Public Meeting and Updates
Public Meeting: Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 7:00 pm (Details below)
There’s lots to report on in Government as we move towards spring. Highest on the agenda is the budget process, which begins with the administration. The Mayor offers his proposed budget on April 10th and in the months following the Budget Address the Council breaks into 3 person teams to review every aspect of the budget. The Council votes on the final budget at the end of June. As you likely know, it is going to take creativity and discipline to craft a workable budget. Revenue for government remains relatively flat. At the same time, we have unmet needs for facilities maintenance; we have unmet needs for maintenance and upgrading of our parks and trails; our vehicle fleet is aging; our non-union employees haven’t had a raise in several years.
In order to discuss the budget and other issues, I am having a meeting on Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the Downtown Branch of the Lexington Public Library. The meeting will take place on the lower level in Room A. Please come and share your ideas for how to make this an even better Lexington!
Here are brief summaries of some of the other issues that Council has been working on the last few months.
The Parks and Recreation Department has offered a golf and aquatics plan and is working on a Parks Master Plan. I am encouraged by the thoughtfulness with which Parks is making decisions.
There is good news on the food front. Farmer’s Market will have a produce cart in the lobby of the Government Center this growing season. The cart will sell fresh fruits and vegetables one day a week for a couple of hours during the lunch time period. I want to thank the Farmer’s Market for their willingness to partner with us in this pilot project.
The ordinance allowing for miniature pigs and goats continues to be discussed by the Planning and Public Works Committee. My hope is that soon the ordinance will be on
its way to the full Council, and that before long the possibilities for urban farming will be expanded. I see this as one part of a larger movement that includes a better understanding and acceptance of urban agriculture and its benefits.
I am disappointed with the defeat of the noise ordinance in the Public Safety Committee. The ordinance is much needed. As we maintain our urban service boundary we must learn to live together well in a denser community. I expect the noise ordinance will once again
be brought to the Council for consideration. If you are interested in more information, I have discussed what happened at length in another post.
The Design Excellence Task Force gave a preliminary report to the Planning and Public Works Committee. The Task Force believes that Lexington needs design guidelines that provide increased oversight while also encouraging creativity and compatibility. The Task Force is recommending that a Downtown Design Excellence Review Board be created to oversee design guidelines. The creation of this Board involves absorbing and modifying
the current Court House Area Design Review Board and expanding into the existing B-2 areas in the downtown core. H-1 guidelines would take precedence where there is overlap. In the next year, the Task Force will investigate hiring a consultant to write guidelines and ordinances and seek funding for incentives, staffing, and programming. They anticipate a
final report before the end of 2012.
