During a 14-minute address to the Versailles City Council Jan. 19, Mayor Brian Traugott said despite a host of challenges stemming from the pandemic, the state of the city is “strong and getting stronger.” “While four-fifths of our governing was dominated by COVID-19, we still accomplished great things in spite of it. For example, we worked with the heads of the first responder agencies, Woodford Fiscal Court and Midway City Council to enact a dedicated 911 funding mechanism that will ensure our first point of contact with citizens in an emergency (the 911 dispatch center) will be able to modernize and operate without worrying about the threat of budget cuts.” Other achievements in 2020 include the completion of the new police station and wastewater treatment plant and “much-needed” street lights on Lexington Road at the Kroger and Marsailles Drive entrances, he said. Traugott said the code enforcement officer hired last year has “made great strides in tackling nuisance issues around the city.” While it first appeared that the pandemic would be devastating to the city’s balance sheet, Traugott said the city ended the year in a strong financial position. He spoke of how the city used federal CARES Act funds to assist businesses, restaurants and bars, which he said, “helped 95 firms weather this unprecedented hardship.” The city council also passed a municipal order creating a program to help individuals pay delinquent utility, rent and mortgage bills – more than $37,000 worth as of that day, he said. Many city employees began to work remotely, and while about a third of them saw their hours cut to 20 a week, federal unemployment funds filled the gap and gave the city substantial savings, he said. The Unity Task Force he and Police Chief Mike Murray are part of helped the city avoid the sort of social unrest that broke out in many cities, he said. Traugott said the city should explore “enacting a series of incentives” to help lure new businesses and “reach conclusion of the Edgewood litigation,” to make possible the sale of what he called perhaps the best industrial site in the state. He said the way the city taxes businesses now is simple but unfair to those that operate solely within the city limits. “A shift to a gross receipts tax structure would likely result in less revenue for the city, but the revenue stream would be less susceptible to economic downturns and more fairly distributed across businesses,” he said. Another proposal was the restaurant tax discussed in a council meeting late last year. “By statute, this revenue could only be spent to advance tourism, but the courts have broadly interpreted that requirement, with the acknowledgement that a lot of quality of life improvements in a community also serve to enhance tourism potential,” he said. New water meters throughout the city will be more accurate, reduce meter-reading time and give customers real-time data about their usage and help avoid hefty bills when an undetected leak occurs, he said. Traugott said Woodford Judge-Executive James Kay and he will work together to build sidewalks on High Street to Falling Springs Boulevard. Calling 2020 “an extremely deadly year on Woodford County roads,” he said finishing a transportation system analysis will help determine how to improve safety and efficiency. In the field of recreation, he touted a fun center or splash pad (at a council meeting last year, he said Big Spring Park would be a good place for the splash pad) and pledged improvements to Apollo Park’s basketball courts and skate park. Traugott spoke of the greatest political polarization he’d ever seen and said, “We can’t allow ourselves to treat everyone as if we are all on separate teams, while making defeat of the other side our only goal.” As is his custom during the annual addresses, he concluded by quoting an October piece by Lexington Herald-Leader religion columnist Paul Prather, who wrote, “We have to remember that what really matters – what we’ll be held accountable for in the end – is that we demonstrate love and forgiveness toward those on the other side of this country’s divide. We’re commanded to be peacemakers always. Especially now.” Despite the increased polarization and pandemic, Traugott said he was optimistic about 2021 and beyond, in part because the community is optimistic. “In ending, let me say that I am sincerely looking forward to this year and am ready to roll my sleeves up and get to work with this council, our department heads and employees, and interested citizens as we lay the foundation for a prosperous post-COVID Versailles,” he said. Clifton Road annexation The council unanimously approved an ordinance annexing 21.633 acres of land at 930 Clifton Road owned by First Baptist Church, setting the stage for a new church and severe weather shelter to be built there. The “multi-use community safe room structure” would use federal funds to pay a large portion of the cost of constructing a building that will hold more than 1,600 people and withstand winds of up to 250 mph. The building could also serve as a new sanctuary for the church. State road help A resolution formally requesting the state Transportation Cabinet to pay for resurfacing projects on stretches of South Main Street, Elm Street, Frankfort Street, the U.S. 60 Bypass, Marsailles Road, Industry Drive and Beasley Road passed unanimously. Cemetery packet The council approved a packet put together by the Streets, Stormwater and Cemetery Committee that updates the rules and regulations regarding the city’s three cemeteries. Councilmember Laura Dake, who chaired the committee the last two years, said the changes include a revision to language regarding where trees and shrubs can be planted. The packet will include a purchase agreement and have updated cemetery maps showing individual plots. Executive session At the end of the meeting, the council met in executive session to discuss the possible sale or purchase of real estate and proposed or pending litigation, but took no action afterwards.