By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
INDEPENDENCE
After a brief executive session, Independence City Council made a motion to proceed with a contract to purchase two acres of land at 121 Pelley Road, just adjacent to the land which Mayor Chris Reinersman calls the ‘front door’ of the city, where the American flag flies. The price is $85,000. Reinersman said that the seller is a vendor of the city but there is no problem with conflict of interest.
Once the motion passed, Mayor Reinersman pointed out that they are not going to develop the land, it will stay green, just like the approximate 25 acres across the road which was the site of the old jail.
Council discussed the idea of Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADU’s, which are small housing pods that are usually put in the back yards of regular houses. The city just received its first application for an ADU, and Mayor Reinersman asked council if they wanted to petition PDS for a change in their zoning to make the buildings conditional in a R-LLS zone, and ban the buildings entirely in three other zones, R-CVS, R-CPS, and R-M. They will be permitted in the R-RE zone. CAO Chris Moriconi will write up the request to submit it to PDS.
Council member Carol Franzen talked to council about wanting to tighten up the Kenton County ordinance on animal control. She noted that on evenings and weekends the police are called for a wandering animal, and she said police do not have cars that are suitable for carrying stray dogs to the shelter. She thought if shelter volunteers, of which she is one, could pick up a stray dog, and take them to the shelter, where they know how to kennel them and give them food, it would be a better method. No decision was made.
EDGEWOOD
Edgewood city council passed a motion adopting the Statewide Emergency Mutual Aid Agreement which is a new contract with the state allowing cities and counties to help other cities and counties in the state in case of a disaster. This does not take the place of any local mutual aid agreements.
CAO Brian Dehner asked council what they thought about the city having two pages in the What’s Happening newsletter. He said the city has done the two pages in the spring and just now for the fall issue, and the information goes out to all people in the 41017 zip code. He explained that the cost for the two pages of information is $3,000, but Dehner said he thought it was a good investment.
Mayor John Link announced that the city has two new police officers. He also told council that Sharmili Reddy will now be the City Administrator in Covington, and that Josh Wice will now be the director of PDS.
ERLANGER
The city of Erlanger has a new city administrator. Assistant City Administrator and Economic Development Director Mark Collier will step into the role of City Administrator on August 31 when Peter Glenn retires.
“I am incredibly excited to take on this role, and work more closely with each of you,” Collier said at the meeting. “I am looking forward to working with everyone and getting to know council members more intimately. I love the city of Erlanger, and I am going to bust my tail for all of you. Peter has been a great mentor to me. I know I have big shoes to fill!”
Everyone gave him a round of applause, and the municipal order passed.
Mayor Jessica Fette told council that Peter Glenn has done great things for the city in his job as CAO.
“I am blessed and honored to call him my friend,” she said.
Council member Jennifer Jasper-Lucas brought up a recent incident where a sewer line was crushed over on Virginia Avenue. Jasper-Lucas felt thatthe city just wrote a check to cover the damage without adequate investigation into the incident. She felt strongly that it could have been the fault of the contractor or even SD-1 and didn’t believe the city should have been so quick to spend the taxpayers’ money. Mayor Fette said they will put the issue on the agenda for the caucus meeting so council can discuss it.
An ordinance had a first reading which changed the zoning of 1.26 acres just off Dixie Highway from Community Commercial to General Industrial.The property is behind the Speedway, near the Chamberlin and Owen building.
A municipal order passed which supports the effort for the statewide emergency mutual aid.
The business Spotlight was on Fabled Brew Works, a distinctive brewery on Kenton Lands road in Erlanger. Kent Wessels and Jon Lawler own the business, and they invented a new beer, A Walk in the Woods, At the Tuesday night meeting, they presented a check to the city for $350, a portion of the proceeds from the new beer that will go towards Eons park.
BOONE COUNTY
Boone County Commissioners listened to a presentation by Zoning Administrator Michael Schwartz which explained what the planning commission came up with as a solution for the commercial vehicle parking. The problem of having trucks and trailers on the expressway ramps and roads, and having them clog the streets and parking lots is real, and needs to be addressed in most parts of the county.
