guys want to table the idea of a vote until we get more information about the... I mean, I don't see why the call couldn't have a pretty clear indication that that portion is potentially in scope and that the budget could be adjusted accordingly. But, I mean, I think we would need to have, yeah, I mean, would that be a problem? I mean, for those of y'all that have issued calls before? Well, let me suggest this. Why don't I try to get the ultimate information from the state about that and do a little bit of research about the aggregate, and then let me see about the wording of the call for artists and see how we could maybe put that in as a potential thing. I think most artists are going to want to have their scope pretty clear. I think that's going to be kind of hard for them to imagine that it's a possibility. And I love the idea possibly of doing it in two different phases, like you're suggesting. The only problem is if it was, they would need to marry a little bit. They couldn't be two separate projects because they're so adjacent. So they would need to really, and so it constrains, if the same artist was doing it, fine. But if not, the second artist would have to make their design fit someone else's. That's not ideal. So that's a concern. But I'm suggesting today that we not vote on adding it at the moment and that we just pause on this and we take this up again in August and let me get as much information in the meantime as I can. Okay. Is that going to mess with your timeline? No. Okay. No. I mean, it puts us back a month, but at this point. After five years. I know. Absolutely. Just getting through to the state and getting an answer is actually step forward after five years. because it has, we've been, yeah. Well, and this is not on the agenda, but I actually want to comment on that really quickly. It occurred to me last night that some of these things, and we'll get into Gainesway about that, there's real birthing pains with all of these. We go through a great deal, but it pays off and it's wonderful. And I was sort of remembering last night after our visit to Gainesway, I thought, I remember that when we went to, like, Ed, I think you were with us out of the jail and stuff, We had lots of areas to think about, and then it was really hard to home in on one, and then it was really hard. And then, Andrew, you had to do a lot of research on would it sustain a piece of art down there. So I realized that this is nothing that happens easily, and we are a whole bunch of professionals that have really strong opinions. And I feel like we have always had really good ultimate goals, and the outcome is great. But it is very difficult. And so I think all of these decisions take time. So when I try to push it and rush it, I realize we really can't. We're going to have to take some time with this one and with Gainesway. Yeah, this is a big one. Yeah, this is a big one. So I just wanted to say I'm aware that we're inching along, but we are making some progress. And these two, MLK and Gainesway, will happen. They will become a reality as far as being started in 2026. That's my goal. All right. Thank you, Celeste. The next item on the agenda will be another update from Celeste on the Gainesway Park visit that happened yesterday. We did. We got to go out there. It did not rain. Okay, do you have some picks for that one? Thank you. So we had a lot of discussion about the placement. I mean, we had some places in mind that we were jumping off point yesterday, but there's still a lot to think about. So this is a little interesting. On the edge of the bridge, at the end of the bridge, is this little mini amphitheater kind of spot where it's just a place of carved stone for sitting. And it's very on the edge of the park, so there are some trees. It's nice. On this side of the bridge, along the water, are cattails, reeds, and lots and lots of wildflowers that when we were there earlier in the year, they weren't there. And they were thick and they're amazing. They were gorgeous. So that was somewhat inspirational in our vision. The other thing is there is a path that goes through Gainesway. It's a loop. So right around the bridge, you do this sort of big loop. So in a perfect world, we thought we would have a sculptural piece there and something along the path. What I think we need to figure out is if that is two separate projects for two separate times, or if those things are going to be done together and have a continuity between the two projects. So this is an example of a shade structure. It came up in the conversation. Jim Clark mentioned, let's do a potential shade structure over that little seating area, which really ignited all of our imagination. And then Roseanne had a picture on her phone of a shade structure that sort of looms over a sitting area. And it was very butterfly-ish, and it was really beautiful. So I went through some images, and this one is in Phoenix, Arizona, where they need shade desperately. And so this is one. And then can you show another one? These are just some potential. Oh, that's different. Okay, that's different, different. There's another picture of the shade structure in Arizona. And then this is one that's an animal, which isn't appropriate for this one because we don't want to go over top of that. But there is a way to do something kind of interesting with an animal or something floral. I just wanted you to see an example of how it can be done. Here is more of a traditional kind that we see in a lot of places. This is a really cool looking shade structure. Next one, there's another one that's very sculptural that could come over top of that area. This one's a little less shady, but it sort of gives you an idea of how you can do something very sculptural. And that's what happens at night to that particular one. There's another one. Okay, I think that might be all. Yeah, there's one more. Okay, great. Thank you. So these are some ideas of ways we could do that. So another thought I had that I just wanted to throw out there as a possibility, and we'll have to maybe have another meeting out there so everybody can get to see it, or we'll do some video. But the flowers really inspired me to think that if we were going to marry these two projects, if it was possible to bring them both together, Would it be possible to have something somewhat floral and wildflower-like as the overhang, as the shade structure, and then that is repeated along the path in panels or in small – see, this is an example of a panel. And I would want it to be not quite this, you know, I would want it to be a little bit more artistic, a little bit more created, each one unique. I wouldn't want to necessarily just do floral panels all along. But along the trail, if we had three or four spots where there was something that was about floral, about pollinators, about something like that along the path, there is a thing I was thinking, that's a planter, but I was thinking, what if we did something that was a sculpture, a small sculptured panel with a bench a couple of places on the path where you could sit for a second and then you had that same repeat of the floral from the shade structure repeated on the path? Thoughts? Anybody? I feel like I'm just rattling on here. Well, I had mentioned the idea of banners, like the poles of banners, but this, the images that you gave, reinforces that thought of having something that guides the eye and reveals the topography of the space. because right now you've got, when you're close to the community center, the landscape is fairly nondescript, and it's not defined by the trees. There's only a few trees. But then when you go deeper into it, you've got the trees and the more densely populated wildflower territory. And that really seems very park-like. and where you would want to go for a walk. Thank you. But I was thinking that if you did something like those umbrella-shaped elements that have more of a floral aspect to it, that would help guide the eye through the space and help give you direction as you're wandering. I agree. I like the elevated aspect. I like that very much. I don't want to dictate any of this. I don't want us to dictate any of this to the artist, but I want to come up with a, this is complicated and this is a big place. I just want us to have some guidance for an artist to have a jumping off point that we all agree on to start with. start with, and these are just some of the thoughts that came to me last night, that a way that we could make the eye go, and as you're walking through the path, but yet it still has the element of the shade structure. So again, this is another project that I'm thinking expanding from just the one piece to the shade structure and pieces along the path. I missed it yesterday, unfortunately, and really was looking forward to it. So I'm feeling, at least for myself, that I'm missing a little bit of context, maybe because I'm so new. Is this tied to reimagining the Civic Commons? Is this this totally separate thing? Who's leading this project? Yeah, totally separate. This is Public Art Commission doing this. Okay. This does not have anything to do with reimagining the comments. Ah, okay. No, I mean, that's understandable because MLK is so tied with that project. This is a completely different thing. And, Hannah, I am happy to drive out there with you. I was going to say, I was looking at the pictures and I was like, I'm just going to go there on my way home. No, it's so beautiful right now. It's absolutely gorgeous. Okay, so I think you saw all the examples of shade structure. the potential of so Jim explain to me a little bit more what you envision along the path the shape and if we were to marry some idea of the shape structure and you're saying that you want something to lead your eye in your mind what would that look like would they be freestanding or would they be something that you would sit on that had that element tied to it or I mean would envision something on the scale of that near the small amphitheater area, but then maybe it's deconstructed and elements of it are scattered around. So it's sort of like the main flower, we keep saying flowers, but it's the main sort of natural element that has its little spores that spread through the park. I love that. I mean, I think that's where we marry them, and I think that's where we pull the park together. And I think the other thing I'm very interested in is that this will be an experience. You'll go and really feel like you've experienced something. And if you're experiencing the reeds and the flowers and the shade structure and then the things that are leading you along the path, I feel like all that can come together. And yesterday when we were there, I couldn't get that to come together. And it wasn't until, you know, this is now starting to take the shape. And I think what you're describing is much clearer of what we could actually do there. Do we have any, well, I was just going to, again, new to the rodeo, but is there like any, do we have any like openness, willingness, availability ideas for sort of expanding this beyond just the Public Art Commission in terms of drawing in, you know, maybe students from nearby? or I think there is, I can't remember what it's calling itself, but there is an emerging youth kind of leadership group there. There's a community center there, and there's also Tates Creek High School. Exactly. So is that something that the Public Art Commission has ever done before? Do we have an interest in sort of engaging and sort of getting some feedback and buy-in? Well, Council Member Beasley has been doing some surveys and things on what And then we would engage her and her aide, Mason, in helping us get that together. And we would have some introduction of the project to local folks. But