By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
June’s meeting of the Kenton County Mayors was held in Lakeside Park, and the mayors were able to catch each other up on the news in each city.
Mayor Paul Meier of Crestview Hills mentioned that his city is replacing a bridge, causing Park Hills mayor Kathy Zembrodt to call this year the ‘year of the bridge,’ since the area will soon be seeing a new Brent Spence bridge, and a new Fourth Street bridge in Covington.
The bridge replacement project started early this year. It is a project that will replace the culvert bridge on Lookout Farm Drive near the intersection with Shinkle road. In January John Scheben, Public Works Director, informed the public that the city had negotiated a contract with JTM Construction for the project. A resident informational meeting was held on March 4 at the city building. The current estimate for the work to be completed is sometime in June. Once the new bridge is installed, it is hoped that the improvement will help avoid the flooding that sometimes occurs in the area due to the heavy rains.
By contrast, the Fourth Street bridge connecting Covington and Newport over the Licking River is in the midst of a $99.6 million replacement project. This bridge, which was 90 years old, was demolished in a controlled blast a few months ago, and this bridge is scheduled to be replaced by a modern bridge with three arches. It is not scheduled to open until the summer of 2028.
The Brent Spence Bridge, a $4.05 billion project, is well underway, too. The massive project will include a new double decker companion bridge to separate interstate and local traffic, while the existing bridge undergoes repairing and reconfiguring. This bridge is not expected to be complete until 2031.
“I am sure ours will be done before the Brent Spence,” said Mayor Meier. “We also have an expansion started for the Police department and the city building.”
Mayor Meier also told the group that his city will have their Summer concert on Friday, June 5, at Thomas More University on the parking lot adjacent to the football stadium. The opening band will be DogHouse, and the main band will be Forever Seger, featuring the Silver Bullet Experience, which is a Bob Seger tribute. Food, beer and other beverages will be available for purchase at this event.
The host mayor, Lakeside Park’s Paul Markgraf, shared the news that they have completed fixing all the trip hazards on the sidewalk on Dixie Highway in his city. He said they also plan to install piano key striped crosswalks in the city.
Mayor Markgraf also explained that the police department, which provides service for Crestview Hills as well as his city, just acquired their 13th police officer.
Mayor Zembrodt mentioned to the group that their city lost the business Reality Tuesday, which was sad for the city.
Taylor Mill Mayor Dan Bell talked about the new water tower, and joked about some Star Wars people pretending to shoot rays down on cars during the construction. He also told the group that his city’s Tasty Tuesdays will begin shortly.
Ft. Mitchell Mayor Greg Pohlgeers explained that his city is proceeding with their sidewalk expansion, although some people are against it. He also said their annual Fourth of July parade will have the Champ, Brad Fritz, as its Grand Marshall.
It was announced that the city of Erlanger has welcomed six new businesses this year, and Perfetti Van Melle will celebrate their 40th anniversary on June 3.
Representative Stephanie Dietz said that the interim legislative session starts in June, and they haven’t heard anything about the task forces that will be set to work on issues.
Kenton County wrapped up the news.
“If you are coming to visit us at the county building they have pushed out the date for the ramp closures, it was going to be the 20th and now it is the 26th,” said Steve Hensley, Homeland Security and Emergency Management for Kenton County. “ As of yesterday we are losing the front entrance off of Simon Kenton Way. We met with contractors yesterday, and they are going to widen the driveway, but it was meant to be an auxiliary driveway, and now it has to be widened, so work will begin on it next week.”
Villa Hills Mayor Heather Jansen announced that the next meeting will be on June 20, at the city of Erlanger.