Council donates to summer concert series, Midway U. tennis tournament; OKs striping of Stephens Street

By Sarah Ladd

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council decided unanimously Monday to give away another $650 of its allotted donation budget for the fiscal year that just began.

This year’s budget, which took effect Sunday, included $5,000 for donations, $3,250 of which have already been promised, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said.

The council decided to honor the request of Joseph Reyes, the head coach for men and women’s tennis at Midway University, who requested $250 to sponsor a tournament in August.

The council then agreed on a donation of $400 for the Cool Summer Evening concert series to help pay for performers.

After subtracting other donations that have been promised, the city’s donation budget for this fiscal year has $1,100 remaining.

The mayor and council put removable speed bumps on East Stephens
Street last summer, but the bumps couldn't stand up to the punishment.

Street striping: The council also discussed Vandegrift’s traffic plan, which he laid out at the last meeting and asked the council to give some thought. His main request at the last meeting was for lines to be painted on some streets to slow traffic.

Council Member Bruce Southworth said, “I don’t think anybody’s opposed to [putting stripes on the road] through East Stephens all the way up to the cemetery.”

The cemetery is on West Stephens, so the council agreed that the whole length of the street through town should be striped with double yellow lines in the middle and white lines on the side. Traffic engineers say striping roads and streets makes them seem narrower, slowing traffic.

Council Member John McDaniel asked the council to consider adding a bicycle lane on the street, but Vandegrift said two lanes would be needed, one in each direction, and he wasn’t sure the street is wide enough for that.

The council approved a motion to allow the city to paint Stephens Street, with bicycle lanes “where possible.” The painting will wait until state requirements and logistics can be confirmed.  “I don’t know that we’ll have this done before the next council meeting,” Vandegrift said, adding that the city plans to do the work on its own. “All we’re gonna pay for is the paint,” he said.

Parks Board: Vandegrift nominated, and the council approved, the appointment of Tiffany Marsh to the parks board to replace Julie Morgan, who the mayor said felt she could not complete the second half of her four-year term due to family commitments.

Marsh recently won the Kentucky Teacher of the Year award for her work as a music teacher at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington. Vandegrift said Marsh has already been an active volunteer with the parks board and “it will be good to have an educator on the board.”

Animal ordinance: The council enacted a new ordinance on treatment of animals, which City Attorney Phil Moloney revised to fit the language of an ordinance recently enacted by the county, while adding some specifics. In some cases, “our language was much more specific,” Vandegrift said.

Sparks in the Park: The mayor reminded the council and the audience that the annual “Sparks in the Park” event will run from 6 p.m. to dusk at Walter Bradley Park. He said there will be enough barbecue to feed 300.