Council passes resolution saying it will confront racial issues in city; deadline to file for council is 4 p.m. Tues.

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

The Midway City Council committed itself Monday to confronting racial issues and “taking an equitable approach to all decision-making” amid the nationwide protests of police brutality and racial injustice.

The all-white council unanimously passed a resolution saying the city will examine “the racial biases embedded in our city” and “the racial impacts of city polices,” encourage people of color to participate in government and try to “improve the quality of life for all residents of Midway by asking these questions: Who benefits? Who is burdened? Who is missing? How do we know?”

The resolution’s author, Council Member Stacy Thurman, said “I felt it was good to acknowledge what’s going on in the world right now and know that Midway can always do better . . . and maybe lead to a list of action items.”

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said he had already begun the process by reaching out to African American pastors. Noting the annual observance of the Rev. Martin Luther King’s birthday, he said he had long asked “how we have a discussion beyond a day in January every year … It’s almost like the country doesn’t have the appetite to tackle this problem,” which he said began when the Constitution included compromises on slavery.

“The founding fathers were well aware of the hypocrisy,” he said. “They created a great country with a terrible flaw to it.” He said solving it “starts with the heart, and it starts in the home, and it branches out from there.”

Council Member John Holloway, who first asked how the resolution would be implemented, shared a personal story to illustrate the racial divide that needs bridging.

He said one of his neighbors, an African American, reportedly said “one of the most awful things I ever heard” before the last election: that he was not going to vote “because voting’s for white people.”

“I was just crushed when I heard that,” Holloway said. “I’m not sure the relationship between the races in Midway is as rosy as what white people think it is.” Vandegrift agreed. “It’s not enough to say you’re doing better than other cities. That’s a pretty low bar.”

Council Member Logan Nance said the resolution was “a great first step,” but “We need to make sure people in the community that are minorities feel they do have a voice and that they can be part of this. . . . We can use this resolution as a reminder for ourselves when doing projects to make sure everyone has an equal voice.”

Nance said he has encouraged African Americans to run for office. The last black city council member was Aaron Hamilton, who did not seek re-election in 2014.

Holloway expanded the electoral encouragement to Latinos, saying he would vote for candidates of color and would even pay the $50 filing fee for any in Midway wanting to run for council. The deadline to file is 4 p.m. Tuesday, at the county clerk’s office in Versailles.

(Holloway and Council Members Kaye Nita Gallagher and Bruce Southworth had not filed for re-election as of 4 p.m. Monday, but Southworth and Gallagher said Tuesday morning that they plan to file; the other three members had. Other filers were Adam Bailey of Old Towne Walk and former council members John McDaniel and Steve Simoff.)

The resolution says “The City of Midway seeks to unify efforts aimed at reducing disparities and commit to intentionally and collectively advancing equity,” and “is committed to hearing individuals who meaningfully engage in raising awareness of disparities and in actively engaging in suggesting and supporting methods by which they may be resolved.”

Council Member Sara Hicks alluded to the shortage of affordable housing in Midway, saying “If we have the intention not to be a gentrified community, we can make policies as a city that will provide those things.”

In other action, the council approved an encroachment permit for an eight-foot-wide concrete driveway behind 230 South Gratz St., the former Midway Woman’s Club building, leading to Stephens Street; and reappointed Michael Michalsin to the Woodford County Economic Development Authority board for a three-year term. 

“He understands all sides of our goals of growth, to grow reasonably sustainably, slowly but to also fit into what makes us who we are,” Vandegrift said.

Michalsin said, “I am keenly aware that I am the only that I am the only Midway appointee to that board. I really do try to think about that and represent what’s important to us.” The EDA controls the Midway Station commercial and industrial development.

Mayor looks back at a year of improvements in Midway, suggests others to be made with booming tax revenue

By Garrett Burton
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Monday’s City Council meeting was almost entirely dedicated to Mayor Grayson Vandegrift’s annual report, looking back at what had been accomplished in Midway the past year. 

This was “the year we truly put our money where our mouth is in making large investments in our infrastructure . . . but we can’t rest on our laurels,” Vandegrift told the council, suggesting ways the council can use its booming payroll-tax revenue to make more improvements.

“Tax revenue created from new jobs is growing, and that it’s steadily improving our city’s fortune and future as it grows,” the mayor said, announcing that “We are 29 percent ahead of our occupational-tax revenue for the fiscal year, putting us on track to generate $838,000 this cycle.”  The city budgeted $650,000 in occupational-tax income for the fiscal year that ends June 30.

The tax revenue from wages and profits has boomed mainly because of the Lakeshore Learning Materials distribution center, and further job growth will be led by expansion of the center, with 100 new jobs, announced in September. Vandegrift said this puts Lakeshore’s total investment the Midway at around $75 million.

In the only major action at the meeting, the council passed an ordinance authorizing $35 million in industrial revenue bonds for the expansion. The bonds will be paid off solely by Lakeshore’s lease payments to the city, which owns the property. That makes it tax-exempt, but Lakeshore will pay the county schools an amount equal to what it would pay in taxes.

“They will eventually employ at least 362 full time workers in Midway, far and away the largest job provider the city has ever had, and one of the largest in the county,” Vandegrift noted.

The mayor said “2019 saw us create over 225 more jobs in Midway,” and with other jobs expected from businesses that have bought lots in Midway Station, ”It won’t be long until our annual occupational tax revenue is exceeding 1 million dollars. For reference, back in 2015, we were bringing in $300,000.  That is the effect of bringing in 500 new jobs in five years.”

The city used the new revenue to make improvements, including a sidewalk-repair cost-sharing program.  “Of every project we’ve implemented in the last five years,” Vandegrift said, “none generated the number of compliments we received from citizens than this one.”

He said the city “should look seriously” at building new sidewalks “where they are needed and where they are possible,” such as East Stephens Street near the Homeplace at Midway, Leestown Road (US 421) and “the US 62 bypass,” officially Midway Road. He noted that sidewalks on the latter two would “require state input and/or participation.”

When East Stephens Street was repaved, it also got new lines in the center and on its edges.

Other infrastructure improvements this year have included the wastewater treatment plant and improvement this fall of East Stephens Street, including “edge lines which early eyewitness reports indicate are slowing traffic,” Vandegrift said. “It is time we create a five year road plan for a priority list of which roadways should be resurfaced soon,” he said, such as Higgins, Bruen and Gratz streets.

"Money is budgeted this fiscal year for a sewer repair project “that will mark a turning point for us in our efforts to combat aging infrastructure,” the mayor noted.

He said a “decades-long grievance about Midway,” its high water rates, could be ended by switching to a new water wholesaler in 2015, when the city’s contract with Kentucky American Water Co. is up. “Frankfort Plant Board is an obvious and strong candidate for our business because they can sell us equally clean water at a rate 40% cheaper,” he said, but “as other players come to the table, we should hear them out as well.” He said “wholesalers within our own county” are interested.

After the meeting, he said the interest is from the City of Versailles, which already supplies water to the Northeast Woodford Water District, but it’s unclear whether the water would come directly from Versailles or through the district’s lines.

