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

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Martin St. to be closed for water-main work Wednesday

Martin Street, a one-way avenue that connects North Winter and North Gratz streets, will be closed to through traffic Wednesday, July 22 for replacement of a water main and elimination of a dead-end line, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift announced this evening.

Council OKs $75,000 in federal relief money for grants to businesses; mayor exploring options to fight speeding

Green lines show sewers involved in cleaning and renovation project; red outlines big main targeted for replacement.

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council voted 4-0 Monday evening for a grant program to provide federal covid-19 relief funding to local businesses. 

This program will “keep them afloat, make up for lost revenue, pay their employees, purchase their goods, pay their bills, or keep their lights and water on,” Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said.

The council voted to appropriate $75,000 from the city’s $129,000 relief allocation to fuel the grant program. Vandegrift said the city has another $53,000 in pandemic-related expenses that the allocation will cover.

The $75,000 will be split evenly between businesses approved by a three-member council committee. “If 30 businesses apply and were granted this money, you divide it evenly, which would mean each business would get $2,500,” the mayor said.

Vandegrift and Council Members John Holloway and Stacy Thurman, members of an ad hoc committee, debated and worked out most of the details at a meeting last week.

“I think that we simplified it and mainstreamed it enough where we’re still showing some guidelines and that this is a serious application,” Thurman said. “But we give them enough credit that they’re going to be honest . . . with the money in the best way that they can to stay open.”

The application asks what costs or losses were suffered due to closure related to the pandemic. Vandegrift said city attorney Sharon Gold added a final section in which applicants agree to cooperate with any audit, certify that the information they give is correct to the best of their knowledge, and acknowledge that a false statement may require them to return the money.

Grantees must have a physical location in Midway, have been forced to limit activities due to the pandemic, and must not owe taxes to the city. No grant can exceed the amount of the funds business lost. The application asks what the money will be used for, and requires recipients to report by Dec. 30 how they used it.

The application also asks, “Is it your intention to continue operating your business in the City of Midway for the next six months?” Vandegrift said Versailles is requiring its recipients to stay open for a year; he asked, “How can you guarantee that?”

Council Member Sara Hicks said, “We’re just asking them to act in good faith.” For more details of the program and the application form, see the council meeting packet, downloadable here.

The plan is for the applications to be posted as soon as Tuesday and have the program launch on July 8, “time is of the essence,” Vandegrift said. All applications must be turned in by July 17 and can be picked up and turned in either online or at city hall.

As soon as the committee of Holloway, Thurman and Hicks reviews and approves applications, the mayor said, he will instruct Foster to begin writing checks. 

The three voted for the program along with Council Member Logan Nance. Vandegrift said Council Member Kaye Nita Gallagher was ill, and Council Member Bruce Southworth was absent because his mother, Ann Southworth of Georgetown, died unexpectedly; services are Tuesday in Georgetown.

Last month, Nance, Gallagher and Southworth made the 3-2 majority (Thurman had left for a work obligation) that voted informally for a second and third round of a voucher program that allowed residents to use $50 in “Midway Bucks” at local businesses, which the businesses turned in for cash.

The program was popular, but the state Department for Local Government said the federal relief bill didn't allow the city to be reimbursed for it, and 19 business people signed an open letter warning that some of them could close without help, so the council chose the grant program, which is specifically authorized by the relief bill.

Vandegrift noted that the council funded the program with $40,000 in unspent economic-development funds before the relief bill passed. He said only $27,000 in vouchers were redeemed by the end of the program on June 30, but he and the council praised the program.

Nance said, "I think a lot of people felt kind of helpless and wanted to help but didn't really did not know how, and I think the voucher program gave them a way to say, you know, I have this little bit of money that I can use to invest and I can support a business I appreciate. With everything going on right now that separates us, I feel like this was a really good way to connect us to come together and do something."

Vandegrift added the voucher program was one of his proudest accomplishments as mayor but feels the grant program will help give businesses a much needed “shot in the arm.” In originally proposing the grant program, he said retailers didn’t benefit from it as much as restaurants.

Nance said, “I definitely think this is going to be a great way to help our businesses.”

In other business Monday, the council:

● Heard Vandegrift say he wants to try rumble strips or speed tables (slightly elevated sections of a street) “on a bunch of streets” to reduce speeding, which he said is the main complaint he gets from residents. “I feel like we have to change the tactics here or lose the game,” he said, adding that he would check cost, probably refer the issue to a committee, and “I’m not saying we’ll vote on anything anytime soon.”
● Heard the mayor say that the next step in the city’s sewer work should be replacement of a 10-inch main leading to the treatment plant with a 15-inch main. He said sediment in the line in causing problems upstream, but cleaning of those lines has stopped manholes from overflowing during heavy rains.
● Heard Vandegrift say he would swear in and update the city’s new Code Enforcement Board on Thursday, even though the city still hasn’t named a code enforcement officer. He said that has been delayed by the pandemic.
● Appointed Michael Hunter to the county board overseeing the 911 dispatch system and its funding. Hunter, a Midway native and resident, is a former Woodford County EMT and 911 dispatcher who knows the system, Vandegrift said.
● Debated returning one block of Johnson Street to one-way. Holloway, who lives off the street, said one way or the other would make it difficult for residents to get into their driveways. The council agreed that residents need to be consulted.

● Approved encroachment permit for a new entrance for White Dog Trading Co. in Midway Station to separate the bourbon-warehousing firm’s office and truck traffic. “We just feel it’s a safety issue,” White Dog consulting engineer Matt Carter said.
● Approved an encroachment permit for Tom and Mur Greathouse to park their pumpkin-sales wagon in a space at 112 S. Gratz St. this fall, as they did last fall.
● Agreed to waive the sewer tap-on fee for 230 S. Gratz, the former home of the Midway Woman’s Club. Vandegrift reported that the new property owners discovered their sewer had never been hooked to a city main though the Woman’s Club had paid sewer charges for decades.

City budget outlook brightens, as feds will reimburse vouchers and Lakeshore plans to call back workers

By Aaron Gershon
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Two developments have prompted Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift to begin drafting what he calls a "middle ground" budget, not the “bare bones” plan he and the City Council drafted two weeks ago.

The mayor announced Monday he expects the federal government to reimburse the city for the $40,000 the council set aside a week ago for vouchers for city residents to spend at local businesses.The money had been budgeted for a Midway Station interest payment the city didn’t have to make.

He also announced that Lakeshore Learning Materials President Bo Kaplan told him Friday that the distribution center expects to be fully staffed within three weeks, after furloughing 225 of its 300 employees. Lakeshore is the city’s largest employer, and the city’s largest revenue source is a payroll tax.

Vandegrift also delivered more good news from Kaplan: Lakeshore expects to receive a certificate of occupancy for the company's second Midway distribution center in September, with that facility opening officially in March 2021. It will add 100 jobs.

