By Brenna Angel
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Lexington-Fayette County Parks Department is putting the finishing touches on its holiday decor. Mayor Jim Gray turned on the lights for the huge evergreen in Triangle Park last Friday, now it's time to put up the Christmas tree inside the city government center.
"It's actually a 15.6 foot tree. It's bigger than we normally use, but we were able to put it in a different location this year so we thought we'd do something a little a bigger," says Parks Department maintenance manager Cathy Mobley.
The city of Lexington buys a tree each year from Wesley Powers of Tree Land. He brought the Frasier Fir from a farm in North Carolina.
"From a seed that tree will take probably about 20-25 years to grow. So it takes a long time," says Powers.
The parks department also decorates downtown utility poles, Courthouse Plaza, Phoenix Park, and a tree on Richmond Road.
"We get started about mid October and we usually get done the week after Thanksgiving. And then we'll come back after Christmas and take everything down," Mobley says.
The tree in Triangle Park was donated by a Lexington family, while the tree inside city hall cost around $400. Mobley says the Parks Department has a small budget for holiday decorations and re-uses as many items as possible each year.