The mayor ended his annual report by thanking city employees, whom he called “the unsung heroes of Midway.” Earlier, he thanked the council members, the Midway Business Association, Midway Renaissance and the city Parks Board for their work.

“I look forward to continuing to work together with you to maintain Midway’s status as a city that defies all expectations,” he said.

Earlier, noting that Versailles and Georgetown have followed Midway’s lead in banning discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, he said, “Don’t ever let anyone tell you that because a city is small that it somehow matters less.”

All council members applauded at the conclusion of the report, which can be read in full here.

Other business: Vandegrift said the long-debated ordinance to crack down on blighted property, which he has been trying to get passed since his election in 2015, should be ready for first reading at the Dec. 16 meeting.  He said he plans to have the second reading and final vote Jan. 6, but a special meeting if there are further questions.

 “I firmly believe this is the only way to tackle the problem of blight and abandonment,” he said, “and the current version is a great example of cooperation and compromise.”

Council Member Logan Nance asked that the council discuss the policy of shutting off water users for nonpayment, policy he said in September should be abolished. Vandegrift said the issue is “next on the agenda.”

City Council passes resolution endorsing resettlement of refugees in Ky.; meanwhile, mayor fears 'event fatigue'

With some disagreement but not much debate, the Midway City Council passed a resolution Monday night endorsing the resettlement of refugees in Kentucky and asking other towns in the state "to join them in supporting a stronger national effort to resettle refugees around the world in need of a home."

The vote was 4-2, with Council Members Bruce Southworth and Kaye Nita Gallagher voting no. "Sorry, Logan," Gallagher told the resolution's sponsor, Council Member Logan Nance, as she voted.

Southworth said the resolution wasn't needed. "This is a federal issue, not a local issue," he said. "This is an issue more for the churches than the government, at a local level."

Logan Nance

Nance, an Army veteran of Afghanistan, replied that there's nothing wrong with a city saying "We welcome you . . . It would be very weird to live in a place where I don't speak the language and I don't have a home. So for some place to say 'Hey, we welcome you,' it is a symbolic thing, but at the same time I think it's a powerfully symbolic thing."

Earlier, Nance said refugees' world has changed, "and they're just trying to find a place . . . they find a place here that is now their new home, so anything we can do to make them feel welcome, I think, is a great thing."

Gallagher, saying she was relaying questions citizens had posed to her, asked Nance why Midway would be the only city in Kentucky to pass such a resolution, and if refugees "do end up moving here . . . who is going to help pay for them to be here?"

Nance said cities like Louisville and Lexington "are probably afraid [to pass such resolutions] because of the backlash they would get." He said refugees are self-sufficient after six months, and are helped by Kentucky Refugee Ministries every day, teaching them English and American culture.

Council Member Sara Hicks said she had worked as a family therapist with refugees, and "They were very honorable and good people." As a child-abuse investigator, she added, "I never had a refugee case, ever. I never had a juvenile-delinquent case."

Council Member Stacy Thurman said, "Gestures like this have to start somewhere," and Council Member John Holloway said, "Absolutely." Thurman said "Logan could have easily backed off of this," but took under advisement comments made at a public forum on the issue.

Nance said he redrafted the resolution in partnership with Kentucky Refugee Ministries. An earlier version was modeled after one prompted by Amnesty International, a group criticized by some opponents of the original resolution.

The public reaction to the original resolution surprised city officials. Gallagher said she thought when she first heard of it that it would pass without controversy, but "We've gotten more flak over this than we did about the Fairness Ordinance, which I think is weird."

In 2015, soon after Mayor Grayson Vandegrift took office, the council passed 4-2 an ordinance he offered to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Gallagher and Southworth voted for it, as did Hicks, the only other current member who was on the council at the time.

Vandegrift said he also was surprised at the opposition to the refugee resolution, but said, "The political situation in America is different" than it was in 2015.

The closest the resolution comes to political commentary is: "The number of refugees allowed into the United States has been slashed to the lowest number in decades," though "there are more refugees in the world today than at any time in recorded history." Last year, President Trump, who made immigration a central issue of his campaign, limited U.S. refugee admissions to 30,000, a record low.

The resolution supports refugees' resettlement in Kentucky "no matter their religion, race, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity or country of origin" and says Midway "is a welcoming community that celebrates diversity and inclusivity."

About 15 people attended the council meeting. Vandegrift opened the floor for comments, but suggested that those who had spoken at the forum defer to others. No one rose to speak.

Vandegrift, who took no public position on the issue, said before the vote, "The democratic process won out again," and "This city will move forward as a united city."

Other business

The council tabled the Midway Business Association's application for an event permit that would allow it to close the north side of Main Street for pop-up "Makers' Markets" and roving musicians on May 25, June 14, July 12 and Aug, 9, after no representative of the association appeared and Vandegrift said, "There's already talk about event fatigue this year."

The mayor said the schedule, along with Midway Renaissance's Midsummer Nights in Midway, would result in the closing of one side of Main Street every two weeks. He also said he wanted to know "who's benefiting from this financially."

The application says the purpose of the event is to "promote downtown Midway." When MBA event coordinator Elisha Holt discussed the plan with MBA members at their monthly meeting last week, she said they would mean that an event would be scheduled somewhere in the county "every single summer weekend."

The council also:

• Approved this year's sidewalk-repair program, which will involve 11 projects in which the city will pay up to $1,000 of the cost. Vandegrift said some walks to be fixed are among the worst in town, and "I think everyone's going to get a good deal because this is a lot of sidewalks." The city will issue a request for proposals by contractors; Vandegrift said it would include provisions for protecting as many trees as possible. Pictures of the sidewalks to be repaired are in the council meeting packet, a 10-megabyte PDF downloadable here. Gallagher abstained from the vote; one of the properties is hers.
• Appointed Dan Rosenberg and Rich Schein to the Affordable Housing Task Force, chaired by Thurman (who abstained), bringing its membership to seven. Vandegrift said Rosenberg, a bloodstock agent, can reflect horse-farm interests, and Schein will serve "ex officio" because he is the city's representative on the Woodford County Planning Commission.
• Appointed local architect Kevin Locke to the county's Board of Architectural Review, the planning body that considers applications for zoning variances in historic districts.
• Heard Vandegrift announce that former mayor and state representative Carl Rollins will speak at the Memorial Day ceremony in Midway Cemetery, set for 10 a.m. May 27. (An earlier version of this story gave the wrong time; Vandegrift said he misspoke.)
• Heard Nance say that several names will be added to the veterans' monument in the cemetery, "one of the best veterans' monuments in the state, bar none," and that there is still time to submit additional names to the local Veterans Committee.
• Heard Vandegrift say that he hopes to have a proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 late this week or early next week.

The council heard an appeal for funding from Melynda Jamison, executive director of CASA of Lexington, which runs the program for court-appointed special advocates for children involved in court proceedings in Woodford County. She said the nonprofit recently expanded to the county, with $20,000 in funding from Versailles, and is "very hopeful" for funding from the county. "We are there for what's in the child's best interest," she said.

Jamison said the program expanded to Bourbon County about three years ago, and is fully funded by the county and Paris, but the Woodford County position is not fully funded. She said the county has 26 volunteers and state law requires such agencies to have one supervisor for every 30 volunteers. She said 79 cases of child abuse were documented in the county last year.