With the reimbursement and return of payroll-tax revenues, the mayor said he does not believe that all the potential cuts in the "bare bones" budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 will be necessary.

“If businesses reopening leads to bad spikes in covid-19, we may need to reassess,” he wrote, “but if people use these skills we’ve learned and wear their masks, we might be able to avoid another economic shutdown.”

Vandegrift said he would propose restoring these funds:
● $25,000 for street paving
● $5,000 for a drinking water filling station on East Main Street
● $20,000 for the sidewalk cost-share program

The mayor said he would ask the city council to decide on adding another $25,000 worth of spending back into the budget, for a total of $75,000 in restorations.

That would be just over half of the $145,500 in potential “bare bones” cuts. Before the council and Vandegrift agreed on those, he had cut from his original budget proposal a $50,000 project, an extension of the Stephens Street sidewalk to The Homeplace at Midway, saying the timing wasn’t favorable.

Vandegrift said he would present a “middle ground of the two budgets” during the council meeting May 18. He said he would call a special meeting for 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 25 via Zoom to work on the budget, which must be enacted by June 22.

City council, mayor draft ‘bare bones budget’ in virus response, but delay final action; sidewalk projects cut

By Emmanuel Flemister
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

The Midway City Council and Mayor Grayson Vandergrift cut 10.6% of expenses from the mayor’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, in a meeting held Monday in response to the coronavirus pandemic and its unforeseeable end.

Vandergrift called the special meeting to draft what he called a “bare bones budget” after the town’s largest employer and taxpayer, Lakeshore Learning Materials, furloughed 225 of its 300 employees.

 With a loss of occupational-tax revenue looming, the council and Vandegrift agreed on $195,500 in potential cuts from the $1.83 million in expenses he had proposed.

”Obviously, a lot of things have changed,” Vandegrift said at the start of the discussion. “I think we’re going to have to rethink the way we budget for next year. . . . I am very concerned about our revenues.”

The mayor’s original budget anticipated $825,000 in occupational-tax revenue, but he said that is no longer certain. “Originally I hoped we could bounce back in the new fiscal year,” he said, but now, “Even if things go better than expected, I just don’t think the economy is gonna be in full stride by July 1.”

Vandergrift and some council members were not too pleased with having to make these changes. “This is a painful exercise for me,” the mayor said. None of the budget cuts are final, since there are two budgets are in the works: the bare bones budget and the “status quo budget,” as coined by Council Member Logan Nance.

Before the meeting, Vandegrift had already subtracted $50,000, delaying the Stephens Street sidewalk project for a year.

The project would extend a walk to The Homeplace at Midway, and Vandegrift was hoping to make it part of a larger project to extend a walk to Walter Bradley Park, which would lead to Northside Elementary School, making the overall project eligible for a federal walk-to-school grant. He said City-Clerk Treasurer Cindy Foster said getting the grant would probably take a year anyway.

Vandegrift suggested, and the council agreed, to suspend the city's cost-sharing program for sidewalks, for which he had proposed $20,000.

Several other projects and expenses are on the list of proposed cuts:

• $30,000 for finishing the cemetery’s pavilion.

       At this, Hicks exulted, “My baby!” She has been on the forefront of the project.
       Vandergrift said, “You know Sara is serious about this when she talks about pulling out her biggest project.” He noted that the concrete base for the pavilion “isn’t going anywhere; it would not be a detriment to that project to be delayed a fiscal year.”
       He said $5,000 needs to remain for the cemetery’s fence: “It’s pretty bad in spots and doesn’t look too great.” This cut was the biggest made by the council.

• $25,000 of the $50,000 proposed for street paving. “You got to leave something there,” said Vandergrift, noting the possibility of small, unexpected paving projects.

• $18,000 from training and travel for city officials and staff, which was originally proposed to be $20,000, down from the current year’s $22,000. This will cut travel to Kentucky League of Cities conferences, for which the elected officials get incentive pay.

       “I think here’s where we really need to make a sacrifice,” Vandergrift said. “This is going to cost me, and it’s also going to cost the veteran council members $2,000, but you know this is a sacrifice we’re willing to make.” He said the remaining $2,000 might be needed to pay for webinars to receive training.

• $10,000 for donations, the same as the current year’s budget. Nance said, “Since we’re not bringing in money, we don’t need to be giving it out.”

• $10,000 from the proposed $20,000 for the coming year’s contingencies, which would have been the same as the current year. “These are the little things that come up that don’t necessarily fit in the ledger, but we decide we have the money to do them,” Vandegrift. We’re saying: less of that.”

• $5,000 from the $35,000 proposed for fire department salaries, which are budgeted for $28,500 this fiscal year. “This is a way to cut $5,000 without really hindering them,” Vandegrift said, adding that salaries were on track to hit $30,000 by June 30.

• $5,000 for the proposed public water fountain on East Main Street. “No one’s going to want to share a fountain anyway,” considering the pandemic, Nance said.

• $2,500 for park improvements, cutting that $5,000 budget in half. The council budgeted $12,500 on park improvements for the current fiscal year.

• $20,000 in City Hall maintenance. Brick tuckpointing was supposed to be done, perhaps with a grant; the proposed total budget for maintenance was $45,000.

The council tentatively decided to keep Vandegrift’s proposed 2 percent pay raise for city employees, and to not shop around for health insurance instead of accepting a 9 percent increase. “I don’t like the idea of messing around with the health insurance, especially at a time of uncertainty, so I think we’re gonna have to bite the bullet on that one,” Vandegrift said.

The council discussed cuts in the water and sewer budgets but decided against it since those are enterprise funds, generating their own revenue. “Believe it or not,” Vandegrift said. “we’ve already cut out a lot from water and sewer in the past.”

The council and Vandegrift agreed they need to be conservative with funds during the pandemic because it is uncertain how long it will last, and there may be a resurgence after the initial wave passes. 

Vandergrift voiced fears of what could happen if the state allows too many businesses to reopen too soon. “There’s a lot of political pressure to just go ahead and push through, but I think that would be a disaster,” he said. “I think it would be a disaster economically. It might end up hurting the economy more in the long run.”

He elaborated, “If you look at every other pandemic in history, it’s like humans keep making the same mistakes over and over again, they come out too quickly.” He even fretted, “If we aren’t careful, we’re going to eat all our surplus on covid-19.”

Midway is sitting on $1.2 million in unbudgeted surplus, and Vandegrift said he is “confident that Midway, pound for pound, has the healthiest city coffers of any city in Kentucky.” It’s important to note the bare bones budget isn’t final.

Council members and the mayor noted that they can amend the budget anytime. “We don’t want to get rid of this stuff, just put it on hold,” Hicks said. “Things are unsure at this time, and we should just make sure the city remains stable . . . and have money for emergencies.”

