Subgroup Members: Amanda Mays Bledsoe, Hannah LeGris, Fred Brown

Last Thursday, the ARPA subgroup for infrastructure met to discuss the proposals they would like the full council to consider for the $120 million LFUCG is receiving in ARPA funds.

The infrastructure subgroup is extra tricky because the ARPA guidelines limit “infrastructure” projects to water, sewer, and broadband internet. Most of the proposals council received are in other categories, like environmental initiatives, paving and roads, multimodal transportation, tree canopy projects, and government facilities.

This means that most infrastructure projects will compete for the ~$30 million that LFUCG can spend in “revenue replacement” funds. Revenue Replacement is the section of ARPA money designed to make up for revenue that LFUCG lost during the pandemic. This money is desirable because there are no restrictions on how LFUCG can spend it, unlike the rest of the ARPA funds.

With all of that in mind, let’s look at what the subgroup decided to move forward! Again, we would like to remind readers that these are just recommendations for the full council to consider and are not final funding decisions. There is also an understanding that some of the projects are starting at a fairly high price point, and will probably be negotiated down throughout the process.

The subgroup moved forward the following proposals to take to the COW. As a reminder, this list is just a draft, and the proposals have numerous steps to move through before they can actually be funded. This process will continue at the COW meeting on October 26th.

• $17.5 million for Coldstream infrastructure projects, as requested by the Mayor’s Administration
• $2.5 million for tree canopy improvements via Trees Lexington
• $300k for solar energy initiatives on LFUCG buildings
• $1.2 million for multimodal transportation projects, specifically
  • A Brighton Rail Trail connection at Liberty Park
  • A Harrodsburg Road trail from Man O’ War to Dogwood Trace
  • A Harrodsburg Road trail from Man O’ War to Corporate Drive
  • A Manchester Street pedestrian facility
• $4.5m for critical government infrastructure needs, as requested by the Mayor’s Administration