Diverse crowd of 50 people march across town to raise awareness of a sad event and celebrate Black resilience

Marchers, wearing masks, gathered at the Sons and Daughters of Relief Cemetery. (Photo by Aaron Gershon; to enlarge, click on it)

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

On an overcast day when rain threatened but temperatures were cooler than usual, 50 people marched through Midway to honor those affected by the July 31, 1868 attack on the Second Christian Church.

Friday's event was organized by Honoring Black Stories in Midway, a group dedicated to African American history in the city.

“In Midway, much work has been done regarding researching our Black history, but many people are unaware,” event organizer Milan Bush told the Messenger. She said the march was for awareness and to celebrate the resilience of African Americans since slavery.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said, “I think this was a very important event for our city to remember when we’re talking about our history. We have to talk about it from many perspectives.”

Second Christian Church faces Smith Street. (Photo by Aaron Gershon)

Three years after the Civil War, the church served a vital role in the local Black community, and housed a school. Whites who were determined to uphold the racial status quo in Kentucky attacked and burned the wood structure.

“We have to acknowledge the good and the bad,” Vandegrift said. “And the more I talk to Black citizens around town, the more I realize many simply want their story to be told too, and it’s most important they be the ones to tell it. And we listen.”

The march began at City Hall, went to Second Christian Church at Smith and Stephens streets, and then 0.6 miles across town to the Sons and Daughters of Relief Cemetery at the west end of Bruen Street, where many African Americans are buried.

Vandegrift walked and was pleased with the turnout. “I thought it turned out great, even better than I expected,” he said. “Over 50 people, more than 90 percent Midway residents, both white and black.”

Midway writer Bob Rouse posted on his blog, "Of a Midway Mind," to share his experience in the march.

“In my 62 years, I have walked for miles on Midway’s streets and sidewalks: on Halloween nights with my family, during growing-up days with my friends, and on moonlit evenings with a sweetheart,” Rouse wrote. “But today I walked with purpose in my heart. I walked in the spirit of peace—as John Lewis implored—with my sisters and brothers.”

U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, who was the last living civil-rights leader who spoke at the 1963 March on Washington, died July 17 and was buried Thursday in Atlanta.

Perhaps the lone concern about holding the event was having a gathering of more than 10 people in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, contrary to an order from Gov. Andy Beshear. Every marcher was wearing a mask and generally kept distance from each other.

“We live in a special community, which we knew, ” Vandegrift said. “But today showed another loving face of our city.”

Honoring Black Stories in Midway group will march Friday, anniversary of 1868 attack on Second Christian

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Honoring Black Stories in Midway, a group dedicated to honoring African American history in the city, will hold a march at midday Friday to honor those affected by the July 31, 1868, attack on the Second Christian Church.

"We are in a day in age where it's open to talk about race, but it makes people uncomfortable," event organizer Milan Bush told the Messenger. "In Midway, much work has been done regarding researching our Black history, but many people are unaware.”

Brenda Jackson, left, and Barbara Holcomb of We're Digging It Metal
Detectors found evidence in 2017 of the original log building of Second
Christian Church. They found foundation stones and handmade nails.
(Lexington Herald-Leader photo by Tom Eblen)

Three years after the Civil War, the church served a vital role in the local Black community, and housed a school. Whites who were determined to uphold the racial status quo attacked and burned the wood structure.

"Being a teacher, I begin researching school information for Blacks. The initial finding was a brief sentence of a colored school being attacked on July 31, 1868," Bush said. "The incident is really disturbing. While no one is alive from that time, I believe it served as a major turning point for Black-white relations in Midway. Nevertheless, the Black community rebuilt and thrived, something many of us didn't know. So we march for awareness and to celebrate their resilience.”

Wednesday the City Council approved a parade permit for the event. Council Member John Holloway, who said he will be marching, told his colleagues that marchers plan to use sidewalks, won't block any streets, and have agreed to break into groups of 10 or less to adhere to the state’s latest social-distancing rules.

"I want people to realize we have been communicating with them (Honoring Black Stories group) about covid restrictions," Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said during the special council meeting called to issue the permit. "They're completely compliant, everyone will have masks on. . . . They will also be socially distanced, making it virtually impossible for an asymptomatic carrier to spread."

Vandegrift added that he will take part in the march and is confident in the social distancing measures in place.

The march will begin at noon at City Hall and will go down East Main Street to Gratz Street, then out East Stephens Street to its intersection with Smith Street, where the church was located on what is now Midway University's campus. From there, the march will go back down Stephens Street, then up Turner Street and on Bruen Street to the Sons and Daughters of Relief Cemetery facing Wausau Place, then back to City Hall at 2 p.m.

"Many of the graves at Sons and Daughters cemetery say 'Gone, but not forgotten'," Bush said. "Honoring Black Stories wants to change that narrative and bring to life those people we have indeed forgotten."

A 2017 Lexington Herald-Leader story about the attack is here.

Council prefers two more rounds of Midway Bucks to business-grant program mayor proposed; budget OKd

Leslie Penn of the Midway Museum Gift Store watched as Elisha Holt (facing camera) and Morgan Castle of the Midway Business Association recorded a promotional video for Facebook last month as stores prepared to reopen. (Photo by Al Cross)

By Aaron Gershon and Al Cross
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council voted 3-2 Monday for a second and third round of vouchers for residents to spend at local businesses, rather than give money directly to the businesses for covid-19 relief.