I do feel like because it's such a big one, this is where I'm just trying to get a concept from our discussions and from our visits. Because we will need to guide the project a bit. it's not really fair for us to just sort of throw in like, hey, you guys help us design a budget. And I think if we give people a concept and then let people go from there, that's the jumping off point for them. But we had talked about maybe doing panels along the way that would maybe involve more storytelling. And we thought if the high school students could perhaps do that. The middle school there is the gifted and talented program. And I was thinking they probably are doing some really cool storytelling and some things in that program. So I thought they're right there. And so it's possible that we would get a lot of input from not only the local residents, but the students. Okay. Thank you for indulging. I like the idea of the storytelling. I've seen a couple. There's a park in Mount Sterling that just got constructed. And I think we've done it a couple times here in Lexington, like a story walk where different pages of the story are spread throughout a trail. So something like that could be an inspiration for some elements of that story to be visualized or 3D. And that might be a way to tie it all together and have some kind of concept that an artist would build from. I think it could be something about the seasons. It could be something about pollinators. I mean, we could have different panels that say different things that go along with these elements that we're putting through the thing. I think this is going to evolve, and I think the artists will guide us in that part. I hear there's a family of beavers. I think this is where we do this part. Is there bear in Gainesway? I think so, yes. Yeah, yeah. You know, I would also add that there's a lot of text in that part already, a whole lot. And I would caution against adding too much more. So I think that the focus should be more on visuals than on text. Good point. Not to contradict you, but I will. Well, there's the didacting information about the pond system and the plant life. but it seems like because there is a council member Beasley does have a group to go to that maybe there's words or thoughts that people have about green space or parks that could be let's say you've had like a corten steel sort of leaf structure but it could be laser cut into the like some phrase about, now I'm playing artist, but there could be ways of incorporating people's thoughts about the importance of green space or even something that's embedded in the asphalt. I've been in cities where you're walking a path and there's metal letters pressed into the telling something. Well, that's a wonderful sense of discovery for that. as you're walking along. I like the sound of that. I really don't want to load the August meeting, but I think maybe if I, in the meantime, talk to Council Member Beasley and we start to pull some more things together with that. So in the August meeting, everybody come because we're going to have a lot of final decisions to make. But I can get some more information about what they can do as far as community engagement. And we're going to ask them to help us with that. And then take all of these ideas, embedded pieces, all of these different things of ways of storytelling or ways of education or ways of getting some small amount of words into things, not to overdo it like that, or make that similar to that, something totally different than those. I think those will be really good engagement topics for people to decide. So are we in agreement that I'm just going to work on this some more? Give yourself more work. No, no, I don't mind at all. But I'm just saying, is that okay with everybody if we get another layer of information about this and we take it up again in August? And then I can email you guys in the meantime if we get any information that's guiding it. I think we have to focus on the shade element, which is really important because it's begging for that. No one's going to sit there unless there's something to focus on. You know, it's shade there. It gets some good light there. It's really nice. Okay. This is great. I will get some more information. Thank you. Okay. Moving on to the next item on the agenda, which is the Delaware Street Project. Will Hennerhan update. So he's not here to do an update, but what I would like to invite everyone, and I know it's really hard to get you guys. Everybody's busy. But I would like to take a commission group or everyone to see this project. Nathan and I are the only ones that have actually gone there. And it's – have you been there? Okay, good. Anyone else? Anybody else been there to Delaware Street? Well, it's a really interesting thing that he's doing over there. And it's kind of coming along. And so he has questions. He's been emailing me with a few questions. And I realized that it would be nice if everybody saw it and stood there and looked at it. And then we can answer those questions better if everyone has the same context and visual. Clive especially, you probably need to take a look at this. This is that project. Were you here that day when he did a really comprehensive breakdown? It was one of the better, what is the word, presentations we've ever had. It was very comprehensive. And he has two potential spots, but we are really focusing on the one out front. But he's sort of moving the city, the sidewalk and everything back a little bit. He's going to have a space of city-owned property in front of this development. And Delaware Avenue has a lot of the businesses there have some little piece of art, some kind of visual three-dimensional piece. So he really wants to carry that through. And the ultimate goal is to make this kind of a sculpture row, kind of a place you could drive down and see a lot of things. So this is a really interesting project. And then he also has a, what do we call that? Andrew in the back. That right-of-way? Easement. Easement? The easement. The easement in the back is he's going to make into a little pocket park. A what park? A little pocket park. Sort of a pocket park. A little sitting area. And he would like a piece of art back there. And that's a little bit more complicated because we needed to look at water and drainage and things like that. And maintenance of the city work there. So it helps to go look at this project because it's complicated. So I wanted to know, I will send out a poll for everybody if you want on some dates that we could go there, hopefully not a 400-degree day, and we could just go look at that project. Have you been out there, Andrew? Did you say yes or no? Okay. I feel like you really need to go take a look at it, too. Yeah, I want to see it, too. He's got some really good consultants. He's got a lot of people who are guiding him in this project. So I know that there's nothing off the rails going on over there, but I would love for us to see it for the artistic part of it, to see what we think. And he would like to do artist selection fairly soon. So I will send out some dates, if possible, for this month that we get over there. So he is wanting to go through us to purchase art for this space? No, he's going to select an art. He's going to do a big community thing. he's going to have a lot of people input on that. But I felt like for us to approve one or two of these projects, I mean, we have approved phase one of the first one, but I would like, he wants guidance, and I would like us to be able to look at that space and decide. Also, if we decide to do the second one, we're going to need to look at that. Yes? Sorry, Celeste, is there a packet of info about this that was submitted earlier that we can go back and look at? He did a huge presentation here. We've got it on video, which I can send you guys. Yeah, that would be very helpful. Okay. Anything more? Who all needs the video? I would love to see it. Okay, Georgia. And do you want it? Maybe everybody. Roseanne? Okay. I'd love to see it. Well, it's long. It's long. It was pretty amazing. It really was. He's very, very prepared. And this was really refreshing. It was great. It was super. Yeah, it really was. I think Jim, you told him it was one of the best presentations you had seen to this commission. Okay. Okay, and then the next is Nathan Zamron, who's going to present the Breeders' Cup update. Very good. Thank you. I'm going to keep this fairly short and then invite folks to a follow-up subcommittee meeting that would like to participate in site selection. So just a quick recap of this project. This is a two-year sculpture installation that would span from throughout Versailles Road, from basically at where Oliver Lewis Way crosses, so the start of Versailles Road, out to Keeneland. And so we're looking at different sites, 10 sculptures that would be leased from artists for a two-year period. One of those pieces would be identified through a people's choice or public voting mechanism that would be purchased by the commission and would be kept permanently. We may relocate that to another location at the end of the exhibit, but it would be a piece that would be retained by the city at a purchase amount. So with this project, LexArts is running the project management of this. We have released a call for art. I've had positive response back from quite a few artists that are excited about the opportunity. And so, of course, the ten selected artworks, each artist would be receiving a $5,000 stipend for the lease of their piece. They would have to deliver the piece to us, help erect it and put it on the pedestal, and then remove it at the end of the exhibition. So I've also talked with the concrete company, Old Castle Precast, and they're lined up to do the pedestals. We won't know the number of each shape that we need until we select the artwork. But they're queued up and ready to go on that front. So the selection committee through the Public Art Commission would be a key component. And so I'm inviting anybody that wants to participate in a meeting next week. I proposed a date that will circulate after this meeting. That's next Thursday at 2 p.m. If that doesn't work for the most people, we can pick another time, but I just wanted to toss something out there. And we can do that over Zoom. We'll be able to share all the information. I do have images of several spaces for consideration. So the primary outcome of this next meeting is going to be to select 15 sites, which we will present in front of the state. And Andrew, you had offered to help us kind of present that. And basically what we're going to be asking for is maximum parameters. So, you know, these are the shape of the pedestals. There will be a maximum height of the sculptures. And then we'll ask for permission of use of those spaces with the idea that, you know, we'll ask for 15. We'll only use 10 of those, but that allows us some flexibility there, too. And I'd like to prioritize those sites based on visibility and high traffic places. I'm thinking that we may want to group those sculptures in a certain vicinity. So there might be a groupings of three or so to create more of an exhibit feel. Because it is quite a long span between High Street and Keeneland. There's also some cultural assets currently along that space. two artworks that were from the 2015 Breeders' Cup installation that we did similar to this. And so there's a blue cat in front of the Women's Hope Center and a Kypto-Taurus headrest piece that's in front of Global Lex. So those were part of a previous temporary sculpture exhibit that were acquired by the city and so are still out there. But I was thinking we can kind of asset map any sculptures or assets that are along the space and then kind of connect the dots