Author: Tom Eblen

The regular monthly meeting of the Mentelle Neighborhood Association board will be Wednesday, Aug. 16, 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.

Walk over to National Avenue this afternoon before 5 p.m. for the Wellness Month kickoff event. Some Warehouse Block businesses have special offers and events, and the Mentelle Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a hydration station. Thanks for former MNA President Ann Olliges for helping organize this neighborhood event. (If you’re reading this from an email, click on the headline to view the photo.)

From Chad Walker, owner of the Warehouse Block:

August is wellness month, and businesses at the Warehouse Block in our neighborhood will have special activities from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. See the attached image for more details.

 

In celebration of Play Music on the Porch Day, Andrew Mooney and the Yellow Dog Jazz Band invite Mentelle neighborhood residents to come hear them play from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26 on the porch of 24 Mentelle Park. Bring your chair and cool refreshments, sit out in the park and enjoy this terrific New Orleans style jazz band.

There have been recent thefts from porches and yards in the neighborhood, including planters and other yard decorations in front of at least two homes on Mentelle Park in the past week or so. The most recent theft was this morning. Keep an eye out, and if you have any information about these thefts call the Lexington Police Department’s non-emergency number: 859-258-3600.

There will be no July meeting of the Mentelle Neighborhood Association board. The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, at the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass, 162 N. Ashland Ave. All MNA members are welcome to attend board meetings.

After four years of discussions, Lexington’s Urban County Council on Tuesday unanimously approved new regulations for short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs.

Here are the basics: Rentals must be registered with the city and pay a license fee within six months. People who operate a short-term rental on a residential property where they live will not need city approval.  Unhosted rentals must be approved by the city’s Board of Adjustment, which will give neighbors an opportunity to object for various reasons, such as the number of short-term rentals already in a neighborhood. Existing short-term rentals will be allowed to continue operating. The maximum number of occupants in a short-term rental in a residential neighborhood will be 12.

This Lexington Herald-Leader article has more details. For further information about short-term rentals and related issues, see this resource page on the Mentelle Neighborhood Association website.

The Urban County Council tonight gave first reading to an ordinance regulating short-term rentals in Lexington. The Mentelle Neighborhood Association board hasn’t taken a position on this evolving legislation, but it wants residents to be informed about the subject so they can express their opinions to our elected representatives. The website has a new page with information on this issue, which you can access by clicking here.  If you have questions or concerns, feel free to email MNA President Tom Eblen here.

What a wonderful day it turned out to be! Thanks to Shelby Reynolds and David Bartley; Esther Hurlburt; and Katie Mueller-White and Chet White for hosting us. Thanks to everyone who came out this afternoon. We received $90 in donations to the Mentelle Neighborhood Association and got one new member.