The council also unanimously approved the city budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The budget, which the council worked out last month, calls for almost $1.8 million in spending. “It really well serves the city of Midway while preserving the surplus, but it’s not skimpy either,” Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said.

Business aid: When Vandegrift learned last week that the city qualified for $129,000 in coronavirus relief funds from the federal government, he proposed that the city apply for $80,000 to give grants of up to $2,000 to as many as 40 businesses to help make up revenue lost to the pandemic.

He told the council that it could issue $80,000 more in vouchers to citizens, on top of the $40,000 that it issued in May, but that would “roll the dice” because there's no assurance that it will be reimbursed. He said the grant program is clearly authorized by the relief law but the voucher program is not.

“We may not know for months,” Vandegrift said. But he added, “I’m confident it would be reimbursed.”

As for the grant program, he said, “Maybe $2,000 isn’t gonna save everybody, but I’ve talked to these shops and restaurants a lot lately, and there are quite a few that are close to having to pack it in.” He said grants would help shops more than vouchers, which he said are being spent mainly at restaurants and the grocery.

Vandegrift said a vote for the grant program would be “a preference vote” that wouldn’t commit the council to it, just start a process in which a council committee would work out details. “The clock is ticking for these businesses,” he said, “and if we’re gonna do a grant project we need to move on it for it to matter.”

Council Member Stacy Thurman said, “I feel we have to be responsible, and I have a hard time trying to make the decision when I don’t know for sure.”

The vouchers come in $10 denominations; no change is given.

Council Member Bruce Southworth said he preferred the vouchers. He said the city could afford to risk not getting reimbursed because it has a big surplus, and “It’s the people’s money to begin with. If we get reimbursed, it’s somebody else’s money. If we use our money, it’s the tax dollars they pay anyway.”

Council Member John Holloway disagreed. “I just don’t think it’s fiscally responsible to give away a bunch of money . . .when we don’t know if we’re gonna get reimbursed for it,” he said.

Council Member Sara Hicks, who had made the motion for the grant program, said the council needs to “prevent a lot of empty storefronts downtown … it can be a snowball reaction; we’ve had that happen before in Midway; if the town doesn’t have enough going on you start to lose more business.”

But no other members favored the grants. Thurman wasn’t present for the 3-2 vote because she had to leave the meeting for a work obligation, Vandegrift said.

Voting with Southworth were Kaye Nita Gallagher, who said earlier, “We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from citizens about the vouchers,” and Logan Nance, who said he didn’t think $2,000 would make a difference to a business at risk of closing.

After the vote, Vandegrift said, “This is what I hoped would happen, but I didn’t want to cloud it or make it difficult to have free discussion.”

He said the next round will be conducted exactly like the current one, except that the “Midway Bucks” would be a different color and he might delay before starting again. The current vouchers must be spent by June 30.

“I’m not saying we won’t do them again until August 1,” he said. “I think we’ll probably try to do it in the middle of July.”

St. Matthew AME Church is on South Winter Street.
(Photo by Christopher Riley, via Flickr)

Racial matters: Vandegrift said the St. Matthew African Methodist Episcopal Church wanted people in the city to know that it has put up surveillance cameras to catch someone who is “messing with them.”

“There’s just no way that I can’t believe its not racially motivated at this point,” Vandegrift said. “I’m pretty sure we know who it is. That’s not indicative of the people of Midway; it’s just one jackass.” Addressing the unnamed person, he said, “You should move, because you don’t belong in Midway, in my opinion.” Southworth agreed.

Vandegrift added, “I hope they catch him and we can say his name.”

In a related matter, Vandegrift complimented Versailles police, who patrol the whole county, for their participation in a peaceful demonstration June 3 at their headquarters to honor George Floyd, the African American killed by a Minneapolis police officer.

In a similar vein, Holloway said he is mapping the recently renovated St. Rose Tabernacle cemetery with short biographies of those buried there, and would like to put up an informational history sign about the African American burial ground.

He said he would like to do the same for several sites in town, like the Black History Tour in Washington, D.C., and asked people with information to contact him.

Covid-19 response: ” The virus has kicked into gear again a little bit,” with a recent uptick in Woodford County but no second case reported in Midway, Vandegrift said. He said mask wearing and social distancing should be encouraged.

Midway saw its lone confirmed case on May 22. As of Monday, Woodford County had 58 confirmed cases, with 24 of them recovered, according to the county health department’s Facebook page. One person in the county is hospitalized and with covid-19 and 30 are recovering at home.

During the grant-or-voucher debate, Hicks pitched the idea of having a coronavirus testing site in Midway. Vandegrift said he had talked to county Emergency Management Director Drew Chandler about a mobile site in Midway but had “no luck yet.” He said there is much demand for such services “and we’re small.”

There are two testing sites in the county, including a rapid testing site at Bluegrass Community Hospital in Versailles, where results can be received in less than an hour. The mayor said a Midway resident went there Monday and the test came back negative.

In other business, the council approved a quitclaim deed to Scott Bradley, clearing up some property-line discrepancies at the Midway Corner Grocery, so he can sell the real estate to Nik Patel, who bought the business in January; and approved the addition of Todd Pack’s name to the veterans memorial in the cemetery.

