City of Lexington, Ky - Government

Heading to the Woodland Art Fair this weekend? Check out the entertainment schedule ⬇️

Did you know we offer classes in the arts for kids and adults? We sure do! Classes take place at Artworks at the Carver School (off of Oliver Lewis Way) and at the Tates Creek Ballroom. Quality instruction at an affordable price. No experience necessary, just a love of the arts! Registration opens Aug. 21. See the schedule 👉 lexingtonky.gov/artworks-kiddie-kapers-dance-classes

Happy first day!! 📚✏️🍎

SAVE THE DATES
• Sept. 14 - Household hazardous waste collection
• Sept. 28 - Mulch giveaway
• Oct. 12 - Free trash disposal day
• Oct. 19 - Paper shred event

♻️ What goes in your blue recycling cart?
• aluminum and steel cans, lids and canisters
• #1 and #2 plastic bottles, jars and jugs (caps optional)
• paper
• cartons (caps optional)
• glass bottles and jars
• cardboard
• paperboard

Looking for information about road and lane closures? Visit our traffic ticker at lexingtonky.gov/traffic-ticker

🎉 The new playground at Gainesway Park (next to Tates Creek schools) is officially open! Looks like fun!

DEADLINE EXTENDED Solarize Lexington, a program to help you install solar panels on your home, has extended the deadline to submit an interest form until Monday, Sept. 2.

Solarize Lexington makes going solar easier and more affordable. The program walks you through the process of getting solar panels and provides a discount of up to 15%. Homeowners, non-profits, small businesses and places of worship in Fayette County are welcome to apply.

More info: lexingtonky.gov/news/08-06-2024/deadline-extended-lexingtons-solarize-program

Interested in an opportunity to enhance a well-traveled roadway in the city and improve your neighborhood? Check out the Neighborhood Enhancement Match Grant Program! ⤵️
lexingtonky.gov/news/08-06-2024/local-neighborhood-grant-enhance-lexingtons-corridors-now-accepting-applications

🏠 Homeowners - Here is a great explanation of property assessments from Fayette PVA David O'Neill.

Pick up a copy of the August Chevy Chaser Magazine or Southsider Magazine for a thorough explanation of property assessments. The electronic version is attached here, but there is more neighborhood specific data in the print editions.

I contribute an article for the July or August issues every year, but this year it is significantly expanded to explain how assessments are generated and how to protest them if necessary. This is a must read for any Lexington property owner.

The blue shaded area of the attached map is the portion of the county where residential neighborhoods will be evaluated for possible reassessments in 2025.

https://smileypete.com/community/the-state-of-local-real-estate-understanding-property-tax-as/

Teamwork – like that between Code Enforcement and the Fire Prevention Bureau – makes the dream work in keeping our residents safe.

🩰SUNDAY MATINEE ADDED!✨
Catch Ballet Under the Stars TODAY (8/4). Gates at 2:30 pm, show starts at 3:30 pm. Tickets $9 or use your rain check from 8/3.
Gates open for the evening show at
6 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m.

🩰SUNDAY MATINEE ADDED!✨
Catch Ballet Under the Stars TODAY (8/4). Gates at 2:30 pm, show starts at 3:30 pm. Tickets $9 or use your rain check from 8/3.
Gates open for the evening show at 6 p.m., show starts at 8 p.m.

🌞 Another wonderful season of summer camps with Lexington, KY Parks & Recreation! Thank you for letting us spend the summer with your littles. We hope they made new friends, great memories and had a wonderful time.

ICYMI - Governor Andy Beshear, Mayor Linda Gorton and Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Demetrus Liggins announced a $500,000 award from the Governor’s “Everybody Counts” grant to expand scholarship opportunities in Lexington! 🎉🎓 Learn more:

Governor announces ‘Everybody Counts’ award to expand One Lexington scholarship program $500,000 award from the Governor’s “Everybody Counts” grant to expand scholarship opportunities in Lexington.

Thanks for your patience and we'll see you this weekend at the pool!

🦋 Love butterflies? Love art? Then check this out! 👉 We're seeking submissions for Art by Nature: Monarch Waystations, a celebration of pollinator gardens in our community.

Artists are asked to submit works that are inspired by one of 20 featured Monarch Waystation locations or another certified Monarch Waystation in Fayette County. Visual artists of all types - painters, photographers, fiber artists, jewelry makers, sculptors, glass artists and more - are encouraged to participate. The deadline for artists to declare their intent to exhibit is Friday, Sept. 13.