Council Member Bruce Southworth said, “Everyone’s got to make sacrifices.”He suggested that the council wait a few weeks to finalize the budget, to see “how this is going to last.” Vandegrift said the budget must be approved by June 22 to have it advertised in The Woodford Sun, thus taking effect, before July 1.

Music star Sturgill Simpson returns to Woodford Co.

Miles Miller gives Sturgill Simpson a thumbs-up as Judge-Executive James Kay and Mayor Grayson Vandegrift applaud. 

This story, first posted before the event, has been reposted and updated to include news at the event.

Woodford County High School alumnus John Sturgill Simpson now goes by his middle name, and it's a name that has become globally famous for his singing and songwriting. He came to Versailles for a public welcome-home ceremony and a special honor Thursday morning.

At the fire station on Big Sink Road, the road received the additional name of Sturgill Simpson Way, from Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott and Woodford County Judge-Executive James Kay.

Simpson said the honor was ironic: "I can't tell you how many mailboxes I smashed on Big Sink Pike in high school."

Miles Miller, a Woodford native who is the drummer in Simpson's band, was also recognized.

“Woodford County is excited to welcome home and recognize Sturgill Simpson and Miles Miller before their Good Lookin’ Tour show at Rupp Arena,” Kay said in a press release. “We are so proud of their success and accomplishments, representing Kentucky and Woodford County.”

Midway Mayor Grayson Vandegrift took part in the event. He wrote afterward, "I was talking about how music has such an ability to move people and used my friend as an example: My friend said he saw Sturgill play in a Lexington bar a few years back and was apparently having too much fun because he was approached by Mr. Simpson’s security who said to 'please stop dancing'."

Simpson, a native of Jackson, Ky., won a 2017 Grammy Award for Best Country Album for A Sailor's Guide to Earth, which was also nominated for Album of the Year. It won Album of the Year in the Americana Music Awards, where he was also nominated for Artist of the Year and his "All Around You" was nominated for Song of the Year. In 2015 his song "Turtles All the Way Down" won Americana Song of the Year and his Metamodern Sounds in Country Music received a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. His 2019 album Sound and Fury made Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 50 Albums list.

Newton Street to be closed at intersection with Dudley Street at 3:30 today due to flooding, cold temperatures

The outlet through Midway University is at lower right. (Google base map)

Newton Street will be closed at its intersection with Dudley Street at 3:30 today due to flooding of Lee Branch and cold temperatures, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift announced via email at 1:45 p.m.

"Because of floodplain runoff from the recent heavy rains, and the falling temperatures, a dangerous, icy condition at the bend on Newton St. where it meets Dudley has caused us to make the decision to close Newton Street at 3:30 p.m. today," Vandegrift wrote. "It will reopen at 8 a.m. tomorrow, and at this time we do not expect any further trouble occurring from this."

The mayor said Newton Street residents won't be cut off; they "will be able to leave their homes by using the back entrance to Midway University," and going through the campus to East Stephens Street. "We’re thankful to Midway University for allowing our residents to exit through campus," he wrote. "Let me know if you have any questions."

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.”

Message from the Mayor: Thankful for many things

By Grayson Vandegrift
Mayor, City of Midway

As we come to another Thanksgiving I find I’m more thankful than ever. As always, I’m thankful for my friends and family and this wonderful community, but this year I’m also thankful for a few things specific to 2019:

I’m thankful, for example, that the sidewalk cost-sharing program was a smooth success (pun intended), that the street project came in under budget, and that we’re now a debt-free city. I’m also thankful that the council was agreeable to funding these initiatives, although they were not without their tough questions and discerning eyes, as they should be.

I’m thankful we were able to cut property taxes a little bit more, as we restructure our tax revenue stream for the future. I’m also thankful the blighted property and code enforcement ordinances are moving along smoothly and are hopefully headed for passage. And while I’m thankful for much more, I also know I’ve only got your attention for so long, but I’m very thankful we have a plan to give our city what it deserves – options – when its current 40-year contract with Kentucky American Water expires in 2025 and we’re free to go to the Frankfort Plant Board or another competing wholesaler so we can pay lower rates – much lower rates.

I’m also very thankful for our incredible city employees who keep the town running like a finely tuned machine. They deserve the long weekend they have coming up – and then some.

I hope you’re feeling as thankful as I am this Thanksgiving, and I hope you can keep those divisive topics off the table where the food belongs, topics like: “Are we Midwegians or Midwayans?” Some topics are just better left at the front door.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope to see you at the Tree Lighting this Friday night at 6:30.

Annexed land zoned industrial; dissenter says it has to stop at some point; Stephens St. traffic concerns voiced

The tract annexed in March, effectively two tracts joined by a small strip, is now zoned industrial. Click on map to enlarge.

Issues of a growing town dominated the discussion at Monday's Midway City Council meeting.

The council approved rezoning from agricultural to industrial a 138-acre tract next to the Midway Station industrial park, part of which will be used for Lakeshore Learning Materials' expansion. Council Member Logan Nance dissented, saying "At some point we have to stop our industrial development."

Logan Nance

Nance said he supports Midway Station and the work of the Woodford County Economic Development Authority, but said he made clear in his campaign for a council seat last year that he didn't support development beyond Midway Station. He said the rezoning could make it more like that a future council could extend industrial zoning across Georgetown Road. A farm is for sale there.

"I never talked to anybody who said they moved here because of industrial land," Nance said. He said earlier that he had voted against annexing the property and wanted to be consistent.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said Nance's points were "very well made," but earlier, the mayor said "Midway is a preservationist town" and always will be, but the best way to preserve it is with "wise development."

Stacy Thurman, another first-year council member, said she agreed with Vandegrift, but wants the city and EDA to fulfill the promise of public access to South Elkhorn Creek by way of the rezoned tract or adjacent property.

EDA Chair John Soper gestured to the Imperial Asphalt lot at
the east end of Midway Station, a possible creek access point.

Vandegrift said, "It's going to happen," because landowner Homer Freeny Jr., who is selling the property to EDA, has kept other promises he has made -- and there is an alternative access, through the four-acre Midway Station lot bought recently by Imperial Asphalt, which says it plans to store equipment there. EDA Chair John Soper said likewise, and showed the council possible access points on the Midway Station map on the wall of City Hall.

The rezoning creates an industrial area from Interstate 64 to the Brown-Forman whiskey warehouses along the creek, the county line. (The concrete warehouses are being built under a conditional-use permit in an agricultural zone, on the presumption that whiskey is an agricultural product.) The rezoned tract is in Midway's urban-services area in the county's comprehensive plan.

Vandegrift said when the land was annexed in March, “If we don’t do this, it’s gonna get developed and we’re gonna lose all that revenue,” which EDA needs to pay off Midway Station and pay the city the $600,000 it owes on natural-gas and water lines built on the property. “There’s not gonna be enough in Midway Station to pay us back,” he said then.

