I don’t live in Lex, but this is the sort of thing I would want if I lived there. I like the greenbelt parks in Louisville and like the improvements to the waterfront.
I give an annual contribution to the Parklands in Louisville, because I use and enjoy the park. I believe that park is a mix of private and public funds. The website says more than $70 million comes from private sources, $38 million from federal funds, $10 million from the state, and $1.5 million from Metro government. It does not receive taxpayer funding for annual operations.
People can debate the legitimacy of any of that public funding, but the mix of private and public funding for projects people want is probably good.
I would think Lexington could do the same. If you cannot raise a chunk of the cost through private donations, it might not be a project worth doing.
Lex just approved a park tax for projects/improvements/etc starting next year. It will be interesting to see how that money is spent.
Regarding the river park....this property was bought 3 years ago for $2M so it wasn't as if this was some pressing need to get this off the ground. I will stand by the fact that this town can better utilize $14M at this present time.