Mayoral candidates run on their records: Vandegrift as city official, Wilson as school and state official

By Hannah Woosley
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Midway’s Nov. 6 mayoral election is a choice between Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, running on his performance in the last four years, and Ambrose Wilson IV, running on his work as a Woodford County school board member, employee relations manager and state official.

Vandegrift, left, and Wilson, right, agree on many goals for the city, such as better infrastructure, affordable housing and a city-wide notification system, but differ on the details and the order in which the work should be done.

In campaign advertising, Vandegrift says he’s running on lower taxes, better services and improving infrastructure. “We’re doing very well,” he said at his only forum with Wilson. “Let’s stay the course; let’s not mess with success.”

Wilson emphasizes his 27 years on the Woodford County Board of Education, including his efforts to establish Northside Elementary School, in what some called “a dying community” at the time, and the school’s summer reading program. “I will care about the city of Midway the same way that I’ve cared about the educational process for the past 26 years,” he said at the forum.

Vandegrift said in an interview that the place to start infrastructure work is a camera inspection of old sewer lines. “We’re going to camera almost the entire part of the city that has aging lines . . . and we’re going to clean them out as we go,” he said. “The quicker we get started on it, the better we’ll be in the long run.”

Because the city paid off the bond issues for its sewage-treatment plants, that freed up $63,000 in sewer fund money and an additional $88,000 in emergency funds, and general fund money is also available.

Vandegrift says he wants to lower sewer rates by 25 percent in December, much like the city lowered property taxes this year because occupational-tax revenue has doubled. That gain came mainly from plants in the Midway Station industrial park, developments for which he takes partial credit.

Wilson said the city needs an overall plan for infrastructure, to set priorities. He believes the place to start if elected is a notification system, in which those who register with it get automatic notice of pertinent information. He said a one-call system where “everybody receives the same news at the same time,” is something that can happen quickly, and that’s why he’s focusing on it first.

The candidates also differ on their approach to affordable housing.

Vandegrift said he wants to establish an affordable-housing task force to look at requirements for homeowners to get state and federal monies for down payments and low-interest loans, and work with owners of land that’s already zoned residential to encourage development of affordable housing.

Wilson said he wants to focus on infill development and converting old structures to single-family living or apartments. “We can’t avoid this issue any longer,” Wilson at the forum. In an interview, he endorsed the task force idea, but said Vandegrift “should have done it four years ago when he was elected mayor rather than putting it off.”

Wilson said likewise about the blighted-property ordinance that Vandegrift proposed more than a year ago. The ordinance has stalled mainly over whether a new board would consider citations. Vandegrift said this summer that he wanted to get the ordinance passed this year, but on Oct. 10 told the Messenger that it should be up to the council that takes office Jan. 1.

Vandegrift and the council have also wrestled with ways to discourage speeding.

Vandegrift said he believes edge lines have discouraged speeding on Winter Street, and the city will add them to Stephens Street. He hopes to add and decorate sidewalk “bulb-outs,” curb extensions that reduce pedestrian crossing distance and tighten lanes, on Winter Street.

Wilson said he wants to work on the issue with the Versailles Police Department, which Midway pays for patrolling the city. He said the city’s mobile radar gun and edge lines slowed traffic for a while because Winter Street looked different, but he said he doesn’t consider the lines a deterrent.

Wilson said at the forum that he would focus on streets and sidewalks. Last year, Vandegrift and the council started paying half of selected property owners’ sidewalk improvements, up to $1,000.

During his first year in office, Vandegrift pushed through the council, on a 4-2 vote, an ordinance banning discrimination in public accommodations, employment and housing based on sexual orientation, gender identity or familial status.

Asked if he’s for the ordinance, Wilson said, “I’m not for discrimination of anybody, absolutely.”

The candidates are of different generations.

Wilson, 67, says he has more than 30 years’ experience in human resources, conflict resolution, banking and government. He served the administration of Gov. Steve Beshear from 2008 to 2013, ending as secretary of public protection and regulation, where he supervised 13 agencies with budgets totaling $98 million.

Wilson said his family moved a lot as a child, and he graduated high school in Oklahoma, then attended Oklahoma State University for two years then transferred to the University of Kentucky, and dropped out in 1972. He said he went back to UK in 1981 and graduated with a general studies degree. He said he has lived in Midway on and off for the last 34 years. His father was mayor from 1993 to 1996. He and his wife Karen have three children.

Vandegrift, 36, grew up in Scott County’s Ironworks Estates area three miles north of Midway. He attended college for three years at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and one year at the University of Kentucky but didn’t graduate. He and has lived in Midway since 2007, when he and his family opened a restaurant. Since selling it, he has worked various jobs, currently as a part-time tour guide at the Mary Todd Lincoln House in Lexington. He and his wife Katie, a banker, have a son.

He was president of the Midway Business Association in 2008, 2009 and 2012, Fall Festival coordinator from 2011 to 2014, and City Council member in 2013-14. He was elected mayor in 2014, defeating Sharon Turner, who had served eight years on the council, by a vote of 374 to 325.

Each candidate was asked why he’s the better choice.

Vandegrift said, “Because I’ve done the job for four years and I’ve proven I can work with anybody.” He said that through his “communication skills” he’s created jobs, doubled the city’s revenue, paved Midway’s worst roads, revitalized Walter Bradley Park and more. “I truly believe results speak for themselves.”

Wilson said, “I will be mayor from day one. I will start trying to accomplish things from day one. . . . There’s not a problem I won’t deal with.” He also said he thinks he will have a good relationship with everyone on the city council and can work with them well.

June 4 picnic will celebrate 2nd anniversary of anti-discrimination ordinance, promote passage elsewhere

A group promoting a countywide "fairness ordinance" like the one in Midway will have a picnic Sunday, June 4, from 2 to 5 p.m. in Walter Bradley Park.

The picnic is coordinated and organized by the Woodford Fairness Coalition, which wants Versailles and/or the county government to pass an ordinance banning discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Midway City Council passed such an ordinance almost two years ago, and the picnic is scheduled for the second anniversary of its effective date.

"The Woodford Fairness Coalition believes it is important and time to organize such an event in order to bring the community together in support of the LGBT community as well as to celebrate the city of Midway," spokesman Dan Brown said in an email. "We are proud of Midway for stepping forward, and taking a prominent stand in the Commonwealth of Kentucky by becoming more welcoming and affirming."

The picnic is sponsored by Woodford Reserve, Ouita Michel's Family of Restaurants, MBS Writing Services and Photography, Homegrown Yoga and individuals in the community. 

"The event is family-oriented," Brown said. "Games, music, food, a rally and good fellowship will be part of the afternoon. The Northside Elementary playground is adjacent to Midway's Walter Bradley Park. The Woodford Fairness Coalition is also providing informational booths for several Central Kentucky organizations. Everyone is invited to attend. Bring a side dish to share, a blanket and/or chair. We are providing all paper products, water, and fried chicken."

Lakeshore expects to be operational with 100 workers Nov. 3; unsure but 'optimistic' on timeline for goal of 262

The Lakeshore Learning Materials distribution center is under construction in Midway Station.

