Lexington council is presented new ward map, hears financial report
On November 22, the Lexington City Council held the second of their bi-monthly meetings. The meeting began with a presentation updating the Council on the “City Center” design for the building at 200 State St. The committee narrowed the designers to a collaboration between Balfour Beatty Construction and Little Diversified Architectural Designs. Both companies emphasize their value of working with small businesses, especially minority owned. They hope to include students who are interested in these fields through the ACE Mentoring program.
The companies have many ideas on what to do with the building, but will need additional deliberation before reaching a decision. However, they did state their desire is an energy efficient building which is sustainable and makes use of natural light. A few councilors raised concerns about the $12 million budget, but they were assured the budget will be evaluated if needed. It was also noted these two organizations have a history of coming in below or equal to the budget.
Next, there was a discussion on the rezoning of 762 acres in Lexington. An annexation agreement has been approved, but the area’s classification needed to be determined. The area will be transformed into an industrial park.
A few Linwood residents raised concerns about their property. Council assured them no citizen would have their property annexed. A decision was made to keep the zoning designation the same as it had been previously.
Following the clarification about the upcoming annexation, an update on the redistricting of the city’s wards was presented. It was stated that the redistricting was a group effort with the NAACP to create fair districts. During their meetings, the citizen group hoped to develop equitable wards with compact, reasonable boundaries. Ward 3’s population has been shifted to create more equal distribution and representation of minorities.
The NAACP presented their support for the new, redistricted map. During the public input process, concerns were raised about notification for those who will experience a ward change, as this will not occur until the Davidson County Board of Elections enters the new information into the system. Without this action, citizens won’t receive a letter of notification. The city council expressed their wishes for a detailed map where people can learn of their ward designation in advance. They hope to have a tool where someone can type in their address and see which ward they are in. On December 6, the council will hold a special called meeting to approve the new redistricting map. A public hearing will commence prior to the vote.
The Lexington City election filing date will be on January 3-7, 2022, while the Lexington City School Board of Education filing dates will be December 6-17. This difference is due to different legislations for each type of election.
The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 was summarized. There was an increase in revenues of the general fund and a decrease in expenditures of over $2 million. The unassigned fund balance ended with over $14 million. These two values together create the available fund balance which had an increase.
Before the conclusion of the meeting, there were a few updates from the city:
The recreation center project is currently needing a consultant.
Mike Horney, public service director, announced the addition of five public recycling centers with two bins each, one for cardboard and one for glass. Two have already been established. The other three will be operational next week. The bins will be located at Fire Stations 2, 3, and 4 along with the Commons on the Green and 209 N. State St. Any glass without food substances may be placed in the bins.
The Christmas Parade is December 6 at 6:00pm. Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin, who attended school in Davidson County, will be the grand marshal.