The City Council approved two other ordinances, giving MetroNet a non-exclusive franchise to provide television and internet service in the city, and giving Lakeshore Learning an incentive for location of a planned warehouse. The additional net-profits tax generated by the warehouse will be reduced by one-fourth for five years after it employs 100 people.

The council also heard from Todd Graddy of Mill Road Place, who said the recent growth of Midway University has created dangerous traffic on East Stephens Street and its county extension, Weisenberger Mill Road, which will get worse when the new bridge at the mill opens in May.

"Midway's changed 180 degrees," she said, saying that walking on the thoroughfare is "taking your life in your hands."

Vandegrift said, "I do think we're going to need to construct a sidewalk, at least on the Mill Road side," and it would probably be funded in the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2020. He said double yellow lines will soon be painted on newly paved Stephens Street, but white edge lines that could help slow traffic or help bicycles might have to wait, because the street width varies.

"I think we are getting there," the mayor told Graddy. "It may not be at the pace you would like." Later, he said, "The city, for 40 or 50 years, didn't invest in anything." The money for recent improvements has come from the growth in occupational-tax revenue, mainly from Midway Station.

Vandegrift said he would schedule a special council meeting to discuss late fees and cut-off policies for water customers. When Nance said Sept. 2 that the city shouldn't cut off water users who don't pay, the mayor asked the Public Works and Services Committee to discuss the issue. Council Member Bruce Southworth, the committee chair, said the panel met Friday and decided that it was "probably better" for the issue to be aired at a council meeting.

In other business, the council set trick or treat for 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31, extended the contract for snow removal, and approved event permits for the Christmas-season schedule of the Midway Business Association:

• A kickoff event Saturday, Nov. 9, with Ms. Claus and five to 20 booths.
• A chili cook-off on Nov. 16 , co-sponsored by Midway Renaissance, with five to 30 booths.
• "Sip 'n' Shop" Nov. 23, designed to take advantage of the new "open carry" ordinance that allows customers to take alcoholic drinks off the sales premises. MBA hopes local restaurants will have drink specials and people will "come shop and get tipsy," President Cortney Neikirk said.
• Arrival of Santa Claus via train Nov. 30, with placement of Christy Reaves's "Joy Land" model-train layout in the old bank building, perhaps with Santa there too.
• Candy Cane Stroll, similar to the Chocolate Stroll in February, on Dec. 14.

Council cuts real-estate taxes, approves open-carry area, targets volunteer ordinance, ponders water cutoffs

By Megan Parsons, Grant Wheeler and Garrett Burton
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

A host of previous agenda items made their rounds at the Midway City Council meeting Monday night: taxes, water bills, a new entertainment destination center, and an ordinance from a decade ago about volunteer work on city property.

Taxes: Perhaps the most important decision of the night got the least discussion. The council lowered the tax rate on real property to 7 cents per $100, from 7.5 cents. The median value of a house and lot in Midway in 2017 was $165,700; at that value, a homeowner will pay $115.99 in taxes this year. The council kept the rate on personal property, including vehicles and watercraft, at 7.5 cents.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said both rates would produce the same revenue as last year. The 7 percent reduction in the real-estate tax follows a 25 percent reduction in the rate last year, driven by increased occupational taxes from business expansions.

Water: Reversing course, Vandegrift announced that he doesn’t plan to raise water rates "anytime soon" despite the state Public Service Commission's recent approval of a rate increase by the city's supplier, Kentucky American Water Co. The city did not pass along the previous increase, either, and Vandegrift had initially said he did not think the water system would be able to absorb another one.

In the usual roundtable that ends meetings, Council Member Logan Nance said shutting off someone’s water for not paying their bill “does not need to be a policy of ours.” He called such action “draconian” and said “Clean water is a basic human right; this policy only effects those who are impoverished.”

Vandegrift said he would refer the matter to the Public Works Committee, headed by Council Member Bruce Southworth, who was noncommittal about it in an interview afterward.

Council Member Kaye Nita Gallagher, a member of the committee, did not seem fond of the idea. “I personally think they should cut off” non-paying customers in order to look out for customers who do pay, she said in an interview. “How far are you going to let them get behind?”

Council Member Stacy Thurman said in an interview, “I do agree it’s something we should look into, as it does seem harsh to shut someone’s water off if they simply cannot afford it. . . . I believe we must balance effectively running the city with some grace for people who are having a hard time, as there are some people who truly need help.”

Vandegrift said after the meeting that customers who haven't paid receive a delinquent notice five business days after the due date, telling them the last day to pay and the cutoff day if payment is not received by then. "Generally, the cutoff day is the 26th of each month and last day to pay is one day before," he said. "There is a reconnect fee of $25 for turning water back on."

Xs mark limits of entertainment center on adapted Google map

Entertainment: The council passed an ordinance designating parts of downtown as an "entertainment destination center," in which drinkers can take alcoholic beverages in and out of licensed premises within the center’s boundaries from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., as long as they have their beverage in a cup with the logo or name of the restaurant that served it.

Thurman said she would “like to strongly encourage licensed restaurants to use biodegradable cups or to recycle,” to keep waste to a minimum.

Vandegrift said “a couple of people” had expressed concern about the change, but he predicted it will “not be incredibly noticeable,” saying “I don't think there's going to be a New Orleans-type look.” The ordinance is written so that if problems arise, the mayor can suspend it.

The process for getting the state permit and notifying the public will delay the ordinance's effective date until probably Oct. 4, the day before the start of the fall meet at Keeneland Race Course.

The licensed restaurants inside the entertainment destination center will receive packets laying out what the ordinance entails, and there will be signs on sidewalks at the limits of the area, letting visitors know they cannot take their beverages outside the edge of the premises.

Volunteer ordinance: Council Member Sara Hicks, chair of the City Property Committee, said the three-member panel thinks the rest of the council should repeal a 2009 ordinance requiring volunteers to register, give details and file a waiver of liability before doing volunteer work on city property. She called the ordinance “unneeded, antiquated, and an obstacle for volunteers.”

Those who opposed the ordinance in 2009 feared it targeted groups who frequently volunteered in the community and saw it as an obstacle. Council members, none of whom are still on the council, said it was in the interests of the volunteers, giving them the same insurance protection as city workers.

The ordinance was passed in the first mayoral term of Tom Bozarth, on the advice of Phil Moloney, who remains the city's attorney. Bozarth retired in 2014 and was succeeded by Vandegrift, who said he never enforced it.

“I felt it was established to stop volunteerism in Midway,” he said. “I agree it needs to be repealed, to stop future administrations from enforcing it.” Repeal will require two readings at council meetings. The next meeting is Sept. 16.

Other business: The council appointed Cortney Neikirk to fill the city's vacancy on the Woodford County Tourism Commission, succeeding Cynthia Bohn, who resigned, citing time constraints. The commission, which is now getting much more revenue from the new hotel in Versailles, recently voted to hire an executive director and stop paying the Chamber of Commerce to staff it.