This is an expanded version of the original story.
By Elizabeth Allen

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Construction of Lakeshore Learning Materials’ distribution facility in Midway Station is right on schedule, a top company official told the Midway City Council Monday evening.

Paul Chisholm, the company’s vice president of Eastern U.S. distribution, said it is still on track to begin shipping from the facility by Nov. 3, at which point it expects to have 100 people on the payroll.

Paul Chisholm of Lakeshore spoke to the council Monday evening.

Chisholm said the company will make a “big push” for hiring in August and September, with the goal of work starting Sept. 29, depending on weather. He said 46 construction days have already been lost to rain, but the company still hopes to have the plant under roof by its original target date of May 16.

Support from local and state officials “has been phenomenal,” he said.

Asked after the meeting when the 262 jobs Lakeshore has promised are expected to be filled, Chisholm said that depends on when the building's expansion is completed. He also said recent elections may affect the timetable, since the company is heavily reliant on public-school funding.

“We’re optimistic,” Chisholm said, adding that he expects the plant to employ 150 to 175 people a year from now. It has three years to reach 262 jobs and kick in the state and local incentives offered to attract it.

Chisholm also gave new insight into Lakeshore's decision to come to Midway. He said the final decision essentially came down to three factors: location, available labor and a sense of community.

The central location of Midway made it a better choice than the runner-up, High Point, N.C., Chisholm said. North Carolina has a “right to work” law and no inventory tax, but those advantages were not enough to outweigh Midway’s.

Chisholm said Midway was also expected to provide a workforce that was more likely to stick around and contribute to the culture of the company. He said Lakeshore could already be shipping from readily available buildings in Shepherdsville or Hebron, but competition for workers is heavier there.

Perhaps most importantly, Chisholm said, Midway is a place where he and other Lakeshore officials felt like the company could be part of a community.

He recalled Lakeshore CEO Bo Kaplan saying as they left Midway, "'This place feels right; this place feels like home. Chisholm said the feeling was "intangible."

In response to a question, he said one thing was not a factor: the recently passed "fairness ordinance" that bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

After Chisholm updated the council members on Lakeshore's progress, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift updated them on Midway's occupational tax revenue.

Through December, Vandegrift said, Midway had already taken in $331,000 in payroll taxes. This means that in only half of the fiscal year, the city had already received 82 percent of the budgeted $400,000 in payroll taxes for the year.

After the meeting, Vandegrift told the Midway Messenger that the council was conservative in its occupational-tax budgeting. He said construction work on Lakeshore’s plant and the American Howa Kentucky auto-parts plant, now open, is bringing in unexpected revenue, local restaurants are doing better and Midway University has added to its payroll.

Among other business, the council approved an event permit for the 14th annual 5K Race for Education on April 8 and agreed to have the cemetery house torn down. Vandegrift said he would probably seek bids for the work because city workers are about to enter their busy season.

Vandegrift tells statewide 'fairness' supporters that ordinance has been good for business in Midway

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift speaks at the ACLU's legislative reception at the Kentucky History Center in Frankfort as Kirsten Hawley of Brown-Forman Corp., right, listens.

By Austyn Gaffney

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift told an audience in Frankfort Wednesday night that Midway’s fairness ordinance, prohibiting discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity, has been good for business.

“The argument as to whether fairness laws are bad for business is over,” said Vandegrift, one of three invited speakers at an American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky legislative reception. “And with every new job we create and every business that opens its doors and every person that feels that they and their loved ones are welcomed we will continue to show that fairness is good for business.”

Vandegrift led the City Council to make Midway the eighth city in Kentucky with the anti-discrimination measure, known by advocates as a “fairness ordinance.” Although state and federal civil rights laws ban discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, marital status, disability or national origin, they do not include sexual orientation and gender identity. In Kentucky, it is still legal to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, employment, and public accommodation, such as a business or restaurant. Fairness ordinances make discriminatory practices illegal within city or county limits.

“Like a lot of people, I assumed those protections already existed,” Vandegrift said. “When I ran for mayor it wasn’t on my radar.” Just three weeks into his term, the Woodford County Human Rights Commission presented the issue to him, and he quickly agreed to push it.

Opponents argued the ordinance would drive people out of business or drive businesses out of town. But instead, according to the mayor, the opposite happened, and businesses sought out Midway.

A year after passing the ordinance, the city projected a 33 percent increase in occupational-tax revenue and the Midway Station industrial park transformed as two new businesses announced their plans to open plants, Vandegrift noted. American Howa Kentucky Inc., an auto-parts manufacturer, promises to employee 88 full time workers. Lakeshore Learning Materials, an educational supply company from California, will open its first eastern distribution center, employing 262 full time workers and 140 seasonal workers.

“We’re about to experience a nearly 100 percent increase in jobs in a matter of a few years,” Vandegrift told supporters of the Kentucky Competitive Workforce Coalition, which favors fairness ordinances and a statewide law.

“So as not to appear disingenuous, I am not claiming all this growth is the because of a fairness ordinance,” the mayor said. “But it is indisputable that the ordinance did not cause hardship to our existing businesses, it did not drive employers out of town, and it did not keep companies from coming to Midway. And I’m happy to add that Lakeshore Learning Materials has expressed their support for our ordinance and laws like it.”

The Midway Messenger asked Lakeshore if its decision to locate here had anything to do with the fairness ordinance. The company declined to comment.

The coalition is a group of over 200 businesses, from small, locally owned businesses to large Fortune 500 Companies like PNC Bank, United Parcel Service, Humana and Brown-Forman. Kirsten Hawley, senior vice president and chief human resources officer of Brown-Forman, explained why her company is committed to the coalition’s work: “We know through 145 years of experience talent doesn’t come in one shape, one size, one color, one religious background, or one type of sexual orientation or identity.”

But the coalition recognizes it faces a long, uphill battle.

“A non-discrimination ordinance has been introduced for 17 or 18 years now, and has not gained enough support for passage,” said Michael Aldridge, director of Kentucky’s ACLU. “We were building and building more support over the years but with the November elections it looks unlikely within the General Assembly that a statewide anti-discrimination law will pass in the near future.”

In fact, bills with an opposite vision have been introduced in the 2017 General Assembly. House Bill 105, commonly known as the “religious freedom” bill, says no law or court shall take the place of “a person’s right of conscience” to stand by their religious beliefs. The bill threatens to reverse fairness ordinances, but leaders of the newly Republican House have indicated it won’t be heard.

Vandegrift finds it ironic that Rep. Rick Nelson, a Democrat from Middlesboro, filed the bill and one to ban transgender people’s use of bathrooms for the gender with which they identify.

“When he was running for state treasurer,” said Vandegrift, “I co-hosted a fundraiser for him. What’s funny is that the ordinance had just passed, and I find it funny he didn’t have a problem raising money here but then turns and files a bill saying we don’t have the right to govern ourselves on laws like this. You just can’t write this stuff.”

Vandegrift’s push for Midway to move towards fairness is noticed not only by the coalition, but by Woodford County citizens as well. Dan Brown, secretary of the Woodford County Human Rights Commission and a retired school teacher, shared a personal story.

