LAURA GRAY, a librarian at the Midway Branch of the Woodford County Library since its opening in 2006, was honored by the Midway City Council at its Nov. 17 meeting. From left, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, Laura Gray, Karen Gardner and Ron Gray. (Photo by Liz Waterfill)

By Scott White

Managing Editor

A markedly frustrated Mayor Grayson Vandegrift and Midway City Council granted a two-week extension to Ness Alamdari of Lexington, the owner of the blighted building in the middle of the historic downtown district located at 116 E. Main Street, at its Nov. 16 meeting.

This means the “facade will be finished and finished means finished – painted, windows and door installed, and the scaffolding taken down,” Vandegrift told Alamdari.

Alamdari purchased the building in 2016 and tore down the existing facade (the street facing side of the building) in 2020. Since its purchase, Alamdari has engaged in a nearly 10 year running battle with the Versailles-Midway-Woodford County Board of Architectural Review, which regulates remodeling, renovations and other construction on historic buildings in the county, and the Midway City Council, blowing past extensions, making a myriad of excuses for delays, and ultimately, leading the Midway Code Enforcement Board to place it on the blighted building list and incurring a $1,000 fine earlier this fall, which is now being appealed.

Complicating the council’s frustration is the building’s significant historical nature. It was built in the late 19th century as the Oddfellows Club by Black residents who were not allowed, due to Jim Crow laws, to join the whites-only Oddfellows Club. The club was a major part of the life of Midway’s Black community post-Reconstruction. Additionally, existing ordinances and state laws limit municipalities like Midway in how to deal with chronic issues with buildings similar to 116 E. Main Street.

The lengthy problems with renovating the building, which several public officials over the years have deemed an “eyesore,” continually openS the council and mayor up to criticism. As Vandegrift said during the meeting, “We get asked about this whenever we go to the post office.”

Alamdari originally obtained the encroachment permit from the council in July 2025 and extended it for 90 days in September. The permit was for scaffolding in front of the building, on the sidewalk, to allow Alamdari to complete all of the facade work. Alamdari told the council then that the work would be completed by the end of that extension.

When finished, this would mean, from the street, the facade would be in keeping with the historic nature of the street. Alamdari would still need to complete the interior work and work on the sides and rear of the building for it to be approved for any use. But, as Vandegrift pointed out, it would no longer be blighted and incongruent with the historic district’s look and feel. Vandegrift added that the city’s core, which is populated with small shops and restaurants, is the magnet for the community’s important tourism economy.

Though the council granted the most recent extension request until Dec. 1, it followed an at times tense back and forth between Alamdari and Vandegrift, in which Councilmembers Logan Nance, Steve Simoff, Ian VanSteenbergh and Patrick Hall also became involved.

Throughout, Alamdari attempted to put conditions on completing the work by Dec. 1, blaming the weather and difficulty in finding competent labor. Vandegrift replied, saying, “There have been many nice days when no one was working on the building. I see work being done every day at the Ace Hardware being built, even on bad weather days.”

Nance made it clear that these problems were of Alamdari’s making, saying, “It’s not the council’s fault. It’s not the community’s fault. No one asked you to buy the building 10 years ago.” Hall added, “What you are being required to do is what the law says you are required to do.”

Vandegrift, after clearly explaining to Alamdari that the Code Enforcement Board was independent and that the council appreciated he had made significant progress since the summer, said, “If you don’t have this done and finished by Dec. 1, then it will cost you more money. You are opening yourself up to more fines, which double every time. . . . It is in your interest and our interest (that) the work is completed.”

Laura Gray honored

The City Council passed a resolution proposed by Vandegrift honoring Laura Gray, a longtime Woodford County Library-Midway Branch librarian and Midway resident, on her retirement.

Gray joined the library in 2006 when the Midway Branch was opened. Vandegrift thanked Gray for one of her top programming achievements, the “What Are You Reading Book Club,” which allowed patrons to attend and discuss whatever book they were reading at the time, and became a safe space for people to discuss and share anything going on in their lives.

The resolution proclaimed the week of Nov. 17 as “Laura Gray Week” in Midway.

Contract

The council approved an amendment to the three-year snow and ice removal contract with Littrell’s Landscaping and Lawn Care, a Midway company, by 20 percent to increase the services provided for snow removal, road treatment and pre-treatment during the winter weather season.

Noting that Littrell’s provided details on the cost increases for performing the services, the council unanimously approved the amendment.

Ordinance

The City Council heard the first reading of an amendment to an ordinance setting out the size and terms of Park Board members. Assuming the amendment is approved at the next meeting, when it will be given a second reading, the ordinance will go into effect at that time.