Wednesday January 28, 2026
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Mayor Greg Fischer cut the ribbon for the grand opening of a new Metro Public Works Operations Center designed to improve efficiency by centralizing operations from three separate locations into one site.
The Operations Center, at 3507 Newburg Road, replaces an outdated Central District facility of the Roads and Operations Division of Public Works; brings the Signs & Markings team together on one floor; and brings Electrical Maintenance storage, which was split in three locations, into a single site.
Critical daily functions, such as road and traffic signal maintenance, fabrication and installation of all traffic signs and road markings, along with snow removal, are performed or supported at the Operations Center, which will also function as the Public Works Emergency Command Center during major incidents.
Creation of the $4.5 million Operations Center is part of Mayor Fischer’s overall facilities needs planning, which also calls for using the old Central District site for construction of a new Louisville Metro Animal Services’ Care Center to replace an outdated center on Manslick Road. Plans for the new animal care facility, which will be next to the city’s Animal House Adoption Center, are still under development.
Mayor Fischer said, “Coordinating development of these facilities shows how we can leverage existing resources to create more efficient services for citizens and better working conditions for city employees.”
The six-acre Operations Center complex includes a 14,400-square-foot operations building, a 10,920-square-foot storage building, an open storage yard, and a salt dome that can house 5,000 tons of road salt — a 67 percent increase over the 3,000-ton dome of the old facility. Salt also can be loaded into the dome from the top via an automatic conveyor system that is much more efficient than the old system of using multiple truck runs to dump salt on the floor.
Electrical power to the complex is backed up by an external generator. There is also above ground diesel fuel storage for emergency use. The truck standby parking area includes a plug-in rail to warm diesel engines for more efficient cold weather operation.
The 2018 Louisville Parks and Recreation Golf Discount Book is now on sale at all Parks and Recreation golf courses, and makes a perfect holiday gift for the golfer in the family regardless of experience level.
The $25 gift provides more than $2,000 worth of dollars in savings throughout the year and is on sale at all nine public golf courses and the Parks Administration Building at Joe Creason Park.
Through the discount book, players can receive reduced greens fees, prices on pro shop merchandise, lessons and more.
For more information on the discount book, call (502) 574-6454 or call or visit your nearby Parks and Recreation golf course.
Following an extensive community engagement effort and a detailed evaluation process, The Marian Group and Louisville Metro Government have signed a letter of intent to redevelop the former Urban Government Center (UGC) site in Paristown.
The UGC property totals 11.85 acres and is located in the Paristown neighborhood near the Original Highlands, Shelby Park, Germantown and Smoketown. There are currently four buildings on the UGC property: 810 Barret Avenue, 850 Barret Avenue, 768 Barret Avenue, and a steam plant to the west of 850 Barret Avenue.
The Marian Group’s proposal aligns with community priorities expressed during an extensive public engagement period. These priorities include the preservation of green space and an existing community garden, the creation of new housing choices at multiple price points, the ability of the site to support multi-modal transportation options, including transit and bicycles, the reuse of existing facilities and materials, the incorporation of community gathering spaces, and the use of innovative building and site management techniques to make the development a model of sustainability.
These values are mirrored in broader community priorities captured in Vision Louisville, including improving connectivity, enhancing identity, fostering creativity, incorporating sustainable energy and improving health.
The development will feature such diverse housing options as townhomes, shotgun-style single family homes, multi-family rental units, and condo flats. Additionally, Marian plans to develop several types of affordable housing—including a Family Scholar House campus and housing for seniors. The development will include office and commercial space, and The Marian Group will also be exploring development of a boutique hotel.
“We are proud to have been selected to partner with Metro on this project. We believe it represents what is great about our city and this neighborhood—mixed-use, mixed-income, intergenerational and interconnected,” said Marian principal Justin Brown.
Marian principal Jake Brown added, “This project reaffirms our commitment to inclusive housing opportunities across a wide range of income levels, including affordable, first time home buyers, seniors and the sixth local Family Scholar House campus.”
The selection of The Marian Group comes after a community engagement process of over one year that included multiple on-site public meetings to hear the concerns and values of people from adjacent neighborhoods. In their proposals, development teams were asked to incorporate what was heard at public meetings.
Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith, who represents the area, said: “Today is a great day. Today is another win for our community. I congratulate everyone who worked so hard on the evaluation panel for several months reviewing and analyzing each proposal. The panel did exactly what it promised to do in delivering a recommendation on schedule, and that aligns with community priorities. I am especially impressed with the attention paid and results delivered to build affordable housing. This site will always be known as the historic Kentucky Baptist Hospital, the mission of which was to care for those in times of need. We are now moving forward with a project that ensures a better quality of life for all.”
Councilman Brandon Coan, whose district is immediately adjacent to the UGC property, said that he applauds the quality and attentiveness to community priorities reflected in all five of the proposals: “I am pleased with the process the city used to reach today’s announcement, and the importance that community sentiment and values played in shaping the future of the Urban Government Center property. The Marian Group’s proposal reflects the density, connectivity and variety of housing options that the community clearly desired. I hope historic preservation receives all due consideration but I am generally supportive of this project. 2018 will be a transformative year for the Barret Avenue corridor.”
