Lexington mayor sends economic plan to governor

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Lexington has completed a blueprint for economic recovery in the wake of the three-month coronavirus shutdown and sent it to the governor.

Mayor Linda Gorton and Luther Deaton, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Central Bank, unveiled the plan during a briefing Monday afternoon. (To read the plan, click here Mayor Gorton’s COVID-19 Economic Response Report)

“Our economy was strong before this pandemic struck, and today we are taking the first to recover that strength,” Gorton said. “We have outlined a gradual, responsible path back to the workplace.

“Patience, is a good word right now, a lot of people might start loosing patience, but now’s not the time. Now’s the time to say ‘okay, we’re going to start reopening we can do this,” Gorton added.

Deaton said, “My many years of experience in Lexington give me a great deal of confidence in our economy. We are taking it slowly, but we are on our way back.”

Gorton and Deaton thanked 132 community members representing the city’s major economic sectors, who put together a total of 330 recommendations for reopening the economy.

The report was compiled over a two-week period and included 33 committee meetings. Approximately 1,100 citizens watched as the meetings were held on-line and were open to the public.

The details include everything from re-starting youth sports programs and the difficulties associated with that to recommendations for business and industry.

Gorton said it is important to remember that Lexington citizens made it possible to begin reopening the economy by staying healthy at home.

“Our citizens followed the social distancing guidelines and stayed home,” Gorton said. “We need to remember that those guidelines are still important as we begin the transition to being healthy at home.”

Getting back to work is very important to everyone, and very important to our city, Gorton said. In February, prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic here on March 6, the Lexington/Fayette County jobless rate was 3.1 percent.

Beginning the week of March 8, unemployment numbers began to increase to levels not seen in almost 100 years.

More than 44,000 Lexington residents, over 25% of the civilian workforce, have filed initial unemployment insurance claims since the beginning of March.

The 50-plus page Lexington Blueprint for Economic Recovery report features sections on Agriculture and Equine; Education; Entrepreneurship, Small Business and Technology; Faith-Based; Government and Economic Development; Healthcare; Non-Profit, Arts and Culture; Professional Services, Finance, Headquarters, Business Industry and Services; Airport, Transportation and Cargo; Distillery and Craft Beer; Equine Tourism; Hotels and Convention Centers; Restaurants and Bars; Retailers; Tourism Attractions; University and High School Athletics.