The Midway City Council Monday unanimously approved a $3,000 donation to Woodford Wheels, a program providing on-demand transportation to elderly Woodford County residents. Woodford Wheels Chair Geri Isaacs gave a presentation about the transportation program, which began earlier that day and is still in the development stage. Isaacs did not cite a specific amount of money the organization was requesting. Similar to Uber and Lyft, Woodford Wheels allows users to request rides at specific times via a mobile application, Isaacs said. This program will offer transportation anywhere in Woodford County Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., contingent on the availability of volunteer drivers. Drivers will also travel to adjoining counties for scheduled medical appointments. Woodford County residents who wish to use this service must apply and be approved to create an account on the app and Woodford Wheels will charge a $2.50 pick up fee and 75 cents per mile. Isaacs said the fees are low to encourage ridership and will likely increase as the program becomes more established. While not free, Isaacs highlighted that Woodford Wheels is more cost effective than its previously mentioned counterparts, Uber and Lyft. Isaacs said the Woodford County Health Department is the current fiscal agent of the organization and Woodford Wheels will help citizens who have weekly medical appointments receive services they need. She said many elderly people in the county have remained isolated throughout the pandemic and Woodford Wheels will “fill a gap” left in the community by the lack of public transportation and help those over 60 years of age get back to a more social way of living. Councilmember Sara Hicks asked about differences between Woodford Wheels and the bus service offered by the Woodford County Senior Citizens Center. Isaacs said Woodford Wheels is more flexible with their time and does not put as much pressure on users to scramble to the bus. Isaacs said Woodford Wheels hopes to partner with the senior center in the future. Hicks also said she would be interested in seeing services extended past 6 p.m., since this is when a lot of entertainment takes place, such as plays and other forms of leisure. Isaacs said she hopes the organization can extend its service times and age restrictions once they have some established volunteer drivers. Councilmember Logan Nance introduced the motion to donate a total of $3,000 to Woodford Wheels, with $1,000 earmarked for residents of Midway who want to utilize the services but can’t afford them. The unanimously passed motion leaves $3,000 in the donation fund remaining in the city’s fiscal ’22 budget. Juneteenth The Juneteenth committee submitted an event permit for the upcoming celebration, which will take place Friday and Saturday, June 17-18. The council unanimously approved street closures from Friday at 5 p.m. to Saturday at 10 p.m. to allow for festivities, including a parade. Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said the show of support is more of a march than a parade. Bourbon Chase The council unanimously approved an event permit for the Bourbon Chase Saturday, Oct. 1. Close to a 200-mile running relay, the Bourbon Chase stretches across the Bluegrass State through the historic Kentucky Bourbon Trail and stops at distilleries along the way. Participants in the Bourbon Chase must be over 21 years of age. Kicking off in Clermont, Sept. 30, runners will pass through the next day. The race ends in downtown Lexington the same day. Encroachment Permits Two encroachment permits requested by May Demolition were unanimously approved. One allows partial removal of a curb at 724 Fisher Street to create an entrance for construction vehicles and the other requested permission to perform the same modification at 570 McKinney Avenue. The council also unanimously approved an encroachment permit for the Brown Barrel to allow the addition of a porch to the current building and will not affect Dudley Street.