By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
Two long-talked about projects are moving forward after the Covington City Commission met Tuesday night, while another popular plan is still lacking funding.
The Covington City Commission moved Sunday liquor sales and the parking authority idea forward at Tuesday’s meeting (photo by Ryan Clark).
Commissioners moved forward on a proposal to create a Parking Authority, something that has been discussed for at least eight years, Mayor Joseph Meyer said Tuesday.
City Manager David Johnston will develop a proposal for the board, using examples of other Kentucky cities, he said.
Meyer said possible plans have been discussed in 2009, 2012 and this year. “It’s a historic issue that has been recognized as a serious impediment to our progress,” he said.
The Mayor also said it is important to realize how the city’s general fund is impacted by parking. He said Johnston would be tasked with pursuing a review from a legal and financial perspective. Once the plan is created, Johnston will bring it back to the Board.
The proposal will be put on the regular agenda for next week.
Commissioners then heard a second reading on a new ordinance that would allow the sale of distilled liquor, wine and malt beverages “by the drink” beginning at 9 a.m. on Sundays.
Last week, commissioners were concerned about some liquor stores having the ability to obtain the new license, and wondered if they could also get a list breaking down the establishments and what kind of licenses they currently have.
The spirit of the ordinance, Commissioner Tim Downing said, was to allow certain local establishments to offer alcohol for brunch to compete with restaurants across the river.
Tuesday, the Board decided to move forward with the ordinance, once the mayor confirmed that no package liquor stores would be able to serve at 9 a.m. – unless those owners held a drink license.
It seems the Parks Sidewalk Project will also need more money if organizers want it the way it’s currently planned. But that won’t happen, according to the Mayor.
At the beginning of the month, commissioners tabled the idea for a project to build a sidewalk to connect the city’s parks, mainly because it had come in $122,000 over budget. The asphalt sidewalk, with access points to the river, would improve the environment, generate education and recreation opportunities, and add value to the homes there, Parks and Recreation officials said.
The project would build the sidewalk from Eighth Street to the floodwall, along the top of the floodwall to Twelfth Street, up the hill and down to Sixteenth Street. It would then tie in to Clayton-Meyer Park, effectively connecting that park to Austinburg and Randolph Parks.
But Meyer said he would not spend more than the budgeted $591,000 and asked the city to investigate further ways of saving money.
Tuesday, Development Director Mike Yeager came back to the Board and reported they’d found three ways to trim the cost, eliminating edge drains, trail heads and rerouting some of the trail, which could cut about $60,000 – or half of what they needed.
Yeager said it was unlikely they would be able to cut another $60,000.
Meyer wondered – for the second time – if the city could do some of the paving, but Yeager and other city officials said that would also be unlikely, citing a lack of proper equipment. Plus, Yeager said utilizing the city instead of the developer would eliminate some of the grant money they’d earned.
“I, for one, will not go over the $591,000 budgeted amount,” Meyer said again.
Yeager said they still needed to wait about “two to three weeks” to find out exactly how much could be saved, and the project was again tabled until then.
ALSO TUESDAY:
- Meyer said that on Oct. 30, the Covington Fire Department will restore its service to South Covington, something this administration has made a priority.
- Meyer said that next week, commissioners will hear the second reading of a possible golf cart regulation ordinance amendment. In August, UPS notified the city that the company would be using golf carts, or other small vehicles, to deliver packages to some areas. It then became the responsibility of the commission to decide whether or not those vehicles would be legal – and they had a 60-day window to do so. Due to concerns over safety, theft and possible zoning problems the commission decided to move forward and ban the vehicles, with the thought of revisiting the issue in the future.
- Commissioners set the city’s Halloween hours for 6-8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 31. While the day is a Tuesday, it will be the fifth one of the month, which means there will be no city commission meeting that night.
- Commissioners heard the resignation of city Public Information Officer Monica Beavers, whose last day will be Monday. Also known for authoring two children’s books, she and husband are moving to Louisville.
- Commissioners then went into Executive Session.
The next Covington Commission meeting will be a regular meeting at 6 p.m., Oct. 24 at the Covington City Hall at 20 West Pike St.
