Council gives closed shops a utility-bill break, hears mayor predict 'There will not be large events' this year

By Madison Dyment

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The coronavirus is still going strong, and Midway is meeting the challenges head-on, even if some plans are being altered in the process. A plan to relieve some financial burden of closed downtown businesses was one of the ideas the City Council adopted Monday.

The meeting also included final passage of the new 911 service fee, and updates on covid-19, including a forecast from the mayor that Midway will have no major events for the rest of the year.

To help the 21 downtown businesses that have been forced to close, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift proposed to forgive their minimum utility payments of $59.30. The minimum, set by ordinance, covers water, sewer and garbage service.

The city has promoted takeout from restaurants and provided parking for that function, but “with shops, we just haven’t been able to help them out,” said Vandegrift. “I know at a time like now they’ll really appreciate it.”

The council debated whether more businesses, or all businesses, should get the break. It passed Vandegrift’s plan 5-0 with one abstention, applying it only to the April billing, which the mayor estimated would total $1,186. He said he expects to get federal emergency reimbursement.

Vandegrift had offered the option of also forgiving the minimum bill for May, but the council agreed to discussing extending the plan at its May 4 meeting, along with the possibility of adding additional businesses to receive relief. Council Member Bruce Southworth, who abstained on the vote, wanted to include more businesses.

City officials aren’t the only ones coming to help Midway during these trying times. Vandegrift said Ambrose Wilson, the Midway area’s representative on the county school board, told him about a Midway citizen getting food from a church blessing box.

“He was just out for a walk and the person was sort of apologetic, and Ambrose was thinking, ‘Why are you apologetic for that?’,” said Vandegrift. “Our concern is that we know these people exist and that they’re using the blessings boxes, but we just can’t seem to identify them to help them.”

Wilson, who challenged Vandegrift in the 2018 mayoral election, offered to form a way that Midway citizens in hardship can be helped in a confidential matter, Vandegrift said, and he was happy to oblige. He asked Council Member Logan Nance to work with Wilson, with help from the Midway Baptist Church, which runs the local food bank and delivers food anonymously to those in need. The church can be reached at 859-846-4514.

“We’ve got the food to do it, so no one should be going hungry in Midway right now,” said Nance, a member of the church.

This goodwill seems to be a trend within the community. Between efforts to feed those in need, volunteers making masks for free distribution at City Hall, and more, Midway has come together while staying apart.

“There are so many examples in Midway where if someone sees an issue, they don’t say ‘That’s too bad,’ but instead say, ‘How can I help?’,” said Vandegrift.

Despite that good report, Vandegrift sadly informed attendees that, while decisions are not absolute yet, Midway will not have its usual summer and fall events.

“The truth of the matter is that 2020 is not going to be completely normal,” said Vandegrift. “There’s going to be many questions going forward about events in Midway, and I think people need to start preparing themselves that there will not be large events in Midway in 2020.”

The Midway Business Association, which holds the Midway Fall Festival on the third weekend of September, has scheduled a special online meeting for 10 a.m. Thursday to discuss “how the association can help our members,” the meeting notice says.

Even if many effects of the coronavirus are felt across Midway, the mayor announced that Midway still stands at zero confirmed cases of the virus. Masks and sanitizer are still available at City Hall, with roughly 800 masks remaining.

Vandegrift attributed the lack of cases to citizens’ doing “such a good job following social-distancing guidelines, staying healthy at home, and only going out when necessary.”

He added, “We’ve got to keep hanging in there. We’re all getting antsy; I want to be able to see people and say hi again, but we all have to hang in there longer.”

911 fee, Windstream request: Outside of covid-19, the council gave second reading and unanimous final passage to the ordinance funding the 911 dispatch center and other emergency services, levying a $59 annual fee on residential lots and higher fees for businesses.

“This is taking a step towards making sure 911 is funded going forward in an equitable way,” said Vandegrift. The fee was agreed on by representatives of the three governments in Woodford County and will take effect when the Versailles council and the county Fiscal Court pass it.

