Council has hope for the new year, makes board appointments
The Lexington City Council held their first meeting of the new year on January 10. Kicking off the meeting were statements of hope for the new year from Councilor Donald Holt and City Manager Terra Greene. Both acknowledged the amount of suffering and pain there is in our nation, but had optimistic viewpoints. Greene even spoke on how Lexington, in spite of all of the troubles, can be a light in the midst of the issues in our nation. With recognition of the old and looking forward to the new, Holt and Greene started off the meeting with inspiration and hope.
Next, the council issued two proclamations for the coming week. The first, a recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (MLK Day) was made in advance of the day to honor his memory and service to the country. Rosa Terry, of the NAACP, commented on how she hopes for this to be a day of service to empower people of Lexington and America as a whole. The day after MLK Day has been proclaimed as the National Day of Racial Healing in order to bring people together for equity and make racial bias a thing of the past. Dr. Patricia Smyre, diversity, equity and inclusion officer announced the city's commitment to a 30 day Challenge of Kindness and encouraged others to do the same.
The majority of this meeting was spent on the appointments to boards and commissions. Rick Mack was appointed to the Lexington Housing Authority by Mayor Newell Clark. On the Human Relations Commission, Kathy Tippel and Tom Surrett were appointed. The appointees to the Lexington Planning Board and Board of Adjustments are Tia Williams and Jennifer Surret. To the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, Charles Carter, Jr., Veronica Tim, Lloyd Pace, and Kristi Thronhill were appointed. Carter’s appointment has since been rescinded due to his ward designation being changed.
The meeting concluded with the city manager’s report and a closed session. The council previously voted to move to a conditional zoning system, in which it was announced they will be trained. The leaf pick-up trucks are slowly coming back into service and the bills from Lexington Utilities are hoping to be delivered soon. No one will be penalized for this delay in delivery.