“For 27 years I drove to school and almost every morning I worried a little bit that I could be fired for my sexual orientation,” said Brown. “That loss of energy and that amount of worry would give more vibrancy to city if you didn’t have to be concerned. It makes a city more welcoming to all people.”

He also shared that when he and his husband go out to eat now, they do so in Midway. “We’ve been together about 33 years. We’ve lived through a lot of being hidden just to survive but we feel very comfortable in Midway,” said Brown.

Aldridge said Midway was always a welcoming community, but attributed the success of the ordinance to Vandegrift.

“I really applaud his leadership,” said Aldridge. “I think he’s a leader we really need in other parts of the state.”

Vandegrift to Democrats: Progressive agenda can fit with job creation; leaders must take stands

In the wake of Democrats' landslide loss of the Kentucky House of Representatives, Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift sent the following letter to newspapers very early Wednesday morning.

By Grayson Vandegrift

    There will undoubtedly be autopsies performed of the Kentucky Democratic Party in the coming weeks, but I’d rather focus on a plan for the future, not a postmortem of what went wrong. The fact is, many people already know what’s been going wrong for some time: very few, including Kentucky Democrats, know if the KDP stands for anything that may be seen as controversial.

    In Midway, we’ve proven that a socially progressive agenda can perfectly coincide with a common sense approach to job creation, infrastructure, and quality of life. Despite passing what some opponents called a “job killer,” our fairness ordinance hasn’t resulted in the loss of jobs, but rather, a dramatic increase in them. We are experiencing a nearly 100% increase in jobs in our city since our civil rights bill was passed. That’s not to say that these jobs were created because of the ordinance, but they certainly weren’t deterred by it.

    Increased revenue has allowed us to begin to invest in programs that are resurfacing roads, fixing sidewalks, upgrading our water and sewer systems, and making enormous improvements to our city parks.

    I serve as the mayor of our city in a non-partisan office, and I’m thankful for it. But I am a registered Democrat, and proud of it, even if only because I find the Republican Party mostly unappealing. But I have many Republican friends, and today I’m telling them one thing they must be proud of – at least I know where they stand. If I understand anything about politics it’s this: you have to stand for something that might get you criticized before you can achieve anything worthwhile.

Band returns fee, gives up return gig after allowing spectator to sing anti-gay lyric at Friday night event

Shades of Grass early in their performance

The band at Friday's Midsummer Nights in Midway event allowed a spectator to sing an anti-gay song, prompting protests from the crowd. Now Shades of Grass has returned the $500 fee it received from Midway Renaissance and asked that the money go toward an LGBT cause, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift told the Messenger Wednesday afternoon.

“We don’t condone any kind of speech like that in Midway, whether it’s racist or sexist or anti-gay or anti-religious or anti-Christian or anti-Muslim or anti-Jewish,” Vandegrift said. “We don’t want any of that happening, especially in a public performance like that.” The mayor said he and Renaissance would write a letter of apology.

Vandegrift said he asked for a meeting with Renaissance members to discuss the matter. The meeting was held Tuesday night at City Hall, and included Sara Hicks, a city council member who is on the Renaissance board and is the immediate past president of the group. The gathering was not subject to the state open-meetings law, and Vandegrift said he saw no need to involve the public.

Midsummer Nights in Midway will repeat July 22 and Aug. 19. Shades of Grass was scheduled to play at the latter event but won't now. “I think the band recognized the error of their ways and decided it wouldn’t be prudent to play again,” Vandegrift said.

Renaissance President Jo Blease said she didn't witness the episode and the band had gone home "by the time we figured out what was going on," so she called band leader Steve Norman later "and he was very apologetic. . . . He immediately said he did not want any bad reflection on Midway or the event." Later, "His wife called and said they were going to return the fee."

Blease said the song, "Come on Down to the Farm," has been played at bluegrass music events for some time, so when the man began to sing, the band apparently recognized the tune, but erred by not stopping when they heard the lyrics. She said of Norman, "He's done everything he can to try to make it right and I hope it doesn't continue to reflect badly on that band."

Blease said the band played for four hours, one more than scheduled, without a break, and for less than their normal fee, "because they believe in Midway and the whole event. . . . I feel horrible that people were there and made to feel unwelcome and uncomfortable."

Norman did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday night. 

Vandegrift cites Midway's 'fairness ordinance' in testifying for bill to create statewide law

By Anyssa Roberts
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift traveled to Frankfort Wednesday to testify on a panel in favor of the Fairness Campaign’s anti-discrimination bill at a state legislative committee hearing.

Vandegrift and other members on the panel said the state should change its civil rights laws to prohibit people from being denied employment, housing or services due to their sexual orientation and gender identity.

He told the House Judiciary Committee that passing a “fairness ordinance” in Midway has been good for the town and would be good for the state as well.

“A lot of folks don’t realize that it’s still legal in Kentucky to fire someone just because of their sexual orientation,” the mayor said. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people “simply want to earn a living and provide for their families just like everyone else.”

Vandergrift said that passing Midway’s ordinance was a “swift and easy” process and it can be just as easy for Kentucky.

He proposed the amendment in Midway in February of last year and the city council approved it with a 4-2 vote in June. He said the Versailles-Midway-Woodford County Human Rights Commission opened his eyes to the idea when they approached him about a countywide ordinance. The Versailles council is studying the proposal.

Midway’s ordinance bans discrimination in public accommodations, employment and housing based on sexual orientation, gender identity or familial status.

Along with Lexington, Louisville, Danville, Frankfort, Morehead and Vicco, a small coal-mining town in the Appalachian Mountains, Midway is the latest city in the state to include protections for LGBT people in their civil rights ordinance.

Vandegrift spoke alongside Rev. Donzella Lee of the Franklin-Simpson Human Rights Commission, Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville; Sen. Morgan McGarvey D-Louisville; Bob Brousseau, the director of corporate communications at Louisville-based Peptides International; and Patti Minter, a Western Kentucky University professor and leader in an effort to pass an ordinance in Bowling Green. Each person had a few minutes to testify their reason for supporting the bill.

In an interview with the Messenger after the hearing, Vandergrift said prohibiting discrimination of LGBT people statewide could also be good for the state economically.

“A lot of companies want to go to places where they feel like their workers and their families will be protected,” he said.

However, the bill will not be passed this session. The group did not ask for a vote because for fear that it would fail in the hands of the committee, Marzian said in an interview with the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Also on Wednesday, more than 100 people rallied in the Capitol rotunda in support of the bill,  including Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes.

Vandegrift said in the interview, “This truly is the right thing to do. If the history of progress is any indication, the future will shake its head at us if we don’t continue moving forward and expanding the borders of justice and equality.”

City council passes anti-discrimination ordinance, 4-2; Warfield adds written statement to minutes

The Midway City Council tonight passed the long-discussed "fairness ordinance" that will ban discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation, gender identity or familial status.

The vote was 4 to 2, with Council Members Libby Warfield and Steven Craig opposed. Warfield asked Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, "Why are we doing this?" The mayor, who proposed the ordinance, said people could be fired, evicted or denied service in a place of public accommodation because they are gay or transgender.

