Former assistant director tapped to be new executive director of Fayette County jail
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton has named Scott Colvin as the new executive director of the Fayette County Detention Center, which has struggled with staff vacancies and low morale over the past two years.
Colvin, who has 34 years of experience in corrections including several years as a deputy director of the Fayette County jail, replaces Lisa Farmer, who retired from the position earlier this month after serving in the top job for two years.
Colvin will start in mid-November.
The city recently hired Rodney Ballard, who previously served as director of the jail, to serve on an interim basis. Ballard will remain at the detention center until Colvin starts, city officials said.
“Scott Colvin has extensive experience and the training to help us address the challenges we are facing at the detention center,” Gorton said. “He knows our facility, and many of the corrections officers. Scott is a good fit for us.”
The jail has struggled to keep and retain employees. Detention center union officials have said the Old Frankfort Pike facility is still 100 employees short.
“I very much look forward to serving the citizens of Lexington alongside the well trained, hardworking and committed corrections professionals currently operating within the division,” Colvin said. “With this team, I am confident that we can move the division forward, solve our challenges, and continue to professionally evolve into one of the premier municipal corrections departments in the United States.”
Relations between the Fraternal Order of Police union and Farmer were tense. The union took a no-confidence vote against Farmer. The union also took a no-confidence vote against previous director Steve Haney.
Colvin previously served as the deputy director of the Fayette County jail between 2013 and 2016, focusing on officer training and leadership development. Prior to 2013, Colvin served as the chief deputy of the Kenton County Detention Center and was a captain with Louisville Metro Corrections, where he began his career in community corrections.
A Louisville native, Colvin left Lexington in 2016 to take a position with the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. He will leave his current position as a senior warden at a detention center in New Mexico to come to Lexington.
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 6:09 PM.
