Council reassigns $1.25M in surplus, approves $500K for road salt as city continues storm response

Lexington officials told the Urban County Council on Jan. 14 that crews remain active clearing streets after an “unusual” winter event, and the council approved a $500,000 budget amendment to buy additional road salt and other budget reallocations to cover storm and infrastructure needs.

Storm response and operations: Mayor and city staff described the storm as a multi‑phase event that began with roughly seven inches of snow, was followed by an icing event, then more snow. Nancy Albright, commissioner of Environmental Services and Public Works, said crews continued treating roads and working from lists of Fayette County Schools’ bus routes to prioritize clearing those corridors. “We have treated almost 200 miles of unranked roads so far since Thursday of last week,” Albright said, and she told council staff had received nearly 200 tree‑removal calls that temporarily pulled crews off snow operations.

City staff emphasized the limits of plows on hard ice and the…