Vandegrift said the sewer and paving work on Stephens Street is "going as well as you could imagine," and when paying is competed, double yellow center lines and white edge lines will be painted on the street, to make it seem narrower and slow down speeders. He said curb work is scheduled to be concluded by Sept.9, followed by milling and paving Sept. 10-13.

The council approved an event permit for the fourth annual “Ernie’s Bacon Run” on the morning of Nov. 9, beginning in Walter Bradley Park and looping through Midway University with 5K and 15K routes. Midway Renaissance will share in the proceeds, and Soles4Souls will take donations of gently worn shoes. The event is named for Ernie Peel, a Central Kentuckian who helped hundreds of people discover their love of running. Peel had a love for bacon, and all finishers will get bacon.

Nance asked if the music that will be played by a DJ at the park will be contained to the park, since runners will start gathering at 7 a.m. on a Saturday. A Renaissance representative said the music would not be heard beyond the park.

All the votes were 5-0. Council Member John Holloway was absent.

Mayor: Stephens Street sewer work, followed by paving there and elsewhere, is to be done in time for festival

Street paving on and near Stephens Street, following storm-sewer work on the street, is expected to be completed by Sept. 20, just in time for the Midway Fall Festival, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said in an email this morning. He gave this schedule:

• 8/26-9/1: Storm sewer pipe work on East Stephens Street
• 9/2-9/9: Concrete curb work on North Winter Street (near City Hall) and E. Stephens
• 9/10-9/13: Milling and paving on E. and W. Stephens, Starks Alley, N. Winter (near 421)
• 9/13-9/20: Clean up and finish

"This is obviously tentative," the mayor wrote. "Weather and unforeseen circumstances could delay this schedule, but this should be wrapped up by Fall Festival," which will be held Sept. 21-22. "Each of these areas is going to be much improved with more functional storm sewers, better storm-water flow, and better roadways."

Vandegrift said workers ruptured a gas line last Friday "due to the 'spaghetti' nature of lines that were buried a long long time ago without adequate mapping. That is all fixed up now, though, and the project is off to an otherwise smooth start. I’ll keep you apprised if anything changes or new developments occur."

Council plans to allow open containers of alcoholic drinks outdoors until 10 p.m. in downtown area

Google map, with Xs added by Midway Messenger to show limits
of the proposed "entertainment destination center," where the city
would post signs banning open containers beyond those points.

The Midway City Council tentatively decided Monday night the boundaries and rules of a proposed "entertainment destination center," in which drinkers can go in and out of licensed premises with alcoholic beverages as long as they stay within the center's boundaries.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift called the proposal, which the council heard July 15, an "open container ordinance." It is possible under a recent state regulation that allows cities to buy a license for $2,800. The rationale stated by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is to reduce the enforcement load on ABC agents and police, and to help localities promote tourism and economic growth.

The Versailles City Council recently adopted the idea, allowing the mayor to set and change the dates when its center will be effective. Vandegrift said Midway council members "seem to be more in favor a permanent, set time" that the council would establish with an ordinance.

"The point of the ordinance is to allow people to walk around and shop," Vandegrift said, but later asked how many shops are open at night, saying he was "playing devil's advocate." Council Member Kaye Nita Gallagher mentioned a couple of shops, adding later that even if shops were not open, they would still attract window shoppers.

Council Member Logan Nance asked if more stores might stay open later if the council passed the ordinance, which he said would give the city "kind of a unique feel." Council Member John Holloway said, "If it turns out badly, we could just stop doing it."

The council agreed to end the open-container hours at 10 p.m., the discussed what the containers would look like. Versailles requires beverages to be in an unbreakable, "non-clear" container, such as a plastic Solo cup, perhaps in a style all the restaurants could use.

Council Member Stacy Thurman said her husband Ian, an ABC agent, said one reason for such a rule is that it is "kind of tacky" to see what someone is drinking. Council Member Sara Hicks said, "I kind of like the idea of a special cup; it could be a collector's item."

Vandegrift, a former restaurateur, called it "a great idea" but ultimately "untenable" because use of the cups would likely be inconsistent. The mayor said he would leave the "non-clear" provision out of the ordinance that he would present to the council Aug. 19, but "You all can put it in."

If the ordinance is enacted and the city buys the license, it would have to post signs marking the limits of the "entertainment destination center."

Vandegrift presented a map of the proposed boundary where open containers would be allowed, and the council made one adjustment, to allow them on Dudley Street in front of The Brown Barrel and Blind Harry's. The other limits would be the corner of Gratz and Martin streets, Winter Street and the end of East Main Street. In response to a question, Vandegrift said the parking lot at the end of East Main is private property and cannot be included in the boundary.

Midway Station: John Soper, chair of the Woodford County Economic Development Authority, reported that recent closings of property sales in Midway Station had enabled EDA to make the annual interest payment on the bonds used to build the industrial and commercial park, relieving the city and county of the responsibility, and that if sales continue as expected and the bonds are refinanced this year, EDA will no longer need an appropriation from the city, which was $15,000 last year and is budgeted at $12,000 this year.

The most recent closing was on 9 acres sold to Journey Ministries, which plans to build a church and other facilities, including a day-care center that will be open to anyone. "I feel very encouraged about where we're heading," he said, adding later, "I think we've got a great location, and in the real-estate business, that's what matters."

Soper did not mention something he reported at last month's EDA meeting, that Barnhill Chimney had decided not to buy a lot for a factory to make chimney caps.

Receiving certificates of appreciation from the Midway Veterans Committee were, from left to right, City Council Member Sara Hicks, chair of the Cemetery and City Property Committee; city employees James Downs, Terry Agee, Tim Agee and  Tim Spencer; and Sonya Conner, assistant city clerk. Retired clerk-treasurer Phyllis Hudson also received a certificate.

Good works: The Midway Veterans Committee, created 20 years ago to establish a monument to veterans in the Midway Cemetery, presented certificates of appreciation to several city employees as it prepared to disband, having accomplished its purpose and turning its functions over to the city.

One of those workers, Assistant City Clerk Sonya Conner, received an award for her recent completion of three years of municipal-clerk training. Vandegrift read a letter of recognition that said she had "sincere dedication to her work and the people of Midway," demonstrated "consistent, sound judgment and fairness to all" and "in the face of adversity" often did the jobs of two people, as recently retired clerk-treasurer Phyllis Hudson had health issues.

Vandegrift also recognized the contributions of Mark Roberts, a retired employee who continues to work for the city as a contract laborer, and Wastewater Superintendent Jack Blevins, who "has done a great job bringing our sewer plant back up to specifications," probably extending its useful life by 10 to 15 years. The city recently paid off the bonds it sold to build the plant almost 20 years ago.