in between. I did want to have an alternate space proposed, which is as Oliver Lewis branches towards UK's campus, so just beyond Versailles Road, there's a really nice wide median in between the two traffic paths. And I was thinking that could be a backup location that we could propose in case we needed some more space because there's a nice wide. Why would that be backup? Well, it's just not Versailles Road proper, but I think it is high traffic. We get a lot of visibility. And I've seen in many other communities they're activating medians because it does provide a lot of vantage points. So I think that those medians were also called for in the Versailles Road master plan. So I'm working from that master plan to identify some of the aesthetic enhancements that were being proposed several years ago through that process. So if we're doing this by Zoom, are you going to have this really image heavy? I mean, can we be able to see some of these intersections and all that sort of thing, these locations, including this backup? That sounds really cool. Absolutely, yeah. And I have visuals. They're just printed for them today, but we can explore them virtually that way. And then if you have a chance in the meantime, just while you're driving, if you notice any green spaces or we have to stay within a certain distance of the roadway to be within city. Well, it's an interesting thing because the state is going to want us to stay a certain distance off the roadway. But to be within the city right of way, we need to stay within a certain proximity. So we've done this, like I said, in 2015, the first Breeders' Cup. We had set several in along Newtown Pike and Versailles Road. So it is something that we've navigated in the past. But the first thing is just get permission from the state where it's necessary, and then we can talk as a group in terms of those proximities. Is Newtown not in this one? Newtown is not in this proposed. Right now, I think we're primarily looking at some of those spaces that haven't been as invested in, and that's why we're thinking for sales road was kind of one of those priorities that we'll have a lot of traffic for Breeders' Cup and beyond. I just had a question slash thought. there's several Lex Tran stops along 60. So I don't know if that seems like a good opportunity to kind of dovetail. That's a great point. And so maybe in the meeting, we can note where those are at. Because we do want some pedestrian interaction with the pieces, clearly not on the median pieces, but when they're near the sidewalk. I know that was a concern about the median pieces. Marksbury Library is out there. that would be a great place to help create some visual attention. Excellent. Well, I'll stop there unless there's any questions, but we will have a subcommittee meeting to explore first the site preferences and then following up. The call for art is open until the end of July. So right after that, we'll do an artist selection meeting where, again, that subcommittee can come together and weigh in on the artworks that have been proposed. How has the response been from artists? Verbally, very good. They like the stipend level. The timeline is tight, but we're looking at existing work or proposed work that they can complete by September. So we would like to install during the month of September in advance of Keeneland starting. So likely a lot of proposed art. And these projects always end up, the artists apply right near the end so they can prepare their application with the most amount of time. But I have had positive verbal conversations with a number of artists. Would you like to go ahead and solicit, take solicitations from people who would be on the committee now? Yeah, anybody interested in joining? I would like to. I'll go ahead and take notes. Anybody else want to join the meeting next Thursday? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I've got to. I suggested Thursday at 2 p.m. 5. Ed? Well, and if not, if that doesn't work for a lot of people, maybe there is an alternate. Yeah, we can have those. It seems like everyone in the room does. Yeah, I think we all want to, but if you get back and your calendar's full, then maybe we can chat. But Thursday, too, sounds like a good start. Excellent. That's great. Did you say? Hey, Richard. Okay. That's great. Everybody wants to participate. Well, this is a big deal. Thank you. Thank you. That's a lot of work. All right. Any old business? Any more new business? We've covered this. This whole meeting's been about new business. New biz. That's great. All right. Any public comment? I guess I have some old business. Yes. Can you hear me okay? Yes. So Nathan and I have talked about this, and I don't know if it's... Maybe use your mic. Yeah. Years ago, when we worked on the Oliver Lewis Way Bridge, After many years, the sculpture was installed, and I hear comments all the time about the way the art engages the bridge or more accurately does not engage the bridge. So I would like to raise that as a possible ongoing discussion about how we might attend to that perceived problem that I have felt and a lot of people have articulated over the years, could be fairly easily remedied. So I guess at this stage of the game, I'm just curious to know if there's adequate interest among this group to take that conversation to the next step. Explain that just a little bit more. Let's have a little bit more context about it. You think it does not engage the bridge? Correct. The pedestal of the bridge, the shape of the pedestal of the bridge, and the pedestal of the artwork, the burning barrels, the name of which, Origins? Yeah, Origins, but Chris Weed. And I think Nathan has had a preliminary conversation with the artist about this. There's some awareness about it. And I do think that it's worth a conversation at the very least. What are you suggesting as a solution? I'm still not totally, you mean there's a gap, you mean, or is there just a different material? Maybe the next thing would be to bring photos in. I don't really want to impose my thoughts about it at this point because that would be a design solution, and I don't think we're ready for that. So I think it would just be about bringing some photos in, discussing whether it's worth further conversation at this juncture. Let's definitely do that. And then you are welcome. You're not imposing your design. You would be adding that to the conversation. So, yeah, by all means, we'd like to see what your thoughts are. So bring the photographs for our next meeting. Do you want to put that on the agenda? Sure. Okay, let's have that discussion. Actually, I think that's a very healthy thing to go back and reassess work that's been done, and that was done how many years ago? Probably at least 10. I think 15. 2015, so 11 years ago. Is that right? I know these guys know that I'm very shy to express my opinion, but I did keep my mouth shut about how those pieces fit or don't fit on the pedestal. But I thought, you know, well, it's a done deal. There's no point bringing that up. But I think if there is some potential remedy to make it look like it was made for that space. Right. And you know, this is why I'm a little reluctant to talk about design solutions, because until we have some kind of sense of what budget arena we're residing in, there's no point in getting carried away with solutions. So what you're saying, Jim, is this is your fault? Is that what you're saying? Yes, and there is, it's basically just the shape of the bottom of the sculpture and then the shape of the pedestal don't necessarily match up perfectly. So there could be some added components that would marry them together in a more elegant way. And the artist is open to, you know, exploring that. There's also, we've had conversations about the advancement that has happened with LED lights in the meantime, and that also would greatly enhance the impact of the piece. The funny thing is, we've gotten requests to change the bridge blue, and it can't get there. So the lights aren't powerful enough to get through the yellow spheres, and so they turn green. And so there would be some ability to increase the light quality and be able to be more dynamic and meet the needs that the community has requested. I cannot be blue. I cannot be blue. Thank you so much for bringing that up. I think this is why we're here. And I think Hannah has a. I just have one additional really quick mindful of time. Celeste already alluded to it, but I just wanted to sort of underscore it and sort of give everyone a fuller heads up. We did talk about the underpass, the under part of the bridge for MLK, and you did allude to the upper MLK project and energy underway. But that will likely be coming that upper part along the whole MLK corridor. I'm anticipating that some of that project will come before the Public Art Commission because I think there is an interest in doing asphalt art similar to Shropshire. So scope is not totally defined yet. There's a lot of moving parts, as you all understand, and many different players, many different people at the table, government and then external. But just to know that that will probably come online soon. Yeah, these reimagining the community commons. Is that what it is? Civic commons. Civic commons. The civic commons. Those meetings are so huge, and there are so many people from traffic and from all the different areas. But they get so much done, and it's coming together, and it's really, really fascinating. But it is definitely lots of moving parts. But I do think that even if our project happens quicker or something like that, the marriage of that whole corridor and this project are going to be amazing. But, yeah, I recognize that. And then I did mention the asphalt art thing. I think there's going to be quite a bit up on top. It's seeming like. I mean, not quite a bit of asphalt art. I mean, quite a bit of art up there and planting and stuff like that. So, anyway, I'm excited about it. I'm so excited. But I am amazed at the number of people who are contributing to that. It's amazing and very fun. I just got a whiplash. Thank you for that update. I'm going to go back to what Klaus was talking about. I think that you bring up a great point. I don't know where in the budget we would fit this in, but I do think that we need to really think about how we need to go back and repair pieces like that, especially when it's been an aesthetic issue that's gone on for many years. And while we still have people who were involved in the initial creation of those pieces at the table. And this bridge is city property? This is our bridge? The piece was paid for. Lex Arts was the project manager, facilitated the project. It was paid for by the city. It is a state bridge. So there's a lot of involved parties in that. But the piece itself was transferred ownership to the city. So the city owns the artwork. Fantastic. And for the record, the original intention in the conversation about the design of the bridge to accommodate art, there was meant to be murals underneath it, and that's never been attended to. And yesterday, Celeste and I discussed this very briefly, and the ownership question came up. And that may have perhaps the state ownership complicated that. But do you know, Nathan, why that was never pursued? I'm guessing it was just being distracted by other things. But was there ever a process wherein that was discussed and eliminated from the realm of possibility? It wasn't in the scope of that particular project to do the underneath. but I know it had been discussed at that time. It wasn't until there was a funding mechanism with the Public Art Commission that pieces started to be commissioned by the city. That was a kind of a particular interest project that the mayor had pursued that the funding came from directly from the mayor's office at that time. So the underside remains a possibility. