Pol Watchers

Boulder trip: PDR began here

The birth of Lexington's farmland preservation program has its roots in Boulder.

In 1967, Boulder became the first city in the United States to establish a program to purchase land to preserve it from rapid development.

Citizens were so interested in preserving land that residents approved a tax to raise the money needed to acquire, manage and maintain the open space.

On the drive in from Denver International Airport, members on the Commerce Lexington trip probably noticed all of the open space and then all of a sudden you dropped into Boulder, said Boulder Mayor Mark Ruzzin.

Boulder has acquired 40,000 acres of open space, which is more acreage than there is in the incorporated city, Ruzzin said.

Lexington's farmland preservation program, which is also known as the Purchase of Development Rights program, doesn't purchase any actual land. Instead, the city acquires agricultural conservation easements

As of January, Lexington has purchased conservation easements on 17,653 acres on 151 farms.

- Michelle Ku

Boulder trip: Bikes, feet are big priority

Don’t be surprised if Lexington leaders return from Boulder with big ideas about bike lanes and walking trails.

Those on the Commerce Lexington Leadership Visit quickly got a taste for how bike- and pedestrian-oriented Boulder is. There are dedicated bike and pedestrian lanes throughout the city.

Shortly after arriving in Boulder, the Lexingtonians broke up into three tour groups: One viewed the city on foot, another on bikes, the third by bus.

Among the information supplied on one walking tour: Colorado has a state law that pedestrians have the right of way.

Guy Huguelet, president and CEO of Adecco of Central Kentucky and chairman of Commerce Lexington, said he got a first-hand view of the city’s take on pedestrians. He got separated from his walking tour and found himself at a busy intersection. He said he stood on the corner and waited for traffic to clear. Instead, cars started honking at him, urging him to cross. He and others said this shows how committed Boulder is to making foot traffic a priority.

Boulder is also working to construct 50 pedestrian and bike underpasses so walkers and cyclists don’t have to mix as much with automobile and truck traffic.

Another stat thrown out by David Lord, president of the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau: A quarter of Boulder’s population bikes to work.

- Michelle Ku

Boulder trip: Day one schedule

Attendees of Commerce Lexington’s trip to Boulder will hit the ground running as soon as they arrive Wednesday morning.

The charter airplane is scheduled to land at Denver International Airport at 9:15 a.m. (MST).

Attendees will begin to get a feel for Boulder — the eight-largest city in Colorado with a population of 103,673 — during the bus ride to the city.

The first session, “Live It,” will give everyone the opportunity to experience Boulder by bike, foot or bus.

There are five different walking tours and two different bus tours scheduled. Mayor Jim Newberry is one of 40 people signed up for a bike tour.

In the afternoon, attendees will hear from Guy Huguelet, president and CEO of Adecco of Central Kentucky and chairman of Commerce Lexington; Mark Ruzzin, the mayor of Boulder; Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

There is also an optional innovation session at the Boulder Innovation Center which was established in 2005 to suport Boulder’s entrepreneurs.

The opening night reception is at Rembrandt Yard, an art facility in downtown Boulder with more than 7,000-square-feet of gallery space on two floors.

- Michelle Ku

Boulder trip: Gray flying separately

When attendees of Commerce Lexington’s trip to Boulder settled into their seats on the charter plane this morning, Vice Mayor Jim Gray wasn’t among the group.

Gray, who is heading to Boulder, gave up his seat on the charter plane at the request of Mayor Jim Newberry. Instead of the charter, Gray is taking a commercial flight out of Blue Grass Airport.

After looking at the preliminary list of trip attendees, Newberry noticed that 13 of the 15 Urban County Council members were going, Newberry said. “It struck me as though we needed to make some kind of arrangements for local government to continue in the unlikely event that something happened to the airplane.”

So during a council work session, Newberry passed a note to Gray, Councilwoman Linda Gorton and Councilman Chuck Ellinger II that said one of the four of them needed to travel separately.

“I asked them if any of them had any particular preference,” Newberry said. “Jim agreed to do it. So when he agreed, that was the end of the conversation.”

Asking someone to fly separately was simply a precautionary measure, Newberry said. “I don’t like to think about it, but I appreciated his willingness to travel separately.”

- Michelle Ku

Boulder trip: How much is it costing the city?

Most of the 18 city officials who will be in Boulder for Commerce Lexington’s leadership visit will be there on the city’s dime.

In all, the city is spending $22,225 on the trips of 15 city officials. That total does not include other incidentals, such as parking at Blue Grass Airport and meals that aren’t included as part of the trip.

