By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
Change is always hard, Mayor Joseph U. Meyer said. But it is also constant.
There was no better example of that than when power exchanged hands at the Covington Commission’s regularly scheduled legislative meeting this week.
Almost 60 years of police experience will leave the force when — effective Aug. 1 — Capt. Greg Jones and assistant chief Marcus Jordan will officially retire.
“Capt. Jones, on behalf of the Board of Commissioners we want to be sure to acknowledge the contributions that you’ve made to the city during your long career with us,” Meyer said. “Spending 28 years or 30 years is a remarkable commitment over time, and you’ve been a great example of leadership for the members of the Police Department.”
He was then followed by Jordan.
“I just want to say I’ll keep it short,” he said. “I just want to say thanks to my wife and kids — they’re the ones that do all the sacrifices so that I can be here. I also want to say that the only reason I am retiring is timing — I absolutely love this career and the City of Covington. I love the city and the communities that make it up and I feel like I’m walking away from the department which has turned into a family for me. They’ve always taken care of me and my family, on and off duty, friends I’ll have for the rest of my life. So, I just want to say thanks — thanks for the opportunities.”
“On behalf of the entire Board of Commissioners, we want to express our appreciation to Marcus Jordan for his many years of service to the city,” Meyer said. “He’s one of those police officers who was always there, who went above and beyond the call of duty and provided exceptional leadership and service, and we will miss him.”
The retirements set off a chain reaction, which resulted in the following promotions, all effective Aug. 1:
Capt. Matthew Winship to Asst. Chief of Police
Lt. Joshua Borhorn to the rank of Captain
Lt. Jennifer Rudolph to the rank of Captain
Sgt. Jason McErlane to the rank of Lieutenant
Specialist David Hoyle to the rank of Sergeant
“Change is always hard, but it’s also a constant, especially in organizations like ours,” Meyer said. “And well, today, we’ve lost some tremendous leadership. We are replacing that leadership with some really talented people who are giving us a great deal of hope for the future, and we’re excited about the prospects of seeing what you can help our Police Department and our city accomplish during your time. Congratulations to everybody, welcome to the next steps in your career.”
Central Riverfront Neighborhood Redevelopment
Commissioners heard a presentation on the Central Riverfront Neighborhood Redevelopment by BusinessFlare, which provided an overview of their analysis and their recommendations to date for the approach to marketing the site and its various components/parcels.
Recommendations included (for site marketing):
Flexibility and Certainty
Mobility and Connectivity
National Story
Notable Tenants
Open and Welcoming
Anticipation
ShEconomy
Comfortability
Brand Connections
Implementation ideas included:
Business Deals
Design and Creative
Storytelling
A-Team and City Capacity
At the end of the day, the officials said, it’s all about how the city positions their site and crafts their message, which will attract the types of developers they want.
Procurement Code Update
Commissioners had a first reading on a proposed change to the procurement code, one that would match a similar change made by the state, to increase the amount of a “small” contract from $30,000 to $40,000.
Recent legislature amended the “small contract” provisions of the procurement code to allow cities to treat contracts under $40,000 as small contracts, which do not require commission approval.
This amendment would then bring Covington Ordinances into agreement with the state statute.
The amendment will get a second reading and vote at the next legislative meeting in two weeks.
Map Amendment to 401 Crescent Ave.
Commissioners had a first reading on an application requesting a map amendment to Covington’s Neighborhood Development Code, changing the area at 401 Crescent Ave from AUC (Auto-Urban Commercial) to SU (Semi-Urban Residential).
The map amendment was requested for a proposed stage 1 development plan consisting of 25 attached, single-family residential units at the vacant and underutilized paved lot which Willie’s Sport’s Café occupied for 23 years prior to its closing in 2014.
The Kenton County Planning Commission made a favorable recommendation on the proposed map amendment at its meeting on June 1.
The amendment will get a second reading and vote at the next legislative meeting in two weeks.
West Covington Riverfront Commons Project
Commissioners approved a proposal for The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to provide up to $95,560 in reimbursable federal funds to the City for the West Covington Riverfront Commons Shared-Use Path Project for the Design Phase.
This is a westward expansion of the existing Riverfront Commons Project, which is a measure “to improve safety for all modes of transportation by creating a dedicated pedestrian and bicycle path between Covington and Ludlow that is separate from vehicular traffic,” city documents say.
The City will be responsible for any ineligible costs, the 20 percent local matching funds ($23,890), and any costs in excess of the $95,560 necessary for the completion of the project. The estimated total Design Phase cost submitted by KYTC is $119,450.
New Hires and Promotions
Commissioners approved these new hires and promotions:
Police Promotion – Mathew Winship
Police Promotion – Joshua Bornhorn
Police Promotion – Jennifer Rudolph
Police Promotion – Jason McErlane
Police Promotion – David Hoyle
New Hire — Kenzy Hotaling, Police Officer
New Hire — Tilden Arnold, Police Officer
New Hire — Nicole Goller, Clerk Typist
New Hire – Jacob Phipps, Fire Department
Retirements and Resignations
Commissioners approved retirements and resignations for:
Retirement – Police Captain Greg Jones
Retirement – Police Assistant Chief Marcus Jordan
Resignation – Craig Farley, Staff Accountant
Appointments, Reappointments and Removal
Commissioners approved appointments, reappointments and a removal for:
Appointment – DeAnna Hendrickson, Housing Authority of Covington
Appointment – Jameela Salaah, Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky
Reappointment – Art Heeger, Police and Fire Pension Board
Reappointment – Tom Hall, Police and Fire Pension Board
Reappointment – Terry Hughes, Board of Trustees for City Employees Retirement Fund
Remove – John Meiling, Urban Forestry Board
KYTC on Aug. 15
Mayor Meyer noted that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet would now appear before the Commission on August 15 to give a presentation on the Fourth Street Bridge Project (this is a week earlier than previously thought).
Absent
Commissioner Ron Washington was absent Tuesday night.
Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a caucus meeting held at 6 p.m., Aug. 1, 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.