The future of Lexington city hall remains up in the air. In fact, the future of a vote to place the item officially on the urban county council docket is somewhat questionable.
Vice Mayor Steve Kay says he will most likely ask his council colleagues to move the city hall matter onto the docket for a future meeting and final decision. The proposal, as it now stands, calls for city hall to move into the Lexington Herald Leader building at the corner of Main and Midland. The city would pay just over $5 million a year for 35 years. Kay says he realizes there have been a variety of concerns expressed. “I don’t think any one of them rises to a significant enough level to have us turn down at least going into negotiations to see what the final offer would be,” said Kay.
The vice mayor says the concerns include the traffic impact near the new site, shifting hundreds of city workers to that location, and the political implication of the vote. Deferred maintenance costs at the current government center are estimated at $22 million.