Later in the meeting, Holloway said it was time to buy a $1,700 monument-moving machine for the cemetery. Vandegrift said he had already told city employee Terry Agee to order it.

Mayor breaks a tie: The council turned down a request from Midway University's tennis program to sponsor a regional tournament to be held at the school Aug. 9-11. The request was for $600, but Hicks moved to give $300, the sum the council provided last year, and Gallagher seconded the motion, noting that this year's event is expected to be larger.

Holloway said "I kind of feel iffy" about the sponsorship because the city recently gave the university $5,000 for improvements at the baseball field that is owned by the city but is "pretty much" exclusively used by the school. Nance, noting that the council had exhausted its donations budget by giving $5,000 toward a van for The Homeplace at Midway, said it would be irresponsible to go beyond the budget.

On the roll call, Council Member Bruce Southworth voted yes with Hicks and Gallagher, and Council Member Stacy Thurman voted no with Holloway and Nance -- who, like her, were elected for the first time last November. Vandegrift, who was elected to his second four-year term as mayor in November, voted no, denying the request. The mayor votes only in case of a tie.

In other business, the council:

• Approved paying $1,100 for extra police during the Midway Fall Festival, the amount that the city is saving because the Iron Horse Marathon is providing portable toilets for the newly combined events. The Midway Business Association, which runs the festival, will pay the rest of the cost, estimated by coordinator Elisha Holt to be a maximum of $1,560.
• Voiced no objections to Vandegrift's plan to allow electronic payment of water bills, with a fee of 3 to 4 percent for the vendor, which would be paid by those who choose the electronic option. "Three to four percent is still less than a late fee," Nance noted.
• Heard Vandegrift report that the sidewalk work is almost done and street work is expected to start in a week or two.
• Heard Assistant Police Chief Rob Young report that in July, Versailles police "definitely stepped up a lot of the traffic enforcement . . . at the request of the city."
• Appointed Assistant Fire Chief Joe Campbell to the county's 911 board.

Former Messenger intern explores communication in Midway; social-media posts can drive news events

Sarah Ladd discussed her research on April 29.

By Al Cross
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

For a town of 1,800 and a ZIP code of about 3,000, Midway is well covered by news and information media. The Midway Messenger provides continuous online coverage of events and issues, with a print edition about twice a year; The Woodford Sun regularly covers City Council meetings and other events in the town; and the Midway Musings social-media site has a large following.

All that was ideal grist for the mill of Sarah Ladd, who interned as a Messenger reporter last summer, recently graduated with honors from UK, then joined the Louisville Courier Journal as a reporter.

For her honors capstone course, she studied mass communication in Midway. The town is a good test bed for “The 11 Layers of Citizen Journalism” defined by Steve Outing of The Poynter Institute in 2005, Ladd said in presenting her study after the monthly community dinner at Midway Christian Church on April 29.

For Midway residents, some of her more interesting findings were the results of an online survey she conducted. It had 62 respondents. Asked where they get daily news, 22 said the Midway Messenger and 22 said Midway Musings, a “secret” Facebook group that has almost 700 members and has become an important communication platform for the town.

Chart by Sarah Ladd; for a larger, clearer version, click on it

After the top two, at 35 percent, came The Woodford Sun’s print edition, at 16.1% (10 people); the Residents of Northridge Estates closed Facebook group, 6.45% (four people); other social media, 3.23% (two people) and the Sun online, 1.6% (one person).

The impact of Midway Musings was illustrated in late July when Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said he would appoint a City Council committee to study changing the official name of Main Street to Railroad Street, which it was once called and is still called by some people. The idea was proposed on Midway Musings by local historian and merchant Bill Penn.

Vandegrift told the Messenger, "I hesitated to bring something from Midway Musings straight into potential policy without appearance by an individual at a council meeting, but this really isn’t the first time the idea has come up, and the Musings post helped show how much support this might have."

He told Ladd for her paper that he primarily gets news from the Messenger and The Woodford Sun. “I follow Musings and Northridge as well, but consider it communication more than news.” Ladd put it this way: "It’s a nice platform that people are using to facilitate news."

In her paper, she noted that the Northridge site spread word of a burglary and the official response, "breaking news." Midway Musings discourages political content, but a posting encouraging members to attend a City Council meeting to support resolution welcoming refugees to Kentucky stirred such controversy that city leaders delayed action until they could hold a public forum on the issue.

Ladd told the after-dinner crowd, “It was really interesting that a social-media group and a newspaper tied for first place,” she said. Anticipating that, she included in her survey this question: “If you used social media more than five years ago for any reason, how has it affected your knowledge of what goes on in the Midway area?” The result: 82 percent said it had increased their knowledge.

Musings founder Blake Jones said, "I want to always support forums where people can disagree without being disagreeable. I love Midway so much, and I think it is a town of exceptional people. Our diversity is our strength. "Social media gives people an anonymity at times that is not healthy, in my opinion. . . . We must all remember to measure our words, and remember that they can have consequences. Even online."

Midway Musings’ competitive impact, at least among people who voluntarily took the online survey, has been greatest on the Sun. Asked whether they had paid more or less attention to the Sun in the last five years, 39% said they paid less attention, 43% said they paid the same amount of attention, and 18 percent said they paid more attention.

Asked the same question about the Messenger, 68% said they paid more attention to it than five years ago. Ladd didn’t provide exact figures for the other respondents, but had a chart showing that by far, most of the rest said they paid the same amount of attention.

Ladd's paper noted that Sun Editor John McGary used "open sourcing" through social media to get sources for a story. "It’s so much different than having a straight, pre-approved list of experts you might call for something," she told the dinner crowd.

Ladd concluded in her paper, "The success of Midway’s current communication systems seems to be largely thanks to its size. The education levels and the sense of community trust cause the level of quality communication the small town enjoys."

Mayor to appoint panel to study changing name of Main Street to Railroad Street, as many have suggested

Do you call it Main Street, which the signs say, or Railroad Street, its original and still often-used name?

For many people, the name of the main business street in Midway is Railroad Street, and a logo sign on Interstate 64 once used that name. But the street signs say Main Street, and that is used by the businesses on East Main and the homes on West Main. Now the City Council may change that.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift told the Midway Messenger, "I am going to move forward and ask an ad hoc committee of the council to study the prospect of changing the name of Main Street back to Railroad Street," which it apparently was called before "Main Street" signs went up decades ago.

The issue was raised on Midway Musings, a "secret" Facebook group that has almost 700 members, by local historian and merchant Bill Penn. On July 2, he wrote: "I would like to make a motion that Main Street be renamed 'Railroad Street' to recognize both the fact of its being the street's original name from 1835 through about the 1950s, and would also honor the town's origin as being founded by a railroad."

