Rupp Arena won’t be the only site where “scoring” will take place Saturday. The Keep Lexington Beautiful Commission (KLB) will conduct its annual Community Appearance Index on Saturday.
The index is a tool designed by Keep America Beautiful to assess the overall appearance of communities through indicators such as litter, illegal signs, graffiti, abandoned/junked vehicles and outside storage.
KLB is an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and the index is a requirement for affiliates.
“We are blessed with an abundance of natural beauty in Lexington, but unfortunately that beauty is damaged by unsightly litter,” said Patricia Knight, chairperson of the KLB Commission. “The visual survey indicates the amount of litter as well as locations where it is more prominent.”
The Community Appearance Index is designed to gather data annually and the results are used to develop a local plan to change attitudes and behaviors regarding litter and related community development issues.
“The index helps direct the local education and litter prevention, beautification, and waste reduction and recycling programs,” said Matthew McKenna, Keep America Beautiful President and CEO. “Keep America Beautiful uses the information to identify national trends regarding community improvement issues.”
Members of the Commission, community volunteers and Lexington city employees will conduct the visual analysis. The survey consists of dividing Fayette County into five areas, each containing 10 sub-areas. The 50 sub-areas are approximately one mile in length and will be driven by the teams. Litter will be ranked on a scale of one to four.