The fee will be added to the tax bill for each residential, commercial and industrial property and will replace the telephone-landline fee of $3.50 per month at the end of the year.

The council postponed a decision on an encroachment permit requested by Windstream Communications. The company wants to bury fiber optic cables in the sidewalk on the south side of East Main Street to provide service to a customer in the area.

The Windstream representative in the online meeting was unable to answer questions about the project, so Vandegrift said he would arrange a discussion with Windstream engineers, expressing concern about the city’s streetscape being destroyed and calling that “a frightening concept.”

Wednesday night, Vandegrift sent the council and the news media an email reporting, "I talked to an engineer today who cleared everything up and there will be no tearing up of road or sidewalk, and it’s to service 395 customers." He called a special council meeting for 5 p.m. Monday to act on the permit and work on the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The next regular meeting will be May 4 at 5:30 p.m. via an online Zoom conference. Vandegrift encouraged citizens to join the call or to send in statements to be read, to facilitate public involvement at a time when meetings can’t be held in person.

Council hears about mask project, other covid-19 issues

By Hayley Burris

University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Telecommunications

With all the stress that comes from the spread of the coronavirus, Midway is fighting back and making masks. That community project was among the updates at Monday’s City Council meeting, as well as reports on the town’s major employers and use of Walter Bradley Park.

Lakeshore Learning Materials, the city’s largest employer, is operating on a skeleton crew “out of an abundance of caution” and beginning furloughs, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift reported. He said furloughed workers are eligible for unemployment.

The second largest employer, Midway University, has closed to the public, but “This weekend they had picnickers up there, drivers, walkers,” Vandegrift said. He said some had been walking through the campus for 50 years, but “These are not common times, and we all have to do our part. The university does not want to start doing anything heavy-handed.”

Walter Bradley Park is open, and to allow social distancing, walkers are allowed to step off the trails. “One thing we need to get a little bit better about with some folks is the leash laws,” Vandegrift said, noting that dogs can scare some people get into fights with each other. He also said painted “happy rocks” should be kept in place or moved with a cloth or gloves.

Mask project: Prompted by the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wear masks when you may encounter others in public, Vandegrift and volunteers have started ‘Project Healthy Midway.’

“We’re gonna be able to make enough masks for everybody in Midway who wants one,” he said. ”They will be free to citizens who want them.”

He said the masks are expected to be distributed soon, “in waves,” and will meet all CDC requirements and will include CDC guidelines for wearing and washing them.

Vandegrift said Amy Bowman, owner of Midway Makers Market, approached him with the idea. “That’s just another very great example of Midway at its finest,” he said.

He said the project has three teams: the prep team, the construction team, and the finishing team.

The prep team cut the fabric and pressed the materials together. That phase is complete, with the help of 40 volunteers, according to Vandegrift.

The construction team, with at least 22 volunteers is sewing the masks. The finishing team will sanitize and seal the masks, and couple them with the CDC guidelines.

“They’re doing all the proper social distancing even when volunteers are picking up materials,” said Vandegrift. “They’re not meeting, they’re driving off in cars and they don’t get within six feet of each other.”

According to the mayor, Bowman is expecting around 60 to 100 volunteers. If anyone wants to help out as well, contact her at 859-533-0922.

The masks are just an added layer of protection, Vandegrift said: “This is not your first line of defense. Nobody should think they have some kind of immunity suddenly because they have a mask on because they do not. This will not fully protect you from coronavirus; it will not fully keep someone else from getting coronavirus.”

The masks are designed to prevent spread of the virus by the estimated one-fourth of people who have it but don’t realize it because they have no symptoms. Vandegrift said the best way to stay safe is to stay socially distant, keep up good personal hygiene and to wash your hands with soap whenever possible.

Vandegrift said 1,500 masks are being made, with the expectation that some people already have some and some won’t want them, but more can be made. He said each mask costs about $2 to make, and he is paying the cost from general city funds with the expectation that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse 75 percent of the cost.

