Author: Tom Eblen

Report from the annual meeting

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association had its annual membership meeting Wednesday evening at the Warehouse Block offices, 250 Walter Ave. Twenty-one members attended.

Warehouse Block owner Chad Walker gave an update on his development. Some highlights: He has been working with city traffic engineers on a plan to renovate National Avenue. Plans include more sidewalks, three elevated (like speed bumps) crosswalks on National and a three-way stop at National and North Ashland. Eppings will again have outdoor seating as part of a sidewalk bump-out beside its building. And Walker plans to build a children’s playground behind Mirror Twin Brewing.

Ann Olliges retired after six years as president, and several members thanked her for a job well done. Her tenure has included raising the neighborhood’s profile by installing signs at each entrance. She has taken the lead on solving several neighborhood problems and, most recently, was the chief planner of last month’s successful picnic.

Members elected these officers for the next year: Tom Eblen, president; Shelby Reynolds, vice president; Esther Hurlburt, secretary; Beth Hellebusch, treasurer; and five at-large directors: Katie Mueller, Bill Fortune, Barb Wagner, Laura Beth O’Bryan and Stephanie Poole

Members then discussed several topics of interest and concern. Among them:

  • The status of proposed improvements to the Blue Door Smokehouse corner. Ann sent an email last week asking Shilling Properties, the owner of Blue Door’s building and the lot behind it, to attend the meeting and discuss when the changes approved by the city’s Planning Commission in June 2020 would commence. She didn’t get a response. Tom will follow up.
  • Several members expressed a desire for more social activities in addition to our three big annual events: the Mardi Gras parade, the Easter egg hunt and the fall picnic. Two popular events we will want to do again are Porch Songs (a band plays on a neighborhood porch) and last week’s family movie night in the Mentelle Park median. While COVID is still making indoor events problematic, there are other things we can do outside in good weather, such as progressive garden or porch parties. Katie Mueller is our new social committee chair. If you are interested in helping her plan and organize social events, click on her name above to email her.
  • Barb Wagner said several neighbors have expressed interest in joining her new committee to explore ways for neighborhood residents to become more eco-friendly. If you want to participate, click on her name above to send her an email.
  • There were discussions about having a membership drive, because of many newcomers to the neighborhood, and updating our neighborhood membership directory. If you have ideas about that — and especially if you are interested in helping — email Tom Eblen. You also may email him with any other ideas or neighborhood concerns.

Annual member meeting Wednesday

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association will have its annual membership meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Warehouse Block offices, 250 Walton Ave., suite 150 at the back of the building.

This meeting is your opportunity to learn more about what is happening in our neighborhood and offer your ideas for improvements and social events for the upcoming year.

Association members also will elect officers. Ann Olliges, who has had six successful years as president of the MNA, has decided to retire from the board. Vice President Jamie Lucke and board member Will Jones also are stepping down because of work responsibilities. The board’s nominating committee has submitted the slate of candidates below following an open solicitation to members. Other candidates may be written in on the ballot or nominated from the floor.  Association members who are unable to attend the meeting may download an absentee ballot here, fill it out, scan it and email it to secretary Tom Eblen  by noon on Oct. 26.

Here is the 2022 slate of candidates and a little information about them. (* denotes currently serving on the board.):

President:

Tom Eblen * has been involved in the MNA since he and his wife, Becky, moved to Mentelle Park in 2012. He has been the board secretary for seven years. Tom developed and maintains the MNA website. He works part-time for the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning after a 40-year career in journalism. Tom and Becky have two grown daughters, in Lexington and Philadelphia, and two young grandchildren who live in Kenwick.

Vice President:

Shelby Reynolds * has been a member of the MNA board for seven years. He has lived on Aurora Avenue for 35 years. He is an owner of Morningside Woodcrafters on National Avenue and looking forward to continuing to serve the neighborhood and its outreach.

Secretary:

Esther Hurlburt * has lived in our neighborhood for nearly 40 years.  She lives on Given Avenue and has many years of experience in working as an officer of the current MNA board as well as serving as an officer when it was the Eastside Neighborhood Association.  Esther is proud of our neighborhood and wants to ensure that we remain a friendly and safe place for all types of people to live.

Treasurer:

Beth Hellebusch *  is a Lexington native who spent her formative years in the Fairway and Kenwick neighborhoods.  She and her partner, Dean Langdon, moved to Franklin Avenue in 2017. Beth is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who works for Healthfirst Bluegrass in the LTMS Healthy Kids Clinic. She serves as the treasurer on the board of the Kentucky Society for Clinical Social Work.

Directors:

Bill Fortune is a retired law professor at the University of Kentucky, where he taught from 1969 until 2012 and took three leaves of absence to work as a public defender in Kentucky and Los Angeles. He and his wife, Beverly, have lived on Bullock Place since 1997. He is the author of several books, including Call me Mac, a biography of the late U.S. District Judge Mac Swinford.

Katie Mueller lives with her husband, Chet White, two cats, an in-and-out college student son, and two part-time step-sons. Originally from eastern Kentucky, she has lived on Aurora Avenue since October 2021. Big on community building, neighborhood camaraderie and a “room for everyone at the table” vibe. Spent six years on the South Frankfort Neighborhood Association board.

Laura Beth O’Bryan * is a Lexington native who moved back to the Bluegrass three years ago with her husband Brendan after several years in Chicago. They have two young kids —Gabe (4.5) and Lily (1.5) — and two dogs who take many walks around the neighborhood. Laura Beth is in marketing and communications for RTI International, and Brendan is a civil engineer at Stantec. They love this neighborhood and its community, history, open-mindedness and walkability. They live on Aurora Avenue.

Stephanie Poole is a lifelong Lexingtonian who has lived on Mentelle Park since 2014, when she married her husband, Dave Keilar. She worked for the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation at Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate for about 12 years as the business manager and before that at Ace magazine. “There is something so special about Mentelle Park; the homes are certainly beautiful, but it’s the people that live here that have made it my favorite of all neighborhoods,” she said.

Barb Wagner * has lived on Mentelle Park for 8 years and joined the MNA board in 2021. She works with Edelen Renewables, a green energy business in downtown Lexington. She is on the Warehouse District Advisory Board.

 

New neighborhood environment group

MNA board member Barbara Wagner wants to start a group of neighborhood residents interested in exploring ways to help us become more environmentally responsible.  Her idea is to try new ideas and approaches that might work in our neighborhood and even be models for other Lexington neighborhoods. If you are interested in participating in this group, email her at: barbwire8@twc.com.

Want to join the MNA board?

Mentelle Neighborhood Association members elect officers and directors for one-year terms each fall, with terms beginning Jan. 1.  Several vacancies are coming up next year, and the board’s nominating committee would like to hear from you if you have an interest in being added to the election slate for the annual membership meeting, Oct. 26  at 6:30 p.m.  (place still to be determined.)

Typically, new board members serve as at-large directors for at least a year before taking an officer’s position so they can get to know the organization, but that is not a requirement. Any MNA member can run for any office. The board meets monthly, except in December, on the third Wednesday evening of the month.

If you are interested in standing for election to the board, or have questions about whether board service might be right for you,  please email MNA Secretary Tom Eblen.