At Monday's Lexington Town Council meeting, Mayor Hazel Livingston provided an update on the town's 2026 Vision Plan.

The town held its first Vision Plan public workshop on June 24. The workshop included sessions with the Vision Plan Advisory Committee, stakeholder focus groups and community planning work groups.

According to Livingston, the workshop was designed to gather feedback from residents, community stakeholders, partner organizations and town staff about the community's long-term vision, priorities and potential challenges.

About 100 community members attended the workshop and shared their input during the in-person meeting. 

Residents can still participate through an online survey. Google “2026 Vision Plan Refresh Survey Town of Lexington.”

"You still have the opportunity to give us feedback," Livingston said. "Look for an announcement on the next public meeting coming up in August, and you can always go to lexsc.gov to take the survey up until the end of next month."

Mayor Pro-Tem Todd Carnes also introduced the first reading of a new fiber-optic cable franchise and ordinance agreement with Windstream/Kinetic Fiber.

Following discussion during the town council's June work session, the proposed agreement would replace the town's previous franchise agreement with Windstream/Kinetic Fiber. The ordinance passed its first reading on Monday unanimously.

According to earlier reporting from the Chronicle, franchise agreements with the town are required with any utility provider. All the town's fiber-optic franchise agreements are identical as of now.

Councilman Gavin Smith told the Chronicle that town council is considering strengthening any potential ordinances related to utility provider franchise agreements in an effort to tighten regulation standards for these providers. Any ordinance changes would aim to promote safer and more efficient installation processes, he said. These changes would also aim to prevent damage to Lexington locals' properties.

"I can count on more than one hand the number of utility hits that have caused stop-work disruptions," Councilman Todd Lyle said during the town council's June work session. "I have been a part of those meetings, and I think it would be foolish to expect anything different."

The next Lexington Town Council meeting is on Aug. 3.

This article has been corrected to say that following discussion during the town council's June work session, the proposed agreement would replace the town's previous franchise agreement with Windstream/Kinetic Fiber. The article originally said Ripple Fiber.