By David S. Rotenstein
NKyTribune reporter
The Florence City Council started 2026 with a light agenda and some empty seats for its first business meeting of the year Tuesday.
“The flu is taking people out one at a time,” Vice Mayor Diane Whelan said after calling the roll. “We hope everybody here stays well and we’re doing a little bit of social distancing up here too.”
The council voted unanimously on the first reading of an ordinance to approve a Change of Concept Development plan for a new Spark by Hilton hotel at 7454 Turfway Rd. The Spark will open in a building now occupied by a Comfort Inn.
The ordinance would approve cosmetic changes to the building’s façade. The Hilton chain’s branding included lettered signs and brightly colored murals. Work is already underway on the conversion.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Florence Director of Community Development told NKy Tribune before the meeting. “It already looks better with the new paint job and shingles.”
The ordinance, which requires a final vote by the council, would approve a 603-foot mural and a 675-foot mural on the hotel’s side facades.
Morgan told the council before the vote that there had been a few conditions attached to the proposal approved by the Boone County Planning Commission. These involved the sign dimension and a requirement that the roof shingles be charcoal gray instead of red.
The council also recognized three Department of Public Services workers for completing 53 hours of training to be certified under the Kentucky Roads Scholar Program. Administered by the University of Kentucky’s College of Engineering, the program offers specialized training for roads maintenance personnel, according to the program’s website.
Florence Public Services Director Eric Hall said that Tyler Oring, Jeremiah Rice and Landon Rouse were among 18 people in his department who have received the specialized training.
Hall also announced that the city has hired its first Transportation Improvement District (TID) manager. Amy Stewart comes to the city from Montgomery County, Ohio, where she was a grants coordinator and the lead for the county’s Continuum of Care program in the county’s Department of Human Services Planning and Development.
“She has a history of raising over $50 million in grant funding for her prior appointments,” Hall told the council.
Florence is the first city in Kentucky to approve a TID. “The [TID] is designed to facilitate intergovernmental and public-private cooperation in the realm of transportation resources and investments,” according to the 2025 ordinance.
The council approved the ordinance creating a 6-member TID board. City officials are working with a consultant to draft bylaws and prepare for appointing board members, which must be approved by a council vote. The board will include two members of a city Chamber of Commerce or other organization dedicated to promoting business, commerce or economic development in Florence. One member of the Boone County Planning Commission will be appointed to a non-voting position.
Hall said that the city is anxious to move forward now that all of the pieces are falling into place. “We can do nothing until the board is established,” he said. Once that happens, he explained there’s a laundry list of projects, including state highway intersections, traffic congestion and safety.