By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
PARK HILLS
Park Hills city council passed the second reading of the amended nuisance ordinance which was changed to add commercial businesses to the law.
Council listened to the first reading of an ordinance setting the tax rates for next year, but the actual rate was not set since they have not heard from the PVA. Mayor Kathy Zembrodt said they like to get a head start on the ordinance that sets the rate, and they will have the second reading. Council member Sarah Froelich reminded council that even though the rate might not have changed, the road tax rate has changed from 1.55 to 1.20, so the tax will be different. The first reading of an ordinance changing the zoning of a 2.14 acre area from Residential Urban to Residential Mixed with conditions. This is where the Szechuan restaurant was located. A secondary ordinance was read for the first time adopting text amendments concerned with parking which were attached to the RM zone.
A municipal order passed which appointed Peter Craig to serve out the term of Mark Koenig on the Board of Adjustments. Council member Froelich asked if in the future people who have been appointed can be present at the meeting.
Council member Pam Spoor said that she attended a meeting of residents on Cleveland Avenue, and she said the unanimous topic was speeding. She asked if Police Chief Cody Stanley could put a police car in a driveway to try and catch speeders and she said even if it is residents who are speeding they need to be ticketed.
“People are scared,” she said. “I want offenders to be ticketed. I want them to know we are serious. We need immediate attention now.”
Council member Greg Claypole agreed, saying he talked to someone at the end of Old State, who said the speeding is bad and people are running stop signs. He offered his own driveway for cruisers. Other council members agreed, and Chief Stanley will be looking at the strategies they discussed to cut down on the speeding.
FORT MITCHELL
Two residents came to the Ft. Mitchell council meeting to protest the 8-foot sidewalk that was put in as a test between Pleasant Ridge and Burdsall to see if a wider sidewalk could solve the problem of sharing the sidewalk between the kids on electric scooters and bikes and the walkers and joggers. One resident had a petition with 125 names on it who are against the project of making all the sidewalks on Dixie Highway 8-feet wide down to Beechwood Road.
Mayor Greg Pohlgeers tried to explain the situation, saying they have an 80/20 grant to put multi-use sidewalks on Dixie Highway, because the highway is designated as a multi-use path for all of Northern Kentucky, a designation that happened about 5 years ago. The current sidewalks along the highway were put in back in the 1950s for the most part.
“If this project were to start today, we would be required to follow the subdivision rules of the county, and that would require us to put in 12 foot wide sidewalks,” he explained.
He said in the next few years, the state is set to do a major reconstruction of Dixie Highway, and that would definitely result in the 12-foot wide sidewalks. If the city would do a project with the federal/state grant and put in the 8-foot wide sidewalks, when the state gets around to the reconstruction, Pohlgeers thought there would be a good chance that they would not touch the recently widened sidewalks.
“In my opinion, putting an 8-foot path in is a conservative method where we can meet the needs of the community as well as prevent this future type of multi-use 12-foot path,” he said.
He mentioned that Highland Heights is going through the same thing because they have the same grant. He said the sidewalks in Ft. Mitchell have been becoming increasingly more congested, and one of the reasons is because Beechwood school is getting bigger, and due to no school buses, the students are traveling back and forth to school using the sidewalks. Pohlgeers held up a printed picture, saying he has a picture of a man in the city in a motorized wheelchair, who travels the sidewalks often, and on the current sidewalks, a pedestrian would have to go in the grass to get around him.
“I believe it is the right thing to do to at least take a look at this sidewalk, for compliance if nothing else,” he concluded.
Two other residents stood up to say they thought the city should consider continuing to put the 8-foot sidewalk in along the highway.
Another resident asked if the project was set in stone, and Pohlgeers said it is set in stone enough that he has authorized the engineering and design of the project. He said it is the city’s responsibility to see if the project can be done and if it is good for the community.
LAKESIDE PARK
Lakeside Park city council passed the second reading of an ordinance which had additions and corrections to titled streets with fire lanes.
Another second reading of an ordinance passed which is a supplement to the code of ordinances in the city.
Council listened to the first reading of an ordinance recommending a text amendment to the zoning code regarding garages and free standing garages.
