By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
EDGEWOOD
PDS Executive Director Josh Wice came to the Edgewood council meeting to give a run down on his background and what he wants to do at PDS. When Mayor John Link admitted he hadn’t made it to the mayors’ meeting on Saturday, but Wice had, and Link asked Wice to update council on the meeting, which he did.
The second reading of an ordinance was voted on and passed which officially closes Tupman road in the City.
A municipal order passed with is an amendment to personnel. It allows the per diem charge for any government member who attends a meeting out of the city to be determined by the governmental rate, which is inflationary.
A resolution passed which designates City Administrator Brian Dehner as the Applicant agent for the Federal Fema project for the Locust Lane slippage, which will be a $900,000 project.
The city will be hosting a Letters to Santa mailbox from November 15 through December 3.
BOONE COUNTY
Boone County Commissioners voted to award the design of a multi-use path between Ky 537 to Bullittsville Road to Palmer Engineering for a price of $325,825. The project will be started in January, and the construction is scheduled to begin in 2028. The entire project is estimated to cost $2.7 million.
The commissioners also approved a FEMA/Port Security grant that was secured by Boone County Water Rescue. It was explained that the Boone County Water Rescue applied for and secured the grant and will put up matching funds for the grant, but the county is the fiscal agent for the group and as such is required to approve the grant.
Several residents came to speak. Katie Lovell asked about the progress of a motion to strengthen the ethics code for elected officials, and County Attorney Jordan Dallas Turner said it is a work in progress and they are looking at other areas to see what their ethics ordinance is comprised of so they can see how to strengthen Boone County’s code,
Barbara Jacobson came to speak about the fact that she approves of everyone having the right to speak, and she thought Commissioner Chet Hand was correct in his speech.
FLORENCE
In a short special meeting, Florence City Council approved the second reading of an ordinance which approves a change in concept development plan in a Commercial two/planned development zone for an approximate 3.8 acre site located at 8540 US 42, at the corner of Hopeful Church Road and US 42. The approval of the ordinance allows the gas station, pumps and restaurant on the site to be demolished and a 6,372 square foot Wawa station and gas pumps to be built on the site.
Council member Pat Wingo reiterated all the conditions that the city’s planning and zoning levied on the project, including ingress and egress, upgrade in lighting and some changes to the facade of the building. An extensive traffic study was also done and the state approved it.
The vote was the same as last week, with Wingo, Gary Winn, Diane Whalen, and David Schneider voting yes, and Lesley Chambers and Angie Cable voting no.
Representatives from the company were there, and Lisa Corpus, Real Estate Manager from Wawa spoke about the project.
“We are growing in the state of Kentucky, and obviously Northern Kentucky is a big vital part of the commerce in Kentucky,” she said. “We are excited about being in Boone County. The site fits our needs.”
A municipal order passed which declared a 2017 Ford Interceptor Police vehicle as surplus property, and authorized the execution of a transfer agreement with Breathitt County High School for the car to be used in their Criminal Justice Program.
“I don’t know of any of the high schools around here that have a criminal justice program,“ said Police Chief Jeff Mallery. “We were contacted by Kenneth Spicer, who is a Criminal Justice instructor and a retired Police Chief, and he thought a decommissioned police car could help the students who were preparing for a career in police and public safety, because it would allow them to practice with traffic stops, vehicle searches, and patrol simulations. I think it is neat that they have a program like this down there.”
Council voted unanimously to donate the car to Breathitt County High School.
TAYLOR MILL
Taylor Mill Commissioner Caroline Braden brought up the subject of walking trails in Pride Park at the caucus meeting Wednesday morning. She thinks that since they haven’t been re-paved since the 1990’s, it is probably time to redo the paths. There is a grant from Kentucky Land and Water Conservation that they could get, and the estimate for the paving is $95,000 for paving about 1½ miles of paths.
CAO Brian Haney presented two estimates for demolishing the two houses on the property that the city acquired, in response to the request by the commissioners at the last meeting. After looking at the estimates, commissioners thought they should have a third estimate, and they thought it was al worth looking at the possibility of having their Public Works department do the work. Director Jerry Jump had commented that he thought his department could do the work at the last commission meeting.
The city’s representative on the TBNK board has been Phillip Pierce, and his term is up on December 31 of this year. He has informed the city that he will not seek another term. The city is looking for people who would like to serve on the board, and has asked that anyone who wants to be considered should submit a resume and a letter of interest to CAO Brian Haney at the city building. The responsibility of the representative is attending one meeting a month, and the administering and regulating of all cable franchises as well as providing and supervising the operation of local public education and government access channels.
The last thing discussed was the 70th anniversary celebration. Commissioners reiterated their request that Mayor Dan Bell should try and solicit donations for the fireworks.