The comments on Midway Musings were overwhelmingly favorable. Main Street merchant Kenny Smith said, "We have Railroad Drug and Railroad Street Framing but no Main St. anything! Proof enough for me!" Smith once headed the Midway Business Association, which before his time had a logo sign on I-64 advertising "Railroad Street Shops."

Former police officer and council member John McDaniel said on Musings that he checked the council minutes, and "Railroad Street's name has never been officially changed to Main Street. If I remember, the Main Street sign never went up until the late 40s or early 50s, from what I heard the elders say. . . . The mayor at the time suggested ordering Main Street signs as Railroad Street made the name too long and it would cost extra money to have them made." McDaniel said he heard the story from his father, police officer John Willie McDaniel, who headed the sign crew.

Vandegrift told the Messenger, "I hesitated to bring something from Midway Musings straight into potential policy without appearance by an individual at a council meeting, but this really isn’t the first time the idea has come up, and the Musings post helped show how much support this might have."

The mayor added, "Despite some initial hiccups at changing a street name, I think this could have a very positive impact on the city," he wrote. "I think that Railroad Street could become an identifying feature that could be beneficial to our merchants," like Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Michigan Avenue in Chicago and Broadway in New York.

"Plus, I think it’s important that we play up our history as the state’s first railroad town," Vandegrift wrote. "Obviously, it’ll need a lot of study and input from citizens, especially occupants of east and west main, but I’m supportive of the idea."

The biggest complication could be delivery of goods. Regular mail does not seem to be an issue. Former council member Dan Roller noted on Midway Musings that the businesses on East Main get their mail at the post office, not through street delivery. He also said, "Another reason it needs to be done is when you go to a countywide meeting and someone say 'Main Street.' it means something totally different to Midway residents than to Versailles residents."

Council accepts sidewalk bids, raises city's maximum share on each project to $2,000 from $1,000

The most expensive project will replace 160 linear feet of walk
at 105 S. Winter St. at a cost of $8,800. (Photo by Casey Parker-
Bell, UK School of Journalism and Media, November 2015)

The Midway City Council voted Monday night to accept the low bid for sidewalk work and to double the city's potential cost-sharing on projects to $2,000 each.

ADE Contracting Inc. of Lawrenceburg bid $39,790 to do the 11 projects. RT Infrastructure Inc. of Winchester bid $42,177, including a $1,345 bond fee that wa not part of ADE's bid. Council Member John Holloway and Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said the fee seemed high for such a relatively small project. Holloway also noted that RT lists itself as a sewer contractor, and ADE seems to have more experience with sidewalks and is re-qualified with state government.

Council Member Logan Nance moved to award the bid to ADE, and Council Member Bruce Southworth seconded. The motion passed 4-0. Council Member Sara Hicks was absent due to illness, and Council Member Kaye Nita Gallagher abstained, since one project will be on her property.

For the last two years, the city has shared in the cost of sidewalk repairs, up to a maximum of $1,000 in city funds. The council voted 3-1 to increase the maximum to $2,000, which will reduce the remainder to be paid on eight of the 11 projects. On the four most expensive projects, that reduced the owners' shares by $1,000 each.

Holloway said after the meeting that he voted against paying more of the cost because he thought it was too much. "I've had to replace my sidewalks, and nobody gave me any money," he said.

UPDATE, July 5: Vandegrift told the council that "No tree will be cut down or altered as a result of the project. In some cases, the sidewalk can be tightened by a foot and still meet code, and in other cases in can be diverted around the tree."

At a special meeting June 27, the council voted to accept the low bid of Randle-Davies Co. of Frankfort, $155,525, for blacktopping projects. The other three bids ranged from $188,355 to $223,875. These bids and those for sidewalks are in the council meeting packet, downloadable here.

The council also declared surplus a house and lot at 426 S. Winter St. that was once used for the local library and is now used for storage by a local business. The declaration will allow the city to advertised for sealed bids for the property.

Holloway, who joined the council in January, suggested that the city could get more for the property by putting it on the open market. Vandegrift said the city can always reject bids as too low, and city attorney Phil Moloney said state law requires sealed bids. Gallagher, a retired state employee, told Holloway, "Welcome to government." The vote was 5-0.

Message from the mayor: Infrastructure summer is here

By Grayson Vandegrift
Mayor, City of Midway
     Three large infrastructure projects are planned and funded for this year, with two about to begin. Within days, bidders will be selected to complete our 2019 sidewalk rehabilitation project, which includes 11 projects as part of our cost-sharing program; and a major street project that includes paving, storm sewer repair, and curb installation and rehabilitation.

     The streets project encompasses parts of East and West Stephens, Starks Alley, and North and South Winter. The end of North Winter, near Leestown Road, will be paved, as will bad stretches of East and West Stephens. Storm sewer work will be done on Stephens, and curb installation will occur on the east end near Brand Street, with curbs also being replaced on Winter near City Hall. 

     Later in the year, a sanitary-sewer project is planned that will camera and clean out all sewer lines east of Winter, but not including Northridge, where the lines are relatively new. The project will tell us exactly why inflow and infiltration occurs on Smith Street (experts disagree), as well as give us invaluable knowledge of the issues that part of the system faces. Furthermore, the cleaning out of the lines with high powered water will immediately make them better functioning. This project is integral for us to know what sewer project needs to begin next, and to get a better idea of its scope. 

     Most of these projects will be non-intrusive, but please note that the street project will at times divert traffic around parts of Stephens, Starks, and Winter. This project should take a few weeks to complete once it begins, and the sidewalk project should also be finished up by late July or early August if the current timeline holds. The sewer project will begin sometime later this summer or fall. 

    As always, if you have any questions please feel free to email mayorgrayson@meetmeinmidway.com or call me at 859-361-6320. This is what I call our “infrastructure summer.” 

City Council approves budget with $200K for sewers, $50K for curb extensions and many other additions

The City of Midway's budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is the probably the largest in the town's history, with General Fund appropriations of $1.9 million and a projected surplus of $488,601.

"It's likely the biggest ever," Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said as the City Council approved the budget on a 4-0 vote in an eight-minute special meeting Thursday. Members Sara Hicks and Kaye Nita Gallagher were absent, but they had attended all three workshops at which the council tweaked the budget Vandegrift had proposed.

The budget has been boosted mainly by increased occupational taxes on payrolls and net profits, mainly from the Midway Station industrial park. The council has lowered property taxes and water rates in the past year.

Holding up the budget, the mayor said, "This, as much as anything, is a policy document. What this shows is that our policy focuses on infrastructure."

The biggest infrastructure item is $200,000 for a project to examine and clean out the old sewer lines on the east side of town and see where repairs and replacements are needed. $50,000 is budgeted for curb extensions, or "bulb-outs" on Winter Street at the intersections of Bruen and Stephens streets, to help slow traffic and increase pedestrian safety.

