By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
BOONE COUNTY
Larry Brown, chair of the Boone County TID Board, came to the Fiscal Court to obtain approval for a project in the county. The project is to put turn lanes in at the intersection of Kentucky 14 and Walt Ryan Way in Verona, which is the location of the new Walton-Verona Intermediate school.
“This project needs to be done as quickly as possible for the safety of the people coming and going from the school,” said Judge Executive Gary Moore. “You also have the large athletic fields there. Time is of the essence.”
Brown said that the project is funded in the state budget, but Transportation District 6 has not touched it yet, and the school district wants it done for next school year. Brown indicated that it might not be done by then, but said the TID will be able to do it faster than the state. The project is to put about 215 feet of right and left turn lanes. Brown said they asked for $1.2 million for this project, but the design and engineering part is $400,000, so as the Memorandum of Understanding with the Cabinet provided an inclusive $1.6. Brown asked the court if they can help with funds, because although it is a reimbursed project, sometimes there is a gap to pay the contractors and they want this to go as smoothly as possible, since it is a pilot program for the state.
In Boone County, if we can demonstrate that we can take those state projects out of the 6-year plan, and accelerate them, get them done quicker, it would be a home run, it would be a win,” said Judge Moore.
The court approved the second reading of an ordinance for a zoning map amendment from Agricultural 1 and Suburban Residential 1 to Agricultural Estate (A-2) for a 37 acre piece of land located at 8369 Locust Grove Road.
The court authorized Judge Moore to execute the 2025 grant agreement for the Brighton Recovery Center for Women Recovery.
Commissioners agreed to assign the building of the new amphitheater in Boone Woods to DWA Recreation at a cost of $231,480.
FLORENCE
Florence Mayor Julie Aubuchon administered the oath of office to six people from the Fire/EMS department. Rob Barth, Matt Craft and Josh Tucker were promoted to Lieutenant/EMT, and Vince Lanning, Brendan McHugh, and Candice Stewart were promoted to Lieutenant/Paramedic while their families looked on.
Three resolutions were discussed at the caucus meeting to see if they would be put on next week’s agenda.
The first is three part ask – 1) a zoning map amendment for a 1.56 acre tract of land at 8103-8113 US 42 from Suburban Residential 1 and Office 2 to Commercial Services (C-3), 2) a change of concept development plan for a .3 acre portion of that initial acreage, and 3) a variance for reducing the buffer yard width from 10 feet to 3 feet.
The project is called 7 Brew, and it is a beverage only facility. If approved they will replace the two Rawlings Company buildings and the property in back of White Castle’s.
The second resolution under consideration is a request for a change in concept development plan for an approximate .88 acre area on Cavalier Boulevard. The request is from Connections: Skills for Life, Inc, and they want to establish a place to help high functioning autistic people.
The third resolution is another request for a change in concept development plan for an approximate .16 acre area by Meijer Stores on Houston Road. This is to convert 24 regular parking places into 16 charging stations in the Meijer parking lot.
Fort WRIGHT
Fort Wright Mayor Dave Hatter started a discussion on the Transportation Cabinet’s roundabout proposal by stating that the city has not made any decision or has an official position on the situation of the roundabouts yet. After saying that, he explained that a few of the council members visited Carmel, Indiana, where they had similar roundabouts already installed. Council member Margie Witt wrote a report on the visit, and distributed it to the other members, and this report will be sent to the Transportation District and to Frankfort to make sure they know how council is viewing the state’s plan.
CAO Jill Cain Bailey explained that the contract the city has with Rumpke will be up at the end of June, and she will be negotiating a new contract, so she asked council members if they are happy with the pickup times and other details of the trash contract before she works on the contract.
Council discussed replacement of the roof on the City Hall building, which had been damaged in a storm in 2008 and not correctly repaired. The project will be put out for bid.
The first reading of an ordinance renewing a franchise agreement with Verizon was read. The second reading of an ordinance was approved which closes the Williamscreek right of way. Another ordinance was read for the first time setting licensing and fees for the cannabis businesses.
Bailey also told council that the city was approved for an OKI grant to extend a sidewalk in front of the Christ Hospital property, but that grant has a 40 percent match, so the city would have to come up with $274,000 for that sidewalk. Construction would not occur until 2028, and council members wanted to know if the cost of the match would go up before the sidewalk was installed. Bailey said she would ask more questions before committing to the grant.
Council approved looking into building security upgrades. They voted to upgrade the security cameras for $25,025, and secure fire monitoring for $9,970.