The mayor announced that the city would not have its annual Sparks in Park gathering on July 4 but might come up with “some way of helping to do something.”

Artificial flowers going from cemeteries to city garage

Starting Monday, June 1, city employees will begin removing artificial flowers from cemeteries in Midway, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift announced. "This coincides with cemetery rules, but all artificial flowers removed will be placed in the city’s storage shed next to our maintenance garage on Circle Drive," he said in an email. The shed is open Monday through Friday form 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

City Council stretches out cemetery pavilion project to start funding improvements at city's three cemeteries

Two of the largest trees in the St. Rose Tabernacle Cemetery, next to the Midway Cemetery, have upended tombstones.

The Midway City Council decided this evening to stretch out construction of a pavilion at the Midway Cemetery over two years, to fund other work at the cemetery and start fixing up the two historically African American cemeteries for which the city has taken responsibility.

At its second workshop on the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, the council also discussed other budget changes, and a suggestion that it seek bids for engineering services on the proposed budget's single biggest item, a sewer-improvement project estimated to cost $200,000.

The council plans to finish drafting the budget at a third and final workshop at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, and enact it at its regular meeting on June 17.

The pavilion, which would provide shelter in inclement weather, is estimated to cost $45,000. The council voted to put $20,000 in the budget for pouring its concrete footers and pad, and use the other $25,000 for other improvements at all three cemeteries.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said Public Works Supervisor Terry Agee has a list of work needed at the main cemetery and at the other cemeteries, including removal of trees that have upended tombstones. The mayor said Agee sees the tree removal as a five-year process, partly because removal of too many trees would upset the public.

Council Member Sara Hicks, chair of the Cemetery and City Property Committee, said all the tree work in the St. Rose Tabernacle Cemetery should be done first, "so you can start to re-erect the tombstones." The work there and at the Sons and Daughters of Relief Cemetery will also include installation of lines and taps for watering.

Engineering firm's map of project (click on image to enlarge)

Sewer project: The council agreed in February to use up to $200,000 of its half-million-dollar-plus General Fund surplus for a project that would send a camera through the city's oldest sewer lines, east of Winter Street, to see how they need to be repaired or replaced, and then remove sludge, tree roots and other obstructions. Vandegrift put the project in the budget he proposed to the council.

Council Member John Holloway noted that $62,000 of the estimated cost is for engineering services, which presumably would be performed by HMB Engineers of Frankfort, the city's longtime consultant. "For sixty-two thousand dollars, I think we should bid out the engineering," Holloway said. He also said he didn't understand some of the terminology in HMB's description of the project, some of which seemed duplicative.

Vandegrift said "All those questions can be answered by HMB," and "I have no problem with bidding whole thing out. . . . We can ask HMB those hard questions." He said the project was originally planned for this summer, but "It's looking more like the fall."

In other sewer-system business, the mayor noted that his budget continues to invest in improvements at the city's wastewater-treatment plant, and said that he has been impressed with the work of plant operator Jack Blevins. He said when the budget was tighter, the plant was not as well kept up.

The sewer budget calls for $60,000 in capital expenses. The water budget has the same amount, up from $43,000 in the current fiscal year. Vandegrift said lot of water-line replacements are needed, as well as a gearbox replacement.

The mayor said he expects the state Public Service Commission will give Kentucky-American Water Co., the city's water supplier, a 10 percent increase instead of the 21.5 percent hike it is seeking. He reiterated that unlike last year's increase, the city will not be able to absorb the increase and will have to pass it on to customers. The city cut water and sewer rates 25 percent last year.

Other items: The city's contract for police services from the City of Versailles is budgeted at $166,000, the same as currently; the contract calls for Midway to pay 4.25% of the police budget, and for the Versailles Police Department to be in Midway 16 hours a day. From 11 p.m. to 7 a.m, police are in the Midway-Millville area, but not in the city unless they get a call, Vandegrift said.

Council Member Logan Nance said those hours are when crime might be most likely, so "It might be worth looking into them doing some overnight [patrols in the city] as well."

On another public-safety issue, Vandegrift said his estimate of $50,000 for bulb-outs, or curb extensions, at two major intersections on Winter Street is "just a guess," and the work might be done for less. The bulb-outs at the Stephens Street and Bruen Street intersections will be designed to slow traffic by reducing street width.

The budget also calls for $10,000 for new signage. Vandegrift said about half of that would go for a promotional sign directing traffic from Interstate 64 to downtown, requested by merchants. He said that it would face traffic coming off KY 341 (Midway Road) at US 421 (Leestown Road), and that he thinks the state Transportation Cabinet would allow it to be placed in the right of way.

Holloway wondered if a sign would be visible enough to guide motorists before they chose the left-turn or right-turn lane from 341 to 421. Vandegrift said it would "if you put it in the right spot." Hicks said, "If it's big enough, you would see it before you got to the lanes."

Council Member Stacy Thurman said the city needs a sign for the charging station for electric cars behind City Hall. Shown an example, Vandegrift said he would have Agee order one.

