Author: Tom Eblen

Thanks to everyone who came out for the 3rd annual Mentelle neighborhood Mardi Gras parade and celebration. We had about 100 people there, including so many adorable kids!  Special thanks to Chad and Jill Walker, owners of The Warehouse Block, for bringing their 1950 Ford farm truck and their pet goat, Itty Bitty, and to Kevin Heathcoat, the owner of Bourbon & Toulouse restaurant, for his support.

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Join your neighbors in the Mentelle Park median nearest Cramer Avenue tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the Mentelle Neighborhood’s 3rd annual Mardi Gras Parade!

Chad Walker, owner of the Warehouse Block, is bringing an antique farm truck to give hay rides to the kids. We’re hoping for some musicians. And we’re asking neighborhood kids (and adults if they like) to decorate their bicycles and join in the parade. We  will have $10 gift certificates to Graeter’s Ice Cream for three kids judged to have the best-decorated bikes.  And there will be a gift certificate to Bourbon & Toulouse restaurant for the best-costumed adult in attendance.

We plan to have some coffee and cajun food to help keep you warm, and plenty of beads and masks. And, of course, king cake. See you there!

The regular monthly meeting of the Mentelle Neighborhood Association board will be Wednesday, Feb 15, at 7 p.m. in the meeting room around back of the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, 162 N. Ashland Ave.  Any MNA member is welcome to attend.

Join your neighbors in the Mentelle Park median nearest Cramer Avenue next Saturday (February 18) from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for the Mentelle Neighborhood’s 3rd annual Mardi Gras Parade!

Chad Walker, owner of the Warehouse Block, is bringing an antique farm truck to give hay rides to the kids. We’re hoping for some musicians. And we’re asking neighborhood kids (and adults if they like) to decorate their bicycles and join in the parade. We  will have $10 gift certificates to Graeter’s Ice Cream for three kids judged to have the best-decorated bikes.  And there will be a gift certificate to Bourbon & Toulouse restaurant for the best-costumed adult in attendance.

We plan to have some coffee and cajun food to help keep you warm, and plenty of beads and masks. And, of course, king cake. For more information, or to volunteer to help out, email Katie Mueller. See you there!

 

Two of Mentelle neighborhood’s favorite annual events will be coming up in the next few months. Our third annual Mardi Gras parade will be Saturday, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m. And the annual children’s Easter egg hunt will be Saturday, April 8, at 10 a.m. Both events will be in and around the median on Mentelle Park.  If you would like to help organize or carry out either or both events, please email MNA board member Katie Mueller.

The city’s Parks and Recreation department is seeking advice from neighborhood residents about activities and programs they would like to see at the Kenwick Community Center, 313 Owsley Ave.  If you would like to offer feedback, click here to fill out the online form.

 

The regular monthly meeting of the Mentelle Neighborhood Association board will be Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. in the meeting room around back of the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, 162 N. Ashland Ave.  Any MNA member is welcome to attend.

Council member Hannah LeGris wants to hear from 3rd district residents and business owners about their concerns. Also come and learn about the what the city is doing to combat gun violence in Lexington. One Lexington will be giving away a $100 Kroger gift card to a lucky resident in attendance.

Event Itinerary:

• Intro by Devine Carama
• Panelist introductions
• Open mic for questions centered around the multiple-layered issue of gun violence
• Closing by Council member LeGris

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association will have its combined November/December board meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. in the meeting room behind the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, 162 N. Ashland Ave. Any MNA member is welcome to attend.

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association had its annual membership meeting Wednesday evening at the Warehouse Block offices, 250 Walter Ave. Twenty-one members attended.

Warehouse Block owner Chad Walker gave an update on his development. Some highlights: He has been working with city traffic engineers on a plan to renovate National Avenue. Plans include more sidewalks, three elevated (like speed bumps) crosswalks on National and a three-way stop at National and North Ashland. Eppings will again have outdoor seating as part of a sidewalk bump-out beside its building. And Walker plans to build a children’s playground behind Mirror Twin Brewing.

Ann Olliges retired after six years as president, and several members thanked her for a job well done. Her tenure has included raising the neighborhood’s profile by installing signs at each entrance. She has taken the lead on solving several neighborhood problems and, most recently, was the chief planner of last month’s successful picnic.

Members elected these officers for the next year: Tom Eblen, president; Shelby Reynolds, vice president; Esther Hurlburt, secretary; Beth Hellebusch, treasurer; and five at-large directors: Katie Mueller, Bill Fortune, Barb Wagner, Laura Beth O’Bryan and Stephanie Poole

Members then discussed several topics of interest and concern. Among them:

• The status of proposed improvements to the Blue Door Smokehouse corner. Ann sent an email last week asking Shilling Properties, the owner of Blue Door’s building and the lot behind it, to attend the meeting and discuss when the changes approved by the city’s Planning Commission in June 2020 would commence. She didn’t get a response. Tom will follow up.
• Several members expressed a desire for more social activities in addition to our three big annual events: the Mardi Gras parade, the Easter egg hunt and the fall picnic. Two popular events we will want to do again are Porch Songs (a band plays on a neighborhood porch) and last week’s family movie night in the Mentelle Park median. While COVID is still making indoor events problematic, there are other things we can do outside in good weather, such as progressive garden or porch parties. Katie Mueller is our new social committee chair. If you are interested in helping her plan and organize social events, click on her name above to email her.
• Barb Wagner said several neighbors have expressed interest in joining her new committee to explore ways for neighborhood residents to become more eco-friendly. If you want to participate, click on her name above to send her an email.
• There were discussions about having a membership drive, because of many newcomers to the neighborhood, and updating our neighborhood membership directory. If you have ideas about that — and especially if you are interested in helping — email Tom Eblen. You also may email him with any other ideas or neighborhood concerns.