Week of March 21, 2022

Written By Megan Gulla

🔎 - Big topic this week: Council on Recess for Two Weeks

Lexington's Urban County Council will be in its spring recess for the next few weeks. Regular Meetings Work Sessions and Committee Meetings will resume on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. Other city boards and commissions will press on though.

Here at CivicLex, we'll keep sending you updates on meetings as we have them!

🔎 - This week in City Hall: The Consolidated Plan

On Monday, March 21 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber at 200 East Main Street, LFUCG will hold a public hearing to begin building its Consolidated Plan that they will use from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.

A Consolidated Plan is a federally-required document that helps cities and municipalities plan how to best spend federal funding from specific programs for affordable housing and community development.

Here is how Consolidated Plans great created in Lexington:

  • Typically, Grants and Special Programs staff members create a draft plan.

  • This plan is then informed by comments from residents on the housing and non-housing needs of low- and moderate-income residents through a public hearing.

  • The Urban County Council must then use its legal authority to approve the Consolidated Plan.

  • After that, LFUCG submits it to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for approval.

Here is what this meeting will cover:

  • The range of activities that LFUCG may undertake through the following year including specifying the programs that will benefit people with low and moderate incomes.

  • Information on LFUCG's priorities for their programs in the next year.

  • The amount of assistance that LFUCG expects to receive from formula fund grants through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program, and the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program.

Attend this meeting to have your voice heard in funding that could benefit your community!

If you are disabled and need accommodations to participate, contact the Division of Grants and Special Programs at 859-258-3070 (TDD 425- 2563) as soon as possible.

🏃 - Get Engaged

On the Table Host Training
Tuesday, March 22nd, 6:00 - 7:00 pm

Do you want to host a table for OTT, but you’re not exactly sure how it will go? Join the On the Table planning team for a conversation about how to host a table, tips and tricks for facilitation, and more!
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84345687772

City Committee Watch Party
Tuesday, March 22nd, 5:00 - 6:00 pm
Gatton Student Center, Center for Student Involvement Rm. A252

Join CivicLex and UK’s Office for Student Success to watch and talk about the week’s LFUCG Committee meeting! These City Committee Watch Parties, which are open to students and community members, alike, and include free snacks, will take place every Tuesday from 5-6pm. Feel free to drop in even if you can’t stay the whole time!
RSVP

🗞 - Updates from Last Week

License Plate Readers

During the March 15th Council Work Session, Assistant Police Chief Eric Lowe presented information about License Plate Readers and answered questions from Council.

As part of a study in partnership with the National Police Foundation and the manufacturer, FLOCK, LFUCG will install 25 cameras at undisclosed locations throughout Lexington. The Lexington Police Department determined these locations by combing through violent crime patterns in the city and meetings between LPD personal crimes detectives and FLOCK partners. Assistant Chief Lowe added that calls for service, officer-initiated activity, and traffic stops weren't included in the data the team considered.

The cameras will be focused on lanes of traffic and can read license plates as cars pass. Officers can search the data for license plates involved in a case and specific makes, models, and colors of vehicles. The system can also notify LPD officers if a camera detects a flagged license plate. The FLOCK system stores the information for 30 days, after which the system will delete it. LPD can transfer any relevant information to a case to LPD's evidence within that timeframe.

Several Council Members brought up privacy concerns and who would have access to the data. Assistant Chief Lowe explained that entries into the system would be limited to the LPD's Intelligence Unit. All sworn officers can perform a search but must provide a valid reason before doing so. Civilians can also request records but only receive them if they are involved in a specific crime or investigation.

Each camera costs $2,500 per year, including the camera, service, and data storage, and has an additional $250 installation fee. Lowe expects that the cameras will need to be replaced every 2.5 years due to updates in technology.

As for how the cameras have worked in other cities, he said he'd heard positive feedback from Madisonville's Chief of Police. Louisville hasn't installed its cameras yet, but he said they're looking forward to having them. Lowe expects that the cameras will affect violent crime throughout the city, stating that Lexington should see positive impacts from these cameras within only a couple of months.

🏢 - This Week in City Government

Monday, March 21, 2022

Continued Discussion, Reapproval and Extension Filing Deadline
⏱ - 4:00 pm on March 21st
📍 - Phoenix Building — 7th Floor, 101 E. Vine St.
📺 - No virtual option
🗣 - No public input

Consolidated Plan Public Hearing
⏱ - 6:00 pm on March 21st
📍 - Council Chamber — 2nd Floor, 200 E. Main St.
📺 - LexTV
🗣 - No public input

———

Tuesday, March 22nd

Stormwater Grant Virtual Q & A
⏱ - 6:00 pm on March 22nd
📍 - Virtual
📺 - Zoom
🗣 - No public input

———

Wednesday, March 23rd

Commission for People with Disabilities
⏱ - 11:00 am on March 23rd
📍 - Senior Center, 195 Life Lane
📺 - No virtual option
🗣 - In person

Special Urban County Arts Review Board Meeting
⏱ - 3:00 pm on March 23rd
📍 - Virtual
📺 - Zoom
🗣 - No public input

The Rural Land Management Board Meeting
⏱ - 3:00 pm on March 23rd
📍 - Council Chamber — 2nd Floor, 200 East Main St.
📺 - LexTV
🗣 - No public input

Parks Advisory Board
⏱ - 4:00 pm on March 23rd
📍 - McConnell Springs, 416 Rebmann Lane
📺 - No virtual option
🗣 - In person

Stormwater Grant Virtual Q & A
⏱ - 6:00 pm on March 23rd
📍 - Virtual
📺 - Zoom
🗣 - No public input

———

Thursday, March 24th

Planning Commission Public Hearing — Zoning Items
⏱ - 1:30 pm on March 24th
📍 - Council Chamber — 2nd Floor, 200 East Main St.
📺 - LexTV
🗣 - In person

———

Friday, March 25th

No meetings

Megan Gulla
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