"Take a city with fiscal challenges so enormous that they threaten its ability to maintain, much less enhance, the "world class" quality of life its leaders envision. Now take a community that is giddy with the civic energy, high hopes and opportunities presented by hosting a major attention-getting international event. What do you have? Lexington, Kentucky, in the late summer of 2007.
Get some rest. Do mental calisthenics. You and your neighbors are about to be asked to put your heads together and concentrate on how exactly — and within the city's means — Lexington can enjoy long-term benefits from hosting the 16-day Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010.
"The Games present Lexington with an opportunity to come together to do something really positive for the community," said Mayor Jim Newberry. "We have been so divided on so many fronts for so long that we've probably almost forgotten how to do things together. This project is big enough to take the entire community pulling together in order for it to come across well in September and October of 2010."
Since the announcement in the early days of 2006 that the Games are coming, the talk has been about a rare and potentially powerful opportunity to leverage the equestrian event. But with barely more than three years remaining before the Games commence and a city budget stretched to its limits (and potentially beyond), how does Lexington take full advantage? This burning question will be posed to the entire community in two public workshops scheduled for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on September 18 and October 23 in the Central Library auditorium in downtown Lexington.
The idea to conduct a "visioning process" was presented to Newberry only days after his election by Lexington Herald-Leader publisher Tim Kelly, who chairs the Knight Foundation's Lexington Community Advisory Committee. The foundation's Community Partners Program, which does philanthropic work in 26 U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers, was offering to sponsor facilitated public forums designed to leave Lexington with a short list of projects that would provide lasting benefits to the community.
"Laura Williams is the (Lexington) program officer, and she and I had been talking," Kelly recalled. "Knight, in its new strategic plan, really wants to focus on potentially transformational projects in its communities and in its national grant-making. She came up with the idea of a potentially transformational project for Lexington arising from the World Equestrian Games." Kelly agreed to arrange a meeting with the new mayor, who he recalls, was "pretty overwhelmed by everything that was hitting him at the time, but very receptive and gracious about this one."
"There is a lot of energy around the World Equestrian Games, and there are a thousand great projects about the Games, but there is no structure around that," noted Williams in an interview that can be heard in full online at bizlex.com. "Knight offered to bring in experts from our Knight Community Building Program at the University of Miami to help put some structure around these ideas. (The intent was) to help mold that vision of what we want people to see when they come into town, these 500,000 attendees, and to really come out with a blueprint that will help us implement projects by 2010 that will create a legacy for our community."
Facilitators for the sessions are Charles Bohl, a research associate professor and director of the Knight Program in Community Building at the University of Miami's School of Architecture and Carol Coletta, president and CEO of CEOs for Cities.
In a telephone interview, Bohl outlined a process that is to begin with an exchange of information. "At this first one, coming up on September 18, we'll bring in a peer panel — folks from other communities that have hosted similar events. The idea isn't to mimic their projects, because Lexington really already has a lot of great project ideas going forward. The idea is to learn from their experience on similar efforts in different communities that have leveraged an event and identified projects that became legacies for the community. We want to hear both successes and failures and also how they went about implementing projects."
In addition to obtaining public input at the workshop, Bohl explained, there will be methods for gathering ideas through various media outlets as well as a Web-based interface for people who might be interested but unable to attend a particular session.
"Then in the second session," he continued, "we'll try to narrow the focus down to about a dozen projects that have the greatest potential and again with the public involved, try to hammer out a blueprint identifying what resources are needed, if they are not already identified, as well as what partnerships might have potential for carrying them out. And I think this is part of the benefit of shining a light on these projects: finding resources and partnerships that can make happen what might not otherwise happen."
The concept of public-private partnerships appeals to Vice Mayor Jim Gray, who believes Lexington should more aggressively tap the resources of its $2 billion regional equine economy. "I think we have yet to really reach into the established wealth for the sort of philanthropy that we need for these sorts of initiatives," he said over coffee at Common Grounds. "Some of it's migratory, with the horse industry. Many of these people have established wealth at serious levels. We have not tapped into it. A big reason for that is that we haven't illustrated the vision. We have not said: 'This is what we want to become.' As a businessperson, you don't go to investors without a business plan. The same principle applies here."