Council Member Stacy Thurman said, “We’re going to able to provide the health department with cloth masks, which I think is a really nice thing. They’re reserving all their masks for health-care providers, so . . . I think that any way we can support the health department and anything thing we can do for them is a good thing right now.”

Other covid-19 matters: Businesses must pay a minimum bill for water, sewage and garbage, but with most businesses being forced to be shut down, Vandegrift said he wants the council to relieve those businesses of paying. He said he plans to propose the move at the next council meeting, on April 20, unless “I get the sense it’s not gonna go” with the council.

Vandegrift said he ordered hand sanitizer from Bluegrass Distillers, “a distillery in Lexington that is dying to operate in Midway,” and is providing it to the three groceries, the fire department and the police department.

He reported that the Sojourn City Church is planning a short drive-in service in Easter, with no live music and cars parked every other spot to stay six feet apart, and only biological family members will be allowed in the same car. He said communion will be held but participants must bring their own bread and grape juice.

The Woodford County Health Department has issued an order allowing one person per household enter a grocery, except in cases where children or the elderly need assistance. (Gov. Andy Beshear made the policy statewide Wednesday.) Vandegrift said it’s difficult to practice social distancing in the Midway Corner Grocery, the town’s only full-service grocery, but Council Member Sara Hicks said the grocery is offering curbside service to people who pay in advance.

Vandegrift said, “That’s a great way to keep people out of the store and still support them.”

County Emergency Management Director Drew Chandler, who also participated in the online video meeting, said “Social distancing is going to get us through this.”

Vandegrift said citizens should tell officials if they see social-distancing rules being broken. “Tippin’ ain’t snitchin’,” he said, and it protects “the whole community.”

Message from the mayor: 'We're doing a good job . . . Be prepared to do this for another month, maybe longer'

By Grayson Vandegrift
Mayor, City of Midway

This is another weekly reminder that we’re doing a good job and that we’re going to get through this. The caring nature of this community continues to shine every day, and that’s what it’s going to take to keep us focused and dedicated to do what’s right and to beat this, which we will do. While there are still no known cases in Midway or Woodford County as this is being recorded, the consensus is that there likely are people with the coronavirus in the county. This shouldn’t cause alarm; it just reminds us of how important it is to have good personal hygiene and to keep practicing social distancing so that we keep that number as low as possible.

Remember that if you need assistance with errands or the like, you can call the Midway Christian Church at 846-4102 and volunteers will assist you. You also have an additional option, as the county’s resource helpline is now operational – you can call them for assistance at 859-753-8228.

While our shops downtown have had to close temporarily, there still may be ways you can support them, if you’re able. Check for special offers like online shopping or purchasing a gift card for future use. Our restaurants are remaining as resilient as can be, but if you’re able to support them, even if just once a week, it can make a difference in keeping someone employed. Many have been very creative in the services they’re offering to keep them afloat and you supplied, so be on the lookout for their offerings as well.

I continue to remain impressed with your resiliency and determination to get through this, as well as your practice of social distancing. That is, bar none, the most effective weapon we have against this virus at this time.

We are keeping a close eye on how our local economy will be affected, and I am very confident our city coffers will be fine. How this affects our downtown shops and restaurants remains to be seen, but with our purchasing support, when and if we can offer it, we can help make sure they’re still here when this is all over. But there is nothing more important right now than protecting people’s lives, and that remains our number-one priority as a city, and certainly as a county and a commonwealth as well.

When this will be all over is still unknown. While it’s true that most people who get the coronavirus are just fine, not everyone fares so well with it. People of all ages have struggled with it, and people over 60 or with serious underlying conditions are the most vulnerable of us, and we have to protect them. But don’t think that just because you are 22 or 32 that this won’t affect you, because it could, and obviously, you could pass it on to someone who might struggle with it.

