Want to tell the city of Lexington how to spend $120M in federal aid?
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government is seeking input from citizens as officials prepare to allocate $120 million in federal pandemic relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Four community meetings have been scheduled and an online survey has been set up.
The city has already earmarked about $7.9 million of the funding for park improvement projects, which leaves about $113 million to spend. Mayor Linda Gorton has said previously that officials are looking to use the money on “big projects” rather than smaller initiatives that could be paid for some other way.
“The Urban County Council and administration worked together to craft a transparent process that starts with extensive public input through an on-line survey, public meetings and appearances at neighborhood gatherings,” Mayor Linda Gorton said in a news release.
The first meeting is 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Beaumont Centre Family YMCA at 3150 Beaumont Centre Circle.
Another meeting will be held via Zoom from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday. The meeting can be accessed with webinar ID 882 5617 4404, and passcode 670915.
Meetings will also be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Eastside Branch of the Lexington Public Library at 3000 Blake James Drive and 6 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 23 at the Northside YMCA, 381 W. Loudon Ave.
“We hope you will join us,” Gorton said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we need to hear from citizens as we consider various plans.”
Specific proposals for projects can also be submitted through an online form. Both the online survey and proposal form will be available through Aug. 27.
The city says its top priority are “projects that would have a direct impact on vulnerable populations and projects that would help people most severely affected by the pandemic.”
Principles for using the funding include focusing on “one-time projects that entail no ongoing costs” and “projects that produce savings or increased revenue in the future.”
The city is also particularly interested in “projects that lead to economic opportunity, projects that have an impact on physical infrastructure and projects that have an impact on social infrastructure,” according to Lexington’s American Rescue Plan Act website.
Everything the city does will have to meet federal guidelines for the funding.
The online survey asks participants to rank by importance six project categories: Community Health, Wellness and Quality of Life; Critical City Services, Employee Retention and Facilities; Economic Recovery and Growth; Equity-Focused Services and Partnerships; Growing Successful Neighborhoods; and Harm Prevention and Public Safety. It also asks participants to choose their top five project categories from a more specific list.