UPDATE, June 19: Warfield attached a written statement to the minutes of the meeting, explaining her vote. "There is no prejudice or discrimination here," she wrote. "My 39-year-old-son, who is gay, was born here and lived most of his life here. He is a past member of this city council. He and I agree that there is no reason for this ordinance at this time."

When the ordinance takes effect with publication in The Woodford Sun, Midway will become the eighth Kentucky town with such an ordinance. For more background, click here. For more details on the meeting and reaction, see Greg Kocher's story in the Lexington Herald-Leader, here.

Council set to pass budget, anti-discrimination law

At its meeting Monday evening, the Midway City Council is scheduled to pass a city budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 and become the eighth Kentucky town with an ordinance banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or familial situation.

The council gave the ordinance first reading May 18 and disposed of several questions raised by Council Member Libby Warfield, the only member to voice skepticism about it at public meetings. The ordinance was strongly favored by the 25 people who spoke at a May 7 public hearing.

Newly elected Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, who had served one term on the council, proposed the ordinance after the countywide Human Rights Commission asked him, Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott and County Judge-Executive John Coyle to pass one. The Versailles City Council and the Woodford County Fiscal Court have not acted on the issue.

Other Kentucky cities with such "fairness ordinances," as advocates call them, are Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Frankfort, Danville, Morehead and the Perry County village of Vicco.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. The Midway Messenger will be unable to cover the meeting, but the Lexington Herald-Leader and The Woodford Sun are expected to be there. For a PDF (size: 16 mb) of the council packet, with the ordinance, the budget and a proposal to lease the old sewage-treatment plant for fish farming, click here.

Council gives first reading to anti-discrimination ordinance, hears and answers questions from Warfield

Midway City Council Member Libby Warfield posed a battery of questions Monday night as the council gave first reading to the proposed "fairness ordinance" that would prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and familial status.

Warfield's questions were answered mainly by Mayor Grayson Vandegrift annd city attorney Phil Moloney, but Council Members Dan Roller, Kaye Nita Gallagher and Sarah Hicks also replied, explaining and supporting language Moloney had drafted.

When Warfield asked how an employer would know a prospective employee's sexual orientation, Gallagher said a person who believed they had been a victim of discrimination would have the burden of proving that had happened.

The ordinance would apply to employers with more than seven employees. Warfield argued that it would apply to very few employers in Midway, but Hicks said that could change, and Roller cited the new McDonald's restaurant as an example.

Warfield said the city could be on the hook for legal expenses of a case that was appealed in court. Vandegrift said several people in Midway had volunteered to contribute to a restricted fund that could be used for such expenses.

The council does not hold votes (and usually does not hold discussions) on first readings. Vandegrift said after the meeting that the second reading would be held at the council's next meeting, Monday, June 1. If the ordinance passes, Midway would be the eighth Kentucky city with such a law.

The council also held first reading of the proposed city budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. It calls for expenses of about $1,114,264 and keeping the city's unbudgeted surplus at $600,000.

Significant changes include fire department maintenance and equipment, $41,685, up from $17,000, reflecting planned purchase of protective clothing; street equipment, $14,800, up from $10,989, reflecting the planned purchase of a truck; cemetery equipment, $14,800, up from $5,000, reflecting planned purchase of a truck; cemetery maintenance, $50,000, up from $35,000, reflecting sidewalk and roof repairs; City Hall maintenance, $20,000, up from $15,000, reflecting the planned purchase of a new entry door; and donations, $3,500, down from $10,000 in the current year. However, there are line items for new recipients of donations: $1,500 for the Woodford County Chamber of Commerce and $1,000 for Midway College (which becomes Midway University on July 1).

The council gave approval on second reading to the ordinance that slightly increases garbage rates, to $12 a month from $11.95 for residential pickup and $25.50 a month for businesses.

Vandegrift announced that the annual Memorial Day service at the cemetery will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, May 25.

For a PDF of the ordinances, the budget and the rest of the council's meeting packet, click here.

Anti-discrimination ordinance set for first reading Mon.

The "fairness ordinance" to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and familal status is scheduled to get its first reading before the Midway City Council at its next meeting, set for 5:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall. For a PDF of the proposed ordinance, click here.

20 favor, five oppose 'fairness ordinance' at city's public forum; more than half of sign-ups weren't from Midway

By Jacqueline Nie
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

Twenty people endorsed and five opposed the proposed “fairness ordinance” in a public forum at the Northside Elementary School gymnasium Thursday evening. The ordinance, awaiting first reading before the Midway City Council, would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

About 75 people attended the forum, according to Assistant City Clerk Diane Shepard. She managed the sign-in sheets, which had the names of 57 people, a few of whom listed post office boxes or other uncertain addresses. About 25 were from Midway, 15 from elsewhere in Woodford County and about 10 from elsewhere in Kentucky. Midway would be the eighth Kentucky city with such an ordinance, and the second smallest.

Isaac Batts of Midway shared his story of coming out as transgender, about a year ago. “Right now, I could be asked, or even made to leave any public place, because someone else isn’t comfortable with me being transgender,” he said. Batts said he felt uncomfortable to go into the bathroom at school, but the proposed ordinance states that schools would not have to comply with the ordinance.

Business owners, ministers and employees of the Kentucky Human Rights Commission shared their thoughts. Midway minister Pete Jones stands with the ordinance. “I wanted to stand as a faith leader in the Woodford County community and say that I support this,” he said. Jones was one of four ministers who spoke; all supported the ordinance.

Bernice Yates of Versailles said she believes the ordinance could infringe on her religious beliefs. “I’m opposed to this ordinance,” Yates said, adding, “I believe in treating people fair and with love and respect.”

One speaker suggested adding veterans to the classes of people the ordinance would protect from discrimination. “We may consider adding the veterans,” Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said afterward. “That was an interesting remark.”

Otherwise, Vandegrift said the ordinance is ready for its first reading. “I don’t see any reason to change the ordinance,” he said. “It’s come through committee and it’s probably ready to go to full council now.”

The forum went smoothly, with audience members respecting all opinions. “I thought everybody acted very civil and courteous, and I think these things go exactly as the citizens make them go, so I give them a ton of credit,” Vandegrift said. “I think they did a great job.”

Council names new alcohol administrator, starts raising garbage fees, discusses Thurs. forum, senior services

By Nicole Hennard and Jacqueline Nie

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

The Midway City Council appointed a new alcoholic-beverage control administrator Monday evening and heard first reading of an ordinance that would slightly increase garbage rates. The council also discussed the upcoming forum on the proposed anti-discrimination ordinance and the availability of services for seniors.

The first order of business was appointing John Wilhoit, assistant police chief in Versailles, as ABC administrator. Versailles police patrol all of Woodford County, including Midway.

Tom Bozarth, who was mayor until the first of the year, had been the administrator, but new Mayor Grayson Vandegrift is ineligible for the job because his restaurant, 815 Prime, holds an alcoholic-beverage license.

Vandegrift said after the meeting that Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott agreed to include Wilhoit's new duties in that city's contract with Midway, at no extra charge. Vandegrift said Wilhoit Is planning to retire in four months, so another new administrator will be needed then.

