Projects

New pavement in front of the Town Hall and the Fire Hall and ADA parking and striping.

New fencing behind the Town Hall with new tables, garbage cans, a bike rack, and a little library.

New website that offers improved accessibility to public meetings and public records. 

New ADA ramps in the downtown area.

Water and Sewer Study: Lexington recently concluded a water and sewer study with Anderson and Perry, funded with grant funding. The project started over a year ago and included several work sessions at Lexington’s Town Hall. The study is ready to be adopted by the Town and will be published on our website. The Town Council has scheduled a “One-Stop” meeting with State agencies to identify funding opportunities.

The TGM Education and Outreach program works with local governments to help them expand transportation choices. The Town of Lexington partnered with the Oregon Transportation and Growth Management Program to identify areas for transportation and safety improvements on Main Street.  The goal of this project was to begin the process of public input and education to improve our downtown area. TGM started with conducting in-person interviews with downtown stakeholders. With the findings of the interviews, a community town hall event was held where TGM led a discussion on what the needs and issues are downtown. A final report was presented to the Town Council, providing valuable information as we plan for future downtown improvements. 

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Check out this awesome news report below on TGM interests! Written by Andrea DiSalvo

"Lexington begins planning for downtown improvements" By Andrea Di Salvo 

"The Town of Lexington is seeking community involvement in its plans for downtown improvement. The town will hold a public meeting next Monday, May 22, to discuss possible downtown improvements and get community input. The education and outreach event will run from 6-8 p.m. at Lexington Town Hall. It will also be live online via Zoom. Items on the agenda include roadway facilities, lighting, pedestrian walkability and sidewalks, and parking. With the possibility of Morrow County Transit putting in a fixed route in Morrow County, the discussion will also include the best location for a public transit stop. “The point is to help slow people down and also help provide safe walking and biking for our community and our visitors,” says Lexington Town Councilor Katie Imes. Imes says the town began looking into possible downtown improvements due to safety concerns, especially at the junction of highways 74 and 207 and through the dip in the center of town, where visibility is limited. “Lexington is located at a junction,” says Imes, “so there is a lot of activity for our little town.” Public outreach like next week’s meeting is the first of many steps toward completed projects in a process that will most likely take several years. The town is seeking initial project funding through the Transportation & Growth Management (TGM) program, which is a joint effort between Oregon Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) and the Oregon Dept. of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). The TGM program’s goal is to support community efforts to expand transportation choices. That includes planning for streets and land use in ways that lead to more “livable, economically vital, and sustainable communities,” according to a TGM report. In the 2017-19 biennium alone, TGM awarded 25 grant projects totaling more than $4 million to 23 local governments. Competitive grants are awarded yearly for projects involving transportation safety and land use. Lexington is seeking an Integrated Land Use and Transportation Planning grant, geared toward compact, mixed-use development. “There’s a lot of different things communities can do with these programs,” says Imes, “but we’ve chosen to focus on our downtown.” Lexington first applied for a TGM grant for the 2022-23 funding cycle. The application wasn’t approved, but a Region 5 committee member told Imes the committee had really liked the town’s application. Funding was limited however, so the committee told the Lexington Town Council to put some more work into education and outreach and then try again. The town is currently in the process of applying for the next round of funding. This time around, Imes says, Lexington is more likely to receive the funding it needs to move forward. The town is seeking a $175,000 grant. If awarded, the funding will be used to hire a consultant to analyze Lexington’s downtown area and conduct studies of the town’s downtown needs and transportation system. The results of those studies will, in turn, open the door to more funding for projects like downtown lighting, sidewalks and more. The prospects are promising, but it’s not a quick fix. It will take at least a year for a consultant to finish the studies and have the council adopt them, plus more time to find additional funding and complete downtown improvement projects. “This is not a short-term project,” says Imes. Monday’s meeting is only one part of the town’s effort to involve the community in the initial planning process. Lexington council members and Lexington Town Recorder Veronica Ferguson have been working with planners from DLCD and ODOT to create a public outreach strategy and talk with town stakeholders. Imes said the town would also like to see engagement from elected officials and county-wide stakeholders, including the board of commissioners and Morrow County Public Transit. Lexington Town Hall is located at 425 F Street in Lexington. The Zoom meeting can be accessed through meeting ID 687 755 5033, passcode: Lexington. More information is available on the Lexington website, https://lexingtonoregon.com. Any questions or concerns regarding this meeting should be directed to Veronica Ferguson, Town Recorder at 541-989-8515 or by email to lexington.oregon@gmail.com. " 

Reprinted by permission of the Heppner Gazette-Times.