But it’s also so important not to panic, and not to let your fears overcome you. This is a difficult time for all of us, and that’s why we have to be there to support each other, however we can. As the weather gets warmer, get out and walk, go to the park, enjoy the sunshine. Just practice social distancing, and don’t get a basketball game or soccer match going. There’s also some things you can participate in that are kid-friendly. Here are the upcoming community window walks: March 25 is silly faces, March 28 is flowers, April 1 is jokes, April 4 is yard art, April 8 is encouraging words, and April 11 is Easter eggs. During these events feel free to place the corresponding items in your windows for kids to walk by and spot as they count how many they can find. They start by 4 p.m.

The more seriously we take this, and the better we practice social distancing, the less time we’ll have to do this. And again, if you’re sick, stay home. If you need a doctor, call your local physician, but don’t just show up. If you have a medical emergency, call 911. But remember that we as humans tend to think our worst fears will come true, and tend to think we won’t be able to handle it. So don’t overestimate your fears or underestimate your toughness. You’re tougher than you think, but you’re not invincible either, so use caution, wash your hands, practice social distancing. And be prepared to do this for another month, maybe longer. If we truly do this to the best of our abilities we may end up being pleasantly surprised. I know there have been some rumblings at the national level of a quicker timeline, but luckily states do have rights, and I think our Commonwealth will do the right thing based on what our situation is. Our governor has made it clear that setting arbitrary timelines are not appropriate right now. So let’s keep doing the absolute best we can, let’s continue staying calm, let’s continue taking care of ourselves, and let’s continue helping each other get through it. Because we will get through it. Thanks, and God bless.

Message from the mayor: Starting a weekly update as we deal with the coronavirus and its covid-19 disease

By Grayson Vandegrift
Mayor, City of Midway

This is a weekly reminder that we’re going to get through this. I commend everyone who is doing such a great job practicing social distancing and taking more care to keep good personal hygiene – you may be saving someone’s life by doing so.

Some people are understandably starting to ask when we can expect life to go back normal. The short answer is we don’t exactly know yet for sure, but we should be prepared for this lifestyle change to have to last for months. The better we adhere to the guidelines recommended by health officials, the more likely we’ll get through this sooner.

In a conference call with other mayors today and Gov. Beshear, it became clear the governor wants us to expect to practice these new techniques well into the time we see the cases spike, and then we’ll even need to wait a bit longer once they decline to make sure we’ve beaten this thing on the first try. How long that is, is hard to say. But, be prepared to buckle down for weeks and months.

I also encourage you to think about your mental health right now. 100 percent of us are experiencing high anxiety at times, some more often than others, and that’s completely normal. What I want to ask each and every citizen of Midway is: How are you doing? Are you taking care of yourself? Are you giving yourself time when you need it? Are you letting yourself process, are you making sure you’re not beating yourself up over trivial things? It’s so important that we take care of what’s going on in our own minds so that we can be motivated and optimistic, so that we can beat this thing together. As Midwegians (or Midwayans), as Kentuckians, as Americans, and as humans, we will beat it. Let’s keep looking after ourselves and each other – you’ve done a great job so far.

There are many resources for those who need help right now. Midway citizens have formed a volunteer group to run errands for those in need. If you need assistance call the Midway Christian Church, who is offering the office space for this volunteer program, at 859-846-4102. If you’d like to volunteer, e-mail Melissa Scheier at mscheie0@georgetowncollege.edu.

If you would like to visit Woodford County’s page for resources and information, we have a link to that on our homepage at meetmeinmidway.com. We have many options for you to support our local restaurants: Mezzo (curbside 846-4077, closed Mondays), Brown Barrel (takeout, pickup, and delivery, meats, and retail package goods, closed Sunday, 859-403-2003), Heirloom (curbside, gift card lottery, 846-5565, closed Sunday and Monday), Darlin' Jeans (takeout, 846-9485), Goose & Gander (carryout and curbside, 846-9933), Holly Hill Inn (order and pay online, curbside pickup, 10% off for medical professionals, 846-4732), Wallace Station (order and pay online, curbside pickup, free delivery in Woodford County, 10% off to medical professionals, 846-5161.), Midway Bakery (curbside service, online ordering, 846-4336). Midway Corner Grocery has many canned goods and other groceries (846-4712).