Mayor's budget has 5% raise for city workers, $50,000 for curb extensions; council starts making changes

The Midway City Council has begun what Mayor Grayson Vandegrift called its "number-one legislative function," preparing the city's budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The mayor led the council's first budget workshop, Thursday evening. The second workshop is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. Under state law, a mayor proposes a budget for revision and approval by the council. The workshops are open to the public, just like any other meeting of a quorum of the council, are streamed on the Midway Government Meetings page on Facebook.

Vandegrift said his proposal is "by far the heaviest-spending budget" of the five he has proposed, "reflecting our improved position and our desire to invest in infrastructure."

The proposed budget anticipates revenue of $1,847,813 and a surplus of $446,743, or 24 percent of revenue. The city's position is improved because it is collecting much more occupational tax, mainly due to payrolls in the Midway Station industrial park.

The current budget anticipated $550,000 in occupational tax, but the city collected more than that in the first nine months of the fiscal year, about $623,000, Vandegrift said. His proposal anticipates occupational-tax revenue in the next fiscal year of $650,000, which he called "very conservative." Last year he proposed, and the council approved, a 25 percent cut in property-tax rates.

The other big percentage jump in expected revenue is from alcohol license fees, which are budgeted at $5,000 for the current year and $8,000 for the coming year, apparently due mainly to the success of The Brown Barrel and Blind Harry's, the restaurant-bar combination on North Gratz Street.

On the expense side, Vandegrift said he wants a 5 percent pay raise for city employees instead of the usual 3 percent, because the city has the money and "Our employees do such a good job."

An example of bulb-outs, or curb extensions

The mayor proposes spending $50,000 for bulb-outs, or curb extensions, that would shorten pedestrian crossings of Winter Street and intersecting streets, and narrow Winter at angles to discourage speeding. Vandergrift has said the bulb-outs could be landscaped to “beautify the city.”

The budget also calls for $5,000 for new City Hall computers, $10,000 for repairs at the fire department (up from the current $5,000) and an extra $11,058 to the county Planning and Zoning Commission for use of its geographic information system, which Vandegrift said would help the city keep better track of the water and sewer system, especially after long-serving employees retire.

The council had questions about the information system, which Vandegrift said he would try to get answered at the next workshop. He said he has another motive for the move. Based on population, the city has one of the nine commission members, and the mayor said he would like it to have an additional member, but "I don't think we can get there unless we put our money where our mouth is." 

In a similar vein, he defended a proposed $1,000 contribution to the Woodford County Chamber of Commerce, up from the current $500. Some on the council don't think the chamber does much if anything for Midway, but Vandegrift said refusing to help it "would send the message that Midway is isolationist."

The chamber has provided support for the county Tourism Commission, which Midway gave $1,000 last year. Vandegrift said he included no money for the commission in the proposed budget because the agency is now collecting lodging taxes from the county's first hotel, in Versailles.

The council agreed to give $5,000 to the Court Appointed Special Advocate program, which helps children involved in court proceedings. It recently expanded to the county but needs more funding to meet state requirements for supervision of volunteers. Vandegrift said his proposed appropriation of $3,350 was based on the city's difference in population with Versailles, which is giving the program $20,000. The Lexington-based program is also hoping for funds from Woodford County.

The second biggest new line item among expenses, $40,000 for interest on the mortgage on Midway Station, is expected to be only temporary. Vandegrift said he expects the Woodford County Economic Development Authority to repay the city with proceeds from land sales by the fall.

The council has three new members who are working on their first budget: John Holloway, Logan Nancy and Stacy Thurman. Holloway was the most talkative, mainly because he is also the unpaid manager of Walter Bradley Park, which has received a $10,000 grant for a performance stage. The proposed budget has an additional $12,500 for park improvements, down from $17,000 in the current fiscal year.

The stage project has become more complicated; Holloway estimated its total cost at $19,750. He said spending $9,750 of taxpayer money on it would leave enough for invasive-species control at the park, but made clear that he could take or leave the stage project. "I've been trying to get out of the entertainment business," he said, alluding to his work as head of the Lexington stagehands local.

Looking at the cemetery budget, the council discussed stretching construction of a long-planned pavilion over two fiscal years to facilitate repairs and improvements at the two historically African American cemeteries for which the city has taken responsibility. "This is going to be a giant undertaking," Holloway said.

Former council member Johnny Wilson, who brought the condition of the two cemeteries to the council's attention and donated more than $1,000 toward repairs, attended the workshop and said he was satisfied with the budget. "It's a start," he said.

Council mulls bids on old sewage-treatment plant, now a fish farm; OKs cemetery ordinance, event permits

Aquaculturist Steve Mims fed his largemouth bass after the City Council meeting Monday evening. (Photo by Al Cross)

The Midway City Council faced a tough choice Monday evening: Accept the high bid offered to buy the city's old wastewater-treatment plant, by a contractor who would use the property for storage? Or a much lower bid from the retired aquaculture professor who has been leasing it for use as a fish farm?

After a closed session so they could talk about the still-secret appraisal of the property, council members punted, tabling the issue. They could consider the bids again, or advertise for new bids.

The high bid of $20,000 came from Buchanan Contracting, a Mount Sterling company that the Woodford County Economic Development Authority recently hired to do maintenance and reconstruction work on the Midway Station industrial park.

The other bid, $13,100, came from Advancing Sustainable Aquaculture Performance for Fish, a company owned by retired Kentucky State University professor Steve Mims, who has leased the facility for the last four years.

