Lexington, KY - I can't believe it's nearly fall. The school year will begin on Aug. 11, so please be careful as you drive through the neighborhoods. School children will be walking, biking or skateboarding to school and may be crossing at intersections where you haven't seen them for a while.
The city council has been on summer vacation too, and will return on Aug. 17 for work session and a council meeting on Aug. 19. A number of issues have come up during summer break, and I've tried to ensure that your interests have been represented.
As most of you know by now, after many years of sitting empty, the former Lexington Mall site will soon be used in a new way. Southland Christian Church will be the new owner of the property and will build a beautiful facility, complete with water features and a nicely landscaped parking lot where a sea of cracked asphalt now exists. I have talked with leaders of Southland about the critical need for redevelopment of
Idle Hour Park too, which sits behind Lexington Mall. They have expressed interest in discussing how we might work together to make this park an amenity to the neighborhood again. On July 13, Southland Christian Church hosted an informational tent on site to gather input from neighbors about how the organization could be a good neighbor and help provide services that are needed in our area. There was a wonderful turnout for this meeting, with many great ideas exchanged.
About a week after the Lexington Mall announcement, we learned that Vineyard Community Church was interested in purchasing the vacant Julia Ewan Elementary School on Henry Clay Boulevard to relocate from their Winchester Road location. Vineyard also held a neighborhood forum, and nearly 200 residents from the area attended. A conditional use permit from the Board of Adjustments is required and the board was to consider that request on July 30. Review of this application by the board has now been postponed and will be considered at the August meeting. All residents are encouraged to participate as this issue is deliberated.
A group of residents from Shadeland East Neighborhood Association has been meeting with members of the Eastern Little League to review proposed improvements to the baseball fields at Ecton Park. The Parks Master Plan, created nearly 10 years ago, anticipated moving baseball out of Ecton Park. Unfortunately, the funds to develop new fields have been difficult to find, especially during this unprecedented economic climate. It is our hope that these great folks working together can create a short-term solution. The long-term plan for a sports complex to accommodate sports activities for our children will still be pursued and may be hastened by a new tool. As chair of a task force to identify new revenue sources for parks, I hope to present a plan to council in September to create a parks "conservancy," modeled after one in Louisville. Once the conservancy is in place, there will be new opportunities for grant funding that previously weren't available to us.
Hopefully, you've noticed work being done on some of our worst streets. Crews are busy resurfacing streets that have been ranked 65 or below. However, if you observe a pothole that hasn't been repaired, please feel free to call the city. We now have a new tool available for you to report potholes. If you have an iPhone, you can download an "app" to send reports to the city, along with a photo of the area which will be located for city workers through GPS.
We'll continue to work toward making this available to more folks, but in the meantime, you can still call 311 to make a report.
Don't forget the district-wide meeting for those who live in the 5th District. This will be our third such meeting, and we expect to have very large crowd. Many of you have sent in requests for specific staff members to be present to address your concerns. We'd like to hear from more of you. Please mark your calendar for Aug. 23 at Immanuel Baptist Church. I hope to see everyone there. If you can't attend, please feel free to call or e-mail me.