By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
Holmes High School wants a city police officer to patrol the school during the day, but federal guidelines have city commissioners wondering if that’s the best idea.
The Covington Independent School Board has voted unanimously to enter into an agreement with the Covington Police Department to provide an officer for the Holmes campus for the school year for $80,000 (the amount would be prorated for the remainder of this year).
But at the city commission caucus meeting Tuesday night, Mayor Joseph U. Meyer and the commissioners were concerned about just what the police officers could and could not do — and when — if a dangerous situation arose.
“I do have some fairly significant concerns,” Meyer said, noting that having security in schools is “a sensible thing to do. But this really puts our law enforcement officers in a challenging situation.”
Meyer noted that the current federal consent decree only allows officers to become involved in a situation if directed by a school official, or if the officer feels there is an imminent threat of a serious crime.
“We need to protect our police officers,” Meyer said, pointing out that what he may see as a threat may not be seen in the exact way by others.
The Kenton County Sheriff’s Office had been supplying an officer to the school until the beginning of this school year, and stopped due to the ambiguity of the new agreement, the department’s attorney told the media in August.
Tuesday night, commissioners asked a round of questions about the situation.
Jordan Huizenga wondered if the settlement agreement could possibly be altered or lessened in some way to give officers more control.
Bill Wells noted that sending one officer to Holmes High everyday takes him or her off another city patrol. Police Chief Rob Nader reported that he currently has 90-95 officers operating right now, taking into account things like injury and vacation.
Tim Downing wondered what school representatives think, and he asked for someone to explain if the school plans on expanding on the idea of utilizing the officer.
Michelle Williams expressed concern over the students being without an officer all day. “Holmes is challenging,” she said.
Meyer requested that the city and the school further negotiate their contract, get it finalized, and bring it back for a discussion at a future caucus meeting.
“We need to take some really strong steps in that agreement,” he said, noting he did not want the city’s officers “subjected to being second-guessed.”
Also Tuesday:
– Meyer explained how he, as well as his fellow northern Kentucky mayors, crafted a letter to Northern Kentucky legislators expressing their continuing growing concern over the General Assembly’s failure to help with the pension problem. Meyer noted that the session is winding down, and if the state continues to ignore the problem, Covington will be saddled with an extra cost of $3.2 million on July 1.
– Commissioners entered into an agreement with Cincinnati Bell to install WiFi equipment at Midtown Garage and City Center Garage. The city joins 23 businesses that installed similar equipment to support an initiative by Renaissance Covington to bring full-coverage, gigabit speed WiFi network service from the Renaissance district to the Convention Center. Renaissance Covington is a nonprofit focused on urban revitalization in the city’s central business district, according to a release. The nonprofit will ask users to login with simple information, but will then be able to interpret that data for the local businesses. Katie Meyer, executive director of Renaissance Covington, said she expects the WiFi to be available by May. City Manager David Johnston noted that the agreement was beneficial for the city because it will give residents access to technology but also give businesses a better idea of who is coming to their area, which could allow them to make better data-driven business decisions.
– Commissioners approved a construction review contract with CSX for the Caroline Avenue wall project, where the city will build five drainage shafts behind the existing retaining wall at a cost of almost $25,000. In December 2013, a water main broke and the retaining wall collapsed, which also resulted in a gas line break and the evacuation of four homes. The money will come from infrastructure funds and will lead to bids for further construction next month. Completion is expected by the summer.
– Commissioners accepted a bid for the Latonia Avenue Project, which includes complete pavement replacement due to base failure and storm sewer separation. This includes reconstruction of Latonia Avenue from Southern Avenue to just east of West 36th St. and will cost more than $700,000.
The next Covington Commission meeting will be a legislative meeting held at 6 p.m., March 27 at the Covington City Hall at 20 West Pike St.
Contact the Northern Kentucky Tribune at new@nkytrib.com