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, of course. Also, and as I recall, the design underneath has, it's indented to receive something underneath, as well as the lighting that was on both sides of the bridge. Yeah, great. Thank you so much for bringing up that point, too. And that would be the underside. We had at that time explored some concepts about, at least discussed them, about lighting, artistic lighting being a possibility because it would help pedestrian safety as that's part of the town branch trail. And it would help people to proceed underneath. Does Corman have any jurisdiction over those decisions? I don't think so. Not that I know of for the side that the trail engages. The other side, yes. But the side that the trail cuts through where pedestrians would really be interacting, I think it would just be mostly working with the state. The state does not want any holes drilled into the bridge itself. I wonder why. It would have to be something where we would figure out around how to mount anything that would be attached. But murals, of course, would probably be safe. But the lighting I do think is a very interesting thing to explore because it has multiple benefits. I would love to, if there's a way that as we're talking about the, I would love to just have that conversation about that underpass. Particularly, I know as a pedestrian and particularly as a cyclist, that area trying to get from Gatton Park under the bridge and then up onto Manchester Street is pretty rough. and so I wonder if there's a way for us to have a little bit of a more holistic conversation about the bridge including that access point because it's sort of at the moment a sort of trail to nowhere and then there's a parking lot and then another trail so I think it would be really great if we could facilitate that as part of that whole conversation thinking about the underside of the bridge and sort of I don't know reconditioning or whatever we want to call it, of the pedestals on top of the bridge, all as one sort of potential project that the commission could take on. And the other question, or the other, I guess it's sort of a question. It is a question. There's going to be a question mark at the end. Celeste, are we tracking our maintenance fund? Is that at, is that housed at Bluegrass Community Foundation? Is that where it is? It is. It is going to be moved to the city and will be put in its own item. We have run into some issues about how maintenance will be paid and fees will be paid. So it's likely going to be moved. But currently it is at the Bluegrass Community Foundation, and we have updates and conversations with them about that. How much is in the fund? I'm sorry, what? How much is in the fund? I don't know. I'll have to check on that. I don't have that. I mean, I can kind of extrapolate a little bit from what we've paid into it so far, but I'm not sure. One of the things I know that we talked about at the very beginning of the Public Art Commission is the city's considerable collection of public art and how we fund maintenance of that. And I think as we're having this conversation around origins, I think it might be prudent to revisit the conversation around maintenance. Because obviously we've required projects to put in maintenance funds. But I don't know if that's what the case is for all of the projects that the city has. And if, like, we have maintenance funds. There was no previous money set aside for that. And that was something that Heather, at the very beginning of the commission, Heather Lyons brought up to us, that the necessity of a maintenance fund was really one of our main focuses. So we have that now, but that does not necessarily, you know, it can be easily wiped out by doing certain things. Or catching up with all the pieces that the city owns, which is a huge collection. I mean, when you really look at the overall collection, the city owns a lot of public art. So that is not completely addressed. And this new moving of it and making maintenance its own account through the city budget is perhaps going to address that. Is there a way for us to have, I mean, I know that this is maybe a little bit of a challenging endeavor given the city's collection, but for us to have some sort of advised amount to be in that maintenance fund for the other, for the complete sort of collection that the city owns? I just worry that if we have, just bringing up this project in particular, if there are maintenance needs down the line, does that, for a project that we haven't set aside maintenance funds for, does that have the potential then, as you said, to sort of wipe out maintenance funds for the projects that we funded and then make it harder for us to maintain those projects moving forward? It's very much a concern. It very much needs to be addressed. And I do feel like this new conversation that we're having within the city budget is maybe going to help that. But on the other hand, if there was a catastrophic event of some kind that took out a lot of pieces, it would be really hard to fix all that at once. And then one of the things I'd like to avoid is having to phase them in year after year because then that deferred maintenance just compounds and things get more rusty or more damaged or whatever. So we definitely need, but that's not necessarily, that's a commission recommendation, but that's not something that we can actually, we can recommend that to city government, but we wouldn't be able to necessarily make that happen. But our, since the Public Art Commission started, our maintenance fund is exactly as we planned, and all of that money is deposited, and it's there. And we've had to spend very little. So we wouldn't be able as a commission to recommend that some of the funds that we have to commission projects be put into a maintenance fund, the maintenance fund voluntarily? Oh, I think we can. I think we could. That's certainly something that we could vote on. But I just mean that would be diluting the amount for, you know, whatever else. I mean, it is just one set amount. Right. So if we put some and said the X number of dollars will be for older projects or for older pieces, we can, but then something could happen to one of our new pieces, too. So that's why I think we're going to end up sort of putting all this together in one pot, and if there was something needing to be maintained in a previous project or one of our new ones, it would all be the same. This is not unusual for cities to be confronted with this, And I know in New York, the Municipal Arts Society on behalf of the city did adopt a monument and adopt a mural programs. So that was taking care of things as they came up. Because there's no way that they had enough money sitting around. I mean, it's like an insurance fund. It's totally underfunded. But that's if there were an entity that could operate like an adopt a sculpture program. What do you mean by entity? That's someone that could manage that funding? I doubt if people would not write checks to the city for that. But that's how the Municipal Art Society functions in New York. They take on those projects to benefit the city. So that's just one model that I know. But I know Greenville, North Carolina, has a very extensive public art program with museum quality. So it would be interesting to see what their backup is, as well as San Antonio and Austin have very developed programs. Okay, I'll look into that and try to get some guidance for us from those successful programs. Because, you know, I'm glad you brought it up, Richard, because it is a concern. And we have been lucky. We've been lucky. And that's just the only way to describe it. We haven't really had something that we've had to wipe out. the account for, but it could happen. Well, this could be a good challenge for us, and thank you for bringing it up. Yeah. This wonderful can of worms you've opened up. And Richard has a good point. I've not been to that underpass on a bicycle, but I'm going to try it out and just see what the challenge is. And I didn't realize that there, because the Urban County Arts Review Board was not, there was no money involved. We just reviewed, and we did not commission work, and therefore there was no maintenance fund that we dealt with. And so when the Origins Project came up, we just approved it, and there was no maintenance fund there. And you weren't doing oversight. And I didn't, so I knew there was nothing about a mural proposal there. Probably a good opportunity to engage the Gatton Park administration, as well as the Manchester Hotel. And Corman, there's opportunity for partnership there, too. So anyway, any other questions or comments? anyone make a motion to adjourn so moved i had a feeling that was anyone second second all right this meeting is adjourned yeah thank you everyone Thank you. It is the night, my body's weak. I'm on the run, no time to sleep. I've got to ride, ride like the wind, to be free again. And I've got such a long way to go, to make it to the border of Mexico. So I ride like the wind Ride like the wind I was born the son of the longest man I was broke my mind with a gun in my hand Live my life, gunned down ten Gonna ride like the wind And I've got such a long way to go Such a long way to go Make it to the border of Mexico So I'll ride like the wind Ride like the wind Ride like the wind Thank you. I'm on the run, no time to sleep I've got to ride, ride like the wind To be free again And I've got such a long way to go Make it to the port of Mexico So I'll ride like the wind I've got to ride like the wind I've got a long way to go Such a long way to make it to the border of Mexico So I ride like a wind Ride like a wind Ride like a wind We'll be right back. Wake up, really gon' rise in time. Step two. Get some good, so full of you. I'm out. I want to get a belly full of beer. My only hands are drunker than a barrel full of monkeys. And my old lady, she don't care. My sister looks cute in her braces and boots. A handful of grease in her hair. Don't give us none of your apprehension. We'll hide it when you're disappointed. Saturday nights are fight for fighting. Get a little action on him Get up and I thought about the diesel train Gonna set the stands alive Saturday night, time of night, I like Saturday night's alright, alright, alright Ooh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh You've gone out, brother, don't go work any class Who's this random clothes in the bottom of a glass Oh So give a gun on your eyes a vision You had a way to discipline Saturday night's all right for fighting Get a little action in Get a bottle of blood and a dream of trying Gonna set the dance of life Saturday night's alright Alright Ooh We'll be right back. Cause Saturday night's the night out of night Saturday night's alright, alright, alright Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday night's alright. Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday night's alright. Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday. Have you heard about the lonesome loser? Beaten by the queen of hearts every time. Have you heard about the lonesome loser? He's a loser but he still keeps on trying. Sit down Take a look at yourself Don't you want to be somebody Someday somebody's gonna see inside You have to face up You can run and hide Have you heard about the lonesome loser Beaten by the queen of hearts every time Have you heard about the lonesome loser He's a loser but he still keeps on trying Unlucky in love, that's what they say He lost his head and he galled his heart away He still keeps searching, oh, there's nothing left. He staked his heart at a loss. Now he has to pay the cost. Have you heard about the lost loser? Feeding by the queen of hearts every time. Have you heard about the lost loser? He's a loser, but he still keeps on trying. It's okay, he smiles and tears Though this loneliness is driving him crazy He don't show what goes on in his head But if you watch very cold, you'll see it all Sit down Take a look at your face Thank you. Hello neighbors, I'm Councilmember Shayla Lynch. Thank you for joining me today. Today we're going to learn a lot about our division of waste management so come and join me. Alright neighbors, today I'm with Director Antonio Balden who is the Director of our Waste Management Division. Hello Director. Hello, how are you? Thank you for joining me. I'm well, I'm well. So tell me about the Division of Waste Management because my neighbors just think trash pickup but you all do a lot more than that. So tell everybody about it. We do. We actually do service roughly about 98,000 homes. here within the Lexington Fayette community. And servicing those homes, we have a division that is made up of about 280 employees. Out of that 280 employees, you will find that we are servicing you on the fronts of dispatch, as well as drivers and groundsmen. And that does also include our support service staff, such as office staff that helps with the back office things that many times citizens don't realize that are part of a solid waste operation. Right, right. That's awesome. And you said you service how many homes again? I want everybody to hear that. About 98,000 homes. Wow. Thank you so much, Director Baldwin, for that behind the scenes about what Division of Waste Management is. I'll look forward to asking some more questions. I want my neighbors to know everything. We got you. Hi, Julie. How are you? I'm great. Thank you. How are you? I'm great. Now tell our neighbors, where are we and what happens here? What is all this? So we're at the materials recovery facility and all of our customers or our citizens know this as the recycling center. And so basically we accept the recycling material that comes in from the Roses here at this facility. And here is where we have our pile of material here and then it gets loaded in our drum feeder and it goes through our system that processes 24 tons per hour. And then through this system we separate all the good commodities into the bunkers. And then from there, it gets bailed and shipped out to our commodity buyers. You said 24 tons an hour? That's a whole lot, a whole lot. Make sure you're recycling. Julie, do you have any data or statistics to share with our neighbors about what you all do here? Absolutely. So last year, we recovered and sent out over almost 15.5 million pounds of cardboard, 4.6 million pounds of paper, 1.5 million pounds of PET bottles, So your water bottles and soda bottles. And then we had 646,000 pounds of UBC or aluminum cans and about 548,000 pounds of steel cans. And as far as like your milk jugs, that's what we consider natural high density polyethylene. And we shipped out 328,000 pounds of that. And then your laundry detergent bottles, we shipped out 354,000 pounds of that. Wow. And then we also shipped out 4.1 million pounds of glass. Wow. Wow. That's something I think our neighbors forget about, that we do recycle glass. So make sure you put those in your recycling bin as well. So now I know there are some recycling dumps. Share with my neighbors what they don't need to throw into the recycling bin. All right. Well, first off, we're in this big thing with lithium-ion batteries. Since August 9th, we've collected almost 4,000 vapes and e-cigarettes at this facility that we've pulled off the line. Each one of those is an opportunity for a fire to exist at this location or in our collection trucks. Some other things we don't want is anything long, tight, that could become tangled hazards like hoses or electrical cords. And then some other things we say we don't want is medical waste. We can't accept medical waste. We still have a lot of people manually sorting, and so that can become a hazard. And then also large metal items. Yes, metal is recyclable, but not all metal is recyclable here. We only want the aluminum cans and the steel cans. And then some other things that we receive is tires, other car parts, scrap metal. We have a scrap metal bin here. We just don't want those scrap metal items in our plant because they cannot get processed through our system. Because those big items, for example, floor jacks, they can either hurt personnel that are trying to pull those items off the line, or they can damage our really expensive equipment. Wonderful. Thanks for sharing that. Thank you. All right, would you like to provide my neighbors a few more tips about what they should do with those e-cigarettes and things like that that you're finding that are contaminating all the recycling stuff? Yeah, absolutely. So vapes and e-cigarettes can actually go to our e-waste, electronic waste recycling facility, and that's at 1306 for sales road. That facility also accepts any electronic items so like computers, cover boards, you know, just household electronic items, anything that with motors, copper, anything like that, batteries, anything of that nature, like your rechargeable batteries, all those type of things can go to our electronic waste recycling center. And again, that's at 1306 for sales road. Gary, thank you for joining us today. Now, these all three look very familiar. Now, what are they? I know they have names and then and what goes in it? Right here, we have our Herbie, also known as the garbage cart. We have our Lenny yard waste cart. We also have our recycling cart right here. These are all three phases of what we do. Of course, we have a set-out deadline for these things. We have all the carts have to be set out, no later than 5 p.m. the day before for collection. If it's that same day, it's a 6 a.m. set out. After set out, after everything's been serviced, it has to be up the same day, about 7 p.m. Now, when my neighbors put their trash cans and herbies and things out on the corner, how should they set them up that makes it easier for staff, for you all, to grab them? Good question. Good question. Handles to the back facing the property, three feet apart. That always gives us room to make maneuvers. We don't know if it's going to be a rear loader that day. We don't know if it's going to be a side loader that day. So that would be greatly appreciated. And then if a neighbor has one of these that gets broken or something comes up missing, what should they do? Absolutely great question. The way would be Lex. Lex called 3-1-1. That car put in an order. That order gets dispatched over to us. When we come out, we've got a car crew that will come out, take the old one or replace it, replace the wheels. live, whatever it may be, we can do it. Wonderful. I know you all just did that for one of my neighbors in my condos trades, and it was very swift, so thank you so much. You're welcome. You're welcome. Anything else you want to share with my neighbors? No. Say it. Keep doing what you're doing. We love it. We're here to service you. Thank you. Neighbors, I have John with me. Now, there are some special programs that you all have, so tell us about that special program for seniors. So our exemption program is for our senior citizens and our citizens who have limitations who cannot get their cart to the curb and back and what you would do is go either go on 311 or our website you have to fill out some paperwork get it signed by your doctor to show that you have the limitations okay and then we will on your collection day come to the cart pull it around dump it for you and take the cart back to the house. That's awesome. That's really a a great program. Another thing that comes to mind is like when you have bulky things like furniture that you need to get rid of, what do we do with those? Bulky items can be set out at the curb on your collection day. We like knowing in advance that they're coming though. So if you can call 311 and let us know we have a collection that makes it a lot easier on our guys so we can go ahead and allocate our resources the way we need to. Wonderful. And then another thing that comes to mind is like when evictions happen, And I know you all have also a loaner box program. What are some things, information to tell my neighbors about those things? So the loaner box program is one of our favorite programs. And what that is, it's a 10 yard open top container that the citizens can rent for a day. These containers are really expensive in the private side, but for us, it's $90 for the day. You get the whole day to fill it up and then we come and collect it the next day. That's awesome. That's awesome. When evictions happen, if there are landlords out there, then give some advice or tips about what to do with the trash and things that happen when an eviction occurs. So evictions we handle are court-ordered evictions. Okay. And we will be notified by the constable that we're to get them. And they will clear the house. And then the citizen will have a certain amount of time to get what they want out of that pile. And then we will come in and just collect it using basically our knuckle boom trucks. Awesome. Thank you so much. That's really good information. John, I appreciate you joining me today. Yeah. Thanks, neighbors. Director Baldwin, thank you so much for sharing your team and all the information that my neighbors needed to hear. Do you have any parting words for my neighbors? Yeah. Well, first of all, thank you for highlighting waste management. And also, remember, keep your carts three foot apart. Bring them out on time. And please, please be kind to the sanitation workers. Definitely. Thank you so much, Director. Thank you. Thank you. We are here to celebrate an exciting new chapter in Lex Tran's Art Shelter program. At MATLAQ Strand, our mission is to serve people in our community with mobility solutions. We know our service connects people to jobs, to healthcare, to education, and other quality of life activities. We also know it connects neighborhoods and builds communities. Today, we are proud to launch our 2026 Call for Artists and announce the addition of four new shelters, that's enhancing bus stops, along the Vercels Road corridor that serves Route 8 Vercels Road. Through the partnership we have with Councilmember Jennifer Reynolds and the Lexington Corridors Commission, we found a way to help make those spaces more vibrant, more colorful, more welcoming. And we are grateful for the shared vision and commitment to enhancing the Versailles Road Corridor. Research has shown that public art can improve perceptions for safety, strengthen community identity, and help make public spaces feel more welcoming for all. While the bus stop is first and foremost to catch a ride, it can also reflect the character of the neighborhood that it serves. So today we're opening the door for artists to help us shape that vision. We're inviting artists of all ages and backgrounds to submit original designs for these four bus stops. Up to four artists will be selected. Each artist will receive a $2,500 honorarium. The artwork will be reproduced on vinyl panels that will become a visible part of Lexington's public landscape. While the opportunity is open for everyone, we are especially excited to encourage artists with meaningful ties to District 11 to participate. We want these shelters to tell stories that reflect the vibrancy of the community and create a sense of connection for the people who use them every day. With that, I am pleased to turn it over to Council Member Jennifer Reynolds. Good morning, everybody. Thank you for those of you that could join us today. I represent the area where the Versailles Road Corridor