Lexington, KY - The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted March 12 to move forward on the renovation of the Lyric Theater, a requirement of a 1997 legal agreement between the city and state that sets a January 27, 2010 deadline for completion and stipulates a fine of $500-a-day for failing to meet the deadline.
By a vote of 11-3, the Council authorized spending on the project, approved in the amount of $6 million in the 2008-09 LFUCG budget, and to begin searching for a contractor to renovate and expand the theater. Plans call for more than doubling the size of the facility from the existing 13,000 square feet to 29,000 square feet, housing a 588-seat theater and a new African-American history museum.
The March 12 vote enabled the project to move forward prior to the sale of bonds later in the current fiscal year. It does not limit reimbursement to bonding, leaving open the possibility of tapping Lexington's share of the federal economic stimulus package for at least a portion of the funds.
Closed since 1963, The Lyric - once a gathering place for the city's largely African-American East End neighborhood - has become something of a bellwether of Lexington's social and cultural progress.
The venue on the corner of Elm Tree Lane and East Third Street has languished for decades due to a series of legal actions, including the city's battle to obtain the theater.
The renovation and expansion project is the culmination of years of neighborhood discussions, as well as the work of a citizens' task force. The city has already invested approximately $1 million in architectural and other plans.
There is continued disagreement in the community concerning the perceived need for such a venue, as well as its costs and related potential risks. Questions remain concerning the source of funding for operations, maintenance, furniture, staging equipment and other non-structural items. Vice Mayor Jim Gray has been authorized by Council to appoint a "work group" of business and arts professionals, as well as representatives of the citizens' task force, to work out the details of business and management plans for the Lyric as construction proceeds.
Business Lexington presents for your consideration two commentaries representing opposing views on the issue.
Offering his views in support of the project is task force member Gene Woods, chief executive officer, Saint Joseph Health System, and senior vice president division operations, Catholic Health Initiatives.
Providing an opposing point of view is former Lexington banker, city commissioner, state representative and state senator Joe Graves.