Council Member John Holloway said both bids were below the appraised value of the property, but after Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said the appraisal shouldn't be discussed publicly, the council met privately for six minutes in a back room to discuss the bids. That is allowable under an exception to the state Open Meetings Act, which allows closed sessions "when publicity would be likely to affect the value" of the property being sold.

After the closed session, Vandegrift said the discussion was about what the property is worth, and Council Member Bruce Southworth moved to table the issue. The council agreed unanimously.

Before the closed session, Mims told the council that he started the small-scale fish farm because most fish supplied to Kentucky come from out of state and the state needs local suppliers. He also is promoting a hybrid bass and paddlefish, sometimes called spoonbills, whose eggs are a competitor to caviar, the eggs of sturgeon. He said ASAP Fish one of only two paddlefish hatcheries in the nation.

Sims said he got grants for a liner that stopped leaks in the plant's 160,000-gallon tank, has put more than $20,000 into the plant's pumps, plumbing and electrical wiring; and has received informal approval to take water from Lee Branch instead of the new treatment plant across Leestown Road.

Under its lease, ASAP Fish pays the city 5 percent of its gross revenue. Vandegrift said after the meeting that last year's payment was about $800, indicating revenues of $16,000. Sims acknowledged that he has a small operation, and said he has tried to focus on the "highest-value species."

"I'd really like to keep it," Mims said. "I bid what I thought I could, based on how much money I've put into the place." He said he would continue educational programs for students and businesses, and presented letters from state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles and county extension agent Adam Probst endorsing his efforts to buy the property. No one from Buchanan Contracting spoke.

Holloway said the property "looks really unkempt and awful." Mims said city workers dumped some old equipment on the property, and "I didn't feel like it was my job to have the place manicured."

On another type of bid issue, the council accepted a bid of $30,856 from Paramount Roofing of Frankfort to put a new roof on the maintenance building at the Midway Cemetery. Vandegrift said the delayed project is to be completed by June 30.

Wickey Pole Buildings of Owingsville had a slightly lower bid of $30,500, but Council Member Sara Hicks, chair of the Cemetery and City Property Committee, said Paramount would remove the old roof, install insulation and batting, and remove trash, work that under the Wickey bid would have to be done by city employees.

Budget workshop: Vandegrift announced the was calling a special council meeting for 5:30 p.m. Thursday to hold a workshop on the budget he has proposed for the fiscal year beginning July 1. He said the council might take action on line items.

Cemetery ordinance passed: The council enacted the new cemetery ordinance, which raises fees slightly to help restore the city's two historically African American cemeteries. Vandegrift said the increases still leave Midway competitive with Versailles and cheaper than Lexington.

Midway Station zoning: The council held first reading of an ordinance to rezone the remaining professional-office and residential property in Midway Station to industrial or commercial.

Events: The council approved a permit allowing closure of the north side of East Main Street for the Midsummer Nights in Midway series to be held by Midway Renaissance, and for the block party planned this Saturday by the Midway Business Association.

MBA President Cortney Neikirk said the event would have nine booths, including two food booths that won't compete with local restaurants. She said retailers in Midway are "struggling" due to competition from online vendors, so "We're trying to get as many people to see what we've got her in town."

The summer events have been held on Fridays, but this year the July event will be on a Saturday, July 27, because a historic steam engine will be spending the day in town as part of its trip from the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven to the railyard in Ravenna, where it will be restored by the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp.

July 27 will be promoted as Heritage Day, running from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The locomotive, ona flatbed railcar, is scheduled to be in Midway from 10:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for viewing and tours. Debra Shockley of Renaissance said 300 to 400 steam-engine enthusiasts are expected, and the 1950s model of Midway, which is being restored, will be unveiled that day.

Vandegrift, who expressed concern at the last meeting about "event fatigue," suggested that Renaissance work with the MBA on its plan for pop-up markets featuring local artists and crafters. Shockley said she would discuss that with Neikirk, who by that time had left the meeting.

Woman's Club building: After some discussion, the council approved a quitclaim deed disavowing any interest in the Midway Woman's Club building at 230 S. Gratz St., to clear the way for the club to sell it. The woman who donated the house to the club in 1952 for use as a "community house" said that if the club disbanded or failed to maintain the property, it would become city property.

Club members said they are spending too much on maintenance, limiting their charitable activities. Their attorney, Jim Rouse, said proceeds of the sale would go to those activities, under the oversight of Woodford Circuit Court.

Citizen complaint: At the start of the meeting, Vandegrift had a lively discussion with Dickie Jones, who wanted more police focus on speeders in front of his home at 6832 Midway Road, and a sidewalk on the road. He said a radar speed sign at the site hadn't slowed down traffic, but Vandegrift said that was not so. The mayor said any sidewalk would have to be built by the state, since the road is US 62.

Combs also asked if the city was going to have a committee to deal with blighted property. Vandegrift replied, "Yes, when we pass the blighted-property ordinance," something the mayor has been trying to do for almost two years. The full discussion can be seen on the Midway Government Streaming Meetings page on Facebook.

Council hears more good news on Midway Station, holds first reading of cemetery ordinance

By Korrie Harris
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Midway probably won’t have to resume paying interest on Midway Station after all, due to pending property sales, the City Council heard Monday evening.

