Area residents invited to put future of community “On the Table”

In neighborhoods across Lexington, residents will form small groups on March 15 to dine and discuss how to build and maintain a strong, safe and dynamic community. The initiative, which Blue Grass Community Foundation, Lexington’s Division of Planning and Leadership Lexington are calling “On the Table,” is designed to generate new ideas, inspire bold solutions, and cultivate relationships and collaborations to improve the community.

“The more we hear from citizens, the better job we can do for Lexington,” Mayor Jim Gray said. “On the Table is a fun way to help plan Lexington’s future.”

The goal is to have more than 5,000 people of all ages, walks of life and socio-economic circumstances participate in 500 mealtime conversations on March 15, with even more people connected to the conversations through social media using the #OnTheTable2017 hashtag.

The topics discussed during On the Table will be driven by the interests and perspectives of the participants.

At the conclusion, participants will be sent brief email survey to learn more about their participation, the ideas they discussed and how the experience may affect their civic engagement. Blue Grass Community Foundation will publicly share these outcomes, including trends, common themes and key issues identified. Lexington’s Division of Planning, a partner in this effort, will use this information in the city’s comprehensive planning process, “Imagine Lexington.”

For more information or to sign up as a host or a guest, visit Bgcf.org or call 859-225-3343.

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Area residents invited to put future of community “On the Table”."