The neighborhoods around Christ the King and Morton and Cassidy have been concerned about the traffic hazards for the many school children in the area. Now that school has started, traffic engineers can complete their analyses and hold a public meeting to discuss options and review recommendations about how best to manage this complicated situation.
For those of you who may not have noticed, the sidewalk at the house on Cochran and Romany has been replaced, though I am not sure that the house construction has resumed.
The mayor's budget provides some funds for paving, and the streets selected for the 5th district are: Sycamore, Hart, Cochran, St. Julie, Mount and Camino. The good news is there was authorization by the council in the 2008 bond package for $3 million more. This will be spread equally between the districts and used for paving surfaces that have been rated 65 or lower. The engineering division rates the streets. You can find rating information for your street on the city's Web site.
Many have requested an additional time to meet the two candidates for the 5th District council seat-Cheryl Feigel and Ed Norton. Such was held in the Henry Clay High School before a large and interested audience. Both aspirants are willing to do it again and I will arrange for such some time in the middle of October. Please stay tuned for the announcement of the final arrangements. The election will be the first Tuesday in November.
The Arboretum has become one of the most heavily patronized parks in the LFUCG system (it is jointly operated by UK). Many people use it for passive recreation each day for all ages of people and dogs. Park gurus say the most popular activity in parks in the United States is walking or hiking. The intense utilization of the Arboretum would seem to validate this assertion. The Dorotha Oatts Visitor Center, the formal garden, the Walk Across Kentucky and the open space are heavily used by all including many school groups on a daily basis. Under construction is a new feature, the Children's Garden. Most of the cost of these features has come from the public through gifts of money or labor. The Children's Garden will cost $1.3 million. Until now, most of the money has come from private subscription but the time has come to ask the general public to contribute. I invite you to come to the Arboretum. Pick up a brochure, take a look at the progress of the construction and write a check before you leave.
The leading controversy of the last few months has been the CentrePointe project on Main Street. The owners of the block plan a large development to occupy the whole property which will include a four level base with commercial development and street level activity on all four sides. The tower, to be located in the center, will contain the hotel, condominiums and more office space.
Recently, Kentucky has created Tax Increment Financing districts which allow a portion of what would go to pay taxes to be used for bond payments. The bonds can be used to finance public improvements such as sewers, parking garages, street scape improvements and, in our case, the restoration of the old courthouse. These taxes are some local but mostly state. A portion of the increment of what would be new taxes is applied instead to the retirement of the bond debt. I think it offers a good opportunity for enhancement of our downtown. It is complicated, but I would be happy to discuss it with anyone interested.