"This is it folks. We finally get to — no, have to — mix business and pleasure.
Any doubts I might have had about this being an amazing time to be living and working in Lexington, Kentucky, have been laid to rest by the experience of helping to form and agreeing to chair the new Downtown Entertainment Development Task Force.
The outpouring of interest and support from a diverse and growing collection of citizens of our city is an eye-opener. It's abundantly clear that there is a shared and very strong desire among members of the business and professional communities, artists, civic activists, government leaders and residents to join cities worldwide that are experiencing an explosion of evening-hours economic development.
They — and we — have no choice.
We're in an "experience economy" these days in which "quality of life" is a measurement of a city's attractiveness and, by extension, its competitiveness. This task force can be considered an indication that Lexington is getting serious about making a genuine effort to hold on to the bright young talent its two universities are producing and to attract their peers from other areas of the planet. They are, after all, next in line to keep things up and running.
Universally recognized among the nearly 40 members of the task force is that bringing the enlightenment and pleasures of art and entertainment into the city's downtown area demands sound, practical management strategies.
Also understood is the necessity of developing an attractive destination — a place that you just have to experience, where people flock to listen to live music, view and purchase art, shop in interesting boutiques, dine and just mingle and people-watch.
That's the fun. Here's the business. Lexington Fayette Urban County Government relies for 83 percent of its operating revenues on a payroll tax and is stressed to the max in attempting to meet the demands placed on the municipal government of a bustling, growing, changing city. Under those circumstances, our only hope of improving the city's ability to meet our demands is to create more and better jobs.
To create those jobs, we need innovators. The innovators of the baby-boom generation are entering their retirement years. Today's creative and knowledge workers are in their 20s and 30s. Many of those graduating from our institutions of higher learning have not been sticking around, preferring instead to take their chances in cities that are accommodating to the arts and entertainment.
Many of us are personally driven in this effort not only by our own desires to actively support our city's economic health and vitality. Many of us are parents of adult children who have left Lexington for "more exciting" locales and are reluctant to return until assured that the city can offer not only decent employment, but also important urban amenities that offset the daily drill of working, commuting, rearing children and maintaining a home.
As task force member Vitale Buford notes in her commentary in this edition, "Cities with thriving nighttime economies share some common elements: incentive programs for venue owners; responsiveness to the music community; entertainment options for all ages and backgrounds; best practices teachings for potential and current business owners; availability of late-night transportation; creation of a music commission; and support from elected city officials who recognize music and nightlife as a viable economic resource." Our challenge is to figure out how to address these issues in ways that get results.
We are seeking to learn from other cities that have engaged in this process with plans to engage a consultant experienced in guiding the development of "hospitality zones" in 22 cities from Boulder and Chicago to Seattle and Rock Island.
The task force is in its formative stages. We are organizing a structure comprised of the four broad categories of development, safety, community and hospitality. These groups will then work to identify and engage relevant stakeholders from those fields. The "development" group, for example, will want to obtain the expertise of professionals in planning, parking management, public works, tourism and conventions as well as members of the development community. "Safety" will look into such matters as policing, crowd behavior and control, insurance risk management, medical services and traffic safety. "Community" will listen to the suggestions and concerns of our elected officials, universities, neighborhood associations, merchants and those engaged in alcohol abuse and DUI prevention. "Hospitality" will invite dialogue from restaurateurs and entrepreneurs interested in operating venues, promoters, meeting and event planners, commercial brokers and suppliers in the food, beverage and equipment businesses.
We will also explore the availability of low-cost financing to support startups. And of course, we are listening to artists and musicians (including those among us) to make certain that they are provided an atmosphere that encourages creativity but also meets the very practical demands of arts production.
This will take a lot of effort and much of our spare time for the ensuing six months or so. It's going to require buy-in by everyone who has a stake in what becomes of Lexington in this brave new economic world.
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