Lexington Mayor proposes $24 million for new senior center; money for industrial park
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Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton’s proposed budget includes $24 million for a new senior and therapeutic recreation center, $2.1 million toward a new regional industrial park and money for additional license plate reader cameras.
The $531.8 million “is a solid, no frills budget. It’s more about ‘needs’ than it is about wants,” Gorton said during her budget address Tuesday at the Lexington city government center.
It includes no tax increases and a 3% raise for city employees not covered by union contracts.
The budget, for the fiscal year that begins July 1, also nearly doubles funding for affordable housing and homeless services.
Gorton’s proposed budget of $531.8 million is a 5% increase over the current-year budget of $505 million. It is the largest budget in Lexington’s history.
The budget is balanced with $45 million in borrowing or bonding to buy police and fire vehicles and $24 million for a second senior center. The $45 million includes $12 million in borrowing for paving. In total, Gorton’s budget includes $14 million for paving.
This is the first time in several years the city has not been able to tap or use $121 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to help it fund projects and balance its budget. In addition to $45 million in borrowing, the city also used more than $32 million in one-time funds from various savings to balance its books.
Gorton said the budget continues to fund key programs and some projects but is moderate compared to prior-year budgets when the city had federal money to plug holes and fund much-needed capital projects.
“Our balanced budget is based on what we can afford,” Gorton said.
The budget now goes to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council for potential changes. The council has until June 30 to pass a final budget.
A new therapeutic recreation and senior center in Shillito Park
Gorton’s current-year budget included $1.4 million for design of a second senior center and therapeutic recreation facility in Shillito Park off of Reynolds Road.
Gorton’s proposed budget includes $24 million for construction. The project will likely be bid this summer. Construction will start in the fall at a site near the entrance to Shillito Park and the fire station.
The city opened a new senior center off of Richmond Road in 2016.
It’s packed.
“We learned from the recent census that 25% of all residents of Fayette County are 55 and older,” Gorton said. “Our newest center, located off Richmond Road, is almost too popular. Over 1,200 seniors attend classes, or eat lunch or exercise or participate in another activity there each month.”
Chief Administrative Officer Sally Hamilton said the proposed facility will have large recreation rooms, classrooms and a fitness room. The new building also will house the city’s therapeutic recreation program for people with disabilities, which is currently spread throughout the city.
The city has been planning for a new senior center for more than three years.
“To keep costs down, we chose land we already owned in Shillito Park,” Gorton said.
More Flock safety cameras, money for traffic safety officers
More than half of the city’s budget — 56% — goes to police, fire, E911, emergency management and corrections.
Gorton’s proposed budget includes $75,000 for 25 additional Flock license plate reader cameras, bringing the total number in the city to 125.
The council recently gave initial approval for a five-year contract for those Flock safety cameras for $1.6 million. A final vote is expected April 25.
Gorton said the Flock cameras and the real-time intelligence center, which uses license-plate reader, traffic, business and residential cameras, have helped police find 269 stolen vehicles. They have also helped find 22 missing persons and aided in 84 criminal investigations, Gorton said.
“It acts as a police force multiplier, saving our officers time and helping them build stronger cases,” Gorton said Tuesday.
Also in public safety, there is money for four additional traffic safety officers. Traffic safety officers do not have the same powers as police but can help with traffic accidents and other safety issues. There is also money for three police recruit classes.
In total, the budget funds 15 new positions. In addition to traffic safety officers, there are also four new positions in planning.
A new regional industrial park
Fayette County and Lexington’s budget has benefited from a booming economy, Gorton said.
“Our overall employment grew by more than 47,000 from 1990 to 2022,” Gorton said. “Almost 8,400 of those jobs were added between 2020 and 2022.”
The city recently announced a $10 million federal allocation for a proposed 200-acre industrial park along Georgetown Road.
But recently the city has joined forces with surrounding counties to develop a regional economic development plan.
Gorton said Scott, Madison and Fayette counties have overlapping workforces — people may live in Scott County but work in Fayette County, or work in Madison County but live in Fayette County.
“Working with Scott and Madison counties, we are establishing an economic development park that will provide jobs and split future tax revenue among the three counties,” Gorton said. “The park will be located in Scott County. Our start-up investment of $2.1 million is funded in this budget.”
Madison and Scott counties will put $2.1 million each toward the creation of the new park.
Local governments are heavily dependent on payroll withholding taxes or a tax on wages to fund their budgets.
More investments in housing, homelessness and mental health
Gorton’s budget also includes increases for affordable housing, mental health services and homeless services.
The council has passed various ordinances in recent years that allocate a percentage of the city’s budget to affordable housing and homelessness prevention efforts.
“We will more than double our funding of affordable housing with $4.79 million set aside for our affordable housing fund,” Gorton said.
The city typically spends $2 million a year on affordable housing.
The city’s Office of Homeless Prevention and Intervention budget also will nearly double from $750,000 to $1.4 million. In addition to the $1.4 million, Gorton’s budget also includes $2 million for a winter warming shelter to augment the city’s shelter system during the colder months.
One Lexington, the city’s violence intervention program for teens and young adults, will get an increase of about $20,000 for more trauma-informed care.
“This provides group counseling for young people who have been directly affected by violence and help parents address individual counseling needs for their children,” Gorton said.
Other big-ticket items funded in Gorton’s budget include:
$1.45 million to match a $22 million federal grant for improvements to New Circle Road between Boardwalk and Bryan Station
$1 million for ADA ramps
$900,000 in traffic signals and bike and pedestrian improvements
$150,000 for traffic calming initiatives
$6 million for odor control efforts at the city’s sewage treatment plants
$700,000 to increase recycling, including electronics
$2.9 million in parks improvements
$3.5 million for police vehicles
$5.1 million for fire equipment replacement.
What about a new city government center?
Another item that has been on Lexington’s to-do list for decades is finding a new home for city hall. The city has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on studies to find a new location and move out of its current location on Main Street, a former hotel, and several other buildings in the downtown area.
Gorton said prior to Tuesday’s budget speech there is no new money for city hall in her proposed budget. However, the council has set aside money from prior-year surpluses for a possible new city government center.
In the current-year budget, Gorton set aside $6 million for possible site development for a new city government center. The city released a request for proposals, a type of bid, to developers in November 2023.
Hamilton said the city is still reviewing the bid proposals. They hope to announce whether they will move forward with a new city government center in the next 30 days.
The city requirements include needing 166,000 square feet in the city’s downtown core — roughly between Midland Avenue and Jefferson Street, Church and Barr streets and Maxwell Street. The bid said the city has a strong preference for the new building or buildings to be located along a downtown corridor including Main, Vine, Broadway or Midland Avenue. The site requirements also include at least 130 parking spaces on or close to the site. In addition, there needs to be 500 parking spaces within walking distance of the downtown property, according to the request for proposals.
