The Lexington city council is working to determine how best to spend federal coronavirus relief funding. The city is eligible for up to $25 million in CARES ACT money.
Mayor Linda Gorton Tuesday offered a proposal on how to spend a portion of that amount. That includes setting aside $3 million to assist households with emergency needs. Vice Mayor Steve Kay said some 17-hundred residents face eviction. “There are moments when if you intervene effectively you prevent a lot of economic and human misery and that’s what we’re facing. I don’t have the data. I don’t know how bad it’s going to be in total, but I believe that what we all should, if we don’t know, we should know that there’s going to be a lot of people in a lot of hurt immediately,” said Kay.
Kay won council backing to move $1.9 million for household assistance to the regular docket for action. The mayor is also suggesting half a million dollars go for homeless emergency shelter affordable housing projects and $450 thousand for restoration of a building at Fifth and Chestnut.
Chief Administrative Officer Sally Hamilton told council it has significant environmental issues. She said consideration was given to demolishing the building, before being approached by a historical group and community residents with an emphatic message. “That’s the old Palmer Pharmacy and you should not be tearing that down because that was the only African American pharmacy in the area and that’s where they came as well as community to us to say please do not tear this down,” explained Hamilton.
Hamilton said plans for the structure, once home to the Community Action Center shelter, would be for a facility to benefit the area with specific programming. The mayor’s proposal call for more than $2 million to cover COVID out of pocket expenses such as personal protective equipment and telework services. The list also includes money to stand up a police after action review board. No final decisions were made Tuesday.
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