City holds public hearing on draft CIP; Jackson Avenue water work, Mcrum's parking and Jordan’s Point projects highlighted

The Lexington City Council opened a public hearing on the draft capital improvement plan, and finance director Jen Bell walked council and attendees through the major items included in the draft operating and capital budgets.

Bell noted several notable general-fund projects: the Limekiln Road over Woods Creek bridge replacement (VDOT-funded), an 80/20 Wadell sidewalk project that will benefit the middle school, and engineering planning for resurfacing Mcrum’s parking lot. “We are proposing to do some engineering work on a plan to resurface Mcrum's parking lot,” Bell said. She added that smaller projects include pool improvements and a planned pergola replacement at Hopkins Green for $175,000.

On the utility side, Bell said the city plans continued Jackson Avenue water and sewer system improvements and work related to Morris Creek Dam. The presentation included a recommendation of $750,000 for sanitary sewer lining to reduce inflow and infiltration and continuing sewer upgrades at Oak Grove. Bell said staff is evaluating borrowing options to complete the Jackson-area work and that under an existing court order the county would reimburse the city for its portion of a roughly $3.7 million program if the county wishes to participate.

Bell also described school-related allocations: approximately $1.161 million in city-identified high-school projects, with $1.2 million of school construction grant funding available to offset some costs and additional school surplus funds reserved for future needs.

During public comment, Jeff Hughes of Main Street Lexington urged council to consider installing bricks salvaged from the Courthouse Square project into McRum’s Alley to finish the space and asked the council to allow a portion of available funds to support alley improvements. “The recommendation was to use the Lexington bricks that were salvaged from the courthouse square project and see if the city would consider installing them in the alley,” Hughes said.

Vice Mayor Alexander closed the public hearing after hearing comments and council members thanked staff and volunteers involved with the proposed projects. No final CIP vote occurred at the meeting; the hearing was an opportunity for public input ahead of budget adoption.