The new garbage rates would be $12 for residential customers, up from $11.95, and $25.50 for businesses, up from $23.80. Residents get one pickup per week and businesses two; churches can choose to pay the residential fee, but get only receive one pickup per week.

Vandegrift spoke about the forum scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Northside Elementary School gymnasium to discuss the proposed “fairness ordinance” to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The mayor proposed the idea of the ordinance in early February, and city attorney Phil Moloney prepared the drafts in March at the direction of a council committee. The council has been discussing the language in the proposed document and wants input from the residents of Midway.

“The forum will be an opportunity to hear what our residents have to say,” without comments from the council, Vandegrift said. “This will not be a back-and-forth discussion, just a chance for them to speak.” He said said anyone who speaks will have two to three minutes.

The original wording of the proposed ordinance included language similar to that of Indiana's "restoration of religious freedom" law, which made national news, but that wording has been eliminated by the council's Finance, Ordinance and Policy Committee.

The council recently agreed that it wants to hear what citizens think before it holds a first reading of the ordinance. “However many people show up, you know, it’s a chance for everybody to speak their mind,” the mayor said.

Council Member Sarah Hicks said after the meeting that she does not know what to expect at the forum. “I think it’s a great thing and I hope that, you know, we find out more about what the community wants,” she said.

Vandegrift added something new at the end of the meeting. He said he wants to conclude all future meetings with an open discussion, asking each council member if they had any concerns or talking points they wanted to bring up to the rest of the council.

Council Member Kaye Nita Gallagher said she spoke with contractor Bill Blaze about fixing the cemetery sidewalks, which are in need of repair. Gallagher said she is talking with other contractors about the job.

Council Member Bruce Southworth was concerned with the language of the ordinance that bans open burning and was written during a state of emergency. Council Member Libby Warfield was also concerned. “The ordinance we have is not logical. It prohibits gas and charcoal grills,” she said.

Council Member Steven Craig suggested that the fire chief be involved in rewriting the ordinance, and also pointed out that the door of the fire station needs repainting.

Vandegrift said he would like to see the citizens of Midway utilize the Woodford County Senior Citizens Center, which has only one client in the city and wants to get more involved in Midway. In addition to walking around town, the center will have a booth at the fall festival.

The center provides three hot meals a week, rides to doctors’ appointments and to grocery stores for people over 60. “It’s an untapped resource for Midway,” Vandegrift said.

The center receives federal and state funds, along with private donations, so its services are free and only require the client to fill out a piece of paper. Pam Wesley is the new director and can be reached at 873-8384 or pam.wesley@bgcap.org.

Council committee removes religious-freedom and free-speech exceptions from anti-discrimination ordinance

A city council committee decided Tuesday not to include in Midway's proposed "fairness ordinance" language similar to that of Indiana's "restoration of religious freedom" law and a provision that attempted to draw a line between freedom of expression and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Finance, Ordinance and Policy Committee rejected language offered by city attorney Phil Moloney that said "No action taken under or required by this ordinance shall burden a person's freedom of religion" and "The right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief may not be burdened unless it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the government has a compelling interest in infringing the specific act or refusal to act and has used the least restrictive means to further that interest."

Moloney said the language, which means that the government can only intervene in disputes involving religious beliefs if it can prove it has a good reason and if it interferes as little as possible, was taken from a Kentucky law and a federal law.

Council Member Dan Roller, the committee chair, said he saw no need to include it. "The way it's written here allows you to discriminate," he said.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, who proposed the ordinance and sat in on the meeting, agreed. "You could never determine what a sincerely held religious belief is," he said. Vandegrift said some people believe that homosexuality is a sin, but "If you do, divorce is also a sin. Living together before you're married is a sin," and both those classes of people would be protected by the ordinance's ban on "familial status" discrimination. "I feel like this sin is being singled out. . . . It's the crux of the issue, to me."

Committee and Council Member Sara Hicks generally agreed, saying that protection of religious beliefs could go too far: "Some religious think you should stone a woman if someone rapes her."

Moloney said Danville's fairness ordinance, one of those from which the committee told him to draw, includes similar language. "This is your-all's decision," he said. "There's a delicate balancing act." He said issues with such ordinances "seem to come up in the service areas, when people are being asked to participate in activities or events or to disseminate a message that they disagree with because of religious beliefs," such as photography, cakes and floral arrangements for weddings.

Roller said, "I don't remember cakes or photography being discussed in the Bible, and I don't see how they're religious issues here, and I don't think we're writing a law to address religious issues. We're dealing with discrimination, is what we're dealing with here. And if there's a state law that is already a protection of religion, then that's a state law and they can go to the state for that. . . . It's the state's burden, not our burden."

Committee and Council Member Bruce Southworth replied, "Well, it would become our burden. If something was filed, the state law would have to come up. I'm just saying if there is a case, this is going to supersede it anyway. . . . It doesn't matter to me."

Roller asked if there has been any court cases involving the state law, and Moloney said he knew of none.

"Put it in or take it out; it doesn't matter," Southworth said. "To me, it's more of a moral issue than it is discrimination or anything else. . . . Everybody ought to be nice to everybody."

The rejected language is similar to part of the original version of Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which the state's legislature dropped after some state and national business leaders said it would allow businesses to discriminate. The final version of the Indiana law says it does not authorize anyone to refuse to provide services, public accommodations, housing, facilities, goods or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, U.S. military service, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.

After the committee dealt with relatively minor corrections and future plans, and moved to adjourn, the Midway Messenger asked Moloney about the grammar and purpose of a section saying the ordinance would not apply "with regards to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity" to "Infringing upon the right of free speech- expression of a provider of goods or services not to be compelled to express a message with which they disagree."

Moloney said of the latter section, "I need to clean that up."

Vandegrift said he read the ungrammatical language to mean that "You don't have to provide services if you disagree with the message." He said it could apply to Ku Klux Klan T-shirts advocating "white power." In 2012, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission determined that a screen-printing firm had violated the city's fairness ordinance by refusing to print T-shirts for a gay pride event.

Moloney said that without such an exception, "basically you're compelling a person to participate in an event and to at least give the impression that they're promoting or advocating an activity that they may disagree with because of their religious beliefs." But he said such people could rely on the state law.

The committee agreed to remove the language.

Moloney said he might be able to complete the redrafting by Friday, in time to include it in the packet of materials for Monday night's council meeting. The committee agreed that action should be delayed until the local Human Rights Commission, which requested the ordinance, could review it, and until Vandegrift's promised public forum on the ordinance can be held.

"It's important that we really know what our Midway residents have to say about it," Hicks said.

If the council passes the ordinance, Midway would be the eighth Kentucky city with such a law, and the first to enact one since controversy about the law in Indiana and a similar one in Arkansas.

Fairness ordinance draft has religious exceptions like Indiana law, and provision saying no message shall be compelled; mayor says they would defeat the purpose

By Anthony Pendleton
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

City attorney Phil Moloney’s draft of an ordinance to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity includes language similar to that of Indiana's "restoration of religious freedom" law, which caused a national controversy.