The plan has $40,000 for interest payments on Midway Station, which are no longer made by the developer who gave up his option on the property, but the city and the Woodford County Economic Development Authority are hoping property sales will eliminate the need for interest payments.

The budget also adds $10,000 for new signs; $5,000 for new City Hall computers; $5,000 for the Court Appointed Special Advocate program, which has come to the county with the help of the Fiscal Court and the Versailles City Council; $2,000 for local churches' backpack meal program for needy children; and about $11,000 to join the Woodford County geographic information system, which Vandegrift said would help track infrastructure.

The budget includes $10,000 and $15,000, respectively, for repairs and maintenance on the firehouse, up from $5,000 and $10,000 in the current year; and $1,000 for the Woodford County Chamber of Commerce, up from $500. The Versailles Police Department will get $27,000 more as the city shares in the one-time cost of computer and telephone upgrades to the department, which patrols all of Woodford County. Under a contract, Midway pays 4.25 percent of the department's budget.

Council makes Midway Station all industrial or highway business; keeps fish farm as is; talks streets and speed

EDA Chair John Soper pointed to an old map of Midway Station to indicate property that the council was about to rezone.

Midway Station no longer has any property that is zoned for residential development or professional offices, following the Midway City Council's approval of a rezoning ordinance Monday night.

Among other business, the council rejected bids for the old wastewater-treatment plant, leaving it under lease to a small fish farm, and heard from a potential new telecommunications provider.

Midway Station: "This gets back to where it was originally intended to be," Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said, referring to the development's original status as an industrial park. It also includes some tracts that are zoned for highway business.

Vandegrift recalled that after Bluegrass Stockyards abandoned plans to buy the property in 2007 due to opposition from some in Midway, the debt of the failed industrial park left the city and Woodford County "in a much more desperate situation," and they converted the property to residential and commercial to get Lexington developer Dennis Anderson involved.

For years, Anderson paid the interest on Midway Station's mortgage in return for an option on the property, but the Great Recession stymied his plans for development. Coming out of the recession, industries began buying tracts in the development and adjacent to it. In February, Anderson dropped his option, putting development back in the hands of the county Economic Development Authority.

Vandegrift said Anderson originally wanted to build 500 homes, and the city has only 600, so "You might as well have named a different city other than Midway out there."

Some in Midway had thought the residential property in Midway Station could answer the city's need for more housing, especially with the growth in jobs at the industrial park. Before passage of the ordinance, Vandegrift addressed those concerns.

The mayor said he is eager to get more residential development in Midway, but "It's got to go in the right place," inside the city's current urban services boundary.

The latest rezoning also eliminates all professional-office (P-1) zoning in the development, which Council Member Stacy Thurman questioned.

EDA Chair John Soper said there is "no demand" for such property, and "We're reacting to demand. "That doesn't mean we couldn't come back at some point with a user who could use P-1." He said Journey Church, which will get part of the current P-1 property, wanted to be in a highway business zone because it will have a coffee shop and day-care center open to the public. Churches can be in any zone, under a conditional-use permit.

In response to a question from Council Member John Holloway, Soper said the coffee shop would draw business from travelers on Interstate 64 and workers in Midway Station. "The church sees getting people into the building as their first mission," Soper said.

The day-care center would meet a longstanding need in the city. The church plans to employ 70 people, more than EDA's goal of 10 jobs per acre in Midway Station, Vandegrift said.

On another real-estate issue, Thurman asked the mayor about the status of the proposed ordinance that would crack down on owners of blighted property. "People have been asking," she said. Vandegrift said city attorney Phil Moloney is working on the ordinance, which would be "put out as soon as possible," followed by council workshops to discuss it.

Steve Mims feeds his fish at the old wastewater treatment plant.

Fish farm: The council decided not to sell the city's old wastewater-treatment plant, after both bids fell short of its appraised value. The bids were $20,000 from Buchanan Contracting of Mount Sterling, which EDA has hired to do work at Midway Station, and $13,100 from Advancing Sustainable Aquaculture Performance for Fish, owned by a retired Kentucky State University aquaculture professor who has leased the facility for four years.

Council Member Logan Nance moved to accept ASAP Fish's bid, saying he had toured the facility with lessee Steve Mims and talked with people in the community who want the city to retain a business, but after a discussion, only Thurman voted with him.

Council Member Bruce Southworth opposed a sale, saying the city would have to find a place for salt and equipment that is stored on the property. Mims offered to let the city do that under his ownership, but Southworth said his bid wasn't high enough.

Nance said the city should "get out of the landlording business," but Vandegrift said that if the property were sold to Buchanan for use as a staging area for equipment, it "wouldn't look as nice." He said earlier, "I think Steve's got the best use for it."

Vandegrift said he had no problem continuing to lease the property to Mims, as long as he got his own electric service and started using water from Lee Branch instead of the new plant across Leestown Road, which Mims told the council last month he was planning to do. "We're paying his electric bill now, so we're losing money," the mayor said. Mims' lease fee is 5 percent of gross revenues; those payments totaled only $800 last year, Vandegrift said last month.

Streets and speed: Holloway said the city needs to keep pressing the state Highway Department to lower the speed limit on Winter Street downtown to 25 miles per hour, because the agency has done so in similar situations in other towns, including a railroad crossing in Lawrenceburg.

Vandegrift said that when he formally requested a lower speed limit last year, highway engineers rejected it, partly because the downhill slope on northbound Winter would require drivers "to ride their brakes" from Bruen Street to the crossing.

He said the rejection was the reason he got the state to paint stripes on the sides of Winter and has proposed up to $50,000 for curb extensions or "bulb-outs" at the intersections with Bruen and Stephens streets. Both measures are intended to slow down motorists by narrowing the trafficway, but Vandegrift agreed that the city needs to keep asking for a lower speed limit.

Fiber-optic franchise: The council heard from Kathy Sholar of MetroNet, which plans to install fiber-optic cable in the city under a non-exclusive franchise agreement similar to the one the city has with Spectrum. "What we bring to your community is choice," as well as "the best technology available in the world" for internet, television and telephone," she said.

Sholar said the company is coming to Midway because it got a contract to serve the county school system, and is also pursuing a franchise agreement with the county government.

Vandegrift said, "I've been very impressed with MetroNet, and everything she said is true."

Other business: The council approved an event permit and street closure for the 175th anniversary of Midway Christian Church on July 7. "I think Midway Christian is the pillar of this community," said Nance, who attends Midway Baptist Church.

The council also heard a report from state Rep. Joe Graviss, D-Versailles, who reiterated that he is running for the seat of retiring state Sen. Julian Carroll, D-Frankfort. Graviss, who was elected last year, was praised by Vandegrift, who has said he may run for the House seat.

"You did a great job," Vandegrift told Graviss. "You're going to be great as our senator. . . . You stick up for what you believe in."

As Graviss left, he was asked if he and Vandegrift would endorse each other. Neither replied.