Week of June 7, 2021
🔦 Highlights
📺 - Watch this: Council Budget Retreat - ARPA Funds
Have you ever thought about what you'd do with $122M over your morning coffee? Well, we sure have.
Thursday morning, Council will hold a budget retreat to determine how to spend the city's $122M in American Rescue Plan Act funds. It's a lot of money with a lot of restrictions, so we'll have our eye on the direction council goes. As an aside we're very interested in how they'll include residents in the process.
(Unfortunately, since this meeting is taking place in the Council's Caucus Room, it will not be broadcast to the public. We will try to provide an update if CivicLex staff is allowed into the meeting.)
🏃 - Do this: Weigh in on No-Knock Warrants
This week, council is taking up the contentious issue of a proposed ban on the use of no-knock warrants. While the issue passed out of committee unanimously, it faces an uphill climb with the full council. This is likely your last chance to weigh in, so....
Do you have a position on the issue? Take a moment right now to email council your feedback on the issue.
Don't feel like you know enough? Read our primer on the issue, or this pair of articles from the Herald-Leader - one about the position of Black faith leaders, and one about the position of Lexington's Police Chief.
🗞 - Read this: Our Voices - Health Disparities
This week, we're asking you to take a read through five editorial pieces about the relationship between systemic racism and health in Lexington. These opinion pieces are part of a collaboration between CivicLex, the Lexington Herald-Leader, RadioLex, and the Key NewsJournal called Our Voices Project. Please give them a read and take a moment to hear someone else's lived experience.
I didn’t know I was Black until I had a baby in the United States
My healthcare experience propelled me to advocate for communities of color
Like the state of Kentucky, my family was torn apart by the pandemic.
The healthcare world doesn’t always listen. One mother’s journey to enlightenment.
For people of color, mental health is as important as physical well being
💡 This week in City Government
Monday, June 7
No Public Meetings
Tuesday, June 8
🧮 - Internal Audit Board Meeting
📺 - 11:00am on June 8 via Zoom
📖 - No Agenda available
🏢 - Council Work Session
📺 - 3:00pm on June 8 via Zoom
📖 - Read the Agenda
🗣 - Sign up for Public Comment
🔦 - Highlights:
Council will discuss the proposed No-Knock Warrant Ban Ordinance.
The proposed ordinance originally required Police Officers to wait 15 seconds after knocking to enter a home unless there are "exigent" circumstances.
The ordinance was amended remove the 15 second wait time and instead to allow Police Officers to wait a "reasonable amount of time" before entering someone's home.
Don't feel like you know enough? Read our primer on the issue, or this pair of articles from the Herald-Leader - one about the position of Black faith leaders, and one about the position of Lexington's Police Chief.
The Division of Aging & Disability Services will present about a proposed new Senior Wellness & Therapeutic Recreation Center in Shilito Park.
The $7.5M project would relocate several of the Senior Center's programs focusing on disability services as well as wellness programming for seniors.
Commissioner Nancy Albright and CAO Sally Hamilton will present about issues with Lexington's landfill contract.
Currently, Lexington's solid waste is sent to the Central Kentucky Landfill in Scott County.
This landfill may potentially close due to capacity issues.
Wednesday, June 9
🚙 - Transportation Technical Committee Meeting
📺 - 10:00am on June 9 via Zoom
📖 - No Agenda available
🌳 - Tree Board
📺 - 10:30am on June 9 via Zoom
📖 - Read the Agenda
🔦 - Highlights:
The Tree Board will discuss a new program to help residents pay for the removal/maintenance of hazardous street trees.
🚜 - Mayor's Sustainable Growth Task Force
📺 - 1:00pm on June 9 via Zoom
📖 - Read the Agenda
🔦 - Highlights:
This meeting was rescheduled from last week.
The Sustainable Growth Task Force will discuss how the City of Lexington is growing, the conditions of developable land across the county, and what aspects should determine how Lexington grows or if it should expand the Urban Services Boundary. Read more about this here.
🚧 - Congestion Management Air Quality Committee
📺 - 1:30pm on June 9 via Zoom
📖 - No Agenda available
Thursday, June 10
💰 - Council Budget Retreat
📺 - 10:00am on June 10 (no viewing link available)
📖 - No Agenda available
🔦 - Highlights:
Thursday morning, Council will hold a budget retreat to determine how to spend the city's $122M in American Rescue Plan Act funds. It's a lot of money with a lot of restrictions, so we'll have our eye on the direction council goes. As an aside we're very interested in how they'll include residents in the process.
(Unfortunately, since this meeting is taking place in the Council's Caucus Room, it will not be broadcast to the public. We will try to provide an update if CivicLex staff is allowed into the meeting.)
🚧 - Planning Commission Meeting - Subdivision Items
📺 - 1:30pm on June 10 via LexTV
📖 - No Agenda available
🏢 - Council Meeting
📺 - 6:00pm on June 10 via LexTV
📖 - No Agenda available - docket will be posted to Legistar here
🗣 - Sign up for Public Comment
🔦 - Highlights:
First Reading of the LFUCG FY21/22 Budget
LFUCG's FY21/22 budget goes up for its first reading on the June 10th Council Meeting. While your time to provide input on the budget is drawing to a close, you still have a (shorter than normal) week to email your councilmember and let them know how the budget does or doesn't fit within your values.
There's been a lot of coverage around the budget this year, so we gathered it all up for you:
Friday, June 11
No Public Meetings
🏃 Get engaged
🚨 - Hot Topic -> No-Knock Warrant Ban
This week, council is taking up the contentious issue of a proposed ban on the use of no-knock warrants. While the issue passed out of committee unanimously, it faces an uphill climb with the full council. This is likely your last chance to weigh in, so take a moment right now to email council your feedback on the issue.
Don't feel like you know enough? Read our primer on the issue, or this pair of articles from the Herald-Leader - one about the position of Black faith leaders, and one about the position of Lexington's Police Chief.
🖐 - Public Comment Survey
In case you didn't know, we just released a survey in partnership with the City of Lexington to examine and reimagine the public comment/input process. We'd love to hear from you about your experience interacting with City Government, and how you think it could be better.
Interested? Fill out the survey here before June 18.
💰- Budget Workshop
Join us for our first in-person budget workshop of 2021 on Monday, June 14, at 6pm! We'll take a look at LFUCG's FY21/22 budget, which is currently before council for approval. We'll also look at how the budget process works and play an interactive game! Registration Required.
Register here.
Social Distancing & Capacity Guidelines:
Capacity of 20 people; social distancing will be encouraged.
We strongly encourage unvaccinated people not to attend our in-person, indoor events.
Masks will be strongly encouraged and we will have extra masks available for anyone that would like one.
Please be respectful of our rules and keep the safety of your neighbors in mind.
🅿️ - Rethink Parking
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.
🗞 Did you miss it?
🗣 - Our Voices - Health Disparities
This week, we're asking you to take a read through five editorial pieces about the relationship between systemic racism and health in Lexington. These opinion pieces are part of a collaboration between CivicLex, the Lexington Herald-Leader, RadioLex, and the Key NewsJournal called Our Voices Project. Please give them a read and take a moment to hear someone else's lived experience.
I didn’t know I was Black until I had a baby in the United States
My healthcare experience propelled me to advocate for communities of color
Like the state of Kentucky, my family was torn apart by the pandemic.
The healthcare world doesn’t always listen. One mother’s journey to enlightenment.
For people of color, mental health is as important as physical well being