The city is paying $1,575 a person for Mayor Jim Newberry, Chief of Staff Shaye Rabold, Economic Development Director Joe Kelly, and police Chief Anthany Beatty to go to Boulder. The cost covers a single room and airfare on the private charter.

The cost of General Services Commissioner Kimra Cole’s trip is $1,350, which covers a double room and airfare on the private charter.

The trips of Urban County Councilmen Julian Beard, Don Blevins Jr., Dick DeCamp, Chuck Ellinger II, Jay McChord, David Stevens and Kevin Stinnett are costing the city $1,575 each for a single room and airfare on the private charter.

The city is paying $1,350 each for the trips of Councilwomen Linda Gorton and Andrea James. The cost covers a double room and airfare on the private charter.
Councilman George Myers is also going to be in Boulder, at a cost of $850 for a double room without airfare.

Vice Mayor Jim Gray and Councilmen Tom Blues and Richard Moloney’s trips to Boulder are either being paid for by the companies they work for or by themselves.

- Michelle Ku

Boulder trip: Who's who of Lexington

The list of people who will be in Boulder, Colo., over the next three days for Commerce Lexington’s annual leadership visit reads like a who’s who of Lexington.

Mayor Jim Newberry, 13 of the 15 members of the Urban County Council, University of Kentucky President Lee Todd and police Chief Anthany Beatty, are among the more than 200 community leaders going on the trip.

The leadership visit provides community leaders with an opportunity to learn about programs other cities have implemented and to consider whether they would work in Lexington, said Bob Quick, president and CEO of Commerce Lexington.

“They know they can get away and focus on the community and focus on interacting with people they oftentimes don’t often get to see,” Quick said. “It brings such a diverse segment of our community together and have conversation.”

Attorneys, bankers, business executives, developers, and realtors are among the list of leadership trip attendees this year.

Attendees include:

• Steve Austin, president and CEO of Bluegrass Tomorrow
• Jack Ballard, president of CMW
• Larry Bell, general manager of the Hyatt Regency
• Jim Clark, president and CEO of LexArts
• Larry Conner, chairman of the Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education
• Luther Deaton, chairman, president and CEO of Central Bank
• Renee Jackson, executive director of the downtown Lexington Corporation
• David Lord, president of the Lexington Convention and Visitors bureau
• Herb Miller, president of Columbia Gas of Kentucky
• Kathy Plomin, president and chief professional officer of the Unied Way of the Bluegrass
• Nick Rowe, president of Kentucky American Water
• Bruce Simpson, attorney
• Lenny Stoltz, executive director of the Bluegrass Area Development District
• David Switzer, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association
• Harold Tate, president and executive director of the Downtown Development Authority

In addition to Lexington leaders, attendees also come from other parts of Kentucky.

“On this trip, we’ve got quite a few people who come from other counties,” Quick said. “We took a look at the list and I was really surprised, each year we get more and more (people from outside Fayette County). I think more people in the region are starting to see the value of this.”

Some of the attendees from outside Fayette County include:

• Dave Adkisson, president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber in Frankfort
• Scott Campbell, director of the Nicholasville/Jessamine County Parks and Recreation
• Kim Menke, community relations manager with Toyota Motor Manufacturing
• Joe Reagan, president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc.

- Michelle Ku

City leaders head to Boulder, Colo.

The largest group of Lexington leaders to ever participate in a Commerce Lexington leadership visit is heading to Boulder, Colo., Wednesday.

Mayor Jim Newberry, 13 of the 15 members of the Urban County Council, University of Kentucky President Lee Todd and police Chief Anthany Beatty, are among more than 200 community members going on the trip. The two council members who aren't making the trip are Councilwoman K.C. Crosbie and Councilman Ed Lane.

The trip was so popular that all 172 seats on the charter airplane were sold out by Feb. 9. Even after offering a program-only option, there were still 55 people on the waiting list trying to get a program slot.

Commerce Lexington offered the program-only option to include as many people on the trip as possible, but there were limitations on room sizes, the size of the plane and the number of people some of the venues could handle, said Bob Quick, president and CEO of Commerce Lexington.

“This looks to be our best trip we’ve ever done and hopefully next year we can factor in all the lessons learned this year about the demand people had to go on the trip and others,” Quick said.

Boulder was chosen as the site of the 68th annual leadership visit for a number of reasons, including its parks and trails, downtown development, university relationships and how all of that ties into economic development, said Lynda Bebrowsky, Commerce Lexington’s senior vice president of marketing and member services.

“Boulder is certainly well known for its lifestyle and the kinds of amenities they have to keep people there and draw people there,” Bebrowsky said.

I'll be blogging from Boulder for the next three days. Check back here for updates.

- Michelle Ku