By Patricia Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
FLORENCE
Florence city council chose a new member Tuesday night. The death of council member David A. Osborne on January 10 meant that council had to choose a new member and have them sworn in within 30 days of his death. Council went into executive session after the regular council meeting and when they emerged, David Schneider, Jr, was announced as the new council member. He is expected to be sworn in at the next meeting.
Schneider is a lifelong resident of Florence, who has served as a past board member on the Florence Board of Adjustment from 2006 to 2014. He has been an officer with the Bean Bash charity and the Boone County Business Association for the past 20 years.
His professional career has also been primarily based within the City of Florence as well as Boone County.
“I firmly believe that I will bring a comprehensive set of skills that would be of value to the city of Florence,” he said in his letter to Council.
EMS Outreach Coordinator Josh Cox handed out letters and pins to firefighter/Paramedic Christian Ritchie and Firefighter/EMT Ryan Johnston from St Elizabeth Hospital. Last November 21 Ritchie and Johnston responded to an emergency call where they identified the signs of a stroke and was able to get the patient to the hospital in 25 minutes. The patient was immediately treated, and was able to enter rehabilitation right after the blood clot was removed. This is something St Elizabeth rewards in first responders–the ability to recognize a stroke, and get them to the hospital in under 30 minutes.
Council passed the first reading approving a zoning map amendment for a 62,000 square foot hotel to be located on Merchants Drive in Florence.
Florence resident Naomi Liebson came to the meeting to warn council that the KKK is advertising for an event in Indiana, and she wanted to be sure they are not welcome in Florence.
PARK HILLS
Park Hills council gathered Monday night to discuss ordinance number 12-2024 to amend road signage, a topic proposed by council member Sarah Froelich in November.
“The main point of this ordinance is to update the language,” said Froelich, “ because the language makes it sound like you can put signs up whenever the mayor says it is okay.”
Mayor Kathy Zembrodt stipulated that it does say with the approval of council, and Froelich agreed to that.
Council member Pam Spoor said she did not want to go through an engineering study, spending a bunch of money and time on each stop sign they want to put up.
It was brought up that there was a complaint, on Audubon and Lawton, where a resident received a ticket for running a stop sign, and he said there should not be a stop sign there. Mayor Zembrodt stated that KYTC told them that the city can do what they deem to be safe for the city.
Froelich said the person who made the complaint works for KYTC, and there was an intrinsic value to that knowledge. When she reached out to the person, he told her that the way the code was written was wrong and needed to be updated.
Council member Greg Claypole said he doesn’t think the city puts a stop sign wherever they want, he said it is a process.
Spoor stated that the top priority for her during her time on council is always safety.
After much discussion, it was decided that they should have someone from KYTC come and talk to council about this issue.
The other item that was discussed was the event permit. A copy of the event permit from Newport was obtained, and council felt that they might be able to re-work the basic rules of the event permit to make it work for Park Hills.
KENTON COUNTY
Attorney Jack Gatlin came to the Kenton County Fiscal Court Tuesday to represent Arf Enterprises for a residence at 11933 Taylor Mill Road. He wanted to request that the court consider a text amendment to allow outdoor boat and trailer storage as either a permitted use or a conditional use in the Rural Commercial zone. A similar request was made before, and went to the KCPC, where it was narrowly voted down as a recommendation.
Detective Andrew Kenner was honored for receiving the Excellence in Criminal Investigations award from the Northern Kentucky Chiefs Association for his dedication in his investigation of Paul Snow, and bringing justice to his many victims,
Officer Mike Whitford, Officer Travis Bryson, and Officer Jacob Brown responded to an accident on April 24, 2024, detecting drug activity as they investigated. Their evidence resulted in charges being filed in federal court. The three officers were awarded the Kenton County Police Officers’ Department Official Commendation for Service.
Jason Deacon was sworn in as Sergeant in the police Department.
Commissioners approved the Sparkhaus bridge loan agreement.
They also passed a resolution approving an interlocal agreement for a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement navigator program. Sixteen cities have already signed on to share their opioid abatement funds, and they hope to get at least 16 cities in three counties to be part of the agreement.
COVINGTON
Kevin Davis officially retired from the Covington Fire department after 27 years. He is known for his overwhelming positivity in the department, and many of his co-workers came to honor him. Mayor Ron Washington thanked him for his service, and thanked his family.
Ethan Nuckols was awarded the Paramedic Preceptor of the year by Gateway college for his overall attitude of engagement and effort with the students.
Jason Deacon was sworn in as sergeant in the police department.
Commissioners passed the second reading of an ordinance that changes the zoning at 1564 Banklick from Light Industrial to Semi Urban Residential.