Mayor Paul Markgraf told council about vandalism in the west Lakeside neighborhood over the July 4th weekend. He said inappropriate images were burned into the streets, causing a problem for the Public Works. He said it demonstrates a significant lack of respect for property and other persons, and said the images could be interpreted as hate crimes. If they are, the perpetrator could face serious charges. Markgraf urged parents to talk to their kids about any possible attitudes that could lead to this vandalism.
Mayor Markgraf invited residents to the summer picnic on August 5, and said reservations are required, with a minimum charge of $5 per person. He said the city is also sponsoring the Blessed Sacrament Corn Roast to be held on Friday, August 7, at the Children’s Home.
KENTON COUNTY
Kenton County Police Chief Spike Jones gave a report on the Automated License Plate Reader units that he is asking for in the county. He is requesting 6 units to be installed at the jail and at the very beginning to all of the parks, Pioneer, Lincoln Ridge, Mills Road, and possibly Doe Run Lake. He stressed that the units he has asked for does no facial recognition, only license plates. Chief Jones cited other cities in the county who have had good results, including Crestview Hills, which reportedly has decreased theft in the Crestview Hills Mall by 70 percent as a result of the ALPR units. He also said any police officer who misuses the information on the software would be terminated and not permitted to work again as a police officer.
Fifteen people were signed up to speak and all of them were totally against ALPR’s, citing privacy, former abuse of the information, fourth amendment rights, and lack of security for the software, and the fact that the information is a government record. People said they had trust issues with the cameras and those that would operate them.
Judge Executive Kris Knochelmann listened first to Chief Jones, and then fired several questions at him about the ALPR cameras. He listened to the residents also, who each had two minutes to speak, and then he had a recess for people to leave if they wanted to. He had prefaced the entire discussion by saying they will not make any decisions at the meeting.
At the end of the public comment, Commissioner Jon Draud asked if anyone there was in favor of having the cameras at schools. He thought there was one person in the back who raised their hand.
Commissioners approved the termination of Kelly Sauer as the Director of Animal Control, and the appointment of Whitney Quint as the interim Director of Animal Control. They also approved the termination of Trevor Diaz Waggoner as the Canine Behavior Coordinator.
Commissioners approved the termination of James Rider as Public Services Crew Leader for the Public Works Department.
BOONE COUNTY
Boone County Judge Executive Gary Moore read a proclamation declaring July as Parks and Recreation month in the county.
A presentation was given by Zoning Services Planner Lauren Elliott about a zoning map amendment for a 5 acre parcel south of Rabbit Hash road in Boone County. The owners, Kirby and Charmaine Mynhier, would like to split the lot and give two acres to their son to build a house. The recommendation from planning and zoning was positive and it passed 12 to 0.
Commissioners listened to the first reading of an ordinance for the zoning map amendment to change the zoning from A-1 or A-1(SC) to RSE or Rural Suburban Estates for the parcel of land.
A resolution concerning an agreement between the Boone County Fiscal Court and the Boone County Coroner related to the disposition of remains of unidentified and unclaimed decedents was removed from the agenda so it could go back to the drawing board for improvements.
Another resolution approved the construction of the remaining 1900 feet of water main on Turner Road for the rural water 3.2 project.
LUDLOW
Ludlow city council passed their budget unanimously, even though a little late, at a short meeting on July 14 for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
Council member Steve Chapman Sr. said he looked into the budgets for Florence, Elsmere, Ft Thomas, Walton, and Southgate and found that they all used their carryover in similar ways to what Ludlow’s budget was proposing, so they were not out of line in the budget that was before them. He pointed out the transparency that the city has so that anyone can find out what the city is spending money on.
Council member Meagan Guthrie said although she wasn’t entirely happy with the budget, she does think that Mayor Sarah Thompson made a good effort to meet council halfway, and she was pleased that staff will get their raises, and that the fire department will get what they need as far as staff and equipment. She asked that council continue to provide financial oversight through the year.
Council members were happy enough with the budget to pass it. Mayor Thompson agreed that they should continue the transparency and continue to work together.