Government briefs: A roundup of happenings in public meetings across NKY this week


By Patricia Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter

EDGEWOOD

Edgewood city council expressed their thoughts on what to do with the clock in the clock tower in front of Presidents’ Park. The main idea seemed to be that everyone would like to see a price to clean up the clock and tower, and at least see to it that it is maintained.

Councilmember Darla Kettenacker said she likes the lights on the tower, but CAO Brian Dehner said the neighbors did not like the lights or the music.

Councilmember Ben Barlage wants to keep the leaves that decorate the tower, but Councilmember Kim Wolking said she didn’t like the leaf design and preferred simple poles.

Dehner summed up the request of council, saying the city will clean up the clock, talk to the clock restoration people, and gather prices. He told council to be aware that anything they do won’t be done until next August or September.

Resident Jim Noll stood up to ask the city if there was anything they could do about the destructive tree trimming going on in the city. CAO Dehner asked if it was Duke, and he said yes, Duke and Asplundh, which is the company doing the work. Dehner said they can’t do anything when Duke is cutting the branches out of the wires. Noll thought the city could ask them not to cut the trees so drastically.

He challenged council to drive down Lyndale and take a look at the cut trees, to see if they improve the city’s looks.

Two Scouts came to the meeting to see how a city is run so they can check a box for a badge. August Hiltz and Matthew Sandfoss from troop 779 at St Pius identified themselves and Mayor John Link gave them a city pin.

BOONE COUNTY

Boone County Commissioners slowed their meeting progress when the subject of a grant from OKI (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana) through the KYTC (Kentucky Transportation Cabinet) to fund the creation of several EV charging stations came before the court.The grant would fund 70 percent of a total cost of $880,000. Of the nine DC fast chargers, three would be put in the public parking lot at Burlington Commons, the plaza across from the Administration building, three would be installed in the parking lot by the Parks building, near Burlington Elementary, and three would go in the public right-of-way alongside I-75 at the Richwood interchange.

Commissioner Chet Hand asked how they came up with the locations and was told they had to be on land owned by the county, and after that they looked at where a number of people would come and leave their car in one place for several hours to be charged. The Richwood location was identified as a ‘charging desert’ along the expressway. They also talked about having a place with amenities so that people can do things while they wait for their car to charge.

Hand asked who would be responsible for maintenance of the stations and was told that would be the county. He asked who would sell the electricity, which would again be the county. He then asked if the county owned any gas stations, or hydrogen stations, and when he was told no, they do not, he wondered aloud why the county would want to get into the business of selling electricity to the public, especially since this would only benefit a smaller subset of the population.

Hand said that if there was an overwhelming demand for charging stations, he was curious that the private sector had not stepped up to help fill the need, such as the new Publix store. County Administrator Matthew Webster said they have been watching to see if the public sector would step up, and in the absence of such a movement, they found out about federal funding for charging stations, so they felt that they should provide the service for the public.

Hand said the first two proposed locations didn’t bother him as much as the Richwood one, on the back side of the roundabout.

“This roundabout is horrendous,” he stated. “It is a nightmare situation, because a lot of people that access this roundabout don’t live in the area. It is a poorly designed roundabout and everyone gets confused when they enter this, because it is not a full roundabout, it is a half roundabout. It is two lanes that aren’t marked, and the exit portion of the roundabout is technically two lanes but there is space for three, so people get stacked up in there. During the high use times, when people start getting stacked up at the lights, everybody cuts through the Skyline access road, through the Wendy’s parking lot, through the gas station parking lot, over to this roundabout, to try to skip traffic.

“They’re trying to skip two lights so they go through all these non-light private parking lots, but then they get stacked up inside the roundabout. So I am concerned about the location on the back of the roundabout causing more chaos than is already there. The only thing people can access without walking quite a ways is the gas stations.”

He said sometimes people drive the wrong way on the roundabout because they want to access the Blue Pantry or Wendys or Skyline on the west side. Putting the charging stations on the east side of the roundabout is not a good idea – the west side would be better, Hand said.

Judge Executive Gary Moore said the money gained from the stations would go toward maintenance but said they are also supposed to make some money. Boone County Public Library Executive Director Carrie Herrmann said the new library in Walton is expecting their charging units to be installed any day now, and they expect a return on investment within 18 to 24 months.

Hand said he didn’t think he could support the EV Charging station project because he doesn’t believe the government should be involved with providing electricity, or gas, or hydrogen to people. It was determined that if the county goes ahead with the design part of the project, but then doesn’t go through with the project, they would be out $26,000. Assistant County Administrator Rob Franxman then mentioned that they may be out of favor with OKI, and Commissioner Hand said he definitely didn’t want to get on the wrong side of OKI.

Judge Moore suggested tabling the issue to get some answers on whether the county’s portion of the match would also be covered by a grant, but Hand said to him, if there is a market need for charging stations in the area, the private sector should step up. The county has no business, in his mind, to being in the business of selling electricity, or gas to people.

