BY TOM EBLEN
teblen@herald-leader.com
August 16, 2018 10:10 AM
Lexington’s government has been headquartered in the old Lafayette Hotel building for 35 years. For 20 of those years, mayors and council members have been talking about the need to move somewhere else.
The 99-year-old building is not well-suited for a government center. It is costly to maintain and needs major renovations. It is too small, which is why some city offices are scattered in other buildings. The council chamber isn’t big enough for adequate citizen participation when controversial issues come up for debate.
Several people noted that last fact Tuesday night, when more than a dozen of those who had come to participate in a public hearing on plans to relocate city hall were forced to leave the room and watch the proceedings on television in the mezzanine.
So why hasn’t Lexington found a better city hall, despite more than a decade of talk and costly studies? For the same reason some people now want to reject a good process and a good plan and put off a decision yet again: Politics.
Read the full article here:
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/tom-eblen/article216752870.html
