Schilling rezoning hearing is June 25

Schilling Properties is seeking to rezone 706 Aurora Ave., where it demolished a house last year, from residential to business for an expansion of Blue Door Smokehouse.

After months of delay caused by Covid-19, the Planning Commission on June 25 will hold a public hearing on the requested rezoning of 706 Aurora Avenue to accommodate an expansion of Blue Door Smokehouse.

The meeting, which begins at 1 p.m., will be held by video teleconference (Zoom).
You might recall that back in February the neighborhood and the owner/developer, Schilling Properties, reached an agreement that would keep Blue Door’s traffic entering and exiting on Walton Avenue.
Unfortunately, the planning staff opposed our compromise and is instead recommending that all Blue Door traffic exit onto Aurora.
We’re asking the Planning Commission to overrule its staff and approve our plan.
Thanks to all of you who already have written letters to the Planning Commission.
If, like me, you’ve been putting it off, now is the time. I suspect our letters will be more important than ever because of the limitations of the Zoom format. Members of the public will be recognized to speak on Zoom for 3 minutes each. (More about that and how the Zoom meeting will work are explained in links below.)
You can email your letters to the Planning Commission in care of senior planner Hal Baillie at hbaillie@lexingtonky.gov.   
Here’s a link to an earlier post https://www.mentelle.org/2020/02/23/shilling-offers-concessions-on-rezoning/ to refresh your memory of the compromise design plan. Since that post went up, the plan has become even more compatible with nearby residences by eliminating the dumpster. You can see the design at lexingtonky.buildingeye.com.
Here’s the email we got from Hal Baillie on Tuesday:
The application PLN-MAR-20-00001: Schilling Properties for the property located at 706 Aurora Avenue is scheduled to be heard on June 25th, 2020 at 1pm. You are receiving an email, as you had previously submitted comment regarding this application. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and State of Emergency, this meeting of the Planning Commission will be held via video teleconference because it is not feasible to offer a primary physical location for the meeting. Please see attached sheet regarding viewing and public comment. You may view the meeting on LexTV Spectrum channel 185, Metronet channel 3, Windstream channels 3 and 20, or via live stream at https://www.lexingtonky.gov/lextv.
 
The agenda for the above meeting will be posted to the www.lexingtonky.gov/calendar one week prior to the public hearing.  The agenda will include specific information for this meeting necessary to join the video teleconference.  For persons with a disability who need assistance to participate in the above meeting, for assistance navigating the website, or if you have any questions, please contact the Division of of Planning at planningmailbox@lexingtonky.gov or 258-3160.

Free books at 52 Mentelle Park

You’ve run out of reading material and the libraries still aren’t open?  Here’s a solution:  Becky Eblen, a former Joseph-Beth employee, has several dozen Advance Reader Copies of books in a box on her front porch at 52 Mentelle Park.  As some books are taken, more will replace them.  Please come help yourself.  The box will be out there from 9 a.m. -5 p.m. each day until they are all gone.

Yard waste pickup resumes next week.

From a City of Lexington news release:

The city will resume weekly yard waste collections next week, on the same day as garbage and recycling pickup. Yard waste collections were suspended March 23 because of the danger posed by the COVID-19 epidemic.

The City is now cautiously optimistic that, with the public’s help, it can collect yard waste safely.  Unlike trash and recycling carts, which are mostly emptied by mechanical arms on the collection trucks, yard waste collections are done by crew members, who roll carts to the truck, touching both the cart’s handle and lid. “That made it difficult to provide the service and protect our employees,” Mayor Linda Gorton said.

Since the virus struck, the Division of Waste Management has been working to secure appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies to allow for safe operation of the yard waste service.

“We have implemented several practices to allow for weekly cleaning of all trucks, inside and outside,” said Nancy Albright, Commissioner of Environmental Quality and Public Works. “We have a steady supply of the types of PPE needed for employees, allowing us to resume regular service.”

In rolling their carts to the curb, Gorton urged citizens to protect Waste Management employees and themselves. Wipe down the handle and lid after placing the cart next to the curb, and then wipe the handle and lid down again before returning the cart back to your home.

“The Division of Waste Management appreciates everyone’s patience as we navigate these new working conditions and follow all safety measures to keep our employees protected,” said Waste Management Director Tracey Thurman.

For more information, contact LexCall at 311 or (859) 425-2255.

Locals’ Craft Food & Drink among local coronavirus restaurant casualties.

Photo by Alex Slitz/Lexington Herald-Leader

Locals’ Craft Food & Drink, at the corner of Walton and National avenues in the Warehouse Block, is among the Lexington restaurants put out of business by the coronavirus pandemic. This is sad news for the neighborhood. Locals’ had been kind enough to host the Mentelle Neighborhood Association’s monthly board meetings.  The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Janet Patton has the details here.

Recycling pickup resumes next week.

Photo by Malcolm Stallons

City officials announced Friday that they plan to restart curbside recycling for residences and businesses, as well as dumpster service, next week. Recycling pickup was stopped April 13 because of an equipment breakdown at the recycling center.

 Acceptable items are:

  • Aluminum and steel cans
  • Plastic screw-top bottles and jugs
  • Dry corrugated cardboard with packing material removed
  • Glass bottles and jars, both colored and clear.

Never bag recyclables. They should be put in the blue cart or recycling dumpster loose.

Residents can still take clean paper — newspapers, office paper, paper mail, magazines and catalogs — to one of the yellow recycling bins. The closest bin to Mentelle Neighborhood is in the parking lot behind the Herald-Leader building off Midland Avenue near Short Street.

Yard waste pickup planned in May

Mayor Linda Gorton’s office issued this press release today about another special yard waste pickup:

The City is once again planning to provide curbside residential yard waste pickup this month to its waste management customers.

On Wednesday, May 13, crews will pick up yard waste for everyone who has City garbage pickup on Mondays and Tuesdays. Residents who have city collections on Thursdays and Fridays will have their yard waste picked up on Wednesday, May 20.

The City temporarily halted curbside residential yard waste pickup on March 23 to protect City Waste Management employees, who also pick up garbage, a service that is critical to the community.

“We have reviewed our supply of personal protective equipment and are happy to let residents know that we have adequate inventory to schedule a second yard waste pickup this spring,” says Nancy Albright, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Quality and Public Works. “We appreciate that, over the years, many citizens have taken to heart the program that diverts yard waste from the landfill. To the extent that we can support that program while protecting our Waste Management employees from COVID-19, we are pleased to continue to offer collection services.

Until routine yard waste collections resume, residents have several disposal options:

  • Hold material until collection resumes.
  • Grass clippings can be left on your lawn and late-falling leaves can be mulched with a mower and left on the ground. Both grass and mulched leaves help naturally fertilize your lawn.
  • Start a compost pile. It’s probably easier than you think. The same materials that would go in your yard waste bin are great for compost piles. You can even add plant-based food scraps like coffee grounds, banana peels and apple cores. (No meat, cheeses or fatty foods.)
  • Take the material to the Haley Pike Waste Management Facility at 4216 Hedger Lane. Hours for Haley Pike are 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. No limit and no charge for Fayette Co. residents during the collection suspension. ID required.
  • Put material in your green trash cart. Make sure to limit the material — the lid to your trash cart should close when you set it out for collection.