Mentelle Neighborhood Association

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association’s annual meeting, which will include election of officers for the coming year, will be Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m.  Because of concerns about coronavirus transmission in indoor spaces, the meeting will be held online via Zoom. Association members also may participate by telephone. A link to the meeting (and telephone access information) will be posted on this website (and sent as an email alert) the day of the meeting.

Officers and board members serve one-year terms. A nominating committee headed by Shelby Reynolds has put together a proposed slate of officers and directors.  Nominations also can be made  from the floor — or, rather, the screen — during the meeting.

The proposed slate is as follows (* indicates incumbent):

President: Ann Olliges *
Vice President: Jamie Lucke (currently an at-large director)
Secretary: Tom Eblen *
Treasurer: Todd Davis *

At-large Directors:
Kim Naujokas *
Shelby Reynolds *
Will Jones *
Hannah Ruehl
Esther Hurlburt

If there are any neighborhood issues you would like to discuss at the meeting, please email President Ann Olliges to be added to the agenda. The association hasn’t been able to have social events since the pandemic began in March, but the board is seeking ideas at the meeting for safe, socially distanced outdoor activities.

If you live or operate a business in Mentelle Neighborhood but are not a member of the association, click here to join.

Mentelle neighborhood is fortunate to be the home of both candidates running for the 3rd District seat on the Urban County Council, Jessica Mohler and Hannah LeGris.

Each candidate will host a meet-and-greet for Mentelle neighborhood residents via Zoom this week. This is your chance to meet them (at least virtually), hear what they have to say and ask questions.

Hannah LeGris’ session will be Wednesday (Oct. 14) at 7 p.m.  Connect at this link and type in the passcode: 508588

Jessica Mohler’s session will be Thursday (Oct. 15) at 7 p.m. Connect at this link and type in the passcode: 346427

For more information about the candidates, visit their campaign websites: Hannah LeGris and Jessica Mohler.

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association’s annual meeting, which will include election of officers for the coming year, will be Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m.  Because of concerns about coronavirus transmission in indoor spaces, the meeting will be held online. More information about how to attend will be forthcoming.

Officers and board members serve one-year terms. If you are interested in serving and would like to place your name on the ballot, please email nominations committee chair  Shelby Reynolds no later than Oct. 15. Nominations also will be taken from the floor at the meeting.

If there are any neighborhood issues you would like to discuss at the meeting, please email President Ann Olliges to be added to the agenda. The association hasn’t been able to have social events since the pandemic began in March, but the board is seeking ideas at the meeting for safe, socially distanced outdoor activities.

There’s a box of free books on the front porch of 52 Mentelle Park. These are newly published titles. Most are advance reader copies, but a few are store-damaged finished copies. Come take a look and add a few to your reading stack. You can’t beat the price!

Many locally owned businesses have been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this difficult time, the Mentelle Neighborhood Association is happy to help promote businesses operated within our neighborhood or owned by residents of our neighborhood. In that spirit, here is an update about Selma’s Catering and Liberty Road Cafe from Mentelle resident Selma Owens:

In addition to soups, salads and sandwiches, we have increased our grab-and-go area and added new items we are excited to share, including Sunrise Bakery bread and Boar’s Head meats, cheese by the pound and other popular Boar’s Head products.

We also are adding a new display case that will feature take-and-serve prepared foods. Additional items in our freshly prepared frozen entrees and sides include chicken tetrazzini, meatloaf, lasagna and mac and cheese. Always available in our refrigerator grab-and-go: homemade chicken salad, pimento cheese, beer cheese and potato salad.

We have new hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.  For more information, call (859) 971-2763 or order online at Selmascatering.com.

 

Check out the new book box on the Mentelle Park median and take or leave a book. Thanks to the Lexington Herald-Leader for providing the box and to Marilyn Swann for the patriotic paint job.  Thanks also to Ray and Jill DeBolt for arranging the whole project and installing the new box. What a great way to repurpose a newspaper box — and remind us of those pre-internet  days when they were everywhere.

A decade ago, some neighbors put together three architectural scavenger hunts to highlight the diverse architecture and house features in Mentelle Neighborhood. It’s fun for both adults and kids. Click here to download three different photo quizzes featuring different streets in the neighborhood. Have fun!

It’s time for neighborhood associations to seek matching grants from city government. The deadline for applying is August 7, and we’d like to hear ideas and feedback from MNA members.

A pollinator-friendly project — perhaps a Monarch butterfly way station — is one possibility that some of the officers have discussed.

Eligible projects include street trees, cleanups, sidewalk repairs (but not adjacent to private property), and re-using vacant buildings. Click here for details: https://www.lexingtonky.gov/neighborhood-action-match-program-namp

The improvements must be open to the public.

The government awards up to $10,000 which the neighborhood must match with cash, donated supplies or volunteer labor and services.

We hope to have more info to share after a Zoom training next week. Feel free to join the training at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 22, to walk through the on-line application process. Access the Zoom meeting by clicking  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86105328042 or connect through audio by calling 1-301-715-8592 using meeting ID 86105328042 on the date of meeting.

Please email ideas or thoughts about a pollinator project to Jamie Lucke at jamiedlucke@gmail.com.

While waiting for the libraries to open, Becky Eblen has more advance reader copies of new books for you. Most are adult fiction, but there are some non-fiction and memoirs as well a box of books for ages 8 to young adult. They will be in boxes on the front porch at 52 Mentelle Park. Please help yourself and check back; as some books are taken, more will replace them.  The boxes will be out from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each non-rainy day until all of the books are gone.

Good news.

The Planning Commission today approved the plan that the Mentelle Neighborhood Association negotiated with Schilling Properties for an expansion of the Blue Door Smokehouse.

The vote was unanimous.

Any lingering worries about our plan’s safety were dispelled by none other than the traffic engineer, who assured the commission, “It’s not going to be a safety issue one way or another.”

The original plan that we saw in January had two commercial driveways funneling traffic directly onto Aurora Avenue.

The main concession we won was to keep traffic entering and exiting on Walton Avenue with no intrusive commercial driveway on Aurora.

Mr. Schilling also agreed to a deed restriction protecting his house at 708 Aurora from rezoning for at least 20 years and to limit the use of vinyl siding on the expansion.

In exchange, we agreed to support the rezoning of 706 Aurora from residential to neighborhood business. We think the final design will buffer nearby residences and preserve Aurora’s residential character.

The plan will improve the looks and functionality of the Aurora-Walton corner. The parking in front of Blue Door will be replaced by landscaping. There will be a normal sidewalk and maybe some outdoor tables.

Blue Door will double in size with a larger kitchen taking up much of the addition. Blue Door proprietor Jeff Newman said this will enable the restaurant to expand its catering business.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in, including Chad Walker of The Warehouse Block who testified in support of the neighborhood’s plan, and our president Ann Olliges, who spent a lot of time on the phone with Schilling’s lawyer.

Thanks also to the Planning Commission, which overruled its staff on the traffic access question in order to unanimously support our plan.