CAO Matthew Webste speaks to the council. (Photo by Patricia Scheyer/NKyTribune)

“I don’t think the discussion is about OKI or grants or anything like that,” Hand stated. “We don’t have to do this. We don’t have to pursue the grant. The real question is do we want the county to be in the EV charging station business. Because we haven’t asked that question of the court before. So this is the first time we’re seeing it.”

“That’s one of the questions,” CAO Webster interjected.

“I think that’s the main question,” Hand retorted. “How we fund it and take care of it is a totally separate thing.”

“But I think having a complete picture and all the answers is also important,” Webster said.

Commissioner Cathy Flaig asked why a Krogers or Publix hasn’t taken advantage of the charging stations, if it is such a good deal.

Judge Moore said it would be a good time to table the issue until they can get some answers.

Later in the meeting, commissioners voted to approve the purchase of Rivershore Sports Park from Boone County Knothole Association Inc. The field complex is located at 7842 River Road in Hebron. The county had the area, just under 37 acres, appraised, and then offered the Association $750,000. There are six baseball fields, 4 lighted fields and 2 unlighted, trails, river access, a concession stand and pavilion building. The county has leased the area for the past two years, and the association gave the county the first option to buy when they decided to sell it. Commissioners agreed unanimously.

“To me, it’s a no-brainer,” said Judge Moore. “To have this park for future generations, it’s a no-brainer.”

FLORENCE

Dr. Jeff Hauswald, the new Boone County schools Superintendent as of July 1, came to council to introduce himself and give a report on how the Boone County Schools are faring.

He told council members that the school district is the third largest public school district in the state, with an enrollment of over 20,000 students and 27 schools.He said average enrollment is about 900 students per school. Employees are about 50 percent hourly and the rest are salary.

Hauswald mentioned that they have more students that have English as a second language, and the number of those students are growing rapidly, especially in Florence. This exponential increase has created a strain on the system, and the district has been struggling to be able to have all the personnel needed for the students to learn.

Hauswald said they are very aware that one size fits all simply doesn’t work, and they are always trying to meet the needs of the students and ensuring that students are getting the services they need.

Three Girl Scouts from Florence Elementary were present to lead the council in the pledge of allegiance, which is recited at each meeting.

INDEPENDENCE

Independence city council met in a special meeting this week so that they could pass a resolution giving Mayor Christopher Reinersman the power to sign papers on a matter of real estate. The city’s industrial park, Park 536, has four lots total and two of the lots have an existing building. There is a potential buyer for one of the lots and since the city holds Industrial Revenue Bonds for the site, council has to authorize the mayor to sign the papers on behalf of the city so that the transaction can be fee simple. The address for the lot is 10389 Robert Spegal Drive, and the lot is comprised of 31 acres. If the transaction goes through, the city will have more information about the company and what that means to the city of Independence.

TAYLOR MILL

Taylor Mill commissioners held their monthly caucus meeting this week.

City Administrator Brian Haney gave the commissioners a report on the $500,000 grant that the state awarded to the city for the purpose of conducting a sewer survey in the area around Licking Pike.

The goal of the survey is to pick out the areas that have the greatest potential for growth, but sewers are needed in those areas to help the growth and development. There is a large industrial zone within the area targeted by the survey, and adding sewers would really help with the expansion of both the current and future enterprises.

New playground equipment in Pride Park was next on the list. Commissioners have expressed their desire to replace some of the equipment in the small children’s area, although they all know such an expense is not in the current budget. The commissioners decided to repair the equipment they already have, and assign money in next year’s budget to replace the equipment. Haney was given the task of developing a plan and exploring cost estimates that he can show to the commissioners before next year’s budget.

The existing firehouse was the next topic of discussion. Based on data Haney reported to the commissioners back in October of 2020, the current firehouse had serious issues, and during repeated discussions, Haney also suggested that the current firehouse should be repurposed. Commissioners know that the public works department has equipment that doesn’t all fit in the building for public works, and the army surplus tent that had been housing some equipment was destroyed when a neighbor’s tree fell on it during a storm.

Commissioners were charged with thinking the matter over and deciding what they are going to do to protect the equipment they have.

NEWPORT

Two new firefighter/paramedics were officially hired at the city of Newport. Jeremy Daugherty and Colton Lange were announced as new members of the fire department by specific orders at the regular meeting.

Justin Hubbard, already a firefighter/paramedic, was promoted to engineer/ paramedic.

An order passed which restructured the debt service payments to meet the reality of the revenue on hand for the Ovation project in Newport. It was stressed that the Ovation project is on schedule and proceeding normally.

Commissioners passed an order allowing City Manager Thomas Fromme to enter into partnership agreements with Jefferson Health Plan to provide for the health and dental needs of the employees of Newport.


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