Week of August 23, 2021
The Highlights:
💡 - Big topic this week: ARPA Nearing the Finish Line
This week, two big things are happening regarding LFUCG’s disbursement of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
The first ARPA-related event is Thursday’s Committee of the Whole (COW).
In the COW, we understand that Council will discuss the next steps for the ARPA process.
There’s no agenda out, but we’ll have our eye on this meeting to understand how the Council will incorporate public feedback and the timeline for decisions about funds.
The second event is the deadline for public submissions to LFUCG for the ARPA category survey and the ARPA project proposal form.
As we’ve said many times in the past, this is a once-in-a-generation chance to weigh in on public funding of this magnitude. Mayor Linda Gorton has stressed that she wants these projects to be “transformational” for Lexington, so dream big.
We have more resources on ARPA here. Since submissions are due this week, we thought we’d pull together some best practices for proposal writing and submission. Here are some thoughts from our Executive Director Richard Young, who has extensive experience with grant writing:
Keep your proposal short and to the point, and without jargon. After I write the first draft of a grant or proposal, I always go back and try to cut at least half the characters out by eliminating any extraneous words and clipping any long words down.
Think about the reviewers and how many proposals they are reading. If you’ve ever read grants or other proposals on the reviewer side, you know they all tend to run together after a while. All accounts are that the city will likely receive over 500 proposals. Yours needs to stand out - and be clear enough that the reviewers can understand it.
Think big and bring others in. Especially for ARPA funds, these proposals need to be big. I’d avoid smaller individual pet projects. Try to bring others into your project by combining ideas with neighbors and friends.
Consider equity impacts. Another main priority we’ve heard from LFUCG is that projects that will score the highest are ones that touch those that COVID has most directly impacted. How is your project addressing seniors and marginalized communities? Have you talked to individuals directly impacted by COVID about your proposal?
Seek out critique. I rarely submit a proposal that I haven’t had someone pick and tear apart. Give your proposal to a friend or two and ask them to tell you everything that’s wrong with it (kindly, of course). Reviewers will be looking for everything that will be difficult with your proposal, so beat them to it!
🏢 - This week in City Hall: Shopping Carts and Redistricting
Shopping Carts are back! A few months ago, CM David Kloiber brought forward a proposal to address the abandoned shopping carts that end up in many places throughout Lexington. We covered it here, so go back and read that for some context. We’ll hear an update on this proposal on Tuesday in the Environmental Quality and Public Works Committee at 1pm.
Since that last meeting, the city has tracked the number of reported shopping carts throughout Lexington through LexCall 311.
Since June, they have tracked 79 abandoned carts.
Here’s what the proposal contains for businesses with 10 shopping carts or more:
All shopping carts have to have a permanently attached sign with contact information on them.
If a shopping cart is reported by a resident or a Code Enforcement officer, the business has 10 days to retrieve it.
If they don’t retrieve it within 24 hours, the business that owns the cart will receive a $100 fine. This can escalate up to $500 per cart, depending on the number of citations in a year.
There’s a difference between “abandoned” and “unattended,” with the second being a shopping cart that has bagged or bundled items in them.
For unattended carts, they will receive a notice for carts sitting alone that after 72 hours, personal belongings will be removed and stored at a facility for retrieval for up to a week.
There’s a bit more to the proposal, and you can read the complete draft in the EQPW agenda here.
Secondly, Redistricting is back! The Redistricting Committee is meeting at 10am on Wednesday. They’ll be discussing several items, including the meeting schedule and the guidelines for the process.
They’ll have presentations as well from GIS, Planning, and the Fayette County Clerk.
🏃 - Get Engaged: LFUCG's Minority Business Disparity Study
LFUCG recently launched a disparity study to get a better understanding of what barriers minority and women-owned businesses may face when applying or receiving a contract with the city.
LFUCG's consultant on the project, BBC Research and Consulting, is hosting two virtual community meetings to provide information about the study, answer questions related to the study, and collect testimony about business conditions in Lexington.