Schwartz suggested that the county upgrade the zoning texts to include new definitions, including one for freight terminals, which would be a building or area where trucks can be parked for a time while awaiting loading or unloading.
Commissioner Chet Hand said he didn’t think that solution would necessarily fix the problem. He said the original interpretation of the planning commission was that truck parking was covered under existing warehousing and distribution zoning, and the goal was to create language specifically around the parking of vehicles, as in trucks and trailers. Hand said that their solution might cover the problem, but it also covers building large structures for the movement of goods, which he believes is not a part of the solution.
“My request is that if we’re trying to create a solution to truck parking, then create a classification for truck parking,” Hand stated. “It’s as simple as that.”
Commissioner Cathy Flaig also emphasized that the trucks parking on the ramps and parking lots were the problem, and the solution needs to be to get the trucks off those places, not building large structures.
Judge Executive Gary Moore said yes but if they were to have a place where law enforcement can tell them to go and legally park and not be a hazard, that would be helpful. He pointed out that the two rest stops on I-75 and I-71 are going to be undergoing construction to add over 100 parking places for trucks, but that might only help the expressways, not places within the cities. He said that when the court decides on what they want to do, the matter will go back to the planning commission.
There were suggestions to make truck parking a conditional use in some areas, or to take the word ‘building’ and ‘cross dock’ off the definition, and just leave the definition as an ‘area’ where the trucks can park. It was even suggested to take the work ‘freight terminal’ out of the solution.
No action was taken, and there may be more suggestions coming from the planning commission.
FORT WRIGHT
An item on the agenda for the regular council meeting which is a first reading of an ordinance declaring a public right of way on a small street off Madison Pike by the Arby’s and the newly build Sonic and the Speedway brought officials from the restaurant business and Arby’s to protest the area which is about to become even busier.
Andy Hogan, attorney for the Arby’s restaurant management, and Grant Troja, president of the company, explained how they have put up a gate on their property, and stated that they are already having problems with how cars exit Sonic conflicting with Arby’s customers leaving Arby’s. They have been in touch with Sonic and tried to work out a solution, even talking to PDS and suggesting solutions. They were surprised when the city got involved to make the street a public right of way.
Councilmember Bernie Wessels said that the city can definitely take a look at other solutions, but said the city is concerned because of fire and life squad emergencies. He was told that the gate is never locked, so anyone can open it.
“It could cost someone their life,” he said. “We don’t want to adopt this ordinance, but we need a solution.”
Arby’s officials promised to send the solutions they offered to PDS to the city to help with fixes for the issue, but also said something has to be done.
“Five hundred cars go through there every day,” Troja said. “Something is going to happen.”
Wessels said they are also trying to avoid cars coming out at the light and then turning immediately into the fast food lots.
Wessels motioned for the issue to be tabled indefinitely until they can look at it more thoroughly. CAO Jill Cain Bailey said Sonic now has an attorney and many times attorneys can look at the evidence and help work out a mutually agreeable solution.
Paving on a small front portion of Farell Road was discussed. The project was put out to bid for under $6000, and the only company that responded quoted $8,232. Council okayed the increase in price, because it really needs to be done.
Council discussed a request from Walmart for temporary seasonal storage on their lot, an issue which codes enforcement has fined them for in the past. This time they are asking for permission, but council wasn’t sure they wanted to set a precedent for other businesses for unsightly storage trailers. A representative from Walmart was supposed to attend the meeting but they did not show, so council tabled that issue also until someone could come and explain their side of the issue. Councilmember Margie Witt didn’t want to proceed without the representative. Councilmember Scott Wall reminded Council that people wanted all the storage to be inside the city when the store was first approved to be located in the city. Councilmember Jason Collins, who sat in as mayor for the evening, suggested that they were 898, and maybe they could fence it and skirt it. CAO Bailey said that they were renovating an area for mobile shopping and possibly they could add something on for storage.
Rumpke has been chosen for the city’s garbage and recycling for a price of $276 per year.
For that they get a choice of one of two recycling cans, a small red bin with no top or a 65 gallon green can with a top, and they can use their own garbage can for regular garbage or they can rent a can for a small fee.The amount will be a pass through from the city to the tax bills. This is for the 2025-2026 year.