Other language in the ordinance, which advocates call a "fairness ordinance," attempts to draw a line between freedom of expression and discrimination.

Grayson Vandegrift

The Midway Messenger requested a copy of the draft from Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, who proposed the ordinance but expressed strong reservations about the language that reflected the Indiana legislation.

Under Section Five of the draft, it would be illegal to deny "goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations "on the basis of "race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation."

However, Section Five says it does not apply "with regards to sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity" to such things as restrooms, dormitories and other facilities segregated by sex, and Section Five-E applies that exception to "Infringing upon the right of free speech- expression of a provider of goods or services not to be compelled to express a message with which they disagree." For a PDF of the draft, click here.

This exception means that a person or a business would not have to sell or make something if they disagree with the product's message. For example, Lexington T-shirt company Hands On Originals refused to print shirts for the annual Lexington Pride Festival in 2012. Later that year, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission determined that the company had violated the city's fairness ordinance by discriminating based on sexual orientation. Under Section Five of Midway's ordinance, that would not be a violation.

Phil Moloney (2011 photo)

Section Eight of the draft ordinance says, "No action taken under or required by this ordinance shall burden a person's freedom of religion." It goes on to say that "The right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief may not be burdened unless it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that the government has a compelling interest in infringing the specific act or refusal to act and has used the least restrictive means to further that interest." This means that the government can only intervene in disputes involving religious beliefs if it can prove it has a good reason and if it interferes as little as possible.

The language in Section Eight is similar to part of the original version of Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which the Indiana legislature dropped after some business interests said it would allow businesses to discriminate against people in the LGBT community. Angie's List, which is based in Indianapolis, put off plans to expand its headquarters. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is openly gay, criticized the bill in a Washington Post piece, saying "This isn’t a political issue. It isn’t a religious issue. This is about how we treat each other as human beings."

The final version of the Indiana law says it does not authorize anyone to refuse to provide services, public accommodations, housing, facilities, goods or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, U.S. military service, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The draft of the Midway ordinance does not include the original Section 9 of RFRA, which stated that "A person whose exercise of religion has been substantially burdened, or is likely to be substantially burdened, by a violation of this chapter may assert the violation or impending violation as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding, regardless of whether the state or any other governmental entity is a party to the proceeding." This would have allowed a person to use religious freedom as a defense in court.

Asked about the source of the language, Moloney said, "It's either language that I composed or it may have come from some other ordinances we had taken a look at."

Asked if any city council members had anything to do with the language, Moloney said, "I've had a committee member express some reservations."

The ordinance is being considered by the council’s Finance, Ordinance and Policy Committee, chaired by Council Member Dan Roller. Council Members Sara Hicks and Bruce Southworth are also on the committee.

Vandegrift emphasized that the ordinance is still in the draft phase, saying "I suspect the committee is gonna probably pull some things and probably add some things."

Vandegrift said he doesn't agree with all of the language in the two sections. "I don't want to speak for the committee, but in my opinion, [Section Five-E] and the passage in Section Eight kinda defeat the whole purpose of the ordinance."

The committee will meet Tuesday at 2 p.m. at City Hall to discuss the draft.

Council committee picks fairness ordinances for city attorney to choose from in drafting one for Midway

By Anthony Pendleton

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications
To read a document highlighted in blue, click on that highlight. An Adobe PDF will load.

A Midway City Council committee will have City Attorney Phil Moloney compare different versions of a fairness ordinance, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, to help decide what to include in the city's version.

The Finance, Ordinance and Policy Committee met Monday to discuss differences between fairness ordinances from Morehead and Danville, a "model ordinance" from the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, and a fairness ordinance that failed at the Berea City Council on a 5-3 vote.

Toward the end of the meeting, the committee dropped Berea's version of the ordinance. "I think the Berea one is out because it's never been tested," Roller said. Asked after the meeting why the committee chose ordinances from Morehead and Danville, as opposed to Lexington, Roller said those cities are similar "culturally and in size" to Midway.

The Versailles-Midway-Woodford County Human Rights Commission proposed a countywide ordinance, by way of revising the interlocal agreement that created the commission. Committee and Council Member Sarah Hicks wanted to use that document as the basis for Midway’s ordinance.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said that in his discussion with Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott and County judge-Executive John Coyle, “It was in everyone's opinion there, that even the lawyers would agree, that's not the way to do it. That it should be done municipality by municipality . . . If we end up having three of them, we could amend them, like we did with the smoking ordinance, so they all kind of fit."

Committee chair Daniel Roller said the interlocal agreement should not be part of the process. "You're mixing ordinances and interlocal agreements," he told Hicks.

Roller took a moment to clarify what he thinks the ordinance is supposed to be about. "There was an article in the paper that referred to this as, I think they called it the ‘gay ordinance.’ This ordinance, the fairness ordinance, is much, much broader. I mean that’s sort of like saying civil rights only apply to black people. Civil rights applies to all these different groups. It's not giving a privilege to one, but it's treating all people the same." Roller was referring to a story in The Woodford Sun on March 12, which called it a “gay rights ordinance.”

Roller said he also wanted to make sure that people who oppose the ordinance would still feel welcome in Midway. He said that can be achieved with an “obstruction and retaliation” provision, which is included in the state’s model and the Danville ordinance. “I think that is really important,” he said. “That was one of the things that I think will assure people that we're not trying to do something to people who don't think they automatically fall under one of these groups.”

Council and Committee Member Bruce Southworth voiced concerns over the state model ordinance. "This one is cumbersome . . . and on top of that, it's setting up a human rights commission, which we already have." He asked, "Why do we have to reinvent the wheel when we can have Phil go through this and make this what we want?"

As the committee attempted to go through each ordinance, Vandegrift seemed to share Southworth's view, saying, "I don't know that it's really your responsibility to write it line-by-line . . . It would be a little unprecedented, I think, for you all to write this ordinance this way." He suggested that the committee turn over the responsibility of writing the ordinance to Moloney.

Southworth and Hicks agreed, but Roller was initially a bit reluctant, saying, “If you’re interested in streamlining, let the lawyer do it all.” He said the committee needs to tell Moloney what it wants. “We’re the legislators and we have to come up with the material.”

Hicks asked when the committee would “start the hammering-out process. We’re meandering around it now.”

After more discussion, including at stab at writing definitions of key terms, Vandegrift said, “I don’t know that it’s really your responsibility to write it line by line. . . . I would give Phil, 'This is what the ordinance should say, this is what we're talking about,' and then it comes back to you all then you all can kind of go through it and say, 'Well I don't like that, let's strike that, let's change it to that.'"

The committee agreed, and decided to give Moloney the fairness ordinances from Danville, Morehead, and Midway's 1997 Fair Housing and Discrimination Ordinance as guidelines.

Vandegrift, who spent two years on the council before becoming mayor at the start of the year, said he commended the committee’s attention to detail, because “Too many lawmakers don’t even read the laws that they’re voting on.”

Committee to meet on 'fairness ordinance' Monday

The city council committee considering an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity will have its third meeting at 11:30 a.m. Monday.

The Finance, Ordinance and Policy Committee will meet at City Hall, 101 E. Main St. All council and committee meetings are open to the public.