              

The council also heard first reading of an ordinance that will raise cemetery-lot prices to fund upkeep of the two largely abandoned African American cemeteries in the city.

Midway Station: Woodford County Economic Development Authority Chair John Soper said the EDA has approved three tentative sales of property, with one other contract waiting for approval at the EDA meeting this Friday.

EDA Chair John Soper spoke to the City Council.

“We’ve got $800,000 in contracts that we’re in various stages of doing,” Soper said, adding that the buyers could employ more than 100 people in two to three years.

Soper said the sales prospects mean that the city and county probably won’t have to resume paying interest on the Midway Station debt, as was expected in February when developer Dennis Anderson terminated his option on the property, which he maintained by paying the interest.

“We may not be able to pay it July 1,” Soper said. “You all may have to pay it, but I think of these four, that by August or September we’ll have at least two of these closed so we can reimburse you.”

Soper said from the $800,000 in sales, about $480,000 will go toward the principal of the note and the remaining balance should be around $300,000. That cash on hand will allow the EDA to maintain the property.

Recently, Midway agreed to do one or two rounds of mowing at Midway Station while the EDA bid out the work. The city will be reimbursed for fuel and labor, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said it took the mowers 23 hours to get Midway Station to “where it is now.”

Soper said, “It looks like something somebody is wanting to sell.”

Midway Station, developed in the 1990s, was largely a failure for 20 years, leaving Midway and the county with $6 million in debt borrowed to buy and develop the land.

Soper quipped, “In my former life, I was a banker and we loved to see development loans paid out in 15 to 18 months and this is going on 15 to 18 years so it’s time, it’s time.”

Vandegrift said, “You’ve done an amazing job, and I think that it’s becoming pretty clear that after all this time, 20 years, that Midway Station has turned into a success story and everything looks like it’s going in the right direction.”

Soper said the EDA is concentrating on the industrial side of Midway Station because the EDA thinks the “demand is there” and is starting to put “feelers” out on the commercial lots, zoned B-5, but plans to address that after the industrial side gets moving.

“The more we get in on the industrial side, the B-5 will become more valuable as we go on,” Soper said.

Cemeteries: Vandegrift said first reading of the proposed cemetery ordinance could wait, due to some council members having concerns about it, but he went ahead after Council Member Sara Hicks made the request to read the ordinance. 

Hicks chairs the Cemetery and City Property Committee, which proposed changes to the cemetery ordinance. For example, the cost of a single grave would increase to $750 from $650; and opening and closing a grave would cost $700, instead of $600.

Vandegrift said the idea was to get some money to help create a perpetual-care fund to help maintain the two closed African American cemeteries in Midway that “can’t generate revenue on their own,” the Sons and Daughters of Relief and Saint Rose Tabernacle graveyards; and to install markers for unmarked graves.

The extra revenue wouldn’t be dedicated directly to the replacement of markers, Vandegrift said, because the council should be able to discuss each budget cycle to “determine the needs of the budget and the needs of the cemetery” to decide how much to put in the perpetual fund “going forward.”

He added, “You can’t really compel future councils to adhere to this, I’m afraid. I mean, you can try, but I think it gives future councils more leeway to decide each budget cycle how much money goes into the perpetual fund.”

Former Council Member Johnny Wilson, who drew attention to the African American cemeteries in January by donating $1,000 for their restoration, presented two $250 checks to the council to go toward the Sons and Daughters of Relief Cemetery and Walter Bradley Park.

Wilson told Council Member John Holloway that he would like a tree named after him, “a crabapple or persimmon tree, to fit my personality.”

“Persimmons are great trees,” said Holloway, who manages the park.

In other business, the council:

•   Approved Vandegrift’s nomination of Cynthia Bohn, owner of Equus Run Vineyard in Midway, to the county Tourism Commission for a three-year term.

“She’s really a kind of expert in all things tourism, so she’s a good pick,” Vandegrift said.

•   Heard the mayor say that the application deadline for cooperative sidewalk repairs ended on March 31, and 10 projects signed up.

“The ones who needed to do it the most stepped up,” Vandegrift said.

He said the city will get measurements of repairs, take photos and present them to the council for approval. Once approved, there will be a request for contractors to work the project.

•   Heard Jeffrey McGuffey, representing the U.S. Census, say that census takers are needed.

The job has three parts, he said: validating addresses, helping people to go paperless, and going to the homes of people who don’t respond.

McGuffey said the “temporary, part-time, flexible” work will start in July and the pay will be $14 an hour.

“The count is very important,” he said.

To apply go to www.2020census.gov/jobs or call 855-562-2020.

•   Accepted bids totaling $3,582 for equipment that the council had declared surplus.

Tom Walton and Lauren Lancaster both bid $500 on a mower, and Vandegrift broke the tie with a coin flip. Walton was the winner, but Lancaster was the successful bidder on three other items, all $20 or less. The bid tallies are in the council packet, available here.

•   Heard Elisha Holt, representing the Midway Business Association, announcing that “pop-up markets” would be held in Midway from 7 to 10 p.m. June 14, July 12 and Aug. 9, all Fridays for “artists, craftsmen and strolling musicians.” 

•   Approved an event permit for the American Diabetes Association Bicycle Race. It will be on June 4 from 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. The cyclists will start at Keeneland and finish at Keeneland, riding through Midway and stopping at Walter Bradley Park.

