Martha Jane Stone, left front, at the unveiling of the historical marker in May.
Snow joke: keep sidewalks clear
Also, please be mindful of elderly or disabled neighbors unable to shovel their sidewalks. If you are able to do it for them, please do. If not, reach out to another neighbor who is able. If you are unable to find someone, Jake Gibbs, our 3rd District council member, asks that you contact his office and he will try to find a community volunteer to help. You can reach him at: jgibbs@lexingtonky.gov.
This year Lexington has a new, tougher snow-shoveling ordinance. It requires property owners to clear their sidewalks 24 hours after the officially declared end of snowfalls of four inches or more. (However, no property owner will be cited if their street has not been plowed. Most of the time, Mentelle Neighborhood’s streets are not plowed.)
The new ordinance is complaint-driven. The city Code Enforcement staff will not look for people to cite. They will respond to citizen complaints reported to LexCall, 311. If someone complains about your property, Code Enforcement will follow up. If the snow is greater than four inches and the street has been plowed, they will leave a warning. They will return after 24 hours. If the sidewalk has not been cleared a citation will be issued. The initial fine is $100. (That’s the same fine for all nuisance violations, such as not mowing grass.) This essentially gives homeowners 48 hours to clear their sidewalks after a four-inch snowfall before being cited. To help people adjust to the new ordinance, Code Enforcement will give only warnings — no citations — during the first big snow.
There are no exemptions from this ordinance. “Snow birds” must make arrangements to have their sidewalk cleared in their absence.
Ashland Elementary raising money for a new playground. Will you help?
Neighbors,
Our neighborhood school, Ashland Elementary, is trying to build a new playground. The goal is to build a playground next summer that is accessible and inspiring to all of Ashland’s students and supports more active, artistic, beautiful, creative and diverse play and garden spaces that better reflect the school and its focus on the arts.
Estimates for final playground design are between $85,000 and $100,000. The Playground Committee at Ashland has set a goal to raise $100,000 by March 31, 2017 in order to ensure that the playground is completed by the start of the 2017-2018 school year. To date, $22,000 has been raised through Jog-a-thons, donations gathered at events, and some generous family donations. In addition to fundraising, the committee is applying for grants and approaching local and neighborhood businesses for support. But the playground committee also needs our help.
The committee is asking that families and the neighborhood association consider a donation. No gift is too big or too small! If you are considering your charitable donations for this year or next, please know that this is a special project of the Ashland PTA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and your contribution is tax-deductible.
If you are interested in making a gift, please send an envelope marked ‘Playground’ with your name and address to: Ashland Elementary School, 195 N. Ashland Ave., Lexington, KY 40502. Checks should be made out to Ashland PTA with ‘Playground’ in the memo. Please include your name and address so a letter acknowledging your donation can be sent to you.
If you have any questions about giving or ideas to help raise additional funds, please contact Mentelle Neighborhood resident Stephanie Spires at SeaSpires@gmail.com
Thank you!
Shelly Fortune, MNA President
Mirror Twin Brewing event Sunday

Attend Hot Cocoa Social on Dec. 4

Report from the general meeting
Elected for the calendar year 2017 were: Shelly Fortune, president; Linda Worley, vice president; Tom Eblen, secretary; Richard Coles, treasurer; and board members Elaine Cook, Bethany Baxter, Shelby Reynolds, Jessica Mohler and Ann Olliges.
Officers reviewed the past year’s highlights, which included:
- The association got a new website, which includes a blog for news updates. Eventually, the association hopes it will replace the more costly and less timely printed newsletter. Residents can sign up for email alerts whenever a news item is posted. So far, 90 people have signed up.
- A state historical marker was placed in the Mentelle Park median to commemorate the entire neighborhood’s history as well as the history of the nearby Mentelle School, where Mary Todd Lincoln was a student.
- Neighborhood identification signs have been posted at many entrances to the area. Some signs are still pending because of right-of-way issues.
- The association sponsored several well-attended neighborhood social events in the past year, including a beer tasting, the summer picnic and the Easter egg hunt and book swap.
- There has been an increase in association membership. There are now 76 life member households and 22 annual members. Anyone interested in membership should contact Richard Coles.
- Jake Gibbs, the 3rd District Urban County Council member, awarded the association a $1,500 grant for street-tree planting. That is $500 more than in recent years. Since 2012, the association and city have provided matching grants to help Mentelle residents plant 45 trees. Nine more trees are scheduled to be planted, and money is available for six more. If you are interested in getting matching funds to plant a street tree, contact Elaine Cook.
Other items of note:
- Speed tables are being considered for Aurora and Given avenues and Bullock Place as the result of a recent city traffic study.
- The board is working with the city and the J.M. Smucker Co. to address noise coming from the Jif peanut butter plant at night. Several residents have complained.
- The board met recently with the owners of Cosmic Charlie’s, a music club moving to National Avenue. It was a positive meeting, and the owners said they want to work with the neighborhood to avoid problems with traffic or noise.
- An updated neighborhood directory will be published soon.
- This year’s neighborhood home tour, which was to have been in September, was canceled because not enough residents could open their homes. Shelly Fortune said she hopes to organize another tour in 2018. (Mentelle had its first home tour in 2014, and it made about $3,000 for neighborhood projects.) Mentelle alternates home tour years with the Kenwick Neighborhood Association. Shelly also asked for suggestions of other fundraising ideas for the association.
- Richard reported that the association is in good financial condition, with $7,994.14 in the bank. A financial report is available upon request.
Following the meeting, David O’Neill, Fayette County’s property valuation administrator, discussed his process for reassessing home values. State law requires reassessments every four years, and Mentelle Neighborhood is scheduled to be reassessed in 2017 and 2018. He said to watch for an assessment notice in the mail after April 15. If you do not receive a notice in the mail, you can check your property information on Fayettepva.com. Please check it for accuracy. The deadline for correcting or contesting an assessment is the third Monday in May.
State Sen. Reginald Thomas attended the meeting and urged residents to sign up for email updates from his office.
Kenwick bungalows open for tour

General meeting Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. at Ashland Elementary School

Cardinal Valley coat drive
Cardinal Valley has many students who live in poverty: 97 percent are on free and reduced lunch. There are many students who are learning English as a second language and, as such, face language barriers in getting resources. Currently there are 700 students at Cardinal Valley.
If you would like to donate a coat, gloves or hats for the annual coat drive, it would be greatly appreciated. Coats should be sized for children ages 4-12. Items can be dropped off on the front porch at 721 Aurora Ave. (Ann Olliges).
Thank you so much for your consideration and help with keeping these students warm during the winter months.
Mentelle Park repaving Friday

This work is being done because the water company’s previous contractor did a poor job of repaving last year when the street’s original 1906 water main was replaced. Company officials agreed to redo the work after Council Member Jake Gibbs and neighborhood association members complained.