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Rupp Project Manager Remains On Payroll

The head of the proposed Rupp Arena renovations project will continue cashing a paycheck through  2015 even though the venture has been suspended. 

The Lexington Herald Leader filed an open records request and found that Frank Butler is paid $200,000 annually along with other benefits, including a life insurance policy worth $250,000.  Questions about Butler’s contract came to light at a recent Urban County Council meeting when Councilman Kevin Stinnett asked to know what happened to five and a half million dollars in unspent funds for the Rupp project.  He also wanted to know who would be paying Butler and what his duties would be until his contract ended.  Stinnett said "If there is a fund balance, we need to know: Is it the state's? Is it the city's? Is it the (Lexington Center Corp.) or Convention and Visitors Board money?  If Frank is going to stay on, we need to know what exactly he will be doing."

The Herald Leader reports that there is $313,000 in city money and $313,000 in state money that has not been spent. The city and state have each given $2.5 million and the Lexington Center Corporation and the Convention and Visitors Bureau have also invested in the design phase of the project.