Lexington council pauses proposed $2 ticket fee for Ice House Amphitheater pending more study

Councilmember Jenny Michaels introduced a proposed ordinance to establish a $2 facility fee on each ticket sold for commercial events at the Ice House Amphitheater to fund repairs, maintenance and capital improvements. The proposal drew extensive questions from council about scope, equity and administration — including whether the fee would cover pavilion ticketing, how nonprofits would be treated, and whether accommodations-tax (ATAX) revenues could instead fund maintenance.

Rachel, a town staff member, described the proposal as a user fee, not a tax, and emphasized that fee revenue would be remitted monthly into a restricted fund to be used only for purposes the council designates. “This is not a tax. It’s a user fee,” Rachel said, adding that statutory rules would require the town to track and restrict how the fee’s proceeds are spent.

Council members raised multiple concerns: several noted many amphitheater-related events use the pavilion or other ticketing arrangements that would not automatically flow through the town’s ticketing system; one council member urged staff to inventory ticketed pavilion events before moving forward; another argued the town might instead allocate more of the existing ATAX funds to amphitheater maintenance.

After wide-ranging discussion and requests for more data, Councilmember Michaels withdrew her motion and both the motion and second were withdrawn. The council then took a formal vote to take no action on the ordinance at this time to give staff and council more time to gather information; that motion passed unanimously.

Next steps: Staff will research ticketing coverage (pavilion vs amphitheater), estimate likely annual fee revenue, and consult the ATAX advisory committee and state guidance on statutory constraints; council indicated it may revisit the proposal after receiving those findings.