We as a city government are looking into other ways we can help our citizens and our businesses, and those details will be shared once they’re hammered out more and as the situation becomes more and more clear. But if you need anything, you can call me on my cell at 859-361-6320.

Our employees are still working and all functions are still in place. City Hall is open for appointment only, but you can still pass items through the drop box or leave them there overnight. And you can still call City Hall between 8:30 and 4:30 at 846-4413. We will not be doing water cut-offs this month, but we ask that you pay your bill to the best of your ability.

No one likes uncertainty, but we deal with it in our normal lives more than we think, so remember not to overestimate your fears and underestimate your abilities. We are all capable of getting through this, but we must protect the most vulnerable among us.

Keep practicing social distancing, but when it’s nice out, go to the park, take a walk, just don’t get together in close circles or play basketball or soccer together. If you’re sick, stay in, and stay six feet from your loved ones in the home if you’re ill.

If you need emergency assistance you can still call 911. If you feel ill you can still call your local physician. Railroad Drug is open and is also offering curbside service and free delivery, at 846-4146. Ken Glass ensures that there will be no supply-chain issues on medicine, so there’s no need to order months of it at a time; he’s got your back too.

If you need anything, please call me. I’m here for you, and we’re here for each other. I’ve said it many times through this, but I think it rings true: we have to stick together, even if we’re forced apart. Great job, and God bless.

Restaurants get designated parking spaces for pickup and delivery; officials brief council on covid-19 response

Business was slow on Main Street's restaurant row around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, despite spaces reserved for pickup.

What does a restaurant-heavy town do when a pandemic hits and the governor says no one in the state can eat inside a restaurant? City officials make it easier for restaurants to offer pickup and delivery.

That's what the Midway City Council did Monday night, setting aside three parking spaces for each restaurant and their customers to use until Gov. Andy Beshear lifts his order closing bars and restaurants to inside service.

The council also heard updates from first responders about how Woodford County is dealing with the new coronavirus and the respiratory disease it causes, covid-19.

The council approved Mayor Grayson Vandegrift's plan to put signs on three parking spaces in front of each Main Street restaurant for customers to pick up takeout orders. He said the bicycle racks in front of the Goose and Gander would be removed to create shared parking spaces for delivery vehicles.

"It gives them some semblance of authority to do this, and encourage people to use that service," Vandegrift said. "If we need to tweak this as we go, I think that's fine." Asked how it would be enforced, he said police could check a vehicle's license plate and track down the owner. He said he would "use public pressure" to keep restaurant owners and employees form using the spaces.

Vandegrift said the idea is to encourage people to support the restaurants. They rely on out-of-town trade and bring traffic to other businesses. He said Cortney Neikirk, president of the Midway Business Association, consulted "every merchant she could find" about the plan and they all agreed with it. He said other steps may be needed later to help retailers.

Holly Hill Inn on North Winter Street won't offer delivery, but its sister restaurant, Wallace Station on Old Frankfort Pike, will deliver all over Woodford County, owner Ouita Michel said in a Facebook video Monday. She said she is giving give health-care professionals a 10 percent discount, will keep buying local food, "and I want to encourage you to do the same," by shopping at farmers' markets.

The Woodford County Tourism Commission is gathering and publishing information from restaurants and retailers on its Facebook page.

Woodford County Emergency Management Director Drew Chandler talked about priorities in responding to the coronavirus.

Emergency report: County Emergency Management Director Drew Chandler, in his report on the county's reaction to the pandemic, reminded the council of the reasons for the governor's order.

