GOVERNMENT
Budget updates: Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted to approve the final spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The $401 million spending plan includes raises for most city employees, 34 new positions, including six new police officers, more than $4 million in park improvements, $14 million in paving, among more.
Three local artists were chosen for Lexington’s new Civic Artist in Residence program. The artists will work inside Lexington city offices to develop new approaches to transform city government, in terms of engaging residents and creating new projects. The local artists selected among 56 applicants to work in the Environmental Quality and Public Works, Social Services, and Finance departments:
- Debra Faulk, working with the Family Care Center within the Department of Social Services
- Anthony Gilmore, working with the Environmental Quality and Public Works Department
- Hannah Allen, working with the Finance Department
Government offices and facilities reopened to the public in June. Urban County Council resumed in-person meetings.
NEIGHBORHOODS
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Parks and Recreation, in partnership with Friends of Wolf Run and the Southland Park Neighborhood Association, will receive a grant of $3,800 for the Southland Park Waterway Adventure Playground. Grant funds will support new green stormwater infrastructure features being built at the park, to include plantings for the wetland area as well as educational signage.
Lexington’s historic José Oubrerie’s Miller House, located off Chilesburg Road in Lochmere, was auctioned in late May. Curbed described it in 2016 as “an under-recognized building that traces its lineage back to one of Modernism’s godfathers, Le Corbusier. Designed by his associate José Oubrerie, who was then the dean of architecture at University of Kentucky, the home takes Corbusian principles and modern design philosophies and amplifies them… But in both its locations and construction, it’s a building out of time. Finished in 1992, it’s a Modernist statement that may have come a few decades late.” It was on and off the market for years, with multiple preservationist efforts to save it.
The property was purchased in May by Morehead native Stephen Taylor, with a winning bid of $800,000. Taylor has not formally announced plans for the property, but has suggested the possibility of developing it as an architectural study center. In 2019, the hedge fund manager and Princeton grad purchased the Johnny Depp property, “Betty Sue’s Family Farm” on Versailles Road, so that he could return to the bluegrass from California to be near family.
NONPROFITS
Applications are now available for Fayette Alliance’s Grow Smart Academy Virtual Sessions on July 20 & 27, August 3 & 10, 6-7:30 pm. Grow Smart Academy is a free, four-week program designed to educate Fayette County residents on land-use planning and its relationship to our community’s economic development, environment, and quality of life. Applications are accepted through July 7. Alumni are encouraged to apply.
God’s Pantry Food Bank recently leased 20,398 square feet of industrial space on Winchester Road.
The Lexington Public Library announced that Clarissa Thomas has joined the Library’s Leadership Team as Director of Education. Anne Gay Donworth has been promoted to Director of Development, Marketing, and Communications.
SCHOOLS
Fayette County Public Schools Board has named Dr. Demetrus Liggins as new superintendent.
Milo Golding is the winner of Google’s national Doodle for Google contest. Millions of users saw his artwork featured on Google’s homepage for 24 hours. In addition to having his artwork seen by millions, Milo will receive a $30,000 college scholarship along with Google hardware. His school, Lexington Christian Academy, will receive a $50,000 technology package.
In describing his doodle, Milo says, “I am strong because I have hope. I once asked my father how he overcame obstacles and became who he wanted to be: ‘Hope, hope keeps me strong.’ After I unexpectedly lost him at 13 due to a heart attack, it helped me overcome grief and support other children who lost loved ones.”
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This article also appears on page 8 and 9 of the July 2021 print edition of ace magazine.
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