Council Work Session

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council met on February 11, 2025, at 3:00 PM in the Council Chamber in Lexington, Kentucky, with Mayor Gorton presiding. The meeting covered 4 agenda items, all of which were approved, reflecting a productive and largely uncontested session. Business conducted included approval of the February 4th work session table of motions, approval of new business, consideration of recommendations from the Waste Digester Task Force report-out, and a review of a sober living ordinance. A total of 4 votes were taken during the meeting, and no public comments were heard.

Attendance

The following 14 members were present at the February 11, 2025 Council meeting:

• Wu
• J. Brown
• Ellinger II
• Morton
• Lynch
• LeGris
• Curtis
• Gray
• Hale
• Beasley
• Baxter
• Sevigny
• Reynolds
• Boone

Absent: Sheehan

No members were recorded as late.

Votes and Decisions

The Council took four votes during the February 11, 2025 meeting, all of which passed by voice vote. No roll call votes were recorded, so individual member tallies are not available.

• Approval of February 4th Work Session Table of Motions 0:04: Motioned by the Vice Mayor and seconded by Ellinger, the Council approved the table of motions from the February 4th work session. The motion passed by voice vote.

• Approval of New Business 17:32: Motioned by Gray and seconded by Baxter, the Council approved new business items. The motion passed by voice vote.

• Approval of Waste Digester Task Force Report-Out Recommendations 19:43: Motioned by Sevigny and seconded by Gray, the Council approved the recommendations presented in the Waste Digester Task Force report-out. The motion passed by voice vote.

• Motion to Add Review of Sober Living Ordinance to the Social Service Public Safety Committee 28:32: Motioned by Morton and seconded by Gray, the Council approved adding a review of the sober living ordinance to the scope of the Social Service Public Safety Committee. The motion passed by voice vote.

Budget and Financial Actions

The Council approved a range of contracts, grants, and agreements at the February 11, 2025 meeting, covering infrastructure, public safety, and environmental initiatives.

Contracts and Agreements

• L0085-25: Awarded a design contract to TSW, Inc. valued at $84,500 for Veterans Park Parking and Trail Design.
• L0101-25: Approved a sanitary sewer service site-specific agreement among Grey Oak Lane 2, LLC and the Jessamine-South Elkhorn Water District, noted as having no budgetary impact.
• L0125-25: Authorized an annual agreement with iconectiv, LLC for E911 database access at a cost of $6,000.
• L0126-25: Approved Change Order #4 with The Walker Company of Kentucky in the amount of $154,401.75.
• L0137-35: Approved a Participating Addendum NASPO Value Point agreement with Safariland LLC for up to $100,000.
• L0140-25: Authorized an agreement with Cintas Corporation for rental of floor mats and uniforms, valued at $95,000.
• L0145-25: Approved a contract with Populus Technologies, Inc. for data management services at $9,500 plus 15% of per trip fees.
• L0147-25: Approved a Purchase of Services Agreement with Commerce Lexington, Inc. for $140,000.
• L0148-25: Approved an amendment to an existing agreement with Goodwill Industries of Kentucky, Inc. at no additional cost ($0).

Stormwater Quality Incentive Grants

Three Stormwater Quality Projects Incentive Grants were approved:

• L0134-25: $39,630.00 awarded to Bluegrass Greensource, Inc.
• L0137-25: $310,081.50 awarded to Fayette County Public Schools
• L0146-25: $152,000.00 awarded to the LFUC Airport Board

The stormwater grants represent a combined investment of over $501,000 directed toward environmental quality projects across multiple recipient organizations. In total, the Council's financial actions at this meeting encompassed contracts, grants, and agreements exceeding $1.1 million in authorized expenditures.

Contested Items

• Stormwater Quality Projects Incentive Grant for Fayette County Public Schools — Council members engaged in heated discussion over a grant application involving Fayette County Public Schools. The debate centered on concerns about the eligibility and fairness of the grant program, particularly as it applied to the school system as a recipient. No specific council members are identified in the available data as having led or opposed the discussion, and no outcome or vote result is recorded in the structured data for this item.

*Note: Transcript timestamps were not available for this item.*

Approval of February 4th Work Session Table of Motions

4:01

The Council took up the approval of the table of motions from the February 4th work session. The Vice Mayor and Ellinger were the key speakers on this item. No significant debate or concerns were recorded in connection with this item, and the Council moved to approve the table of motions. The item was approved.

Approval of new business

17:32

The council took up the approval of new business items on the agenda. Key speakers during this portion of the meeting were Gray and Baxter. The new business items were presented for council consideration without significant recorded debate or concerns noted in the available meeting data.

The council approved the new business items on the agenda.

Waste Digester Task Force Report-Out Recommendations

19:43

The Council received a presentation from the Waste Digester Task Force, with key speakers Sevigny and Gray delivering the report-out recommendations on behalf of the task force.

The task force presented their findings and recommendations to the Council for consideration. Following the presentation, the Council approved the Waste Digester Task Force's recommendations.

*Note: Detailed specifics of the recommendations, any debate or concerns raised during discussion, and the full scope of the task force's findings are not available in the provided source materials.*

Review of Sober Living Ordinance

28:32

The Council discussed the review of the sober living ordinance, specifically addressing how and where this review should be conducted within the city's committee structure. Key speakers on this item were Morton and Gray.

The discussion centered on adding the review of the sober living ordinance to the Social Service Public Safety Committee's workload, placing oversight and examination of the ordinance within that committee's purview.

The Council approved the proposal to incorporate the sober living ordinance review into the Social Service Public Safety Committee.