In the roundtable that ends each council meeting, Council Member Stacy Thurman, manager of the Midway Public Library, announced that the history of Walter Bradley Park will be discussed at the library on April 25 at 6:30 p.m.

City Council Cemetery Committee to meet 9 a.m. Sat.

The Cemetery and City Property Committee of the Midway City Council will meet at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 23 at City Hall to discuss re-erecting headstones in the two African American cemeteries. The meeting notice says no action will be taken. All committee and council meetings are open to the public.

Cemetery committee to discuss ordinances and funding, inspect damaged graves and headstones at 9 a.m. Sat.

The Cemetery and City Property Committee of the Midway City Council will meet at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 at City Hall, and continue its meeting at the cemeteries in the city.

The meeting notice says the committee will "discuss ordinance changes and address [the] problem of maintenance funding" for graves that are 100 or more years old, and will drive to the cemeteries to look at damaged graves and headstones.

At last week's City Council meeting, former council member Johnny Wilson reported that 71 of the 303 headstones in the two old African American cemeteries need resetting, repair or replacement, and donated $1,000 for that purpose.

All committee and council meetings are open to the public, regardlkess of location.

City council gets audit report showing occupational-tax windfall, discusses several other topics in long meeting

By Korrie Harris, Akhira Umar and Kristi Fitzgerald

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Midway collected much more occupational tax than it budgeted in the last fiscal year, improving its finances substantially, according to an audit report the City Council heard Tuesday evening.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift hands Deputy Clerk Sonya Conner the $1,000 check
that former council member Johnny Wilson, standing at left, had just given the
city to help with restoration of the two African American cemeteries in the city.

The council also heard about a joint "town hall" meeting of local governments and restoration of African American cemeteries; discussed the future of the old wastewater treatment plant; endorsed a proposed two-day water competition for dogs at the dog park; and discussed other topics in a long meeting.

Audit report: Thanks mainly to new industries and businesses, Midway collected $662,524 in occupational taxes on payrolls and net profits in the fiscal year that ended June 30, well over the $500,000 the mayor and council had budgeted. They budget conservatively; this year's estimate was $550,000. In 2016-17 the budget was $400,000; in 2015-16 it was $275,000.

In 2017-18, the city took in $265,758 more in 2017-18 than it spent, according to the audit. The occupational-tax windfalls have allowed the council to reduce property taxes 25 percent thanks to the influx of occupational taxes.

The audit noted three "significant deficiencies" in the city's financial procedures, all of which were essentially dismissed by Jason Strange, a certified public accountant for Stiles, Carter and Associates in Elizabethtown, who presented the report.

In one case, five credit card transactions didn’t include source documents such as receipts. In another, the city clerk-treasurer was paid a week's sick leave in advance. “It was not any sort of malfeasance from what we understand,” Strange said. All city expenses are public records and can be accessed by filing an open-records request.

The other deficiency involved insufficient "segregation of duties over receipts, disbursements and reconciliations." For example, "The clerk-treasurer accepts cash receipts and also records the amounts . . . has check-signing authority and performs bank reconciliations without review."

Last year's audit noted some of the same items. "They're very common with what we see in small governments and small cities," Strange said. "Most folks live with this because the costs outweigh the benefit to add a layer of folks to deal with this."

Multi-government meeting: Mayor Grayson Vandegrift announced that the councils of Midway and Versailles will hold a "Woodford Town Hall" with the county Fiscal Court form 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System office in Versailles.

Vandegrift said the event is meant to “engage the public in what the governments are here to do for them.” He said each one will give five minutes of introductory information, followed by an open forum for citizens to make comments and ask questions. If the town hall is successful, it could lead to more like it, the mayor said.

“I think this can be a really exciting thing,” he said. “I don’t think this has ever been done in Woodford County, or if has, it’s been a long time.” Vandegrift had pushed for a joint meeting of the governments, but the idea was quashed by the fiscal court, which is now under the leadership of County Judge-Executive James Kay.

UPDATE, Jan. 30: The town hall, called "We Are Woodford," will include state Rep. Joe Graviss.

African American cemeteries: Former council member Johnny Wilson, appearing in the opening "Citizen's Comments" segment of the meeting, proposed that the city set aside money to repair and replace headstones at the two African American cemeteries, Sons and Daughters and St. Rose.

Wilson reported that 71 of the 303 headstones need resetting, repair or replacement. He suggested that volunteers could do the repairs. Saying he was speaking "from the heart," Wilson have Vandegrift a check for $1,000, which he said represented the $450 in pay he got as a council member filling an unexpired term, plus $550.

Vandegrift said the check would be earmarked for the intended purpose. "I appreciate all your research on this," he told Wilson. "It's very meticulous." The council and the audience gave Wilson a round of applause.

Old wastewater plant: Retired Kentucky State University professor Steve Mims has leased the property from the city for several years to raise fish. He pays around $50 a month in rent and gets treated water from the current plant at no cost.

Midway paid off the debt for the sewer plant last year, which Vandegrift said changed the situation. "In my opinion, it is not worth the city being the landlord," he said. He suggested the council declare the property to be surplus and seek bids for it, which would allow Mims to buy it. “You don’t have to go with the highest bidder,” he said. “You can go with the bid that fits the property best."

