Community discusses proposal for new city hall

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – The idea of a new city hall in Lexington has been talked about for years. Is it finally about to happen?

The city is proposing the current Herald-Leader building as the location.

The Herald-Leader building has been sitting on the corner of Main Street and Midland Avenue since 1980. Now that production for the paper is no longer done in Lexington, the city is proposing the building be turned into the new city hall.

It would combine five buildings, where government offices are now, putting all of the city government’s 800 employees in one location.
This would save taxpayers $39 million over 20 years.

While no one who spoke at the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council meeting Tuesday night is against a new city hall, they say the proposed placement is good and bad.

For some, they see putting it there on the east end of Lexington as an economic boost, and a way to make the city more inviting.

Still, several people are concerned about traffic backups caused by more people driving to city hall, rather than walking, since the building would be farther away from the city center.

Then, comes the issue of parking. The new city hall would include 800 new parking spots, but assuming those will be paid spots, people living on Bell Court, a short walk from the Herald-Leader building, are concerned their neighborhood may be used as a way to avoid paying the price.

The proposal goes into a council work session next Tuesday afternoon. There, a motion could be made for it to go on a meeting docket for a vote. That work session is open to the public.

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