Lexington’s city council has made some decisions on how to spend some $7 million in surplus funds. The council voted Thursday night to set aside $4 million to be divided up equally among all 15 members.
Council member Bill Farmer argued the approach may fall short of full disclosure perceptions. “I think it’s important for us to make decisions on behalf of the community, with the community being present and giving input rather than running to our favorite spending list upstairs and making decisions that are not really part of what may be better for the whole,” said Farmer.
Another $3 million in surplus money is being used to meet requests coming from the mayor’s office. That includes almost a million to shore up the city hall parking garage. Improvements will not allow for parking cars in the garage, but strictly for structural support. The council opted not to demolish and rebuild. There have been ongoing discussions about building a new city hall, but that issue is still under review.
Director of Facilities and Fleet Management Jamshid Baradaran says reinforcing the garage's structure will provide a short term solution. “Temporary, being two to three years," he explained. "So, until this issue in regard to the future of the government center has been finalized; in regard to are we gonna stay here and repair the building, or are we gonna be looking at some other options?"
Two of the three floors of the parking garage have been closed off for years due to structural concerns.
There was some consideration early on given to using the money for road paving, but council member Kevin Stinnett says a study to determine paving needs is not yet complete. “This will be the first opportunity we will see in the spring after everyone is done to get a real accounting of ‘are they way off or are they right on,” said Stinnett. “And until we know that, we don’t really know how much money we need to put towards paving.”
Final action on surplus spending will come at a regular meeting.
