Mentelle median cleanup April 20

Did you know that the Mentelle Park median is an official city park? That’s why the city arborists do such a good job of taking care of our trees, and the city landscaping crews keep it mowed in warm weather. But it’s up to us to keep it looking its best. That’s important, because the median is the site of several neighborhood gatherings each year, including the Easter Egg Hunt we had on March 30 and the fall potluck we will have in September.

Neighborhood volunteers will cleaning up the median on Saturday, April 20, beginning at 9 a.m. Please come out and join them if you’re free that morning. If questions, contact Jill DeBolt, co-chair of the median committee.

Thanks for a great Easter egg hunt!

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Thanks to everyone who came out for the annual Mentelle Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt this morning.  Our neighborhood children found all 912 donated eggs within 10 minutes!

Special thanks to: Kim Naujokas, who organized the event and donated the coffee and Spalding’s donuts; Dean Holt, who starred as the Easter Bunny; and to all of you who donated candy-filled plastic eggs and cleaned up and prepared the Mentelle Park median for today’s event.

You can support this and other great neighborhood events by joining the Mentelle Neighborhood Association. Click here to join.

 

 

Easter Egg hunt is tomorrow!

We look forward to seeing all Mentelle Neighborhood residents and their families tomorrow at 10 a.m. for our annual Easter Egg Hunt. Thanks to the generosity of our neighbors, we have plenty of eggs for another wonderful hunt this year!

We will gather in between the two medians closest to Cramer Avenue. Kids aged 5-10 will hunt on the first median (closest to Cramer) and those younger than 5 will hunt on the second median. The Easter Bunny will be with us for photos from 9:45 – 10:30 a.m. Complimentary coffee and Spalding’s Bakery donuts will be available for all neighborhood residents to enjoy.

See you at the hunt!

Giving eggs for the hunt? Hop to it!

Our annual Easter Egg Hunt is right around the corner! If you wish to donate filled plastic eggs for the Mentelle Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 30, please bring them to the porch of 29 Mentelle Park. Donations will be accepted until the evening of Friday, March 29.  We would love to have at least 600 eggs to make this a fun and memorable event for our neighborhood’s children. Thank you to everyone who has already dropped off eggs!

The hunt will begin at 10 a.m. on the Mentelle Park medians near Cramer Avenue. There will be two hunts — one for little kids through age 4 and one for bigger kids ages 5-10.  Bigger kids will hunt on the median closest to Cramer and the little ones will hunt on the second median. And the Easter Bunny will be there starting at 9:45 a.m. for photos and to hand out additional treats to the kids.

No small children in your household? No problem! We hope that all Mentelle Neighborhood residents will come out to socialize with your neighbors and celebrate the beginning of spring. Complimentary coffee and delicious donuts from Spalding’s Bakery will be available to all.

We hope to see all Mentelle Neighborhood residents there!

Warehouse Block meeting April 10

Chad Walker invites interested neighbors to attend the Warehouse Block advisory board meeting Wednesday, April 10 at 5:30 p.m. at Void Sake, 819 National Ave., Suite 120. Chad will give updates on happenings within his development and seek feedback from neighbors.

Eggs needed for the big hunt March 30

Please join us for our annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 30, at 10 a.m. on the Mentelle Park medians near Cramer Avenue. The egg hunts — one for little kids up to age 4 and one for bigger kids between ages 5 – 10 — begin at 10 a.m. Bigger kids will hunt on the median closest to Cramer and the little ones will hunt on the second median.

No small children in your household? No problem! We hope that all Mentelle Neighborhood residents will come out to socialize with your neighbors and celebrate the beginning of spring. Complimentary coffee will be available from Kenwick Table and we will have delicious Spalding’s Bakery donuts.

Donations of eggs are gladly accepted! If you would like to contribute to the event, please bring plastic eggs (preferably filled with a piece of wrapped candy) in a bag to the porch of 29 Mentelle Park no later than Friday, March 29. We would love to have at least 600 eggs to make this a truly fun and special event for the children of the neighborhood. And while we appreciate the generosity of all of our neighbors, we can’t use loose candy at this time.

We hope to see all Mentelle Neighborhood residents there!

Save the date; save your seeds

Join us for a spring book and plant swap!  Bring your pre-loved (or un-loved) books and your extra bulbs, seeds, cuttings, roots, starters and seedlings to the north median of Mentelle Park on Saturday, April 27th at 2 pm to trade out what you have too much of and give your gardens and bookshelves a springtime refurb. We’ll also have a wine tasting!

City Board of Adjustment rejects short-term rental application on Hambrick

Lexington’s Board of Adjustment voted 4-3 today to deny an application to convert a single-family home at 714 Hambrick Ave. into an un-hosted short-term rental property under Lexington’s new STR law.

The city’s Division of Planning staff had recommended approval. The Mentelle Neighborhood Association’s board of directors opposed the application. Several neighbors spoke against the application, outlining concerns they had, including that the city has already permitted too many un-hosted STRs already in and near the neighborhood.

The applicants have the right to appeal the decision to Circuit Court.*

Click here for more information about short-term rental issues.

*Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said District Court.

 

City planning staff favors Hambrick short-term rental; MNA board opposes it. Board of Adjustment meets Monday.

The city’s Division of Planning staff has recommended that the Board of Adjustment approve an application to turn a single-family home at 714 Hambrick Ave. into an un-hosted short-term rental property for up to 10 guests. Click here to read and download the recommendation.

The city’s Board of Adjustment will meet Monday at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall to consider the application. Anyone interested in expressing an opinion on the issue should plan to attend the meeting, which is likely to be a long one.

The Mentelle Neighborhood Association’s board has voted unanimously to oppose the application, based on to factors: strong opposition from neighbors on Hambrick Avenue; and the large number of un-hosted short-term rentals already allowed to operate in the neighborhood. Under a new law, existing properties that registered with the city by Jan. 10 were  “grandfathered-in” and allowed to continue operating. Click here to read the board’s letter.

City records show that there are 14 un-hosted short-term rental properties with at least 10 rental units now operating in or adjacent to Mentelle neighborhood.  Click here to see a map of them with information about the owners and operators. The city Planning staff’s report indicated there may be more operating that are not legally registered. The MNA board thinks that is already too many, and any more will damage the character of the neighborhood.  Click here for more information about issues related to short-term rentals.