is located on the Urban County Council. And I am so excited to be here standing with Lex Tran to announce the expansion of these art shelters. Years ago, I had a conversation with the manager, general manager of Lex Tran at the time, about my dream to transform all the bus shelters on Versailles Road, to turn them into something beautiful, into works of art. The Versailles Road corridor, as you know, is a main corridor in and out of Lexington, out of Keeneland, out of the airport, to and from downtown. And I envisioned these public art shelters that represent the area's vibrant culture. And I hoped that this would be something durable and also fairly easy to maintain. And I'm incredibly grateful for Lexington and for the artists that have showed interest and for Lexitran's willingness to work with myself, other council members in the community to participate in bringing beauty and art to our districts. So, you might not know this, but Lex Chan gets a lot of requests about their bus shelters. They have to focus a lot of times on ridership and routes, but people contact them all the time about their shelters. And so, I think that this is a really unique partnership that we can do something that is making a difference. The first shelter of this type that we collaborated on was one in front of Global Lex on Versailles Road. And it was right here with the beautiful art of Mercedes-Harn. And it was transformed, if you see the pictures over here, into the bus shelter. These decals that they use are something that take the original art piece and put it on the shelter. And then this is a way that Lex Tran can have a practical bus shelter, but also a beautiful one. And I'm thrilled that this program is growing and we're adding more and more bus shelters. It's an opportunity to highlight local artists while enhancing important routes in our city. I hope, as Mr. Combs said, I hope that these designs will inspire a sense of pride and connection to everyone that travels Versailles Road. Once again, I want to thank Lex Tran for working with my office, as well as the Corridors Commission and all my council member colleagues. This project was a very large group effort, and I'm thrilled to see it come to fruition. I hope this project will inspire other council members, I have some in the room here today, to replicate this work and other people in the community as well. I hope we can take pride in our corridors. I'm a huge believer that art helps us be able to find connection and belonging. And these shelters will stand as a practical and visual gift to all of those who use LexTran buses and travel and live on the corridor. So please encourage all the artists that you know in the area to apply to be able to be picked for to be these four artists for these shelters. You can go to lextran.com slash public art to find more information, and you can share that with your friends. You can also email artcontest at lextran.com, and the deadline will be to submit original pieces or examples of your work by July 10th. Thank you so much, and thank you again. Thank you. Hey y'all, it's your Vice Mayor Dan Wu. And I'm Dave Savigni, the council member for the 10th District and we are here in the music capital of Lexington. Well Dave, that's a pretty big claim. Can you back that up? I sure can. We are here at the Moondance Amphitheater in Beaumont, home to a whole slew of musical activities, including big on Tuesday nights through got Southland Jamboree on through September 3rd and in suburbia every other September 18th. All of th and open to the public. W events in one place. But more. We even have Tall S festival that takes place Shrine on Southland Drive and it's generally on the fourth Sunday of the month. I think you almost convinced me. There's even more Dan. We actually have Woodsong's old-time radio hour which takes place on Rosemont Garden at the old Scottish Wright building on most Mondays. Okay that settles it. The 10th district is definitely Lexington's music capital. Thank you. So we are out at Cooliff and Park, but we're in the Smithtown neighborhood looking to hear from the neighbors 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, I'm trying to make sure that we get input towards what resources needed so that folks can live comfortably in the homes and in the places that they live here in Smithtown. So multi 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. So in that process, my office worked with Council Member James Brown's office in the Office of Planning, and we dived into the challenge. And we realized 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, listening to the neighbors, listening to what do you want to preserve? What is important? What is historic about this neighborhood? all the great things and then 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 policies 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 Councilmembers 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 we 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 or Pat, Council Member 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. I've been beside me in your strapless and never ever leave you. I'll leave you at home all alone and crying. Great fruit, a bathing suit, you chew a little juicy fruit, wash away the night. Yeah, you chew a little juicy fruit. It's good for you so Seems like yesterday But it was long ago Jane, it was lovely. She was the queen of my night. There in the darkness with the radio playing low and and the secrets that we shared. Mountains that we moved. Caught like a wildfire out of control. Till there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove. And I remember what she said to me, how she swore that it never would end. I remember how she held me all so tight. Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then. Against the wind. We were running against the wind. We were young and strong. We were running against the wind The years rolled slowly past I found myself alone Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends I found myself further and further from my home And I guess I lost my way There were so many roads I was living to run and running to live Never worried about paying or even how much I owed Moving 8 miles a minute for months at a time Breaking all of the rules that would bend I began to find myself searching Searching for shelter again and again Against the wind Little something against the wind I found myself seeking shelter against the wind Thank you. I'm out. I'm still running against the wind I'm older now but still running against the wind Well I'm older now and still running Against the wind Against the wind Against the wind See the young man run against the wind. Watch the young man run against the wind. Watch the young man running against the wind. I'll be running against the wind. Against the wind. Let the cowboys ride against the wind. Against the wind. Let the cowboys ride against the wind. I'll be riding against the wind. Against the wind. Against the wind. Against the wind. Riding against the wind. Against the wind. Against the wind. Ride, ride, ride, ride. guitar solo Every garden grows warm Me and you Are subject to The blues now and then But when you take the blues And make a song You sing them out again You sing them out again Song, song, blue Weeping like a willow Song, song, blue Sleeping on my pillow Funny thing But you can sing it With a cry in your voice And before you know it, get to feeling good You simply got no choice guitar solo When you take the blues and make a song, you sing them out again. Song, song, blue Weeping like a willow Song, song, blue Sleeping on my pillow Funny thing But you can sing it With a cry in your voice Before you know it, start feeling good You simply got no choice Song, song, blue Song, song, blue The funniest thing She and I live in our own and I agree. She and I live a perfectly normal life. Ah, but just because we are often seen socially, people think we're something to hide. But all our friends know we're just a little old fashioned She and I Oh, ain't it great Ain't it fine Ain't it fine Have a love of someone Others can't find Ain't it wonderful to know All we ever need Is just the two of us She and I So wonderful She and I She and I share with everybody else The same wants, needs and desires She and I say She and I pay On everything we acquire But just because beyond all For seeing sympathy People think we live one life It's hard for them to see Anyone could be As close as she and I Oh, ain't it great Ain't it great Ain't it fine Ain't it fine Have a lover Someone Someone Others can't find Ain't it wonderful To know All we ever need Is just the two of us She and I See and I live in our own little world. Ain't it wonderful? See and I live in our own little world. Ain't it wonderful? Ain't it fine, fine, fine? Ain't it wonderful? Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. So wonderful. Oh, you're heavenly. She and I are so wonderful. She and I live at home in a world. Yeah, yeah. Ain't it great? Ain't it fine? She and I We'll be right back. Do my life's a funny thing Am I still too young? You kissed the woman there She took his ring Took his babies It took him minutes Took her nowhere Never known she'd have taken anything All night She was a young American Young American Young American She was a young American All night. She wants the young American. All the way from Washington. Her breadwinner legs off the bottom floor. Look for just these 20 years. Do I have to die for the 50 more? All night. She wants the young American. Young American. She's a lovely man. She wants the young American. All right. But he wants a young America. Do you remember your President Nixon? Do you remember the bills you have to pay? Or even yesterday You ain't a pimp You ain't a horse A pimp's got a carry And a lady's got a glycer Black's got a smacker White's got a soda train Mama's got cramps And look at your handshake I heard the news today, oh boy I got it sweet and you got the fear Here's a romance Who can say no more Here's a romance I can suck on the jaw And here's a child I can hope with that judging In the repair That will write me for baby dying Ain't you proud That's just for God's faces Ain't there one damn song That can make me Break down and cry Oh, now I want the young American Young American Young American I want the young American Oh, now I want a young American, young American Young man, young man I want a young American I want a young American You want a young American I want you, you want a young man I want you, you want a young American I want you, you want a young American I want you, you want a young American I want you, you want a young American And for someone else, but not for me My love was out to get me That's the way it seemed Disappointment haunted all my dreams Then I saw her face Now I'm a believer Another trace A doubt in my mind I'm in love I'm a believer I couldn't leave her If I tried I thought love was more or less A given thing It seems the more I gave The less I got What's the use in trying And all you get is pain When I needed sunshine, I got rain Then I saw her face Now I'm a believer Not a trace A doubt in my mind I'm in love I'm a believer I couldn't leave her if I tried Oh, love was out to get me No, that's the way it seemed Disappointed, haunted in all my dreams Then I saw her face Now I'm a believer Not a trace Hooked out in my mind I'm in love I'm a believer I couldn't leave her if I tried It's a solid base Now I'm a believer Not a trace A doubt in my mind Said I'm a believer I'm a believer I'm a believer I'm a believer I'm a believer I'm a believer I'm a believer There's a girl that's been on my mind All the time Studio Now she don't even know my name But then she lets me drive the same Studio Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Just say the word, oh, so, so, so, yeah. Now I know that I'm too young. My life has just begun. So, so, so, so, yeah. Oh. Give me a chance. Give me a sign. I'll show her anytime S-s-s-s-s-s-yeah Oh I've got to help her Help her now Got to get closer But I don't know how She makes me nervous It makes me scared I feel so good If I just say the word So, so, so, so, yeah You say the word, oh So, so, so, yeah Oh She's all I need All of my life I feel so good If I just say the word Su-su-su-studio I'll just say the word Su-su-su-studio I'll just say the word Su-su-studio I'll say the word Oh, just say the word Oh, just say the word Just say the word Just say the word Thank you. I'm a single one. Oh, just single one. Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh Hand me down. They always laughed at her when she came into town. Call her ragdolls. Little ragdolls. Look at your pretty face. Should be dressed in a dress. Sad rag dog. I'd change her sad rags into glad rags if I could. If I could. My folks won't let me cause they say that she's no good. She's a rag dog. Such a Wrackle Though I love her so I can't let her go Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh I love you just the way you are Oh, I am I am I am I am Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Long as I remember The pain been coming down Clouds of mystery for us Infusion on the ground Goodness through the ages Trying to find the sun And I wonder, still I wonder Who'll stop the rain I went down Virginia Seeking shelter on the storm Caught up in the fable Watch the tower grow Bobby, a plan's a new deal Wrapped in golden chains And I wonder, still I wonder Who will stop the rain Heard the singer's lady Now we cheered for more Crowded and rushed together Trying to keep warm Still rain kept pouring Falling on my ears And I wonder, still I wonder Who'll stop the rain Thank you. Once I thought that love was something I could never do Never knew that I could feel this much But this yearning in the deep part of my heart for you is more than a reaction to your touch. It's a perfect passion. And I can't get enough. The way you look, the way you laugh, the way you love with all you have. There ain't nothing about you. And don't do something for me. The way you kiss, the way you cry, the way you move when you walk by There ain't nothing about you, don't do something for me Oh, oh, oh In my life I've been hammered by some heavy blows That never knock me off my feet All you gotta do is smile at me and down I go And baby it's no mystery Why I surrender Girl you got everything The way you look, the way you laugh The way you love with all you have There ain't nothing about you And don't do something for me The way you kiss, the way you cry The way you move when you walk by There ain't nothing about you And don't do something for me I love your attitude, your rose tattoo Your every thought, your smile, your lips And girl, the list goes on and on and on Where you look, where you laugh, where you love with all you have There ain't nothing about you, don't do something for me Where you kiss, where you cry, where you move when you walk by There ain't nothing about you, don't do something for me Where you look, where you laugh, where you love with all you have Your dance, your drive, you make me feel alive The way you talk, the way you tease By now I think you see there ain't nothing about you Don't do something for me Yeah, something for you now Thank you. I've been holding it so long I've been sleeping all along Lord, I'll miss you I've been hanging on the phone I've been sleeping all along I won't miss you Time. Well, I've been howling in my sleep. I've been starved in my dream. Now I'm past your time. I've been waiting in the hall Been waiting on your call In four rings It was just a friend of mine to see Hey, first amount of men Better gonna come around the square With some Puerto Rican girls It's just us, me too We're gonna bring a case of wine And we're gonna mess the fool around You know, like we're used to I say Hey, why have you been waiting so long? Won't you come home, come home? I've been walking Central Park Singing after dark People think I'm crazy Stuffing on my feet Shuffling to the street Asking people What's the matter with you, boy Sometimes I wanna say To myself Sometimes I say I wanna kiss you I guess I'm lying to myself It's just you I know I have All I want is you child Thank you. Hi, everyone. I'm Haley, and welcome to this episode of Lexington Now for the week of July 6, 2026. On today's episode, we'll be covering a recap of the city's Fourth of July events, a special message from public safety, and a new technology partnership program. We also have Charlie Lanter, the Commissioner for Housing Advocacy and Community Development, giving us this week's upcoming meetings and events. Stay tuned. We'll be right back. Welcome back. As America celebrated its 250th birthday of being a country, the city of Lexington celebrated with a variety of special events. LexTV producer Tyler Rowlett has all the details. America celebrated its 250th birthday this past week, and Lexington celebrated that major milestone with events that started on July 1st. Last Wednesday, we kicked off our festivities with the ice cream social at Tandy Park, where Mayor Gorton cut a 250th birthday cake for America. After that, it was a short walk down to the Kentucky Theater, where a packed house showed up to cheer on Team USA to a World Cup victory at our watch party. Friday was the annual patriotic concert at Gratz Park, where a sea of chairs filled the lawn to hear Lexington Philharmonic play patriotic songs all evening on the eve of America's 250th birthday. Then, on July 4th, we had events downtown all day. We started the morning bright and early with the 50th running of the Bluegrass 10,000. Several community members were recognized for participating in all 50 runnings of the race, a very impressive feat. Following the race, several community members read the Declaration of Independence on the steps of the historic courthouse to commemorate the 250th anniversary of its signing. After the Bluegrass 10,000 course was cleared, we saw the annual 4th of July parade, where organizations from the community walked, rode, and some even drove amazing classic cars down Main Street. Lex TV was there to live stream the parade, so if you couldn't make it downtown for it, you could always head to our Facebook page and check out our broadcast of the entire event. And what would the 4th of July be without our annual fireworks celebration? The night ended with an amazing fireworks display over downtown, a fitting wrap-up to a packed week full of celebrations. Don't forget to keep up with all the events going on in Lexington. You can always follow LexTV on Facebook, Instagram, or on LexingtonKY.gov. In downtown, I'm Tyler Rowley. Happy 250th birthday, America. Thanks, Tyler. We also want to highlight a special message from the city's Department of Public Safety. Cities and states across our great nation are celebrating America's 250th birthday, uniting and commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the ideals that continue to guide us today. Here in Lexington, we celebrate this historic milestone as a community, and our community has been a part of America's story since the founding of our country. And as a part of this community, the Lexington Department of Public Safety is proud of its long history of service to this great city throughout the years. America represents strength. We celebrate our good times. We face our challenging times. But through it all, we stand united. This is our community. This is our America. And we are the people. Our public safety family has been and always will be there when you need us. As Lexington honors America's 250th birthday, our community stands together in freedom, unity, and the enduring spirit that has shaped our nation. From Lexington's Public Safety Team, happy birthday America! Mayor Linda Gorton joined Councilmembers James Brown and Dave Zivigni to introduce a new tech internship pilot program. This is a partnership focused on increasing employment opportunities in the local technology sector. We were there for the announcement. We're here to announce our new tech internship pilot program. Our goal is to grow tech employment by establishing new connections among our employers, educational institutions, students, and workers. We want to retain talent right here in Lexington and meet the demands of our growing technology sector. Selected employers will be eligible for partial reimbursement of wages for up to two tech-based intern positions. Eligible students must be enrolled full-time at a partnering university or college and must be within two years of finishing their degrees. The City anticipates funding 30 to 40 internships. Consultants helped us design this pilot program and to ensure that the internships benefit the employers and the students alike. The consultants gathered input for this program from our tech employers, industry groups, higher education, and local government. government. The program is flexible to accommodate both true technology internships, for example in software, hardware, or digital services, and tech enabled internships, including those that use technology to enhance or optimize operations, services, or products. Over the past several months the Office of of Economic Development, has worked with our chief information officer, local businesses, schools, and community partners to create a program that connects students and job seekers with opportunities in Lexington, growing our technology sector. This initiative is about building connections and strengthening partnerships, helping students gain real-world experience, and helping our employers find talented people in preparing our community for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Lexington is a vibrant, growing city with outstanding educational institutions and a high quality of life. But too often, especially in the tech sector, our students believe they need to leave Lexington to build their careers. To better understand this challenge, we partnered with Techonomy Partners to take a close look at our tech ecosystem. Their findings were clear. While we lead the state in tech-dependent roles, we lag the national average, and we need intentional strategies to grow and develop talent here in Lexington. When I owned my own IT company, internships were essential. They helped us cultivate talent, strengthen our culture, and identify future leaders. Over 25 years later, some of these interns are leaders in my company today. That's the long-term impact that meaningful opportunities like this can create. This pilot gives our city that same opportunity. It's an investment in students, employers, and Lexington's economic future, and helps assure that the next generation of tech talent sees Lexington not only as a great place to go to school, but as a great place to work and live. Thank you. I am so excited about this program and what it will mean for our students, the tech sector, and our community. Thank you, Mary. When we come back, we'll have LexTV's live upcoming meeting coverage, the weekend's events, and the Adoptable Pets of the Week. Hey everyone, I'm Charlie Lanter, Commissioner of Housing, Advocacy and Community Development and you're watching LexTV. Welcome back. Charlie Lanter, the City's Commissioner for Housing Advocacy and Community Development, shares all the meetings we'll be covering this week. Hi there, I'm Charlie Lanter from the Office of Housing Advocacy and Community Development. Here's our current live meeting schedule this week, July 6th, for LexTV. Remember, you can