By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
Commissioner Ron Washington had just one question after Jacob Westrich was promoted to Engineer/Paramedic Tuesday night.
“So, being an engineer means you get to drive the truck?” the Commissioner asked, laughing.
When Westrich confirmed that he could, Washington could not hold back.
“That seems like the funnest part of it,” he said, laughing again. “Congratulations.”
It was all in good fun as Commissioners had an unusually short legislative meeting Tuesday (it actually clocked in at just under nine minutes). Of course, that didn’t mean things weren’t accomplished.
Skillbridge agreement
On the police department side of things, the city established a signed agreement between Covington and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness of the U.S. Department of Defense to participate in the Skillbridge Program for Police recruitment.
The agreement is required by the Department of Defense for participation in the program, which is an opportunity for military service members to gain valuable civilian work experience through specific industry training during the last 180 days of active service.
Covington will utilize Skillbridge to assist with police recruitment efforts, officials said.
Madison property
In more legal agreements, Commissioners agreed that the city could file a lawsuit against the property owners of 2797 Madison Ave.
“Code Enforcement has identified the owner as a chronic offender of statute and ordinance by illegal dumping of waste and construction debris on this site,” city documents say.
“Repeated attempts to stop the dumping have been rejected and the dumping continues,” they read. “The owner of the property has ignored citations and stop-work orders and continues to dump debris on the property. There is evidence that the dumping is causing the hillside to become unstable and neighbors in the Latonia area are complaining about the condition of the property, the danger to the community, and the resulting decline in property values.”
FOP agreement
The city and the FOP made their agreement official.
Last week, City Manager Ken Smith explained the changes made to the agreement, which included:
• Took out Columbus Day as a holiday and added Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Added two more vacation days for those who have 28 years of service
• Added “step-grandmother” and “step-grandfather” to list for three days bereavement
• Changed uniform allowance from $1,000 per year to 1.5 percent of annual base pay.
The collective bargaining agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police will cover the term from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, and will cost an added $380,134.
Police bid approvals
Commissioners approved two proposals for police vehicles:
• Ten (10) 2022 Ford Police Interceptor SUV vehicles — for $372,502.60, from Montrose Ford
• Upfits for (10) 2022 Ford Police Interceptor SUVs — for $112,454.30, from Parr Safety Equipment
New hires and promotions
Several new hires and promotions were also approved by the Commission Tuesday night, including:
• Claire Meyer, new Special Projects & Grants Coordinator
• Daniel Sims, new Police Officer
• Alejandro Medina, new Code Enforcement Inspector
• Maggie Volkering, new Business Analyst
• Patrick Moore, new Urban Forester
Resignations and retirements
Resignations and retirements approved by the Commission included:
• Brandon McNeese, retiring Police Officer
• Steve Banfield, retiring Cement Brick Mason
• Cassandra Homan, resigning Municipal Specialist
Appointments and reappointments
Several new appointments and reappointments were also approved by the Commission Tuesday night, including:
• Reappointment – Lawrence Widlowski, Devou Properties
• Reappointment – Dennis Williams, Devou Properties
• Reappointment – Greg Engelman, Devou Properties
• Appointment – Dinesh Ganapathy, Devou Properties
• Reappointment – Brandon Mims, Housing Authority of Covington
• Appointment – Michael Gentry, BOARD
Public Works
Washington also wanted to make sure the city’s Public Works crew got some recognition. He noted how recently, they were called to the railroad tracks near Eleventh Street.
He said “a lot of debris” was left behind by some homeless people there – but actually, Public Works cleared away “six dumptrucks” of debris.
“It’s a touchy situation in our community because we do have somewhat of a homeless population,” Washington said. “But also, the unsanitary conditions required our Public Works group to go in and clean that area up. I want to recognize them going beyond the call of duty.”
Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a caucus meeting held at 6 p.m., May 3, at the City Building at 20 W. Pike St. in Covington. The meetings can be followed live on Fioptics channel 815, Spectrum channel 203, the Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky (TBNK) website, the TBNK Facebook page @TBNKonline, and the TBNK Roku channels.