Midway Christian Church requested permission from the Midway City Council to approve additional road closures for the 2026 Midway Fall Festival to allow it to rent space for 43 booths. Given that the booth rental will be $200, this could produce $8,600 in revenue for the church.

The church approached the Midway Merchants Association (MMA) to be a part of the festival, and the renters of the church booths would come from vendors who were unable to secure a spot in the main festival area. 

MMA President Cortney Neikirk told the council that the MMA was happy to help, and had measured the area and come up with the best setup involving affected roads.

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift indicated that, though he supported any church’s efforts to raise money, there was a risk that this would be perceived by the community as the festival “backdooring to grow its size,” pointing out that there would likely be many residents opposed to an expansion.

Councilmember Steve Simoff echoed this concern, again saying that while he supported the fundraising efforts of Midway Christian Church, “I think we should table this a couple of weeks for us to look at and study it so we can find out if it will work . . . we don’t want to cause more traffic problems or inconvenience to (the community).”

After further discussion, including passing around an iPhone with the map of the city, Vandegrift said he would reach out to the affected areas and other churches, and the matter would be brought up again.

Neikirk reiterated that this was not a request of MMA, that MMA was not seeking to grow the geographic size of the festival, but was only trying to help the church.

New employee

handbook

The City Council spent a considerable amount of time talking about a new employee handbook for Midway city employees. Vandegrift introduced Michael Simon with the Kentucky League of Cities, who has been working with him and the city clerk on drafting the new handbook.

Simon went through the entire document with the council, explaining the various parts, the need for them and answering questions.

At the conclusion of the discussion, Councilmember Logan Nance expressed his support, saying, “As much as we can do for our employees is a great thing, plus this will help attract the best people we can to work here.”

Some of the new provisions include maternity/paternity leave, insurance coverage for probationary employees and employee longevity awards.

“This is clear, comprehensive and is really good to have,” Vandegrift said. “It is really positive and shows our employees that we are making an investment in them.”

Other business 

The council agreed to renew its $300,000 line of credit with Stockyards Bank. Vandegrift pointed out that while the city has not needed to use the line of credit yet, this is a responsible resource to have available in the event of a funding emergency. 

The council also approved an encroachment permit for Columbia Gas to replace gas mains and detachments that are over 100 years old. This is all focused on the western side of the city. Columbia will be solely responsible for any road or sidewalk repairs caused by the work.

Easter Egg Hunt

MMA received permission from the council to hold the annual Easter Egg Hunt in the small park off Main Street on March 28. This will close the east side of Main Street for two hours.