The council then held a 10-minute executive session with City Attorney Phil Moloney to discuss "future acqusition or sale of real property when publicity would be likely to affect the value," a stated exception to the state Open Meetings Act. No further action was taken.

Including the executive session, the council meeting lasted an hour and 47 minutes, one of the longest in some time.

Dog event: The council endorsed the Midway Business Association's proposed “Dock Dogs” competition, which would be held at the dog park on a summer weekend -- if the MBA works out arrangements with the commercial vendor who does the events, in which dogs jump off a dock into a large pool, among other things.

The city Parks Board had approved the idea, but didn't have authority over questions about water, vendors and permits, said new Council Member John Holloway, a board member and Walter Bradley Park's unpaid manager.

The council discussed the cost and source of water, necessary permits, liability insurance, parking and other questions with MBA representatives Justin Werner and Steve Morgan. They predicted that the event would draw 2,000 to 3,000 people, with competing dogs coming from other states as well as Kentucky. DockDogs is a “premier canine aquatics competition,” its website says. 

Council roundtable: At the end of each meeting, council members are offered chances in turn to bring up other matters.

New Council Member Logan Nance requested an update on the Midway Child Care Task Force and a look into online payment of water-sewer bills.

Vandegrift said get would get the council an update on the task force. He said online credit card payments would carry a 4 percent surcharge, which has made him hesitant about residents' reactions, but "I'm all for it . . . if you all feel a hunger out there for it." He endorsed Nance's suggestion for a survey of city residents about the idea.

Council votes 4-1 to cut sewer rates by 25 percent; farewell resolution names John McDaniel 'Mr. Midway'

Council Members Steve Simoff, John McDaniel and Johnny
Wilson, who are leaving the council, posed after the meeting.

The Midway City Council voted 4-1 tonight to cut sewer rates 25 percent, as Mayor Grayson Vandegrift wanted. Barring an unexpected special meeting, the session was the last for half of the council; three new members take office Jan. 1.

Two of the returning council members did not join the majority. Bruce Southworth, who favored a 15 percent cut, abstained, and Kaye Nita Gallagher voted no. Sara Hicks and the three departing members voted yes.

Gallagher had seconded Johnny Wilson's motion to pass the ordinance, which briefly seemed at risk of dying for lack of a second. "If I hadn't seconded it," she explained, "we wouldn't have been able to talk about it."

Later in the meeting, Gallagher suggested that the council could pass neither ordinance and wait to see what happens to the 21.5 percent rate increase Kentucky American Water Co. has proposed to the state Public Service Commission. Sewer fees appear on water bills and are based on water usage.

Vandegrift said the city would probably have to pass on to customers whatever rate hike the PSC approves in about 10 months, but said the increase was in doubt and he would fight it.

He told Gallagher that if the council didn't cut sewer rates at all, "You have to explain to citizens why." He said the long-discussed cut would reflect the city's early payoff of debt for the sewage-treatment plant, and without it, "I'm afraid what it'll do is kill the appetite" of citizens for sewer improvements.

"In a couple of years we may have to raise 'em anyway to do a major project, and people are gonna say, 'Dang it, you all always come back asking for more, and never give it back when you don't need it any more'," the mayor said.

As for the alternative 15 percent cut, "I'm not sure 15 percent makes enough difference to people, in their lives," he said. "Even with a 25 percent cut, we've still got between, on the low side, thirty thousand, on the high side, fifty or sixty thousand dollars in new revenue that's not going toward old debt."

Southworth, who once operated the sewer system, defended the 15 percent cut as "more conservative" and said rates could be lowered again later. Vandegrift said the 25 percent cut "doesn't scare the most conservative person I ever met, Phyllis Hudson, our treasurer."

Vandegrift argued, "Let's put it in people's pockets while we can. It won't change everybody's lives, but I guarantee you it'll have a major effect on a lot of people's lives." Earlier, he said the average annual savings would be about $120 per household.

The only other discussion at the meeting was on departing Council Member John McDaniel's suggestion that the city make "more presentable" the two African American cemeteries it agreed to take over in 1989. Since then, he said, most of the maintenance has been done by Boy Scouts. Vandegrift called it "a great suggestion."

McDaniel lost his bid for a second two-year term last month, placing a close seventh in the nonpartisan eight-candidate race for six council seats. In May, he finished third in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination for Midway-area magistrate on Woodford County Fiscal Court.

The farewell resolution honoring McDaniel called him "Mister Midway," citing his passion for the city, his civic leadership and his honor as Citizen of the Year in 2003. He told his colleagues, "I'll probably be down here harassing you all from the peanut gallery."

Council Member Steve Simoff, who chose not to seek a second term but said he might run again, "showed great care for all public spaces," said the resolution honoring him. He said his term has been fun and educational.

Council Member Johnny Wilson was appointed in March to fill the unexpired term of Libby Warfield after an application process that discouraged people who were interested in a full term. The resolution for him said he has "a great eye for detail, which he shares with his predecessor."

The resolutions approved by the council, with the subject members abstaining, named Dec. 29, 30 and 31, respectively, as Johnny Wilson Day, Steve Simoff Day and John McDaniel Day in Midway.

The newly elected council members, John Holloway, Logan Nance and top election vote-getter Stacy Thurman, attended the meeting and sat in the back row of the audience.