watch all our live meeting coverage on LexTV Channel 185 and always online at lexingtonky.gov. On Tuesday, July 7th in the morning, watch the Public Art Commission at 9.30. And on Wednesday morning, July 8th at 9, watch the Police and Fire Pension Board meeting. Following that same afternoon at 1.30, watch our live coverage of the Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Board meeting. And then on Thursday afternoon, July 9th, watch the Planning Commission subdivision items meeting at 1.30. That's our current live meeting schedule for LexTV for the week of July 6th. Watch all our live meeting coverage on LexTV channel 185 or always online at LexTVKY.gov and click the LexTV tab at the top. I'm Charlie Lanter and we'll see you next time. Charlie also shares the events you can attend this weekend. Hi there, I'm Charlie Lanter from the Office of Housing Advocacy and Community Development. Here are some upcoming events this weekend in Lexington and Fayette County for the weekend starting July 10th. Please note, events that require registration may sell out or fill up in advance. sure to confirm by visiting lexonky.gov calendar. On Friday, July 10th, bird enthusiasts are invited to join us at Raven Run Nature Sanctuary for a bird walk at 9 a.m. Attendees will enjoy a guided 1.5 to 2 mile hike to observe and learn about the park's avian inhabitants. This program is geared towards adults and children aged 10 and up. Registration is not required but certainly encouraged. Summer playground days will be popping up at Dogwood Park at 10 a.m. and Whitney Young Park at 2 p.m. Park staff will bring games and engaging activities for kids of all ages and abilities to enjoy. And lastly on Friday, head to Moondance Epitheater for summer nights in suburbia at 6 p.m. Here you can grab dinner from the food and drink trucks and kick back with friends and enjoy live music from 64 West. On Saturday, July 11th, the city is hosting a free trash disposal day at the Bluegrass Regional Transfer Station. From 6 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fayette County residents can bring one car or pickup truckload of non-hazardous waste including mattresses, small indoor furniture, box springs, tires, and bagged household waste. More details can be found online. Junior Naturalists will be held at Kelly's Landing at 9 a.m. Children in kindergarten through fifth grade will partake in a morning of fun, interactive activities learning about Kentucky River's ecosystem. All attendees must be accompanied by an adult and registration is required. At 10 a.m. bring the little ones to story walk at McConnell Springs Park. This fun self-guided reading experience will feature laminated pages from a children's book posted along the trail for you and your family to explore at your own pace. Then at 1130 a.m. enjoy a laid-back morning of live music, food trucks, and fresh air in the heart of downtown with Brunch with the Arts at Phoenix Park. And lastly view the night sky at Raven Run Sanctuary with the Bluegrass Astronomer Club. Our stargazing event will meet at 9 p.m. and is weather dependent, so be sure to call the park that day for updates. I'm Charlie Lanter and that's just some of the things going on this weekend in Lexington and Fayette County. You may need to pre-register for some of these, so for more information be sure to visit LexingtonKY.gov and click the calendar tab at the top. Thanks for watching and we'll see you again next week. Thanks Charlie. One other event you can attend is Thursday Night Live this week at 5 p.m. downtown at Tandy Park. The band this week will be Vanguard. And now, as always, LexTV producer Randy Rosebaum brings us the pets of the week that you can adopt from the Lexington Humane Society. Hey, everyone. Welcome to this week's Lexington Fayette County Adoptable Pets from LexTV and the Lexington Humane Society. We've got Orbit. Female, black and white in color, approximate age four months old looks like a Labrador mix does well in apartments and also does well with children. We've got adorable Perry a male black and white in color approximate age three years old looks like an American pit bull mix mature size is large does well with children does well in apartments. And lastly, we've got Raleigh Polly, blue and white in color. A male, approximate age, three years old, looks like a pit bull mix, does well in apartments, and also does well with children. Thanks for watching these adorable and handsome pets available at lexingtonhumanesociety.org from LexTV and the Lexington Humane Society. Thanks, Randy. That's all for this week's episode of Lexington Now. But you can always catch up with us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. You can also check out all the latest traffic information on X at LexRex and catch our live traffic cams at lexingtonky.gov. I'm Haley, and from all of us here at LexTV, thanks for watching Lexington Now. We'll see you next week. Hey, everybody. You're watching Lexington Now on LexTV. Thank you. I'll hold you and touch you And make you my woman I'll give you my love With sweet surrender Tonight our hearts will beat as one And I will hold you, touch you Make them my one tonight There's something in your eyes I see A pure and simple honesty Hold me in your arms tonight Fill my life with collision Let's not waste this bread She's tired, this moment's eyes to treasure. Hold me in your arms tonight. We'll make it rest forever. When the morning sun appears We'll find our way together I believe you when you say that you love me Know that I won't take you for granted. Tonight the magic has begun. So won't you hold me, touch me, make me a woman tonight. There's something in your eyes I see I won't betray your trust in me Hold me in your arms tonight Fill my life with nature Let's not waste this precious time This moment's ours to treasure Hold me in your arms tonight We'll make it last forever When the morning sun appears We'll find our way together I'll hold you and touch me Make you my woman tonight Hold me in your heart, be it dry Fill my life, there's something in your eyes I see Let's not waste this precious time This moment's nice to treasure Hold me in your arms To honor you We'll make it best forever Something in your eyes I see When the morning sun When the sun appears We'll find our way together Oh, we'll do your own It's wrong Fill my mind There's something in your eye And I see Let's not wait this day It's time to lose this moment's eyes to change. Hold me in love. Tonight, we'll make it last forever. We're not a something in your eyes, I believe We're not an order to show you again Well, East Coast girls are hip, I really dig those styles they wear. And the southern girls with the way they talk They knock me out when I'm down there The Midwest farmer's daughters Will even make you feel alright And the northern girls with the way they kiss They keep their boyfriends warm at night I wish they all said be California I wish they all could be California I wish they all could be California girls The West Coast has the sunshine and the girls are kids of ten I dig a French bikini on the white island cross I buy a palm tree in the sand I've been all around this great big world And I see all kind of girls Yeah, but I couldn't wait to get back in the States Back to the cutest girls in the world I wish they all could be California I wish they all could be California I wish they all would be California good I wish they all would be California good Yeah, I think they wish they all would be good Yeah, I think they wish they all would be good Yeah, I did. Our paths may never cross again. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did. never mend But I'm glad for all the good times Cause you brought me so much sunshine And love was the best it's ever been I wouldn't have missed it for the world, wouldn't have Missed loving you, girl You've made my whole life worthwhile With your smile I wouldn't trade one memory Cause you mean too much to me Even though I lost you, girl I wouldn't have missed it for the world They say that all good things must end Love comes and goes just like the wind You've got your dreams to follow But if I had the chance tomorrow You know I'd do it all again I wouldn't have missed it for the world Wouldn't have missed loving you, girl You've made my whole life worthwhile With your smile I wouldn't trade one memory Cause you mean too much to me Even though I lost you, girl I wouldn't have missed it for the world Oh, I wouldn't trade one memory Cause you mean too much to me Even though I lost you, girl I wouldn't have missed it for the world I wouldn't have missed it for the world I wouldn't have missed loving you, girl You've made my whole life worthwhile With your smile Oh, I wouldn't pray for you I can't stop this feeling deep inside of me. Girl, you just don't realize what you do to me When you hold me In your arms so tight You let me know Everything's alright I'm hooked on a feeling I'm high on believing That you're in love with me It's as sweet as candy It's tasty, it's on my mind Girl, you got me thirsty For another cup of wine Got a block from you, girl But I don't need no cure I just stay affecting If I can't for sure All the good luck When we're all alone Keep it up girl Yeah, you turn me on I'm hooked on a feeling I'm high on believing That you're in love with me All the good love When we're all alone Keep it up, girl Yeah, you turn me on I'm Hooked on a feeling I'm high on believing That you're in love with me I'm hooked on a feeling And I'm high on believing That you're in love with me I said I'm hooked on a feeling And I'm high on believing Music Hey, it's Bajan Niko with another episode of Your Lex PD. And we are here in the lobby of headquarters because we are going to be talking about the civilian support staff for the department. Civilian support staff. The actual first people you see when you walk into Lexington Police Department. And what an important role that they play here. And, you know, a lot of them have been here for a long time. We've got a lot of employees that have worked here for many, many years, up to 30 years. And they are so important. Oh, yeah. On patrol, we can't function. without them. So how many civilian staff do we have? So we've got, I think right now we've got somewhere around 126. And part of those are safety officers. We're not going to be talking a lot about them today because we're going to do another episode on safety officers later. But I think even without them, we've got 109 or so. So a very important role here at the police department. And a lot of times when you think about the police department, you think about uniforms and the police cars and detectives and all that. But these folks help the operations. They help you, those folks out there in Lexington, and they help us every single day. So let's go around the police department and let's talk to some of our civilian support staff. So we are here in the Open Records Unit, and we are here with our supervisor, Ms. Shannon Pennegore. Did I say that right? Yes, yes, yes. Welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you for having me. As we've said, there are so many different areas in civilian support staff here at the Lexington Police Department. But something that, you know, people ask us a lot and we get a lot of phone calls about is the topic of open records. So we felt like there would be a good chance to talk to Shannon and just find out a little bit more about what their unit does and how people file open records requests. So, Shannon, thank you for joining us. Thank you. Thank you for having us. How long, we'll start a little bit with your background, and I know a little bit of this because Shannon and I go way back. How long have you been with us?