UK ROTC has had access to Hisle Farm Park for nearly a decade — with the spot available for use in tactical training — but the city council isn't renewing that agreement.
Councilmember Emma Curtis agreed with community members who found the presence of ROTC in the park "jarring."
"It brings up something visceral, and I don't think that is something that should be brought up for anybody using our public spaces," Curtis said. "I am more than happy to continue conversations if there are private, more secluded areas that we can be of support and offer, but I just don't think that this is appropriate right now."
Staff Lt. Col. Alan Overmyer, a UK military science professor in charge of ROTC training at Hisle Farm, told the Lexington Herald-Leader earlier this year the training his cadets undergo at the park is imperative to their education.
With the latest council vote, the program would need to find a new location by December 31. The ROTC is in talks to shift the training to Bluegrass Station.