Here are the events:
Wednesday, August 25, 2021, 6 – 7:30 PM
Location: Zoom
Meeting ID: 962 3728 5758
Friday, August 27, 2021, 10. – 11:30AM
Location: Zoom
Meeting ID: 983 4977 1764
Learn more about the Disparity Study here.
🗞 - Updates from Last Week: Allowing for more natural landscaping & gardens
Last week, we covered a new proposal about allowing for naturalized landscaping and gardens. You can read our coverage in last week’s CivicLex Weekly.
The proposal is moving forward. It will be read out at Work Session in about a month. We’ll keep you posted when we see it!
🏢 This week in City Government
Monday, August 23
🏢 - ARPA Funding Community Meeting
⏱ - 6pm on August 23rd
📍 - Northside YMCA, 381 W. Loudon Ave.
🔦 - Highlights:
Learn more about the $120 million LFUCG is receiving from the federal government!
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Tuesday, August 24
🏢 - Environmental Quality & Public Works Committee Meeting
⏱ - 1:00pm on August 24
📍 - 200 East Main Street
📺 - Watch via LexTV
📖 - Read the agenda
🗣 - Give input in person
🔦 - Highlights:
Abandoned shopping carts!
Also, stormwater mitigation priorities and a 5G small cell wireless update
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🏢 - Council Work Session
⏱ - 3:00pm on August 24
📍 - 200 East Main Street
📺 - Watch via LexTV
📖 - Read the agenda
🗣 - Give input in person
———
Wednesday, August 25
📐 - Redistricting Committee Meeting
⏱ - 10:00am on August 25
📍 - Government Center – 5th floor conference room, 200 East Main Street
🗣 - Give input in person
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🚌 - Transportation Policy Committee Meeting
⏱ - 1:30pm on August 25th
📍 - Digital
📺 - Watch via LexTV
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🎯 - LFUCG Disparity Study Public Meeting
⏱ - 6:00pm on August 25th
📍 - Online
📺 - Join via Zoom
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Thursday, August 26
🗺 - Planning Commission Zoning Change Hearings
⏱ - 1:30pm on August 26th
📍 - Council Chambers, 2nd floor, 200 East Main Street
📖 - Read the Agenda
🗣 - Give input in person
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🏢 - Quarterly Committee of the Whole (COW) Meeting
⏱ - 4:30pm, August 26th
📍 - Caucus Room, 200 East Main Street
📖 - No agenda available
—
🏢 - Planning Commission Confirmation Hearing
⏱ - 5:30pm, August 26th
📍 - Council Chamber, 200 East Main Street
📖 - No agenda available
📺 - Watch via LexTV
———
Friday, August 27
☀️ - No meetings!
🏃 More ways to get engaged
☎️ - LFUCG's Minority Business Disparity Study
LFUCG recently launched a disparity study to get a better understanding of what barriers minority and women-owned businesses may face when applying or receiving a contract with the city.
LFUCG's consultant on the project, BBC Research and Consulting, is hosting two virtual community meetings to provide information about the study, answer questions related to the study, and collect testimony about business conditions in Lexington.
Here are the events:
Wednesday, August 25, 2021, 6 – 7:30 PM
Location: Zoom
Meeting ID: 962 3728 5758
Friday, August 27, 2021, 10. – 11:30AM
Location: Zoom
Meeting ID: 983 4977 1764
Learn more about the Disparity Study here.
🍃 - Provide your input for how Lexington should treat Open Space
🏃 - Give input here
The Division of Planning is proposing a Zoning Ordinance Text Amendments relating to Open Space.
What is open space? In the context of a city, think about small parks, greenspace, communal gathering areas, and other parts of our civic fabric. Open space provides opportunities for increased social cohesion and connection between neighbors and cultural events. It also has positive environmental impacts, including reduced water runoff, easing of heat islands, and more.
The Division of Planning's proposed changes to the Zoning Ordinance will set new definitions for open space, set open space requirements for new developments, and more.
🅿️ - Give your input on parking in Lexington
The Division of Planning has put out a call for community members to help gather data to evaluate the current parking situation in our city. Learn more and take the Parking Survey here.