"We're dealing with something that has rapid spread and no vaccine," unlike the flu, he said. "Our health care has so much capacity. You've seen reports out of Italy, where they have to choose who gets the ventilator and who passes away. We don't want that to happen. That's why we're implementing the social distancing," to slow the spread of the virus. "If we can prolong the period of time, the system can respond better."

Vandegrift said, "People need to take the social distancing very seriously. . . . We're going to be in this for the long haul. It's going to be uncomfortable. By the long haul, I mean it could last through the summer. I think the more we practice social distancing, the more we take these recommendations . . . the shorter the time's going to be," and the fewer people will die.

Chandler said, "It's important while we're social distancing that we not isolate ourselves and get stir-crazy." Council Member John Holloway later advised, "Go walk in the park," which he manages.

Holloway spoke after Council Member Stacy Thurman reported that a group of Midway citizens has organized to help "people who are very isolated right now and are high-risk and may not be able to get out of their house at all." She said they are planning to hang notices on all doors or porches in town, offering help with errands.

Chandler said the main effect of the state of emergency that local government executives declared last week is to "open up procurement" so goods and services can be obtained quickly. When he found that police were having to bring hand sanitizer from home, he said, the county got some from the state.

Versailles Police Chief Mike Murray said his department, which patrols the whole county, would maintain all services but has taken some steps to reduce personal contact, such as investigating petty crimes by telephone. He said the shoplifting he feared hasn't happened, and "Our call volume, overall, has kind of declined a little bit."

Chandler said the county road department increased its bulk fuel purchases to guard against shortages, and fire departments are being cautious about possible exposure on medical-assistance calls, assessing patients "from a good distance" so they don't have to waste any personal protective equipment, supplies of which are expected to run short.

"The biggest thing we can do right now," Chandler said, "is to maintain situational awareness." Chandler said someone in the county probably has the virus but there have been no positive tests. Beshear has said every county will eventually have a case.

In other business, the council formally accepted the recent audit report for the 2018-19 fiscal year, and held a public hearing and first reading on an ordinance to replace the telephone-line fee for 9-1-1 emergency service with a $59 fee on each residential address, to be placed on county tax bills. "Everyone seems to be behind this idea," Vandegrift said.

Thurman, chair of the city's Workplace Housing Task Force, said it has concluded that the city needs a professional assessment of housing needs and wants in the city, not only seeing what citizens think but getting the opinions of out-of-towners who work in Midway and might move here.

Mayor declares state of emergency for pandemic, plans to offer council plan to allow curbside restaurant service

Screenshot of first page of emergency declaration

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift has joined the other two government executives in Woodford County in declaring a local state of emergency due to covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The declaration was made quietly. It was included in the packet for Monday night's City Council meeting. Vandegrift told the Messenger that it was "procedural," to make sure the city is eligible for any funding related to the pandemic.

The declaration says it allows the mayor to waive "procedures and formalities otherwise required by law pertaining to performance of public work, entering into contracts, incurring obligations, employment of permanent and temporary workers, utilization of volunteer workers, rental of equipment, appropriation and expenditure of public funds."

Later today, Vandegrift said he was adding to the meeting's agenda "a plan I’m working on with our restaurants and the business association to allow restaurants to offer curbside service during the pandemic. Details are still being worked out." Restaurateurs have voiced concern about the ban on spectators in the first half of the spring meet at Keeneland Race Course, one of their busiest times.

Gov. Andy Beshear, asked at this afternoon's press conference if Kentuckians should eat at restaurants this weekend, said "You need to avoid crowds. Now, does that mean you can go to a restaurant, as long as people are spread out? We're going to be putting up guidance for food service and that here soon, but again, you need to practice good judgment. If you're going to a place and you see a large crowd, with people close together, not six feet apart, that's not what we should be doing."

UPDATE, March 14: Asked the same question at Saturday's press conference, Beshear said, "Order takeout," and said he would. "We want to support that restaurant industry." About two hours later, the Holly Hill Inn sent out an email blast offering chicken and steak dinners for takeout Sunday from 4 to 5:30 p.m.