Urban County Council

Summary

Meeting Overview

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Council met on June 12, 2025, beginning at 6:33 PM in Council Chambers in Lexington, Kentucky, with Mayor Gorton presiding. The meeting covered 3 agenda items, all of which were approved, including proclamations recognizing Tates Creek High School Family Friendly Day and Lexington East Elite Flag Football Day, as well as a resolution amending Resolution No. 190-2024. Over the course of the meeting, the Council took 3 votes and heard 3 public comments.

Attendance

All 15 council members were present at the June 12, 2025 meeting, with no absences recorded.

Present: Beasley, Boone, Brown, Curtis, Ellinger, Elliott Baxter, Gray, LeGris, Lynch, Morton, Reynolds, Sheehan, Wu, Hale, and Sevigny.

Late arrivals: Hale and Sevigny attended the meeting but arrived after it had begun.

Absent: None.

Votes and Decisions

Three roll call votes were taken during the June 12, 2025 Council meeting.

• Ordinance 0440-25 — An ordinance amending the Lexington-Fayette County Zoning Ordinance. Motioned by Ellinger and seconded by Sevigny, the ordinance passed 13–2. 24:00 Voting in favor: Beasley, Boone, Brown, Ellinger, Elliott Baxter, Hale, LeGris, Lynch, Morton, Reynolds, Sevigny, Sheehan, and Wu. Voting against: Curtis and Gray.

• Ordinance 0508-25 — An ordinance changing the zone for property located at East Maxwell Street and Lexington Ave. Motioned by Ellinger and seconded by Sevigny, the ordinance passed 14–1. 25:00 Voting in favor: Beasley, Boone, Brown, Curtis, Ellinger, Elliott Baxter, Gray, Hale, LeGris, Lynch, Reynolds, Sevigny, Sheehan, and Wu. Voting against: Morton.

• Resolution — Letter of Intent with SFG Properties, LLC — A resolution authorizing and directing the Mayor to execute a Letter of Intent with SFG Properties, LLC. Motioned by Elliott Baxter and seconded by Gray, the resolution passed 12–2, with 1 abstention. 1:01:00 Voting in favor: Boone, Brown, Curtis, Ellinger, Elliott Baxter, Gray, Hale, Morton, LeGris, Lynch, Reynolds, and Sheehan. Voting against: Beasley and Morton. One abstention was recorded; Sevigny and Wu did not appear in either the for or against tallies.

Budget and Financial Actions

The Council considered three financial items at the June 12, 2025 meeting, covering environmental compliance, public safety, and medical debt relief.

• Resolution 0458-25 authorizes a contract with Tetra Tech, Inc. valued at $814,000 for Annual Program Management Services supporting Consent Decree implementation and MS4 Permit Compliance. This is the largest single expenditure on the agenda and reflects ongoing obligations tied to the city's stormwater and environmental regulatory requirements.

• Resolution 0502-25 approves a Purchase of Service Agreement with Conscious Consulting LLC in the amount of $40,000 to conduct a city-wide gun violence prevention campaign. The agreement reflects the Council's continued investment in community-based public safety initiatives.

• Resolution 0501-25 establishes a Medical Debt Relief Initiative through a contract with Medical Debt Resolution, Inc., doing business as Undue Medical Debt, for $1,000,000. The initiative is administered through the Urban County Council and is intended to provide relief to residents burdened by medical debt.

Combined, the three items represent a total of $1,854,000 in authorized expenditures across environmental services, violence prevention, and resident financial relief programs.

Public Comment

Three residents addressed the Council during the public comment period, all speaking on the same topic: a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University of Kentucky ROTC program regarding training at Hisle Farm Park.

• Dave Cooper 14:35 expressed concern that ROTC training at Hisle Farm Park interferes with the general public's use of the park.

• Chuck Eddy 17:28 opposed the ROTC training at the park, raising concerns about gun violence and questioning the appropriateness of conducting military training in a public park setting.

• Anita Courtney 19:44 also opposed the use of Hisle Farm Park for this purpose and proposed Blue Grass Station as a more suitable alternative location for ROTC training activities.

All three speakers shared the view that Hisle Farm Park is not an appropriate venue for ROTC training, with concerns ranging from public access and park use to broader issues of safety and the nature of military activities in public spaces.

Contested Items

Two items on the June 12, 2025 Council agenda drew notable opposition or division before reaching a resolution.

MOU with UK ROTC for Training at Hisle Farm Park

A proposed memorandum of understanding that would allow UK ROTC training activities at Hisle Farm Park faced pushback from members of the public. Several community members spoke against the arrangement during the meeting, raising concerns sufficient to prompt Council action. Rather than proceeding to a vote, the Council moved to postpone the resolution to allow for further consideration. The outcome reflects the weight given to community input on the use of the park space.

Sale of Coldstream Research Campus Land

A resolution concerning the sale of land at the Coldstream Research Campus proved divisive among Council members themselves. Concerns were raised about the process surrounding the sale as well as its timing. Unlike the ROTC item, this resolution did advance to a vote, but the result was a split vote, indicating meaningful disagreement on the Council over whether the conditions for the sale were appropriate. No unanimous consensus was reached.

Tates Creek High School Family Friendly Day

Agenda Item 0591-25 3:28

Mayor Gorton issued a proclamation declaring June 12, 2025, as Tates Creek High School Family Friendly Day in recognition of the school's family-friendly certification. The proclamation was presented during the Council meeting with remarks from Mayor Gorton and Jay Jones.

The item was approved.

Lexington East Elite Flag Football Day

8:40

The Council took up agenda item 0592-25, a proclamation recognizing the Lexington East Elite Flag Football team. Mayor Gorton officially declared June 12, 2025, as Lexington East Elite Flag Football Day in honor of the team's achievements.

• Mayor Gorton issued the proclamation, formally designating the date in recognition of the team's accomplishments.
• Michael Logan was among the key speakers participating in the presentation.

The proclamation was approved.

Resolution amending Resolution No. 190-2024

35:08

The Council took up agenda item 0446-25, a resolution amending Resolution No. 190-2024. The resolution authorized the Chief Information Officer to execute documents related to an agreement with Granicus, LLC for software services.

No key speakers, debate, or specific concerns were recorded in the available data for this item. The Council approved the resolution.