Learn more: lexingtonky.gov/news/07-29-2024/art-nature-monarch-waystations-open-submissions

Join us for a Career, Finance and Resource Fair Wednesday, July 31 from 1:30 - 4 p.m. at the Charles Young Center! As part of the job fair, Fifth Third Bank will have their state-of-the-art Financial Empowerment Bus onsite from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. More than 30 employers and community partners will be there! Hot dog lunch at 1:30! 🌭

🩰✨ Ballet Under the Stars is next week! Experience a night of professional ballet performed by the Kentucky Ballet Theatre in the unique setting of Woodland Park. And we're super excited for the youth pre-show – Ballet 13: A Tribute to Taylor Swift, featuring dances with music from Taylor Swift's iconic discography.

July 31 – Aug. 4, 2024. Gates open: 6 p.m. | Preshow: 8 p.m. | Main Curtain: 9 p.m.

$9 per person (including tax); children 3 and under are free. Tickets may be purchased at the gate by cash, check or credit card. Bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating and pack a picnic dinner or purchase concessions onsite.

🎉🎨 Our 250th celebration is next year! Today Mayor Linda Gorton announced the recipients of the 250Lex Cultural Grants, a program designed to fund projects that will be part of the year-long celebration. Congrats to the recipients! We're excited for your projects.

The grant program was designed to help Lexington residents produce high-quality, meaningful programming that focuses on tourism; broadening and diversifying participation and engagement among residents and visitors in the anniversary; showcasing Lexington’s businesses, people, cultural, or social organizations; or creating meaningful events that will continue beyond 2025.

See the list of recipients 👉 lexingtonky.gov/news/07-25-2024/mayor-announces-recipients-250lex-cultural-grants

Congrats to Lexington Sister Cities for winning the 2024 Sister Cities International Best Overall award at the recent Sister Cities International Leadership Meetings and Annual Business Meeting!

The Best Overall Award recognizes the outstanding work done by the Lexington Sister Cities Commission in advancing people-to-people citizen diplomacy. Over the past 35 years, the Lexington Sister Cities Commission has received numerous awards from Sister Cities International. Since 1989, the organization has received the Best Overall Program award 11 times.

Lexington has four Sister Cities, with partnerships dating back to 1957:

Deauville, France – 1957
County Kildare, Ireland – 1984
Shinhidaka, Japan – 1988
Newmarket, England - 2003

Each year, dozens of Lexington students participate in the annual youth exchange program with Lexington’s Sister Cities. In return, students from the four Sister Cities visit Lexington.

⚠️ RCUTS go live TODAY on Athens Boonesboro Road between I-75 and Ashley Woods Road, near the new soccer complex.

An RCUT is an intersection design consisting of one main intersection and two median intersections that route crossing traffic using right turns and U-turns to enhance traffic flow and reduce the risk of right-angle crashes.

When approaching Doe Run Trail or Competition Drive intersections from Athens Boonesboro Road you can continue straight or make a left or right turn.

When approaching RCUT intersections from side streets, begin by making a right turn. After turning right, you can continue straight or enter the left turn lane to make a U-turn through the median. After making a U-turn, you can complete their desired movement through the intersection.

The RCUT traffic movement is designed to enhance safety by helping you focus on only one direction of oncoming traffic at a time, making the intersection safer and easier to navigate; and to provide more traffic capacity as each leg of the intersection operates independently to decongest the flow of traffic.

For more info about RCUTs, see the KYTC - District 7 SAFERoad Solutions site at transportation.ky.gov/saferoadsolutions/Pages/RCUT.aspx

Lexington Fire Department Recruit Class 73 has been hard at work this week!

Have a CDL? Interest in operating some big trucks including front-end dumpster trucks, rear loaders and automatic side loaders? We're hiring in Waste Management! Learn more and apply at lexingtonky.gov/jobs

We had some insightful conversations yesterday about the draft plans for the growth of the urban service boundary. You can view the drafted concept maps and leave your comments at urbangrowthlex.com

OMG Firefighters + kitten = 😻

🌞 Pool days are the best days.

We're so excited about this wonderful new partnership with Kentucky State University! It's an excellent opportunity for professional growth for our corrections officers. 💚💛

Who has the best employees? We do! Elizabeth McGee, budget officer senior, is the winner of the spring 2024 SPOKE Award! The award is given to an individual or a group of employees to acknowledge their outstanding performance and contribution to the job.

"This year's recipient is an individual who's a very important part of our government and a very important member of our budget team and has been for a long time," Mayor Linda said.

"It's really hard to put into words what she does for our office and the entire government," Director Melissa Leuker said. "There are a lot of times when people come to Elizabeth because they don't know, it may not be a budget question, it may not be a finance question, but they know Elizabeth is going to know the answer because she's been here, she's researched it and she's dealt with it already. She keeps us on track with the budget process... I don't know that there's anyone more deserving in government. She's not in the front lines or come to the podium often, but a lot of what we present at the podium she has her hands in."

Congrats Elizabeth! We're so lucky to have you as part of the team!