Possible outcomes could include improvements in public transportation; the beautification of the corridors leading into the city; a percolating downtown; the development of live entertainment venues and support for enduring cultural events; and the full preparation of the hospitality community to finesse international visitors.
For Urban League President P.G. Peeples, Sr., one result of the visioning process would be truly transformational. "What Deweese Street once was to this community, a mixture of housing and restaurants and social outlets, can once again be along the Third Street corridor. Could you just imagine being able to go out to the Third Street corridor and have sidewalk cafes, nice little jazz venues and businesses with living quarters up above them? That's the kind of thing I envision."
Bohl, who has facilitated many community visioning efforts around the country, said Lexington is unique because of the nature of the community and the event itself. "There is such a seamless tie-in between the equestrian industry and the economy of the city and the region and the landscape that Lexington is known for. Unlike an event where it might just be a big arts festival, this is really tied into the identity of Lexington itself, so I think that elevates the potential for identifying and helping push forward the type of legacy projects that will continue to make that tie-in for years ahead."
For Mayor Newberry, the greatest potential legacy of the Games is something intangible. "If it goes as I believe it will, it will enable Lexington to realize that there are no limits on what we can accomplish if we just work together."
legacy planning initiative IDEA SUBMISSION
A potential legacy project should grow the city while shaping it with a common vision that embraces and connects all people of our community as well as invites visitors to come and experience our unique region.
To encourage and guide participation, the following criteria will be considered as ideas are studied and evaluated through the process:
Criteria for legacy project ideas:
• Be inclusive for all citizens
• Be completed and "doable" by 2010
• Be sustainable beyond 2010
• Stand the test of time by adding value beyond 2010
• Further enhance Lexington's brand (our landscape)
• Build upon our environment of cultural creativity
• Leverage or serve as catalyst for other projects
• Be feasible given the resource limits of Lexington
Examples of legacy projects in other markets:
‚Ä¢ Atlanta Olympics — LEGACY PROJECT — Centennial Park
‚Ä¢ Detroit Super Bowl — LEGACY PROJECT — Youth Education Town
‚Ä¢ Vancouver Olympics — LEGACY PROEJCT — ‚Ä¢ Olympic Village converted to a neighborhood after the Olympic Games
‚Ä¢ Lexington 1985 NCAA Final Four — LEGACY PROJECT — Phoenix Park
Current "sample" of suggested legacy projects
Arts & culture
Public art "perceptual markers" that tell Lexington's history and make visitors want to learn more
Oral history that captures the Third Street area's association with racing
Annual Arts/Music Festival with multiple stages and performances
Complete the Visual Arts Center to use during the World Equestrian Games
Economic development
Open flow of information about World Equestrian Games-related business opportunities for minorities
Creation of a downtown Lexington entertainment district
Public spaces and gathering places
Amphitheater in downtown Lexington
Create "Isaac Murphy Park" on Midland Avenue
Develop a public market and continue revitalization of Third Street area
Vine Street linear park
Re-design the downtown sidewalks
Create a "water feature" downtown
Transportation
Create more bike trails that would connect downtown to the Kentucky Horse Park
Corridor and interchange improvements — especially on New Circle Road
Trolley reintroduced for downtown and colleges
Way finding sign plan for Fayette and surrounding counties
Vine Street re-design
Convert Main and Vine to two-way streets
These are just suggested concepts that will be submitted and reviewed through the Legacy Planning Initiative process at public meetings. The Mayor's Office and The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation encourages all citizens to feel welcome to enter any ideas or suggestions that follow the criteria in this document. These ideas will become part of the process that will identify projects with enduring significance for the community's physical character and quality of life.
All concepts must be submitted no later than September 11th to be considered by the Legacy Planning Initiative Steering Committee.
Visit www.bizlex.com/submissions.php to make your own recommendations."