For more information on the Urban Government Center and to view The Marian Group’s proposal as well as the signed letter of intent, please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/advanced-planning/urban-government-c…
Solid waste collection services will be altered under the following schedule for the Christmas and New Year’s holiday weeks:
- Garbage/yard waste/recycling
- There will be no residential garbage, yard waste or recycling collection on Monday, December 25 or Monday, January 1 within in the Urban Services District (former Louisville city limits). Residents who normally have garbage/yard waste/recycling collection on Monday will have service instead on Tuesday, December 26 and Tuesday, January 2. The Tuesday-Friday schedule will also be delayed by one day.
- Residents normally serviced by private waste haulers should check with those companies for holiday collection schedules.
- Staffed Recycling Centers
- These centers will be closed Saturday December 23, Monday December 25, Saturday December 30 and Monday January 1:
- East District Public Works Yard 595 N. Hubbards Lane
- Metro Parks Landscaping 9300 Whipps Mill Road
- Southwest Government Center 7219 Dixie Highway
- Central Government Center 7201 Outer Loop
- Waste Reduction Center 636 Meriwether Avenue
- These centers will be closed Saturday December 23, Monday December 25, Saturday December 30 and Monday January 1:
- HAZ BIN Hazardous Waste Facility 7501 Grade Lane
- Closed Saturday, December 23 and Saturday December 30
Louisville Metro has joined the nationwide “Smart911” service, which allows residents, businesses, and visitors to provide information to 9-1-1 dispatchers in advance of emergencies.
The free Smart911 service allows individuals and businesses to create online safety profiles with home, workplace, mobile phone numbers, along with additional information that would be valuable to 911 operators and first responders during an emergency. This information often includes home or work addresses, details about medical conditions, pets, and emergency contacts. Users are prompted to update their safety profiles every six months to ensure their information remains accurate.
Smart911 safety profiles are kept confidential and secure, and are only available to trained 911 operators in participating 9-1-1 centers across the country. This allows dispatchers to access profile information for traveling mobile phone users, and makes it easy for landline customers to update profiles with new numbers after moving.
Residents can sign up for LENSAlert and complete their Smart911 safety profile by visiting louisvilleky.gov and clicking on “Sign up for emergency alerts.” A simple way to sign up on your smartphone is to text “LENSAlert” to 67283 – this will automatically opt you in to emergency alerts and a link will be sent in a text message to complete your safety profile.
Mayor Fischer announced yesterday that he is creating a task force to review city policies and procedures in dealing with homeless encampments.
The new Homeless Encampment Task Force will be led by Eric Friedlander, the city’s Chief Resilience Officer, and will include representatives from the Coalition for the Homeless, St. John’s Center, LMPD, Metro Corrections and Metro’s Office for Resilience and Community Services.
“The way that Louisville Metro Government takes on challenges, from economic development to public safety to sustainability, is to bring people who have different perspectives together around a common purpose,” the Mayor said. “The task force will help us find better ways to serve our homeless citizens.”
Mayor Fischer also announced his support for Metro Councilman Bill Hollander’s homeless protection ordinance, which, among other procedures, would mandate 21-day notices before clearing out homeless encampments. And the Mayor said he is suspending all operations clearing out homeless encampments until after the ordinance passes and/or updated procedures are in place.
The goal, he said, “is to build on the success we’ve had in reducing homelessness in our city.” For example:
- The Long Term Housing Division of Resilience and Community Services subsidizes housing and provides case management for over 400 citizens who used to be homeless.
- In 2014, Mayor Fischer joined mayors across America in signing the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness and, working with the Coalition for the Homeless and other agencies, secured housing for all 360 homeless veterans known at the time, achieving “functional zero” by November 2015. The city now has procedures in place to house homeless veterans as soon as they are identified, and remains at “functional zero” for homeless veterans.
- On Aug. 1, the Coalition for the Homeless and a team of local service providers and community leaders launched the 100-Day Challenge: To house at least 100 homeless youth and young adults in our city by Nov. 8. The city exceeded the goal, housing 115 youth within those 100 days.
Citing Metro government budgetary pressures and reductions in state and federal funding for such work, the Mayor also today urged all citizens and private organizations to step up and help out, by volunteering time and donating funds to help the homeless.
“Every human being who finds themselves living on our streets is an individual with their own story and their own needs. And we want to treat them with dignity, respect and compassion, and do everything we can to help them get the resources they need,” he said. “That’s a shared community goal, and it will take the work of all of us to realize that goal.”
He encouraged people to find out more by going to the Coalition for the Homeless website, at Louhomeless.org.
If you want to be a good neighbor and a good business owner, Councilwoman Madonna Flood (D-24) announces the next South Central Regional Forum will focus on Metro Codes & Regulations on Wednesday, December 20th.
“One of the most confusing issues we have to deal with in Metro Louisville is code enforcement,” says Flood. “Many times property owners and business owners do not fully understand what is expected of them when it comes to property maintenance.”
The forum is set for the new South Central Regional Library at 7400 Jefferson Boulevard from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
Metro Code Enforcement Officers will be on hand to discuss how to follow the local property maintenance ordinances that are on the books in the city. Those ordinances deal with everything from grass cutting to safety issues for the public when it comes to property.
“This is a chance to talk with the people who enforce all of our codes and get a better understanding of how to file a complaint if you have a problem property in your neighborhood,” says Flood.
These forums are sponsored by Councilwoman Flood and Council members James Peden (R-23), Vicki Aubrey Welch (D-13) and Barbara Shanklin (D-2).
For more information about the next South Central Regional Forum, then contact Councilwoman Flood’s office at 574-1124.
